//------------------------------// // The choice // Story: Focused eyes // by Banksyt //------------------------------// I do not own my little pony or any of the trademark entities in this fic. I don’t even own the Candy Cloud™. The choice How does one begin to choose? Where do you begin? To attempt to navigate your mind through the seemingly endless maze of possibilities. To look at both sides of the field and see greener grass. To be stuck down a fork in the road, unaware of the repercussions and rewards of going down one road, and not the other. One can never be sure of what decisions they must face, some may be easy, and others will force you to evaluate everything you know. Fate can be cruel at times, but its intentions are never far from good. It might give us a choice between two things, one bad, and one good. And most times the bad will be the right choice and the good, vain. But being especially cruel at times it will force you to decide between two decisions that are both good. Giving the illusion that neither is better, but that they are different in every respect. Tearing your sanity piece by piece until you give in, always hoping you won’t regret your decision. No pony ever wishes to come face to face with such a choice. But then again, when does fate ever listen to what you want? And Twilight stood at the most perilous of choices. Never had a pony been offered eternity, let alone to spend that in the embrace of the pony you love. But neither has a pony looked at the other side and see greener grass, in the face of eternal love. Twilight’s mind was blank, she couldn’t think, she didn’t want to think. Thinking would only remind her of the impossibility of her choice. She just wanted to disappear, to lose all ties with the physical universe and just dissipate, letting all the atoms in her body just break free. And she would have, Twilight did not doubt the possibility that she had such a spell. But the only thing keeping her planted firmly in reality was Luna. The elder alicorn of the night sat next to her, one wing draped over Twilight’s body. The warming embraces keeping her warm and alive in the deathly chill of the night. Even Luna was not prepared for the longest night in Equestrian history. She tried her best to warm the night, to bring light to dark abyss that was the sky. Her moon shone brighter than it had ever done before, the stars, were all out that night. Every constellation that Luna had created, visible, it took everypony’s breath away. The sky shone so brightly, it could have been day. But the shining warmth of the sun was missing, it wasn’t complete. It would never be complete till Celestia raised the sun, and now she had disappeared again. The situation had gone from bad, to worse. But they had a whole day and Luna knew that Celestia wouldn’t do something brash, Twilight on the other she couldn’t speak for. And with her experience she knew Twilight was not dealing with it very well. And so against protocol (they were more guidelines than actual rules) she stayed next to Twilight. ~ Fluttershy flew faster than she had ever flown before; to say she was afraid was a bold understatement. She was chasing Sunshine through the cloudless night sky when it lit up brighter than she had expected, and so was blinded temporarily. When she was able to see again, she had lost Sunshine. And now she was even more afraid than before, she hadn’t been able to do the only thing Twilight asked of her. Fluttershy was above the palace, the mountain face not far from where she hovered. She could see the festival from where she was and she didn’t like it, her fear of heights was creeping into her mind. Fluttershy shook her head and strained her eyesight, the bright moon made it easier to see, but only just. After what felt an eternity she caught a glimpse of something yellowish streaking through the sky and Fluttershy gave chase hoping that it was Sunshine and not some stray bird. The streak was going up, but Fluttershy had not time to worry about height, if she let Sunshine get away...Fluttershy didn’t even want to think about the consequences. She just flew after whatever it was, but it was moving fast. And heading for the peak of the mountain. ~ Sunshine’s eyes were filled with tears, blurring her vision. She didn’t know where she was going, but she wanted to get there fast. A million things ran through her mind but safety wasn’t one of them. The late night had exhausted her system completely and after her outburst in the garden, she was just as mentally exhausted. Her mind was so numb she couldn’t feel the ice forming on her body and wings as she got further and further up. The temperatures at the top of the mountain were below freezing and no pony, not even a Pegasus in their right mind would attempt a climb without proper gear. As she neared the top her wing beats became un-synchronized, she couldn’t fly upright anymore but it didn’t faze her. Countless times had she flown upside-down and she was somewhat of a champion in ponyville. But it didn’t change the fact that her wings were shutting down, and she was only 100 meters from the top. With the last shreds of her strength she thrust herself towards the ledge, just latching on. She tried to grapple at something, anything to keep her from falling to her death. One of her fore hooves