Chapter 8: The Gala Part 2
“I have watched as my little ponies grow more and more, helping each other through kindness. The magic of Friendship has brought all of us closer together, and none have demonstrated this better than my student Twilight Sparkle and her friends.” Celestia smiled at the group as the ponies cheered for Equestria’s saviors.
“They not only discovered the true potential of Friendship, but they also defeated Nightmare Moon, freeing my sister from darkness. We all owe a lot to them, but they are humble enough that they do not ask for praise. These ponies are truly an example of how we should all be. They are Harmony.
“I have spent centuries helping guide my ponies, and it has been my greatest pride to see them evolve to where they are now. We have no war within Equestria, and ponies care greatly for one another.
“In fact, the closest we get to war is a political debate,” Celestia joked, getting a laugh from everypony.
“I cannot say how thankful I am for all of your support and trust over the years. I can only compare it to the vast expanse of the warmth of the sun I embody. Just know that I am forever appreciative of all my little ponies.”
“Now, I would like to take this moment to share an old story of a pony I used to know. This stallion was hurt in every definition of the word. He was starving, barely surviving on what he could find; he was crippled, unable to walk; and most of his family had passed away.” She gave a second for the words to sink in. “He waited outside Canterlot for two days trying to get into my Court. He had no food or water with him, surviving off only the rainwater that fell upon the city.
“Eventually, he made it into my Court. I saw him, barely able to get to me, almost hurting himself further to bow before me. I told him there was no need, but he insisted—that’s how much he cared for me. When he stood up, he told me of his troubles. He told me of how he wanted to talk to me before he died, and so we did. We talked about life, what we do for fun, and told tales of our past.
“Eventually, he left back for his hometown. He scavenged for food along the way, making it home. When he arrived, his entire town was outside in the rain, waiting for him. They gave him all the food and drink he could wish for, and they donated some of their combined wealth to him.
“Because of their gifts, he was able to recover, eventually being able to put weight on all of his hooves. They made sure he was okay for the rest of his days, and he was forever grateful. When he finally died, I got a letter delivered to me.
“The letter was from him, the last thing he ever wrote. It said what happened to him after he left Canterlot.
“It told of his town’s generosity and his happiness in the end. He had felt there was nothing to live for in the world except seeing his princess, but then his eyes were opened. While he could not stand himself, his fellow ponies stood him up when he could not. They bore his pain and gave him all the joy he could wish for.
“He said he could feel his days coming to an end, but that he wanted to let me know he was at peace with his death. He had always felt disabled during his life, but he did no longer when he passed. He also thanked me for telling my hometown of his situation and that he could not express his feelings for such an act.”
Celestia concluded with a warm and motherly smile that the crowd reflected. Her story touched every one of their hearts, and they felt all the better for it.
She cleared her throat again, ready for the last part of her speech.
The moment of truth.
“I want to thank you all for coming again, and I will leave you with the picture of my favorite memory from my days mentoring my little ponies.” Her horn glowed with its golden energy, casting a spell above her.
The air over the stage blurred as it was covered in a magical glow, and what was once air became a gateway into Celestia’s mind. She focused on one memory, the memory of having cake with Twilight when she was a little foal. The image became clear, Twilight’s cute face appearing in front of all the ponies in the room.
They awwed at the beautiful setting Celestia was showing them.
At the front of the crowd, a black stallion wickedly snickered as he tapped into his own power, flashing his eyes unnoticed. He delivered his instructions, commanding his blood to enact his will.
Celestia was still focused on channeling her sweet memory when she felt a sudden sharp pain. The pain was not physical, but it was immeasurable in intensity. All she felt was anger and rage within her body, receiving all the hurt of such negative emotions as they overwhelmed her.
With her concentration now broken, she could not defend against the assault. She gasped as her horn was grabbed hard by an invisible force. Her memory was shattered, and the force invaded her, forcing her magic to channel another memory. Her mind raced as she tried to understand what was happening, but then all was made clear as she heard his thoughts.
