Chapter 29: A Simple Choice
Twilight stopped as she saw his dire expression. It unnerved her, such a normally cheerful face marred by a distraught expression, looking guilty, somber... yet determined. She sat and gave him her full attention.
He took a deep breath and let it out, carefully choosing his words as he began to speak. "Twilight. I told you that I had seen the consequences of inaction... and a few decades ago, I resolved to start taking action. Through the years, I have slowly put certain plans in motion. I have covertly spoken to council members, I have secretly nudged projects just subtly enough to put things in place... all without the knowledge of anyone else. As far as those council members know, I only talked to them and them alone... they do not know I spoke to most of them..."
The princess absorbed the information, trying to understand where he was going with this. She still felt uneasy as to what this topic was leading to, but let him continue without interrupting.
Mark Maker looked her over carefully, making sure she was prepared for him to go on. Judging by his expression however, it seemed that perhaps he was unprepared to speak himself, but speak he did, very carefully. "Twilight, what Reach is doing right now will allow for the last, final component of the plan. The Trident had a sucession protocol in place in case something happened to their current head. Keyword being 'had,' as I have disrupted the process. Princess, thanks to my subtle works, I can literally dissolve the Trident within a day. Picture it like putting all of the weight of a building on one support beam and knocking it out... but only if you do one, dreadful thing."
She gulped in fear, a sense of dread creeping up her spine. For something to qualify as "dreadful" to a pony as old as he was... and yet for him to think it necessary... She hesitantly asked in a quiet voice, "what would I need to do?"
"Your highness, I have never asked such a thing of anyone... nor would I ever want to, nor will I ever again... but if we are to destroy the Trident..." He looked up and stared into her eyes, very clear and firm in his words.
"I need you to kill Far Reach."
What? The words resonated in her head. Kill? As in murder? But... that would make me just as bad as Reach! And yet... he's responsible for the deaths of so many... if I were to remove him... wouldn't that save lives? Her mind spun with these thoughts, taken aback by the request... but then she looked back to his face.
Mark Maker looked hurt. His face was worn with not only lines of age, but signs of regret. He very clearly saw no other option, at least, not one that would turn out better.
Twilight was not one to blindly agree, she had to know more. "Why do I have to kill him? Can't I capture him?" she asked, trying to understand his reasoning.
He was very quick to reply. "No. He is a cold genius. If he is captured and imprisoned, he will eventually find a way to free himself. Even worse, he may make allies during his imprisonment, making more problems down the road. Most critically though, if he lives, the succession protocol won't be implemented. They'll be confused and likely try to negotiate terms, but they won't fall apart. This truly is the only way."
She bit her lip in a pensive expression. She understood his plan, and she knew why he felt it necessary... but she couldn't absolutely commit. "I'll consider it..." she trailed off, earning a firm nod from him.
"Twilight, you will choose what you will choose... but just understand. If we dissolve the Trident, I can open this place to the public. Marks will become optional, and more customized. Finally they can be a benefit to society again... and you are more than welcome to help me by my side." His words were hopeful, but not demanding. Clearly, it was his hope, his aspiration to make the Brander a work for good again, and with the Trident gone, he could do it.
"I understand," she replied respectfully. Waiting to see if he had any final comments.
"If you do decide to do it... you can change the color of that broadcast crystal up there by firing a high intensity beam at it. If I see the color change... I'll give Reach a Brand that will limit his thoughts and strategy. That will make it easier to take him out," he offered helpfully. He had mentioned earlier that the unbranded were still tracked...
She nodded solumnly, completely understanding her options. She thanked him profusely for everything he had done for her, and turned to walk back out front.
As she was leaving, he sent her off with one last message. "Just remember Twilight... the choice is yours to make."
Twilight picked up speed as she left, rushing down the long path to the library room, a determined expression worn upon her face. She didn't slow down in the slightest as the facility speakers crackled on again with Reach's voice.
"Oh, now you two may be thinking you should attack me and foil my plans! Well, just a fair warning, you shouldn't try it: you'll be in for a big surprise!" he said haughtily, with a hint of a dark laugh behind his words.
She shook off his comments, powering on until she reached the small library, rushing back out into the hallway... only to be met with two familiar faces.
"Gravel? Ruby? What are you two doing here? How did you even get UP here? Wait... you're the one who opened the door, aren't you?" She found herself asking these questions quickly, rather startled that they were even here at all.