latched on to a rock and she pulled with all her might. The rock came free and tumbled of the side, falling silently to eventually be pulverized on the sidewalk of a street. Sunshine was hanging by a thread; her left fore-hoof was stuck in a crack holding her in place. But any sudden movement and she could fall. And of all places to do it Sunshine did it here, she broke down. Sobs racked her chilled body and she was shivering violently from the cold. She knew the cracks grip wouldn’t hold her for long, but she no longer cared. She was spent; her muscles burnt so much she felt as if they were freezing. Her wings were now frozen in place, so even if she descended they wouldn’t be able to thaw quickly enough so that she could save herself. She was about to die, her life was flashing before her eyes. Her happy days at school, her stressful yet exciting time at college and the life she had always wished for in ponyville. But one thing stuck the entire time, one pony she saw over and over again. The pony that had brought her happiness, the pony that completed her. Sunshine screamed at the top of her lungs in uncontrolled rage. Why would Twilight leave her? Had she not been the best pony she could be? Had Twilight just played with her? Sunshine shook her head violently. No! She knew Twilight would never do it intentionally. But then why had she done it? Sunshine couldn’t think straight long enough to realize that her uncontrolled shaking was loosening her grip on the ledge. But the minute she began falling she realized. Her hooves flailed, the cold sharp wind rushed past her so fast Sunshine swore she was being cut up. She didn’t open her eyes, not even to take one last look at the world. It wanted her dead so why would she care to see it again? She just fell silently hoping the end would come soon. ~ Fluttershy gasped, she could see Sunshine hanging by a hoof on the cliff edge. And now Sunshine was slowly slipping out of her hold. She forced herself to go faster but she couldn’t, she was already going faster than she ever imagined she could. She was going so fast the telltale signs of the sound barrier began to form in a cone around her. She was stretching the barrier for the same reason Dash had. To save a life. But she told herself no matter how hard she tried, how bad the situation got, she couldn’t go faster. Dash had years of strenuous training, Fluttershy had flown maybe twice in a good day. Then Sunshine slipped, her hoof came free and she tumbled into free-fall. Now Fluttershy knew she couldn’t pull her up, she frantically searched for something that could help her. A cave! There was a cave in the cliff face, but at this speed she wouldn’t make in time. So she did the only thing she could; she went faster. Everything blurred, the wind cutting into her eyes force her to squint them. The barrier became more and more evident, and more and more stretched. And in the dark of the night, thousands of kilometers above the festival, unawares to the crowds below; Fluttershy performed a Sonic Rainboom. The extra speed sent her rocketing towards Sunshine at speeds fit for a legend. She tucked her wings in and braced for the impact. And with pinpoint accuracy she crashed into Sunshine. Fluttershy was unconscious upon impact. ~ Duty. A soft echo in the back of her mind. Duty to the citizens. But Celestia had not the mind for duty anymore, what was duty when there was no justice? Why should she prioritize everypony when no pony cared for her? And even if she wanted to raise the sun she couldn’t. It was out of her hoofs the minute she missed the mark. Why she had even thought to lay down rules that kept her and her sister from being able to raise the celestial bodies past a certain point escaped her. But she could care less if everypony wanted the sun to rise, she wanted Twilight to love her but that wasn’t going to happen. Somewhere deep down in the recesses of Celestia’s mind she knew she was acting foolish, but emotions controlled her now. And the strongest one was regret. Celestia regretted not telling Twilight earlier, for being too scared to do something she had done countless of times before. For not listening to her sister (despite her sister being less experience in this field) for not saying those three words. The three words that would make her happy, that would make her eternal life livable. Celestia flew for the palace. The tall alicorn using her massive wings to propel herself through the cold night. She wanted her bed; she wanted somepony to listen to her woes. For somepony to care about how she felt, but she doubted any guards would have the balls to approach her in this state. And she wasn’t about to go visit Discord again, his advice was never sound. As soon as she landed on her balcony, she flung herself at the bed and proceeded to cry her heart out. The sobs could be heard throughout the empty palace, and they fell on no ears. None, except one, who could have sworn that pie doesn’t cry. Plum pie was taking out a fresh pie from the oven when he heard the crying. At first he was confused, and then he became scared. He thought no pony would be in the palace at this time. It was far too early for ponies to be getting to work and far too late for ponies to still be at work. Except himself, Plum loved the night kitchen, it was strangely soothing. And