The truth shall be revealed…
Her horn defied her as it began building the image of the new memory. Realizing which one it was, she tried to fight it, attempting to resist the power Yogg-Saron had coursing through her spear of a horn.
It was pointless because the force she felt controlling her was inside her. His corrupted blood had collected at the base of her horn, blocking her control over it entirely. He used her own spell against her as he made his vision real.
The ponies looked on in confusion as the memory they were watching faded away, a new one taking its place. They saw a large stadium filled with screaming ponies.
“No,” Celestia could only mutter to herself over and over again. Her struggle was doing nothing but making her feel more defeated as she was made a puppet.
The room suddenly grew silent as a cold chill washed over it. The air was dry, like that of a frozen wasteland untouched by civilization for centuries. Everypony could hear the voice that spoke through the air itself.
“Your ruler deceives you…”
The voice shifted around the room, coming from no clear point. The ponies looked around, trying to find the one who spoke such words. As they looked, they only saw ponies doing the same thing they were, but no one was speaking.
“Her sins shall be revealed to all; her lies torn down. She is not the saint she claims to be; she only forces you to think of her as such.”
The crowd looked to their princess, who was practically quivering, her face looking beyond scared. This only made the onlookers think she was trying to hide something. The words of the voice filled their minds, repeating time after time as they felt influenced to believe them.
“Do not worry, her sinister ways shall be shown to you now. I will set you free…”
With his words, the image above the stage took effect. They saw as Celestia marched towards five ponies bound in stocks, their faces filled with utter fear.
They watched in horror as Celestia became a demon, floating into the air with eyes of fury. They watched as she called on her magic, bringing forth the power of the sun.
Celestia felt tears streaming down her face as she could feel what she was showing her poor ponies. Her most secret of memories was being put on display to the innocent ponies who had not seen somepony kill another their entire lives. The very idea of murder or killing was wicked to them, and they were watching her bring down the hammer.
The ballroom shook as the five ponies were ripped apart by Celestia’s wrath. Her rage devoured their flesh, consuming their very bodies with fire that left nothing of them but a charred area on the ground.
Some ponies broke into cries of disgust, others continued to stare in a form of shock, and others felt fear, fear of their motherly princess. Terror overtook all of them, their hearts seizing and pumping the emotion throughout their bodies as they felt instinct take over.
They saw a predator standing on the stage in front of them, and they knew only to flee. It did not matter that she was crying or looking at them with a look begging for them to let her explain, praying for them to stay.
In one combined scream, everypony broke into sprints. They ran with every ounce of energy they had to the ballroom doors, fleeing into Canterlot’s halls out of pure fear as the doors burst open.
Sorin let out his laughter, the sound of screams covering up his sound. He laughed and laughed, the sound of a wicked joy that was at the expense of Princess Celestia’s heart. His plan had come to fruition, and soon enough, every pony in Equestria would have heard of the murders Celestia committed. They would become a divided nation, and then he would make his move. With such a divided country, he would easily raze town after town, claiming them as his own. He would slaughter all who stood in his way, eventually devouring all of Canterlot as his last conquest before setting his sights on Equus itself…
The Elements were protected against the deception of Yogg-Saron, their connection to the Elements themselves shielding them from the power of his whispers. They saw Celestia punish criminals, not slaughter innocent ponies as everypony else saw.
They saw as chaos descended the Gala, ponies heading in every direction to escape the princess. Twilight, being so close to Celestia, began to sob as she saw her mentor’s expression. She was scared, terrified, and broken, not a murdering monster as she appeared to be.
The broken princess trotted away with her head hung low, leaving before things could possibly get any worse.
Just like that, her world had crumbled.
“Maybe she was being mind-controlled,” Pinkie Pie said without confidence, her mane having lost its balloon-like features while hanging down. She was not smiling now.
“Ah don’t think so, Pinkie,” Applejack responded, feeling her eyes get wet.
