24 Going Home
Chapter Twenty Four
Going Home
I was just finishing up brushing out my tail when a steward knocked gently on my cabin door.
"I thought you might like some breakfast, Your Highness," the steward said when I opened the door.
There was a carafe of coffee, a toasted cinnamon-raisin bagel so fresh it was still steaming, maple yogurt, and fresh fruit on his little cart. "Oh, bless you!" I said. "That is exactly what I need right now."
"You're very welcome, ma'am. If there is anything else you'd like, just use the speaking tube," he pointed to a little brass pipe that ended in a slight flair, like the mouth of a trumpet, on the bulkhead of my cabin. "Ask for the galley."
Adventure was all well and good, but civilization was wonderful!
I savored my breakfast to the last bite as I watched the several pegasi guards change their respective watches. One flew out to where the pegasus from the night watch was keeping pace with Sunbeam, and they flew together for a couple of minutes; exchanging orders and news, I assumed. The now off-duty guard flew back to the airship, making a sweeping bank. A quick glide around the big starboard lateral fin later, and he disappeared from my view into the flight deck below.
When I'd finished eating, I refilled my coffee mug, stirring in sugar and cream as I opened my cabin door. I wanted to find a large surface to spread out my work; my cabin was well equipped, but very small nonetheless.
I tried the saloon first, but saw through the round port in the door that Luna, Sessi, and the two changeling drones we had brought along were inside, deep in conversation. Luna willingly sitting down in the same room with changelings? The world was changing, no doubt about it.
I reversed course and headed forward to the main cabin. The main feature of the cabin was a large table where crew and passengers usually took their meals, if not eating in their own cabins. I entered to find the doctor who had treated me after my magic-fueled meltdown with her own paperwork spread out at one end of the table.
"Good morning, Dr. Feverfew," I called to her. "No, don't get up. I'm here for the same reason you are, apparently." I put down my mug, notebooks, quills and journal on the other end of the big slab of wood.
"We have a little more than an hour and a half to work here, Your Highness," she explained. "That's when the crew takes their first meal."
"That's fine, I'll probably need a break by then, anyway."
She nodded and went back to her own work.
It only took a few minutes to return the pages and cover of the journal to strength and flexibility, but the binding was decayed beyond repair, so I had to deal with loose sheets. I used my quill to number them as I read, so that I could put them back in order if need be.
The reason for Sharphoof's rebellion was soon explained. Her expedition had discovered the cornucopia and were able to use it, but they never understood how it worked. The food that it produced for the members of the expedition allowed them to stay in the city for many months longer than they had planned. At first, they thought that they had made a wondrous discovery that would change all of Equestria. Then, when they uncovered documents that revealed Celestia knew about the cornucopia, they wondered why she hadn't shared such a bounty of riches with her subjects.
And slowly, day-by-day, Professor Sharphoof's quillwork changed. It decayed.
Soon, the speculation in her journal was as to why Celestia was deliberately denying her ponies the wealth that was free for the taking. The members of the expedition began to believe that the propaganda of the ancient unicorns must have some basis in fact, and that Celestia might be a tyrant behind a mask of kindness. Many months spent in the presence of the dark crystal had given its poisonous influence time to work on their minds, and slowly their suspicions and speculations took on the strident certainty of unthinking fanaticism.
Fueled by utter certainty, and the belief that their wild speculations were self-evident truths, they returned to Canterlot, determined to expose Celestia's evil plans.
The rebellion, such as it was, lasted all of an afternoon. They were academics, not soldiers, and when they attacked the palace guard, it brought a swift end to their crusade. The High Court took into account their states of mind at the time—even offering to moderate their sentences if they would submit to mind-healing magics. They refused. To alter a pony's mind against their will has always been a cultural taboo, even from the earliest days of the kingdom, and so their choice was imprisonment or banishment.
They chose to return to the city in the desert. I couldn't imagine why anypony would willingly choose a life that meant they would never see a field of green grass again, but it was clear that they were still under the influence of the crystal.
They were archaeologists, not engineers. When they discovered the trove of technical books, they couldn't use or even understand most of them. But Sombra's book, they understood.
