The Fall of a Nation

                     It was a warm day even in the Everfree, as the sun’s light shone through the ceiling of leaves. For Lyra, however, it certainly wasn’t a day of joy. She had been drawn to a hunting shift with Violet Fritter, yet another member of the incredibly large Apple family. If it wasn’t for all these Apples, Ponyville would be in big trouble now. We would have no food, much less recruits and the morale boost of having the entire family of the Element of Honesty on our side, Lyra had thought.

                     Lyra had been quite surprised to find out that Violet was one of the more talkative Apples, a complete opposite to the stoic and reticent Big Macintosh. The corn-colored mare had babbled for the whole day, not giving Lyra a moment’s rest. Now that the two ponies were finally on the tracks of a boar, Violet was finishing the memoirs of her life in Hoofington, ‘The City at the Golden River’.

                     “… and then it happened.”

                     “Umm, what happened?” Lyra asked with a confused smile, having paid more attention to the ancient oaks surrounding them than the other mare’s ramblings.

                     Violet rolled her eyes. “Ya know what happened! The famine. There was no food in Trottingham, none at all – the streets were filled with starving ponies craving for food and shelter. We were okay at first because of our large garden, but of course the apple harvest of a relatively small family orchard wasn’t enough to feed us for the whole winter. As there was no food left to buy, we were forced to move back to our roots here in Ponyville and later made this our permanent home. Nopony really wanted to go back after the winter was over… we could finally grow our own food! And now, two years later, Sweet Apple Acres has larger orchards than ever before,” the mare finished with a grin.

                     Despite knowing of the sudden migration of a dozen Apples to the town, Lyra had never really bothered her mind with the reason of such a sudden ‘homecoming’. Now she felt herself utterly spaced out of current affairs.

                     The silence between the two mares was brief, as Violet could not keep her mouth shut for more than a minute. “Hey Lyra, are you a good shot? Ah was wondering if ya could take out the boar once we find it. My aim ain’t exactly steady with this bulky piece of scrap. Surely a unicorn is better at shooting with these things?”

                     “I… I don’t really know. I have never shot outside of the practice range,” Lyra replied with a slight blush and smidgen of fear in her eyes. “Besides, I don’t have a good feeling about this… ‘killing animals to eat them’-thing.”

                     “Oh Miss Heartstrings, you know that’s a bunch of horseapples! Sometimes, the stronger simply has to take the life of a lower species in order to survive. Many animals like bears and wolves do that all the time, so don’t ya tell me it’s wrong,” the other mare snorted.

                     “But… but…”

                     “No ‘buts’. Now Ah really feel like ya should take that shot, Miss. It’s important that ya understand what it feels like, since ya claim to never have shot at a living target,” Violet said, her eyes focused on Lyra’s.

                     The aquamarine mare was shaking slightly, trying not to show her increasing fear to Violet. That, however, was for no avail.

                     “Ah know the first kill can be mighty heartstinging, Miss,” Violet let out, the anger in her voice replaced with a comforting tone. “It really is for the best that ya do it now instead of in the heat of battle. The boar stands no chance against us, but freezing in the middle of a firefight usually means certain death.”

She’s right. If my emotions take control of me, I’m as good as dead, Lyra thought. “Alright, Violet… I’ll do it,” she said, her voice trembling a bit.

--

                     It took half an hour for the ponies to catch the up with the boar. The pair was now standing on the edge of a large clearing, the boar digging in the snow about a hundred feet away next to an old and worn oak.

                     Without a word, Lyra lifted her rifle with magic and crouched on the chilly blanket of snow. Despite her earlier feelings, the mare was strangely serene when the time to act came. I’m really doing this. I really-

POW.

                     For a short moment that felt to Lyra like an eternity, the boar screamed like its lungs were on fire. Then it collapsed, blood painting the ground with a deep hue of red. Lyra started to shake again. “I have killed. I really did it this time, it’s gone! I won my fears, I… I…” the words choked up in her mouth. There the boar lay, executed against a tree. Just like Berry Punch.