it was easier to make his famous pies when no pony was around. They all wanted his secret recipe, but they would have to take it from his cold dead hooves. The crying continued it went on and on. It wasn’t wailing, it wasn’t sobs of joy, they were tears of heartbreak. And Plum knew about heartbreak (when he was young he was somewhat of a ladies stallion). Plum quickly put the pie away in the freezer (which wasn’t the finally step in his secret recipe) took a lantern and went in search of the crying. The palace’s design was spacious and so was able to carry sounds easily throughout its interior. It also made it hard to find the source of the sounds. Plum looked in the library, nothing, he looked in the throne room, still nothing. He checked the palace showers, not even the sound of water dripping, and he checked the observatory, as silent as the night. He looked everywhere, except the royal bedrooms. But he dared not go in fear that if he got caught he might have to get used to hard moon rock as a bed. Plum banished the thought, there was one thing the Pie’s were not, and that was (in the words of his pink niece) scaredy cats. Come on plum, giggle at the ghosties, giggle at the ghosties. His head held high, he trotted towards the royal bedrooms and the noise that was getting noticeably louder. As he stood outside the Royal bedrooms (Luna’s to the right and Celestia’s to the right) the crying was emanating from the only bedroom he had never entered (don’t ask how he got into Luna’s bedroom). Plum Pie just stood there; the doors looked far to menacing to be doors. He raised a hoof, and with the courage of an army of manticores knocked. *knock**knock* the crying stopped instantly, Plum gulped, he had her attention now. “Ex...Excuse me princess Celestia?” He was shaking so much he thought his cutie mark would fall off. “Who’s there !?!” She shouted so loudly the vase out in the hall shook. It scared Plum right out of his coat, and it took him a full minute to regain his composure enough to reply. “It...It me your highness...Plum Pie, the head chef...” Plum didn’t know why he needed to repeat his title, Celestia knew every pony’s name by heart in the palace, and she prided herself on the fact. Then there was silence, it rung so loud Plum was sure he’d go mad. “C...Co-Come in.” Celestia said finally. Plum pushed the double doors open, and was shocked at what he saw. Celestia was sprawled on her side, the sheets in a pile at the foot of the bed. The balcony door was wide open, and a few potted plants lying of the floor with cracked pots. If this wasn’t a disaster zone then Plum didn’t know what was. “Princess Celestia...What’s...What’s wrong?” He said scanning the room. “Could you please close the doors first?” Plum nodded; it was getting chilly in here. He closed both doors quickly and then sat to the side of the bed facing Celestia. “What wrong your highness?” “Please call me Celestia Mr. Pie” Plum noted that when Celestia was lying on her side, she looked oddly serene. “And please call me Plum, Celestia.” Celestia let a small smile creep into her face. “Please Celestia, what’s wrong?” The smile instantly disappeared, and the crying started again. Plum was in no position to be rude, but Luna be dammed her crying was really scratchy. “How was I supposed to know she was in love? She didn’t tell me! And how could she be so innocent, she’s nineteen for heaven’s sake! She...I...Sun...I just wanna be lo-o-o-ved!” Celestia flipped from side to side crying out in aguish. “Um...There there Celestia, and who is this we are talking about?” He tried to make stroking the princess’s mane feel normal, but it was awkward as hell. “Twilight Sparkle.” Plum gasped, he knew that name. But from where? “As in Element of magic and friend of Pinkie Pie?” “Yes, that’s her.” I knew my niece was involved! “But then what’s wrong?” “She’s fell in love with another mare! And...And now she hates me!” Oh my, a love triangle! Between mares! With Celestia involved! Plum tried to keep his head on his shoulders, the princess a Filly-Fooler. He was practically reeling in shock, but he calmed himself down before he said anything he knew he would regret. Come on Plum, how do you calm down a crying mare? “She can’t hate you, you didn’t do anything wrong...right?” Please tell me you didn’t send this other mare to the moon. Ha mare in the moon, No! There is a crying mare right next to you and you’re making jokes! Shame on you Plum! Plum cringed hoping Celestia wasn’t able to read minds. “But I did! I ruined her relationship; I’m not supposed to do that! I’m supposed to kindle relationships, not break them!” “But Celestia, how could you have known! She didn’t tell beforehand.” “But that’s no excuse! She...She told me and I still went and told her mare-friend!” “You told her mare-friend that you were in love with her?” “I had to! I had to be honest, what kind of ruler would I be if I lied to everypony for my personal gain!?” Celestia brought her hooves to her face, cringing at the thought of being held as a tyrant by her citizens. It was Celestia’s worst nightmare, and it was coming true! “Celestia, you were right to be honest...but perhaps a different tact would have been best.” “Are you telling me I should have lied?!?” Oh shit oh shit oh shit. “No! No, I would never ask you to do something