Convergence
The silver blue tracer line fades away, cut short less than a meter in front of you. This is it. The relentless ghost of Nicole, the dopey, sugar-fiend ponies, the bleeding, roaring freaks falling over themselves to infect you at every blind hallway intersection and unsealed vent junction ... you'd outfought and outsmarted them all. Just a man keeping his wits about him. Just your average engineer, using his tools - his acumen and determination - to solve his problems. The Hand had a bit to do with it too. Got to give credit where credit is due.
You bring up your route one more time, just to relive the little morale boost. No doubt about it. It ends here, on the other side of this doorway. Daina and whatever forces she has with her must have cleared out most of the necromorphs in this area, because you'd only encountered one in the last ten minutes. Busted through the top panel of the elevator on the way up, all business, probably trying to cut you before you could get a shot off. Just clocked that one until it broke apart in its high class robes. Let the RIG do the hard work.
Every ounce of strength it had taken to get here is going to pay off. Every time you'd picked your balls up off the floor after being jumped or blindsided or cornered by whatever version of alien shithead happened to present itself. Every time you'd manned up and did what needed to be done. All of it had been worth it. Your actions were going to save lives. Lives that matter.
The broad, stone-panelled doors grind open, an orange light dawning between graven images of the Royal Sisters, and the cloven spires of the Marker, set in grand seal in the center. It might be the sunrise, or sunset, a new or dying light lingering on the horizon of Saturn as it turned. Or it might be auxiliary sodium lamps filtering through the smog ever spewing out of Titan's exhaust stacks.
A woman - a calm, sane, well-dressed woman - is standing at the end of a wide room with her back to you, gazing out through spotless wall windows at the ruined crags and stained skyscrapers of the Sprawl. Daina.
Daina, you holy angel of deliverance - no offense to you, Hand - fuck me if I thought I'd ever actually meet you. God, get me something to eat. Get me a shower. And most of all, get these fucking toy box dollies out of my ... wait ... that smell ... so clean ...
Two long, pale forelegs slip down over your shoulders from behind, hooking in front of your chest and drawing you backward against a warm, heavy body.
"... the fuck?"
You push up with shaking legs, trying to wrestle out from beneath the crushing weight. Fuck this bullshit. You did not come all this way to be killed three goddamn meters from your rescuer. You'd earned your ribeye, and you're going to savor every last drop of salty, succulent juice from that motherfucker.
You raise your arm to blind-aim the Hand at the creature's head behind you. If you can get just one shot off, just one shot to the face or the neck ...
One of the forelegs slides down, the rune-carved golden shoe slipping around to your elbow, locking it snug against your ribs. "You diseased ... piece of ... shit, get ... the fuck ... off ..." You flail your left arm, punching, tripping, trying not to fall. If you can reinforce your momentum, apply enough torque at each swing ... that's good, just a few centimeters ...
The legs hug you tighter, pulling you in, deep inside the soft, warm prison. Too strong. Infinitely strong. You’re pinned so tight against the supple beast you can feel the thing breathing, bending your spine in a slow, constant rhythm. It’s not even trying.
It calls to you in a gentle voice, a voice far above your struggles and the sordid conflicts of the world, untroubled by the greed, the civil wars fought over food and scraps of land, the desperate, mindless desire of the tired human gene to keep redefining its tidepool's shorelines. It speaks the last words you want to hear.
“I am Princess Celestia.”
Well that's it, son. Last go at the whack-a-mole. Blow it here and you're stuck on the carousel for the next billion years. Somehow she had found out what your plan was - one of her rat fink little runts must have overheard you talking to Daina - and she'd ducked in while you were dealing with her lackeys, waiting until she could be sure you'd be too battle-weary, starved and dehydrated to really give her a fight. Smart.
Now she's going to pop you open like a soda can, pally. Easy as pie. “God, no! Get off me! Get the fuck off me!”
A shimmering pastel cloud drifts into view from either side, endless undulating sheets and streams of a living mane, dulling the world away, leaving you alone with the sound of her deep, calm breathing. Alone with the spices of her joyous scent.
Daina's still watching her infernal sunrise, unaware of your thrashing, or of the groups of ponies and their human friends emerging from the shadows in the unseen corners of the room. There's Smokey, and Gleaming, and Candle, Luna's squadron of pegasi, Sprout and Marmalade and Scroll Whisper, Eric and Panflute, and Stross, and all the others you'd chased and battled trying to get here. All come to applaud their Princess as she dismembers and infects her prized victim.
“Daina! Look out!” Does she have a death wish? Why isn't she helping you? Why isn’t she moving?
Two giant, swan-white wings spread wide behind you, so close they could be sprouting from your own back. Their enormous feathers, broad as your hand, rustle as they stretch to either wall. The tips sweep up, curling inward like fingers, crossing as they fold over your chest. Below, the tricolor serpentine mane is working at your stomach. The fabric of your suit rips, then splits open, the metal reinforcing strips whining as they bend apart.
The wings. It had been her in the tram station, her sitting next to you on Ship Shape's bed, her pressing the horn down onto your head with your own hands. That's how she'd known you were coming here. She's been in your mind all along, tempting you, tormenting you, wearing Nicole's face to deceive you.
If she's in your mind, then she knows about your past. Your childhood. You twist between her unyielding hooves. "No! You're lying! You don't exist. None of you are real. Daina, help me! The delusions, they're all around us! I can't fight them anymore!"
Daina turns, a radiant smile dawning on her face. She raises her arms and speaks to the gathering. "Behold, the Avatar of the Consummation! The Sun has risen, and now before us cradles the Chosen in her mighty wings. It was foretold, and it has come to pass!"
