//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11- Fallen Majesty 
// Story: The Ever-Shifting Tides Of Life 
// by DougtheLoremaster 
//------------------------------//

Scootaloo shook her head in disbelief as Sweetie Belle looked up. “How could you have possibly known about us?”
“The tree contains great wisdom and knowledge which it shares with me. The knowledge to see anything in the present, the wisdom to witness past events. When I was alive, I would have slain for such things, now I possess the ability and can do nothing but observe it.”
Sweetie Belle spoke accusingly. “You knew they would die and did nothing to warn us!”
“I did not. I cannot see the future.”
Sweetie Belle rose, enraged, smashing her hoof down on the cobblestone as she roared at Starlight. “You just said you knew we were coming!”
Starlight nodded. “Because I saw you in the present walking here.”
Glaring at the unicorn, Sweetie Belle snapped at her. “You could have warned us!”
“What was, cannot be changed. What is, can be affected. And what will be, is never set in stone. I can view the past, as you too, saw.”
Starlight’s horn glowed a soothing amethyst once more and images appeared, showing the war, Rainbow killing Sombra, and Rarity and Rainbow escaping from Canterlot. “The past is forever as it is. It cannot be changed because somepony so wills it; no, it is forever as it was.”
The images faded as new ones appeared of Celestia and Luna eating Rarity and Rainbow’s headless bodies, as well as the ocean where waves surged to and fro. “The present is occuring in a fluid motion and actions during it, can affect what will be. The future, however, is always in motion. It cannot be viewed only predicted. I did not know what would happen to your moms; I just knew when it happened and became the past.”
Scootaloo grabbed Sweetie Belle in a warm hug. “It’s not her fault. Don’t you see? What they did was to give a chance to change the future. Their sacrifice can be our means of salvation. We can’t change what happened, but we can change what will.”
Sweetie Belle sniffed, her eyes puffy and red. “I-I know she didn’t, couldn’t, I just-”
Scootaloo hugged her against her body, tightly. “It’s alright, shhh. We still have each other. Though I am curious about something.”
Starlight’s eyes flashed as an amused look appeared in her eyes. “Yes?”
“You keep saying you aren’t alive, that we are the only living creatures in this world. Yet here you stand talking to us, even thinking. Doesn’t that make you alive or at least living?”
Starlight shook her head and a smile appeared on her face. “I do not breathe, I do not eat. I do not sleep.”
Walking over to them as her eyes flashed with a strange light, she continued. “ I am no more alive than the walking corpses known as Arisen. My limbs are not my own to control, instead I’m a simple puppet; to do as the tree wills of me. My life has no meaning; though my soul is tethered to my body, it is no longer my body to control of my own volition.”
Stopping she pointed at them as she finished her thoughts. “Though I think and I see, touch and feel, I possess no ability to do so out of my own desire. I exist as Starlight, however, I am not alive, nor am I living. You are alive and living. Which bring us to why you are here.”
She paused and stared at them expectantly. It was Scootaloo who explained the reason behind their visit. “We came for the flowers of the tree, to purify the plague Sombra set in motion.”
Starlight frowned. “I...See.”
Lowering her head as if saddened, she continued. “What then is your offering?”
“Offering? Oh, you mean food...Why can’t we use those flowers?”
Scootaloo pointed at two flowers growing on the tree. Starlight followed her gaze and shook her head once more. “I’m afraid that unless you only wish to cure the sniffles, those will be useless.”
“But the flowers-”
Starlight nodded. “Possess powerful restorative magic. However, the potency is based on the corruption purified.”
“I-I don’t follow. You mean eaten right?”
“Eaten?”
“Doesn’t that tree eat ponies?”
“Oh, I see you thought...No, it would seem you’ve misunderstood the purpose of the purification. The tree eats corruption; the evil within. It repurposes that corruption into the exact same potency of restoration; purity, which then blooms on it’s boughs. This balances the harmony within the world. An equivalent exchange. Understand?”
