Seeds of Doubt

by Alexia

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Twilight Sparkle, Gore, Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad, Main 6, Princess Luna, Spike
Length: 1991

When Celestia becomes wary of changelings soon after Chrysalis' defeat she goes to extreme measures

Flyers fell from the sky the morning after the Canterlot Wedding, detailing Celestia's suspicions of changeling activity. Twilight is distraught as unicorns are exploited for their magic and as unrealistic claims are made against her and others. Why didn't Celestia discuss her suspicions with Twilight? How could the changelings attack again so soon? As tensions rise in Equestria, sacrifices must be made and lives must be lost. After the tragedy and terror, Equestria learns the dangers of suspicion and mistrust.

Published 2012-09-04 00:14:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-09-04 00:14:01 UTC

Chapter 2

“Morning, Twilight!” Spike greeted the sleepy pony as she made her way down the staircase; still yawning. “Breakfasts on the table” he pointed to a bowl of warm oatmeal.
Nodding her head and smiling, Twilight greeted him. “Did you finish that report last night?”
“Done and dusted!” Spike replied.
“Sorry I had to keep you up all night. I know the wedding celebrations last night must’ve really made you tired.”
“No problem. I sent it off this morning.” He proceeded to pick up a cloth and begin dusting down the bookshelves.

“Any news this morning?” Twilight enquired. “Has the mail been delivered yet?”
The lavender dragon paused for a moment. “Uh…” he’d become uneasy in a matter of seconds. “Spike? What is it?” she asked, concern building.
“There’s something you need to see, Twilight…” Spike discarded the cloth and made his way to the table, a piece of paper in hand. “These… fell out of the sky this morning. The Princess ordered the pegasi to drop them…”
Twilight snatched the document from his hands with a levitation spell and began reading.

My loyal subjects,
It has become increasingly apparent that we are under threat from the Changeling army.
“Changelings?” the unicorn exclaimed. “But… But I saw her defeated!”
I have reached the conclusion that we have no choice but to protect our borders with a barrier to prevent invasion. As your Princess and leader, I have declared that each day, unicorns who have had at least three years magical ability are to donate five percent of their daily magic at the nearest medical facility. This will power our borders. Unicorns are to strictly observe these conditions each day.
Twilight became panicked. “I… I don’t understand. Why hasn’t Princess Celestia discussed this with me!?”
If we are to have a bright future, all unicorns are to contribute. I have issued that all pegasi are to return to Cloudsdale to await further instruction. Earth ponies are to remain where they are.
Your loyal Princess,
Princess Celestia of Equestria

“Uhh… Twilight? Are you ok?” Spike went to place a hand on the unicorn’s shoulder but she rushed up the staircase towards the bedroom; cursing and distraught.
“Do you know what this means Spike?” she said, packing her saddlebag.
“Oh, I’m sure that The Princess is just doing what she thinks is best to keep us safe. And it’s only five percent. You have loads of magic. You could really help build this barrier” he tried to calm her to no avail.
“I have to go. This is a serious claim!” she levitated her saddlebag and put it over her back; trotting towards the door in a frenzy.
“I’m sure it’ll all be over in a week or two” the dragon shrugged. “Wait. Aren’t you going to finish breakfast?”
“No time” Twilight stuttered.
“At least tell me where you’re going.”
“To see Rarity!” she called. She dashed from the door; the sound of her hooves quickly fading into the distance.

Chapter 4

The hospital room was distastefully white and the nursing uniforms were equally as distasteful and a hideous, dirty kind of vintage green. Rarity held her tongue. In such an environment, complaining would get her nowhere. She’d been first in line and had been ready to donate for the past hour and as irritable as she’d become, donating three times the amount of magic required would benefit those around her by protecting them from the changelings.

Rarity sat on the edge of the hospital bed toying with her royal purple curls until the door opened. Quite a line of donators had formed outside the hospital since she’d arrived. Funny how everyone was referring to unicorns as ‘donators’ when the donation was a requirement, she thought. In walked a nurse wheeling in front of her a machine half as large as herself, covered in a white sheet. Rarity gulped.

“Oh, we are ever so sorry! We haven’t used this machine for a very long time, and it took quite a while to set it up and to ensure it was functioning correctly” the nurse pulled back the sheet. It revealed a pump-like machine attached to a number of plastic tubes, which were in turn, all attached to a single, large, thick needle. “We are trying so hard to open more rooms to allow multiple donations at the once, but we’re all so hectic trying to get the pups up and running that none of us are available to oversee the procedure. We’re terribly sorry.”

“It’s… understandable” Rarity replied, polite in tone.
“Hm. Well then” she said taking a clipboard in her hoof. “You’ll need to answer a few before this if you don’t mind, Miss...”
“Rarity”, she finished her sentence.
The nurse took a pen and began to write. “Have you recently been ill?”
“No.”
“Are you on long term medication?”
“No.”
“Have you had magical ability for over three years?”
Rarity nodded.
“Hm. It seems you have consented to donating fifteen percent rather than five. Do you consent to this?” she raised her eyebrows.
“Yes, for Equestria I will go first!”
“And do you understand the possible long and short term effects associated with this?”
Rarity nodded. Adrenalin was beginning to fill her veins, but she was determined to do this. Equestria needed magic and she was ready to give it.

“Now I ask that you lay down, Miss Rarity” the nurse instructed, setting the clipboard on a table beside the bed. “This will take very little time but it is in your best interests to remain calm during the procedure.”
Beginning to feel slightly light headed, the silvery-white unicorn did as she was instructed, closing her eyes and bracing herself; waiting for the nurse to push the tip of the needle into the giant nerve running through her horn. It was quiet enough that the sound of a pin dropping on the polished floors could have startled her.

