Precedent
---
A heavy silence.
“…Pet… Pet was Dazz-“
“No.” A rough sound, bordered in a sigh. “No, she… she was somepony else. Too old, too… it wasn’t her. Apparently, she thought matching colours with Dazzle would be a nice birthday present.” A wet laugh. “They just… didn’t get around to changing them again, when I was captured.”
“Broken, I-“
“Miss Twilight- er, if I may…” A glance between the stallions. A nod. “Miss Twilight, Princess Dazzle… died, in the same incident that allowed Dawn to recapture Shining Armor.” A small pause. “I-in point of fact, the official claim was that Shining Armor himself had-“
A flat voice. “Dawn told everypony that I’d done it. She told me, halfway dead from that Faust-damned bomb, that I’d killed my own daughter.”
“…oh.”
A heavier silence.
“No.” A smaller voice, previously silent. “That doesn’t… why would you do that?! How could anypony believe that you did?!”
“Sir Spike, Princess Dazzle had spoken out against her father’s violent resistance several hours prior to her death. It was explained that, given Shining’s insanity and his hatred for Dawn and the Revolution, her speech had blinded him to reason and caused him to believe that she was not truly the Princess – that she was either an impostor, or under Compulsion.” An inhalation. “In hindsight, a weak excuse, but Dawn’s word and Shining’s status were such that none questioned it.”
“But… but-“
A hoarse voice. “There was a bit of a precedent that she played along with it. Your death made my sister start the Revolution. Apple Bloom’s and Sweetie Belle’s fractured the Elements. Pip’s parents led to his killing Luna. not just capture her. Luna’s made Celestia destroy Appleloosa and Manehatten. My wife’s made me want to kill the mare my sister had become. If I thought that I’d lost Dazzle … who knows what I’d do?” A shattered smile, then a hidden head. “I’m not entirely sure she was wrong, at that…”
Once more, a silence.
“Celestia destroyed Manehatten and Appleloosa?” Two heads turned, a third shaking. “Wait, no, that’s not important right now. Buck, I’m sorry, Broken-“
“No.” A quick breath. “No, you need to know. Celestia wanted everything, right? This is important.”
“But you were-“
“Please, Twilight.”
“…it’s your call, Broken.”
---
Shining Armor stepped lightly into the remnants of Luna’s rooms, making little sound even as he placed a barrier around the doorway. The Princess didn’t appear to notice him; she sat on what was left of the carpet, staring out of the gaping hole left by the dragon’s claw. Several pebbles rolled down past her as Shining moved forward, skidding down the incline that the floor had broken in half to form. Celestia remained still even as he stepped up beside her, and Shining noticed with an icy lance through his stomach that her hooves – and parts of her wings – were still caked in blood.
The two stayed in silence for some time, watching the sun slowly rise. Only when it reached its pinnacle did the Princess speak.
“Give me your report, Captain.”
“M-my report, Princess?” Shining blinked, looking the alicorn in the eye for a moment before he realized she’d turned her head to face him. She gave him a smile, a genuine, serene smile, and her eyes were dead above it.
“Of course, Captain. That is what I called you here for.”
Shining had been called by castle staff after Celestia had left her chambers for the first time in three weeks. He glanced at her again, but she wasn’t looking towards him anymore.
“Oh. Erm, yes, of course, Princess. My apologies.” Shining coughed. “There was a small insurrection in Vanhoover, but we managed to put it down quickly. The rebels seem to have lost momentum; Twilight hasn’t assaulted any towns, and we’ve managed to get several back under control. Including Dodge Junction, in fact, which should give us an inroad to an assault on Appleloosa.”
“Truly wonderful news.” Her voice was still soft, level, toneless.
“Er, yes, it is-“
“What of your meeting with the rebel leaders in Manehatten?”
The lance of ice ripped up from Shining’s belly to his brain. “The… the meeting, your Highness?”
“Come now, Shining. You must have just gotten back, I cannot imagine that you’ve forgotten so quickly. Did Twilight respond to Cadance’s pleas?”
Shining hadn’t forgotten. Twilight had sat while Cadance talked to her, and while Luna had Voiced at her. Then she’d held a hoof up, the room exploded in green flame, and every local guardspony present started trying to kill them. By the time they’d gotten to the streets, half of his force was dead and half of Manehatten was on fire. They’d fled, and Twilight – her monster - had followed.
Shining took a slow step towards the doorway, strengthening the barrier over it.
“Are… are you feeling well, Princess?”
“Of course, Shining. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Prin-“
“This is a lovely little area, I must say.” Celestia had moved her head, turning to cast her eyes over the destroyed room. Her voice remained as it was, her eyes as they were, her smile never faltering. “Such a nice view. I’m surprised I’ve never seen it before.” She exhaled. “Luna would love this view at night.”
“I- I’m sure she would. Princess.” Shining nodded slowly, his voice careful.
Celestia blinked, for the first time that Shining had seen, but her eyes stayed dull as they turned to him.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I interrupted you. What is the status of Manehatten?”