like that. Celestia, you know I would never try to deceive you.” “Then what...what should I have done?” “I...Honestly Celestia I have no clue. I probably don’t have as much experience as you do when it comes to love.” Plum said as he let a soft chuckle escape. “But...” Celestia gave a short laugh “the maids tell me you’re quite the lover yourself.” Her smile returned, and Plum’s cheeks grew hotter than burning coals. “I...But...Who?” He finally settled for a question, Plum knew that Celestia had a hoof in all the gossip. “Now what kind of ruler do you think I’d be if I couldn’t keep a secret? It is as your niece says ‘the fastest way to lose a friend’ no?” “Curse her logical insights in friendship. But it still doesn’t change the fact that you mustn’t ‘beat yourself up’ for something you could not avoid.” As much as Plum liked joking around with the princess he was here for a reason. “I...I see your logic, I do. But I cannot escape the feeling that it is all my fault, that my feelings for her are what is causing this rift to form.” “But princess, do you not see that it isn’t your fault? You know very well you can’t control who you fall in love with.” “I know! I know! But then why do I feel this way Plum? Why, if it isn’t my fault do I feel like I should be blamed for everything?” “*sssssiiiiiggghhh* Because Celestia, you love her.” “But...What?” Celestia was about to flip once again but instead took on a confused face not unlike a filly being taught advanced quantum magic teleportation. “Celestia, you love her. You want her to be happy, to be content. You want her appreciation, her attention. And that’s why you feel it’s your fault, because she isn’t those things. You think it’s your fault because she isn’t happy or content.” “But...I...Then why would she run away when I told her I was in love with her?” “Because she’s confused Celestia, because now she’s got to choose between you, and her mare-friend.” “So I am causing a rift in her relationship!” “I’m afraid so Celestia, but there is nothing you can do about it.” “But..But..I caused this! I must find a way to resolve it!” The tall alicorn scrambled to her feet, but lost purchase on the bed and fell face first back into the soft springy bed. “Celestia...” Plum face hoofed. “Please...calm down. I’m afraid it’s in the hooves of Twilight now. You can’t decide for her, she must do that herself.” “I...You are right Mr. Plum...” “Please...it’s just Plum.” Celestia tried to smile, it came out broken but it was a smile nevertheless. “Thank you, Plum.” ~ Something was stroking her man when Fluttershy awoke, it was Sunshine. And she was crying, the tears falling on to her face. Fluttershy was lying on the cold cave floor .They had made it into the cave; Fluttershy’s daring attempt had worked. And Sunshine didn’t seem to have anything more that a deep blue bruise where Fluttershy had collided with her. The winds buffeted around the cave, the cave’s mouth was parallel to the wind direction so little wind got in. “Wh...Why Fluttershy? Why did you have to come after me? It’s not fair! I’m not supposed to be the one alive! You are! Why did you have to save me!?!” The tears were coming in a down pour. “....Why?” Sunshine became silent, but the tears kept coming. “...Because Twilight needs you...” Sunshine’s head perked up in an instant, she turned to the mouth of the cave thinking someone had found them. She the instant she saw that no pony was there she knew. “Oh Fluttershy! I... I thought you were dead!” She pulled Fluttershy to her knees so that they were eye level. And gave her a back breaking hug. “oooff... Sunshine...please...my...back...it hurts...” Fluttershy wheezed as she felt her spin break a few times. “Oh! I’m sorry Fluttershy! Are you okay?” “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Oh my! Your wings!” Fluttershy gasped and pointed at Sunshine’s wings. They were clasped to her body, frozen, the ice rimming the points where her wings touched her body. There was no way Sunshine was going to fly anymore; the risk to try was too great. “I don’t think you can fly anymore Sunshine, if you try your feathers are more than likely to rip right off.” And then Fluttershy remembered seeing Sunshine hanging on the ledge, she quickly lifted Sunshine’s left hoof to see. It was cut and bruised, but nothing too deep. Fluttershy blew a sigh of relief; at least there weren’t any fatal injuries. Not from what she could see, there was still a chance of internal hemorrhaging. Fluttershy trotted to the side of Sunshine, sat, and placed her fore-hooves on Sunshine’s side. “Can you please lie on your side a minute?” Sunshine nodded and did so. Fluttershy ran her hooves in small circles starting and the next and going down, slowly, inch by inch. She couldn’t afford to miss anything at this point. After a few minutes Fluttershy was satisfied that there were no damages to Sunshine’s internal workings. “Well thank Celestia your okay...” Sunshine’s eyes widened at the name. “Don’t say her name; she’s...She’s...Ugh! Why?!? Why did she have to go and fall for Twilight?!?” Fluttershy was taken aback by her outburst; just a second ago she was as calm as the next mare. Fluttershy chided herself for forgetting the whole reason they were here. “Sunshine! How can you talk about the Princess that way!?” “What?! It’s not like