To Boldly Hoof It Ch 12. The Truth
Ch 12. The Truth
Lightning Dust and Princess Celestia stared at the sudden appearance of Doctor Whooves in the room. He was wearing a pair of tan saddlebags over his back."Doctor Whooves?" said Celestia, sounding quite surprised. "What a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe this pleasure?""Oh, I'm here because of your little project you got going on here, Celestia," he gestured around him with his hoof, referring to the space station they were on. "You've been keeping secrets, your highness. Up till now, I had no idea you were keeping this level of technology at your disposal. Magitech, am I correct? The combination of magic and technology?" He let out a long whistle. "Dangerous mix if your not careful.""Every precaution, is being taken, Doctor," said Celestia, watching the time pony with careful eyes."Right," said the Doctor as he began casually walking around the room, looking at different items while he kept talking. "However, I've become aware of what you're really doing here, Celestia. And I'm afraid I'm gonna have to put a stop to you.""Doctor, what are you talking about?" said Celestia, a look of confusion on her face."You mean she's NOT trying to make the world a paradise?" asked Lightning Dust as she leaped into the air and flapped her wings to hover in place."Oh, she's trying to make the world a paradise, alright," said the Doctor, turning to face Lightning Dust. "Did she mention exactly how she was planning to make the world a paradise?""With a spell!" Lightning Dust replied."And did she say what that spell would do to the world that would make it a paradise?"Lightning Dust put her hoof to her chin in thought. That question hadn't occurred to her. She looked back up at the Doctor. "...Make cotton candy grow on trees?" she guessed with a shrug.The Doctor and Celestia both stared at her with wide eyes.Then they all felt their hearts leap out of their chests in shock when suddenly Pinkie Pie's head popped up out of a vase that was setting on top of the fireplace mantle."HEY! THAT'S WHAT I SAID!" the pink pony shouted, and then her head disappeared back down into the vase just as quickly as she had appeared.Lightning, Celestia, and the Doctor were all silent for a few moments as the shock of the sudden appearance of the pink party pony wore off them. Then the Doctor spoke."No," he said in response to Lightning Dust's guess from before. "She intends to use a spell that will alter the minds of every living creature on Earth! She's planning to brainwash the entire world into thinking only how she WANTS them to think. That's how she's planning to create a perfect world!"Lightning Dust gaped at Celestia in shock. "Is that true?"Celestia, remaining calm, gently held up her hoof to silence them both. "It's not exactly like that, Doctor. My spell will not force everyone to like each other. It will simply bring out the inner goodness and better nature and friendliness that is already inside all living creatures."The Doctor shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Your still manipulating others minds against their will. You're denying them the freedom of choice! You have no right! No one should have that kind of power over another sentient being!""That's not true!" Celestia argued back. "They will still be able to choose for themselves! My spell will only help them to make the right choices. Its no different than my niece, Princess Cadence's, love spell, that she uses on ponies who she sees need help with love.""Which is something I've never approved of either," said the Doctor, "but up till now I've stayed out of it because, so far, I haven't seen anypony object to it, and she only uses it in your kingdom. But you've gone too far, Celestia! Also, I've found out about that plot hole out there, that's going to destroy the universe, that your student, Twilight Sparkle, or former student, or whatever she is now, accidentally created because she decided to mess around with time travel irresponsibly! You know, that mare, for somepony who is supposed to be so smart, she can be incredibly thick at times! And now you're using that swirling monstrosity out there to power this monstrosity!" He once again gestured with his hooves at the space station they were in. "Well I'm putting a stop to this!""Doctor, please!" said Celestia. "Can't we talk about this like civilized ponies?" Lightning Dust noticed that Celestia suddenly looked nervous, and she was scrunching her face a little, like she was trying to concentrate on something.The Doctor had apparently noticed this too. "What's wrong, Celestia?" he asked with a smirk. "Wondering