> Death of a Princess
>  by 576-Belligerent-Coil
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Or, A Brief  History of Equestria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am dying. It pains me greatly to admit it freely, but I feel the need to record all of this in the hope that some day, when Equestria is ready, the truth will be revealed. By the time this scroll is found, though, I will have long since passed away. I will be gone, but I know that I’ll not be forgotten. In time, I will explain all of this to you. But to know why all of this is happening, you must first know the history of the alicorns… of my people.

A proper story is supposed to start at the beginning. But the beginning of this story is pain, and horror, and confusion. This world was born in turmoil. The alicorns were not born of this world, but made incarnate in the universe as fragments of some higher power, banished from its ethereal plane of existence. We were legion, one broken soul shackled to a thousand physical forms. Lost and afraid, we created a world on which we could thrive. As we took our first unsure steps onto the newly-birthed land, the camaraderie we’d known in the Void ebbed away. The spirit we shared begged for harmony, but we found ourselves growing apart.

Celestia found her thoughts wandering back to the first days of the alicorns. A time before time, before days. Back then, the alicorns were almost formless. If someone were to gaze upon them from this time period, they would see a glowing white shape that had hints of what might be a pony. A body, four legs, wings, a head, a horn… a flowing mane and tail. Unlike Celestia’s current hair, however, the proto-alicorns’ mane looked like a white sheet held to the sun, glowing from the power bridled in their bodies. Also unlike her more developed body, their old forms lacked any kind of face, save two luminescent holes where their eyes should be. Though it was basic, Celestia fondly remembered the form she shared with her sisters in that time. Utilitarian, especially compared to the elegant body she’d grown used to over these long years. She examined her perfectly-preened wing feathers. A breeze gently pressed against her outstretched wing, and a small patch of skin peeled away, fluttering away on the wind with the leaves shaken from the trees. Celestia grimaced as blood dripped down her majestic wing. She turned back to her parchment. She didn’t have much time.

As the years passed, we grew distinct. Each of us had personalities, biases, opinions. As our personalities changed, so did our bodies. We came to know each other’s appearances and respond in kind. In time, each of us took a name. I became known as Celestia, and my sister, as you may know, became Luna. We were the closest of all the alicorns. Others joked that while we all shared a spirit, Luna and I shared a soul. In time, they would be proven right. In no other case did this show so clearly as when the alicorns found the frail, fledgling race of ponies inhabiting our world. These ponies were weak, pathetic creatures, incapable even of speech. While this made the other alicorns look down on them as unfortunate side effects of the hasty creation of our world, Luna and I saw them as our children, our responsibility. And we vowed to do anything in our power to protect them. We argued that while the alicorns were the creators of this world, the ponies would be the ones to inherit it in time. The alicorns were immortal, but sterile. We had no means to reproduce. The ponies, however, reproduced like any other mortal creature. Their numbers grew, and as they did, the other alicorns became more and more wary of Luna and I. The others eventually regarded us as defectors from the alicorn race, but they made no attempts to harm us. An alicorn’s life was sacred, and for an alicorn to kill her own was unheard of.

Sacred. Sacred was an odd word for Celestia to be using. Her whole life, she’d been violating those sacred rules she held others to. Now, she was dying, and she had no time for regret. Even now, at the end, Celestia still held dearly on to the belief that all of it—or at least most of it—was necessary. The ponies had indeed grown great, as she and her sister predicted. Equestria surpassed any nation the alicorns could have created. In truth, her native people didn’t have a culture. They appeared from the ether and created whatever suited their needs the best. And when they finally did create something bigger than themselves, they were too blind to see it. But now, a nation had been set upon the right path. One that would lead them to happiness and greatness, with a leader after her own heart. Celestia closed her eyes for a second, trying to shake a feeling of extreme loneliness and exhaustion. She opened her eyes and let them drift down to the parchment, levitating it away from the pool of glowing ichor that had begun dripping out of her mouth. She had to press on.

