Chapter 1
The sound of the crowd was vastly heard across the land. The roar of the angry, the wails of the sad, the heat of arguments merged together to form one emanating sound that ringed in everypony’s ears. All eyes were on the stage in the middle of Canterlot. The public watched as their leader faced her doom.
Celestia was tied to a wooden stake in the middle of the stage. Her hooves were tied around the pole while her horn and wings were removed. Her mouth was also gagged from spewing more of her filth to the people.
Suddenly, the crowd fell silent as another pony stepped on stage. This pony wore a long leather jacket that reached to the floor and adorned a billed cap (much like the fashion of the S.S. of Equestrian War II). As they moved about the stage, they mesmerized the crowd with the words that flowed out like sweet poetry, but sank into the heart of the princess like daggers. Finally it was time for her reign to end.
The deafening screams of the crowd began again, but were slightly different. Instead of different emotions, excitement was unanimous. The crowd encouraged the display, welcoming it like a public performance. The princess was now in the spotlight, waiting for the hook.
On the mysterious ponies command, two guards wearing armor decorated with one purple flash on their chest, escorted Celestia into the guillotine. They positioned her body onto the bench and waited for further instruction. The leather fashioned pony nodded once and one of the guards took her gag out. As tears ran down her face, she looked up pleadingly.
“Why must you do this?” Celestia was trembling, hardly looking like the god she undoubtedly acted like.
“It’s simple. Your reign is now over and a new order shall be put in its place.”
“But…I…taught…you…” Celestia could barely keep it together. She began to sob, pathetically shaking like a scared foal.
“There is nothing you could possibly teach me! I am more powerful than you and have more knowledge than you could possibly fathom. You were nothing but a pawn to me.”
Celestia’s mouth was left agape. She could not believe her ears or her eyes. Was it true? Was she really used and was led astray by the façade of friendship? Is this what Twilight Sparkle planned all along? Her time was running out and she did not struggle. A smile replaced the look of pain on her face.
“What is so amusing,” barked Twilight, becoming antsy, wanting nothing more than to drop the blade.
“You will never know, and this is the knowledge that is more valuable than whatever your books can tell you!” The words hit Twilight like acid and stung her down to her core.
“I can’t stand to look at you. You filled these people with the falsehood of friendship as our savior. You poisoned the people with the filth you spread. I’m going to fill them with hope. You hid them from the dangers that lie within and have made the people weak. For this, you must die.”
With that said, Twilight raised her hoof and stomped hard on the wooden stage, signaling to the guards that it was time. The guards acknowledged the order and let go of the rope that held the oblique blade.
As the blade fell, the world around Twilight seemed to move in slow motion. She could analyze every inch that the blade fell as it neared its target. At the last second, time seemed to catch up with itself and returned to normal speed. Just before it found its mark, Celestia’s eyes widened and met Twilight’s. As their eyes locked, Celestia let out a shrill scream.
“TWILI- Grk!!!”
The razor-sharp edge ended her abruptly. The last sound heard was a soft “thud” as the head of the princess fell into the basket below. But Twilight didn’t hear it. She didn’t hear the “thud,” she couldn’t here the roaring crowd she couldn’t hear anything. All she could hear was Celestia calling her name, and it echoed in an unending loop until her eyes reopened and adjusted to the bright light streaming in through the window beside her bed.
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Twilight quickly gathered all of the information she could about her surroundings. She was back in her tree house library and nothing seemed to be astray. Spike was leaning over Twilight, seeming concerned about something.
“Twilight, are you feeling ok?” The baby dragon was genuinely confused as to why Twilight shivered and sweats at the same time in her sleep.
“What happened Spike? Is something wrong?” Twilight steadied herself in an upright position, keeping her hooves down on the mattress and behind her back so that she leaned a little on her headboard.
"It was you Twilight. You were mumbling something and started to thrash around in your bed.”
Twilight looked down for the first time at the bed she currently lay in. There was a sweat puddle that somewhat represented the contours of her body and the comforter was strewn about the bed, barely covering her body at all.
“Was I really acting like that?” Twilight had never experienced something like this before and it concerned her further about her current condition.
“Yeah but I bet it was just a bad dream. Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee or some cereal?”
“That would be great Spike. Thank you.”
With that, the purple dragon left out of his friends room and began to make breakfast, leaving Twilight with nothing but her own thoughts.
Was I really thinking about hurting the princess? What is going on here? Twilight dwelled on this thought for a while. She would not dare touch her teacher, let alone kill her. As she lay in bed her thoughts turned in her head like a swirling vortex of emotion.
On the other hoof, being leader wouldn’t be so bad. This thought made Twilight smile wickedly as her emotions escaped her grasp and insanity take hold. But as quickly as it came, her smile was gone. Though the thought still remained.