The mind-altering properties of the crystal evidently continued to erode Sharphoof's sanity in a horrible feedback loop, and by the end of the journal, the text was barely legible. There were long sections of paranoid ramblings about the need to hide and preserve the "truth", about the assassination teams that Celestia had surely sent to prevent them from freeing all ponies from the solar tyranny, and about the generations to come that would treat the journal as a holy book once the world was back under the rightful domination of the unicorn tribe. It was probably the same effect that had driven the ancient unicorn magicians to hide their secrets in encoded sculptures. The truth had to survive, no matter what might happen to them personally.
The last entry detailed Sharphoof's mad plan to change the crystal's limiter to allow transport of entire ponies—to kidnap engineers and convince or compel them to build a new crystal engine in a location closer to Canterlot—close enough to bring an end to Celestia's reign. That explained why they had cataloged and crated up all the books: They never intended to remain in the desert city. They were on a holy crusade.
With the poison built into their greatest creation, the ancient unicorns caused the downfall of their own civilization. But worse than that, the evil lived on, claiming more lives, long after the city had fallen to ruins. When Sharphoof had reached out to free the crystal from its constraints... well, I hoped that she had been so insane by then that her death had been a mercy.
"Your Highness? Are you in pain?"
I blinked and looked up at the doctor standing by my side. I hadn't realized until then that I had been crying. "No, I'm alright," I said, as I sniffed and wiped my eyes. I waved a hoof at the loose pages spread across the table. "Just a very sad story. An old, stupid tragedy that didn't need to happen."
"If you would like to come to sick bay I could—"
"No, really," I assured her. "I'm fine." I teleported my papers and quills back to my cabin, and stood up. I left the mug where it was; The coffee had gone cold.
"Your Highness," the doctor said in the sort of gentle/stern tone that doctors everywhere use on uncooperative patients. "According to your friends, before you blasted a crater in the desert with your skull, you were channeling so much magical energy that you lit up like a small sun. You were throwing off streams of pure force from your wings and hooves as well as your horn that pretty much annihilated anything they touched. Why you are not now a princess-shaped lump of charcoal is a mystery that I am completely unable to fathom. So, if you won't be sensible and go back to bed for a month, will you at least promise me to try to take things easy?"
"I'll try," I said, smiling sheepishly as I was reminded once again of how lucky I was to even be alive.
Dr. Feverfew didn't smile in return. "Thank you, Your Highness." She pushed her glasses back up her nose and went back to her paperwork.
I rushed out of the main cabin and went forward, not really heading anywhere. When I saw the unicorn guard in mirror-bright armor outside the door to the observation lounge, I knew that Celestia must be inside. The guard clicked his rear hooves together and saluted smartly; reminders that Sunbeam, despite all her sumptuous luxuries, was still indeed a military ship. The guard moved to one side to allow me to enter the lounge and opened the door for me.
I didn't really want to see Celestia right then, but I thought it would look silly if I just turned around and left, so I went in. She was surrounded with her own paperwork, sorted into several neat piles on the deck around her. She looked up, a welcoming smile on her face—and then the smile disappeared, to be replaced with a look of concern.
She moved the papers aside and placed a large cushion next to her, opening one wing in a beckoning gesture. "Come here, Twilight. Tell me what's wrong."
She didn't ask me if I was sick or hurting. One look, and she knew that what was wrong with me wasn't physical.
With a comforting wing wrapped around me, she let me babble for a while, directing my rambling with a few soft-spoken questions from time to time, until I started to run down.
"So many poor ponies have suffered for no good reason... and the changelings, too! It isn't fair!"
I don't know exactly what sort of reply I expected from Celestia but it certainly wasn't what I got.
"You are a princess of the realm, now, Twilight," she said in a serious tone of voice, "You cannot afford a naïve view of the world." She rose and walked forward until she was gazing through the big, curved windows at the land slipping by beneath us. "It is our duty to see the world with unclouded eyes. Our actions must be guided only by what is real, not what is expected, desired, or hoped for."
I followed her and looked down. The countryside below was dry but much less arid than the desert behind us. The were copses of oak and cottonwood scattered along the watercourses. I estimated our position and speed almost by reflex. I calculated that we would make landfall at Canterlot sometime in the early evening.
"Then... it's our duty as rulers to be strong for those who cannot be strong for themselves; to bear the burdens that our subjects hardly even know exist?" I asked after a minute or two.
Celestia nodded slightly. "Yes, but that is only a small part of it. The greatest and most difficult part, is to make sure that life is fair. As fair as it can be. The world is uncaring and unjust by nature. Kindness, loyalty, honesty..." She broke off and gave me a tiny grin. "Well, I'm sure you know the rest of the list. All of that, and more, comes from us. The world will only be as good as we make it. It is not an easy task.
