Chapter 15: A Closed Loop
Chapter 15
1 Month Later
Sugar Cube Corner was a warm glow in a cold, blue night. Two ponies stood on the front porch, conversing by lantern-light.
"After that," said Pinkie Pie, "the Princesses both said we were totally heroes. And they gave us this big ceremony where we all got medals and everypony cheered for us! The Princesses dedicated a big stained-glass mural to us, too! And that's the story of how we beat Discord."
"I'm honestly shocked that so few ponies know about your exploits," said the charcoal gray pony with the white mane. He had a smattering of bandages on his face and neck, and his leg was in a sling. "To hear the average laypony tell it, you six barely exist."
"Well," said Pinkie Pie, "the Princesses have always reminded us that we're military. Celestia doesn't want us making money or getting too famous from being Elements. She says it could lead us down a path of corruption, and that it's too dangerous for us to risk it since the Elements are so powerful. If you want to know what I think, though, I think that the Harmony Gems would never stick around if we became corrupted. They would just leave and find somepony else."
"Good point."
"And also-- now I'm just saying here-- the Princesses live in a castle, right? A castle!"
The agent laughed.
"How about your friends, though?" asked Pinkie. "Sorry I forgot to ask about them."
"That's okay," said the agent. "Cinnamon Oatmeal recovered quickly, once the Nightmare died. He's still on paid-suspension pending observation, though. They have to make sure a scrap of the Nightmare didn't remain alive in him, dormant somehow. If you ask me, I think he needed the vacation anyway. It can't be easy having memories like that, of killing your own ponies."
"How about the other one? What's-her-name."
"Slim-to-None?" asked the agent. "Well, she and Purple Heart had a thing going, so she's taken it really hard. She'll be okay, though. We'll all be okay." He stared wistfully into the dark.
After a moment, Pinkie Pie picked up his forehoof and held it. Their eyes met and she smiled at him until he smiled back.
"How come you like me?" asked Pinkie.
The agent arched an eyebrow. "What's not to like?"
"I dunno. You're so cool and mysterious," said Pinkie. "And I'm so... so... not mysterious. And you're like, deadly and dangerous, and I only cook a mean souffle."
"You want a reason, Pinkie Diane Pie? You want just one reason?"
"Just one!" she said with moon-eyes.
"Because you love life. You get excited about everything, and it's always so fresh and new to you."
"Well, duh, every day is a new day!"
"I hate to say it but that is a waning attitude in Equestria. I know very few ponies who love life the way you do, and I know far too many who feel like every day is the same day."
"That's just 'cause you hang out with a bunch of love-starved, government wonks!" said Pinkie. "You'd have a totally different view if you hung out with more pastry chefs instead."
This made the agent laugh again. "And what makes you think you know me so well?"
"You kind of remind me of my father," said Pinkie Pie.
The agent arched an eyebrow and just stared at her. "You should know, considering we're on a date here, that a lesser stallion would be running for the hills right now."
"Oh, silly, that was a compliment," she replied with the wave of her hoof. "Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"Daddy was a hard worker and clever, just like you. But he was also too serious for his own good, hint hint."
"I have to be serious," said the agent. "I deal with serious things, serious ponies. I'm neck-deep in serious."
"Well, you don't have to be like that around me," said Pinkie. "I think you already know that. I think that's the real reason you like me."
"Fine," he said. "Then why do you like me?"
"Because glasses are sexy," she said.
"Flattering," he said, "but cheap. Try again."
"I guess... because you listen to me. Like, really listen, instead of just sort-of listen. Dashie's my best friend and even she does that to me sometimes."
"You're an endless font of eccentric wisdom," said the agent. "I mean that. And speaking of dangerous, you are also truly terrifying on paper. I've seen your Clearance-K file. Did you know that you are rated the same threat-level as Twilight Sparkle?"
"And I don't even have to work at it!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie with more moon-eyes.
The agent checked his pocket-watch. It was a tiny, bronze thing, engraved with a shield cutie-mark and the letters SB. Looking at it made the agent sad, and he shifted his gaze back to Pinkie Pie again, which always cheered him up. "My shift starts in an hour," he said. "I've got to run, I'm afraid."