The congregation chants in unison. "Beneath moon and sun, all are one. Beneath moon and sun, all are one."
They know. They all know.
"Even so! Even so," Daina responds. "The Age of Harmony is dawning. My brothers! My sisters! Convergence is at hand!"
How did you not see this coming? All of the whispering in the background while she was talking on the telecomm, the secret location inside the Church, the doors unlocking by themselves ... she wanted you to get here, but it sure as shit wasn't to save you. "Daina? You're a Bronitologist too? Of course you are. Why did I trust you?"
Daina looks up above your head. "May I answer, your Highness, or would you prefer to proceed?"
"Tell him what he wishes to know, child," the sublime music of Celestia's reply resonates against your back. "It may help him adjust. Rest assured he is secure, and will run from us no more."
Daina nods and answers your question. "Well, you didn't have a choice, Isaac. I told you there was a cure, and you came running."
You twist again, hoping to catch your towering captor by surprise. No good. The massive forelegs squeeze you tighter. "What is wrong with you people? Why can't everyone just leave me alone? Daina, don't do this. Don't let this hap ..."
There's no cure. There's no goddamn cure. She's been mindfucked exactly like Stross. Leaving you with the same two options you've been agonizing over since this started: either her behavior is part of your hallucinations, or ... fuck. Or you're not hallucinating.
Occam's Razor rules out option two. Right? The Marker has her brain scrambled so bad she's worshiping the things that are just a hair's breadth from slaughtering what could be the last remaining humans on Titan. All you have to do is convince her. “Daina, they're necromorphs! We’re under attack! They’re going to kill you!”
“Necromorphs?" Through the spaces between Celestia's fragrant feathers you can see Daina stepping closer, shaking her head. The thin braided loops in her hair swing like nooses. "Isaac, there are no necromorphs. It was all a cover-up, false memories our pathetic government planted in your head to hide what we," she gestures to the crowd, "the faithful daughters and sons of of the Royal Sisters, the true disciples of the Animator, have labored so hard, and so long to achieve. What you helped us achieve."
"Daina, you're not making sense. I've been drugged, locked up for years. How could I have helped you? Wake up."
"That's the drugs talking Isaac. The years of brainwashing they put you through. After you built the Mirror, the portal to Aegis VII, they quarantined you. Made you forget what you'd seen, the joy you'd found on the Ishimura."
What is the answer? What is real? All you can do is squirm in Celestia's bejeweled hooves. "God damn it, Daina, I lost Nicole to that fucking deathtrap. Don't you mock me! I'm trying to help you."
"No Isaac. We're trying to help you." She turns and walks back to the ponies. "They quarantined you, and they sealed the Mirror away below the Government sector where they thought they could keep it under lock and key. After they realized what they'd done, they tried to save themselves. Preserve their power. They hoped to stop the spread of harmony; to curtail the reign of the Royal Sisters."
The footsteps stop. "But we set them free."
Candle's voice pipes up. "Yup, that was me, hee hee!"
Daina laughs and gives Candle a short bow. "Just as we freed you, Isaac. Because you are the Chosen. The one whose knowledge and fearless spirit will guide us to Paradise, the promised land the Animator prophesied."
"Praised be the Animator! Glorify her sacred hand!" the crowd shouts as one.
The downy feathers brush across your eyes, slipping, whispering, bidding you to sleep. What could reason hope to accomplish against a lifetime of indoctrination? Daina's a lost cause. Maybe you should sleep. Tip the king over, send him off to dreamland. Maybe when you wake up, the board and all the mad pieces would be gone.
You see Daina raise her arms once more. "Now we beseech you, O Life-giver, return to us and complete the Trinity of Ascension!"
A bright blue flash crackles for an instant, with a sharp burst of air you know all too well.
My child, my own. Thou art home at last.
Princess Luna, the Giver of Life, the Creator, had come to claim what belongs to her. Lavender and rain mix with Celestia's lilies and summer wind, growing stronger as your sweet, terrible huntress approaches.
They never stop ... not a moment's rest. Nothing left to ... fight her with ... I'm sorry Nicole, I couldn't save anyone ... a man against gods ... I'll see you in a sec, baby ... I'm ... I'm ...
I am yours, sweet Princess of catchflies, opening in the small hours of the morn, drunk on dew and nighttime rain, whilst we walk the starry ways amongst the moons ...
Sister, we are ashamed. We tried our best to collect him, yet here we find him embracing thee. Thou always makest this business seem trivial.
Just a bit of patience, Luna. Nothing more. Think not of it, but that our sweet foal is here with us, and will be with us, forever.
You rear and rest your dark, slender forelegs over Celestia's - Celestia and Luna, those are your names - the moon of your ancient black torc shining like first it did when it was forged in the heart of the nova star you fancied most, far back behind time's shifting veils. You tilt your crowned head back and close your eyes, calling your magic forth. Your mane stands on end for a moment, electrified by your boundless power, then darts down in a thousand spirals at the exposed flesh below. Let your poor wandering foal by comforted by midnight of your body. Let the child see nothing else.
Both manes dig into your navel, prying their way in. Celestia's gentle breath touches the top of your head. “Just try to relax.”
The soothing words echo in triplicate. Who heard them? Who spoke them? We all did. Even young Isaac.
The dense tip of the manes digs deeper. The pressure is building on your insides.
Isaac? Am I me?
I am. I don't want this. I am not you. I'm Isaac Clarke. CEC Engineer. I'm ...
Shit. She's gone again. Killing you takes a lot of concentration, apparently.
OK Isaac, this is bad. Hand, we're down to our last card here, buddy. You want these dirty fucks shoving their grubby little hooves into you, putting you on eternal cheerleading duty? We can hit Luna. Yeah, right there, just like in the Sanctuary. Almost there. Almost ...
