Chapter Twenty-Two
Philosophy and Mutiny
"Oh, you don't know how glad I am to see you!" I said to my leering, over-armored twin.[1] "I've been improvising like mad ever since we accidentally came to this universe! I'd love to compare parallels and commonalities, but the imperial airships will be here any—"
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[1] And it was a very good thing she didn't.
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"You—you—liar!" screamed somepony from behind me. It sounded a lot like Loose Leaf, but the voice was so distorted by hysteria, I couldn't be sure.
Ao turned and drew her sword in one fluid motion. I desperately wanted to tell her not to kill the crazy pegasus, but I couldn't afford to show an iota of weakness or hesitation in front of the real Replenisher of Graves.
"Meddle not in the affairs of goddesses, fools!" Ao said. "None of you can comprehend what passes here."
The plurality worried me, but I sighed and rolled my eyes as if a rebellion of the native pegasi behind me was only a minor irritation. There was no way I—or the whole of Nebula's crew for that matter—could fight the mare standing in front of me. If I understood the runes on her armor correctly, anypony who even touched her would be killed instantly.
Our one hope would be to convince her to believe we were on her side. I am good at making friends, but the usual techniques were too slow, and many of them weren't appropriate for the situation anyway. That's why I was acting as if we were already close friends.[2]
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[2] See Appendix A: Dubious Techniques, page 237, The Compendium of Friendship, third edition.
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Midnight Sparkle[3] gave a brief glance at whatever was going on behind me and then turned her attention back to me. "Some of your crew seem to be a bit disappointed in you, little one."
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[3] I will use this name for the other Twilight Sparkle from now on in this narrative. It is not meant to be judgemental, merely an appropriate descriptor to avoid confusion.
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I grinned at her. "I just smashed the foundation of the Empire to sand for them, and that's the thanks I get! Typical."
Steel rang on steel behind me, and it took every ounce of willpower I had to stop myself from turning around. Midnight sighed and her horn flared briefly. All sound and sense of motion from behind me ceased instantly. "That sounds like an exaggeration, from what the blacklips have told me about your little raids. You wouldn't be lying to me would you?"
I shrugged. "I'll show you," I replied casually and turned toward Nebula. Ao and four pegasi hung frozen in stasis fields below her bow. I ignored them and called out, "Linwood! Get five of your friends around a medallion and tap out, if you please."
"Any hostile action would be very unwise," Midnight said softly behind me.
I looked back at her out of the corner of my eye. "It would be stupid, you mean. Since when have any of us been stupid, sister?"
She lifted an eyebrow at the word, but said nothing.
Linwood gathered five other unicorns to her in Nebula's bow. She raised her hoof above the medallion-capped crystal, but before bringing it down, she called out, "Thank you for everything Twilight!" Her hoof fell and the group disappeared in a corruscating burst of portal magic.
I turned back to Midnight. "See? I mass-produced and then distributed those things all over the Empire. By now, there won't be more than a few hundred unicorns left in the whole place. By the end of the week, there'll be none at all. No unicorns, no power, no problem!" Wild exaggeration came easier to me than outright lying, it seemed.
Midnight smiled slightly, not showing her teeth, which I took for a good sign. "And the mass of airships I see approaching? No problem there?"
"Oh, those," I said. "I was kind of hoping to jury-rig this gate so I could get my ship home before they arrived. Their ships will run out of power in a few days, and that will be the last of the Grand Imperial Fleet."
"Clever," she said, staring at the distant airships and nodding slightly. She continued to gaze at the horizon for a few more moments and then added, "But not really satisfying, you know? As one of the Dark Twilights, you must realize that upholding a reputation is important. Now, an entire fleet smashed from the sky? That would impress ponies!"
Uh-oh. I forced myself to grin, and I waved a wing dismissively. "Who cares what these backwater rubes think?"
Midnight gave me an odd look, and I realized I had misstepped. She reached out toward my head with a wingtip. It would have been a more kindly gesture if she had been intending to touch me with one of her bare feathers, rather than an enchanted wingblade. I could clearly see the death spell etched into the side of the blade. Anypony it touched, other than its owner, would be instantly torn and twisted into a bloody ruin.
The cool metal stroked my cheek, and it was the slow, sensuous way she did it that gave me a sudden idea. I smiled, closed my eyes briefly, and leaned into it as if it were a caress from Luna. Midnight seemed satisfied with her test and began to lower her wing, but I stepped forward, and brought my face closer to hers, whispering, "Mmmm... Perhaps later, we could…?"
"Oh?" She grinned widely. "But first a little battle to get our hearts pumping, and then—"
"Oh, all right," I said, as seductively as possible while trying not to shiver. "We know what we like. Confidence, strength…" I wrapped my wings around her armored neck. "And it's been a very long time since I came across a version of myself who was so deliciously powerful."
Yes, of course I kissed her. I thought of Luna, and I kissed her hard. She kissed me back, putting tongue and teeth into it, and when I drew back, my lower lip was bleeding. I licked the blood away and smiled at her. I showed all of my teeth.
A flash of my horn dispelled the stasis field around Ao, and I screamed, "Cork her! NOW!"
We all hit the deck and Sugarpine fired the full charge of the anti-magic gun straight into Midnight Sparkle's face.
As I had expected, the reflexive mandalas that were part of her armor disrupted the spell matrix before it could affect any of the built-in defensive systems. The orichalcum double spiral around her horn would have stopped the spell from nullifying her personal magic as well, if it had been powered. But it wasn't.
Midnight Sparkle snarled. Her eyes blazed—and then went wide in shock as she realized she couldn't use magic any longer.
"You shouldn't have reminded me that your armor is attuned specifically to you," I said. "When it didn't kill me on contact, I knew that, as far as it was concerned, you and I are identical."
"You… You…" She sputtered in a wholly satisfactory way.
"You wouldn't be able to remove that helmet unless you disconnected it from the big charged crystal on your back, right?" I unfurled my clenched primaries to reveal the short piece of orichalcum power cable that I'd pulled from its sockets as I had kissed her. I held it up for her to see, smashed the connectors at each end, and threw it over the edge of the platform.
"Your armor's defense spells are still working," I continued. "But how long do you think they'll hold out against a series of full broadsides?" She followed my pointing hoof to see that Sirocco had swung Nebula until her starboard side was facing the gate platform. Every gun aboard her was crowded at the rail and pointed in Midnight's direction. "Face it. My friends and I have outmaneuvered you. Return to your world through the gate and let us take care of this situation ourselves. Please."
Midnight Sparkle continued to gape at me for a second, and then she laughed. She threw back her head and let loose a wild and unrestrained laughter that forced a smile from me, even as it made me slightly uneasy. She stomped her armored hooves in glee until the obsidian beneath them was webbed with cracks.
