Twilight Sparkle: The Burning Aletheia

Wild soldiers in armor wielding weapons and torch sticks stand upon the hills awaiting for the signal. Coincidentally the clouds began rolling in hours before the sight of a premeditated attack. The ponies of Ponyville gather around staring at the very faint sight of the royal army of Princess Celestia and wonder what in the world they were doing marching over here for. Whispers were shared and questions were asked. However, it still wasn't enough for the ponies, being content with themselves, to stop everything they were doing.

Those poor, poor fools in Ponyville. If only they knew the tragic events that awaited them upon those crisp, golden green hills those stallions stood from. If only they were aware that hours before this army's arrival, these cold soldiers had already taken thousands of lives along with their peaceful homes the casuals inhabited.

Village after village, town after town, and city after city. They had already traveled great and far for the purpose of creating a holocaust like any other in rewritten history. Not a single child, mother, elder, troubled pony, or animal spared. Their goal was clear yet truly sickening. The most hurtful part was that the leader of this army of a graceless war was someone very familiar and very loved upon all of Equestria. This leader was quite literally an individual everyone would have least expected: Princess Celestia.

It felt like a normal day just like any other day. Ponyville was lively and friendly as ever. It was unfortunate that none of them knew what became of the once inhabited areas all around them. This was probably because of one of two things: One, a good majority of healthy ponies were forcefully taken from their homes, and held captive for the purposes of turning them into doing slave work at a secretive concentration camp. Two, any pony who resisted or attempted to escape the clutches of their power were slaughtered on the spot. Hardly anyone lived and escaped to tell the tale to populations still untouched.

Twilight Sparkle was in her own world at the moment enjoying the lovely day even though it became somewhat gray in the sky. She was out in the market today fetching some food for her home. Usually Spike would do this, but she felt she would replace his grocery shopping for now since he was feeling sick and couldn't get out of bed all day. That didn't bother her, after all she has to get out once in awhile anyway.

As she walked along, she saw two of her wonderful friends out and about. Pinkie Pie bounced and greeted her in delight with her obnoxious trumpet. She then soon ran into Rainbow Dash who flew by her side and asked what she was up to. After chatting with them, Twilight continued with her shopping, thinking to herself.

I should come outside more often. Its not everyday you get to talk to great friends.. well, at least before I came to Ponyville I had no friends. And now I can't imagine living without them.

Twilight thought to herself as she gave some bits to the cashier.

I feel like they have changed me a lot.

Twilight Sparkle picked up a tomato from the counter and slipped it in her bag. Such a ripe, juicy looking tomato it was. Twilight continued walking through the market as she heard chatting and giggles from friends goofing around and enjoying each others' company.

To her right, Twilight heard a stream of wonderful indie music playing just outside a music store. Turning her head to the sounds, she saw a gray colored mare sitting down playing peaceful tunes on a piano as two other ponies followed along the notes on some violins. It was slightly faded, but Twilight could also hear a melody which sounded like a music box playing in the background. Different, but it surprisingly coordinated with the drama that was brought from the other instruments.

Twilight Sparkle continued pacing herself as she got a good look at the lively scenery of the town.

...Then she heard a small cry of thunder coming from the sky. The purple unicorn stopped again and looked up to see the sky growing darker by the minute. What was that? Not the lightning, but she heard something else, like the sound of a loud horn going off from far away. Twilight stared into space. She didn't feel like herself this very moment. Was something about this atmosphere amiss?

The music from the shop suddenly stopped. Another roar of thunder flashed into the sky.

The abrupt silence was fading after that split moment as ponies began to turn their heads toward the sound of many galloping ponies. Twilight turned toward the noise as well.

“There are those soldiers again. And this time it looks like they are heading toward Ponyville.” Twilight said to herself in wonderment. Whats going on? Ponies of Ponyville gathered together once again to gaze at the sight of soldiers from afar slowly appearing closer in distance.

“Hey Twi! Do you know whats up with Princess Celestia's royal army coming over here?” Twilight looked over her shoulder to see Rainbow Dash flying next to her.

“I don't know.. but by what they're wearing, they do indeed look like Celestia's army. How can that be?”

“Run for you lives everyone!!” Shouted Pinkie Pie.

Everyone around gasped and looked confused. Heads turned to each other exchanging whispers and gossip.

“W-what? Pinkie Pie, what are you talking about?” Asked Twilight, walking over to her.

“I'm telling you guys, somethings not right about this! You ponies saw my tail get all twitchy twitchy when we saw them looking at Ponyville from those hills.. And now my leg won't stop getting twitchy twitchy either! Not to mention my stomach is in flip flops..”