“Raarriiittyyy!” The doors burst open and the nurse dropped the needle onto the floor, staggering backwards and proceeding to cower in the corner. Rarity’s eyes jerked open and she sat upright. She had to do a double take to realize who was standing before her.
“Wh-wh-aaat?” Rarity stuttered. “Twilight?”
“You can’t do this, Rarity!” the lavender unicorn tore past the line of hospital beds in a rage, hooves madly assaulting the floor. “What are you thinking, Rarity?!”

Insistent donors began spilling in through the doors, all pushing to get a glimpse of the action. “Oh, Twilight darling! You heard The Princess this morning” Rarity tried to remain calm and composed. “This is for good. The Princess is only trying to keep us safe.”
“No.” Twilight stamped her hoof. “This is so wrong. Something isn’t right here and I know it.”
Rarity recoiled.
“Have you seen the threats?!” Twilight roared.
“No, but”-
“No, you haven’t” she reinforced. “Neither has she, she, or she!” she pointed to various members of the growing crowd. “There is no evidence to prove the threat, and The Princess would have told me if there was even a threat in the first place! Don’t you see that this is just so…. so wrong!? It’s exploitation! For all as we know, Celestia could be a changeling!”

As security guards grabbed each hoof, the last thing she remembered seeing was a thick needle being inserted into the tip of Rarity’s horn and blue magic being pumped from her as she cringed. These times were all too strange.

Chapter 5

“All ponies are equal!”
The chant stopped Twilight in her tracks as her ears stood up, listening closer. The voice was very familiar- Applejack! As fast as her legs could take her, she galloped to Sweet Apple Acres.

On a podium, rising above a sea of unicorns and earth ponies, stood Applejack. She was fiery with rage and protest at the sudden turn of events and roared into a megaphone. “Did Celestia give y’all any evidence?”
“No!” the crowd below her roared, stamping their hooves in support; shaking apples from nearby trees.
“Did she give unicorns the same rights as us earth ponies?”
“No!”
“Are ya’ll gonna stand there and do nothin’?”
“No!”
“You wanna know why The Princess sent the pegasi to Cloudsdale?”
A silence from the crowd.
“She’s scared of unicorns and pegasi bandin’ together in protest! She thinks us earth ponies should stick here because we’re inferior, and can’t help unicorn folks. That’s racism!”
Mutters of discontent in the crowd opened up into bursts of protest again.

“What in tarnation was she thinkin’? Tomorrow we march for justice. Tomorrow we’re gonna storm Canterlot Castle! Pack ya saddlebags ‘cause it’ll be a long hike!” Applejack stepped down from the podium to allow others of the Apple family to speak. More calls of disapproval for Celestia rose and fell as Granny Smith spoke. “No evidence, no donations” was chanted by a group of unicorns in the center of the crowd.

Twilight had seen enough. Her worst fears had been confirmed. Rarity wasn’t seeing reason, Applejack was leading a moratorium, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were in Cloudsdale and no doubt Pinkie Pie was having an emotional breakdown, turning into ‘Pinkamena’ as Dash had once described. The details had been confirmed- This truly was happening. With a defeated sign, Twilight walked home. There was no point in panicking now, as the only way to end this unrest was through evidence. If that’s what everypony wanted, then that’s what she’d have to get them- Evidence that Celestia was being unreasonable and evidence that even though The Princess is a high authority, sometimes an authority needs questioning.

Chapter 1

Celestia could not sleep. Under three hours ago, Cadence and Shining Armor had left Canterlot in a gold-laced chariot and as much as this made her optimistic for the future, she was worried. She was still tense and in pain after the confrontation with Chrysalis and furthermore, she was ashamed of her failure and disbelief in Twilight. She was responsible for protecting her kingdom and never should have left the defeat of the Queen up to the newlyweds.

The Changelings had been sly and resourceful, attacking unexpectedly. Something needed to be done to prevent this from occurring again. Celestia could not fail her subjects again, nor could she leave herself open to harm if she were to rule for another thousand years. She needed to do something to protect her borders… but what?

Chapter 3

Sweetie Belle was confused. There were letters from The Princess being dropped from the air by pegasi, Rarity had run out of her boutique in a flash and everypony seemed to be at the doctors today even though nopony looked sick. Rarity was supposed to look after her for a while, so why had she left without even making breakfast? She knew Dad would be angry when he found that her big sister had left her to her own devices; wondering around her boutique until she returned.

A knock came to the door, startling her. “Huh?” she squeaked, advancing to open it ajar. She peeked through the crack. “Oh, hello Twilight!”
Twilight pushed past her and into the center of the room, breathing heavily. “Rarity. Where’s Rarity?!”
“Oh gosh, Twilight… Are you ok?” she became worried as soon as she saw Twilight’s stress.
“Where is she?” she panted.
“Oh, um, she left only a minute ago. She didn’t say where she was going but I’m sure if you just wait”-
“Which direction did she go?” Twilight insisted.
Sweetie backed away. “I… I’m not sure… But she looked worried…”

Twilight groaned. She knew where Rarity had gone. She’d hoped to speak with her yet now this was turning into a rescue mission. Knowing Rarity’s degree of generosity, she definitely would have been first to donate. Ugh, why did she have so be so easily swain!? She should have known! Bolting out the door, she headed towards the hospital.