"Oh, oh, yes!" She cried out. "A thousand thousand worlds, and I am never less than brilliant! Oh, little one, you've delighted me beyond your knowing tonight!"
"I'm glad you're happy," I said, no longer smiling. "As long as you leave—"
"When I'm finished," she said, patiently.
"My friends have enough firepower aimed at you to—"
"Your friends?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in mock puzzlement. "Oh yes, of course you have friends!" Her eyes narrowed to slits and her smile turned smug. "So, why in the world would you think that I don't?"
Midnight Sparkle took a second to savor my expression and then lifted her head and called out, "OH, SPIIIKE!"
"Roadapples," I said softly as my ears drooped. She was at least a few hundred years older than I was, and that meant...
The solid stone platform beneath my hooves shook, and a sound almost too low to hear rumbled out from the direction of the library building.
"Take my advice, and don't bother shooting at him," Midnight said, casually. "You'll only make him mad."
The thud of massive footfalls made the platform vibrate beneath us. A deep, rumbling voice called out, "Trouble, Twi?"
Spike's massive head emerged from behind the building, about thirty feet above the ground. His scarred muzzle swung in our direction, and he peered curiously down at us all. He was wearing what would have been considered light armor on a pony. It must have weighed a couple of tons, at least.
"Everything's fine, Spike," Midnight said. "This little Twilight got a bit clever on me, so we'll have to take out the fleet the old fashioned way."
He chuckled as he approached. It sounded like a minor avalanche of granite boulders. "Send 'em to Celestia?"
"Express delivery," she said, smiling up at him.
He bent his neck down and stretched out a wing to provide a ramp for Midnight to walk up to his back. Evidently, he was also impervious to her armor's spells. She climbed up to a spot just behind his head and settled in.
The blacklips had been hanging back, but the stallion stepped forward then and asked, "What do you wish us to do, Your Highness?"
She looked down at him. "Take shelter in the fortress for now. You've been given the Book of Laws. Learn it. Copy it, and send it out across the world." She turned her gaze on us again. "Leave this cute little Twilight and her raggedy crew to their own devices, they are… only flawed avatars of my will." She grinned and leaned over toward me, adding in a near whisper, "That sounds plausible, doesn't it?"
The stallion stammered a bit, but by the time he had collected his thoughts, Spike had leaped into the air with two mighty sweeps of his wings, and climbed into the night.
Skyla glanced at the pegasi still trapped in Midnight's magic, and then at the two standing on the platform staring after Spike. "Don't be stupid," she said to the blacklips, and then disrupted the stasis fields.
Our rebel pegasi joined the two on the platform, looking to the three-stripe stallion for guidance. Well, all of them except Loose Leaf, who focused a poisonous glare on me. "Inside," the stallion commanded. "Seal the doors and get the crews to the guns. Be ready for anything."
Skyla ignored the suddenly bustling pegasi and turned to me. "Can you modify the gate in a hurry? Or maybe we should go through to her world and try to get home from there?"
"She'll have protected it some way," I said shaking my head. "Probably several different ways. We're not getting through that gate."
Skyla shook her head and bared her teeth in frustration. "Then, what do you suggest? I don't want to be here when she gets back. Did you see the look she gave me?"
I hadn't, actually. Midnight Sparkle hadn't even spared Skyla a glance as far as I knew. I turned to Ao. "How well patched is number three? Will it hold a good charge of gas?"
"Sadly, it will hold no more than it does at this moment. With the edges sealed and the sail painted with lacquer, this one would trust it with three quarters pressure at most."
"Ceiling now?" Skyla asked her.
"Perhaps another three hundred feet, but no more, Captain. Given an hour to improve the patch—"
As if to demonstrate that we didn't have nearly that amount of time, a long stream of green fire jetted out across the valley. More natural-colored fire blossomed in its wake. Flickers of magical force spattered the sky to no apparent effect, and another jet of dragonfire lashed the massed airships.
"Three hundred feet will get us above the valley rim," Skyla said. "Maybe we can escape in the darkness."
I shook my head again. "Use the gems. We've got plenty."
Skyla grimaced. "I don't want to abandon—"
There was a movement in the corner of my eye, and I had drawn my short swords before I had even consciously registered the threat. Loose Leaf squawked and back-winged away from my blades, Ao's sword, and Skyla's battered and notched cutlass. She fumbled with the spear she was carrying, trying to change her grip to one appropriate for throwing. It was completely obvious that she had spent her entire life training to be a scribe.
I sheathed my blades and gently pulled the spear away from her with my magic. "I know you feel betrayed, but revenge won't help."
"You lied to me, you bitch!" she screamed, and for a second I thought she might attack me with her bare hooves.
"I had one little airship against an empire; of course I used every weapon I could, you idiot! Get your nose out of the books once in awhile and learn something about how the real world works!"
Ao and Skyla gasped. I could hardly believe those words had come out of my mouth, ether. In my defense, I'm hardly ever that curt or unkind, but I was in a fairly stressful situation.
A few more airships exploded into flames behind us.
Then Loose Leaf started to cry, and I felt like a complete monster. "Listen… Leaf, I'm sorry. I didn't—"
"Do we have time for this right now?" Skyla snapped, still covering Loose Leaf with her cutlass.
I turned to look at the one-sided battle. From a mile away, it looked like one of those paper balloon festivals, only in reverse—flickering flames and glowing envelopes sinking instead of rising.
"No," I admitted. "Captain, I highly recommend getting the entire crew mustered around the parachutes and having them tap out. I will stay behind long enough to scuttle Nebula;[4] there are several things aboard that I'd rather not fall into her hooves."
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[4] Scuttling is the deliberate sinking or destruction of a ship by her own crew.
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"Agreed," Skyla said sourly, but didn't move. "Mr. Sirocco, see to it."
Sirocco snapped a salute and flew up to Nebula, shouting the orders. Skyla stood calmly, still pointing her blade at the weeping Loose Leaf.
"I can manage on my own," I said to her. "I'll be right behind you."
She and Ao just stared at me.
"Oh, Celestia trample it!" I swore at them. "I'm not going to—"
The platform beneath us shook with a boom as Spike suddenly dropped down in front of the gate, and Midnight Sparkle's wild laughter rolled over us like a wave of knives. "Ah! Now that was more fun than I've had in a long time!" she said as she strolled down Spike's extended wing.
Not having learned her lesson about soi disant goddesses, Loose Leaf spun and prostrated herself flat-out before Midnight. Ao rested the back of her blade across one shoulder and settled into a casual-looking stance. I set the spear aside and waited.
Skyla slammed her cutlass against the platform and yelled, "Did you have to kill them all? Are we next?"
Midnight gave her an indulgent smile. "You really are Shiny's daughter, aren't you? So full of righteous indignation and moral outrage! Isn't a return to harmony and balance worth a few lives?"
Skyla gasped and swung her blade to point at the burning wrecks that had dropped into the valley and onto the surrounding peaks. "You call that harmony?"