"Isaac." Daina had appeared by your side. She grasps your arm and begins straightening your wrist, pointing the Hand dead ahead at Luna's chest.
Mother of Altmann. "Daina! After that little speech I thought you'd lost it. That's right, now, when they're caught up in their magic bullshit, Luna first, then Celestia. We can do this. We can get out of here ...
She takes hold of the Hand and pulls it off of you, tossing it to a grinning Gleaming Over. The pegasus works it onto her hoof and gives you a salute. "Tickley tickley!"
Fuck me.
The manes break through, piercing the skin of your navel, gushing into your midsection like water through a broken dam.
You hear yourself scream. The long, thick horsehair is snaking through your veins, all ice and fire and electricity pounding in your heart and in your brain. Every neuron, every cell, every muscle fiber rages with the Sisters' loving magic. The sparkling motes of light that adorn their wondrous manes are flowing, bursting from the lofty, regal heads and coursing into your convulsing body in a constant torrent of warmth and energy.
The air around the three of you explodes into a fiery aura of light, a column of dancing gold and azure flames. Daina calls out again, "The umbilicus is complete, praise Celestia in the highest! Praise Luna in the highest!"
"Beneath moon and sun, all are one! Beneath moon and sun, all are one!" the congregation responds. They begin bobbing up and down, murmuring the chant at a feverish pace.
“Mmmm. This part always feels wonderful," says Celestia. Her lips nuzzle your ear. "Don't you agree? Rejoice, little one! You're going to have a new beginning. You may feel a little awkward at first, but we have the rest of eternity to help you discover the real you, the pony you were destined to become."
The rest of eternity to use your corpse to kill and infect the innocent. "God … damn you. Just fucking off me and get it over with."
Celestia nuzzles your other ear. “Dear stars, so much aggression.”
"He gave us much trouble, sister," says Luna. "Even now he defies us." She smiles and dips her wings under her sisters' to encircle your waist. A free wisp of her mane drifts up and caresses your forehead.
Celestia holds you tighter, hugging you with her wings. "He has lived his whole life without our love. The love he was born to receive."
Where is she? Where is the traitor? “Daina ... you've ... murdered us all!"
The manes churn in your stomach, seeking. Probing. You can feel Celestia's hot muzzle smiling against your cheek. “Ahh, I can sense your mother. Here, where you were connected to her in her womb. She was a strong woman."
"Fuck you ... my mother ... was a lunatic. And so are you."
"Hush, child. Be calm. She devoted you to us the moment you were born. Did you know? Yes, your memories tell as much. She bound you to the Sun and the Moon for all eternity. She held you up to your world's sun ..."
She held us up to the sun, the Sign of the Daybringer. The priests and Stewards had gathered, singing and drawing symbols in the earth below your tiny feet, anointing you with oils and incense, awaiting the coming moon and the eclipse. And when it came, when the moment night and day coexisted, they pronounced you Celestia and Luna, Luna and Celestia, three-in-one, and in that moment, we resided in you ...
You fall to your knees. Over the roaring of the magic, you hear the whine of your RIG flatlining.
God damn you, I'm not you. I'm Isaac Clarke ... I'm Isaac ... Clarke ...
Somewhere far away Daina is crying, “Behold it was written by the Animator's own sacred hand! In the light, whether from moon or sun, all belong. All are one!” Somewhere, the congregation gives its assent.
"Beneath moon and sun, all are one!"
***
Wind. Rushing in, sighing out. The wind is blowing.
You wake on the steps of a beautiful white temple, surrounded by hibiscus flowers, looking out between two towering marble pillars founded at their bases in gold. A strange glistening sky flows overhead, purple and rose and green currents gathering and dispersing, winding away into the obscure distance. It must be a temple in the clouds, because what lay beyond was lost in a restless haze.
The other half of the sky is darkness, lit by a giant crescent moon and meandering tracks of stars. There must be a jasmine grove hidden there, and lavender gardens and citrus orchards laden with delicious ripe fruit, perfuming the breeze that's moving through the mist.
What a nice dream. It's been like this for years, for centuries. Eons. Just you in the comfort of the temple. And the voices. The voices are nice too. Friendly voices. They're all your friends, your brothers and sisters. And best of all, most wonderfully best of all, is Her voice.
"Rise and shine, little Star."
The dream is changing. The clouds are clearing, and ... what fun! You can see your friends! They had been with you all along while you rested on the steps of the temple. If only you weren't so weak and hungry, you'd run to play with them.
"Praise the Daybringer! It has come to pass just as she promised!"
There's a face that seems familiar. Her name is Daina. Daina Le Guin. She's nice. And sweet stars is she happy!
She sinks to her knees in front of you, clasping her hands over her heart. “A brilliant gem, shining with her own light! Praise unto you Celestia, praise unto you Luna, immortal and blessed are your works! So beautiful. You are so beautiful, Isaac. Or should I say, Your Highness?”
Beautiful? Your Highness? Back before the temple, before Her - whenever that was - people had called you many things, but never 'Your Highness'. And only one person had ever called you beautiful. What had her name been? So hungry. Brain fuzzy. Another nap - maybe then you'd remember.
Daina's crying. "How wonderful! Celestia, you mared him!"
Poor lady. Why is she sad now? She'd called you Celestia, and that wasn't wrong, but it seems there's more to it than that. Oh, wait ... of course Daina. As you know ...
"Of course, Daina. As you know, I prefer fillies and mares for my subjects, especially the ones with whom I am to entrust important responsibilities. I find it easier to come to an understanding with females. The males tend to be a bit, shall we say, single-minded."
