• Published 31st Mar 2017
  • 3,744 Views, 95 Comments

The Mare that eats The Monsters - Skijarama



She is known as no more than a myth, a legend, a bedtime story to scare little foals. Her name is Moonrise Drifter, and Twilight Sparkle is going to learn more about her than anypony has in a long time...

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Epilogue - Responsibilities

One entire week had passed since the fiends assaulted Canterlot. One whole week since Princess Celestia died in battle against Luminous Horizon. One week since Luna had dimmed the sun to no more than the last traces of sunset, letting it’s dull glow tell all of Equestria the horrible truth. One week since Moonrise Drifter had been informed of her birth mother’s death and isolated herself away from everypony else. One week since Twilight and her friends were told, Twilight's cries, sobs and sorrowful screams being heard all throughout Canterlot.

Now, Twilight Sparkle, Moonrise Drifter, and Princess Luna all stood in front of Celestia’s grave, marked by a tall, ornately carved stone in the heart of Canterlot. For now, the stone held her name, the years she had lived, her titles and an etching of her cutie mark. Luna had ordered with no room for argument that Celestia’s memory would be honored far better than this. Some of the finest sculptors in all the known world had been contracted to carve a statue of Celestia to place here.

The sun was presently rising, Luna’s face twisting slightly with strain as she brought the substantially larger celestial body into it’s position while also lowering the moon below the horizon. When it was done, she dropped the spell and let out a breath.

“Has there been any sign of Horizon or his fiends…?” Drifter asked coldly, almost no emotion in her voice. Her eyes were glued to the symbol of Celestia’s cutie mark.

“I’m afraid not, Drifter… None of the scouts or patrols have seen anything, nor any of the towns or settlements across Equestria that we got in touch with.” Luna replied with a sigh. “But I know Horizon well enough to know that this is only a temporary reprieve. We aren’t done yet; not even close.”

“Of course we aren’t...” Drifter muttered quietly. Twilight looked at the two of them sadly, giving Drifter especially a quick examination. Her wounds were mostly healed; she should at least be able to fly without problems now, and her claws were steadily regrowing; on the hoof that still had them, at least. The others would take a lot longer to heal, as they needed to regrow completely from scratch.

Twilight looked back at Celestia’s grave and felt a tear slide down her cheek. “I… I still can’t believe it…”

“Nor I, Twilight Sparkle. Nor the rest of Equestria…” Luna sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “We’ve done as much mourning as we can afford for now, though. Horizon is still out there. I have no doubts that he’ll be coming back to the forefront sooner rather than later.”

“So what’s your plan?” Drifter asked, looking between the two of them.

“I need to get back to Ponyville... “ Twilight started, smiling faintly at the fond idea of going home. “I’m going to need to make sure it’s extra defendable, make sure it has a guard post and training stations for getting recruits and ponies ready to defend themselves.”

“Indeed. Canterlot suffered much damage during the attack, so for now, my efforts shall be directed towards repairing that damage and plugging any gaps in security that fiends could exploit.” Luna added with a frown. “I also have to assume my sisters responsibilities over the sun…”

They all fell silent for a few moments. Finally, Drifter sighed and turned away from the grave with a slow trot.

“Where are you going, Drifter?” Twilight asked curiously, shifting to look at the back of Drifter's head.

“I have my own responsibilities to attend to… for one thing, I need to help Palmwood and Wonderboom find their mother… and failing that, I’ll take care of them.” Drifter shivered with subtle anger and grief, though she composed herself rather quickly. “And once that’s taken care of… I’m going to find Horizon. When I do, I’ll let you know. We’ll tear him apart for everything he stole from us.”

“Are you sure? We could really use your knowledge on the fiends, now more than ever.” Twilight asked gently, trotting to Drifter’s side.

“I’m sure. I’ll make sure to keep fiend levels as low as I can, just like before, and I’ll send you letters with information on the fiends whenever I can.” Drifter replied before looking at Twilight with a soft smile. “It was an honor to meet you, Princess Twilight. I hope we meet again someday soon.”

Twilight shifted uncomfortably at the use of her title. “Please, just Twilight is fine. And yeah, I hope so, too.”

“Take care of yourself Drifter. We’ll certainly need you in the near future.” Luna cautioned before giving a reassuring nod. “And if you need it, there will always be a place for you here.”

“Thank you…”

That said, Drifter spread out her wings and took flight, soaring into the air and turning north. Her destination was a small encampment that had been put together by various ponies who had lost their homes or families in the battle in Canterlot and the train. Palmwood and Wonderboom would be waiting for her there.

