//------------------------------// // A Single Mistake Did All This? // Story: I Don't Think I'm Supposed to be Here // by Architect Ironturtle //------------------------------// I chuckled as I ghosted away from the mountain, carrying the remains of the "leystone" in my talons (I was using Winter Wyvern's form since her personality meshed fairly well with my own) and all six of the Elements of Harmony stowed away in my satchel. A little grandstanding never hurt anyone, after all, not when you're just giving dramatic speeches. In any case, I'd learned what I needed to know. Equestrian magic is at least partially powered by the Ancients, which is really bad news for both them and me. They were no more capable of siding with me or letting me go unopposed than I was of leaving the Radiant and Dire be. Then there was that debacle with the silence. The term "global" takes on a whole new meaning when you're not confined to a single battlefield. I'd broken one of my rules, and that meant I needed to do whatever I could to fix it. 1. Do not kill. 2. Do not enslave. 3. Do not rape. 4. Do not steal. 5. Do not break a contract. This was my code, the standard I held myself to. I hated the Ancients because they violated rule two, and I had almost certainly just broken rule one. I soared out over the Everfree, looking for the Tree of Harmony. It wouldn't be relevant for another two whole seasons, which probably meant that anypony trying to find me would be extra hard pressed to do so. After wheeling around in the sky for an hour or so, I managed to find it. I set down in front of the tree and dropped the leystone on the ground. I could tell that the Tree of Harmony was rooted in the biggest piece of Radiant on the whole planet, and it actually made sense that it would be hiding here. The first rule of hiding and escaping is to never go where your enemy expects you too, after all. I figured I'd put all the Radiant ore I found down here until I could get rid of it, with one small exception. I took the Elements out and returned them to the Tree. There, I thought, Now the vines won't come back and the ponies can't use the Elements on me. I'll have to come up with another way to free Discord and make Twilight an Alicorn if I want to keep in line with the show's continuity, though. Assuming that's still a thing. Now, to clean up my messes... I had a LOT of ground cover and I still needed a friendly structure for my Town Portal scrolls and Boots of Travel to latch onto, so-"Meepo!" 88888888 After the debacle under the mountain had ended, Rainbow Dash hadn't wasted any time and headed back to Cloudsdale to check on her family at just below the speed of sound. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough. By the time she found them, her Dad had already passed on, succumbing to a punctured lung and multiple fractures. Physically, her Mom was fine: she'd been a bit higher up at the time and had managed to right herself before she hit the ground. Mentally? "Mom? Dad?" Rainbow was trying very hard not to cry, the Wonderbolt's don't cry, she had to stay strong even though it felt like something in her chest was crumbling-then she was in her mother's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably. Her Mom was crying too, tears running down her face. This wasn't a uncommon sight, either. All across the forests under what had once been Cloudsdale, other families were going through the same traumas. The faces may have changed, but the grief was the same. 88888888 I ghosted through the wreckage under Permanent Invisibility, taking in what had happened. What I had caused. This was a total waste, their suffering accomplished nothing, even if that had been an acceptable excuse to begin with, and the deaths of all these innocents... no. This was not acceptable, so I would not accept it. I reached into my bag and pulled out the two rarest, and potentially most powerful items I had available: Roshan's Cheese and Aegis of Immortality. I snuck all over the fallout area, giving life and health where it had been unjustly taken. My other Meepo clones had all scattered across Equestria, giving the same gifts and leaving no trace. It would have been the same here, except that I saw the Element of Loyalty was among the affected. If she didn't know that I had fixed what I had broken, she would swear undying vengeance upon me for the pain I caused and pull her friends into doing the same. That was just how she worked. So I did what I had too do and revealed myself. 888RD888 My sobs had died down to mild whimpering when I heard somepony approaching who didn't sound like they were walking on hooves. I glanced up and saw Massacre, the center of my hate, the pony responsible for the worst pain I had ever experienced, leaning over my father to place something on his chest! "You motherbucking killed my fATHER, YOU MONSTER!" I screamed at him. I was still too tired to try to attack him, but he reeled back as if struck. I met his eyes, and I saw something I hadn't expected: pain, pain and... guilt? Then he pointed at my Dad's, Dad's-I can't say it- and held up one of his paws. One by one, he closed each of the digits, until he had made a fist, and my Dad... groaned and tried to sit up!?!?!? "Dad?" I whispered, unable to believe my eyes. He turned and smiled at me, "Hey sport, what did I miss?" He said before breaking out in a fit of coughing. And then I was hugging him and he was hugging me and my Mom was hugging both of us and my tears were messing with my vision but I didn't care in the slightest. I glanced up in time to see Dual nod at me, click his heels together three times, and disappear. He'll still get what's coming to him, that's for sure, but maybe now I could leave him in one piece afterwards. Tree of Harmony The sun was setting on the most extremely grueling day I had ever had in my life by the time I'd wrapped up my recompense and made it back to my home away from home. Between watching the misery my actions had inadvertently caused and the joy that came when I'd fixed it, I was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. I may not have been able to undo all the property damage I'd unleashed, but at least I had no more death on my hands. The fifth clone had carved out a question marked shaped cave in the overhang above the Tree, and then set it as a friendly structure I could teleport back to. He'd also planted 20 land mines at the entrance to discourage unwelcome visitors. I stumbled inside, deactivated Meepo's ultimate, and proceeded to keel over face first onto the pile of hay and leaves that would serve for a temporary bed. I was so tired I fell asleep before I had the chance to roll over. This made it even more annoying when Luna decided to come knocking on my dreams.