... single minded. How odd. So many voices, but only one is talking out loud.
Can you see what's going on? What does she look like? She's adorable! Praise Luna! Celestia in the highest! The Animator's prophecy has come to pass ... She gives me so much hope ...
All the ponies - your friends - had formed in a circle around you, maneuvering to catch a glimpse of the newest addition to their family. You can feel the love and joy kindling in their hearts every time they catch sight of you. All of their thoughts and feelings are open to you. And Hers too. Well done, Daina. You have ...
"Well done, Daina. You have done all that we asked and more."
"Thank you Celestia, most holy, most serene. I have gained the access codes to the Ishimura as you commanded. EarthGov no longer has the strength to defend it. The ship is ready once," she looks down at you, "once Her Highness makes the necessary repairs and plans the attack route. The population centers will be completely unprepared."
"Well done. Well done indeed. You have earned your reward."
Daina breaks down, sobbing and laughing as she bows low to the floor. She crawls forward on all fours. "My ... my reward! I've ... waited ... I've waited so long. I'm ready! Take me! Take me!"
Celestia speaks from overhead. "For your diligence and performance under pressure, I shall make you Commander of the pegasus legions. Great will be your fame, and long will your name live in the songs amongst the clouds. Scroll Whisper?"
The cheerful unicorn moves away from the crowd to stand next to Daina, who is reaching towards you mouthing 'take me, take me'. "Yes Your Highness?"
"You've had a lot of practice with the basic transformation spell of late. Would you mind making Daina a pegasus of the first order?"
"Right away!" Amber light bursts from the tip of her horn, reflecting in a hundred twinkling eyes.
Daina lifts her arms to the ceiling, screaming in ecstasy.
Good job, Daina. You made us proud. I can feel it, I can feel the Daybringer's joy, the Life-Giver's love, their attention turning to me. All for me. Only for me. And you ...
“You shall be Princess Star Topaz, first ruler of the Crystal Ponies!"
The crowd cheers your name. It's a beautiful name. The old one was a hodgepodge anyway. Something to laugh at. And to me, you shall be ...
"And to me, you shall be my beloved daughter."
"And ours," says Luna, laughing with delight.
Daughter? Can it really be true? Yes! Oh yes it can, for we have shared ...
"For we have shared our very essence with you, the essence of the flesh in which we eternally dwell, and our immortal life. Our thoughts shall be your thoughts. Our love shall be your love. In the centuries to come, we shall teach you how to be a Princess ..."
"And a mare," chuckles Luna.
"Thank you mama! Thank ..." You jump at the sound of your new voice, musical and gentle like that of your mother dams. You clasp your tiny hooves over your snout, looking up, up, up at both of them.
Celestia smiles. “It's alright, child. I know it's strange. Glimmer, could you please bring little Star a mirror?”
“You bet, Princess!” Your pegasus friend, somehow both a sister and a foal to you, looks around, trying to catch somepony's eye.
Candle waves her hoof. "I've got one! Over here." She reaches into her saddlebag and sifts through the loose tapers.
Gleaming flaps to her, digs her hooves into the bag and yanks out a small cosmetics mirror. "This isn't the time for dilly-dallying, Candle. This is royalty we're dealing with." She shakes her head and zips back to you, touching down and bringing the mirror to your face.
"You really are a sight, Highness," she says in a low voice. "Have yourself a look-see."
A peep escapes between your clasped hooves as you gaze at your reflection. Your body is translucent, smooth, light blue crystal. Only magic could do this. Your mane and tail are tripartite violet, white and indigo banners of stars, flying, driven by an inner turbulence, disappearing into unseen dimensions in fractals and arcane geometries. And you got your wings! The horn ... you could learn to live with that, especially because you knew mama had wanted so badly to give you one.
How could this be? You peer into the eternal depths of your eyes, aqua green like Luna's, and flecked with rose and gold. The light refracting though them, and through you, is tinted all the colors you can imagine.
You tremble where you lie, unable to look away.
"Hey, I'd ask you to be my foalsitter," says Gleaming, "but it kind of looks like you'll be needing one yourself for a while. No offense."
It's true. You're barely out of foalhood, your flanks bare except for the circled crosses of crystal asterism, like the settings of jewels that have yet to be chosen. You try to stand, wanting to leap into Celestia's and Luna's open hooves and hold them. Show them how grateful you are for their gifts.
But your knees buckle, and your faceted hooves slip on the bare floor. You land hard and bang your head. You really are just a foal. And you're so hungry, and there's nothing to eat. Tears well up and spill down your cheeks.
Celestia's wing sweeps down like a curtain, and with one prehensile feather she dabs your face dry. “Oh sweetheart, you must be starving."
Luna rushes to you and lays down by your side, her own wing draping over your narrow, shivering shoulders. "Sister, perhaps we should ..."
... feed her in the way of dams and foals.
Yes.
Yes.
"Yes, you are right, Luna. We shall do what mothers do when their foals need nourishment. It shall be a lesson for the gathering as well, a display of humility, a virtue we prize and cultivate in all of our children."
The great mare lies down with her belly towards you. She raises her wing above the mountain of her body and shifts her massive hind leg back. "Come little Star," she calls, wrapping you tight in the glow of her magic and drawing you close. "Mother is here for you."
You smile, looking out through the golden light at all the happy ponies as you glide backwards through the air. So many new friends. And you know them all so well.
"Oh, how sweet!" they're saying, "Bless Celestia! Bless Luna! They are mothers to us all."
Your back presses into Celestia's fierce warmth. You look to your right, and see what she is offering.
Two fuzzy, pink, hoof-thick teats, almost as long as your foreleg, ready to give you everything you need.