Midnight shrugged. "It's a step in the right direction. You might notice that we burned them from the top down. There was plenty of time for the crews to bail out if they were smart. I even let a couple of destroyers go; they'll spread the news faster."
Skyla visibly shook with rage. She pointed her battered cutlass back at Midnight and shouted, "You, you—"
Midnight shook her head and made a tsk sound. "You should take better care of your weapons, Furry Burry. That thing looks like a saw!"
Ao tackled Skyla as she screamed and leaped for Midnight's throat. Skyla was much stronger than she looked, but Ao knew some amazing restraining holds that could only be applied by someone with her snakey physique.
"Language, Furry Burry!" Midnight said, pretending to be shocked at the stream of profanity and threats that burst from Skyla's mouth. "What would your mother say?"
"Please," I said, holding up a hoof between them, and glaring at Midnight. "I'd rather you didn't give my niece an aneurysm!"
"She's my niece, too," Midnight said with raised eyebrows. "Sort of."
"Can I talk with you, please?" I asked, motioning toward the shadows at the base of the library tower. "Alone?"
"Alone? Of course!" She grinned at me lasciviously.
"Oh, don't even try that nonsense on me," I said as I stomped alongside her across the platform.
"I'm serious, Twilight," she said, and she did sound sincere. "A good battle always makes me frisky. Haven't you ever—"
"No!" I lied, unable to suppress the memory of the amazing night with Luna after the defeat of Grogar.
"Ha!" Midnight chuckled. " I know that look! How about the kirin? She looks remarkably flexible. Have you ever—"
"This isn't funny!" I growled at her. "We're at your mercy, yes. If I have to surrender to you to get you to let my ship and her crew go—"
Midnight Sparkle rounded on me and I could see real anger in her eyes. "You think I would really make such a demand? Would you?"
"I'm not you!"
"Yes, you are, Twilight," she said, staring me right in the eyes. "You're younger, less experienced, but you know, don't you?"
"Know? Know what?"
"Midnight coat, dragon eyes, tiger fangs, razor-edged feathers… Dressed up to go to a charity event at the children's hospital, are you?" She practically sneered as she went through the list that described her as well.
"T-this?" I glanced down at myself. It didn't help steady my mind that there was dried blood spattered on my forelegs. "It's a disguise. A convenience that I'm stuck with! I'm not really like this."
"Petunia's Polymorph?" she asked, knowing full well the answer.
"N-no. I mean yes, but not at first. Look, there was a situation—"
"And things got out of hoof," she finished for me. "But they always do, Twilight. This—" She slammed an armored hoof to her chestplate with a loud clang. "—is what you know. This is what ponies need."
I opened my mouth to protest, but couldn't find the words.
"Oh, ponies enjoy a maternal, nurturing ruler, even if a shining example of justice and morality sometimes makes them feel a little bit guilty and inferior. But when they are threatened, when their lives and the lives of their family and friends are on the line—" She leaned in close and lowered her voice. "—then they want the amoral, violent bitch who will obliterate their enemies without a qualm! Her strength and ruthlessness are their shield, and they love her for it!"
I took a step away from her. "Of course they want to be protected, but a general's role is different from peaceful—"
"Oh, shut up, Sparkle! You can't lie to me!" She arched her neck and glared coldly down at me. "I know exactly what you felt when Chrysalis stood over a defeated Celestia in her own throne room. Shock, yes. Fear—only natural. But mostly disappointment."
I gritted my teeth and said nothing.
"I don't mean to be cruel," she said, her voice softening. "You're years behind me, but you're on the same road. The fact that you look like you do means you know the way instinctively, even if you haven't admitted it to yourself." She turned and looked back at Spike. I was surprised to see he was sitting on the platform, apparently talking in low tones with a no-longer-restrained Skyla. "We keep our worlds orderly and in harmony. One day, you'll realize that fear and respect always outweigh a shining example, and you will join us."
"I don't want to be like you," I said, pointlessly.
"Well," she replied with a casual shrug, "if you find a more effective way, let me know. I'm always open to logical debate with reasonable opponents." She swept out one wing to indicate the fires dotting the mountainside.
When I didn't respond, she said, "That was a joke."
"Not funny."
Midnight lowered her wing and folded it away with a sigh. "This has already taken up too much of my time." She began walking back toward the ship, leaving me no option but to follow.
She almost tripped over the still-prostrate Loose Leaf as she approached the group under Nebula's bowsprit. She frowned at the distraught pegasus.
I hastened to intervene. "Sister, this is Loose Leaf, one of the pegasi who helped us carry out our plan to undermine the Empire. She's one of the few who remained loyal to your intentions. A true supporter of equality and harmony."
"Oh?" Midnight looked down at the poor, shivering mare. "Well done, Loose Leaf. You may rise."
Leaf looked up fearfully, and began to get her hooves under herself. She hesitantly opened her mouth to say something, but Midnight had turned away from her and was gazing out over the wreckage-strewn mountains.
"This was a great and vibrant kingdom once," she said. "Its trade routes stretched across a dozen worlds and the poorest of its subjects were rich by any measure that matters. All with the barest trickle of magic. Truly a wonder."
"Then you happened?" I said.
She laughed. "Oh, no! It was reduced to a dozen squabbling principalities long before I found it! The collapse was all their fault—greed and grudges; same old story. But don't worry, it will be prosperous and great again someday, under my—or perhaps our guidance?"
"A cozy dictatorship of two?" Skyla put in, glaring at both of us for some reason.
Midnight shook her head. "Sarcasm does not become you, dear, but no. I am far too busy to attend to day-to-day details here. Guidance is the right term." She grinned. "Stern guidance, true, but good advice is rarely accepted on its merits. I'll let things shake out for a few years and then peek back in to see how they're doing."
"What about us?" Skyla demanded. Poor twitchy Loose Leaf was looking back and forth between her, me, and Midnight, probably wondering the same thing on a much more personal level.
Midnight shrugged. "Unless you enjoy floating around here, I suggest you return home. You can probably scavenge enough crystals from the wrecks to power the gate in the badlands. That's where you came in, right? I'd let you use this one, but I've reengineered it to be a permanent link to one of our nexus worlds, and it's set up to annihilate unauthorised users." She gave me a direct and meaningful look. "Or anypony who interferes with it."
"Message received, sister," I said, sourly.
She smiled. "Good! Oh, by the way, we usually call each other cousin. I don't really know how that got started, but it's traditional now." She gestured to Spike, and he once again extended a wing for her to climb. With all that heavy armor on, I supposed it was too difficult for her to fly without a magical boost.
"How many of you are there?" Skyla called after her.
Midnight gave her an evaluating look before replying. "More than there are of you, dear. You would do well to remember that."
