Haters Gonna Hate

Chapter Seven: In The Wake

Have you ever lived through a disaster?

Maybe a twister carved a scar into your town. Maybe a typhoon swept your town from the face of the planet, or maybe you were at the site of a terrorist attack. Maybe you've served in a war, and seen things no one should ever have to. Maybe something tragic happened to you, and you're still dealing with the repercussions.

The first time I ever went through something like that was during the bombing of the Boston Marathon. I've spent half my life in the Olde Towne, and I knew the street those bombs went off on. I'd walked the sidewalks by the trashcans that erupted into fire and shrapnel, and walked the finish line of the Marathon. To me, it was real, and it hurt. It took me a while to get over it.

It was nothing compared to getting over the thought that my life was a by-product of a civil war.

~&~

I sat on my bed in the tower, looking out at the world below. I could see rolling green forests and mountains, a train winding it's way up the towering spires, and ponies of various colors and tribes milling about. I rested my jaw on the window frame, and exhaled, hard.

Some part of me, the part that used to belong here, felt nostalgic. But what part of me belonged, and which part didn't? Who was I, now? Just a consequence of sins I never committed? Or a causality of a war I was never a part of? What were the odds of me, just some kid from a quiet life, being drawn in to some world that wasn't mine? Or was it mine?

I closed my eyes tightly and scowled with annoyance. The questions were throwing a riot in my head, complete with dubsteb music at full bass, and I was starting to get a serious headache.

There was a click at the door, and I looked up. A slender neck poked a warm-eyed face through, as Celestia looked at me. We were quiet for a moment, our eyes exchanging words we weren't sure how to say. Her mane flowed as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. I noticed, this time, she didn't lock it.

It had been quiet at the castle since my breakout. Once I had recovered enough to leave, Celestia had called off the guards and led me back to the room. Some had brought me food, while I was gone. Celestia hinted that it was her younger sister, as the dandelion salad had always been my favorite.

With an empty stomach, and a full platter of food, I found it hard to turn down.

The minutes had turned into hours after Celestia left me to my food. I assumed she was literally and figuratively cleaning up the mess I made. I felt a little guilty, now, for welding the doors and leaving the guards little more than piles of pissed off bruises.

There was a silence as I turned, and she gave a heavy sigh. "I believe," Celestia began, joining me in the sun, "We have much to discuss."

"Yeah," I replied, my voice strangely hoarse. I cleared it, and nodded. "Yeah, we, uh…We do."

She nodded sagely, and walked to a chair, lowering herself into it. I climbed onto the bed, and flopped down, giving an exhausted sigh as my mane hung down over my face, forcing me to force a blast of air upwards to move it aside. Celestia stifled a giggle. I tried to appreciate the effort. "Where shall we begin?"

"At the beginning, I guess," I said, raising my head, "What I saw, I don't understand."

"How so?"

I nodded to her wings. "You and your sister didn't have those."

She looked to them, and a soft, sad smile crossed her face. "Some ponies are destined to become Alicorns-My sister, myself, yourself, and a few others are the only ones known to us. My sister and I were the first to transform."

"How'd you do it?" She smiled wider, and nodded to me. I blinked, and realization hit me. "Stormmane? He taught you how?"

"He was the first to believe it was possible," Celestia said, as I sat quietly, a rapt audience for her story, "Stormmane was enthralled by the power of weather. It was his ability as a Pegasus to shape the weather, but none could do it with such finesse or power as himself. As such, he took great interest in artifacts of power, as well as powerful natural occurrences. Much of what we know of meteorology comes from his learnings."

I frowned a little. "That doesn't explain how he-Er, I-figured out how ponies could grow more powerful."

I saw something like nostalgia flicker through her eyes. How often had she told this lesson, and now she had to tell it to the one who taught it to her? It had to be an odd experience, but I kept my muzzle shut on the matter. "He began to research theories of power, as well as practice. Cutie Marks, it seemed were the key."

I felt bile rise in my throat. I may be one of them, but for some reason, that term still made my "Eww"-ometer bump off the charts. "The 'Cutie Marks'?"