                     Violet put her hoof on Lyra’s shoulder, cheeringly talking right into her ear. “Great shot, Miss! Ah couldn’t have done better by myself. Looks like ya hit his heart!”

                     Lyra could say nothing. Her mind was tormented by fear, regret and guilt for enjoying the shot on some level. Have I become a monster?

                     “I think ya know what comes next, eh?” Violet asked with a smile.

                     Lyra just looked at the ground, saying nothing.

                     “Oh. Depression after the first kill – I suppose that’s understandable, Miss! But let me show ya how to skin a boar, for that is a vital part in getting the animal to the dinner table”, the corn-colored mare continued, her purple mane wiggling around in the light breeze.

Oh Celestia… Lyra suddenly felt incredibly sick, and her stomach started clenching. She threw up the whole precious breakfast.

--

                     It had turned out that skinning a large boar alone in the middle of a forest was no easy task. Violet had given up trying to make Lyra help her, and thus the mares were now dragging the heavy carcass along the ground, strapped to them by hemp ropes. The sun had passed its apex, and was now slowly but surely lowering towards the horizon, making the Everfree appear much darker as the trees were now effectively blocking the sunlight out.

                     The pair stopped, when Violet realized they were in the same place as an hour ago. “Uhm… Ah don’t how to put this, Miss, but I think we might be lost,” she told, giving a nervous laugh.

                     Lyra kept her mouth shut, as there were no more words left in her. I have killed a living, perhaps on some level a sentient creature. I have seen huge pools of blood on the snow. And now we’re lost. Guess I got what was coming for me.

                     “Not gonna say anything, huh?”

                     Staring at the hunger-inducing, delicious-looking fritters on the other mare’s flank, Lyra remained silent, shaking her head in a barely recognizable shutter. And now I’m hungry. Looks like I really am a spoiled, useless mare. Couldn’t cut a boar up to save my life.

                     A sudden slap in Lyra’s face returned her to the ground. “Miss Heartstrings! Lyra!” Violet shouted. “Now ya will stop chewing the cud and talk, will ya? As as superior officer, Ah command you to help me set up a camp. If we’re lost, there’s no point in wandering around a forest full of Luna-knows-what horrors during sunset. Our safest bet is to dig a large pit in the snow and hole up in there for the night – and hope that the boar doesn’t attract unwanted attention.”

                     Back in reality, Lyra could now find enough courage to respond at least something. “Yes, ma’am. Just tell me what to do.”

                     And so the two mares proceeded to grab field shovels from their saddlebags. It took some time, but with the combined effort a deep hole wide enough for both of them formed. It wasn’t a piece of masterwork, but it’d do. However, with the sky clear, the night would certainly be at least as cold as it had been during the previous ones.

--

19. 2. 918

Dear diary,

May Celestia and Luna forgive me, for I have committed a great evil. A necessary one, perhaps – but that doesn’t make it right.

Oh sweet Cadence, what am I rambling about again? What we have to do is what we have to do. Moral doesn’t apply when we’re trying our best to survive in this cruel world. If lesser lifeforms have to surrender their energy to help us strive, so be it.

I can’t avoid the fact that I still feel horrible about it, though. Especially with its freezing corpse just outside of our little hole…

No. I must be stronger.

****

As Celestia’s former sun slowly descended from the sky, the steady speed of the airship Tirblimp did not slow. Finding such a way of travel was something that neither Bon nor any of her companions had expected, but like a gift from the past Princess, an airship had descended almost on top of them during a storm the day before. The Tirblimp was the mighty flagship of the small but fearsome Detrotian fleet, currently on its way to the frontlines.

