"I took therapy for the next few years," I explained to Berry, "and decided to settle down in Ponyville.

Satisfied, Berry finally got off of me, allowing me to stretch my sore legs. She had been listening intensely to every single word I said. It was a great relief because I have never told anypony the whole story before, not even the therapist. I looked up to see Berry. She wasn't crying or horrified at my story. Her face was cold and emotionless. Her face spelled guilt once again.
She placed her hoof on my shoulder. It was cold like stone. What was happening?

"Redheart," she began, "there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Promise me that you'll listen first."

"Sure. Tell me."

"No!" Berry pressed on my shoulder harder, "you have to promise."
She looked serious, and it scared me. I've never seen her like this before, not even when she's sober.

I thought about it; why wouldn't I listen to my friend? I looked directly into her eyes, "Alright, I promise I'll listen to you."

Berry looked nervous. For a minute she said nothing. Then she took her hoof and quickly lifted her mulberry mane, revealing something that took me by surprise. What I saw under her mane was clearly the stub of a unicorn's horn.

"What!" I was at a loss for words. Berry was a unicorn?

Berry looked at me in fear, "please don't tell anypony." She bit the bottom of her lip, "I've never told anypony I'm a unicorn."

I know that unicorn horns sometimes broke or snapped off, but they're usually fixed with a simple mending spell.
"But, how…"

"How did this happen?" she finished my sentence. She nervously shifted her hooves on the floor and began to shake slightly. "I'm a pureblood unicorn."

That word, "pureblood", struck my memory. Those ponies who attacked me were "purebloods". I remember them chanting that constantly as they killed Nurse Trueheart.

"Oh Celestia," I gasped. The next thing I saw was me on top of Berry, pinning her neck down with my hooves. No, not again.
"I'm so sorry, Berry." I sprung away from her. "I didn't… no…."

She was coughing violently and gasping for air.
"No… I'm sorry." She held her hoof up. "I shouldn't have said that."

I was ashamed. After all these years, I still couldn't control myself. I felt pathetic.

But I was still confused. If she was a pureblooded unicorn, then she would be… no. It couldn't be. No. I wouldn't let myself believe it.

"You've probably figured it out by now," she said, trying to avoid eye contact, "My ancestor was the Unicorn King."

"Welcome candidates!" the old unicorn boomed through the megaphone. "Young colts and fillies like you shall pave the path to the future!"

I never wanted to be here.

"The future is bright! I promise you that it's going to be full of fame, fortune, and honor!"

I was surrounded by other purebloods, like me. All of them, however, cheered on, screaming and crying with overwhelming emotions.

"I promise you that the future shall be a wonderland!"

I didn't understand anypony else, and nopony understood me. I was the strange one of the litter; a rebel who didn't follow the rules set by the elders that other ponies obeyed mindlessly.

"A wonderland, clean of the filth!"

I didn't understand why we were warring.

"A wonderland, ruled by the master race!"

I didn't understand why ponies came back every day to Canterlot with limbs missing and hearts broken.

"Heil the Unicorn King!"

The ceremony continued on for the rest of the afternoon and carried into the night. There was food and drink, free of charge for the celebration. What attracted the most attention were the veterans, decorated with silver and gold badges. They told stories of the war, filled with blood, gore, and laughter. They told stories of victories, priding themselves with every 'clean' kill they made. The little foals truly believed that war was a game.

It disgusted me. Everything about these ponies disgusted me.

I walked down the boardwalk and saw the Other Ponies, picked fresh from the battlefields, set up on display. Some were sold to the highest bidder, but most of them were placed on the stage to be humiliated and then killed. A little Pegasus Pony was bound by the wings and lead onto the stage. A veteran unicorn walked up calmly and took his place beside the bound Pegasus. He smiled and waved to the crowd as he tied the little unicorn by the hindlegs. He then lifted the little pony up and left her dangling from the roof of the stage. The crowd was wild, screaming and awaiting for the performance. The vereran reached out to the crowd and grabbed the first weapon offered by them. I saw him lift up a pitchfork.

"Is everypony ready?" he yelled.

The crowds answered back with a roar of clops.

The Pegasus begged and begged for mercy, but nopony would listen. Her wings flapped in vain as she tried to escape.

The veteran took his weapon and jabbed it into her side, pushing several inches of serrated steel into her spine. He pulled it out and three streams of blood sprayed out and dripped onto the stage. He laughed and laughed as he continued to torture the Pegasus with the weapon in his hooves.

