Confession in a Canterlot Statuary

by Daffodil

Necessary

It is almost evening when I arrive. The sun is setting on the horizon. There was much that needed to be done to guarantee my trip here would go unnoticed, but it is worth it. I need this. Just this once. One final confession.

I gaze up at you in admiration. Even with the life in your eyes gone and your flesh nothing but cold, unmoving stone, you are still a sight to behold. Toned muscles almost rippling with raw strength; wings spread, as if about to take flight. You look as if you could come alive at any moment, though I know that is impossible. If the other statues in this garden could feel anything at all, I would imagine envy to be their only emotion. After all, who could feel anything else when in the presence of such physical perfection?

But simple admiration is not why I am here tonight. There is one thing about you that keeps me awake. One image that has ensured my inability to live my life free -- until today. Your face, and that horrid look of absolute terror. No, not terror -- scorn. Hatred. As if you are looking to me and asking “Why? Why me?” As if you do not understand what you had done to deserve such a fate. For all I know this may be one of your paltry tricks, but if it is, it’s working. So here is the answer you seek:

We were entrusted with guaranteeing the safety of Equestria -- at any cost. As bearers of the Elements of Harmony, we understood that sacrifices were necessary to guarantee peace, and we were more than willing to make those sacrifices ourselves. Oh, it was easy the first few times: we were young. Then it was nothing but wide-eyed adventuring and that feeling of calm when you think -- no, know -- you’ve done the right thing. But it was not always that easy. We had to make choices. Difficult choices. But again, we knew, these sacrifices were necessary. What good was one more Wonderbolt or a fashion designer if Equestria fell? Is a library worth the lives of thousands of ponies? Is a family?

So we made the sacrifices. Don’t you ever think we didn’t.

But then, you. You were not content to stay put. No, you began to feel something I don’t think you’d felt in your entire life. You began to feel fear. True, mortal fear. You saw what we were capable of. You saw that we were willing to make the sacrifices necessary to keep this world safe. So you began to search. You began to look for six more ponies. And you found them.

When I’d first heard, it was almost funny. You were trying to recreate us. An athlete. An artist. A performer. A chef. Some loud, some quiet. Two earth ponies, two unicorns, and two pegasi. They were young, like we were.You told them they were special. You told them you could give them power -- power to do what they had always wanted to do. Power to change the world. You told them they were doing the right thing, and they believed you. You did not tell them what they would have to give up, but they never questioned. You used them. You lied to them. And I would not allow that fate to befall anypony else.

So I gathered the others. We spent days discussing the best course of action. There were arguments, of course. Friends threatened friends. Old grudges came back to the surface, only to be buried again under the weight of our current situation. Some begged, others tried to bargain. But behind all the posturing, we knew what needed to be done. We all did. And we all felt sorrow when the final decision was made. But I don’t think any of them felt sorrow the same as I. For to them, you were an enemy. Another obstacle that needed to be overcome. To me you were more than that. You were a friend. You were a lover.

Oh, how I wish you could have seen things our way! How I wish this could have been different! You don’t know. You can’t. I spend every waking moment wishing there was another way. But you would not change. Too stuck in your ways, too convinced of your own morality. I could not let you do it again, even if it meant giving up the one thing that meant the most to me in this world.

It was not difficult convincing the public to support us. You would be proud, knowing how much faith they had. So when the day finally came, we met with no resistance. When we approached you, and it became apparent to you what our plan was, you stood there and gave us -- gave me -- that look. That same look that has haunted my dreams. That same look that I have seen every time I’ve closed my eyes for the last ten years. “Why?”

And yet here you are, still with the same expression. Still questioning. Still so sure that you were doing the right thing, even when it was so apparent you had lost. Even after hearing all I’ve said, you will not see things our way. You still don’t understand the pain we’ve been through -- I’ve been through -- to reach this point. It’s clear, then, that you never will.

It’s getting late. The others will be wondering where I am. Tomorrow morning I will issue the order to have you removed from the garden. After that, you will be destroyed. Equestria has moved on. In a few years, you will be nothing but a bad memory to them.

To me, you will always be a reminder of why I continue to live. A voice in the back of my mind, urging me to continue fighting, whatever the cost. A memory of what could have been, but will never be again. Another necessary sacrifice.

Goodbye, Princess.

Comments

[Daffodil]

So after a long day of doing absolutely nothing my brain was like "Hey, you should write a dramatic monologue."

And I did.

[BurnNote]

Well, I liked it.
And now I'll be imagening all sorts of backstorys.