why your magic suddenly isn't working?"Lightning Dust and Celestia both stared at the doctor in surprise."What have you done?" demanded Celestia, her tone suddenly becoming harsh.The Doctor continued to smirk. "That warm, fuzzy feeling you're probably experiencing right now is the effect of a device that is inhibiting your ability to concentrate and focus your magical powers. To put it plainly, all unicorns, and alicorns as well, need to use a certain part of their brains to use their magic, and this device is keeping you from using that part of your brain." The Doctor twisted his head around to reach into a pocket in his saddlebags with his mouth, and pulled out a small, metallic, cylindrical device between his teeth. His sonic screwdriver.He put the sonic screwdriver in his hoof and spoke again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go shut down this space station." He put the screwdriver back in his mouth and made a move towards the door."STOP!" Celestia cried and flapped her great wings and launched herself out of her seat at the doctor.The Doctor gaped at the big alicorn flying at him and quickly leaped out of the way. Celestia sailed past him, and then a split second later, there was the sound of a loud THUMP, and Celestia suddenly came to a stop in mid air, like she had crashed into something invisible. The Princess let out a grunt of pain and then collapsed backwards onto the floor.Lightning Dust watched the whole thing in confusion, not sure what the heck had just happened."You've been relying on your magic for far too long, Celestia," said the Doctor while Celestia was holding her nose with her hooves. "You're nothing without it!" The doctor turned and started heading towards the door again.Celestia turned to look at Lightning Dust, who noticed a trickle of blood coming from the princess's nose. "Lightning Dust! Stop him! PLEASE!"Lightning Dust's mind reeled as she quickly tried to make a decision while the Doctor walked over to the door of the room. She also kind of disagreed with what Celestia was doing, but this might be her best, if not only, chance to become a Wonderbolt. And she knew she wanted that more than anything!With a determined growl, she flared her wings, and flew down at the Doctor at her top speed, just as he was about to reach the door and turn the handle. Before the Doctor could react to her sudden attack, she slammed into him, sending them both tumbling to the floor.As they hit the floor, the Doctor's saddlebags opened up, and a small, disk shaped device tumbled out of them onto the floor. It was blinking with a few flashing lights. Lightning Dust realized it must be what was keeping Celestia from using her magic. She quickly leaped over to the device, reared up on her hind legs, and then smashed the device beneath her front hooves.A split second later, Celestia's horn lit up with yellow light."NO!" the Doctor shouted while getting up off of the floor, but before he could do anything else, a blast of magic shot out of Celestia's horn and struck the Doctor, who instantly collapsed unconscious.Lightning Dust looked over at Celestia, whose horn was still glowing as she healed her bloody nose with magic, the trickle of blood disappearing instantly."Thank you, Lightning Dust," the Princess said with a warm smile, walking over to where the Pegasus was standing. "If he had gotten away, everything I've been working on would have been ruined!"Lightning Dust had mixed feelings as she looked back down at the Doctor's unconscious body. She knew she was securing her future as a Wonderbolt by helping the Princess. She should be happy and excited. So why did part of her feel uneasy?Suddenly the door burst open, and two Pegasus guards came rushing into the room. They took a quick glance around the room, seeing the unconscious body of the doctor, before speaking."We heard shouting! What happened?"Celestia, smiled at them. "Everything is fine now. This intruder tried to sabotage the Heart Star," she gestured to the unconscious Doctor, "but thankfully, this brave pony was here to stop him." She gestured over at Lightning Dust.The guards looked surprised by this, but said nothing."Guards, please lock this intruder in a holding cell," Celestia ordered.The guards nodded and picked up the unconscious time pony and carried him out of the room on one of their backs.Celestia levitated the Doctor's sonic screwdriver up off the floor where he had dropped it, and set it down over on her desk. Then she walked over to the spot where she had crashed in mid air. She leaned her head forward until it sounded like her horn tapped against something wooden.Celestia smiled. "The Doctor's TARDIS," she said. "So that's how he got in here. He must have materialized silently and used the cloaking device to conceal it. Its a shame only he can open the door. I would have liked to have seen inside it." She turned her attention back to Lightning Dust. "So, Lightning Dust, as I was saying before, will you help me?"Lightning Dust hung her head, and then nodded. "Yes, Princess."Celestia smiled. "Thank you, Lightning Dust. I'm happy to have you."