Celestia didn't stifle her giggle this time, and my eyebrow quirked in deadpan annoyance. "I'm sorry," She said as the laughter subsided, but I highly doubted she felt any regret for finding amusement in my clear disgust for cuteness, "But, yes. They appear as a sign of maturity, to show that a pony has discovered their special talent. "

"Like your sun," I supplemented, "Or mine…" I realized I had never actually cared to look at my mark. I looked back at it, and furrowed my brow. A storm cloud, with three lightning bolts erupting from it at the top and bottom, over a dark grey blotch, sat on my flank like it paid rent.

Like that wasn't foreboding. At all.

"Exactly," She said with a nod, smiling at my comprehension, "And you were the one to realize that the theories regarding further development were correct. Maturity and understand were the key to power, and once you discussed this with my sister, and myself, we set out to see what we had to understand. We discovered that it was our duty to protect and care for Equestria, but," She paused, her face falling, "It came at great cost."

I knew where this was going. "Stormmane used too much of his power. He understood his duty, but he didn't hold back."

Celestia nodded, and I saw some old hint at the furious mare I'd seen in the book appear for a moment in her eyes, before she pushed it down. "Prince Stormmane had gone to someone dark for teachings of power. That darkness took root inside him, and, eventually, in my sister. Even though we vanished Discord, he, to coin a term, got the last laugh. I was forced to drive you from your home, to protect my citizens and my sister from what you were becoming."

"Who was it?" I had to know who the dark unicorn was. The guy bled evil to me, and I'd felt more than rage in my stomach when I saw him, more than I'd felt at the sight of either of the Princesses, or any pony.

Well, save one, but she hadn't shown her face to me yet.

Celestia scowled. "King Sombra."

Hell, if that wasn't a villain name, I didn't know what was. The name stirred something in me, something angry and hateful. It reminded me of how I'd felt when I'd first arrived, roaring and stampeding in Twilight's library.

Yeah, I said her name. I say Voldemort's name, too, and that supposed to be worse.

"He ruled the Crystal Empire over a thousand years ago," The princess continued, looking out the window at the afternoon sun, hanging in the sky, "A move he made once Discord took over Equestria. His heart was black as night. There was no room for love or hate inside it, only a hunger for power, and a terrible fury for those who stood in his way."

"Let me guess," I said, following her gaze before looking back to her, "After you were done with Discord, he was next."

"Yes." She sounded oddly satisfied. "However, a short time ago, he returned from his banishment."

"Seems to happen a lot around here."

Celestia smiled slightly at the playful jab, and giggled softly. "It certainly does."

I raised an eyebrow. "What happened to him when he came back?"

"Twilight Sparkle and her friends," She said, shrugging with a coy smile, "They have become a band of heroes lately. When Nightmare Moon returned, they stopped her, and returned my little sister to my side. When Discord was freed to continue his chaotic reign, they put an end to his schemes. Now, we seek his reformation."

"And Sombra?" I asked, already feeling that I knew where this was going, "Is he being 'reformed' somewhere?"

"No," Celestia said, looking back to me, "I fear his defeat at the hands of the Crystal Heart has only furthered his resolve. Sombra can survive even through the smallest sharp of himself: Consequence of a dark spell, at the cost of his soul."

Why wasn't I surprised? I frowned and crossed my forelimbs in thought. "Why do I get the feeling this road leads somewhere? Specifically, why Twilight summoned me back here."

Celestia looked up at me. There was a pause, and then, she nodded. "I knew King Sombra had not been defeated forever. Twilight Sparkle and her friends are strong, but I can still feel his dark power gathering on the far horizons of my kingdom. My sister and I sealed him once, but, as you have realized," She said, smiling slightly, "A more permanent solution is called for this time."

Then it hit me like the grill of a train. "So you had Twilight summon me."

"I asked Twilight," She said, her smile fading, "To summon someone she believed capable of defeating Sombra, or, failing that, at least holding him at bay until the Elements of Harmony can defeat him for good."

The Elements of-Oh, right, those things from the first episodes. I furrowed my brow at her answer. "So Twilight chose to summon me, then."

"I did not expect you would be called forth," Celestia admitted, "but I did suspect it. With Twilight Sparkle, many great and strange things can happen. I believe, through her, the Elements reached out to you, and drew you home."

