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Twilight stepped out of the black smoke, revealing herself to the other ponies.

"Twilight!" The smaller ponies exclaimed with surprise.

"You're here!" Pinkie Pie began bouncing in place. "Now all we need is Rarity and we can use the elements!" Twilight stomped her hoof twice and a pale, gangly creature stepped out from the shadows. In its mouth it held something floppy and white. It threw it to Pinkie Pie's feet and laughed. Pinkie Pie and the others stared at the white object for a moment, before Pinkie let out a horrific scream.

"That's her skin! You took her skin!" Pinkie exclaimed in panic.

"N-now don't jump to conclusions," Applejack began, her voice quivering as she stared at the flesh on the ground in front of her. "I'm sure there's a good, a good-" She choked on her words and began gagging.

"How could you let this happen, Twilight, how could you betray us?!" Celestia shouted, lowering her horn.

"Because it's time the others knew the truth!" Twilight shouted back. She looked to her friends, it's time EVERYONE knew the truth!"

"About what?" Applejack asked, becoming exasperated.

"What are you talking about, Twilight?" Luna questioned.

"About the other alicorns!" Twilight exclaimed. Just then the smoke around them began to take shape, a very familiar shape. Horns, wings, hooves, it was all there, on them. Luna gaped as she witnessed the shadows retreat, leaving behind only the tall, elegant creatures that had emerged from it. Other alicorns, of every color, standing before the elements and queens.

"No…" Celestia whispered, shocked at the sight.

"Yes! Here they are, freed from their prison beneath the Crystal Empire! The prison YOU put them in, Celestia!" Twilight announced as the alicorns drew closer.

"What!?" Shouted all but Celestia.

"There are other alicons?!" Applejack exclaimed in disbelief.

"And Queen Celestia did what to them?!" Dash looked to the sun queen and gaped.

"It's true, little pegasus." Spoke a dark blue and black alicorn male, his voice soft but stern. "Celestia used dark magic to reduce us to shadows and locked us all away under the Crystal City. Then she lied to the world."

"When King Sombra tried to oppose her she disfigured him, ripped off his wings, and banished him with the elements." Twilight declared.

"But, but-" Rainbow was at a loss for words.

"Why would Queen Celestia lie to us?" Fluttershy asked in a soft, trembling voice.

"Because she didn't want anyone to know she was responsible for the attempted genocide of her own people. Alicorns always kept to themselves. It seems that when we disappeared no one took much notice, seeing how you don't even know who we are." Spoke a light orange alicorn female.

"Well who are you then?" Applejack asked skeptically. The orange alicorn looked to Luna.

"You remember me, don't you Lulu?" She pleaded. Luna was staring at the blue and orange alicorns, her face looking as if she was in deep thought.

"Celestia said you abandoned us." Luna whispered. "She said, she said you all left, abandoned Equestria and left us here to rule it."

"Lies." Spoke the dark blue alicorn. "We would never abandon you, Lulu. We love you." Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped and ran to the blue alicorn. She stared at him with big, excited eyes then looked to the orange mare beside him.

"Don't tell me! Okay tell me, are you two who I think you are?! Cause you sure look like you are who I think you are!" She giggled excitedly.

"Uhh, Pinkie, care to share?" Dash said in an annoyed tone. Pinkie whipped around and took a deep breath.

"These are Celestia and Luna's PARENTS!" She squealed in joy and wrapped her arms around the orange mare's neck.

"Tell me EVERYTHING!" Pinkie stared into the alicorn's mirthful eyes. "Oh, but start with your names!" She added. The mare giggled silently and carefully pushed Pinkie back to the ground.

"I am Felicity." Spoke the mare as she looked to the dark blue stallion. "And this is Gossamer, my mate.

"You two have such pretty names! I'm going to remember them forever!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly, clapping her hooves together.

"Enough!" Shouted Luna. She looked to her sister. "Is this true Celestia? Did you send our parents, our people, away?"

"You don't understand Luna, none of you do." Celestia replied. She turned to Twilight. "I wont let them stay, they have to go back to the shadows!"

"If it's a war you want, then it's a war you'll get." Twilight said in a low voice. She aimed her horn to the sky and shot red sparks high into the air.