........................"Hey, this place looks a lot like the pharaoh's soul room from Yugioh," said Score."Or the labyrinth from that one David Pony movie," said Hoops. "What was it called? I forget."Blueblood, Trixie, Gilda, Hoops, Dumbbell, Score, Flim, Flam, Jet Set, Iron Will, and Sunset wandered through the corridors of Princess Luna's mind for a while, looking at the names written on the doors, trying to find anything that looked like it might hold what they were looking for. The first few doors they came across they knew they could rule out because they were things like 'Knowledge of Math', 'Knowledge of Science', 'Knowledge of Vocabulary', and 'Knowledge of Magic'. They knew what they were looking for probably wouldn't be behind those doors.They made sure to stay together so they wouldn't get lost. Trixie was the only one who could cast the spell to get them out of Luna's mind.They soon came across a door with the word 'Perception' written on it in big bold letters."Perception?" asked Jet Set. "What do you suppose that means?""This must be how Luna views others," said Trixie knowingly."Okay. Lets check it out," said Flam.They opened up the door and peered inside. They were surprised to see what appeared to be a stand up stage out of a nightclub inside the door."What the heck?" said Gilda.Suddenly, they were all startled when Princess Celestia appeared on the stage in the spotlight. "Hello!" she said in a comedic tone. "I'm a completely incompetent idiot who can't do anything right! But because I just happen to be the first born, I'm mom and dad's favorite foal, and I get to be the TRUE ruler of an entire magical kingdom. And everypony loves me! It never ends for me! Its all about ME!""So this is how Luna views her sister?" asked Score."Wow! Who knew Princess Luna resented her sister so much?" said Hoops.They all stared at him."What?" he asked with a shrug.Celestia then disappeared, and a split second later Pinkie Pie appeared on the stage. "Hi! I'm a hyperactive nut job who does nothing but party, pull pranks, and eat sweets all day, and yet somehow I'm still in great physical shape!"They all laughed."About time somepony acknowledged that!" chuckled Gilda, glad to see the pony she disliked the most being made fun of.Then Twilight Sparkle appeared on the stage, levitating several open books around her with her magic. "Nyeh! Nyeh! Don't take me outside, or else I might sparkle!" the purple mare cried out in an over the top, nasally, nerdy voice.They all laughed again, harder this time."Oh, I could just stay here and watch these all day!" said Blueblood, holding his sides in laughter.Then Blueblood stopped laughing when he saw the next pony to appear on the stage was none other than himself."Hello!" said the Blueblood on the stage. "I'm a spoiled brat who only thinks of himself and absolutely HATES getting a little dirty," the Prince Blueblood on the stage said in an over the top obnoxious voice. "OW! I THINK I HAVE A SPLINTER! MOMMY, KISS IT!"The others were all rolling on the floor with laughter now, pointing up at the real Prince Blueblood. Blueblood became angry and slammed the door to that room shut with his hoof before they could hear anymore. "Well, this isn't what we're looking for! Next!" he shouted angrily.They continued walking through the labyrinth, looking for possible rooms to look inside.They soon came across another door that had 'Super Ego' written on it."This must be how Princess Luna views herself," said Blueblood. He opened the door for them to see what was inside it.Inside, they saw quite the sight! Princess Luna was standing on top of a city skyscraper building at night, the full moon illuminating her behind her. She was wearing a pitch black hooded cloak, which was waving in the wind. She began speaking in an ominous tone."I am the hope of the universe. I am the answer to all living things that cry out for freedom. I am protector of the innocent. I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the light in the darkness. I am the darkness in the light. I am truth. Ally to good! Nightmare to evil! I am vengeance! I am the night! I am..."Blueblood closed the door. "She could go on like that