Author's Note
There are few grammatical errors in the story I apologise for them but with University I am swamped with work. Any feed back is well appreciated.
Always wanted to write about what would drive Celestia over the edge.
What makes a tyrant?
‘The elements had failed me. Looking down at the charred remains, bile rose in the back of my throat. Tears streaked down my cheeks, nose running as every breath I took ended in a guttural, pained sob. ‘The elements are only meant to banish or imprison, how could I have known... I would have never, ever used them had I known they possessed the power to murder!’
‘Why her?’ The question plagued me, with no clear answer presenting itself. My exhausted form battered from the fight, I noticed not the fires that ravaged the forest around, nor the torrential downpour that drenched my body. Kneeling, I tenderly pulled the frail, broken body onto my back. Making sure she was secure I trudged onward. Silently I prayed to any deity that might hear my pleas. Would nopony come to my aid? Would none bring forth a miracle, a solution to reverse the wrong I had inflicted on my own flesh and blood?
My body shook but not from cold or exhaustion. How could I claim any right to morality?
The look on Luna’s face only furthered my anguish. Even in death, the petrified look of pain and terror etched onto her face only fueled my sobbing.
Why not some pony else? One who truly deserved it? Why had the elements punished me? Luna had not been a bad pony, she simply had been corrupted by that damnable nightmare. She had helped safeguard Equestria night yet still ponies had subjected her to cruel rumors.
Was this our reward for all of the personal sacrifices we had made throughout the years? Had my sister and I not time and time again put the safety of our subjects above our own? And where were our so called loyal subjects, where were the guards and nobles; they were quick to swear fealty yet equally were they quick to flee. They should have stood by my side to help remove the foul presence from Luna. Surely with their assistance I could have brought my sister back to me.
Yet they had fled like spooked cattle in the time I needed them most. Delicately I carried my dear sister though the ruins of the once proud city, now nothing more than a charred husk. All of this because my subjects refused to appreciate the beauty of my sister’s night.
‘Defeating the chaotic draconequus, banishing the foul centaur, halting the tyrannical conquest of the slave king, and this is how they repay us. Countless times my sister and I had risked life and limb to repel, diamond dog raiding parties, gryphon armies and dragon attacks, yet this seemed to be for naught.’
“They did not deserve her.” I spat, with each passing moment my anger grew as I came to realise just how much pain and suffering these ponies had brought us.
‘The blasted fools had alienated my sister because of their ignorance!’ I mentally fumed. Had we not been fair rulers? Had we not made sure to safeguard both the day and night? Protecting the inhabitants from countless evils that roamed the land; had we not brought in a semblance of peace to our lands and allowed families to grow and prosper without the threat of being butchered by marauding monsters and bandits?’
It was not fair!
None of this was fair.
Why was I alone when I had done nothing but put others before myself. Why had the elements punished me? What reasoning could the the gods have for robbing me of my kin? Her body so small, so fragile, weighing nothing contrasting to the weight of my actions. Thunder rumbled across the dark skies. Lighting stabbed between black clouds, illuminating the destruction of our battle.
Passing a collapsed guard tower, I stopped briefly to observe the remains of a guard, his body mangled past recognition. Those that had stayed to fight had died bravely and would be honoured for their sacrifices. Those that fled would forever be disgraced as cowards. Never again would their kin call Equestria home. They would be banished and the guards that fled... I would personally see their execution.
For it was those cowards that were at fault here. It was because of their mistrust that Luna had felt ostracized. It was them that had shunned her when all she had wanted was their understanding and love. She was the princess of the night and had for many centuries safe guarded the dreams of pones. Pushed back evil that used her darkness to spread their influence and corruption.
The fools had come to associate her with the ill doings of these beasts and after everything we had done for them, they had in the end driven my sister becoming the nightmare. A tower collapsing broke my inner ranting as I paused to look at what had been our home.
A far cry from it's once proud form. Fires devoured all in their path as they consumed what remained of the castle. The half that wasn't destroyed barely stood and most likely come morning would either be consumed by magical flames or would collapse. Snorting I turned away in disgust. The castle had stood as a testimont to peace and harmony being achieved between the three ponies of Equestria.
Now all it did was remind me of the cowardice and skittish nature of ponies.
I continued on. I felt not the bite of the wind or the pain of my wounds, my hooves forcing my body forward.
I knew where I was going, I knew where I would bury her. A garden hidden deep within the forest, where beautiful and exotic flowers grew undisturbed.
With a tug of my horn I managed to wrestle control of a few clouds within the everfree. Allowing the moon’s rays to pass, illuminating all that resided within the gardens domain.
The final resting place for my Luna. Unspoiled by the fires of battle or the fleeing ponies, a time capsule untouched in all the years it had sat here.
The work was brief but messy. Mud clung to my coat, the rain blurred my vision. As i dug deeper I started to feel the effects of the elements and my wounds. The cold wind bit down to my very bones, agitating open wounds as I struggled to continue digging. .
Caked in blood, dirt and sweet, I groggily looked at my work. A modestly-sized grave, but not nearly good enough for my sister. Gently, tenderly I lowered my sister, her frail form as tears spilled forth again, a broken sob passing though my lips. But as I looked down at the small hole holding the fragile form of my sister. I worked quickly filling in the hole, pausing as I flattened the earth.
The deed finished I looked down unable to stop the resurgence of grief and rage.
An equanimity in the brief moments before it hit me. In that moment everything was unleashed, raw emotion oozing off of me as I felt my body explode with pent up energy. Fire coated my body snuffing out the ethereal glow of my mane as the grass beneath me withered and died. I screamed, the sound shaking the very earth as towering trees creaked and groaned before me.
My tears scorched the very ground itself as they fell. I was alone and for what? A bunch of selfish cowards. My world crushed and it was all because I had let my love for these ponies blind me to the toxic effect they had on my sister.
‘It’s their fault!
They made me do it!
Made me kill the only family I had left.
My little sister, so kind and compassionate, now nothing but a charred husk.
They will pay for their crimes, they will all pay!
As my world has shattered, so shall their’s burn!”