They're so big. There's no way you can ... if you did, wouldn't you choke? Besides, everypony would see, and mother would be shamed. You recoil, pushing between Celestia's forelegs.
“Oh my precious, don't be afraid," she says, stroking your mane. "There’s nothing here that can hurt you.”
Luna nudges you with her nose. "We assure thee it is safe, dear one. Please, it pains us to see thee listless and hungry. Thou art a pony now. It is natural. But ... ours are not so fearsome. Wouldst thou be more at ease with us?" She parts her inky haunches, letting you view her more modest marehood.
You look back down towards Celestia's hindquarters. There is a place, a hollow of sorts in her underbelly, just above her hind legs. Just the right size for burrowing and curling up. Perfect for snuggling.
She cradles you within her magic once again, drawing you tight against her.
Here, child? Is this where you want to be?
Yes mama, right here.
OK. How to start? Maybe if I just touch with my lips, like this ... OK, not so bad. Maybe ...
You open your mouth wide, wide as only a pony could, wider than you ever thought possible, and crane forward, inch by inch. It's almost in, almost all the way ...
You clamp down, breathing through your nose, careful not to bite. You can feel the mammoth teat filling your mouth, all the way past the back of your throat. Cool! You're not gagging! You did it! All the soft tiny hairs on your tongue are a little weird but ...
... this is insane this is insane this is insane this is insane oh fuck it hurts please somebody help me please somebody help me somebody help me please please please please please ...
No, no, ssshhh, it's fine, it's OK. It's not like you're being impaled through the mouth. No, definitely nothing like that. Because the first drop of milk has touched your tongue. Vanilla, cream, cotton, ginger, cinnamon ... everything good and clean.
"Best thing you ever tasted!" yells Smokey. He's trumpeting into a handkerchief, crying into Gleaming Over's shoulder. She rolls her eyes and pats his shaggy mane.
Silly billy. You pull on the spongy teat with long, desperate draws, nursing and guzzling the delicious milk. It disappears down your throat, diffusing into the crystal lattice of your body, washing away the dirt left over from your old self. Washing away the last vestiges of your humanity.
Celestia arcs her long neck back to you. She sniffs at your thin, distended ribs, and begins to lick them with slow, gentle strokes. Luna joins her, lapping your neck and chest.
Words cannot express how we favor thee, little gem. Precious Star. Sleep now. Perhaps we can provide thy next meal.
You nod and begin to coo, rasping through the thick milk. Your mouth and tongue are working on their own now. You slip in and out of a dream. A dream of a wonderful white temple and a dazzling sky.
"Mmmm. There. She's happy now. Let's give her a little privacy." Celestia lowers her wing, blanketing and shielding your face from the world. Luna rests her head on Celestia's thigh, smiling, watching you as you suckle and drift away. She lowers her wing behind Celestia's, hiding the rest of you. You stare into her kind, brimming green eyes.
They will take care of you. They will take care of everyone. You fold yourself into a ball between them, soaking in their warmth and their love. Here you shall stay, the sun overhead, the moon watching behind, in the center of everything.
I love you Celestia. I love you Luna. With all my heart, I love you.
Oh, sweetheart, I love you too. My daughter! My little Princess! Will you help us with the journey ahead? Will you share your knowledge with us?
Anything you ask, anything for Mother Sun and Mother Moon.
That's a brave filly. We are so proud of you. Now, let us console our foals. They need to be reassured that we have not forgotten them.
Yes sister, speak to them of the future we have won for them today.
Celestia raises her head and addresses the congregation. "You are the first, my children. The stars were young when last we lived and ruled among our own, our cherished ponies. Now we shall begin the cycle anew!"
"Beneath moon and sun, all are one!" they answer, loud and strong.
"No longer will you suffer with imperfect bodies and imperfect souls. Everywhere you have wandered, we shall gather you in. Each and every one."
"Beneath moon and sun, all are one!"
"Let all who have yearned and waited in darkness, come now to the light!"
Deep within your living, breathing nest, you can hear cheering and shouting. Through the eyes of your brothers and sisters, you see all of the remaining humans being lined up against the window by unicorns and transmogrified in one brilliant blast. Or perhaps, just for a moment, perhaps you see them screaming, spraying blood from severed arteries, rolling in spilled organs and armless torsos ...
“And we shall find our perfect place. And we shall call it,”
... but such details are no longer your concern. For you had already found your perfect place, in the center of everything.
Sleep, little Star. We shall keep watch over thee.
Yes, Mother Moon, at last ... sleep.
Celestia's final word is the last thing you hear before you yield to sweet, dark oblivion.
“Equestria.”
Oops! Looks like Isaac lost his quick-time event. 
Cue the outro music.
Essential to the writing of this story were The Media Cows Dead Space 2 Walkthrough videos, through Chapter 5 part 2 starting from the intro. Because going back and forth between playing and writing is harder than flipping between tabs.
Special thanks to Perception Filter for critical early support, and to Setokaiva for selfless proofreading. Thanks also to Midnightshadow for forcing me to put more ponies in the first chapter, and to my pre-reader - you know who you are 
Influences (other than the obvious) include:
-Tim and Eric's body of work in general, and in particular, "Man Milk"
-Tom Green and cows
-Troll II
-The Shadow Over Innsmouth by HP Lovecraft
-Neon Genesis Evangelion
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Kishin · 32k words · 215 7 · 4.6k views
- Cone of Wonders · 12k words · 290 5 · 7.2k views
- Swamphunter · 19k words · 96 3 · 3.2k views
- Thunder Seethe · 2.8k words · 20 4 · 1.2k views
- Alphanova · 18k words · 13 3 · 873 views
- Scorched Beats · 4.8k words · 65 7 · 2.1k views
- Six Hooves Under · 15k words · 162 7 · 3.1k views
- MetricCaboose · 33k words · 21 1 · 1.4k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.123 seconds
Total duration
658 users online
754,475 hits today, 1,872,792 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I enjoyed reading this very much. It got a little confusing towards the end, but it was a good, intentional confusing, not the confusion resulting from poor writing. The one thing I dislike about the ending is the drama that will probably follow in the comments, but that's more of an issue with other readers than the writer.