"Going to snap anypony's neck tonight?" asked Pinkie, pantomiming the action.
"No, I'm still on medical leave, so I'll just be looking at charts and pushing paper around. Maybe, if I feel like I'm dying of boredom, I'll go get a sandwich in the cafeteria. It's a lot less romantic of a job than most ponies think."
"Dour," said Pinkie. "Love-starved. Wonks."
"Right," said the agent.
"Now tell me your name."
"Still classified. Hasn't changed in the last fifteen minutes."
"I can't just call you 'the Agent!' I've been playing the pronoun game all night just so I don't have to say it! You."
"Everypony thinks it's weird at first. Then they get used to it. You will too."
She sighed. "It's not even like I care what it is. I just don't want to not know." She shrugged. "But whatever. Maybe I'll make up a name for you. One that's so embarrassing you'll have to tell me your real name. It'll take a while, though. I'll let you know what I've got the next time I see you."
"So, you'd like to go out again?"
"Isn't that what I just said?"
"Well... uh... great!" He thrust his forehoof out in front of him. "Have a lovely evening."
"Hello-o-o-o," she said to him, bonking herself on the forehead with a hoof.
"What?" he said, suddenly concerned.
"I've been waiting for a kiss for, like, weeks now! Rarity said to be a perfect lady and let you make the first move, but to hay with that! I'll be an old nag before you pony up."
And she tackled him under the full moon.
* * *
"You want to know something I ain't told nopony else about the battle?" asked Applejack, leaning back on the sweet-smelling bale of hay. She used the rim of her beer-bottle to tip her cowpony-hat up for a better view of the stars.
"A secret?" said Apple Bloom, lounging in the grass nearby. "You gave the Nightmare a left jab when ya' shoulda' given her a right hook or somethin'?"
"C'mon AB," said Applejack. "I'm serious."
"Alright, I didn't mean to laugh at ya'," said Apple Bloom. "What is it?"
Applejack looked pensive for a few moments. Then she said: "Twilight's a legendary unicorn. Fluttershy's a doctor, Pinkie Pie's got gypsy magic, and RD is the best flyer I ever seen, and one of the best fighters, too, although I'll throttle you if you ever tell her I said so. Rarity... I mean, we don't get along, but I know that girl is clever as a fox. Me, on the other hoof? I'm just a simple farmpony. A meat-shield if I'm lucky enough to be that useful. All during the battle, we were running around in the dark, gettin' chased, and I couldn't quite figure out what I was even doing there. I knew in my heart that I was already dead, that there was no way I was going to survive the fight. That the best I could do was just not to get in everypony's way before I died." She kicked a rock.
"Not get in their way??" said Apple Bloom. "Are you off your gourd, sis? They'd fall apart without you! Twilight would fall apart without you. You want to talk about how powerful she is, but you're the one she leans on in the crisis. You're the pillar of sanity when it's all goin' crazy-like. I've seen it! You're not just a simple farmpony. You're a damn fine farmpony. You are the paragon a' farmponies! And you make your friends brave when they ain't brave."
Applejack didn't say anything for a while. Then she said: "Even when I'm wettin' my britches?"
"I'd imagine especially when you're wettin' your britches, big-sis."
"Thanks, AB. Thanks a lot. Hey, you almost ready?"
"You bet," said Apple Bloom, chuckling, stretching out her legs, tying her mane back in a red ponytail. She'd never been much of an athelete in her youth, but she'd had to run a lot in the Royal Surveyors Corps. "I reckon I'll beat you through the Sisterhooves Course, tonight. You may'a been the big sister growin' up, but I ain't no runt-filly no more!"
"Is that so? Care to put your money where your mouth is?" said Applejack.
"A hundred bits!" said Apple Bloom.
Applejack's eyebrow twitched.
"Oho!" said Apple Bloom. "Not so sure now, are we?"
* * *
Spitfire sensed movement in her darkened hospital room, and she looked over with a start. The silhouette of a rainbow-maned pony stood in the doorway.
"Hey," said Dash.
Spitfire crossed her forelegs. "Visiting hours are over."
"I know," said Dash. "I flew in a window on the third floor and snuck down here."