Spike reared and Midnight gave me a last wave with her wing. "Look me up when you get a few more decades under your saddle, cousin! We could use another good improviser on our side!"
The wind from Spike's wingbeats whipped our manes into streamers behind us, and then they fell limply as he and my rather unpleasant other self disappeared into the gate.
"That sounded threatening to me," Skyla said, still scowling. "Did that sound threatening to you?" I was still wondering about Midnight's use of the word side.
"This one is of the opinion that everything she said conveyed a certain amount of menace." Ao's tone of voice was the polar opposite of Skyla's, and she seemed to relish the word. She stared, smiling slightly at the empty gateway for a moment longer, and then shook herself and turned and kneeled to my niece. "This one offers abject apologies for laying hooves upon you in such a fashion, Captain."
"Oh, get up, Ao! You were right. She baited me, and I should have known better."
"Well, we should probably—" I began.
"We will shore up the repairs to number three while we wait for dawn, and then maneuver over one of the larger wrecks for salvage operations," Skyla said, interrupting me. "Our presence should be enough to chase off any hostile survivors."
"Didn't you order the crew to tap out?" I asked. "That'll be quite a job for just the three of us."
"Sadly," Ao said, in a voice pitched to carry, "the crew are lax and slovenly lubbers who are unable to complete a simple task in a reasonable amount of time." She twisted her head around to face the ship. "Isn't that right, you scurvy nags?"
A few horns appeared above the rail, and more heads followed, all wearing somewhat abashed expressions. "That must be why you are all still here," Ao continued, "because disobeying an order from the captain would be mutiny, wouldn't it?" The crew looked nervously at each other.
"Wouldn't it?" Ao repeated.
A chorus of over a dozen low, repentant voices replied, "Yes, Ms. Ao."
= = =
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... Is there any possible way... umm... we could get some artwork of Midnight and Twilight?
Ooh.... hints of a war between Twilights? This is intriguing.
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If I can find the time, I will!
> Sexy evil Twilight makeouts
I'll uh...be in my bunk
>Flurry all coiled up in Ao
I WILL BE REMAINING IN MY BUNK
i wonder how many twilight's get with luna,
Huh. Hints of an interdimensional war between Twilights. Dark Twilights, and what, Friendly Twilights? And mention of Nexus Worlds, too, a particularly favorite concept of mine. Well, well, well.
Also I laughed at Ao's yelling at the crew at the end. I couldn't help it.
Sweet mother of Yisus...! It seems that some Twilights are on a faster time table that my own...
And not all are on the positive side of the morality compass...
...I'm imagining Midnight wearing the armor of Death knights for WoW
Time to read. I love the consistency.
Well, that could have gone a lot worse.
Hmm. Do the Dark Twilights have a newsletter? Is there a secret wingshake? A team T-shirt?
I wonder what percentage of Twilights would say that to their past selves if given the opportunity.
Midnight may have shot herself on the hoof here. What she said could be construed as much as a warning against what she's become as an argument for it, especially for a Twilight who's been down a dark path before. And hinting at an opposing side, at "Light Twilights" who oppose the more ruthless ones...
She's smart enough to understand this sort of thing. I can't help but wonder how much any apparent backfiring that may come of this is actually intentional on Midnight's part. Or maybe she just thinks it'll take another few gentle failures before her younger cousin will come around to her way of thinking. I suppose it remains to be seen.
(Also, the Midnight appelation makes me wonder what the Sunset Shimmer of the Celestia Code universe is up to...)
In any case, it doesn't seem like there's much more to this particular story. Not unless Twilight plans on neutralizing herself while she's here. Whatever the case, I look forward to more.
"[1] And it was a very good thing she didn't."
Didn't what?
Uhmm.... Midnight loves herself a bit, it seems. Better than actually killing her "cousins", I suppose. I really hope the iteration of Twilight this series follows doesn't follow that path to the same end.
Suddenly hints of multiversal nations and organizations of Sparkles!? Suddenly there need to be tons more sequels!
Oh my. Are we going to have a War of the Twilights at our hands?
Anyway, love this once more!
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She has to have giant pauldrons for sure.
Sooooo those 'sides' Midnight talked about. Do i smell a follow up story?
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It was a very good thing Midnight Sparkle didn't know how glad Twilight Sparkle was to see her.
Dangit, it's going to be one of those things, isn't it?
Ohhhh boy, a big one, but then again, it's Twilight on Twilight fun so.. yeah needs it. Now, just what will this Twilight be like, and will she accept our Twilight as an ally, or take her as a foe? Be understanding? Or wrathful? Is it a case of her disdain and "imposter' being her not being sure this is A Twilight at all? Also that title, well can so see two Twilight's together leading to plenty of philosophy talk, and Mutiny, hmmmmm, Her pegasus Crew mutinying for other Twi? The ones following other Twi turning on her? The Empire ones turning on it seeing the true Dark Mistress? Lot's of ways that could go.
Well, that is one way to start things off, and not a bad idea. Granted we know she'd prefer not to have dealt with her, but this is a very nice way to try and get things started off right. Try to get her on our side and willing to help. Play to hoping there is still some spark of the core Twilight in her. Very, very good move and quick thinking Twilight.
Oh.. ohhh that took me way to long to parse out, but yeah, not at all.. but still nice way to try and turn things around. Now to see how this Twi takes it.
And all true enough, Twi knows how to do this, tell as much of the truth as possible, just, fudge a few details here and there. Also very nice way to very quickly get your needed expostion out and clue her in on just what is going on. More then enough detail for a Twilight to figure things out.
Oh damnit. Twi does not need this right now.
Yeah, gotta keep her thinking you are somepony she could like and respect, or at least not disdain. Still, Loose Leaf, stop it.
Obligatory Ao is Awesome! post. these are coming faster and faster. Next chapter, it'll be the opening sentence, won't it?
Well fuck, this one ain't messing around. ranted, coming to this place, makes sense to come loaded out with everything you have. Still, yeah, great way to show just how not Sunshine and Rainbow's this Twi is quickly.
Hey, can't refute her logic. And a very nice take on winning through making friends with them. But it is likely the best course of action, get her to believe quickly you are more then able and willing to be competent allies, and maybe get her to help you get home. Still, all depends on how good this Twi is at seeing through this stuff, and how willing she is to give a fuck about anypony else.
It fits, and does seem to be the flavor of Evil Twilight that works best, not cackling, super villain, Nightmare, but dark, ruthless, knows what she wants and will not let ANYTHING get in her way, but not maliciously cruel and interested mostly in learning and control type thing. So, hope that appellation fits.
Ohhhh how is she going to react to the truth? Ohhh this is me right now waiting to see.... That is one hell of a plan. And how is she going to like it?
Awww, Ao was just playing. Also, take it her pegasi didn't accept knowing Twi as a good reason to not go right to Midnight's side.. pity.
There's always at least one.