Shining stared at the alicorn. “It… it’s under rebel control, unfortunately, your Highness. We were… unable to negotiate for peace.”
“I see.” Celestia said, her voice unchanged. There were several seconds of silence before she spoke again. “There aren’t any guardsponies left loyal to my rule?”
“N-none that we’re aware of, your Highness.”
“Hmm.” Celestia put her eyes back out over the landscape. “And Appleloosa is entirely rebel-controlled as well?”
Shining was about to respond when there was a sudden darkness; he glanced up, squinting, watching as the sun emerged from behind a cloud. It seemed… different. Too dark, a sunset’s orange at noon. He blinked several times and shook his head, putting his eyes back towards Celestia.
“Yes, your Highness.” Shining took a breath. “Princess, are you certain that you’re alright?”
Celestia turned to look at him again, and he saw a flicker of something behind her eyes. When she spoke, her voice crawled, dragging something wet behind it.
“Oh, yes, Shining. I’m perfectly fine.” She turned back to the landscape, leaning forward, spreading her wings slightly. “I think I can see Appleloosa from here.”
Then the world went dark.
Shining brought his foreleg to cover his eyes as Celestia’s horn gained an instant radiance, bright enough to completely obscure the alicorn. Past his cannon and through the glare, he could see into the sky again; it was dark enough to see the stars, a purple-with-blue-spots background to a red sun. A roaring took up in Shining’s hearing, then over it an inequine wail like nothing he’d heard before.
From the red sun emerged two white lines, each three times its breadth, too bright to actually see beyond the wide V-shaped afterimage they seared behind Shining’s eyelids. He screwed his eyes shut and glanced away, throwing his hooves to his ears and his head to the floor as the shriek grew, louder and louder until it suddenly cut, small whispers marking the scream’s death. The roar crescendoed seconds later, maintaining its dull volume for several seconds before gradually fading. Shining glanced up through narrowed, stinging eyes, finding Celestia still sitting, looking out over Equestria, her gaze for the first time focussed on a single point. What was left of the carpet was being eaten by small cords of flame, but Shining’s attention was more occupied with the same view that Celestia’s was.
One of the white lines had gone on past Shining’s sight, out on an angle behind Canterlot; despite its disappearance, Shining could see a residue of it, a flat path of sky a slightly different shade than its surroundings. The other had gone straight south, its path curving downwards until it met the horizon. There, a vibrant pillar was shooting back into the sky, blasting wide holes into the clouds above it. The pillar shrank as Shining watched, becoming hair-thin before simply fading away. The area under it still shone, however; from it, a gigantic plume of ash and earth, interlaced with bursts of orange flames, rose to replace the solar ray.
Shining could feel the doorway barrier drop as his mind struggled to comprehend the scene in front of him. Celestia stood and turned to face him, her visage still serene despite what she’d done.
“Yes, I do believe that my sister would like this view.” The alicorn walked casually past Shining, stopping at the doorframe. “If it slips my mind, Captain, be sure to remind her to come here after she raises the moon this evening.”
Before Shining could respond, could hear her, could devote enough mental processes to recognize exactly what was wrong with her request, the Princess had gone.
---
Broken took a heavy breath, making the only noise of the group in doing so. He seemed to be watching Twilight, but when she didn’t move, he continued.
“There was a… about a month, between then and Canterlot’s fall. Everypony was… there were mass rebellions in every city and town with a name. Half of the Canterlot Guard resigned, half the Equestrian Guard, nearly the entire castle staff stopped coming in. Celestia didn’t notice, kept going like… like everything was normal, which only made the situation worse.” A swallow. “On the other hoof, the Inquisition evapourated overnight, so…” He laughed, weakly, before continuing.
“I had to look up the millennial histories to figure out what she did. A ‘solar flare’, the same kind that she used to weaken Nightmare Moon enough to send her to the moon. Taking a portion of the sun’s energy and bringing it down to Equestria. Enough force to turn Manehatten into a bay and the sand twenty kilometres from Appleloosa to molten glass.
“If I had known she was… if I’d known that she was going to, was able to, do something like that, I would have taken precautions. Put a shield over the hole instead of the door. A lock on her horn. More guards with me. More guards with Luna. Not allowed her to castrate Labores Solis when Luna returned. Something-“ his voice caught “-something that might have caught her up, even if only for a second, or stopped her from getting to that point at all. Then, then I wouldn’t have sent Cadance and Dazzle away, I could have kept them there, I could have protected them-”
Broken took several heavy breaths, his eye darting wildly around. It fell on Twilight as she stood; the mare slowly walked up to him, keeping his eye locked to hers. When she reached the stallion, she simply stared at him for a few moments before raising a hoof and putting it on his shoulder.
“You did everything you could, Broken.”
The stallion stared at her for a few seconds before he barked a laugh. He grabbed her hoof and shifted it off of him, shaking himself before taking several steps away.
“I think we’ve been out here long enough.” Broken turned to face Twilight. “If I’m going to keep going with Pet, I want to do it where everypony else can hear. Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack… everypony.”
Twilight gave him a somewhat confused stare. “Er, I’m not exactly complaining, but… why?”