Twilight's voice softened, and questioned the disturbed thoughts of Pinkie Pie once more.

“What are you trying to say..?”

“I'm saying, those pack of stallions aren't running over to Ponyville because they are super hungry for cake! If they were super hungry for cake, they could just go to a bakery close by, and it would be too much of a coincidence for all the bakeries around Celestia's castle to be out of cake! They want to kill us and throw us into evil camps where they make you do hard work and never serve cake to you again! Yes I said it! They want to kill us everypony!”

All of those words were a lot to catch on. But once Twilight broke down to the core of her speech, it was a painful swallow. A sudden burst of red flame ignited in Twilight Sparkle's heart.

“You can't be serious.”

“Twilight, I thought you knew by now? My pinkie sense is always, I repeat, ALWAYS right! I wouldn't make this stuff up!”

“That's enough.”

“Don't you believe me? Well, its okay if you don't, because-”

“Stop it Pinkie!” Twilight said stomping her hoof to the ground. Everyone in the crowd kept their mouth shut. They had never seen her so angry before. She couldn't believe Pinkie Pie would say such mean things about the Princess. “Stop talking about Princess Celestia that way! I won't tolerate that from you! She would never intentionally hurt us!”

Rainbow Dash was actually pretty angry too that Pinkie Pie would suggest such an awful conspiracy theory to be really true. No, Pinkie Pie was not the first to suggest a bizarre idea like this.

Twilight knows about the theories of Celestia and other famous ponies across the land from a few series of books that use to be part of her collection in her library. She threw them out because she thought such theories were so ridiculous because they had no real solid evidence at hoof. All this time she stood at a firm belief that it was all made up by lonely sheltered ponies. Ponies who had nothing better to do with their lives than to blame higher figures for their problems. That, and to scare the living daylights out of others with a few horror stories.

“Pinkie Pie, sorry, but you have gone too far this time!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew in between eye contact of her friends, “Seriously.. Celestia attack her own subjects?! You seriously have some bolts loose in your brain.”

Pinkie Pie's expression faded into a serious tone. One only her close friends and family had only seen before until now.

“Okay, then, my friends, why do you think they are coming to Ponyville?”

“I.. I don't know. I guess we will find out when they come over here.” Twilight's stomach began to churn as the words unnaturally flowed out of her mouth. She wouldn't admit it, but deep down, a worm of doubt was in rangling the pit of it. She didn't want it to bother her, but if she was being completely honest with herself, she would say that those stories of mind controlling brainwashing puppets creeped her out.

“That's too... its too late!!” Squeaked the sorrowful panicked words of Pinkie Pie. Twilight Sparkle had never seen her this anxious since the time when Pinkie thought that nobody in their group wanted to be her friend anymore.

“Will.. you just shut it?! Nopony wants to hear your irritating voice anymore!” The words flew right out of Twilight Sparkle's mouth. What was up with her today? It was not normal to for this unicorn to spew out such intense language, let alone to one of her best friends, without giving it a second thought. The passionate anger burning within Twilight's heart must be racing the through fluids in her mind as well.

Pinkie said nothing. Gazing closer, Twilight noticed something odd, something different coming out of Pinkie Pie. Is her hair growing flat?

Galloping of the war-driven stallions stampered louder in the ears of all the ponies.

Pinkie Pie's surprising quietness bewildered Twilight Sparkle. After turning around and taking in a deep breath, she finally spoke, “I can't prove it to you Twilight.. if I tried to, you wouldn't believe me. I... just thought it was worth a try getting through to you.”

Their now fast paced march became like a throbbing pounding against the ground as if they were one giant drum beating away the seconds of a clock. Time was ticking faster than they could ever imagine. Fear grew worse as the townsfolk see them approaching the Ponyville gates.

“I know conspiracy theorist ponies are strange, I just didn't want to think about everyone in Equestria having to put up with the sadness I've been through as a little filly. Working everyday, no joy in the world, maybe I am overreacting.”

The galloping stallions had entered Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle was too preoccupied by Pinkie Pie's speech, but it took time for Rainbow Dash to notice that many ponies that were once listening in the crowd had run off out of sight.

“I'm so sorry Twilight. I am crazy.. I don't deserve Princess Celestia's mercy after saying bad things about her. And more importantly, I definitely don't deserve being called your frien-”

The end of Pinkie Pie's sentence was cut off very sharply. As sharp as the spear that had not only ended that sentence, but her very last breath as well. Through her thick skull the spear cut. Pinkie Pie silently took a plunge to the cold ground down on all four hooves.