Also, how about the time you nearly destroyed the world? Or the OTHER time you nearly destroyed the world? Or......
Yeah, she knows. She's a Twilight, she's done her own fair share of stupid things. And will likely eagerly kill anypony that brings them up.
Well, likely some stragglers, isolated outposts, loss ones here and there, ones that wanted to stay for some reason, ones that some faster garrisons caught on stopped, but yeah, not enough to keep the Empire working.
Ah, but yeah indulge, megalomaniacs, boasting, glorifying your actions, keep up the act. Do wonder how well it's actually working.
Hmmm, high praise from a Twilight, and one likely with that big an ego. So, working so far?
Wait wait wait. ONE OF!, ONE OF THE!
iisaw, I know your writing, I know just how deliberate you are, You've seen just how much information I can pull just out of you using "The" rather then "my" so, yeah I know this is saying everything it seems to. There are a whole host of Twi's that know about each other, and a whole faction of Dark ones out there doing, dark stuff. And, they know about each other. This is freaking awesome and holy fuck this better be leading to a sequel about this stuff!"
True, but there is the issue of 'how', also, at least Twilight has personal experience being a "Dark Twilight" to draw on.
Oh crap.... so they have this whole system of how they all have to act or something. Still maybe Twilight can salvage this. We know she makes it out after all.
Well fuck, that is... gruesome, and impressive, and dark, and let's hope set for 'it's owner' to be 'Twilight' and this is her testing if she really is a Twilight or not.
If this is the idea I think it is..... well, I like where this story is going!
Also guessing it was.
Dark enough, should be easy to picture, plus alicorn. This bring ups a question, given the whole, proof that Luna isn't shy about shape shifting, Is twilight just living out something she's already done with her? Minus the death armor likely.
Ohhhh yes. Well, screwing them into friendship has to be somewhere in the book, if not, guess time for Twi to make a new revision. Now, how will that get derailed, or just go very badly?
True enough, and if Skyla could see this.. ohhhhh that would just seal the deal. So want to see her reaction to this idea.
Very dedicated to her role. If her and Luna haven't done this yet, petting this is first thing on Twilight's "You, bed now, Change!" list. Or, more likely, it'll be Luna's idea once she hears about it.
Damn.
BUWHAHAHAHAHAA and that is how you get a Twilight distracted!, now how badly will this fuck things up?
Well, this could go very, very badly, maybe luck out and seal the armor, but not fully luck out and get her too? Also, still have the pegasi to deal with. Plus the fleet. Though at this point, betting Twi's just going to say forget Nebula, everyone get home now.
Ohhh, really prepared, take notes Twilight, also, very nice way to get her to drop he guard. So, Twi has her suit power, but none of her own. Sooo, does the suit give her enough of it's own power to fly?
Well, this.. umm this... ummm... yeah I have no idea what to even say right now.
Ohhhhh, ohhhhh, strip her and use the armor yourself?
Oh.. oh... OHHHHHH FUCK YES! ALL OF THE HELL YES TWILIGHT!
So not using it for herself, oh well, disabling most of it helps to, and guessing that was also what she was going to use to draw power for her spells from. Yup, things not going how either Twilight expected them too.
It can't be that easy... that is way, way to easy. I mean freaking awesome, but, way to easy.
She's taking it well. Granted, I can see it, being outsmarted by yourself and proving just how clever you are. Yeah, what are these petty mortals to the Goddesses Twilight? Nice to see she's the type that can respect a cunning foe.
Oh. Fuck!
Well now, at least she's not seeming to take this out on Twilight, and still taking it well. Granted, can't argue with taking out the fleet to much. Also that remark, well, actually doing it, and Celestia is, in a very bad place to get sent to, or just a running joke between them for burning things? Or, they have a Dark Celestia themselves?
Hmm, specifically built in subroutine, or just not effective on dragons?
Very much a Twilight. So now the question is, what laws? Still, yeah, she is far from the worst type of Twilight you could face.
Well, that's comforting, and good, I really like her. Takes defeat well if it's earned, clearly not just omnicidal. Dark, but not seemingly gratuitously so. And trying to help make the world a better place... in her own way.
Close enough.
Awwww, to bad.
Time to argue about going home without the ship then?
Hmmmmmm thatis odd.
Still, with her dealing with the fleet, could you make for the other gate?
Yup here it comes.
Damnit, you are taking this WAY to personally.
Ehhhhhh, it's more a... certain point of view type scenario.
yeah, very un-Twilight but, like she says, she's got a lot to deal with right now and this is not helping in the least. So a bit of snapping now and then is quiet warranted.
Awwwww.... poor thing, she really just, had no idea what she was dealing with, was all excited, eager, yet sheltered and.. just... I do feel sorry for her. She's trying to do the right thing....
Owwwwwwww.... but yeah, better that then leave it in their hooves.
Also hers, and like say, a key to your home worlds lock.
Get them set up, while you argue with Twilight. Nice one Flurry, make sure things get done, but also try to find another way. You learned a lot.
Ah, this too, yeah was expecting a "We aren't leaving you behind, to make sure she follows.
Also I'm betting an awesome looking one.
Ohhh boy, Skyla, do not antagonize the lady with a freaking MASSIVE, FLEET DESTROYING DRAGON!
Well, so she had a brother... saw instantly Skyla was his foal, did she have a Skyla, or just see the resemble and figure it out? And going by the wording, guessing she and him might not have seen eye to eye about things..... well.... this could be interesting, but also go very, very bad.
Given Skyla was willing to kill even more, and they DID kill some in doing this... It's a loaded question, the issue is not what you are asking, it is HOW you did it. Callously, for your own enjoyment and pleasure. Killing, just to prove a point. Are there times it's needed? Where it has to be done? Yes. But not like that. Not without regard, thought, mercy, or compassion. This, is one hell of a great mirror for both Skyla and Twi's journey this story.
Ohhh, ohhh, she had one of her own and.. and even the same name... ohhhh that is going to set some things off.
Still I do like her, of all the Dark Twilight's, she is, restrained, over the line sure but, still has her own sense of honor and decency.
GO AO!
Seriously how did you make Ao so damn awesome!?
Als, one Twilight is snarktastic fun, two Twilight's both not putting up acts, sparing with each other?
All we need is Harry Dresden and Snarkulairty will form.
This story when? If not, well, you've noticed I've starting writing my own fics with Luna and, definitely not the kind that would shy away from this.
Heh, yeah she DOES know and yeah that was her at one point. Still, gives her an odd place. Wonder how many other Twi's went dark but came back.
Order? Control?
No, it isn't. But it is a path one can very easily see Twilight slip down, one apparently many Twilight's have. But not this one. Well.. not again anyway.
And at what price?