"A beautiful rose seems like such a simple thing," Celestia continued, still looking at the countryside below, "but it is the culmination of a long, long process—as any good gardener will tell you. So much goes into producing the best roses, and all of it must be done again and again... all building anew, each year. Siting, nourishing, watering, protecting from parasites, and pruning. All necessary. A lapse of attention, a period of neglect, and years of work will slip away."
My wings suddenly felt a lot heavier.
"You have the strength, you have the intelligence, and you have the courage in you, Twilight Sparkle. With your scientific knowledge, you uncovered and destroyed a terribly dangerous artifact that I was only able to avoid and suppress for a few centuries. With the will to dedicate your life to the task, you will make Equestria bloom as it never has before."
= = =
=
Epilogue
Judgment
"She steals them all before I can get my share!" the saffron-colored mare insisted.
"Then y'all oughta get up earlier, lazybones!" the aqua blue mare replied.
"It ain't laziness! Sizzleberries don't ripen before noon! That marmalade you make isn't a patch on mine!"
I lifted a hoof to interrupt them before things could degenerate further and cleared my throat. "I think I understand the problem, and I believe that there are a few possible solutions. Since the sizzleberry patch is on crown lands, I could grant the harvest rights to the highest bidder in a blind auction... or I could divide the patch into two equal parts... or I could hold a contest to see which of you produces the best marmalade and award the patch to the winner... or you two could merge your businesses and save a lot on expenses and capital costs." I paused to let the options sink in.
Finally one of them spoke up. "Which one are y'all gonna chose, princess?"
"Oh heavens! I'm not going to choose..." Pause for effect. "...you two are going to make the decision."
"Huh?"
"Beg pardon?"
"Both of you are going to come back to court at this time next week and let me know which solution you've agreed on. You don't have to pick one of mine... anything sensible is fine, as long as you both agree."
They looked at each other doubtfully. "Uhm..." the saffron mare asked, hesitantly. "What if we can't agree?"
"Well," I said quietly, smiling and leaning forward on the dais so that they had to bend their necks back to look up at me. "Then I will be very unhappy."
Before they could quite get up the courage to ask me to clarify, I had thanked them for presenting their concerns before the court and granted them permission to depart. I'd shown them the possibilities for cooperation or competition and provided them with a common enemy. I gave them about an eighty-five percent chance of coming back to me with a decent compromise.
"Anything else this morning, Periwinkle?" I asked my secretary.
"No ma'am," she replied. "Lunch with your friends is scheduled for twelve-thirty, so you have almost an hour of free time before then."
I went down to the lawn where lunch was being set out under a sunshade. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were already there, so I got a good chance to catch up with them before we sat down to eat. I told them about the two farm ponies that had come to court that morning.
"Why didn't you just lay down the law on them, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You know what would work best, right?"
"Because one or the other or both of them would have been resentful against the other," I replied. "They may not come up with the most efficient solution, but they will come up with the solution that makes them both happiest... or least unhappy, anyway."
"They're still gonna be a mite resentful of you for pushin' them into it, sugarcube," Applejack observed. "They'll each think they coulda got a better deal if you decided in their favor."
"I know, but that's fine with me." I shrugged. "It's just part of being a princess."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash started to debate who had the best hoofball team that year, and I let my thoughts wander. I wondered if there would ever be a statue carved of me trampling poor, oppressed ponies underhoof. Given the half-solar, half-lunar style of ruling I was developing, I decided that it was almost inevitable.
And I was okay with that.
= = =
THE END
=
The sequels and side-stories, as well as my other non-pony/original writing, can be found on Offprint and AO3, and a hardbound, two-volume set of all the Alicorn Adventure books and side stories can be ordered from The Ministry of Image.
= = =
Thanks again for all of the superb editing help from Gogito, and thanks to PresentPerfect for the excellent revised edition editing!
For those of you that would like to try your hand at cracking (or just using) the sun code, here's the cover without Little Princess Kick-Ass in the way:
And here's the solution and the key:
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No can has moar?
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/472/042/383.jpg
pictures.mastermarf.com/blog/2010/101120-haz-moar.jpg
I really hope to see a sequel or something. I had really hoped to see more of the interactions between Twilight and the changelings and her adventuring buddy (Whose name eludes me).