she’s ever been nice to me! And she’s trying to steal Twilight from me!” “Sunshine!!” Sunshine realized Fluttershy was shouting at her, and she became silent. “Are you really that blind Sunshine? To see that she had no intention of doing so?” “But...But she said.” “She said she was in love with Twilight, nothing more. And she even told you where Twilight had gone. She could have lied, did you know that? She could have sent you on a wild goose chase so she could have Twilight to herself. Did that ever occur to you?” “But...But Twilight shouted at me...She tried to protect Celestia.” Sunshine cringed at the name. “That only because you were shouting at her. You were ruthlessly attack her mentor, how else do you expect her to react?” Sunshine didn’t like being told of but she knew that blunt advice is the best advice. “I...I don’t know.” Sunshine hung her head, embarrassed didn’t even begin to explain how she felt. “Now as soon as the Sun rises I want you to fly down there and apologize to Celestia and Twilight.” “But!” “No buts!” Fluttershy held up a hoof making it clear that Sunshine had no option in the matter. “I’m sorry...” “It’s okay Sunshine; it’s all going to be okay.” Fluttershy’s complexion changed showing the softer side of her. A smile donned her face as she looked at Sunshine. Sunshine scooted closer to Fluttershy; it was really really cold up here. “When do you think the sun will rise?” ~ Twilight shifted uncomfortably. The wooden floor of the gazebo was not the softest surface to sleep on. And neither was she sleeping in the most comfortable of positions. But Twilight slept anyway, she was completely exhausted. Luna who was lying next to her was the opposite; she wanted to move, to go find her sister. But she needed to stay here; it was in all meanings of the expression “a matter of life or death”. Luna shifted her position so that she laid on her side facing Twilight’s back, her wing sliding of just for a second. But a second was enough to chill Twilight to the bone, forcing her into reality. Twilight’s eye pop open as she scrambles to her feet. “Celestia, wait!” She frantically turns her head this way and that. But soon remembers Celestia left long ago. Twilight lets her rump fall to the floor and her whole body sag, a passing wind forces her to shiver. As she wraps her for hooves around her body she notices Luna rise from the floor to sit next to Twilight, once again wrapping her wing around the shivering unicorn. Twilight looks up at the alicorn gratefully; she knows that if Luna had left her, she would be a Popsicle right now. “Luna...” “Yes Twilight Sparkle?” “Have...Have you ever been in love?” “That I have Twilight” she thought back to the romance novel she wrote, shivers coursed through her body. “Have...Have you ever had to choose?” Luna’s eye brow perked. “To choose between two mares? No I cannot say I have, I do not have the same ‘fascination’ with mares. But if we are talking about stallions, then yes, numerous times.” “Then how do you know to choose? How do you know which is the right choice?” “You don’t” “Wha..huh?” Luna sighed deeply. “My dear Twilight, here there is no ‘right’ choice. This isn’t something you can figure out with logical reasoning.” “But then...how do I decide?” Calm down Luna, she’s young; she doesn’t have as much experience as you. “Your heart Twilight, What does your heart tell you?” Twilight was obviously confused at the proposition. Not using her brain to make a decision? If it wasn’t coming from Luna, Twilight wouldn’t have listened to a word of it. "What do you mean?" "Your heart will tell you things, but only if you listen to it. Listen Twilight, listen." She tried to listen, what did her heart want? Are you going crazy Twilight? Listening to a group of muscles? But despite what her brain said she stayed true to her mission. Seriously? You’re going to ask a bunch of muscles that don’t even listen to your brain who you should love? No matter how hard she listen there was nothing, just *thump**thump* the usual. She strained herself further, there must be something. *thump* *thump* *thump* *thomp* *thump* Twilight was unsure if she had heard something, or if she was truly going crazy. With a second of clarity Twilight tried once more. *thump* *thump* *thomp* *thump* *thomp* *Thump* *thomp*. There! Twilight had definitely heard something, but why would she be hearing two heart beats? She wasn’t sitting that close to Luna. But then she cracked a smile as she finally understood. The domino effect was something Twilight had always been fascinated with, how one small thing could affect everything in such a large way. How one small push of a rock could cause the entire mountain to come tumbling down. How one death could wipe out entire population. How one seed could be the start to a flourishing ecosystem. How one out of rhythm heart beat could be the answer to all her problems. The smile widened, Twilight knew now what she had to do; she had a mare to find. Authors notes: And there we go! Another chapter! Phew... This one took longer than expected to write, and I blame you guys. Why? Because it’s you guys who write such awesome fic’s that distract me from writing. Confound these ponies! They drive me to read! Anyways I hope you enjoyed reading this and that you rate and comment on your way out. Thanks!