for a while," he said. "Besides, that's not what we're looking for either."They left that door and kept walking through the labyrinth. Blueblood was rapidly loosing hope that they would ever find what they were looking for in this place. They didn't even know exactly what they were looking for.They found a door with the words 'Hall of Memories' written on it."Maybe what we're looking for is in here!" said Dumbbell.They opened the door, and their mouths dropped at what they saw. It was yet another labyrinth, full of doors marked with Princess Luna's various memories. The various stares and passageways looked like they went on forever. Since Princess Luna was over a thousand years old, obviously there were a lot of memories."Oh, great! This is gonna take forever!" said Flim.They all let out a loud groan of despair as they stood in the doorway to this new labyrinth, hesitant to proceed forward. As if things weren't bad enough, now there were labyrinths within labyrinths! And they didn't even know for certain that what they were looking for was even in Luna's memories. They all felt like just giving up at that point.Suddenly, Blueblood noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced upward and saw the shadowy figure of a pony up above them at the top of a staircase. Blueblood wasn't sure, but from the beard, the pointy hat, and the robe, it looked kind of like Starswirl the Bearded. A split second later, the figure rounded a corner into a tunnel and disappeared from sight."Up there!" Blueblood shouted, pointing a hoof up at where he had seen the mysterious pony."What?" inquired Trixie."I think I just saw Starswirl the Bearded! Follow me!" Blueblood took off into the labyrinth of Luna's memories and galloped up the staircase he had seen the unknown pony on. Everyone else hurried after him, Gilda and the three Pegasus jocks flapping their wings and taking flight to keep up.Blueblood ran into the tunnel at the top of the stairs and saw the shadowy figure ahead of him at the other end of the tunnel, turning a corner. Blueblood and the others continued after him the way he had gone."HEY, YOU, AHEAD OF US! WAIT! WHO ARE YOU? CAN YOU HELP US?" Blueblood shouted as they continued to chaise after the mysterious pony. They got no reply from the pony, who kept galloping away from them every time they caught sight of him. Every time they rounded a corner, they saw the mysterious figure ahead of them disappearing around another corner.Why does he keep running away from us? Blueblood thought to himself.After several minutes of chasing him, after they rounded yet another corner, they saw the mysterious figure up ahead of them actually walk through one of the doors, like he was ghost! They ran up to the door the pony had walked through and looked at it. The door was very rusty, and it had lots of locks and chains on it. Printed on the door was no name, but rather the image of a question mark. Blueblood remembered seeing other doors similar to this while they had been running through the passageways."He went through this door!" said Hoops as he, Dumbbell, Score, and Gilda touched down to the floor."Why does this door have a question mark on it?" asked Jet Set.Trixie tried to open the door with her magic, but it wouldn't budge."It's locked," she said."Why was he running away from us?" asked Blueblood. "You'd think Starswirl would have wanted to talk to us!""Maybe..." Score muttered, scratching his chin with his hoof. "...Maybe Starswirl was trying to lead us to this door! Maybe what we're looking for is behind it!"They all looked at each other hopefully at that thought. It made sense, and if what they were looking for was behind this door, then all they needed to do was get inside it."This door certainly looks important," said Dumbbell, looking at all the locks and chains over the door."We passed a lot of other doors that looked just like this one," stated Flam."But this is the one we were lead to!" said Trixie.Blueblood tried to open the door with his magic, but just like Trixie, he couldn't budge it."Out'a my way!" said Iron Will as backed up against the opposite wall and pointed his thick minotaur horns at the door. "NEVER SEND A PONY TO DO A MINOTAURS JOB!" he yelled.Everyone else quickly moved out of his way, and he let out a yell and ran at the door. He slammed horns first against the door, but much to their dismay, the door still didn't budge."I don't get it," said Dumbbell as Iron Will shook his head and stepped back away from the door. "If Princess Luna or Starswirl want us to know what's behind this door, then why are they keeping us out?""Maybe they aren't," said Trixie