Rebellion

-=Rebellion: Chapter 1=-

The Everfree Forest was a dangerous place infamous in Equestria for its wild inhabitants and independent ecosystem. Nopony dared to enter this maze of terrors alone or in groups even if they were accompanied by the most skilled unicorn or the bravest pegasus.  If that is the case, then why is the newly crowned princess of Equestria venturing into its winding roads unaccompanied?

“I really hate this place,” Twilight said to herself.  She had been walking her current path for an hour now and was beginning to succumb to the psychological effects of the forest’s atmosphere: the air made her cough, the trees made her claustrophobic and the noises made her paranoid.  A nearby bush shook, causing Twilight to jump into the air and fly away.  After a few minutes passed, Twilight checked her six, landed on the ground and walked slowly.  “I really, really hate this place.”  Her destination was still a ways off, but she was determined to get there before sundown.

Another hour of walking passed and Twilight finally reached her destination: Princess Celestia’s and Princess Luna’s old castle.  The structures that once housed the royal sisters were now worn down and covered with weeds and vines.  Twilight gazed at the ruins and remembered her first time here. Her first time here involved her and her friends, which gave her courage and comfort to explore the castle, but now that she was exploring this on her own, she felt nervous and scared.

“If Discord lied to me about this, I’m so going to make him pay!” said Twilight.  She entered the ruins and began searching. “The princess’ research must have been confidential, so they probably wouldn’t put them in anywhere public.  Knowing Princess Celestia, she would have kept them in a private place, like hers and Princess Luna’s personal study.”  The clattered boulders and messy greenery made it difficult for Twilight to search around, let alone see any signs or doors.  After checking the current section of the area she was in, she concluded that she had been searching in the sleeping quarters of the castle’s dwellers. However, she did not find any place that would look like the study of the princesses. Twilight explored the other areas of the castle for the next hour and received the same results of her first search: nothing.

Twilight ventured further into the ruins and came upon the old throne room; the room was similar in layout to the one in Canterlot Castle, except the materials used were old fashioned bricks instead of porcelain and metal. Twilight cautiously walked towards the thrones while observing the worn down walls and the cracked floor of the hall. “I wonder how elegant this place must have looked when the princesses lived here,” she said to herself. Twilight reached the thrones and noticed that they were placed close to each other. She proceeded to look at the thrones and the surrounding area. “I’ve checked the entire castle for a study-like room, but there’s nothing here except weeds and bugs!“  Twilight whined. Feeling tired, Twilight sighed and sat down the throne that had a sun symbol on its left arm rest. Twilight’s heart sank and feelings of guilt and remorse began to well up inside her. “Why am I even doing this?” she asked herself.

-

The coronation had occurred two weeks ago, but Twilight was still grinning from ear to ear.  Attaining alicornhood and princesshood was an achievement she never dreamed or even considered of fulfilling. Now, however, she was royalty, a being capable of influencing and making change in Equestria. Twilight did not  long for power, but to be able to help others, like she did in Ponyville, only now at a much larger scale.

Twilight was walking in the gardens that surrounded Canterlot Castle, taking a break from her royal duties. Princess Celestia had advised her to take a few minutes to get some air after Twilight had signed five hundred documents for the past three hours. Twilight objected at first, reluctant in abandoning her work, but her peer insisted that she did so.  Twilight traveled deeper into the garden and stopped a few times to smell the flowers.  “Fluttershy was right,” she said, “the garden does have the best fauna in Equestria.”

She walked a little bit further and ended up at the entrance to the garden’s maze. Twilight cringed at the sight of the maze for bad memories started to pop into her head: falling for Discord’s trick, her friends turning bad and her almost giving up on hope. She shook those memories out of her head and decided that it was time for her to return to her work. Twilight turned to walk back to the castle, only to run into the master of chaos. The creature collage towered over her, his eyes lazy and sharp.

“Why, if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle, or would you prefer ‘Princess’ Twilight Sparkle?” the draconequus teased.

“What do you want, Discord?” Twilight asked. Despite knowing that he had been reformed, Twilight was still cautious around the strange character.

“Why so curious? Is my presence so much of a danger that each action I take and word I speak have to have some type of motive behind them?”

“Well, no. But knowing you it just feels mandatory to ask.”

“Ugh, why I am offended, Twilight Sparkle! Here I am just trying to start a casual conversation and you go ahead and assume that I have the intention of doing something bad.”

“What is it that you need, Discord?”

“Pushy, aren’t we? Well, if you insist. I just came by to ask you some questions.”

"What kind of questions?”

“Just questions. But if you’re too paranoid to answer them, I’ll just be on my way then.”