No, they don't. Ever. Not at the price it requires. That 'Shining Example' inspires others to rise up, to be their best, to become more then they are, better. You? All you inspire is fear, and hatred. Other's to act like you, bullies. You might mean well, but nothing you 'rule' like that can hold a candle to the true heart of what make Equestria, the REAL Equestria so grand.
Happy pony time!
Or feinting pony time?
Oh, they knew about all this before even.
One of our? Okay then, yeah this is pretty damn big.
We gave you idea with that whole 'Council of Twilight's' thing, didn't we?
Well, not that hard given just how many of Twilight spun off before Shining even existed, or Flurry. Still... ouch.
So not, she said Dark Twilight, calling you that herself. And the way she spoke about beacons.... she wasn't just talking about Celestia was she? There is a full on, multiverse.. if not war, then at least tension of some kind, between Dark, and Light Twilight's, isn't there? Question is, how'd Twilight miss this in all her travels before?
Right into the role of Captain. Twi, you might have trouble prying her hooves off your ship.....
No, she ordered them to assemble the stuff to tap out with, figured they would be waiting for her order.
1. Ao is awesome
2. BEST MUTINY EVER!
3. That is just pain awesome
4. Like you'd expect your crew to leave you.
5. THIS STORY IS SO BUCKING AWESOME!!!!
Bit disappointed that Twilight didn't have some good rebuttals for Dark Twi's shit. But I do love Dark Twi. She's a great balance of, ruthless, but not malicious. Still Twilight, but, as said, Dark. Willing to do whatever she feels needs to be done, but for ends that she feels are right. And even are good ideals in the most part. But her methods... how far she'd go... a great warning sign for our Twilight. Plus that little hint at the end, of more being out there then she knows...... this better go some where!!!!!!
Still, can't wait to see how things wrap up, this story has been a bucking AMAZING ride.
>Twilight making out session
WHY AM I OKAY WITH THIS!?
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Oh boy...
I see the "our side" comment and also kinda wish for a Twilight vs Twilight thing but technically that is not what's said here.
The Twilights could have a common enemy but not every Twilight wants to join them in that fight or not fight with the same methods. And towards someone remaining neutral one could also say that they could use her on their side. I don't know what iisaw is planning, I just wanted to point out that that line is not doubless evidence.
Also I am not sure if a war between Twilights would actually be between 2 sides. Twilight is smart that means to me she and her cousins could appear on every point on the moral scale. Between NNM level evil/crazy and the avatar of all that is good and harmony (or something, not so sure what on the other end of that spectrum would be called) are a lot of different versions possible. Probable in fact seeing as Midnight wasn't really evil, she just had less scruple in her methods to obtain harmony.
I can't really see only 2 sides form if it was a war between Twilights. The more extreme of each side would scare off the less extreme sooner or later. Those would found their own sides (or find each other and band together for a while) until those would break appart under the same circumstances. Twilight is used to be able to do things her way and used to her way (mostly) working out in the end. So a collection of multiple Twilights that aren't suuuper close to each other on the moral scale or aren't fighting an immediate threat would not be staying together for long. At least that is what I think.
8307261 Alone, no. But with the emphasis and choice to outright call herelf a "Dark" Twilight, it means there are other Twilight's that are not 'Dark" otherwise she would just be Twilight.
Also Twi is smart enough to know working together is for the best, if there are more extreme ones, they are likely common enemies for being to unstable.
Enjoying the flow of the story, it's funny I have a l e of stories like this one. Just one thing if the crew was to have a proper mutiny, somepony should have given her the Black Spot, or in this case the Black Spike!
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"I Ended An Inter-Universal War And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt"
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The moral compass doesn't have negative or positive sides. It isn't a binary thing.
There is an infinite number of points around a circle, after all, but degrees are a nice approximation. The problem with a circle, of course, is that you wind up back where you began if you go far enough...
Morality is subjective and contextual. Twilight is doing things for reasons she believes to be right and true. Midnight is also doing thongs for reasons she believes to be right and true. Which one is correct? Both. Which one is perfect?
Neither.
Welcome to the multiverse.
Edit: First time one of my comments has received a downvote. Milestone, I guess?
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In that series they "guardians of harmony".
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Oh yes, morality and the multiple universes are extremely messy. And you know how Twilight likes to organize things.
Huh... The League of Evil Twilight's that Secretly Rule the Multiverse!
Interesting chapter... wonder what happens next.
Honestly, Midnight Sparkle didn't do anything that I wouldn't have done. 'Prob'ly more merciful, actually. She struck me as really rather reasonable actually. 9/10, would recruit for Aotrs.
Hell, I don't even think she's wrong - look at the mess humans make of things without someone with a big stick around to say to people "um, no. No you are not doing that [stupid (usually money related) thing] and you can damn well fix that mess you made properly, matey-boy."
Though yes, the fact I am Evil perhaps somewhat taints my argument, but again, hey, humanity - whose fault is that, that I'm still here?
(Though if iisaw remembers my comments on how hilarious, enjoyable and approrpiate I found Twilight going off on the Zebra dude last story, he might not be at all surprised by any of the above...)
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Dark Twilight might as well be literal as they are currently black. She could be seen as the dark compared to -for example- the Twilight from The Quest since she was still purple.
I can see that Midnight has some tendencies that are figuratively dark too but that doesn't mean that she is refering to that when calling herself that. (Just pointing out possibilitys as I actually agree with you on her emphasis on "dark" and the reputation that is to be upheld.)
I feel like I have to elaborate on what I mean with "extreme".
Imagine the situation with the empire fleet and for the sake of argument let's also assume that there is not just Midnight but a bunch of other "dark" Twilights and most importantly they are all aware of the Emperor being a foal being used is on the flagship. Now some Twilights might see the enemy fleet and not care who is on board and see the death of a foal as a necessary casualty and want to just blow them all up. Some other Twilights are fine with blowing up the fleet but try to save the foal as obviously he is being used and therefore is innocent and can be saved. (To keep things simple, let's ignore other possibilitys like capturing the emperor as a bargining chip or for reeducation purposes aka mind control or for worse.) So in this case the "extreme" would be those who would just kill the emperor from the point of view of those who don't.
On the other side there are Twilights that are like our canon one. But even she isn't the most extreme in the "no casualties and befriend everyone" morality. Consider how canon Twilight was quick to declare Queen Chrysalis evil and was happy with her being blasted away. Same goes for Sombra and to a lesser degree also for NMM and Discord too. She didn't try to befriend them, she didn't try to reason with them, no negotiations were ever attempted. But imagine a Twilight that feels guilty for that and since then has never had to kill or even hurt an adversary and could always befriend them with enough patience and tenacity. If those two (obviously very much on the good side) stood before a Sombra level enemy, one of them would see the inevitability of negotiations or friendmaking failing and reluctantly have to admit that there will have to be a casualty on the enemy side. But the other is still all about not hurting anyone and instead befriend/negotiate and whatnot. On the not-dark side, the latter would be seen as the extreme and might make those Twilights more ready to hurt enemys in order to protect friends turn away in disgust/disappointment. (Imagine that not acting and instead talking got a friend hurt and then keep thinking in that direction. What would Twilight do if her friends get hurt? Hint, think Tirek.)
