The latest edition of the "Foal Free Press" dropped to the floor after its reader glanced at the headline. "Equestria saved once again by the Elements of Harmony". The headline was followed by a group shot of Twilight and her friends, the mares who represented the Elements of Harmony. Fuelled by anger, she turned the paper into dust with multiple pounds of her hooves. The sound was enough to catch the attention of one of the nearby guards. Hurriedly, he went from his post to where the sound had come from. "Your highness, I heard some noises coming from inside, and I came quickly as I could. Is everything alright in there?" The guard stood there for quite some time, waiting patiently for a response. As he reached to knock on the door once more, it flung open, nearly knocking him in the head. " Oh goodness! My sincerest apologies Captain!" Reassuring his ruler, he responded "I'm fine your highness, just a little stumbled from the doors. I do apologise for intruding on you, but I heard some some loud noises coming from within your chamber, and I was simply making sure nothing had gone wrong. "I should have known that the sound of many books falling all at once would get some attention. I'm doing a bit of reorganisation, and moving my books was one of the last things on my list. I'm not particularly fond of this, so I was simply rushing it to get it over with sooner. I lost focus for a few seconds after seeing that the paper had arrived, and as a result, my spell stopped, dropping all of the books. Nothing more, nothing less. I do appreciate your concern, and I humbly thank you." Although he was relieved that he had found the source of the cacophonous noise, he felt as if she were rushing him out of the situation, almost as if she had something to hide. Shrugging it off, the captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard trotted away from Celestia's gilded doors.
It took all that she had to smile throughout the ordeal, but she had managed. The guard believed her story, which was all she cared about at the time. After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, she walked towards the remains of the newspaper. The picture of her appreciative and her friends were completely ruined. The satisfaction of somewhat crushing them made the dismayed princess feel happy. With some magic, she repaired the paper, and destroyed it again. And again. And again. This went on for quite some time, after which, Celestia felt that her hooves were sore from all of the pounding. The moderate pain was nothing to her, and she still had the urge to destroy the newspaper again. However, she refrained, for she knew that the constant sound of hooves beating on the ground would warrant more unwanted guests. The ruins were swept into a trash can, and Celestia went towards her bedchamber, feeling stressed and angered once again. Laying down on her large bed, she ran countless thoughts through her head: How her star pupil and friends saved Equestria as many times as they did, yet showing no signs of dismay; how during every encounter with evil they had, they always came out on top, and were infinitely praised by the other ponies of the world. However, the hardest part to imagine was how all of her subjects slowly became distant from her. Not that they didn't care about her, or that they didn't praise her, but it was clear to them that the princess wasn't the mare she was 1000 years ago, as made obvious by her defeat at the hooves of the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis. When ponies realised that even Celestia had her mortal boundaries, they began to think higher of the Element Bearers, and in turn, the princess began losing importance. After all, not even the strongest efforts by their opponents were enough to put them down for long. More importantly, Celestia was almost never present when disaster struck, and even if she was, she had barely any use. The real heroes were the Element Bearers. The ones deserving of praise were the Element Bearers. The ones who had overshadowed Celestia... were the Element Bearers. In nearly every way, Twilight and her friends had Celestia trumped, and she was quite aware of this.
The inevitable had happened: Celestia was experiencing an immense feeling of jealousy, even stronger than Luna's before her corruption. After all, Celestia had given everything to her student. The chance to meet her friends, the chance to stop all of the destruction that plagued Equestria every so often, and the chance to rise above her in the eyes of the normal citizens. No credit was ever given to her, only the snotnosed ponies that used her gift of friendship. She was barely respected by even her guards, whose conversations she had overheard numerous times. "Have you ever thought about how Celestia's power seems to be dwindling?", said one guard to another. "What? Of course not! I mean, that defeat at the wedding wasn't really within her realm to control", the other said in response. "Yeah, yeah, I know, but she's THE most powerful being in Equestria, and she was stopped within seconds of trying. There was hardly any struggle between the two", the first replied. "But that Cheeselegs was fuelled by some seriously strong love, right? And that's what those freaks get power off of", said the other. "So what, Celestia's raw strength is weaker than love? I don't believe that for a second, no matter how much love was pumping through that changeling's veins." "Maybe you're right, but Celestia can't be losing power. It just doesn't make sense", said the other grimly. "Face it. Celestia is like a dying star. She's losing all of that energy that initially fuelled her, and she's going to burn out soon.", the first said forcefully. Upon hearing this, Celestia teleported away to the roof of Canterlot Castle to be alone with her thoughts.