Eventually, though, the alicorns’ pride boiled over. One summer day, as Luna and I were attempting to communicate with the mortal ponies, the others struck. In a fit of rage or paranoia, the alicorns began to kill. Though they did not attempt to harm us, they had no qualms about destroying the mortals. We tried to stand as a shield against the power of the alicorns, but this only enraged them further. They unleashed horrible, unspeakable powers upon the world, killing thousands of mortal ponies. They scarred the world, burning pony and land alike. The fury unleashed by the alicorns threatened the stability of the world itself. Fissures and cracks appeared across the land. Luna and I, bound by our vow to save the ponies of this world, did the only thing we could to save the land we loved.

This land, so lovingly named Equestria. The Princess found herself glad that this sovereign nation was to be the place of her body’s eternal rest. Her heart swelled with pride. Those ponies her people had accidentally created had in turn established one of the most wonderful things her eyes had ever seen. The cost of this beauty was steep, indeed, but it had all been worth it. She gazed up at the October sky, drinking deep the crisp air. As she released the breath, she felt one of her lungs collapse. She needed to write.

 We broke that sacred bond of the alicorn race. We killed. With righteous anger and furious vengeance, Luna struck down one of our own. As the first body fell, the world grew silent. Alicorns stopped their massacre as their spirits were wracked with a horrible sense of loss. The ponies stopped running. They, too, sensed a change in the world. Every alicorn turned to face Luna, expecting her to offer her atonement. They received none. Instead, she stood her ground against them. Luna lowered herself into a stance more suitable for combat, and I followed suit. The others began to attack, with hoof and horn and wing. I tried only to stand my ground, incapacitating the others with whatever spells I could manage, trying not to harm them. Luna dispatched alicorn after alicorn, howling in pain as they began to overwhelm her. Blood on my mane and tears in my eyes, I impaled one of her attackers. I felt the life escape her body, disappearing into the world around us. Again and again, I was forced to kill to protect my sister, each time feeling pangs of guilt and loss. The air grew thick with the stench of blood, but something strange was happening to the world. With the death of each alicorn, the fissures began to close. The world began to heal. The alicorns’ spirit was soon broken, and they slowly gave up the fight. The few that remained bowed to us and begged for mercy. Luna and I looked grimly into each other’s eyes. If this world was to heal, these alicorns had to die. We, however, granted them a degree of mercy for their surrender. Their deaths were quick and painless. They had committed atrocities, yes, but we had as well. We decided we should give our sisters a degree of dignity in death. After our grim duty was complete, Luna and I buried our dead.

Celestia lifted the quill from the parchment, finding herself in tears. That slaughter was necessary—it had to have been. They’d saved the world, hadn’t they? Equestria was safe now, a wonderful place to live. Yet… it had been built on the blood of the Old Ones. Fortunately, no one would know that fact until this scroll was read, and hopefully that would be a very long time from now. She allowed herself a second to regain her composure before continuing the letter.

In the weeks that followed, the world finished healing itself. The scars of the cataclysm still marred the world, but it was no longer at risk of falling apart.  Years passed with the world under our control. Eventually, as generations passed, something odd happened to the ponies in this world. It occurred slowly at first. The ponies began to show signs of sentience, of basic communication. Their lifespan extended. Almost seventy-five years after the death of the alicorns, a foal was born with wings. Soon after, the first unicorn was birthed. At first, Luna regarded these foals as a fluke of nature. She was proven wrong not long afterwards. All over the world, unicorns and pegasi were being born. Those born without wings or horns were exceptionally strong and tended to show a strong affinity to the flora and fauna of the world. We studied and tutored these ponies, amazed at their newfound abilities. Eventually, we came to the conclusion that the alicorn’s death had unleashed their power upon the world, and it found a host in the ponies, changing their minds and bodies, making them better in all respects. Together, Luna and I decided that we would step aside for a while and let the blossoming species draw its own path in the world. The era of the alicorns would end, for a time. Though the beginning of the alicorns was the beginning of our world, but the end of the alicorns was to be the beginning of Equestria.

These three distinct races intermingled at first, unburdened by prejudice. Eventually, however, the ponies of the world began to recognize the gifts their bodies had been given; the Earth ponies’ aforementioned physical strength and husbandry skills, the unicorns’ unbridled magical power, and the pegasi’s innate ability to control the air around them. Each thought their gifts were superior, and all began to vie for power. After years of conflict, the three species split themselves into individual nations. At this point, I tried to convince Luna that we should step in and show the ponies the error of their ways, but she was certain they would find their own way. An odd turn of events proved her correct. Had the Windigoes not appeared, I feared the ponies may have remained a separate people. On this ground, I attempted to convince Luna that we should both rule over the land. After much debate, she agreed. We appeared in the newly-established capital city of Canterlot to take control, hailed as both goddesses and conquerors. In order to secure our position as the highest authority, Luna raised the moon in the middle of the afternoon, and I raised the sun soon after. The ponies, having seen us do alone what was normally handled by scores of unicorns, allowed us to rule as their monarchs. For a time, there was peace in the world.