Grey was rather quick to respond. "You told us you were gonna be up here, so one eh... borrowed engine-balloon later, we came up to help! As for the door, she was a challenge, but I got it open, thanks to this baby!" he said with a proud smile, holding up a thin, grey tube, only about twice as thick as a pencil, with a few different small metal extentions on the tip.
"Well, things are getting pretty bad, you guys should probably get out of here while you still can!" Twilight recommended. She was quite glad they were so willing to help out, but she had no idea what Reach was planning, so she couldn't guarentee their safety.
Gravel shook his head in his usual semi-stubborn manner. "After comin' all the way up here? No no no, we ain't leaving before we find out what's going on here!"
Twilight was kind of running in place. There wasn't an explicit statement of a time constraint on whatever Reach was doing, but there also was no indication that she had any time to spare. However, she could tell that he wouldn't budge without some motivation, and she really didn't feel like slamming him against a wall again. Besides, Ruby couldn't have her resolve shifted so easily, so after consideration, she caved to their demands, and decided to give them the abridged version. "Long story short, this place makes Cutie Marks and gives them to people, except certain ponies who work for a big secret organization, which Far Reach controls. The pegasus worked for them. That organization uses Marks to keep ponies calm and nonviolent, and now Far Reach is doing... something," she summarized. It wasn't the most eloquent explanation, but she was feeling pressured as it was.
At this, his face went from smug confidence to pensive concern, with his jaw setting and brow furrowing on his head. "Wait, this place does all that? This... princess, this place can't be allowed to exist anymore!" he told her briskly, almost in a matter-of-fact sort of fashion.
She shook her head and widened her eyes at his suggestion. "Wha--" she managed to get out before he cut her off with an explanation.
"Listen, Twilight, have I ever told you about Sombra? We weren't supposed to talk about it, but... he never had a Mark. Nobody could ever even think to start a revolution because we were all held back by our Marks, if what you say is true. Makes so much sense now, because I know I was. I thought about fighting back a lot before I got my Mark. After it appeared though, I could only barely concentrate on the idea. Also, that pegasus that killed our buddy was Markless. Point is, princess, the whole "Marked and Unmarked" thing is unfair. Everyone needs a chance, Twilight. All of us. We can't just be limited like that. You gotta blow this place to smithereens!" he asserted, eyebrows raised and hoof waving to accent his words.
The princess hesitated, her mind entertaining the thought for a moment. If I blow this place, it would mean no more Cutie Marks, for anyone. Special talents wouldn't be so defined, ponies would be more prone to violence as they once were! But they would be free... and the Trident would lose their primary method of control. Without this place, the puppetmaster has no strings. It could lead to anarchy though... would it really be worth the trade...?
Gray saw her considering his offer, looked at the tool in his hoof, and thrust it towards her, making a final selling point on his idea. "Look, here, take my multi-pick. Made it myself. If you're gonna find a way to destroy this place, you'll need to get through some doors, I'm sure of it. There must be something that powers this place, if it's so complex and makes Cutie Marks, right? Every big factory has, like a generator. Maybe you can sabotage that!" he suggested, nodding as he offered it to her.
Twilight hesitantly took the tool in her hoof, with an unsure expression. It felt heavier than she had expected... or perhaps it was just her imagination...? She put it in her bag and looked back up to a happily nodding Grey Gravel. "...I'll think about it..." she said slowly, and she meant it.
Evidently that was enough for Grey, who gave her a reassuring wink before turning around and looking back. "Alright, we're gettin' outa here, c'mon Ruby!"
He started jogging down the hallway, but Ruby stayed behind for just a moment. She looked into Twilight's eyes, a hoof delicately placed on her necklace. "Make sure Reach is still inside when this place blows, yeah?" she requested. Then she shocked Twilight with a rare sight... a smile, a real, genuine smile.
She turned and ran off after Grey, and they both disappeared down the hall, leaving twilight to think over her options. She needed to press on however, and so, she shook her head and continued forward, making her way towards the entrance.
Twilight entered the grand hall, seeing that Flack was still tied up on the wall. No surprise there... the other occupant in the room, however, was quite a shock.
"Twilight!" Cadence cried out, looking both semi-worn and relieved as she began approaching her.
Twilight instinctively got into a defensive stance, horn charged and ready to fire, if necessary. "Cadence. What are you doing here?" she asked sternly, eyes narrowed in concentration.