thoughtfully. "Maybe this door is locked to Princess Luna also.""But she came to Blueblood in the middle of the night to tell him about it!" said Dumbbell, pointing his hoof at Blueblood."Yes, but she wasn't herself!" stated Blueblood, remembering how his aunt Luna had been acting that night. "She was sleep walking, or in a trance, or something.""He's right!" said Gilda. "Remember, when me and Lightning Dust were with her when she was being examined by the doctors, she didn't remember being in Blueblood's house at all, or anything about all this!""So this could be like a repressed memory!" said Trixie. "Something Princess Luna forgot a long time ago, and now she can't remember it.""What about all those other locked doors we saw?" asked Jet Set."Trixie supposes they are also repressed memories! After all, Princess Luna WAS Nightmare Moon for a thousand years, AND was trapped on the moon during those thousand years. That could give anypony some repressed memories.""So what we need to know is something she can't remember," said Blueblood."THEN LETS BUST THIS SUCKER DOWN!" said Iron Will, slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand to show his determination.They all turned back to the locked door. There had to be a way to get through that door, somehow!"Maybe if we all work together, we'll be able to get that door open!" said Hoops optimistically."Worth a try," said Blueblood, willing to try anything at that point."On the count of three, we all try to bust the door open," said Iron Will.They all got ready to attack the door."One. Two. THREE!"They all attacked the door. Iron Will rammed into it with his horns again, while Gilda flew at the door and tried slamming against it with her shoulder. Trixie, Blueblood, Sunset, Flim, Flam, and Jet Set all tried using their magic on the door at the same time, and the pegasus jocks tried bucking against the door with their hind legs. After a few exhausting minutes, they noticed the locks on the door crack, and the door screech inward a tiny bit."It's working!" shouted Flim excitedly while still pumping magic on the door. "One more good attack should do it!""I'M ON IT!" Iron Will shouted as he ran at the door again. His horns hit the rammed against the door, and the door finally broke free from all the locks and swung open.Blueblood and the others all smiled with joy and relief that they had finally succeeded. Iron Will shook his head and then they all took a look at what was inside the door.Inside, they saw a large and beautiful circular room. There was an oak desk, and a large, circular mattress on the floor. Around the room, against the walls, there were a few cabinets and chests, and standing on a golden perch, currently sleeping, was Princess Celestia's pet phoenix. An inviting fire was flickering in a fireplace. There was a pair of glass doors leading to a balcony outside, so they guessed they were inside a tower of some castle, and outside, they could see that it was night time. And standing in the middle of the room, were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They were talking to each other."We know what thou hast done, sister!" said Luna, speaking in the old way. "We told thou not to do it!""Its unfortunate, I know," said Celestia solemnly."UNFORTUNATE!?" exclaimed Luna. "Don't thou realize the tragedy of what thou hast done!?""The spell was supposed to help them!" said Celestia. "The flutterponies just would not listen to reason. I tried to get them to come join the rest of the ponies here in our kingdom! Together, embracing love and friendship for each other! But they continued to refuse. Even my fable about the Windigos did not sway them. They just had too much arrogance and uncaring in their hearts. But as ponies, we are all supposed to live together in harmony! A herd! They should have just embraced their destiny, like a told them." Celestia shook her head. "I just don't understand why they resisted me! I thought the spell I made would show them the light, bring out the love and better nature in them.""Thine spell did effect them, sister, but not in the way thou thought it would!" Luna's horn glowed, and then a magical image of a valley appeared before them from her horn. "We went and saw with our own eyes what happened. Thou thought thy spell would make them love, but instead it did the opposite of that! It turned them into monsters! Monsters that feed on other ponies love for sustenance!"In the image of the valley, they saw a horrifying sight! An entire heard of ponies with fairy wings, who supposedly were the flutterponies mentioned by Celestia, were falling to the ground, moaning and writhing like they were