“I-it can’t be. S-she can’t be a… murderer,” Rainbow Dash barely got out.
Fluttershy was a trembling mess. She was lying on the floor, her mane covering her whole face as she tried to curl into a ball. No words could describe how she felt seeing those ponies getting killed like that.
They were all in disbelief of what they had just witnessed, but Twilight tried to remain strong, even as a small salty puddle formed beneath her.
“We have to bring everypony back here!”
“What for?” Rarity asked. “They all saw what we saw, and they ran away in fright. They aren’t coming back here willingly.”
Twilight’s face lit up. “Then we won't bring them willingly.”
“Are you alright, Twi?” Spike asked, placing a claw on her side.
“I have a clearer head than ever,” she answered. “Whatever that thing was that was talking to everypony made them run. We were immune to whatever effects it had, but we still heard it. We have to convince everypony that Celestia is still who they think she is.
“We need to make them see her for who she is and always has been.”
The others could see what Twilight was suggesting, but trying to convince the whole crowd would be difficult if not impossible, but they had to try.
“How will we get them back?” Rarity asked, taking the initiative.
“Well,” Twilight started, “I have an idea, but it’s gotta be done right now—before anypony gets too far away.”
The Elements nodded to the unicorn, all agreeing on what to do. Twilight herself didn’t know if she believed what she was saying, but she prayed she did. Otherwise, she would lose her mentor and teacher.
That thought drove her, giving her the will to do what she was about to do. Her horn became encased in its purple aura as she amplified a simple spell into something she had never done before.
She was able to see across all of Canterlot, spotting every pony who was still fleeing the castle. She grasped them with her magic, stopping them in their tracks as she grabbed more and more of them.
Sweat ran down her face as she performed the next part of her plan. She poured all of her mana reserves into one spell: a mass teleport.
Her horn shined like a star as purple light engulfed the room. She clenched her jaw tight, grinding her teeth together as she made the anchor for the teleport.
The Elements stepped back as runes formed on the ground in front of them, creating a circle almost the size of the ballroom. Then, in a blazing flash of white, Twilight brought everypony to the Gala.
Sorin had to cover his eyes as the spell took effect, and when he looked back, there was a massive crowd of ponies again. “How could she perform such magic all of a sudden?!” he sharply said to himself.
Before the confused ponies could escape again, Rarity magically locked all the doors in the room. Twilight went onto the stage where Celestia had just been, the crowd starting to realize what happened.
They saw the Elements, then finding Twilight Sparkle ready to address them.
“Everypony, I teleported you all here so we could talk about… what happened.”
“What’s there to talk about!” a stallion in the crowd shouted.
“Yeah, we saw Celestia murder five ponies!” another called out.
Shifting nervously, Twilight tried to think of what to say, finding her mind blank. All she could come up with was that Celestia could not have killed innocent ponies. She just knew she did not.
“We don’t know the whole story!” Twilight answered.
The crowd responded with roars of outrage, their minds set on what they saw.
“Are you stupid? We saw her burn them to dust.”
Twilight started to shrink, her plan coming apart more every second. How could she change the minds of so many ponies all by herself? She was Celestia’s student, and they would see that, deeming her biased. Her head lowered, and all she could hear were the cries of the ponies below her.
“She is a killer!”
“A scourge!”
“She is a monster!”
“She practically raised you; you can’t see her for what she is!”
“Maybe Nightmare Moon was right.”
“We all saw it; Celestia destroyed them!”
The truth was that she was not by herself because she felt five hooves on her, each of them a different color. She raised her head, looking back at the mares she called her closest friends. Just seeing them made her feel strong.
“Don’t worry, we got you,” Spike said, his voice providing comfort to Twilight as well.
The six mares and one dragon turned to the crowd, forming a line at the edge of the stage and standing tall.
“We stand with Twilight; Celestia isn’t what you think she is,” Rainbow Dash stated, the will of six ponies in her voice.
“How do you know?”