5435006
Thanks! I agree, there may be some divided opinions about Isaac's outcome. The idea just wouldn't leave me alone.
5434993
Darn, time to be uploaded into the Didact's database.
What a ride! I enjoyed it, shame that it ends here. I wouldn't worry too much about the reaction to Isaac's outcome. There was really only two ways this story could go, and that was either DS2 with ponies full story (with the Marker destroyed), or where the protagonist loses. The former MIGHT have been possible if Luna and Celestia were at odds (or at least seemed that way) in the same way Nichol interacted with Isaac in the base game as seemingly a manifestation of his guilt that ends up 'helping' him against the necromorph invasion (which was just some kind of coup? I've played through the game several times and even I'm not sure who is on what side), but alas, it was not to be.
Protagonist loses has to be written a certain way to be enjoyable. Every single Friendship Is Optimal storyline end up with the protagonist(s) losing and uploading to be under Celestia's domain, and in the end they all end up coming to peace with it, but people enjoy that kind of story from that universe. Most of the Conversion Bureau stuff is controversial because of how it portrays Humans as bad and Ponies as good, or is in the complete other direction where all the ponies are completely out of character in their genocide of humanity.
I feel the ambiguous nature of Isaac's delusions, plus how the ponies are portrayed as really creepy throughout the story and this ending feeling the same as dying in many aspects hits the right spots for it to be a 'losing' ending that readers should like, or at least be able to accept.
Join us...
No.
Join us.
NO.
Join us! Join the Sun and Moon!
NO!
Why do you resist? You will find only peace and harmony.
The only peace and harmony I need is for you to GET OUT OF MY [CENSORED] HEAD!
Become one with the Sun and Moon!
5435067 Yeah, it's a great ending. I really enjoyed this story, but... I'd rather resist, and DIE the last man standing, than be forced to join something. Or transformed, or lose all memory of everything I had. Surrender isn't in my nature, nor is forced surrender. So yes, this story was (and is) great, but I... WE LOST OUR PROFESSIONAL BADASS! *Smashes keyboard* KIND of upset about that. :\
5435020 Eh, I picked it up (along with my Scattershot, Lightrifle, Suppressor, and- my pride and joy- Incineration Cannon) from the... Numerous, to say the least, Prometheans I destroyed. Good times, man. Good times.
5435006
I've always wanted to use that. :P
5435067
You got it! My work is done here.
5435164
You fire another round from your incineration cannon, this time at the Daybringer's exposed neck. Like the others, it glows briefly and fades into her pristine white coat.
"Is that a new mane-dryer design?" she asks, tossing her forelocks out of her eyes. "Come now, there will be time enough for preening, after we help you with your Ascension." Her mane begins to flow towards you.
"Get away from me!" you shout, backing out of reach of the swishing tendrils.
You stop short as you bump into something soft and warm. Dark, violet-gray wings encircle you from behind.
"Welcome, child. Thou too hast come home."
5435203
That's pretty disturbing, but strangely appropriate
5435256 *Thruster packs to the side, dodging the white and blue menaces*
NO!
*Turns back to the ponies, before dropping my Incineration Cannon. Slings a pair of Plasma Grenades, sticking them on the leaders*
On the blood of our Fathers.
*Grenades detonate, barely burning them*
On the blood of our Sons.
*Takes out twin Energy Swords*
Our blades shall light the Path,
*Ponies stride forward, prepared for a hug*
SO THAT ALL MAY PARTAKE IN THE GREAT JOURNEY!
*Swings swords at their necks, before slamming my hand down on a nearby console, with an Index inserted next to it*
*Their necks fall over limp for a second, before straightening, and come at me. I turn, take off my helmet, and smile, laughing*
Go ahead, take my soul. Come forwards, make me whole.
*White one's mane comes towards me, before halting at the rest of my words*
We shall burn, all the same. I am a Spartan, and this... This is my flame.
*Halo ring fires*
5435256
I knew you were trouble from the start but they told me you were NECESSARY! That your MIND was the purest! I SPENT YEARS going through your demented brain! This is not the way it was supposed to happen! WE HAD IT UNDER CONTROL!! Clarke, this is NOT our fault! We were so CLOSE to understanding it...!
It's all those ponies you lead in here! It's triggering... a convergence event! But we NEVER! Expected! THIS MANY PONIES!!
5435402 That is really the only way to get out of that situation
well I never thought I would approve suicide as a way of avoiding someone but its better to die then be killed in this case
5437279 Neither would I. But, like the Forerunners before, it would save untold numbers of other species and humans from the Ponies "Ascensions," at the cost of a hundred, a thousand, a million lives. Unlike the Forerunners, it also kills off what I'm TRYING to kill, and I die a martyr. Win-Win situation, except for the part where I die.
Join us...
I'm in the middle of a comment, here. Go fuck yourself,
..............
..............
..............
No.
No.
You blew it.
