Dark Heart of the Sun

“How did you get your cutie mark?” Twilight asked.

Celestia shifted on her cushion uncomfortably. “Are you sure you can’t ask another question?”

Twilight’s ears splayed back and a look of annoyance flashed across her face. “You have been avoiding this question since the day I became your student,” she said haughtily. “I’m not a little foal anymore, you can tell me!”

A loud sigh escaped Celestia. She pursed her lips, unable to think of a way out of the conversation. “Very well,” she resigned herself. Her horn lit and she cast a silencing spell around the room.

“Before I begin, I must remind you that this is information that is only privileged to the Princesses of Equestria. You may never reveal this information, not even to the other elements,” Celestia said in a sad, solemn voice.

Twilight looked uneasy, but made the Pinkie Promise motions. “I will never reveal this information to anypony.”

Celestia nodded. “Contrary to what many believe, I am not a true alicorn,” she began. Twilight let out a small gasp. Only sheer will kept her from bursting out with questions. “I, like you, ascended later in life. I was born a unicorn, as was Luna. We lived in a cottage deep in the Everfree forest. Our parents forbade us from leaving the safety of the yard and told us that evil lurked beyond our home.

“When I was twelve, a powerful centaur broke into our house one evening and slew our parents in their sleep. Luna was only a newborn foal, and I could not bear to leave her. I was unable to make my escape with a small foal in tow and the centaur captured us and took us to a large facility where Ponyville now stands.

“The facility was an internment camp for ponies. We were thrown in with the other foals. They taught me about Centaurius and how its borders went far beyond what is now Equestria. Centaurs had ruled the land for thousands of years. Ponies were a cheap source of food and labor. Foals were valuable and were often sold as pets to high class centaurs. When they reached their 20th birthday most had outlived their usefulness and were either sent to feedlots for fattening or used as slaves for labor.

“With Luna being so small, we were placed for auction as a pair. We were sold to a female centaur and her family. Their child was cruel to us, often beating us for no reason. She would make me torture and kill small animals with my hooves for sport. If I disobeyed her, she would submerse Luna in water over and over again until I complied.

“Years passed. Luna grew into a frightened filly who clung to me like a shadow. She never spoke. I did my best to stay strong for her and protect her at all costs. I began to near my 20th birthday. The child centaur was now an adult and master of the house had no more use for us. I overheard a conversation one afternoon: I was to be fattened and served as the main dish on the summer solstice.

“Over the following week I prepared our escape. What I hadn’t planned for was being taken in the middle of the night. I was dragged into the cellar and chained to a post. Using a feeding tube, I was force fed. A month passed. I had no idea what had happened to Luna. The thought of never seeing her again burned inside my very soul and I knew I would never be able to forgive myself if I couldn’t make an escape and protect her.

“Although Luna never spoke, I could always tell she was intelligent. There was something in her eyes. The morning of the summer solstice came and she appeared in the cellar, the very shadows melting off of her body. I had never seen anything like it. Neither of us had ever done magic before.

“She quickly released me from my chains. The door to the cellar opened and we heard shouting. I knew I had to do something or we would both be killed.”

Celestia paused. Her voice quivered and shook. Twilight had remained silent through the story so far, but she moved from her place on the couch and laid down next to her teacher on the giant poof by the fire. She draped a wing around Celestia.

“Tia?” she whispered.

Celestia looked at her, tears in her eyes. “It’s OK,” she said shakily. She took a deep breath and continued.

“So anyway, I acted on instinct. I don’t know how I did it, but my magic sprang to life in that instant. I ripped a spear from the hands of the first centaur through the door and I…” Celestia swallowed hard. “I cut him down. And the next, and the next, and the next. We made it outside, the sun not yet risen but nearing its appearance. We ran as fast as we could for the forest, but the centaur mare that had tortured us for eight years caught Luna. I heard her scream behind me and stopped dead in my tracks and turned.

“The mare’s hand was above her head, her other hand holding Luna’s head back, exposing her neck. My eyes widened in surprise as the glint of the knife caught my attention. Everything felt like it was in slow motion. I whispered, “No…” I felt hopeless in that instant. My very soul cried out in despair. The knife was only a few centimeters from Luna’s throat when the sun broke over the horizon and it happened. I ascended.

“The sun’s rays hit my horn and the eternal magic of the sun mixed with my own. My eyes lit with yellow light and the centaur was vaporized before she could plunge the knife into Luna’s throat. Luna fell to the ground and watched as wings grew from my back. The spear by my side glowed in my magic and was transformed from a crude, dull bronze into a gleaming weapon of titanium with gold inlays and diamonds.”

Twilight couldn’t help but let out a gasp of understanding. “Ahhh! The Solar Spear! It was real?”

“It is real,” Celestia corrected. “Because it is imbued with my magic, only I may wield it. Even so, it is a powerful weapon that many have sought to control. I hid it long ago and denied its existence. It fell into legend and old foal tales. However, should I need it, I can call upon it and wield it in battle.”

“So, what happened next?”

“My mind was linked to the ethereal plain and I saw all of the suffering of the three races. Millennia of slavery and mistreatment flashed before my eyes. All of it was at the hands of the centaurs.

“And so, I made the choice. I avenged those past and protected those present and future. I let the hate, hurt, fear, and years of humiliation fuel me. I drew on the godly powers of the ethereal plain, and in an instant, I vaporized the entire centaur race from the planet.”

Celestia closed her eyes and turned from her student. The grief was evident in her voice. “The ponies made me their queen and rejoiced. They were free to live.” She opened her eyes and looked at her cutie mark with disdain. “I earned my cutie mark by eradicating an entire species,” she whispered.

“What about Luna?” Twilight asked quietly.

“Luna spoke for the first time when I was crowned. She learned her link was to the moon and ascended in her 18th year during the winter solstice. I stepped down as queen and we both took the titles of princess. However, ponies had grown accustomed to my sole rule. This lead to the eventual development of Nightmare Moon,” Celestia concluded.

The two sat in silence.

“Tia?”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“You have never forgiven yourself, have you?”

“No, and I never will.”