"Are you making fireworks!?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly. There was a low rumble that vibrated throughout the ground. A rhythmic 'thump, thump' that shook the buildings around them. Fluttershy squealed in fear and pointed a hoof to the skyline. All the ponies looked up to see a large, purple dragon climbing up onto the giant stone platform that held the city up.

"Is that…SPIKE?!" Pinkie shouted in shock.

"You think a dragon will help you win this? You're wrong." Celestia said, walking closer to Twilight. "I'll give you one more chance, return them to the shadows and I'll consider forgiving your transgressions." She threatened.

"You'll have to fight all of us then." Spoke a green alicorn behind Gossamer. The other alicorns shouted in agreement.

"Luna, get your guard and prepare for battle!" Celestia shouted before flying into the air. She halted when she saw that her sister wasn't following. "Luna?!"

"You said they abandoned us, when really, you got rid of them." Luna said softly. She turned to her sister, rage evident on her face. "You said they were gone! When all this time-" She sobbed. "All this time you knew where they were! We could have had a real life with them, with our parents! I could have known my MOTHER!"

"Luna, you don't-" Celestia was cut off.

"NO! No more of your lies, Celestia!" Luna spread her wings and lowered her horn. "If you want a war, then I'm fighting alongside my people!" Celestia stared at her sister, then turned her back and began flying towards the castle.

"Are we all forgetting that Rarity's SKIN is laying on the floor?!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "That THING killed her!" She pointed a hoof at the skinwalker standing idly beside Twilight.

"It was for the greater good, Sombra needed a body, a strong body to inhabit. The elements stripped him from his own!" Twilight tried to explain.

"Rarity. Is. Dead!" Rainbow exclaimed angrily. "There's no explaining that away! And if we're gonna have a war, then I'm on Celestia's side!" She jumped into the air and flew in the same direction as Celestia. Twilight looked sadly at her remaining friends.

"And you guys?" Twilight asked with a look of sadness.

"There had to have been a way to give Sombra a body without killing one of your friends." Applejack said as she glared at Twilight.

"I didn't actually kill her though, I let Sombra take over my body and-" Twilight was cut off.

"And that makes it okay?!" Applejack exclaimed. Twilight fell silent. Applejack turned and began walking in the direction of the castle. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie remained, and Twilight looked at them longingly.

"I'm not choosing sides." Fluttershy said simply. "This whole situation is wrong and I wont be a part of it."

"I want an explanation." Pinkie Pie stated, looking to the Twilight and the alicorns. "I trust you Twilight, so I know you have to have had a good reason to mur-muur. UNLIVE one of our friends."

"We needed her baby, and we knew she wouldn't give it up willingly. After I took it from her, we needed you all to think Rarity was still around. So I let..I let the skinwalker 'take her'. I know it was wrong! I felt so bad, I still feel bad, like I'm trash! And I know that's all I'll ever be for what I did, but it was for the greater good, I swear to Faust!" Twilight cried out, her face twisted in shame.

"That still doesn't make it okay." Pinkie said sadly. "And I'm not choosing between my friends, even if one of them is a criminal." Pinkie began walking away but stopped, mulling over what she had heard. Slowly, she turned back to Twilight. "It was pretty lucky for you that Rarity ended up pregnant in the first place." Pinkie stared into her friends eyes. "Wasn't it?"

"Well…It wasn't exactly luck." Twilight replied sheepishly.

"I had a feeling it wasn't." Pinkie twisted and showed her quivering tail. "Twitchy tail." She said simply. "Who was it then, the pony we were looking for for weeks?" Twilight looked away. "Who was it Twilight?"

"It was Spike." Twilight replied as a loud roar echoed throughout the city. "Sombra took over his body and did it, so that the fetus would be more receptive to his soul."

Pinkie stared at the purple alicorn. "You're right Twilight. You ARE trash." She walked to Fluttershy and helped her off the ground. She then began walking with the yellow pegasus in the opposite direction of Twilight, not towards the castle, but towards the city gates.

Upvotes at import: 17 | Stars at import: 12
Posted previously at: 2018-05-14T17:57:39