I'll keep this fic in my favorites because of how great the writing and everything was, but... this ending just... no. I've got no ability to change anything, I know, but I still feel completely screwed over. I expected Isaac to fight through the delusions to the very end, and maybe even team up with Tiedemann to destroy the Marker and put an end to this madness. I never expected him to be caught completely off-guard and wind up losing his humanity, then apparently assisting in doing the exact same thing to every other human in the galaxy. It... ah, forget it. I'll keep the drama to PM's.
I applaud you on a great story, the dobermans, even if I'm left disappointed by the ending. Your writing style is nothing less than exemplary, and I hope you wind up an important outlet like Equestria Daily, if you aren't already, since you definitely deserve it. I wish you luck with all your future writing, which I'll probably wind up reading as well. This is Setokaiva, signing off.
5438625
Sorry you didn't like it how it turned out, buddy.
I just couldn't keep it going beyond this part in the game. I'd be more than happy to consult if you or anyone else wants to write alternate endings, spin-offs, etc. though. 
In any case, thanks for sticking with it for so long, and for all of those edits. Now that it's done I'll go back and tidy it up.
5434993 *Doesn't even get hit because of Anti-Halo fan Barrier*
5438625 I know, right? I just read through the ending in detail, and it makes me SICK. I wish that Isaac wasn't even transformed. Hell, I wish the Necromorphs were there, and hostile to the ponies. Even the FLOOD would work, and that's a billion times worse than Necromorphs. If I could go into this ending, I would do so in an instant and slaughter them all. I… Goddamn, words can't describe how fucking pissed I am at those abominations. ESPECIALLY Celestia. I mean, using your fucking MANE, STABBING IT INTO THE CHEST, AND USING THAT TO TURN A MAN INTO A FILLY?! WTF YOU [Elder Swear]!
…
Yeah, I want this ending to be an alternate one, and a GOOD ending instead of this… Ugh.
5440570 I actually thought that maybe their attempt to access the Marker codes in Isaac's head in that room would backfire horribly, resulting in Celestia and Luna recoiling in pain, and several of the ponies turning into Changelings and causing a shitload of chaos while Isaac escapes. Then shit would really get real, with Celestia taking Nicole's place as the 'evil voice' in his head because she is PISSED at Isaac for ruining the ponies, because Isaac is now a walking miniature Marker that causes ponies, humans and necromorphs alike to go crazier than someone being forced to watch the DirectTV Help Channel 6 hours straight.
Needless to say, Isaac would be pleased to finally gain some traction and see some emotions and reactions amidst the ponies that he is intimately familiar in dealing with. Typically with a gun. Isaac and Changelings clashing with Ponies and Necromorphs... what a sight that would be.
Sigh... but I guess we'll never know. Not unless someone has it in them to attempt a 'fix fic.' Wink, wink...?
5440621 Okay, if I was even mentally capable of writing that, I would in a heartbeat. Sadly, I'm a Halo writer. I can also do some other games, (The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Radiant, and Terraria)but my head is too full of Halo to write this. Sorry. :'(
5440568 O.O
You.
YOU.
YOU!
YOU!!!!!
ANTI-HALO FAN BARRIER DENIED, YOU ABOMINATION!
NOONE HATES ON THE UNSC!
5439212
Yeah I fully understand what you mean. You were foreshadowing this for many chapters, really. In DS2 the only way he escaped the ambush at the top of the temple was with the gunship attacking, and that was destroyed several chapters ago by a space pegasus. Plus Stross was completely drinking the friendship koolaid already.
From what I recall of the game everything after the temple was more industrial sections / space relay station / Ishimura / mining area, and it'd be hard to write in IMMORTAL PONIES into those parts. Nah, it was a natural ending point for the story if you didn't want to recreate the game and I'm pretty sure you had that in mind from the beginning. The whole point of the story was how much more INSIDIOUS and HORRIFYING friendship ponies were rather than space zombies. In fact, Isaac greatly preferred the space zombies when they started to appear. Ponies just made him lose his mind way faster, and the ponies leading the space zombies away from Isaac and having friendship with them was totally the final straw there for his sanity. I know I'd have lost my marbles at that point.
Hey, what happened to Ellie? Was she already transformed and I missed it? Or just left out of the story like Tenenbalm became after awhile?
5440621
5440570
The story belongs to you now, my friends. Would you rather Isaac got a shot off on Celestia or Luna with the Hand? Or maybe flipped Celestia judo-style and stomped her out cold? Or scuttled off into the vents after his Convergence and started an insurrection? Make it so. The possibilities are as endless as Isaac's delusions ...
5442265
If I recall, and correct me if I'm wrong, in the game Ellie turns up a short time after Isaac's blown back into the Station following the encounter with Daina. So if I were to muse on her fate in the story, she would have been rounded up with the other humans in the end, or fighting a hopeless battle on her own.
Yup. It was actually one of the few things I had nailed down from the onset. Almost everything else was me going off on a tangent, or trying to ponify all the really salient scenes (like when Isaac gets the plasma cutter). TBH it was originally planned to be short, like 3 chapters. But then I realized that I spent a lot of time describing every hallway and necro/pony encounter in the first two, and that not to keep doing so would be cheating the reader, or at least taking too big of a shortcut. Finding out that Daina doesn't actually have a cure, and that she just wants to use his knowledge and skills to make things worse, is one of the most crushing parts of the game IMO - essentially Isaac finds out that he's a dead man. It was perfect for bringing it all crashing down.
5441907 Die to the COG. fronttowardsgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/crimson-omen-actual.jpg
I'd just like to say that, if anyone has a mind to try and write a spin-off/continuation of Isaac's story where he doesn't wind up breast-fed by Princess Sunbutt in the weirdest Game Over I've ever seen, then I have the perfect idea for how Isaac can escape and eventually complete 'the game.' The only problem is, I don't have the skills or the energy to write it; just the ideas for it. But if anyone else would like to step up, give me a PM, because even the author himself nearly flipped his shit at how good my plan sounds. Hint: it involves Discord, and perhaps the One-Winged Angel trope.