“I get it now, but something doesn’t make sense.”
Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo. Her partner wasn’t known for her great insight, though now looking up at her, Sweetie Belle saw another side to her she had never known. Scootaloo was standing over her, protecting her and taking charge of the situation. Sweetie Belle had never seen Scootaloo so commanding so in charge; she liked it. “There is something I need you to explain.”
Starlight’s eyes flashed and she nodded. “You understand don’t you; how refreshing. You are correct, Scootaloo. The tree is the balance of harmony, both the good and the evil. Just as purity is born of corruption, corruption, in turn, is born of purity.”
Her horn glowed brightly and an image of Princess Cadence of what was the Crystal Empire appeared. “This is Cadence, the Princess of Love. Many years ago, she ruled the Crystal Empire. That is-”
The image changed. Now it showed Sombra arriving at the castle of Cadence. “Until Sombra attacked.”
Suddenly, the two were engaged in a fierce battle. As Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle watched thunderstruck, Cadence was slain. The alicorn’s corpse crashed into the Everfree forest, above which the two had been fighting. To avoid killing her subjects, Cadence had teleported both to the forest. The body of Cadence landed at the base of the Tree of Harmony. “Her purity had to be preserved. And so the tree did the only thing it could.”
The tendrils snaked out of the trunk and wrapping around the corpse, pulled it into an eternal hugging embrace as it was absorbed into the tree itself. “However, just as corruption is purified, purity is corrupted.”
A small flower bloomed on the tree. The flower was black and emitting a dark aura, as Sombra, who had gone to confirm her demise picked the flower from the tree. “The corruption was immense as Cadence’s purity was immeasurable. Once mixed with Sombra’s necromancy-”
The image now showed the Arisen corpse of Cadence attacking the crystal empire. “The Arisen were born from the ensuing plague with Cadence as the first.”
The image faded once more. “Now that you understand how it was born, know it would take a corruption stronger than the purity of Cadence to cleans the world of that toxin.”
Starlight froze as her eyes flashed once more and she nodded. “I’ll tell them.”
“Tell us what?”
Starlight paused as though searching for the words, before speaking. “The amount of corruption needed would have to transcend physical boundries but also the mental and...magical. In this world there exist two that fit the criteria you desire.”
“The Sisters.”
Sweetie Belle stared in disbelief as Scootaloo mentioned Celestia and Luna. Starlight nodded. “That is correct. Their magic as well as they themselves have become corrupted to the point of no return.”
Her horn glowed brightly, and more images of what the Princesses used to be appeared. Celestia and Luna sat at the royal banquet table chatting amicably about day and night, when a royal messenger handed them a letter. “They used to be so loving and fond of this world. That was before Sombra slew Cadence in cold blood.”
The image of Cadence laying there, at the base of the tree; unmoving and lifeless, rose unbidden in Sweetie Belle’s mind. She shivered. Cold blood is an understatement. Sweetie Belle felt a slight pang in her heart as the images shifted to show them in combat at the Crystal Empire. Luna had manifested her scythe and was reaping the unfortunate slaves of Sombra. Celestia meanwhile had used her magic to enhance her own physical prowess; shielding from blows and viciously delivering her own.
One thing stood out in particular though, both were screaming out in rage: “GIVE HER BACK! GIVE OUR NIECE BACK!”
Starlight paused in her explanation as though choked up and continued. “They got their wish.”
The images changed once more and Scootaloo felt sick. Cadence had begun fighting her former aunts. Dead and risen up from the nether, she attacked with vigor. “The two were unable to stay focused and though they won the fight, they lost to their own despair.”
Neither was willing to kill Cadence a second time. Which Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle observed, as Luna and Celestia were grievously injured before summoning everything they had to forever lay Cadence to rest. “They had won, if you can call it that, and returned home.”