Curiosity ate away inside her and Twilight finally submitted to her thirst for knowledge. “Fine, I’ll answer your questions,” Twilight replied.

“Without asking your own?” Discord asked.

Twilight paused for a moment. “Without asking my own.”

A grin spreaded across Discord’s face. “Great! Now for the first question: What do you know about me?”

“I know that you’re a very dangerous creature that should be kept in a cage with Fluttershy giving you her stare.”

“Ooh, feisty. But that’s not what I’m looking for. What I’m asking you is what do you know about my history?”

“Your history?” Twilight gave a puzzled look.

“You said you wouldn’t ask questions.”

“Ah, I know that! Um, I know that you once ruled over Equestria. Other than your reawakening and Fluttershy reforming you, nothing else.”

Discord’s body slumped and his face showed a bored expression. “How disappointing of you, Twilight Sparkle.  I expected more research and insight from such a highly acclaimed scholar, let alone Celestia’s prized pupil.”

“Uh-“

“Well that’s to be expected, since it is such a controversial and rarely visited topic.  Now, for the next question: What do you know about your princesses?”

“I-I know that Cadence was brought up and apprenticed by Princess Celestia and was the destined ruler of the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna ruled over Equestria after they defeated you. After Princess Luna’s banishment to the moon, Princess Celestia ruled over Equestria on her own and controlled both the sun and the moon. Throughout her rule, Princess Celestia brought peace, unity and wealth to her people as well as supported change and advancements in society and technology.”

“Not as deep as I would have expected, but it’ll have to do. For the next question: what do you know about unicorns?”

“Huh?” Twilight replied with a confused look.

“What do you know about your race, or in your case, your ex-race. What do you know about it?”

“Um. Uh…” Twilight stammered as she tried to find an answer. She had never been asked a question like this before. The subject was too broad to be answered quickly and Twilight did not expect Discord to listen to an hour long speech about unicorn origins, anatomy and any other aspects about being a unicorn. That and Twilight felt out of place of answering the question itself. However, something inside her didn’t want to back down to Discord so she decided to give a quick summary of her thoughts.

“Unicorns are a species of ponies that specialize in the use of magic. They have been regarded as a high class race for their connection to the supernatural.”

“Wow, I’m surprised that you didn’t go crazy informative about that topic. Well, it would have gotten dangerously deep so I guess I can understand. But this last question will definitely blow your mind away.”

“Just what is the goal of-“

“Uh-uh,” Discord interrupted, “no questions from you until I finish asking mine.”

“Ugh, fine.” Twilight was getting annoyed by all the questions as well as being around Discord.

“Now for the last question: what is a conspiracy theory?”

“What?!”  That two word combination alarmed Twilight; she never really liked controversial issues, especially ones regarding the questioning of knowledge. She hadn’t been paying much attention to the questions Discord had been throwing at her, but this last one just made her act on edge. Something about its timing wasn’t right, or too right.

“Not your turn yet.   Answer the question first.”

“I’m not going to answer that question!” Twilight replied angrily. She jumped back and positioned herself for battle.  “What are you trying to get at?”

“Oh, fine, you got me,” said Discord while he raised his paw and claw in the air. “After realizing that you are now in a high position of power, I thought it would be fun to give you a test, a test to see your dedication to your princesses after learning  a horrible truth.”

“What horrible truth?!”

“Oh, that is for me to know and for you to find out.”

“What are you planning?”

“Nothing, honestly, nothing at all. I swear on Fluttershy’s life I am not planning anything evil or along those lines.”

“I thought you were reformed; Princess Celestia even felt and said so.”

“From what I remember she said that she sensed a big change in me.  Trust me, that is no lie. That big change, though, is not what your princess had hoped for.”

“What do you mean?”

“She hoped to reform me so that she could order me around and use my magic for her ‘on my own free will’. No, I am not loyal to her. I am only loyal to Fluttershy and Fluttershy alone. Well, maybe some of you as well but, ultimately, only to Fluttershy.”

Twilight’s mind was in a fit of processing input and output at the same time. She felt her face and head get hotter and hotter. So many thoughts buzzed around her mind, causing her to make weird faces and speak jibberish.  She stomped a hoof in frustration and started to head back to the castle. “I don’t have time for this! I’m going back to my work.”

“It was nice talking to you, your highness,” Discord said with an odd tone.

Twilight looked back to retort, only to see that the creature had disappeared. She turned and began walking again, her mind still filling with questions while at the same time trying to come up with answers to said questions. Twilight knew one thing though: Discord may be random and evil, but those questions he asked must have some connections to each other. Twilight subdued these thoughts by distracting herself with her plans for the day. However, something in the back of her mind just kept feeding coal to her train of curiosity.