It was like every other ponies' hearts had stopped in that very moment. Is this really happening? That is the question running through everyone's minds. The tension between Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie had been quickly broken. Instead, it was replaced with horrified looks and screams beyond bearable.

Celestia's army was stampeding everywhere throughout Ponyville. Immediately those that were armed with fire torches began throwing them at the town's buildings. The flames did not hesitate to eat up what was available to touch. The Sparks and smell of smoke led into the air and spread like poison.

Stallions with weapons and magic began aiming at the innocent citizens who were all but standing still anymore. Lives were already dropping like flies because of their reliance on Twilight Sparkle's beliefs.

Ponies ran a muck to avoid becoming the next victim. Some of them went heading back to their homes to get relatives or friends, and, for the materialistic ponies, things they just could not leave behind after death. Many others of course thought it would be much smarter to leave and never look back. Was that really the wise and selfless thing to do though?

“What.. I don't believe it!” Cried out Rainbow Dash attempting to flee from the violent raiding in town square. Then she saw Twilight Sparkle still sitting in front of a departed Pinkie Pie around the center of the chaos. She was still watching Pinkie Pie, lying in an invisible pool of emptiness. This pool becoming mixed around in gore as blood came slithering out of Pinkie's eye socket.

Shaking, Rainbow Dash zoomed her way quick into the havoc and began pulling Twilight under her hooves.

“Come on, we need to get out of here fast!”

Twilight let nothing out that was relevant to Rainbow Dash's words. Nothing but soft, emotionless murmurs of the same things over and over as she appeared to be lost in her own brain.

“No way.. this is not real. I must be dreaming. I must be.”

Rainbow Dash continued carrying Twilight Sparkle as she was flying away and looking from above for a safer area, all while attempting to knock sense back into her friend's head.

“Twilight, get a hold of yourself! Twilight?”

“This isn't real. This isn't real. I'm dreaming. Celestia wouldn't betray us. Nothing of it adds up to the facts. I will wake up, and I will laugh at myself feeling more scared than I ever had in my entire life. All in a dream. Hahaa..hahahaha.”

“Augh.. I've lost her. This has got to be the worst timing too. What do I do?!”

Rainbow Dash knew she had to come up with something fast. She tried to think about what Twilight would do if her normal self wasn't knocked out unconscious right now. One idea spurred into her head quickly. The Elements of Harmony! Could they work without Pinkie Pie..? It was worth a try, considering there weren't many options. She changed her flight direction onto the closest home nearby of their best friends, Rarity.

But as soon as Rainbow Dash had begun to set her plan into motion, she felt a loud sound of a beam, and then an extremely painful sting carried through her body.

“Aaaaaauuuughhhhh!” Rainbow Dash let out a huge roar of agony from the piercing in her skin. She had let go of Twilight Sparkle out of impulse. She couldn't even feel the will to fly! In addition to the pain, her wings felt as if they had become numb and their muscles froze. The pegasus dropped to the ground the same way as Twilight did.

“What's this power they hold? My wings.. are like stone now.. Oh no... my wings!!”

Two stallions appear from behind a wall of fire and approach the fallen Rainbow Dash who could not get up as much as she tried. They grabbed hold of her mane by their mouths and dragged her through the progressing ashes.

“Ow!! Hey, what do you guys think you're doing? Let go of me! Ouch!! That hurts!!”

Rainbow Dash could feel the stallions' teeth ripping sections of her colorful mane. It hurt like hell but she felt the need to tough it out. Someone's got to keep their head on straight here.

Finally the stallions dragged her near a bunch of obscure tools. They lifted her onto what looked like a small wooden cartload. Laying her down on her belly, they grab some tools from a rusted looking bag. One of the stallions pulled out a hammer, while the other pulled out large nails. They hover their heads over Rainbow Dash with the tools in grip and aim for her hooves.

“Wait a minute... what are you doing?! Twilight!! Help me!!”

But Twilight could not hear Rainbow Dash's shouting pleas for the presence of her sanity. Her mind muted out all of the horrible things that were happening that very moment. She could not hear the bloody murder screams of her friend in pain, nor the sound of feathers being plucked. And, she most certainly could not hear the screams of the blue pegasus as her once wings, now bones, are being sawed off of her back.

Twilight Sparkle's mind filtered everything consisting of reality out. It was a wonder sitting there for such a period of time left her an exception for these cruel acts of tortures.

There was, however, one sound currently computing in her brain. It was a beautiful sound of a quiet music box. It flowed perfectly along with her inner thoughts. Different, but it somehow coordinated well with the drama at the moment.

“I'm dreaming...Hahahaha!!”

TBC