Spike went forward. “She has only shown me kindness. Never has she hurt me or treated me unfairly.”
“She knew you since birth, influencing you your entire life. You can’t speak for her!”
“While she has been there my whole life, I have known her for just as long.”
“It means nothing,”
It was Applejack’s turn to come forward. “Y’all know that Ah represent honesty, so when Ah tell you the princess is good, you gotta believe me.”
“She puts on a facade!”
“Please, calm down,” Rarity tried to reason. “You must see the situation for what it is, not how you feel.”
“Hypocrisy!”
“Princess Celestia was being manipulated to look bad!” Pinkie Pie shouted, somehow having an inkling of knowledge about the situation, but she did not know how the princess was being manipulated.
The crowd scoffed at the facetious pony.
“T-the princess has done nothing but h-help us. Why should we lose faith in her n-now?” Fluttershy managed to stammer out, the ponies barely hearing her. The vast amount of ponies intimidated her, but she had to stay strong for her friends. “J-just consider what we’re saying—if you want to.”
Twilight took the spotlight again, speaking on behalf of her friends.
“Everypony, what has Princess Celestia done to you to make you think she is evil?
“Has she ever hurt you or your family? Has she stolen from you? Has she hurt other ponies?”
The crowd did not say anything for once, none of them having something to say.
“Exactly. We cannot judge her based on this one event. Would you want a chance to explain yourself if you were seen doing something innocent but made you look bad?”
There were murmurs of acknowledgment around the room as it got quieter. The confidence of her words returned as she felt the ponies’ minds changing. She had to continue if she was to save the princess.
“Then why should we deny her the same chance? She has done nothing but help us, and we repay her by labeling her a cold-blooded killer. We have to let her explain.” She realized she was panting from all her shouting.
The room was completely silent as everypony thought about what Twilight had said. As they continued to think, their doubts in Celestia seemed to vanish as if they were never real to begin with. What they had seen did not prove she was ruthless, only that she did kill. They did not know why she did it.
Slowly, they all saw the light, casting aside their anger and feeling regret for treating their princess so horribly.
“What do we do now?” somepony called out from the crowd.
“Now,” Twilight started, “we bring Princess Celestia back.”
The moon lingered in the sky, blanketing the land with faint light. It was a full moon, and its light shone directly onto a weeping princess. Her cheeks were soaked from the tears that had run down them while she sat in solitude under the moonlight.
Her mane no longer flowed in the air as if being blown by an invisible wind. Instead, it hung low, sagging over her face and covering the ground. It had lost its normal color, now faded so much it looked gray all over. Her tail was the same as her mane in its depressing shades. Even her fur seemed to have lost part of its normal pristine shine.
The sound of labored sobbing echoed through the empty garden as Celestia cried. She tried to contain it as much as possible, but it was pointless as her cries only got louder over time.
She was lying on the stone pathway of ground, curled into the closest thing to a ball she could make herself into. Next to her were her horseshoes, chest piece, and crown. They seemed to have lost their constant magical glow now that they had been removed from her body.
At this moment, Celestia did not care she was out in the open and so exposed. She did not care if somepony could see her in her current condition, and she did not care if a mob of her subjects came and burned her at the stake, however unrealistic that sounded.
The sobbing ended for a moment, the princess sniffling a few times and wiping her eyes with her hooves in an attempt to dry them.
“Why?” she called out to no one. “Why?” she called again to the wind, needing someone or something to explain her situation—even Yogg-Saron. She was met with the sounds of birds chirping in the distance. She raised her head, looking up at her sister’s moon in search of answers.
“Maybe it’s just a dream. Yeah, it’s just a dream,” she lied to herself, providing no real solace or comfort.
She was untethered, lost in the storm of her sadness and regret. As she continued to stare at the moon, she remembered what had caused her pain. It was Yogg-Saron who showed her ponies that horrid memory. It was no coincidence he saw that dream last night and today it was being revealed to all.
“Why did you do this to me, monster?” she said between sobs, talking to the voice inside her head.
