Chapter One: Twilight Blows Up the Town Hall
Twilight Sparkle joins ISIS
by Aleganzo Zanzé
I could feel their presence.
Dirty, naked ponies moving around my house. Dirtying my sanctuary with their naked hooves, prancing about and disturbing the ambiance.
Here sit I, the simple mare. My room, the only place of refugee i have left, doors and windows closed shut. As i lay on my bed, trying to shut off my senses, i contemplate the sense of it all.
Where has it all begun? I recall once enjoying my time out in the open, with those ponies that i used to call friends. The smell of fresh air, color of the sky, the feeling of happiness.
Friends. What a silly concept. Solving problems. Socialising. Parties. Ugh, just thinking about this crap makes me want to puke. How did it go again? "Friendship is magic"? Do not joke.
Oh yeah, speaking of magic.
I sigh and open my eyes. I can no longer feel nor see the bony "appendage" on the top of my head. A single strap of cloth hangs down and obscures half of my vision.
Magic... Magic does not exist.
No, let me rephrase that. It does exist, but it is a heresy. A curse, that us, dirty unicorns were born with, a sin that we must atone for with our life. When i was younger, i thought of it as a gift - something given to us from a "God", or "Nature" - that helps us in life.
That is not true. It is all but a mutation, just like the wings of a pegasi. The Prophet had neither wings nor horn, or any of that mud pony augmentation. We all strive to follow his example to lead us to the "Heaven". Flight and Magic are all but inhibitions, that prevent us from achieving the enlightement.
Continuing to use those unnatural capabilities goes agains the teaching. We stop valuing hard work, and start using shortcuts. We warp our perfect bodies given to us by our Lord into a ridiculous mockery.
It does not end there, however.
There is something called "Purpose Brand".
Or, how those happy-go-lucky ponies call it, "Cutie Mark".
Although no records can explain, their origin is pretty obvious - a magical phenomena, caused by the emergence of civilisation. They sort us out into neat, fitting roles, creating a self-sustaining, artificial society. As we grow more close together, we forget our true purpose.
Ridiculous.
As we forget our origins, we stop believing and praising the Lord. We stop following the rules he gave us through The Prophet, and start using the laws we imposed upon ourselves.
My horn was the cause of my sin, so i sawed it off.
My Cutie Mark was the cause of my sin, so i burned it off.
I hurt myself. Scarred and damaged. I kept screaming as i removed the impurities from my body. It still hurts, but they are never coming back.
I am a sinner. I truly am a sinner - even after all i went through, my cursed body still has some residual magica energy, enough to perform some spells my brain is still unable to forget. Hell, if i could, i might even be able to heal myself, but why would i? I am already "healed".