in pain. Then they began transforming. Their fur fell off their bodies, revealing blackening skin underneath. The pupils in their eyes turned into slits, and in their mouths, their herbivore teeth pushed out into fangs. Horns began protruding from their heads, and in their legs, holes began to appear.Slowly, Blueblood and the others all began to recognize the creatures the flutterponies were turning into, and were shocked!"Changelings!" Trixie gasped, covering her mouth with her hoof in shock. "My gosh! Celestia created them!"The monsters that the flutterponies had become soon began swarming up into the air, searching for their one and only new food source.The magical image being projected from Luna's horn disappeared as Luna ended her spell. "These creatures will swarm the world like a plaque, sister!" Luna said. "What are we going to tell the ponies of this land?""We aren't going to tell them anything except to prepare for a possible attack!" Celestia snapped."What!?" exclaimed Luna in surprise. "They deserve to know the truth!""No!" said Celestia. "If they know about this, they will all loose faith in me! I can't allow that. I must continue to appear as the ponies perfect leader and teacher, so that they will always look up to me as an example, and have faith in me. I won't be able to help them, otherwise.""We can not just simply sweep this under the rug!" argued Luna."These ponies need me! I'm the only one who can help them! I'm the only one who can help them fulfill their destiny! Because that is MY destiny! This was only a minor set back, Luna. Next time, I KNOW I'll get it right!""NEXT TIME!" Luna shouted. "THOU MEAN'IST THOU INTEND TO TRY THIS AGAIN?!""I have to, Luna! It may be the only way to help every creature in this world. To save all the unharmonious from themselves! The only way to make a perfect world!"Luna scowled at her sister. "This is wrong!" said Luna, backing away from her sister. "If thou will not tell thine subjects of this land the truth, then we will!"Celestia turned to her sister with pleading eyes. "Luna, please!"Luna shook her head. "No, sister! We are telling the ponies of what has happened, and thou cannot stop us! It is the right thing to do!" Luna began walking towards the door. But suddenly, the door glowed with a golden aura and slammed shut before she could reach it.Luna glared back at Celestia. "Sister. Open the door. Now."From the look on Celestia's face, she was clearly beginning to panic. She levitated over a pitcher of some clear liquid and two glasses over to her side. "Can't we talk about this, Luna?" said Celestia as she poured them both a glass of the liquid. "Lets have a drink to calm us down. How about some bananas? Do you like bananas?""Sister!" Luna cut off Celestia. "There is nothing to talk about. We have to tell ponies the truth.""I can't let you do that Luna!" said Celestia sharply, still holding the door shut with her magic.Luna looked shocked. "Are thou going to kill us?"Now it was Celestia's turn to look shocked. "Of course not! I would never kill you! You're my little sister! I love you!""We love you too, sister, but as the rulers of these ponies, it is our responsibility to be honest with them about everything, even if we make a mistake. THE TRUTH MUST BE TOLD!" Luna's own horn glowed with dark blue light, and the glass doors over at the balcony swung open. Luna started walking over to them, obviously intending to fly out of the room since Celestia wouldn't let her out the other door."LUNA WAIT!" Celestia shouted desperately. "I... I Have A Gift For You!"Luna stopped walking and turned her head to look back at her sister. "A gift?"Celestia nodded, a nervous smile on her face. "Yes. I wanted to wait until your birthday, but I think I'll give it to you now because... I simply can't wait to see how you like it!"Celestia walked over to an armored chest that was setting on the floor over in a corner. She lowered her head and touched her horn to a lock on the chest. Her horn glowed, and then they heard a few mechanical clicks from the chest. She then opened the lid of the chest with her magic and levitated something up out of it. When Celestia turned back to face Luna, they got a good view of what Celestia had taken out of the chest. It was an elegantly designed metal war helmet.Blueblood gasped when he recognized it. "I... I think that's Nightmare Moon's helmet!" he exclaimed, pointing his hoof at the scene before them.Luna grabbed hold of the helmet with her magic and levitated it over to herself. "Its lovely," said Luna, looking it over."Try it on!" urged Celestia, who was clearly twitching nervously. "I want to see how you