The one time she wanted him to speak, he stayed silent, taunting her and bringing out her anger. She stood up, looking nowhere in particular as she felt her sudden rage boil over. “Answer me!” she shouted. Answered again with silence, she slammed a hoof into the ground, cracking the stone below her into a thousand pieces.
“Answer me, dammit!” she screamed as loud as she could, her voice like broken thunder.
She looked down to her hoof, feeling a piece of stone stab into it. She saw a small puddle of her blood forming on the ground. It spread out incredibly fast, making a foot-wide circle. It suddenly turned black, causing Celestia to jolt back.
The puddle reflected the moonlight above it, shifting into a shiny liquid. She looked down at the puddle, seeing herself.
It was not her as she was now, though. Instead, there was the grinning version of herself from her dream, standing over Twilight.
She looked away from the mirror, feeling her hoof wet with something. She raised it, seeing blood smeared all over it. It looked exactly how it did in her dream when she broke Twilight’s legs.
She gasped, quickly cleaning her hoof with magic, only to find it still bloody. She put it down on the ground, her eyes drifting to the pool of blood again. She collapsed onto the ground, walls seeming to form around her in every direction. She covered her head, curling back into a ball. She did not know if it was her imagination or his voice, but she swore she heard mocking laughter from somewhere. It was faint, but it pierced her ears.
“I thought I was good.” She squeezed in tighter. “I have denied my want to kill for so long, hoping to look better, be better. I-I thought I was…”
Her anger had been overtaken by her sadness again as she cried. “I haven’t hurt my little ponies for centuries, not intentionally anyway, but they saw me. They saw me kill those ponies.” She broke into uncontrollable sniffles and wails.
“Why?” she muttered one last time.
Just then, she heard the faint sound of hoofsteps in the distance.
As they came closer and closer, they sounded more like a group of ponies. Celestia wondered if they were going to be the ones to put her down, and she was surprised to see the Elements when she looked up.
Coming out in front of them was Sorin.
“Et tu?” Celestia said to them while sniffling.
Sorin came forward, extending a hoof to her. “Princess, you look horrible,” he said warmly. Feeling the daggers his back was receiving from the Elements, he added, “Respectfully.”
When Celestia did not reach for his hoof, he lowered it back to the ground.
He could hear the Elements commenting to each other about the condition of their ruler, all of them worried for her health. He let out a gentle sigh as he unraveled the situation.
“We aren’t here to hurt you,” he said to the literal goddess.
“Maybe so, but you think I'm a killer,” she said, sounding worse than before.
“A killer you may be, but not a murderer.”
Her face lit up for a split second, her mane lifting from the ground before falling again.
“What’s the difference?” she deadpanned.
“The difference is that a soldier is a killer. They kill to protect their loved ones and their country.
“A murderer doesn’t.”
The Elements came to his side, gathered around the fallen princess.
“Besides,” Twilight started, “we don’t know the full story.” She laughed a little. “I remember plenty of times I had to explain to you what I was doing wasn’t actually bad when you thought it was.”
Celestia smiled at that. Her face lifted, looking around at the seven ponies and one dragon smiling kindly to her.
“I don’t understand,” she said, still lost as to why they came to her.
“What they are trying to say,” Sorin began, “what we are trying to say is that we don’t think you’re evil.”
“B-but you saw…”
“Tell us what we saw.”
It dawned on her that she was being given a chance to explain herself, to show that she was trying to be good. Sadly, it did not matter since even the Elements would not be able to hold the country together once news about her got out. At least she would have friends around her before she was forced out of the land she loved.
“But everypony saw. What about them?”
“As I said,” Sorin answered with a smile, “tell us what we saw.” As he finished, the bushes rustled loudly and ponies emerged from them. One by one, all the ponies from the Gala gathered and were standing behind the Elements. They all had encouraging expressions, willing to give Celestia a chance.
“How?” was all she could say.