Cadence however, with a look of mild guilt, but an air of calm, backed away slightly and spoke in a gentle, yet vaguely desperate voice. "I'm not here to hurt you! Shining got out of prison early, he told me you were here, and that he thought you may need help." Her words were slow, and deliberate, she meant what she was saying. I did tell him to contact Cadence as soon as he was free... I hadn't counted on him getting out early, Twilight thought to herself.
She was rather relieved that Cadence wanted to help... but didn't lower her guard just yet. Not until she had answers. "Why the sudden change in loyalties?" the princess inquired directly, almost demanded.
"Because, Twilight, I spoke with Celestia on the way here, and there's a way for Equestria to belong to the princesses again, for real this time," Cadence explained, clearly lowering her own guard in a sign of non-agression.
"...I'm listening..." she responded, one eyebrow raised, her horn powering down.
The princess of love straightened up and presented her case. "The Trident is the only thing standing between the princesses and the people. But if the princesses CONTROL the Trident, we can not only covertly restore Equestria, but also give power to the monarchy in it's entirety. The way Equestria was supposed to be."
Twilight had to admit, it was a plausible idea, but details would need to be given before she would put any thought into it. "How do you propose we do that?" she asked calmly, almost back to a normal stance at this point.
Cadence was visibly relieved at Twilight's willingness to hear her out, and some of the desperation left her voice as she elaborated. "We know that Reach is the current council head, but if we capture him alive, we can pressure the council to negotiate a new leader. A certain Alicorn princess..." Cadence accented this last statement with a nod in her direction, resulting in Twilight's eyes widening in realization.
"What? Why me?" she questioned in surprise, rather suddenly caught off guard.
"You're the princess of friendship! Your primary concern is harmony between ponies, and celebrating their differences. With you in power, you can move to have all of the unbranded ponies like Reach made to have Marks like everybody else. Equestria would be free again, plus, your attention to details will likely come in handy! Besides... the rest of us princesses have our own kingdoms to run... but an Alicorn princess as Trident head ensures monarchy control indefinitely." Her reasoning was sound, and very tempting.
If I took control of the Trident, I would make sure no ponies would ever be needlessly hurt, and my studies would make me a valuable asset in project direction... And yet, Mark Maker warned me that Reach might be too dangerous to be left alive. And what if the position changes me? These thoughts and more like them rushed through her mind, her eyes subconsciously narrowing in an expression of deep thought.
"If I did agree, what would I have to do?" Twilight asked calmly, still rather undecided.
"You need to knock him out so we can imprison him in Tartarus, where the Trident has no influence. But... be careful, I saw him briefly as he was heading up here, and he was sporting some kind of unusual suit... Here," Cadence stated, handing Twilight a small, dark pink crystal. It looked brittle. "This is a paired crystal. I have another one with me. If you need my help taking him down, just crush it, my crystal will also shatter, and I'll fly in. But... you know more about the Trident than any of us. I trust you'll make the right call," Cadence concluded, smiling weakly to signify her confidence in the fellow alicorn. The weak smile also revealed something more: fatigue.
Everything she's been through... the threats to Shining, the manipulation, being forced to act against her own family... I can only imagine what this must mean to her, Twilight found herself thinking this, then simply nodding to Cadence, in a way that expressed her understanding.
"Thanks, Cadence," she said with a slightly less worn smile of her own. There was a quiet moment of recognition on the two leader's faces, before Cadence spoke again.
"I'll be waiting outside, making sure nobody else tries to sneak up on us. If you need any help, you know what to do," she said, and with one final look, she spread her wings and flew out into the cold mountain air.
Thus, now alone, Twilight turned to look at two doors, both on the ground, on either side of the great Trident seal. The hallway she had just come from was on the left, and the hallway that would lead up to Reach was to the right.
Well... what do I do? she found herself wondering as she considered the two doors, sitting down for a moment, her sense of urgency less intense for the time being.
Gravel had a point about the generator idea. It sounds like the Brander is a delicate system. If I can find what powers it and destroy it, I could disable this place for good... she considered, glancing to the hallway on her left.
Yet... Cadence brings up some very convincing points... nobody has to die if I just capture Reach! Besides... if the Trident has always been part of Equestria, dissolving it could be terrible for everyone, but putting it under monarchy control makes perfect sense... Her eyes wandered to the door on the right, and she bit her lip as her thoughts continued to race.