The stallion gave an almost amused grin. “Come on now, Twilight.” he said, glancing between her, Spike, and Pip. “Wouldn’t you want to hear, first-hoof, how you died?”
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Damn, so Celestia nuked Appleloosa and Manehattan.
The grammer...
Maybe it's time for this to die?
4519795 *grammar
I suppose you mean "Wouldn't you want to hear", although that construction seems a bit off to my ears. I would have gone with either "Wouldn't you like to hear" or "Don't you want to hear", but that might just be me.
4519815
Lelelele, yeah. I wasn't serious.
4519795
4519891
Bleh, the joys of writing at 1:30am. I'll grab it.
Good job with this chapter. I can't wait to hear, who is Pet though.
Interesting to see how Celestia descends into madness, still thinking she's in the right. Who can blame those guards for abandoning her after committing genocide? I mean, sure those cities were occupied by rebels but there must've been a lot of foals there too, who had nothing to do with this whole business. What else did she do before Twilight put her out of her misery?
And what does Broken mean by 'how Twilight died'? I thought Dawn was alive in his universe? Did I miss something? Do I need to read the whole story again? I want to but I have work tomorrow
4522520 So I'm not the only one, good.
4522520
That was pretty much the pinnacle of the not-really-good things that she'd within the story's time (a period spanning from the first flashback to her death). Can't really say exactly what happened between that and her overthrow because it might still be written in-story, but she doesn't start just vapourizing towns for the heck of it.
As for your and 4523733 's confusion, Broken was saying that what happened with Pet was related to how the others died in his timeline - he wants them hear what happened directly from him because he thinks they'd prefer a first-hoof account (that is, what happened as told by somepony who was there) rather than have the events relayed to them by Twilight. This is supposed to be somewhat surprising to Twilight (and the reader) because his previous wording (the "Everypony in this room is dead" speech when he revealed that the timelines that had gone over to Dawn were being destroyed) was meant to imply that they had died alongside everypony else when their timeline collapsed; Broken's specific knowledge that they'd died in Pet-related events implies that they'd died before Broken jumped from his timeline, and thus before the timeline had collapsed. Dawn herself is a Schrodinger's Pony to Broken; he's not sure exactly whether she was alive or dead when he jumped.
...I'm realizing that this confusion may be remediable by the addition of emphasis on "you" (which should change the meaning from "I'll tell you how you died if you come with me" to "I'm going to be talking about their deaths, and I'm pretty sure that you'd want to hear what happened if I was talking about your death, so I'm assuming that they're going to want the same thing.") I'll go do that.
This confuses me, because it appears to be untrue.
As evidenced in the following places:
Now, that one I almost chalked up to just Celestia being insane, but nope! It's directly supported by Broken later on!
Plus, the fact that Shining confirms that he just got back from a meeting in Manehatten, where Luna had been present.
Honestly, I have no idea what happened. Was Luna dead when Celestia destroyed those places? If not, then why was her room destroyed? Shining just got back from a diplomatic mission with Luna, and I know that she didn't die on that mission, so where was she?
I don't understand anything!
4528254
Ergh, this was probably unclear. Luna died three weeks prior to Manehatten's destruction, hence why Shining was disturbed that Celestia "still had blood on her hooves and wings" (from holding the body, as he mentioned her doing after Pip's detail on killing Luna). Labores Solis had been largely dismantled after Luna returned from the moon, and Broken was thinking that extra guards may have helped stop Pip or been able to get Luna away from the rebel attack - there had been only two, and one of them was a traitor that directly prevented the other from grabbing the colt and/or possibly providing medical attention to the Princess.
Shining didn't actually agree that he'd just gotten back - he went along with Celestia's question on Manehatten because he wasn't exactly sure what the buck was going on and didn't want to risk antagonizing her - but he did ask her, several times, if she was alright, and made the barrier around the door stronger when her lack of mental stability became more apparent. He didn't directly, actively, contradict her because he was more worried about her apparently continued breakdown over Luna's death - which manifested in a manner that he hadn't expected or prepared for.
4529827
Ah, that explains everything. Thanks!
Afraid I forgot what Labores Solis is
4587644
The order that the Captain of the Guard can give that shifts control of Equestria away from the Princesses as well as effectively placing them under arrest (for a certain amount of time, typically ~24 hours) if they're acting in a manner that will severely harm themselves or Equestria. Basically something Celestia set up after Nightmare Moon to help keep her own (potential) powermadness in check.
Hoping to read more of this soon
5103335
No I don't think any come close to it, but the longest story here is longer. I think it is diaries of a madman.
5104130
Yeah, I was reading that at one point, but I stopped because it just seemed too masochistic to read further :P
I might try again another time, but for now I'll just stick to FoE:PH. Diaries is just... something.
EDIT
Just checked, Diaries is 1.7 million, PH is only 1.47 million? I thought it was larger than that...
It's not counting the newest chapter, but still...
Man, if only The End of Ponies would update faster. I reckon it'd rival them both by the time it finishes.
5104881 I wish that would update, but I don't think it will anytime soon.