"But this isn't my home." I had been trying to find a way to say that since she had walked in the door, and suddenly, there was my fire. I was on my feet, glaring her down, an accusing gaze in my eyes, as the Princess across from me sat poised and patient. "This isn't where I belong."

"Stormmane-"

"What about me," I finally said, my voice booming over hers, though I didn't think I was up to shouting, "Why me."

There was a long pause, and I lowered myself down to the mattress. Celestia looked at me for a moment, and at first, I thought she was going to storm out. The next thing I knew, however, she was resting her neck against mine. "I'm sorry," She whispered, and I felt tears burn the rims of my eyes, "For that, I am truly sorry."

"How did it even happen?" I asked, almost pleading as I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force down the tears that were threatening to humiliate me again, "How did all of this happen to me?"

"I am to blame for that."

I pulled away and looked at her in utter shock. Celestia looked calm, but regretful as she looked into my eyes and pulled back. "It was my own fury," She began, "My own hope that, one day, you could return, and redeem yourself of your crimes." Celestia paused, and then looked out at the sun again, watching it slowly approach the mountains in the distance, "Do you know what the relationship was between my sister and yourself?"

I opened my mouth to ask how I could possibly know, but then the answer came to me, from the same place the Hatesteed, or Stormmane, was sleeping inside me, the part of me that used to be him and knew it. "We were in love."

"Deeply," Celestia continued, nodding calmly, "As much as I loved my sister, I could see the darkness that Sombra had planted in you was also infecting her. To protect her, I met you at the head of your storm, the one you made that destroyed Old Canterlot."

I remembered the scene from the book; the flood and thunder sweeping a whole city below the mountains off the face of the map. I felt a pang of heavy regret, and looked down, studying the rough sheets of my bed. "We fought," I said, the memories appearing before me, like photographs in a room with flickering lights, "You won."

"And cast you beyond the rim of the world," Celestia finished, sighing heavily. "I have regretted it ever since."

"So what does that mean for me? The human side of me."

The Princess looked up, and I saw a damning certainty in her eyes. "It is as real as the Hatesteed. Somehow, my magic chose you as the vessel for Prince Stormmane, and you grew up as another part of your own life."

And then, it was time to ask the most important question. "Who does that make me?" When Celestia didn't respond, I grit my teeth. "Stormmane? The Hatesteed? Dammit, I hadn't a clue about them until I fell asleep one night in my bed and woke up a quadruped. I had plans, Celestia," I said, looking up at her with slight desperation, amid a whirlwind of confusion, "I had dreams that were mine, and mine alone. I wanted to work hard, find a bride, raise kids, then grandkids, then retire to Wyoming with the love of my life. I wanted to watch the open blue sky change from brilliant light to starry night for the rest of my life. And what happens now to that dream? To that plan? It's all out the window, because I was saddled with a burden I wasn't born to bear."

There was another silence, as my words hung in the air. My heart was pounding, and my throat was dry. Celestia finally spoke up. "You must truly hate us."

"Excuse me?"

"After all of this, and learning your heritage, being trapped to a destiny you knew nothing of, your hatred must have grown tenfold. And I am to blame." She bowed her head, before continuing, "I ask now for your forgiveness."

I was stunned into silence.

I had the answer. At last, I had the answer to why I hated this show. Because somewhere, deep inside, there was a part of me that wasn't pony or human, but some instinct, some memory that knew I was damned to this path. My whole life had gone by, with this anger in my belly, and I never knew the reason. I stumbled over my words, and finally, just closed my mouth, and hugged Celestia around the neck. "You've got it."

That seemed to be all that needed to be said, as I felt slender limbs embrace me. I sighed, and shook my head as I pulled out of the hug. "So," I said, focusing myself, "I'm here to stop this Sombra guy?"

"Yes."

I smiled slightly, and felt a fire rise in my stomach. It must have shown in my eyes, because a familiar look crossed the Princesses face, and she smiled in the same spitfire way. "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow," Celestia said, smiling widely, as she stood, "I hope you've enjoyed Canterlot so far, Stormmane. Your lessons here," She said, moving to the door, "Have only just begun."