• Published 5th Apr 2013
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Convergence Series: Journeys - TheGreatEater



Twilight finds a spell that allows the main 6, Celestia, and Luna to take a journey to the depths of their soul and see what destiny really means.

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Chapter 12: Celestia: Fears pt. 2, Breaking Point

What scared her wasn’t that Twilight would fail. She knew that this wonderful, young, precious mare would succeed. She had placed all hopes and dreams onto her. No what she was scared of was that if she was open with Twilight, if she knew the truth that Nightmare Moon and her sister were the same being. That if she knew what Nightmare Moon had done. She would either hesitate and it would cost her, just as it had cost Celestia all those centuries ago. Or she would be enraged and would kill her. Leaving her all alone once more.




That night she had looked at the moon and talked to her sister as she did on occasion. She didn’t know if she was heard, but it eased the heart ache she lived with every night. The reminder of her greatest failure as a sister and a ruler. “Sister you’ll be free tomorrow. I know Twilight Sparkle will succeed where I have failed. I know you can never forgive me for what I’ve done to you, but we’ll be together soon. You’ll have so much to learn, so much to see, but I know you’ll love the modern age. People here actually love the night you know? I told you about that right? About the Clubs, Bars, and night life? I can’t wait to see you again, I love you so much.” She said as tears threatened to come. But she couldn’t cry, couldn’t show weakness. Everyone was counting on her to be strong.




Celestia remembered that this was a memory, and if it was anything like before it was going to be merged with a fear. But she knew that she didn’t have to worry about her sister dying. She did everything to keep Twilight in the dark for her sisters protection.




She was prepared for what happened next, an inner sigh of relief that she didn’t have to worry about her sister dying. She was prepared for that, and for once in this Faust forsaken trip down memory lane she wasn’t going to be caught off guard. So she waited for when she was going to be captured by Nightmare Moon.




As the cloud of dark power swirled around her and chained her within the catacomb underneath the Two Sister’s Castle in the Everfree Forest. Nightmare Moon appearing before her as she did the last time to gloat, but this time Celestia looked at her with pure conviction written on her face, “Nightmare Moon, I know how this is going to play out and you will loose and my sister will be returned to me.”




Nightmare Moon looked at her and gave a grin that reached from ear to ear. Leaning into Celestia she whispered with her two toned voice laced with glee, “You forget dear sister, while you were the only one able to beat me at chess. We tied in actual war, and I had a thousand years of planning. I have seen your precious protege, she talked to the moon a lot as a filly you know. I know that she lacks the skill to fight me, I’ll leave you with a mirror that will allow you to see the outside world.”




Leaving the enchanted mirror behind she left for Ponyville. Celestia was grinning knowing that even though this was supposed to be her fear, she was going to see her sister live. She was finally going to be free of this Faust damned nightmare. She finally came to herself when she noticed that Twilight and the others were entering the Everfree Forest. As they came to their first test Celestia let a smile play across her face.




She watched as the cliff fell, Fluttershy grabbed Rarity and Rainbow Dash grabbed Pinkie Pie. Her smug grin turned into a look of terror though as just as Apple Jack grabbed Twilight a black cloud of energy grabbed Twilight Sparkle tossing her. The two pegasi went to grab her but a large updraft of wind came out of nowhere throwing them back as Twilight bounced and rolled down the hill. Her body broken and bloody, the other 5 screamed her name as the rushed to her.




Twilight looked at them through the blood falling down her face, “Hi girls, I’m so sorry for dragging you all into this. It was a mistake, can you forgive me?”




“Of course sugarcube. Just rest and we’ll get you out of here.” Apple Jack said compassionately, just as they heard a blood curling roar.




From ahead of them a rampaging Manticore came rushing at them, it ran into the group, it grabbed ahold of Pinkie Pie first it’s fangs grabbing into her succulent throat as a scream ripped through her mouth. As she was being viciously mauled she managed to yell at them to run. Which in panic Rainbow Dash, Apple Jack, and Rarity managed to do. Fluttershy, not the bravest of ponies on a good day was petrified at not only what she saw as an horrible accident to Twilight, but also the gruesome death of Pinkie Pie was enough to break her mind. She stood their staring at the scene unfolding before her as the Manitcore turned its ravenous attention to her.




Celestia looked on in terror as she saw the events through her mirror, “No this isn’t real! This isn’t how things went!”




“Oh you silly filly! I think someone needs some guests to make this more real for you.” Celestia heard Nightmare Moon’s disembodied voice say as the bodies of Twilight, Pinkie Pie and the mangled body of Fluttershy dropped in front of her. Fluttershy looked at Celestia, tears mingled with gore as her one remaining, swollen eye looked at her.




“Why didn’t you save us? Why did you allow this to happen to us, Princess?” her soft voice coming out as a gurgled whisper.




“I didn’t mean for this to happen, you were all supposed to win.” She cried. Weeping openly now that this twist of memories and nightmares had fully broken what mental armor she had built up over the millenia.