Celestia stopped writing. She thought about the events that followed, the events that had lead her to the death she now faced. She grimaced and steeled herself. Once again, she put the quill to the paper and wrote.

The peace was not to last forever. After we came to power, Luna and I repeated the feats we had shown every morning and night. As time passed, Luna became jealous that the ponies of Equestria carried out their duties and had their fun during “my” time. I will not detail her fall from grace in this letter. By the time it is read, there will have been thousands of works on the subject. I will say only this: her heart became twisted with hatred and I was forced to banish her to the very moon she raised. At the time, I had no idea what this would mean for me. But as Luna’s soul left the world, I felt mine being torn open. We were indeed of one conjoined soul, and my half was the weaker. With Luna gone from the world, my power began to hemorrhage.

Celestia looked down at the pool of glowing fluid gathered below her muzzle. This was the last bit of power she had left, and it was rapidly escaping her body. Aches and pains throughout her body told her she was falling apart. The glowing cracks across her skin and the patches missing from her coat would have told anyone watching her the same. Luckily, her final hours would be witnessed by none. She allowed herself a moment of pride at her wonderful plan, but it was tainted by a pang of guilt. She levitated the quill to the parchment one final time. If she was to pen her confession, she had to do it now.

Though I suspected Luna’s soul would heal in her purgatory, it became apparent that I would have to choose a successor to my throne. After some degree of thought, I chose the perfect replacement for myself. I chose… me. Though I am dying, I found a way to live on as the princess in control of Equestria. My most faithful student has volunteered to become my successor, knowing full-well what it entailed. I have known for a long time that she adores me, and I have rewarded her well for her sacrifice. Her descendants will always be known for their beauty and majesty, rivaling that of the alicorns themselves. That same student, formerly known as Fleur de Sel, gave her mind and body to selflessly serve Equestria until the return of Luna. Her mind is now host to a perfect facsimile of mine, sharing my personality and all of my memories, up until the time just before I realized I was dying. After I replaced her consciousness with my own, I called upon the same energies that refined the proto-alicorns’ bodies to reflect their personalities to twist and shape her body into a perfect replica of my own. Now, the main difference between she and I is that her raw power is nowhere close to mine. She does not have the hardiness of an Earth pony or the pegasi’s ability to control the weather. Her magical power, likewise, does not reflect the raw strength of an alicorn. But, being my most able student, it is not beyond her abilities to make it seem like the Sun and Moon are rising and setting. She is the perfect imposter, but I fear for the day she is confronted directly. I pray it never comes, and that Luna will return some day.

Celestia rolled up the scroll. She closed her eyes and teleported herself into a vault beneath Canterlot. She could no longer move. Though she remained conscious, her body was very nearly dead. The Princess concentrated all of her power into a single spell. It was the most difficult thing she’d ever had to do. As she gathered the energy seething out of her body, her skin began to pull itself further apart. She tried to take a breath through her one good lung, but it was clipped and shallow. She felt her vision dim, but her horn began to glow brightly. Smoke began to curl off of her body, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the small chamber. In her final moments, Celestia tried to take solace in the fact that the agony she was in would be over in a short instant. Instead, she was overwhelmed by regret for all the things she’d done. Pushing away her guilt, she cast the spell that she wished would redeem her.

Somewhere deep within the Canterlot mountain, a flash of unnatural light appeared and enveloped all of the world. The light continued outwards, enveloping the Sun and Moon. As Celestia’s body melted down, the energy released changed the workings of the alicorns’ artificial world, just as she had planned. The Sun and Moon were fixed into place, and the world was torn from its moorings. If anything tried to move the Sun or Moon, the world would turn instead. The construct calling itself Celestia would be able to handle such a feat. Days and nights would pass. Normalcy would remain. Equestria would be none the wiser.