Her highness, Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, sat angelically upon her throne, high above her subjects. Her morning ritual of raising the sun to harken a new day went over as smoothly as it always had for countless millinia. After banishing her own dear sister to the cold, lifeless moon to save the lives of her subjects, Celestia stood as the sole monarch of all the land. Many supposed her to be a God, but all respected her as an imortal being, wise beyond the sages and powerful beyond all description. It was by her providence alone that life in Equestria flourished as it had since the dawn of time.
A mighty echo resounded in the throne room as two gold-clad guards marched in, disturbing the reverent solemnity that hung heavy in the air. Celestia elegantly turned to recognize the stately pegasi that ushered in with them a gruff, lanky unicorn who, in his countenance, wore obvious fear. The guards led the unicorn by a set of magical binds around his hooves to prevent him from escaping or using any magic of his own. With a tinge of sadness and disgust in his voice, one of the guards spoke
"Your highness, we bring before you a criminal from Manehattan. He is guilty of the heinous crime of murder. We know that for such a grievous offense, we are to forgo normal procedure and bring him directly to you."
The guards unceremoniously dragged the unicorn to rest before the royal throne, letting his shackles clang against the marble floor. As the criminal was laid down in front of the princess, he dared not look her in the eye.
Shocked, Celestia beheld the mess of a pony before her. Murder was almost unheard of in Equestria. Her subjects were a peaceful people who knew little of death beyond that of natural causes. It had been centuries since a pony last killed another in cold blood.
The alicorn closed her eyes and sighed, deeply and pensively.
"Leave me with the criminal. I will deal with him. Do not let anypony into this room until I am finished."
At this, all of the guards present in the room made toward the door, leaving Celestia and the unicorn alone in the throne room with a heavy clang of the door.
With a voice as warm and motherly as she could muster, Celestia commanded,
"Rise to face me."
The unicorn shook violently under Celestia's mighty gaze, yet with a herculean effort, he was able to stand and face the princess.
Laying eyes on a being such as her was to be memorized. Upon her dais, her ethereal mane ebbed and flowed majestically as if influenced by some unseen wind. Her white, unblemished coat shone brilliantly in the sunlight she so caringly provided for her subjects.
Celestia stood and walked down beside the unicorn. With every step, her regalia clanged against the floor, causing the pony to flinch sporadically. The alicorn simply asked,
"Is this accusation true? Did you kill one of my precious little ponies?"
Silently, the unicorn nodded, bowing his head. There was no use hiding it. The guards knew, he knew, and most importantly, Celestia knew. Lying would only cause more swift and serious retribution than he ever cared to imagine. Tears fell to the marble below him. In a choked, sorrowful voice, he lamented,
"I- I am so sorry, your majesty. Please, I beg of you, spare me! I do not wish to join your sister in banishment! I will devote my life to your service, please, have mercy on me!"
As the pony begged and pleaded, Celestia felt something she had not felt in a long time: Anger. Not the kind of anger one feels out of frustration or disappointment. Rather, it was a righteous anger that only comes as a result of injustice and gross evil. Though, with fortitude outlasting the mountains, Celestia maintained her impassible demeanor. She sighed once more before continuing.
"Do you have a name?"
The stallion had difficulty finding words
"S-swifthoof, your highness."
Celestia took a moment to gather her thoughts
"Very well, Swifthoof. Do you understand the consequences for murder in our land?"
The stallion woefully shook his head in the negative. To this, Celestia clarified, subtly betraying her anger as she did so.
"Murder; foul, brutal murder, is the greatest crime any one pony could ever commit. Nightmare moon, my dear, lost sister, would have murdered countless ponies though starvation if it were not for my banishing her to the moon. Despite this, even she never shed the blood of another pony."
Celestia lowered her head to Swifthoof's level
"For you, however, willingly killing one of my subjects is a crime far greater than that of my sisters. Justice demands your fate to be far worse than hers. I will not banish you, Swifthoof, no..."
