Celestia ...
The princess bolted upright in her extravagant bed in a cold sweat, her eyes darting around the room nervously.
Celestia ...
She could hear a voice in her head, like a memory, but at the same time, the voice beckoned to her from the darkness at the end of her bed. She blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes as the voice repeated her name over and over again. She knew what was about to happen.
Luna and Celestia had often talked about what it was like, being overwhelmed by dark forces, corrupted and changed. They had spoken about what it felt like to feel that kind of evil power course through you, as your mind warped and changed in response. But of all the things Luna had mentioned, she had said that it all started with voices in your head.
Moonlight streaked through the windows of Celestia's chambers, casting a feint, silvery glow upon the floor next to her bed. She looked around, her breathing starting to intensify as the voice continued to call her name. Her horn lit up for a moment, trying to illuminate the room, but even as she tried to summon forth a light spell, her instincts told her to run. To run far and fast, and to never look back.
She opened her mouth as if to speak, but found herself unable to say anything, while she shook her head. Celestia had always been a brave pony, fearful of very little all throughout her life, but as she sat there, trying to calm herself, a sense of terror gripped her, shaking her to the bone.
"This is it ..." , she muttered to herself, afraid of what might come next. She began to cry, clutching her head in her hooves, furiously wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I don't want to go ..." , she whimpered softly, tears rolling down her cheeks despite her attempts to contain her overwhelming sadness.
Silly, silly Celestia.
She stopped sobbing for a moment as the sentence bounced around in her head. It sounded more, real than the voice that had been calling her name before. It sounded encouraging, and yet intimidating at the same time. She looked up, letting her tears continue to flow as she tried to formulate a response.
"P-Please, I just ... I don't ... I'm , I'm not evil!" she said, suddenly shouting in a futile attempt to emphasize her feelings of despair and confusion.
Neither was Luna, when I found her. Things can change awfully quick Celestia.
Disturbing laughter rang in Celestia's ear as she reached over to her night stand, grasping the candle holder in her hooves, before igniting the candle with a tiny bolt of magic. The flame burned bright for a moment, before dying down to a much dimmer glow. Shadows arced across the rooms walls, dancing and swaying with the movement of the candle's flame.
"W-Who are you? Luna, she said ..." Celestia trailed off for a moment, blinking back the tears, " she said you whispered to her every night. You changed her, drove her to do what she did, to become Nightmare Moon. All I want to know is, why?" Another round of laughter filled Celestia's thoughts before the voice responded.
Why did I do it? I'm not sure actually. Tell me, why did you go and defeat Discord so you could establish a kingdom? Why did you feel like saving the world from chaos? Why do you feel so very compelled to fight evil and protect your little ponies? Why did you banish your sister for a thousand years? I know none of it was easy, because I was there, watching you the entire time. I saw you sob every single night, silently wishing you could have your sister back. Why do you struggle through life, just so that others can benefit from it? Why do you get up every morning to raise the sun? I've seen what it does to your body; alicorns are immortal, but you're slowly killing yourself. But why?
Celestia's eyes searched the darkness, trying to find an answer deep within herself. She didn't have time to answer before the voice started back up again.
Its because you're doing what you believe in. You're doing what you think is best for the world, what you think is right. That's my answer Celestia. I did it because I was doing what I believed in. I did what I thought was right.
Celestia leaned back, her head hitting her pillow with a thud as the candle flame flickered ominously. She peered into the darkness, hoping to see a pair of eyes, or a body, anything that would explain the voice in her head.
After all Celestia, who's to say what is right, and what is wrong? Sure you can tell a murderer that he's done something awful, but who's actually the judge on whether or not killing is bad? Who decided that life is worth preserving? Hell, who decided that life is even the right state of being.
Celestia shifted nervously, the radical idea hitting her like a brick. She thought about it for a moment, wracking her brain, trying to refute his notion.
Celestia, just as I said before, there is no real judge as to what is right and what is wrong, there is only the delusion of such. While lesser ponies and creatures look to false gods and idols for guidance, someone such as yourself must surely realize that there is no higher power guiding us. There is only us, and as I've seen, alicorns are far from gods.
She eyed the dying flame nervously, deciding to try and relight it. Her magical aura surrounded her horn for a moment, before flickering, and going out. She tried again, grunting as she strained herself to summon forth her magic. Another round of mocking laughter filled her head, the voice decidedly more evil this time.
By the way, you can call me Adam, because I've been here from the very beginning.
The name screeched through Celestia's mind, the short, odd name unable to escape her thoughts. It continued to echo in her ears as she grasped her head, shaking it, as if trying to rid herself of Adam.
So , now that you understand that there is no objective right or wrong, tell me, how does it make you feel?
The voice mocked her, knowing that she wouldn't stand for his insulting tone.
"It doesn't change anything! I've always done what I believe is right, and that is all that matters! No corrupting voice of evil will ever change that!" she screamed back at Adam, despite him being in her head.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Rather unlike you isn't it princess?
Adam cackled maniacally, as Celestia finally realized what was happening.
Tell me Celestia, did you ever consider that Nightmare Moon only did what she did because she believed that what she was doing was right? Like I said, there is no evil or good in this world, only conflicting perspectives. No one does something simply because it is 'evil' in the view of others. They do it, because that's what they believe in. That's what they believe is the right thing to do. So much of who we are is defined by what we do. What we do is decided by what we believe in.
"Stop! Stop filling my head with these blatant lies you insolent thrall!" Celestia shouted, her voice tipped with venom. Suddenly the room exploded with an orange light, filling the dark room with much needed illumination, which only confirmed Celestia's fears of Adam being just a figment of her imagination.
Alright then, I'll go now Celestia. But before I do, a gift, from me to you. Check the nightstand to your left. No hard feelings.
Celestia hesitantly turned her head to the left of her, where she had picked up the candle holder just a few minutes ago. There was now a hefty rectangular box , gilded in gold sitting on the table. She paused for a moment, expecting Adam to continue to mock her, but after a solid minute of silence, she sighed in relief.
Celestia attempted to levitate the box, relieved to find that her magic had returned. The box floated gently through the air, as Celestia let the box rest on her lap gently, sitting up to read the note on the front of it. It read :
Dear Celestia,
We are defined by what we do.
Love,
Adam
She shuddered for a moment, pushing the box away from herself, and shutting her eyes tightly, before pulling the box in close to herself, and hastily removing the cover of the ornate box. She couldn't explain why, but she was drawn to the box, compelled and motivated by something to open it.
She gawked at the removed cover for a moment, a sharper and more stylized version of her cutie mark plastered in gold across the top of it. Returning her gaze to the contents of the box, her mouth fell open as she levitated the note that she had just read moments ago into her view once again, rereading it in disbelief, before releasing her magical grip and letting the note float down into the box where it landed gently on the helmet of the set. She shook her head in disbelief, as she looked down at the note staring back at her, beckoning to her. The note had changed.
She reread the lines of the short note over and over, as a strange calm fell over her. She levitated the note off the top of an ornately decorated and stylized helmet that bore the mark of the sun, with a neck guard that curled like the flames of the sun. She pulled the helmet in close to herself, able to see her reflection in the polished armor.
Her coat had shifted to a dark red, and her new aura of magic was a deep shade of orange. Her eyes remained unchanged, save for the draconic pupils that now gazed back at themselves. Her mane had become a swaying mass of fire, which explained the orange tint the room had taken on, yet strangely, the fire did not light her bed on fire.
She lifted the helmet on to her head, a wicked smile creeping across her face as she read the same note one last time.
Dear Solar Flare,
Go ahead. Do what you believe is right.
Love,
Adam