look in it!"Smiling, Luna levitated the helmet up above her, and then brought it down onto her head.Suddenly, the helmet began to glow with eerie dark glow. Then, before Luna could react, she also became encased in the same dark glow. Luna squinted her eyes shut and keeled over onto the floor, groaning like she was in pain.Meanwhile, Celestia closed her eyes and lowered her head sadly while her sister groaned on the floor. "I'm sorry, sister. You left me no choice."Blueblood and the others watched in horror as Luna started to transform while she writhed on the floor. She was growing bigger, and her fur was turning pitch black.Eventually, Luna stopped groaning and the dark glow around her body faded away. Her eyes flew open, reveling her pupils had become slits. A crazed, evil grin slowly spread across her face."Luna?" asked Celestia cautiously, looking down at her sister.The pitch-black alicorn that had once been Luna looked up at Celestia, chuckling evilly. "NO, you bitch. Luna is gone. I am... NIGHTMARE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" She got up off the floor, spreading her great black wings dramatically. "And I'm sick and tired of you always getting your way, sis! Always being the favorite! Well no more! Once I get rid of you, all your precious day-lovers will have no choice but to worship ME! I think I'll start by getting rid of your day ONCE AND FOR ALL! THE NIGHT WILL REIGN FOREVER!" Nightmare let out a long, maniacal laugh, lightning bolts flashing all around her from a dark cloud that was magically growing above her. While Nightmare Moon was laughing, Celestia lowered her head again, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Luna! You were going to ruin everything! So I'm going to have to send you away for a while. But don't worry. I have a plan. I will make it so you will return one day, after I am sure you have forgotten everything in your insanity, and then I will purify you with the Elements of Harmony, and then we can put this all behind us like it never happened."The room then suddenly vanished, and Blueblood and the others watched as it began to re-assemble itself back as it was at the very beginning, with Luna and Celestia standing in the room talking. Realizing the memory was over, and it was just starting over again, Blueblood angrily pulled the door of the memory shut, not wanting to watch it again.The group all looked at each other, shocked expressions on their faces. None of them could believe what they had just seen."Oh my, gosh," said Flim."I can't believe this!" said Trixie, so shocked she forgot to speak in the third person."This... Everything we thought we knew about Luna and Nightmare Moon... has been a complete lie!" said Dumbbell. "Luna didn't become evil because she was jealous that ponies spent more time outside during the day instead of the night! Celestia turned her evil! That helmet... it corrupted her somehow!""Just like the Ice King's crown!" said Hoops."Or the Alicorn Amulet," added Trixie solemnly."This actually explains quite a bit," said Blueblood. "I remember when Luna first returned, her memory was all screwed up! In fact, her mental state had pretty much been reduced to that of a little filly! She had to relearn pretty much everything! She even had to relearn what fun was!""And this explains why Nightmare Moon was able to escape the moon after a thousand years!" said Trixie. "Celestia had arranged for that to happen! After all, since Celestia and Luna were immortal, a thousand years wouldn't be as big a loss for them.""That doesn't make it right!" snapped Gilda at Trixie."Trixie didn't say it did!" she snapped back at Gilda.Just then, Sunset shouted, "HEY, LOOK!" She pointed down the tunnel.They looked where she was pointing and saw the mysterious shadowy pony again before he disappeared around another corner at the end of the passageway, waving a hoof behind him like he was gesturing for them to follow him."Come on!" Blueblood ordered and took off into a gallop after the pony, the others following right behind him.They chased after the pony through the labyrinth again. Just like before, the pony would turn a corner the moment they came into sight of him."STARSWIRL! IS THAT YOU? STOP!" Blueblood shouted.A few minutes later, after they rounded another corner, they saw the pony once again walk through a door in the corridor like a ghost. They hurried up to the door. Unlike the last door, this door wasn't one of the locked ones. On it were the words 'The Heart Star'."I guess he wants us to see what's behind this door too," said Sunset.Trixie opened up the door with her magic with ease. Inside the door, they could