She glared into Swifthoof's misty eyes as she spoke through gritted teeth
"... I will end you."
As she finished, she stood back up, leaving the unicorn at about chest height. Promptly, her horn flashed, removing the binds that clasped to his hooves. A look of utter surprise and horror crept onto his face as Celestia turned down to once more meet him eye to eye. Her expression showed nothing but anger as her horn ignited into a blaze of harsh, golden light that washed over the unicorn.
A strange, unexplainable sensation fell over him as her magic took its course. Above him, he saw the solar alicorn appear to grow at an alarming speed. It wasn't long before he realized that it wasn't just Celestia that grew, it was everything around him! In mere seconds, he was no higher than Celestia's knee. Begging and pleading, he grasped for her leg, to which Celestia uncaringly kicked him aside.
"Your majesty, please! I there must be some other way! I -*oof*- I do not want it to end like this! Spare me!"
His voice grew fainter and fainter as he dwindled away. Celestia said nothing, concentrating only on her spell and the rodent of a pony below her. It wasn't long before the pony could hardly be seen, and it was only then that the mighty alicorn caused his shrinking to end.
Swifthoof soon found himself lost in his new world. The floor stretched out as far as he could see, and directly in front of him stood Celestia, taller than anything he could have ever imagined in his lifetime. Celestia squinted, admiring her handiwork. It wasnt often she practiced this spell, but when she did, she found the results to be quite pleasing. The unicorn resembled little more than a fleck of dirt on the white marble; fitting, Celestia thought, for one such as him.
"As you have reduced one of my precious ponies to nothing, I too, have reduced you to nothing. Rather poetic, no?"
The sheer horror Swifthoof felt was multiplied tenfold as she spoke, her voice booming louder than thunder.
"Look at you, Swifthoof. Less than an insect. Less even than a mote of dust. Why, if I was merciful, I could simply let you dwell on my floor and forget about you entirely. You could be swept away and lost forever, never to be a blight on ponykind again."
To this, Celestia produced a wry smile.
"No... I would much rather see this to the end.. I might as well get every last bit of usefulness out of you while you still live, wouldn't you agree?"
Celestia unfurled her wings, careful not to blow the germ beneath her over by simply moving.
"I do not fancy myself a God among my fellow ponies, Swifthoof, but among the likes of you, God doesnt quite begin to describe me. Your very life rests on my every whim. I could end you without batting an eyelash."
She giggled
"In fact, I think I will..."
A horrifyingly majestic sight unfolded above Swifthoof as the sun rose above Celestia's throne, creating a brilliant golden glowing halo of light around her outstretched wings.
"I have no use for you beyond being part of the floor I trod upon. Gaze upon me, worm, for I am the last thing you will ever witness."
Celestia let the regalia around her hoof fall with a clang onto the floor. With an otherworldly grace, she brought her unshod hoof to hover above the flea, sheathing him in a world of darkness. He beheld nothing but the soft underside of Celestia's supple hoof as far as his eye could see. Slowly, it began to descend until there was no possible means to escape. In an instant, she let her hoof fall upon the pony, erasing him from existence. Celestia felt nothing but a slight tickle as the cold marble became flush with the sole of her hoof.
After a long, relished moment, she let her wings fall to her side as she twisted her hoof left and right. Satisfied, she lifted her hoof to find a miniscule red smear on the marble and on her sole. All the pony amounted to was virtually unrecognizable. Celestia allowed a moment for her calm professionalism to resurface before placing her hoof back into her regalia and ushering her guards back in.
The day continued, unchanged by the events that took place. Nopony questioned where the criminal disappeared to. Many claimed he was sent to a solitary prison, while many more believed he was banished, much like nightmare moon, among the stars. As Celestia intended, not a soul could imagine what truly took place. From then on, life continued as it always had, under the guidance of Princess Celestia.