The painful memories brought tears to her eyes, and she wept herself to sleep. Her dream consisted of her in an empty plane, by herself, aimlessly walking into oblivion. "Doesn't seem fair, does it?", Celestia heard. "Who's there? I demand to know", she said in retaliation. She looked all around in every direction possible, and saw nothing. It was quiet for a few minutes, after which the silence was broken by the same unknown force. "You know that the Element Bearers don't deserve all of the attention that they're getting just as much as I do." "WHO ARE YOU!?", Celestia screamed. The entity knew that her buttons were easily pushed, especially at a time like this, which made it push them harder. "Do you really want the surprise to be spoiled already? Fine. Have it your way." At this point, a mirror rose out of the ground in front of Celestia, which startled her quite a bit. "What does this have to do with anything? I want to see you, not myself." "Oh, you don't seem to realizer. You wanted to see me, so I gave you the chance to see me." "W-what? You're me? But...how?", Celestia questioned. "To put it into more realistic terms, i'm your subconscious. But yes, in a way, I am you. I know everything you know, everything you've done, and everything you want to do." "So you know of my thoughts on the Element Bearers", Celestia said bleakly. "I certainly do, and I must say, for your standards, those are very harsh feelings." "I can't help it. They are truly gifted ponies, and I am proud to have introduced them to the Elements, but they continually push the rest of my subjects away from me. They don't even think highly of me anymore. I'm just the mare who raises the sun.", she said on the brink of tears. "No tears Celestia, I know that you are suffering. It's something you may not have experienced first hand before; Jealousy. Am I right?" "You know you are", she said annoyed. "Heh heh, I know. What if I were to tell you that you can rightfully claim your respect back? Make everypony live with only you in mind. Sounds enticing doesn't it?" "Very, but I do not know how I would go about doing this", Celestia said, disappointed. "Kill them." "Excuse me? Kill them? My student and her friends?", said Celestia. "Obviously. The only way to finally earn back that respect and fear is to kill those who overshadowed you in the first place. You know that it is the only way." "B-but I can't. They are the only group of ponies that can utilise the Elements of Harmony", said a distraught Celestia. "Not if you were to kill them. Their power is transferred to the one who takes the elements away from them. I can't say anymore for tonight however. Come back to me tonight with your decision, and then I can help you further." "Wait! Let me stay a little long-", was all that came out as she was cut off mid-sentence before she woke up.
Princess Celestia was filled with a never-ending sense of dread in the weeks following her vivid dream. On one hoof. the corrupt being from her dream was right. Twilight and her friends had taken Celestia's sense of respect from her, leading to some ponies ridiculing Equestria's once highly regarded leader. Yet the despaired alicorn couldnt place all of the blame on her most cherished student. She was the one who had tasked the six mares with defeating Nightmare Moon, and after their success, it was simply expected of them to jump into action when a threat arose. They never asked for rewards of any value, as the safety of Equestria was their primary concern. Celestia couldn't help but smile at the fond memories of her humble and loyal subjects who represented the Elements of Harmony. While cherishing these fond memories, a voice whispered to her, "If they were as humble as you think they are, why would they continuously outshine you at every possible moment? Perhaps they've lost respect for you as well, joining the tens of thousands of other disappointed ponies." Celestia became accustomed to the voice that continued to chastise and criticize her once most prized subjects. The voice belonged to the being that had visited her in her dreams weeks ago. It always let fly a barrage of hurtful inquiries, such as "Why do you bother trying anymore?", or even more personal ones, like "Do you think your mother and father would accept you in your current state? A washed up excuse of a Princess who can't even fight her own battles? A once powerful ruler toppled by those who claim to love and respect her?". Try as she might, she could not make the voice go away. Ignoring it proved to be impossible, sleeping only manifested it into a physical being, and giving in and responding to the voice only made her loathe the Element Bearers even more than she already did. Celestia was trapped, and she knew that the only exit would appear by doing the unthinkable.
Luna, the Princess of the Night, had noticed how reclusive her sister had become, and she couldn't help but go in search of answers. She flew to her sister's chamber at the top of Canterlot Castle and knocked on the large doors. This only provided Luna with a boisterous "GET AWAY!", so the Lunar Princess took to searching for another entrance. She knew that the balcony door was never locked, so she took flight and went towards it. Luck was on her side tonight, for there was a certain princess pony already there waiting. Luna landed and walked towards her sister, only to be stopped by a magical forcefield. "Please Celestia, let us know what troubles our sister", Luna inquired. Celestia couldn't keep her sister in the dark, for this was a matter of emergency, and could throw all of Equestria into chaos. She lowered the forcefield and began recounting to Luna the entirety of her suffering, beginning with overhearing the guards and up until earlier today with the most recent encounter with the voice. She went on for a while, speaking of how she felt as if the Element Bearers were stealing the love and respect that ponies felt towards her, leaving her with nothing but shame. "Luna, I cannot tell you anymore than what i've already so, or I feel that I will lose you as well. Please, leave me". Celestia begged and begged again, but it was to no avail. "Sister, we will always love thou, and no words you can muster will change this fact" Luna said as she went to embrace her sister. Celestia accepted the advance and began crying her eyes out, grasping Luna as hard as possible, letting all of the guilt go. The two broke the hug and began staring at the nightsky in silence. After what seemed like hours, Celestia spoke. "Luna, you of all ponies know about the corruption that comes along with jealousy" she said as she walked closer to the guard rail. She looked down and sighed. A single tear dropped from her cheek down to the ground, stories below. Luna followed her sister to the rail and looked towards her. "That is true sister, but we are confused by your words. What relevance does it possess? You of all ponies shouldn't even be susceptible to corruption" scoffed Luna. She wasn't attempting to be rude, but she was genuinely confused by how her sister had been talking throughout the night.