[Cynewulf]

As far as your ability as a writer-- I'm moderately impressed. Pathos is not a problem for you. You don't overdo it, and yet it still packs the punch you require from it. The emotional aspect is solid.

However.... hm. This feels incomplete. I do get the idea that this is more a bit of personal reflection than anything else, but even as that, this is all a bit unfinished feeling.

That being said, I still enjoyed it. Upvote despite the problems I have. Not too bad.

(up the Solar Empire btws.)

[cloudedguardian]

Sooooooo-
Where's the rest of it?
Like, this obviously has a truck-load of backstory...Where is it?

[Obsidian]

Wow... Celestia goes and tries to supplant the Mane 6, they in return stone her, then later simply destroy her? Interesting, but rather left-field, even with your Twilight's diatribe.

[Daffodil]

1487362 1487364
I totally get where you're coming from, though I don't know if there's much I can do to fix it. The details of the backstory are left intentionally vague to give the reader something to chew on -- I'm not the biggest fan of stories explicitly stating everything. My intent was to give the reader a brief glimpse into this pseudo-headcanon-future viewed through Twilight's eyes and use the little hints she drops to put together the rest of the story. That said, if you feel that wasn't clear, I've done something wrong as an author. My one fear is that if I expand this, the impact at the end will be lost and it'll become just another "lol da eoh are evil" story.

[cloudedguardian]

1488068
Rather than 'The Elements have gone evil" I took it as yet another "Dictator Celestia"/Rise of the Lunar Republic, if for no other reason than I had seen a very interesting and thought out Lunar Republic VS. Celestia video not too long ago.
It's a very interesting idea, as I was sure it was either Tia talking to Discord, or Twilight challenging him about the Elements of chaos, so when i hit that last line it was a complete "WTF" moment that had me scrolling back and trying to figure it out.
Either way, I found it worth the time to read, whether Mind Screw or Dramatic Monologue XD

[JollieOllieOxenFree]

THE END HAD ME LIKE DERRRRRRRRRR . SORRY MY "ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE" BUTTON IS STUCK

[An Unimpressive]

Eh... I get what you were aiming for, but I don't really think it hit as hard as it could've. After a certain point, the ambiguity became a distraction, I feel.

[Benman]

You know, at first I thought that the mix of first and second person couldn't possibly work, but by the end I wasn't even noticing it. Nice work, there.

Still, I'm gonna have to echo everyone else—this is most of a really good story, but there's something missing. Specifically, I think it's missing a conflict. By the end, nothing has changed. Twilight hasn't made any decisions or come to terms with anything. You tell us about the cool stuff that happened before, but don't show us any cool stuff happening now. Maybe you could've made this a story about Twilight struggling with the decision to destroy the statue, or maybe you could've changed the frame entirely and set it during the big confrontation? Something like that would let us feel the conflict, whereas now we're just hearing Twilight describe it.

[PresentPerfect]

>mfw Daffodil writes fic

I liked this. I've seen a lot of stories of a similar vein, but this one packs a little extra something that I think works. I was somewhat disappointed that I figured out the identity of the statue -- first thinking it was Discord, then one of the Elements, then realizing the truth about halfway through -- but that disappeared when, at the end, I realized I couldn't be sure of the identity of the narrator. You say it's Twilight in the comments, but I think this could also be the Element of Magic from before Twilight. (Right?) And that is very clever.

[fewfre]

2246379
I agree, I like the ambiguity to the identity of the narrator. Even by the end, I was not confident it if was Twilight, or rather her predecessor.

While at parts I felt the story was a bit to vague / missed "something" (as mentioned by others), I really enjoyed this story, as it leaves much to the imagination to the reader, while providing a solid conclusion.

[horizon]

Here via 2246379's latest recommendation blog. (PP y u reread this a year later)

Daaang. I missed the hints pointing to the ending twist and had to reread it after hitting that last line. Well constructed.

I probably should have twigged to it with the "lovers" reference, given that the character icon on the story description was something of a meta-spoiler, but making imitation Elements and promising them power just sounds so much like a plausible Discord thing to do.

I'll disagree with 1637898; this has no conflict arc, but I think it works as is, for similar reasons to Cold in Gardez' Lost Cities. It's painting a picture of a moment in time: the conflicts that came before and the emotions that those created.

[PresentPerfect]

3903067
Because I needed to read something of Daff's even though he left the fandom yonks ago. :B

[Loganberry]

You haven't been around for a million years, but in case anyone else passes by, I reviewed this and rather enjoyed it. Fun trying to work out who's narrating.