5451311
I put you in the story description so more people get the message - let me know if you want me to remove the link.
Orale !!, great story, didn't mind how it ended. I never suspected Isaac Clarke would fall to them. Who am i kidding it was inevitable. One more thing , was expecting the earth gun ship to come out of no where and start gunning them down, giving Isaac a chance to escape. But I guess I have to wait for any possible spin offs, unless you do a sequel ?? looking forward to more stories liked this in the future. Gracias
5457624
De nada! Y gracias por sus palabras amables. Estoy contento que le gustas.
(Sorry for any poor translation)
>Thanks for the Spanish although im not actually spanish my mum is learning and I have been using some words, but I got your translation . Gracias. Thanks a lot for your reply and have a good one mate !! Keep the narratives coming they're really good. Cheers >5458817
so, yeah he got inpaled through the mouth, but wasn't he already dead when the "transformation happened?
5462281
Dead? That's one way to look at it I guess. Maybe Mr. Krueger would like to weigh in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klke1EjnU_Y
5465477
well, he did gets stabbed through the mouth, and he can't move or really do anything, as there's basically another personality in him.
First off, loved the story and personally I find that this cryptic ending fit the whole dead space vibe.
Second point is I almost hope from this ending you write a sequel...
Now I know that's a tall order with life and all but to me this cliff hanger with transformation just screams out to set off a completely unique setting. Something along the lines of resisting ones influences such as Isaac breaking away while fighting ponyfide humans. in truth the whole bashing in skulls with his fractured mind spewing insults was the best part`s
Still it is up to you so really do what you want. Iv already enjoyed this bitter treat and will probably read any other work you produce.
5478423
Glad you liked it! I'd love to see someone write a continuation with Isaac starting a rebellion in his new, uh, situation. Perhaps flashing back, unsure whether the final encounter actually happened. Because maybe it didn't
But yeah, though I might do an epilogue, other stories are tugging at my brain. Any alternate endings are up to you to create ...
5481359 Just between you and me, that the whole point of dead space as its suppose to be a tragedy.
Isaac Clark is the definition of an anti-hero. He's a flawed human that cant win, and even when he is able to archive his objective he realizes his love is dead, his friends were using him, the brethren moons cant be stopped eta...
That's his shtick and so far you played that violin beautiful and then sliced his string at the end of your concert. You've displaying to the world his shattered glory.
But as such there lay the chance at and revived (and for your sanity shorter) encore, as what was rested skewed is reborn in a new twisted desperation survivor.
Long story short: please leave the story as it is its for it`s perfect and if you decide to continue with a sequel, take your time and do it on your own free times free time.
As for alternative endings...I have a fewhundred of those.
So he failed?
5520683
I guess you could say he failed to save the residents of Titan. Or maybe they were all saved in the end, and spread glorious Convergence throughout the galaxy. However you prefer to see it.
Wait a minute... It's over?
rs2ci.memecdn.com/63/5963063_t.gif
5529339
Isaac fulfilled his destiny. Well, actually, he kind of had it fulfilled for him
5529431
i.imgur.com/d8NAjcL.jpg
There has to be a sequel. There has to beee~
No, not ok.
Bad touch
bad touch
Well... shit
6415711
It's discouraging how easy it is to die in Dead Space, isn't it?
Sigh ...
6417216
Especially on the retro/classic mode... those were some good ragequits
5529339 My reaction too, pretty great story though
This whole story was so fucked up, but then again, imagining playing dead space 2 with ponies instead of necromorphs attacking you, ffs i havnt had a laugh as good as this since weeks. Thanks for the great mind fuck
6476363
It always makes my day when someone gives me the thumbs up! Very happy you enjoyed it.
FS was definitely the most fun to write of all my stories (the others aren't fun at all - don't read them unless you like sadness and darkness). I had toyed with the idea of adding an epilogue for a while, but decided that it would take away the ability of the readers to interpret as they wished.
As always, check air vents before passing by, and stay away from unicorns ...
6478714 I guess this qualifies in the TCB category
6729019
From what I've heard (I haven't read any TCB stories), I suppose this qualifies. Assuming, of course, that it's the ponies that are real, and not the necromorphs.
This....I can't...just no this has been a good story up until this ending...this disgusting thing. Isaac is the one who can never been turned the one who makes it out (no matter how many times we fuck up in game) and to do this to him? No he has been through so much with everything that happens to him all while beating back his own mind!!! You've earned a thumbs down on this and that has honestly not happened much at all with me.
I mean for God's sake I read Bendy's stories from time to time just to see sheer bordom play out.
6761557
Oh come on now, it's not so bad is it? Sure, Isaac lost his humanity, but think about everything he gained! Immortality, magical powers, two devoted moms, an empire to rule, and lots and lots of friends! Not to mention all the milk he can drink.
If you could pick a way to get him out of that situation, what would it be?
6762072 I would choose him being screwed by a necro or even death over the sheer mind/body/soul rape that was given to him and honestly? Immortality isn't so much of a gift if you'd have to share it with those creatures who believe they are the most glorious. If you could die then at least you could get the hell away from their "most glorious" solution.
I honestly should have suspected something like this when the ponies couldn't be hurt by bolts of plasma....PLASMA!!!! ya know? The shit the sun is made of? And how it just does nothing to them.
They need a tag for untouchable pones. Because apparently they can get a cut from falling 2 inches but not get vaporized by a line of 400000º plasma hitting them in the face other than just getting "tickled" or dazed by it.