Twilight beamed as she explained that she convinced everypony to let the princess explain herself.
A massive smile crept onto Celestia’s face as she radiated with gratitude. “Thank you, Twilight.” She stood up, her hair coming alive again in its radiant colors as she regained her stature. “Thank you all,” she said while looking at Twilight and her friends.
They walked backward, mixing in with the group of ponies watching the princess. Everypony began to listen intently to what she was going to say.
“Today you saw the day I regret most in my long life.”
“Those five ponies you saw were guilty of a long string of robberies within Equestria’s borders, and during one of their robberies, an innocent pony died. So, as a princess, it was my duty to punish them. This was a long time ago when my sister and I were more… harsh with wrongdoers.
“Because of their crimes, they were to be put to death.” Everypony took in a large gasp when they heard that. “Not only that, but they were to be put to death by the sun.
“I remember as they looked at me with the most haunting looks. All they wanted was mercy, but I burned them. While it was all within justice and was something I had done before, something seemed wrong. A few months later, my sister and I learned something about the five ponies.
“New evidence came to light that proved they were not the ones who killed that pony. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were responsible for the robberies and were still criminals, but they were killed for no reason. It’s my fault they never got to have foals…” she trailed off in conclusion, her tears returning.
Since she spilled her guts to them, and likely to every newspaper across the country, she decided to carry on with her story. So, with a quiet sniffle, she continued.
“I know you probably see me as a killer, but know that I fight it. From a young age, I was forced to violence, and it gave me a hunger for blood. I have been resisting it for centuries, trying to be good.
“I just wanted you all to know that. I hope you can forgive me…” She lowered her head again in shame, preparing for the onslaught.
Instead, she heard somepony say, “You are good, princess.” Another answered with, “We never should have doubted you.” More and more, the crowd gave her uplifting comments, her head rising with them.
The Elements came up to her, and they all put a hoof or claw on her.
“We see what you did, but we know that you have tried to be better—and you succeeded,” Twilight said.
The lessons Celestia had tried to teach her ponies had worked. They learned to forgive, to judge fairly, and to offer second chances. She smiled as she saw those lessons firsthoof at this moment. Her careful guidance had worked, and that warmed her heart. She felt herself again, the part of her filled with regret over that day fading away once and for all.
“Thank you so much, my little ponies. I will forever be grateful.”
“No need to thank us!” Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash shouted at the same time, making everypony laugh.
The dark mood lifted, and ponies started to go back inside to enjoy the little amount of the night left. They all headed back with the Elements, Princess Celestia following right behind them.
Alone in the garden, Sorin stood. The Elements had somehow pulled everyone from the sea of deception and convinced them Celestia was “good.” The ponies were more resistant than he predicted, lessons of kindness and forgiveness making them gullible.
He seethed, his anger cascading from him. While Sorin got closer to the princess, he failed to bring her down to nothing. If anything, he helped her forgive herself! His plan was supposed to remove one of his strongest enemies from the playing field, but he instead bolstered her position.
You may have escaped me for now Celestia, but I am still within you. I WILL bring down Equestria…
Stats
Page generated in 0.02 seconds
Total duration
666 users online
703,156 hits today, 1,996,409 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Yogg-Saron going for a power move only to be thwarted by not taking into account the Elements time to play the long game
So how did your evil plans get foiled?
"Forgiveness and willingness to give a second chance"
XD love it. Look forward to what haopens next
I hope the main 6 are ready for when yog-sarron gains his full power, also i wonder how discord is going to react to seeing a being above him since discord is a god but yog-sarron is an Old God which is technically more powerful in lore like lovecraft.
10994447
How are they gonna defeat something like that? I mean, Discord doesn't kill, but Yogg-Saron CAN!
10994484
and he WILL!
I can't imagine what the Celestia's doctor would think if she ever needed a blood draw now that it's black. Especially if the blood crawls out of the vial and back into Celestia.
10994699
Lmao! This has to be the funniest comment I’ve read in a long time