The screams died down and the Pegasus' head fell backwards. Only a gurgling sound was heard from the body which now swung lifelessly back and forward.

I didn't want to stay here anymore.
I walked home alone, counting the cracks of the old Canterlot streets as I went along. The streets were completely barren, except for the rare dimly lit window. Lower Canterlot was always like this, broken and dead. Every stallion was drafted into the war. No stallion had ever come back.

I climbed uphill into the Upper Levels, past the marble fountains and neatly trimmed hedges. Still, there was no sign of anypony. I sighed, remembering the time before war took over my life. The ground was no longer cracked or gravely. Instead, it was freshly paved yesterday by the Other Ponies. Eventually, I made it back to the chateau. Armored guard ponies stood in front of the golden gates and greeted me as I approached them.

"Welcome back, Miss Berry," they said in unison.

I nodded my head and they lifted the gates open. I went into the elevator to the third floor where the atrium was.

The doors opened and I saw my parents awaiting me.

"Welcome back, Miss Berry," said the purple mare.

These ponies were, in fact, not my true parents. Like all pureblooded ones, I was adopted by the Grand Council who reared me up to become the 'perfect pony'.

"I expect that you enjoyed the ceremony?"

I didn't. "Yes Missus Platinum."

"It's late, and the other ponies shall be coming back soon," she said, looking out the window, "and tomorrow is the First Lecture."

The First Lecture, the first-hand experience with war for little ponies. I wished that this day would never come.

"I remember my First Lecture," Platinum looked off in the distance, nostalgically, "It was so beautiful, I would never forget that day when I truly understood the meaning of pureblood."

"Excuse me, Miss Platium," whimpered a timid little pony who appeared from the elevator. She was one of our Other Ponies. Her creamy yellow coat was bruised all over, covering her with purple blotches.

"EXCUSE ME? DID I SAY THAT A MULE LIKE YOU COULD TALK TO ME?" Platinum yelled back.

The pony stumbled backwards and began to tear up.

Platinum turned towards me, "pathetic isn't it? The Other Ponies are nothing more than useless scum. They make this world rot."

The little pony was a Pegasus Mare who was a spoil of the war. Her wings were torn away, like all Pegasus Other Ponies.

Then the bell rang. We could hear the sound of the other colts and fillies coming back from the festival.

Platinum was furious. She stomped over and loomed over the Pegasus, "You useless little pony. You didn't tell me that they were back!"

"But… But… that's what I was trying to…"

Platinum bucked the little pony in the face. I could hear the crack of a jaw snapping. The little pony held her arms in front of her face, terrified and in pain. Platinum continued to buck the little pony, unrelenting and unable to show any mercy. Blood splattered all over the floor, along with some of her teeth.

"Now look what you've done!" Platinum said, still looking down on the little pony. "Clean it up, with your mouth, scum."

The little pony obviously needed medical attention right away. Platinum watched on as the crying little pony tried lapped up her blood off the floor. She cried from pain, as half her face was

Ding.

The elevator door opened and a mob of little pureblood unicorns gasped at what they saw. A helpless pony in front of them, bleeding to death. Then they smiled.

"For the Unicorn King!" they shouted.
They ran out of the elevator and onto the little pony. They bucked, bit, and trampled over the little pony.

"Please, no!" she cried out.

"Clean the world of filth!" shouted one of the colts.
"We're saving the world from evil!" shouted a filly.

The little pony stopped moving. The mob backed away and I could clearly see what was left of her. Her head was twisted into an unnatural position, and her face was frozen in fear. A large gash in her neck streamed blood like a spring, which formed a puddle under her pink mane. All of her bones were smashed and shattered, most likely puncturing her internal organs. Her arms were snapped and twisted from the futile attempt to defend herself.

"Everypony, watch and look," Platinum raised her voice, "this is the filth that we, the pureblooded ones, have to eliminate from our world."
She snapped her hooves on the floor and signaled for two Other Ponies to come and clean up after the remains.

Platinum and the other fillies proceeded to the next floor, unfazed by what had happened.

One of the Other Ponies looked at me, his face in tears, and yelled at me, "What do you ponies want? She was a kind pony. She was a mother. Why did you ponies have to do this?" The Other Ponies carried her body away, mourning for their dear lost friend. Before they disappeared, they turned back and shouted, "Who's the evil one?"

I was alone in the room. I never wanted any of this. It was a nightmare.