After almost getting shot and maimed by gryphon escorts, the ship’s captain, a green unicorn with a compass rose as a cutie mark had offered them a ride - meeting a Bearer of an Element was not something that happened every day. The fact that Daggerfall, the earth pony the group had come to know in Hoofvale was a part of the ship’s crew had also helped. Bon and her fellows had quickly agreed that they would jump off at a refueling station near Ghastly Gorge, even though Goldengrape had gotten an offer of getting a free hitch to the frontlines. The stallion had almost agreed, but a quiet whisper from Fluttershy had changed his mind. Bon could only wonder what she might have said, but it probably was something about his wife.

Being the assertive mare she was, Bon had already tried to suck out any and all useful information from the ship’s captain. The mare, Clear Skies her name, hadn’t spoken much. It had become clear to Bon that Captain Skies was not fond of sharing anything with ponies not with her faction, and thus she had been stopped short. The only important thing she’d managed to get out of her was that a mass attack on Canterlot was being planned, but that was no surprise.

As Bon was leaning on the side rail deep in her thoughts, Fluttershy woke her from the sleep-like slumber she’d been in. “Umm, Bon? Would you mind me asking you about something?” the pegasus whispered in a voice so quiet that the other mare had trouble hearing anything she’d said.

“Not at all, Flutters. Just go ahead.”

“Do you think we are in the right, not doing anything about this war? I know that you’re hiding something... I just thought that maybe you have changed your mind..?” Fluttershy continued with an uncertainty in her voice. Her eyes were locked at the deck beneath Bon.

Oh Celestia. She really does know.

“Do you know?” Bon asked with a stern look. Fluttershy answered nothing.

The earth pony sighed. “So you do. I have thought about it, yes. But leaving her behind  was the only thing I could do - no matter what happens, I can’t support a pony who forgets her ideals when trouble arrives,” Bon said, her voice cracking a bit. “What do you think I should have done?”

Now she’s going to bash me.

“Oh... I... I don’t know,” the pegasus whimpered.

Surprised by the answer of the peaceful Fluttershy who still could be quite harsh to wrong-doers, Bon’s eyes widened. “I thought you’d just leave me the instant I said that.”

“I can forgive you, for I’m not even sure if you did the right or wrong decision. Enough ba... bad has already happened due to my absoluteness,” Fluttershy explained, still not courageous enough to look in the other mare’s eyes. “I might never see her again... oh Bon, I was so mad at her for joining the Free Army!”

The eyes of the pegasus were starting to water. “I know she shouldn’t have done that. The pride of Cloudsdale and her family can’t be more important than the lives of other ponies... but... but...” it was obvious that Fluttershy was not willing to continue the conversation further.

“Sometimes, you have to choose between two bads,” Bon said with a low voice. “Don’t you worry about Rainbow Dash. I’m sure she’ll be safe.”

“It’s not that!” Fluttershy almost shouted out. “She could get into battle. And there she will, oh I know she will, being the most talented flier for decades... she will... she’ll...” the pegasus was starting to cut out again.

“She’ll kill other ponies, Bon,” Fluttershy finally let out, unexpectedly still able to speak. “And I don’t think she’ll even regret it. When Rainbow left, her eyes had the same determined spark as Twilight’s when she got to know the truth about what happened to Celestia.”

“What? Celestia has something to do with this?”

A look of panic swept to Fluttershy’s face, but was quickly replaced with an empty glare to nothingness, as she began speaking again: “I shouldn’t have said that. But I don’t think it matters anymore – everything’s lost anyway. “

“Go on,” Bon demanded as the pegasus hesitated.

“Umm… okay. We, I mean me and my five friends, were invited to Canterlot for an emergency meeting one cold morning a year and some months ago. You know what it was like back then: everypony was hungry and death was everywhere, as the Blizzard of the Century had just passed. Spring was coming and a smidgen of hope had built up in our hearts – perhaps everything could return to normal after the worst famine Equestria had ever seen. At first we thought that the meeting would be like the ones before, where we had attempted to summon food with little success. But no, it was nothing like that,” Fluttershy started her story.

--

The weather was foul as the six mares, the Bearers of the Elements, stepped out of the train. What surprised them was that Princess Luna instead of Celestia was there to greet them. The alicorn’s face was as stoic as ever, but in her eyes Fluttershy saw a hint of something not expected – anger.