“Dear sister, don’t you think your forgetting the others?”




“No please don’t! I’ll do what ever you want, just please stop this!”




“Ah! Ah! Ah! You put me on the moon for a thousand years, then sent your little goons after me to do mean things to me. I think a lesson is still in order.” Nightmare Moon said as the others ran out of the forest, coming to the river that was being ruined by a sea serpent.




Under normal circumstances Rarity would have noticed the ruined mustache of the Sea Serpent and would have been more than willing to help, but with the death of the others she was to distraught and was running on pure instinct and will to live. She looked at the others and yelled at Rainbow Dash to fly them across. Being the Element of Generosity, she told her to get Apple Jack over first before the Manticore could get to them.




In a paniced rush she flew Apple Jack over, but just as with Twilight, when she grabbed ahold of Rarity a force ripped her out of her hooves, just as she was halfway over the river. The churning body of the serpent quickly grabbing her and dragging her violently under. The water turning red as the body was repeatedly bashed onto the gravel below. Rainbow Dash fell onto Apple Jack’s shoulder weeping into her mane at the death of yet another friend. It was Apple Jack who told her that they needed to run, find a way out of the Celestia forsaken forest.




“Alright Celestia, you said that those little foals would win, but there are only two left. I think I’ll let you choose who will win?” Nightmare Moon said as she deposited Rarity’s body on top of Fluttershy’s rapidly cooling body.




“I can’t.” Celestia said before rocking back and forth crying that she was ‘so sorry’ to the bodies before her.




“Check and Mate dear sister. Now what to do with the other two. What will prolong your suffering?” She mused, chuckling darkly.




Celestia looked at her pleadingly, “Please just let them live, and you can do what ever you want to me.”




“If only you were this easy to break last time. Well no matter, I’ll let them live, although I think everypony has something to say to you.”




A weeping Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash sat huddled into each others forehooves. They looked at Celestia when Nightmare Moon appeared as a pair of glowing eyes in the middle of a black fog with a grinning fanged mouth, behind them.




“Everyone alive and dead, this mare before you, your precious, princess of the sun has something to tell you.”




“Everypony, this is all my fault. All my fault, this wasn’t supposed to happen. You all were supposed to succeed.” She wept, the collar around her neck feeling as if it had become the weight of the world, as her tear streaked face fell to the ground.




Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash had a look of pure malice as they rushed up to her screaming simultaneously, “Well we didn’t did we!?”




Looking even more crestfallen then she did know she whispered, “No, no you didn’t and I’m so sorry.”




“Don’t tell us, tell them.” Rainbow Dash said pointing her hoof at the pile of cadavers, laying just before Celestia.




“Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and you my dearest Twilight, I’m so sorry that you died. Not like this.”




The body of Twilight rose from the ground her recently deceased body looking at her, “Celestia, I want you too know that I’ve always secretly loathed you.”




“Twilight would never think that!” Celestia yelled, a part of her mind remembering this was her greatest fears, not reality before Twilight nailed the hammers into Celestia’s mental coffin.




“Really, why not? You never prepared me for Nightmare Moon, you never told me what I was going up against! You kept me around to make yourself more ponyized to the public. You never trusted me with your secrets, with what horrors lurked around the corner. You knew how much you meant to me, but made me feel as if I was never good enough for you. Always kept me at hoofs length.




Then you have the gall to say that you love me. After making me suffer since I was old enough to know what love is, you say you knew. You knew and made me make the first move. Driving myself into a near nervous wreck. I hate you, as much as I loved you and I’m glad that I’m dead because now you can’t use me for your twisted games. Bye and I hope your as miserable as you secretly made me.” With that Twilight faded into nothing and so did Celestia’s heart. Her mane and tale fell flat, its ethereal flow stopping leaving behind a pale pink. Her coat of once pure white grayed slightly.




******************




It felt like years later after that, she had fallen into a depression that was worse than when she had lost her sister to Nightmare Moon and had to be sent to the moon. She watched with steadily growing sorrow as she saw the world around her dying. With no sun the plants died, with that the ponies and one time herbivores turned to cannibalism and meat eating to survive. She watched the passing of life and knew she was powerless to stop it. In this depressed funk she let herself flow into the depths of her minds to happier memories. When a memory resurfaced that she had long since forgotten. She had gone into a spell that would take them through their worst fears, the only way out was perseverance, the next was her darker self, she needed to use forgiveness and acceptance. All she needed to do was persevere.




Coming out of her funk she looked around here and said, “I remember know. This is all fake, a twist of memories and fears. I know none of this is real, I won’t let this hold me back anymore.”




As she said this the rotting bodies around her disappeared and the entrances fog wrapped around her. As it passed she saw she was in a hallway, looking behind her she saw others behind her, and she saw a few in the room ahead. She collapsed where she was, emotionally and mentally drained. She was still broken from all the horrors she was made to look at, adding in the twist of the last two things had ripped away her mental armor and opened her old wounds.

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