Long story short: extreme does NOT equate unstable. And it does not necessarily result in becoming the enemy either, just that some Twilights split and decide to get things done their own way accorrding to their moral compass (not necessarily alone either).
And yes, Twilight is smart enough to know that allies / friends are important and that working together is needed more often than not. But could you see Twilight working together with someone who is ready to level a hospital just because it is mostly occupyed by enemy forces? And the Twilights know that. They would see the cracks in an alliance of their enemies and surely would try to break it appart, because as you pointed out, she knows the benefits of working together so she also knows the benefits of not having to fight an enemy force working together. And if the cracks are moral choices then you can bet that both sides of Twilights would try to provide those choices to the enemy in order to split them up. So such situations would not be random happenstance or rare occurances either. ("Which of them can still be saved/befriended and which are lost to the dark side." - "If those ready to kill are out of the picture, it'll be easier to clear the pacifists." - "How many many casualties is she willing to accept before the cost outweight the benefit in her opinion compared to her commerads?" - "How involved does a foal have to be before it stops being considered innocent?")
Edit: All of that simplifyed for the sake of argument, morality is not just a one dimensional scale.
8308324 Yes hence the later idea of multiple factions, mostly along the general nine points of the Good/Evil, Law/Chaos spectrum. Of those, the 'extreme' ones that would be avoided by all would be the Chaotic Evil ones, becuase those are the ones everyone knows you can't trust at all and would just screw you over, just for the lulz.
As to 'extreme pacifist' infinite possibilities so, been tried, but unlikely to be many of those alive and able to do anything, given that approach simply does not work. And the show has been clear about this, realistic, someone needs to WANT to change, on some level, before any attempts to help them will work, and there are ones like Chryssi and Sombra, that simply well not do so.
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Yes, being a "good" pony is always more difficult and complex than expected, even when one is doing one's absolute best. Individual tests of goodness can always be evaluated in many different ways, and it is only in the aggregate (unfortunately in hindsight) that a pony's goodness can really be evaluated.
Being an "effective" pony, on the other hoof...
Damn future alternate-dimension Twilight is savage. She burns entire fleets down and gets a hard-on doing it!
Ooookkkk
So we finally got a story that expanded on your multiverse theory from Twillight Enigma.
So I though there is nothing I would see rather than few more like this, even if only as oneshots.
But instead we have the whole coalition of the "Might makes Right" Twilights somewhere out there... this series slowly crossing the threshold to surrealism, but in best and most interesting way possible
Good Job
Yep, this was a good chapter. Really enjoyed it
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Thank you!
Well, I feel a sequel hook: The League of Interuniversal Evil Twlight Sparkles has definitely become a thing here!
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"Councils" are for wimps!
Writing the intro after going through the chapter this time, but you know how much I've enjoyed the story so far? This is probably my favorite chapter yet.
Huh, that legitimately sounds like she's interested. I guess I shouldn't be surprised; it's Twilight.
Oh, dear. Remember when I said you didn't want to lose Loose Leaf? This isn't even breaking it to her gently.
Twi's not the only one who can improvise like mad.
Oh. She's not one of the nice ones. Hopefully the halls here are nice and wide.
My characters also had good luck in DnD campaigns with cheerfully agreeing with the villains who, say, called my low-level storytelling mage good at nothing but parlor tricks; pulls the rug from under their feet so satisfyingly, and leads well into other ways to disarm them. I actually got one villain beginning to rethink her beliefs, according to the DM, before we switched games. Probably not the best strategy for when you're passing yourself off as a goddess, though.
So EqG does exist in this universe.
Post-commentary: I really hope that Sci-Twi gets to poke her head into the Council fic I get excited about below. Her reaction to everyone will be amazing.
This much interest... you wouldn't happen to be supporting the Empire, would you?
"Especially not the squid. She gave me a run – er, swim – for my money, and my mind was even warmed up from the others of us I had visited!"
Midnight's definitely a world traveler, but if most the rest of her neighboring worlds are like this, there is actually a chance you're the first other Twilight she's met.
Nope, she knows the others. Worse, she prides herself on her fall. This could get ugly.
Ah, clever. You've broken your Conquering Dark Twilight mask, so Hedonistic serves as a good backup. Just be sure to reassure Ao once you get the chance; she's definitely familiar with your use of personas, but a little extra care never hurts.
Or do that. That's a pretty good indication you didn't mean it. Going to be difficult to get back to subtlety after this, though. Traitorous Dark Twilight? You might still be able to carry that one off, but it's not really the best one to make friends with.
That there was well done.
Even if she does, be sure to leave somepony behind to remove all indications of which path you took home. The three-alicorn lock will probably keep her out, but no use testing it.
...actually, you've just littered this world with keys. The first Midnight to figure it out (and to still hold a grudge; our friend here is a good candidate for both) can just find one that got lost or fell into Imperial hooves and slide right in. If she's feeling particularly vindictive, she might even go around to the neighbors and gather a Midnight Army, so long as they each watch their backs, and you have a whole host of high-powered, angry selves marching on your castle. You can't let this one go free – she's the only one who currently knows of the way through. Sirocco? Fire.
My thoughts exactly. And there are a lot of italics in this chapter. I know because I'm having to retype all of them.
This could just be a turn of phrase. If it's not, you're probably really lucky you didn't have to take a jaunt through her world to escape the fleet. Yet.
Not that I remember. At least you know you held out against her back home, Flurry?
You've seen them fight. Not at the factory, admittedly, but they were scary enough in the skies. Did you really think that was a good idea?
Is that better or worse than "nag" when they're all equine?
I'm not sure all the time at sea is completely healthy. Also, you're probably one of very few of y'all that can actually say that without being completely hypocritical.
She is not having a good day.
On the one hand, smart; on the other, that's not going down in battle! You better give her quite the loving sendoff to make up for it.
I call it revolution. Or, I guess, invasion in this case, but you were never going to get out of doing the same no matter how destabilized you made things. Especially now we know that barons would just use the excuse to fight for the throne.
Snakey physiques also tend to be strong themselves. Luna, meet up with her some time. And be sure to take pictures of how strongly Twi blushes when the two of you team up on her.
Aw, Midnight, you couldn't have led with that? She might have given you an answer!
That's... not actually a bad description of Twilight Town. Explains the Lunar Republic as well. Chrysalis – no matter what Thorax said about her, the rest of the hive didn't share his dislike...
Works on the readers and watchers, too, apparently.
This is just a wonderful little touch. No matter that Spike will follow Twilight whatever she turns to, but he (and by analogy she) still retain the ability to make friends that the Nightmare lacked. She is/was/could have been the Princess of Friendship, after all.