The images now showed the princesses in their respective rooms, fighting back the plague as it consumed their thoughts and ever-slowly corrupted their body. They resorted to anything they could to distract themselves, even going so far as to inflict self-harm to suffer pain of a different kind. 
Starlight concluded. “Alicorns possess quite the resilience to corruption. The two should and would have been able to overcome the plague by sheer will alone but alas, their own anguish and despair consumed them. Twisting their minds and desires until they too, let go of who they were; becoming Arisen.”
Sweetie Belle could stand it no more. “Why are you telling us this? Do you want me to feel sorry for them, to show pity for the creatures that killed our parents?”
Shivering and doing her best not to cry again, Sweetie Belle had struggled to her hooves, helped by Scootaloo’s gentle nudging. Starlight smiled at them, her eyes no longer glowing as her tone shifted to one of empathy. “You’ve been through so much; born into a world of chaos, losing your biological family as well as your adopted one. It must be painful to bear.”
Starlight’s eyes began to glow once more as she started walking over. Stopping next to them, her eyes returned to normal. “Life can be truly unforgiving, can’t it? Believe it or not; death can be even worse. The Sisters aren’t simply Arisen as you know them. They are aware of everything they’ve done, even controlling Arisen in the world via their magic. They still rule the kingdom.”
Starlight gave Sweetie Belle a hug. “I’m telling you this, so you can prepare, the Sisters are in full control of their actions; the immortal never die so simply.”
“Then aren’t they...Alive?”
Starlight seemed to consider this as the crystalline structure behind her glowed feverently in response. Her response seemed to hang in the air, carrying the tone of defeat. “Their soul exists in probably the most primal sense of the word. Their bodies are dead though like me, they exist forever as they are. Only in their case, they exist purely with their instinct intact. Their minds don’t function, and their awareness is simply doing what Celestia and Luna did for centuries. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“If all they are is instincts, then we should have no trouble with-”
Scootaloo’s words were interrupted by Starlight. “I’m afraid it’s not so simple. Those instincts are what allowed the Sisters to conquer the entirety of Equestria, after all.”
“Conquer?”
Her horn glowed showing vicious and horrific images of Celestia and Luna beheading the leaders of the Dragonlands and Griffonstone. Scootaloo couldn’t hold it back and vomited as Celestia and Luna encased Discord in stone, while still living and enchanting the stone to be unbreakable. “The Sisters may have been benevolent rulers, but they were merciless in combat; bringing all of Equestria to kneel at their hooves.”
The images changed. “However, what was truly terrifying was that they did it all without any army or reinforcements. Alicorns possess the innate power of command; they lead, and others fall into line at their whim.”
The images showed nations bowing in submission at their approach: the Dragonlands, Saddlearabia, Griffonstone and countless others. “Dominant and strong willed, as well as gifted with the most arcane of powers, alicorns are born conqueorers. Even Sombra, with his power of Necromancy, refused to confront them directly.”
“But he eventually won right?”
Starlight shook her head. “He may have briefly controlled the world, but he never raised a hoof against this castle nor did he ever stop the princesses from controlling the Arisen.”
Sweetie Belle seemed to ponder this as her partner continued retching at the ghastly images of the Sister’s deeds. It was then a lightbulb lit up within the mare’s mind. “Starlight, you are saying their nature is a dominating one...Correct?”
Starlight’s eyes flashed with the tree’s magic once more. She looked rather amused for a moment as the tree and her own eyes stopped glowing. “Yes, that’s right.”
“They can see and hear but cannot deviate from instinct, right?”
“Again that’s right...What are you driving at?”
Ignoring the question, Sweetie Belle seemed deep in thought for just a moment before asking one more question. “Just to clarify, do they know Scoots, and I are here?”
“To my knowledge, no. From What I can see, they believe the invasion quelled and are sitting once more on their thrones.”
Sweetie Belle turned and stared at Scootaloo with a wicked grin on her face. “I just got the craziest idea. And I think it just might work. Hunter, would you mind helping me gather some mud and clay?”