It didn't feel like it ended unfinished as much as I feel there was a lot of potential in this story for more.
Regardless this was a really great read and thanks for taking your time to write it!
I believe that should be "a mite resentful".
Great story! I really liked how Twilight dealt with the farmers at the end, and especially how you related that back to the theme of a Princess being depicted as crushing the poor beneath her hooves.
Awesome! This story was great, Fun, mystery, adventure. One of the most enjoyable stories I've read in some time. Thanks!
Bravo! Great story.
I love your Twilight, and your Celestia, and your OCs were particularly compelling.
Thanks for sharing, and if you ever write the sequel I'll be there.
This was a very satisfying story to read. Thank you.
A good MLP fic that I'm following actually finished?! Sorcery! It must be!
Seriously, really good job here. I'm going to be very interested in what else you put out.
3865019
Fixed, thanks! Glad you liked the story!
3865296
3865152
3865140
Thank you all very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it, because I sure had fun writing it.
I very much enjoyed this story. Besides the engaging story, I like the fact that you have a competent Twilight the most. Too many stories have Twilight take after the show and forget she knows magic or forgets she's an alicorn. It's refreshing to have Twilight both powerful and intelligent, as she should be.
Anyway, here's hoping there's a sequel. Perhaps one focusing on Twilight and the changelings. Maybe some chrylight?
3865492
Thank you very much! I, too, can't stand the times in MLP episodes where there is a huge problem because Twilight forgets she can teleport a few yards.*
There is a sequel idea rattling around in my head... I'll have to see how things develop.
As for chrylight...
...wow, wouldn't that be the ultimate love/hate relationship! Hmn....
EDIT: Oh, Celestia! Now I can't stop thinking about it!
----------
* I'm looking at you, Feeling Pinkie Keen!
Is twilight immortal in this fic
3866037
Not yet.
Celestia and Luna have a lot of secrets... but Twilight is very good at uncovering secrets.
The ending I hoped would never come... Alas. Yet, I regret nothing. I only wish I could have spent twice the time I did reading this, so I'll end up reading it all over again later probably. I will eagerly await the sequel!
Its a good end, overall. Leaves room for continuations, really. As there is a bit of what has been left undone in this. And the epilogue of sorts that would clarify things if you hadn't decided on doing so. But a nice read, and shame about not really getting a more firsthand/hoof view of what she did.
Great work. Enjoyed the whole thing. There have been a lot of great new takes on the changelings lately and I really liked your ideas.
Highly enjoyed breading this one.
A wonderful story, from start to finish. It had great character development, in nearly every chapter, which always seems like a tough thing for a story to pull off. Often, characters will progress to a certain point, and then just remain there for the rest of the story. This actually continued with that sort of development all the way through to the end, where we see how Twilight is coming into her own as a Princess.
Augmenting this was a great plotline. I thought it particularly well-done how you wove in backstories for both Chrysalis and Sombra, neither of whom had much backstory in the show (As compared to Discord and Nightmare). Speaking of Nightmare, I note that you seem to have identified her as a separate entity from Luna, and tied her into a greater plot. This does a great job of giving us a sequel hook. (Not too much, not too little).
On a related note, will the sequel be called something like Alicorns and Windigos? Hehehe...
...Get it?
...
no?
Okay, that was horrible. I'm sorry.
But, anyway, bravo to you for a great story!
Take all five!
3866958
Thank you!
And... ouch!
Horay! Sequel! Good show iisaw, keep it up!
Tyrant Twilight oh noes!...........Thank you for writing this story.
A terrific story. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
As a side note, the math got me all excited. I don't know why.
3865711
Yay! Possible sequel!
Sorry for infecting you with the chrylight bug (I'm not really sorry).
Though in all seriousness, you did give a perfect reason for Twilight and Chrysalis to interact. Chrysalis wants to be beautiful again and friendship can do that, which Twilight would be willing to give (probably). Friendship can then escalate... to romance!
3871737
I really appreciate that you're taking the time to comment, particularly on the humorous stuff. I'm never sure if anyone's getting the more subtle humor or not. It's nice to know that someone is.
Best story in awhile! There was still a few details that could have been inserted, but over all, it was a nice story to sit down and read.
3873994
Thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.
I fixed the error; please feel free to point out any others you come across!
3872019 - Hey, hey, hey, hey... hey. I got all the humor. I got all of it, and I put it in a little box, and I open it up every so often so that the fragrance wafts outward, around the room. It smelt of elderberries.