That's actually scarily similar to the Twilight of the Tower. She might not have gone with fear, but there was respect in those fairy tales and she didn't care about being an example, either. And I feel, in a way, they both do what they do out of honest love for their ponies.
You're not painting the most hopeful picture here, iisaw. Either Twilight loves everypony, retreats from view, and guides the world from the shadows, unafraid of putting a blade where needed; or she finds fear the better way to lead and falls to darkness. Seraphem's mention of the Doctor continues to be all the more relevant, only we know from Marigold and Cutter that even keeping mortal companions doesn't keep her from becoming the Alicorn Victorious. And worst of all, I can feel it encroaching on my own headcanon because your writing is so good I'm having trouble finding a way to argue against it; it's the logical extrapolation of Twilight's character. Changes are coming to Equestria, in the next century or two.
Her words make me think I'd love watching her and the Twilight of the Tower debate their worldviews. Her accompaniment makes me think she's just going to undo everything the latter's curated before they sit down to talk.
Ah. That's actually not that bad a joke, when you explain it.
I like this. Extend a small kindness to one you wronged and who wronged you in turn. A great illustration that Twilight is not Midnight (despite Spike and Skyla), and not so far along as they both think or fear.
Hah! Trade empire! I wasn't completely off-base! And a great explanation of the gates, of course they were used to trade even further afield.
Again, with a few small tweaks to the wording, this could just as well be said by the Twilight of the Tower. I think it might actually have been said in one of the fics. They aren't two divergent paths she'll need to choose between, they're two sides of the same coin. There is probably still time to find another way, especially for a Twilight who has seen them both and who knows that that the paths to each of them are both easy to follow and hard to distinguish between, but it's not going to be straightforward.
They are what the Council of Twilights fic is going to be going up against, aren't they? Yes, you'd think that the "nexus worlds" line would have been the one to spark that thought, but for some reason it was actually her calling them "cousin".
I'm not sure if either of you read Carapace's changeling fics (formerly ZOMG), but I've become one of the very few voices in support of the morally-questionable hive in Respite. Before that, I tended more toward the side of the kelpies in Abyssal Empress. Now I'm feeling the same draw toward this Midnight. Probably not going to last too long, the more we see of her, but I'm a bit glad the worst we personally have to worry about is Trump. Not sure my loyalties and morals would be up to the test, otherwise.
Yep, that's the Council of Twilights groundwork being laid. That's going to be a fun fic, with how well-rounded your characters always are.
Definitely been a good trip for her. They need separate ships, though. Give it enough time, and the Council will have a full-fledged pirate fleet on their side when they make their move against the Midnight Army. Oh, I'm getting wonderful MCU vibes this chapter.
First,
Second, I guess "nag" is better than "bitch".
Is there a point when that emoticon loses some meaning? I hope there's not a point like that.
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Now that you say it like that, it does sound familiar. Thanks!
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Huh, you got a downvote for this one. I wonder what part of it someone took so much umbrage against?
"Well, the first time I was overeager, but I'm not sure anypony would have expected the Elements to have been part of the spell. The second I would do again if I needed to; I'm not going to give up my friends. The third..."
That was an impressively fast catch! Still need to see what you say once she gets into more detail about their faction, but don't forget 8208759. I think those scribbled notes wound up settling in nicely.
Post-commentary: Yeah, you remembered it.
I think it's more that reputation is inherently a pretty important consideration for all the Conquering Dark Twilights, and Nightshade hasn't shown any signs of being one of the other flavors (her looks probably also cast her into that category rather than being, say, one of the – less common? – Hedonistic Dark Twilights). With that one line, Nightshade proved conclusively that she doesn't care what the Empire thinks of her, and therefore that she's almost certainly not a Conqueror.
I can confirm this, iisaw. I can also confirm they're really good.
Well, the easy answer is "because we probably gave iisaw the idea with that whole 'Council of Twilights' thing". In-universe, it might be more that Twi used her own world as a nexus rather than striking out on extended journeys, or maybe that quite a number haven't been recruited either (through a Prime Directive sort of thing), or maybe she drew the attention of both factions and while various Twilights she met tried to court her to their side, they couldn't make any overt moves without the others retaliating, and this is the Midnight Army saying they think their position is strong enough to light the match. Whatever it actually is, I'm looking forward to finding out!
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Nope! Ao is quite the versatile adventurer herself!
Yeah, she's sharp, that one!
There is room from many philosophies in the multiverse. And yep, I don't go in for cardboard villains. She needs to have sound and logical reasons for her behavior.
There are many ways... but only two sides. ***ominous foreshadowing***
Oh holy carp, I think you're going to love the next couple of chapters!
They are on my read-it-sooner list!
I guarantee you will!
Noice
Now I'm imagining somewhere in the multiverse there is a Council of Ricks-esque assembly of Twilight Sparkles ruling over thousands or millions of worlds.
A terrifying prospect.
I'd like to see this chapter's possible implications played out in future stories in this series...
I'm also curious about what's happened to Midnight Sparkle's Celestia and Luna.
didn't say that?
2. " either" was misspelled
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For good or ill( the latter, really), some Twilights realized that destroying all that does not fit in orderly boxes is a form of organizing things.
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It's amazing how much weird-shaped stuff will fit in a square pigeonhole if one uses enough force. A lot of real-world cultures have exactly this sort of philosophy: "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down."
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That just leaves one wondering what categories things would fall into. Destroy. To be destroyed. Destroyed. Considering destruction. And so on and so forth.
Need an 'a' here: us like a wave of knives
So now, she started off as a Midnight Sparkle. That reminds me about how the PTSD The Human Twilight had in Legend of the Evertfree and the failed FrindshipQuests the Maptable spit out after they fixed it:
One of the quest was Twilight and Twilight in FriendshipCastle. That was a clear bone thrown to the ClopFicAuthors.
So Midnight acknowledges and wants to stop the kind of corruption that happened here, but her solution is to just gut the current brunt of the power and leave a power vacuum to the very nobility that masterminded it with nothing more than a religious text? Not even a personal hello to discourage twisting it like they did to the last one?
Midnight isn't just an evil Twilight. She's...disorganized D:<
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A nobility now lacking any energy infrastructure or military, I might add. The unicorns will soon be gone and the Blacklip heretics are now the keepers of the pegasus dogma. Midnight had been there for a while; who knows what else she left with them besides a set of
guidelinesholy scripture?In a completely unrelated* factoid, Artificial Intelligence programs often approach complex problems by putting together simulations with arbitrary components/constraints and running them until they fail. Then the AI uses the components/constraints that seemed to preform best again, while discarding or swapping out the ones that contributed to the failure. This is repeated many, many times, and seems to be a pretty good way of developing a system that works for whatever sort of system one is looking to develop.
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