Celestia wasn't keen on revealing her horrid secret to Luna, but there was simply no other option, for she knew that keeping it bottled up inside would only bring her more pain. "I am not proud of the thoughts that have recently been invading my mind," Celestia started, "but the truth must come out. The jealousy i've been holding towards the Element Bearers has shifted my perspective of them. Every day that passes brings me closer to the inevitable, and I feel that I will not be able to prevent it. Luna...Luna i've been hearing a voice telling me to kill them." Upon speaking those words, Celestia couldn't keep herself from bursting into sobs, and all Luna could do was hold and comfort the troubled pony. This was truly disturbing to the Lunar Princess, but chastising her sister in a time like this wouldn't go over well, and wouldn't be representative of the close bond that the two shared. A few minutes passed, and Celestia had collected herself once more, and continued speaking. "Every time it talks to me, it says that I will regain the respect and love of my subjects, and the thought is beyond tempting. It would be simple, yet I can't bring myself to do it. I dream of killing them, but it burns to think about. I realize that these thoughts may be unsettling, but please don't place the blame on me. These thoughts and images have invaded my mind, yet I feel as if I welcomed them with open arms." Luna backed away in shock after hearing all of this. She thought back to the times where she was trapped inside of Nightmare Moon. While she was once corrupted herself, murder was never a concept on her mind at the time. She was ruthless and vile, but something inside of her prevented her from becoming a murderer. Luna trotted over to her sister and placed her hooves on the troubled pony's shoulders. "Sister, you must seek help. We cannot sit idly by and watch you suffer and think these thoughts. It is simply unnatural! Celestia did not take these words as well as Luna had expected. "Help? Help!? Why yes, I'll just strut into a psychologists office, tell him all i've told you, and then what? He tries to treat me?" backlashed Celestia. She had never spoken this way towards anypony, yet she felt that it was fitting. It shook Luna slightly, but she brushed it off. "Sister, there must exist something that can aid you!" replied Luna. An unsettling smile formed on Celestia's face as she spoke to Luna again. "Oh, but there is something I can do. Or I should say, something that YOU can do." Luna wasn't comfortable with where this conversation was going, but she was only going to get answers by listening, so she remained silent. "Summon the Elements to Canterlot, and I shall...discuss this with them."
Luna was simply astounded at this remark, and honestly didn't know what to think of Celestia at this point. "We will do no such thing! Your plan to actually go ahead and...murder those ponies is quite obvious, and we will play no part in having them killed!" barked Luna. Both mares were angered at this point, and Luna was prepared to storm off to her chamber. She needed to calm down, so she began walking towards the edge of the balcony. She was only able to flap her wings once as she heard a noise and felt a searing pain in her back. She attempted to look back, but only fell on her side, amplifying the pain quite a bit. Immobilized from the trauma, she was unable to move, and all she could do was listen to her assailant as her hoofsteps grew closer. The pony who had hurt Luna revealed herself, and what Luna feared the most had come true: Assaulted by Celestia, now left to be killed. "You refused to help me, your own sister for Equestria's sake! I thought that you were a dependable mare, but it seems that my assumptions have been wrong. No matter though. You serve me no purpose anymore, and I had no reason to let you fly off and live another day" Celestia softly spoke towards her sister. "C-c-celestia, how could you?" croaked Luna. Celestia walked in front of her crippled sister and looked directly into her eyes. "How could you refuse to assist me? Is my life not worth as much as those daft mares who control the Elements? Have you turned on me as well? Hmmph, and to think I once trusted you!" Celestia growled. Luna attempted to speak, but stopped as she saw her sister's horn light up. She closed her eyes for the last time and Celestia let fly another beam of magic.
The corpse of the former Lunar Princess was disposed off in the lower slums of Canterlot. A very poor section of town, where food and money are scarce, and the only way to get by is through murder or assault. Ponies in that sector of the city often resorted to cannibalism, and when offered the corpse of a large blue pony by a shady figure, they did not hesitate. Celestia wrote to all of her important colleagues, telling them of how Luna had "gone on a quest of self-discovery", and how she wouldn't be back for at least a year or two. She knew that those idiot creatures would believe anything she fed them, and she used this to her advantage quite frequently. With the letters sent, Celestia was now free to arrange for Twilight and her friends to come to the castle for a visit. She smiled at the thought of finally being rid of those ponies, and she went to her chamber to sleep. The night before had been long, and she was in desperate need of rest. She laid her head down on her pillows and drifted off into a deep sleep. For the first time in weeks, Celestia slept peacefully.