“Welcome, my little ponies,” the Princess spoke out. “You might already have figured out that this meeting is not like the other ones we have had this winter. Please follow me, for I have important matters to discuss with you.”

The six mares followed in the hoofsteps of the Princess, trading nervous glances. Through the streets of Canterlot and the halls of the castle, the regal alicorn led the friends to the door of her private chambers, where two Solar Knights stood in guard along with a band of Royal Guards. The pair of Knights raised their decorated bayonets to let the Princess and her accompanies through.

As they entered the room, it became apparent why Luna had summoned them to Canterlot on such a short notice: on the bed of the Princess of the Night lay a sleeping and very exhausted-looking Celestia, a white unicorn with a red cross for a cutie mark next to her.

“All of her powers were drained when we put the blizzard up. The war is over– entire armies dropped out of the sky, the feathers of gryphons and pegasi alike frozen together by just minutes of exposement to the coldest wind our nation has seen for hundreds of years. This - ,” she explained, pointing at Celestia, “is why the storm lasted for so long. There was no way I could have ended it alone. Countless of lives were lost for nothing. The only positive thing about this situation is that the number of ponies to feed has finally dropped to tolerable levels,” Luna told with a tear in her eye, giving a dry laugh.

“When will she wake up?” Twilight asked with fear in her voice.

“I don’t think she will, Twilight.”

The six mares at the doorway looked shocked. “But she’s Celestia! An immortal alicorn cannot die! Why won’t you just heal her?” Twilight argued.

“We shouldn’t be able to die naturally, yes” Luna replied, tears flowing openly from her eyes. “But there’s nothing that I, or anypony else for that matter can do. You of all ponies must know how strongly we resist magic despite being capable of otherworldly, almost godlike deeds – deeds that aren’t really magic at all, as you doubtlessly have learned out while scouring the Forbidden Section of the Royal Archives.”

“But what could have caused her sickness? Celestia’s even resistant to poisons!”

“I have no idea, Twilight. But we're going to find out.”

--

“Fluttershy, this is starting to go a bit over my head,” Bon commented. Alicorns aren’t really magical. The Blizzard of the Century was caused by the Princesses. What next, a secret alliance with the changelings? While the matters the pegasus had already revealed were hard for Bon to swallow, she knew that the mare was not a good liar – and as she started to speak again, only a honest despair was evident from her stature.

“As I was telling you, we proceeded to spent two week in Canterlot, helping Luna decipher the cause to Celestia’s illness. We had tried to help with that before, but it wasn’t so important until then…”

--

Twilight emerged from the doorway with a blank look on her face. Beside her was the crown of Celestia, levitating in a magenta field magic. “We finally know,” she said with a powerless voice.

The huge and round court room lined with silvery ornaments that she walked into wasn’t very crowded, as only the most trusted high-ranking officials along with the Bearers were around. Princess Luna was nowhere to be seen. Still, Twilights statement had managed to cause quite a stir within the small mass of ponies.

As the purple mare walked up to the platform with a brisk step, the attendees were already shouting questions. Twilight paid no attention to them.

“This crown,” she began to speak, “Is the reason for Princess Celestia’s illness. Our research team has found out that it contains trace amounts of a mysterious substance emitting something that has never been encountered before. Something between magic and poison – imagine it as killing radio waves. The substance is so rare that it couldn’t have been there by chance, thus I regrettingly have to inform that the state of our Princess was caused by somepony. I’d even go as far as saying that the offender is in this very room; The pony has had to have been close to her in order to corrupt the crown in such a way.”

When the room was again filled with conversation, Twilight continued with a magically amplified voice: “But do not worry! The pony or ponies responsible for this atrocity will be found out. And their punishment shall be horrible.”

Nopony had the nerve to talk as Twilight descended from the platform, heading back towards the door. Her face revealed nothing, but what Fluttershy saw in her eyes was terrible – it was almost like a flame was burning behind them.