Seriously, though, the humor was well timed and appropriate. It's so easy to overuse the humor, or to make it brash and crass, but you did a terrific job. You have a deft touch for it.
3876032
Read on, my friend! You will find out!
3874621
Thank you so much! But next story, I'm going for more of a sandalwood scent...
Hmmm... No major complaints whatsoever, well-written in general, interesting plot, a fresh take on the Changelings and Chrysalis... Yeah, I gotta say this a good story. Upvoted and put on my favorites list.
Well, that explains Sharphoof.
That was a good ending to an excellent, excellent story. Have a watch, because I'm really looking forward to what you might write next, sequel or whatever else.
3877111
Thank you very much. I've enjoyed reading your comments.
Thanks for the watch, too.
3877109
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
3878259
Thank you! Twilight is also my favorite and I really wanted to portray her as in-character as possible, given that she's older and more mature in the story. It's good to get positive feedback about that!
It's also good to know that the jumping around in time isn't confusing.
1. Holy FUCK. This was one of the best Princess Twilight fics ever made.
2. HOLY FUCK! This was one of the best Chrysalis fics ever made!
3. A sequel planned? I.. I...
That is all. Followed.
3878402
Thank you very much for the high praise!
Wow, you're making me blush!
3881657
That's a good note about the lack of description, thanks! The other mistakes have been corrected.
Glad you're still enjoying the story.
3883506
Thanks again! I'm really looking forward to your reaction to upcoming chapters!
This is a kind of completely amazing story. It's insanely well written and fascinating from beginning to end. You also did a great job with Twilight knowing a lot but not everything and your characterization of the changeling general and captain were fantastic and Jigsaw was also a very enjoyable.
There are hardly any nits I can pick for this story. One of the few is that the reason for the general becoming a pony seems a bit contrived, although given that friendship is literally magic in this universe, it works. I also wish there had been a bit more Celestia, Luna got a lot of background dialog in this but at the end when I was getting excited to see a scene between Chrysalis and Celestia ended up being just casually mentioned in the background and giving Luna more dialog. I was kinda hoping to have Twilight have to sum things up for Celestia and help argue the points and what she had found out so help the process. I really like to hear the events from a characters mouth, doesn't have to be repeated a lot but hearing a characters interpretation of events really helps flesh the character out since it shows us what they thought was most important.
Anyway, yeah, amazing story, I don't usually do this but I would like to see more of this.
3885478
Yes, I can see your point about missing out on the Celestia / Chrysalis meeting. I think I was too wrapped up in Twilight's POV. Maybe a side-story... It would certainly be an interesting scene to write.
Anyway, thanks for the great criticism! It's exactly this sort of feedback that is just what I need to help me become a better writer. And thank you for the praise, too... that just feels good!
3887306
Well, you deserve it, its a fantastic story, I wish I could write as well as you.
Brilliant. Loved every word.
Fantastic story. Twilight as a Princess is a different character from Twilight as a unicorn, and you write her better than any other author I've found. Very much looking forward to the sequel!
Great story, really enjoyed reading it
3892811
Good catch, thanks!
And yep, it was not a good thing for Jigsaw to have done. She really wasn't thinking.
3892996
I'm glad you appreciate my (somewhat off-kilter) sense of humor!
Wow! That was really well done! You've definitely got a lot of talent for writing, are you a writing student by any chance? Honestly, I wish I could write that well!
I'm really looking foward for more!
3894556
Thank you very much! I'm relatively new to writing, but I've been a storyteller all my life.
This was magnificent. You've captured my headcanon Twilight perfectly, awkward brilliance and all. And footnotes! Of course Twilight would use footnotes. So very in-character.
3895633
Thank you very much!
3904068
Thanks for the corrections: Always wanted, always appreciated!
This was AWESOME. A whole lot of sequel hooks, too! The changes in Twilight's physiology, Nightmare's plans, what happens with the rest of the changelings.... Okay, that last one isn't necessarily a sequel HOOK, but I'd still like to see it addressed once more gets written here.
And the great thing about the story being on EqD, is that it'll say when a sequel comes out!
3915640
This is the tune Twilight sings: Rose.
It can be sung as a round by two or more voices.
Since the quadratic equation fits the common meter, you can sing it to a whole bunch of tunes, including the theme to Gilligan's Island and Stairway to Heaven!