see the throne room of castle Canterlot. Princess Celestia was standing in front of all the Element Bearers, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, as well as Princess Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, and Spike. Celestia was speaking while the others all listened with looks of happiness and excitement on their faces."Once the Heart Star is complete, I will finally be able to create the perfect world I've always wanted.""You're going to make cotton candy grow on trees?" asked Pinkie Pie excitedly, jumping up and down.Everyone stared at Pinkie Pie like she was crazy."Um... no, Pinkie Pie," said Celestia.The pink pony stopped jumping up and down, a frown appearing on her face. "Awww," she moaned in disappointment.Celestia continued. "The magic of love, harmony, and friendship, once amplified by this gigantic orbiting space station, will engulf the entire planet, and every living creature will be transformed by its light. All creatures will finally understand and embrace love, friendship, peace, and togetherness. A perfect world, at long last!""It sounds wonderful, Princess!" Twilight beamed at what Celestia had said. Her friends all began cheering and nodding in agreement."I know it does," said Celestia, tears of happiness in her eyes.Beside Blueblood, Gilda suddenly let out a shout at the scene in front of them. "THAT DOESN'T SOUND WONDERFUL AT ALL!" she shouted angrily! "THAT SOUNDS HORRIBLE! THAT'S BRAINWASHING EVERYONE!"The rest of them were all equally as appalled as Gilda by this news. This was exactly what Celestia had tried a thousand years ago, which had failed horribly, and now she was trying to do the exact same thing again! And Gilda was right! This was basically brain washing!Celestia spoke again. "Although the chaos created by this plot hole is unfortunate, thanks to it, I finally have a power source great enough to charge the Heart Star. Once we turn the world into a paradise, we will deal with the hole with the Elements of Harmony, but for now, it must remain protected. The Heart Star should be completed within a few days.""Yes, your majesty," said Shining Armor, bowing to Celestia. "I'll inform the shipyards in the mountains to prepare for immediate departure. With these new starships we've built, you have nothing to worry about.""Thank you, Shining Armor," said Celestia, and then at that moment the memory faded away as it ended, and began to start its loop over again back at the beginning. Gilda grabbed the door of the memory by the handle and angrily slammed it shut before it could restart.They were all enraged by what they had just seen and heard."So that's what Celestia's up to!" said Blueblood, taking deep breaths to try to calm himself down from his anger at what he now knew."I can't believe it!" said Score, shaking his head in disbelief. "She's tried to turn everypony into a little, obedient, goody two shoes a thousand years ago, and it went wrong, and now she's trying to do the exact same thing AGAIN!""Do you think the spell will turn everypony into changelings, just like it did the last time?" asked Hoops."Doesn't matter!" snarled Iron Will. "Either way, it's still wrong!""Did you see how those lame-o Element Bearers from Ponyville were actually agreeing with what Celestia was planning to do?" said Gilda. "How can they all think brainwashing everyone in the world into being nice is a good thing? Its totally wrong!""They all have complete blind faith in Celestia," explained Blueblood. "In their eyes, everything she says and does is right, and she can do no wrong! That's pretty much how everypony in Equestria sees her.""IDIOTS!" Gilda growled, looking like she was about to explode with anger. "Well, no pony's gonna screw with my mind, I guarantee you that! I like myself just the way I am!"Blueblood looked at Trixie. "I've seen enough. How do we get out of here?""Don't worry," said Trixie. "Trixie will begin the exiting part of the spell. Be patient. This might take a few minutes."..................Surprise stood over Prince Blueblood's unconscious body, holding a knife from the kitchen between her teeth.I have a present for you, your highness, she thought to herself maliciously. It's called getting your throat slit and bleeding out. Time to see if your blood really IS blue. She lowered the knife down to his throat, ready to kill him, and then the others as well. She took a few seconds to savor the moment."What are you doing?"Surprise instantly stood up straight at the sudden voice behind her. She turned her head around to see Upper Crust standing in the doorway of the room, staring at her with a look of shock on her face.