However... the Trident has become so corrupt, there's no guarentee we could ever truly control it. And then we'd still have Reach to worry about... but if I help Mark Maker, we can start fresh and let ponies choose their own ways. Besides, he's pretty wise, and he's been planning this for so long... who am I to dash his hopes?
All of these thoughts were crashing down on her head, hammered in as the alarms kept on blaring through the halls, much dimmer to her now. All that she had learned... everything that she had encountered on this journey taught her something, changed the way she thought about the world... a world that Far Reach was about to try and change.
And now, all of that information was being boiled down... to a simple choice.
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Destroy it Twilight! I get the feeling that leaving it operational will lead to everything repeating again. It will be the most tragic thing she can do but would benefit pony kind the most.
Mark Maker's plan, while calling for a death, does allow ponies a choice in their own destinies, rather than having anypony impose destinies upon them or deny them the possibility of having a destiny. The Trident must be ended; not just rendered toothless, not just conquered, ended. Besides which, there's nothing stopping Twilight from destroying the Brander later if further evidence renders Mark Maker's plan unfavorable, and Far Reach would likely have died in Grey & Ruby's plan anyway. Marks have value, even they do constrain. Change the game, so that ponies have the choice to bear a Mark or not.
I remember deus ex machina human revelution having a similar situation, I for one decided it was not my call to make...after all every option felt like someone was pushing an agenda for themselves not having humanities best intrest at heart...here I see the exact same wrong answers given and I know what the answer is...take it out of their hands and expose the entire thing.
img08.deviantart.net/cff4/i/2015/236/9/b/spikey_spy_0000_by_hillbe-d971ws4.jpg
7148676 That would be option one that was mark makers choice. Aaafter killing a certain over ambitious and uncaring individual.
Ought to take a fourth option: Do the first option, minus the elimination of Far Reach. The big problem with the Branding Machine is that it is too centralized - there should be many branding machines spread throughout the world, with personal anti-branding charms to prevent Remote Branding. Dragons, Griffons, and every other people that compete with ponies would have a vested interest in ensuring that no on has a true monopoly on the Branding Machine.
Actually, that brings up a question: Why just ponies? I would think the Trident would try to Brand other species, to make it easier for ponykind to manipulate them.
7148600
I get the feeling that destroying it also just will repeat history, but another one with the three tribes.
I really don't think Mark Marker's option is that good, honestly. Because you get to pick your own destiny, and that kinda defeats the point.
Maybe, once they've already earned their destiny, they could get Rebranded with their own, personalized Mark, but if that's not the case, then it's a no-go from me.
I'm failing to see how that would be much of an improvement. Hand off absolute control over their lives from one set of tyrants to the other. Is that that really what anyone should want? Just look where it led the first time.
7149141
You do realize that since all marks are artificial anyway, there is no "destiny" of any kind involved in any of them? This is just some magical computer handing them out.
I say bring power to the alicorns, make twilight head of trident, then execute reach to neutralize the threat afterwards. Maybe the alicorn administrations could then open it up more to the public, if that's an option.
Well, there is certainly a fourth option we still don't know and that is go with whatever Reach's as of yet unknown plan is. I am sure he understands Twilight is in a position to be a great threat and could try spinning his plan to her in an attempt again to sway her to his side.
7148748 No it isn't as far as I am concerned M.M. Was pushing his own agenda.
Far needs his ablities weakened, then captured alive to be put on trial, then the machine needs to be destroyed permanetly.
7148839
I have a suspicion that that's exactly what Reach wants to do.
A bit of bad news: the device I usually write with decided to fry itself, so there will be no story update on the 28th. Thankfully, I should be back in business next week, as long as all goes well. Just wanted to let you all know I didn't die!
I prefer mark makers plan, but that's my personal opinion, but I do hope that's where its going
i think a combination of marks plan and the plan cadence told twilight would be best, but just my opinion
Its not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.
7182328
You get bonus points for the amazing reference.
So let me just break this down
A) Profess all secrets, kill Reach
B) take the guardian's place, trust Cadance
C) suicide, blow the whole thing to smithereens.
I think Twilight should fire a beam at the broadcast crystal, then once Reach is branded with a teddy bear she should capture him alive, then crush the pink crystal and hand him over to Cadance. Twilight should with minimal ceremony, take on the old guy's role as controller of the Brander and protector of cutie marks all across the land.
...then blow the whole thing to smithereens.