Turning her eyes up somewhat, she saw the sun slowly ascending higher into the air. Drifter winced as she felt a spark of sorrow run through her. She forced down her sob and glared ahead.

...Celestia saw Horizon’s true colors, eh? Drifter thought, recalling how Luna recounted the situation in great detail. A furious scowl crossed her face. Yeah, I see them too. I just don’t see them through some sort of love-tinted filter. A hate filled glow overcame her eyes and she bared her teeth on instinct. Her claws flexed eagerly under her skin.

Your true colors are those of an abomination. I am going to find you, Horizon… and when I do, there won’t be a power in all of creation that will save you from the fate you’ve sealed yourself into. With a growl and new resolve burning in her eyes and pumping through her veins, Drifter gave her wings a mighty flap, accelerating and vanishing into the distance.

Author's Note:
Comments ( 21 )

I'm just going to say in advance...

YOU UTTER UTTER BASTARD

:pinkiecrazy: :rainbowderp: :flutterrage: :fluttercry:

Man, to think all of this happened because Celestia loved someone. Seriously, she let thousands die all because she loved one pony when she could've ended the problem long ago.

However, this was a pretty great story nonetheless.

When Horizon's past was revealed, I decided in my heart that I wasn't going to feel anything towards the guy. When that happens, even when the author reveal more things to make the character likable, I always end up disappointed. If the character gets a bittersweet, happy, or any sort of positive ending, I feel nothing. If character dies horribly I would be, '$^#%ing finally'. And then there is Celestia... Decided to go die without a proper goodbye to Drifter and Luna. Seriously? I'm supposed to be sad? So ya, I feel nothing towards Horizon and Celestia. I feel more towards the other characters that had to deal with this. I even feel sorry for the guards who didn't even have much screen time that died. I mean, they didn't even have names and I felt they were great characters.

Can't wait for sequel.

Epic as all hell man. Great work! :pinkiecrazy:

8145266 Luna will get her time to shine. But Celestia has a far more relevant character-arc in this story. I hope you're enjoying it, though. :twilightsmile:

This title here? That's how you hook people to read stuff.:rainbowderp:

8274166
Like the title of the story or the epilogue (which is where your comment is located)?

If the main OCs in this trilogy were voiced, what would they sound like?

8572417
You already asked, and I already said I don't really know. Make something up in your head and call it good.

The song in the authors note is perfect for this story. Gives me chills.:rainbowderp:

8609429
I know, right? I didn't even realize how perfectly it fit until after I had established Celestia and Horizon's backstory.

8941155
Glad to hear it!

And I thought Little Consequences had feels aplenty...
Very well done

Zzzzz... oh Celestia died? Why should I care when the fiend army withdrew just to setup sequel bait instead finishing the job then and there?

Just knowing there is a sequel tells me what’s going to happen: Horizon and his fiends will show up to curb stomp the pony army again, another princess will die and then there will be another sequel that fixes everything cause this story isn’t going anywhere.

9456018

Ok. I'll bite. Lets read the last chapter of The Fiend that heralds Dark Skies. Lets see...

The silence was deafening. Even with the roaring winds of the snow storm and the still crackling fires reaching into the air from explosive magic. Not a creature, fiend or pony, dared speak or utter a single sound. For every last pony in the valley, a horrible weight pressed on their shoulders. Their hearts sank and they felt their courage and will to fight leaving them.

Then, the fiends began to howl together in unison, a victorious, blood-thirsty chorus of monstrous voices echoing all across the valley. Shining Armor looked around in confusion, his ears falling flat against his head. “I don’t get it… what’s happening?” he asked distantly, the weight just as firm on his shoulders as it was on everypony else.

Drifter was silent. She felt the weight, but even moreso she felt why the fiends were suddenly so happy, why they shouted together in victory despite the battle looking to have only briefly paused. Her blood tingled as the image of Horizon standing victorious over a petrified Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna entered her mind.

Literally the first 3 paragraphs of the chapter.

So I was right about Horizon and his fiends curb stomping the pony army again, but Luna and Twilight get turned into stone instead of dying and theres another sequel. So: I'm correct on one, partially correct on another and I haven't looked at the third story but for the sake of argument I'll say I'm wrong on the last one.

9456169
Dude spoilers!:flutterrage: Your lucky that I can't just reach through my phone and throttle you.

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