"Why go to all the trouble?"
"Because we need to talk, and I didn't want the paparazzi taking pictures of it."
Spitfire sighed and turned over in the hospital bed. She couldn't turn too far because of all the tubes and drains. "Can't imagine what the hay we have to talk about."
"How about the fact that I almost killed you?" said Dash. "How about the fact that if you'd died, it would have ruined my life?"
"Ruined your life??" said Spitfire.
"Well, it's not like you would have cared," said Dash. "You would have been dead."
Spitfire just looked at her.
"Okay," said Dash, "let me try again. I'm really sorry I fractured your skull."
"Mmm," said Spitfire, "alright. Apology accepted. By the way: Rainbow Throw?? Really?"
"Argue with it's effectiveness," said Dash. "I double-diamond-dog-dare you. And while we're on the subject, you owe me an apology too, for using your aura-blade against me. You could have cut my leg off!"
"I was under orders."
It was Dash's turn to give Spitfire a look.
"Alright, sorry," said Spitfire. "Sorry I tried to cut your leg off." Then suddenly, she was staring at Dash with the most peculiar expression.
"What?" said Dash.
"Soarin's an idiot," said Spitfire.
"O-o-okay..."
"He's a great flyer and a lovable oaf, but he's just not Captain material. I know Hard Target is having to do double duty while Soarin's in charge. How would you like it if I gave you temporary command of the Wonderbolts? The doctors are talking six months before I'll be cleared for active duty, and hay, if you're doing a good job, I'll just promote myself to brass."
Dash smiled. "Actually, Spitfire, I'm going to have to turn you down."
Spitfire gaped at her. "Are you nuts??" she said. "I just offered you the Wonderbolts command! You don't say no to that! You don't say no to that!"
"Would you believe I've already accept another job offer?"
"It had better come with a six-figure Hearth's Warming bonus, because otherwise, I still can't believe what I'm hearing."
Dash pulled out a folded page. She handed it to Spitfire.
"This is an executive letter-head," said Spitfire. "From Princess Luna's office."
"Read it," said Dash.
Spitfire did. After she was done, she handed Dash back the page. "Congratulations," she said.
"Thanks," said Dash. "You'd better heal up quick. There's going to be another team at the castle now, and I can promise we'll keep you on the tips of your hooves."
"I look forward to it," said Spitfire. Then she laughed. "You're a hay of a scrapper, kiddo. The student has surpassed the master."
"I was never your student," said Dash. "But sometimes a rival is just as good as a mentor. See you around?"
"See you around, Rainbow Dash."
She slipped out through the open window, leaping into the night sky.
Dear Rainbow Dash,
In light of recent events, it has become evident that Equestria's military needs an overhaul. To this end, my sister and I have decided to reactivate a number of special-forces protocols from the ancient past. I think you are well-suited to leading one of these protocols: the air-wing of the Canterlot Night Guard, code-named The Shadowbolts. I must warn you that the training process will require a number of sacrifices, but I promise that you will be gaining a very great deal in return. Contact me if you have any questions.
Princess Luna
* * *
Rarity poured herself a new cup of tea. "I can't complain, really," she said to Fluttershy, sitting across from her in the Boutique's parlor. "It is such a drag, though, having to arrange the matchsticks by size, and put the pentagonal block in the pentagonal hole, and sort the objects by color, day after day after day."
"I know it's boring," said Fluttershy, "but Rarity, you have brain damage. It's important for you to rebuild those neural pathways as much as you can. How is your short-term memory loss?"
"Better. I still get fuzzy sometimes, but who knows how much of that is due to old-age."
"We're not even thirty yet!"
"Ancient!" announced Rarity, then the two mares laughed. "The truth is, I'll just be happy when I can get back to sewing. Thank goodness I had just completed a backlog of dresses the day before the Nightmare attacked, or I'd have to mortgage the shop!"
Fluttershy fumbled with her empty teacup for a moment. "Um... Listen, I've been waiting a month to say this..." She bit her lip.
"Out with it," said Rarity.
"It's about Shield Banner," said Fluttershy. "Before he died, he wanted you to know he was sorry."
Rarity froze for a microsecond. Then her hoof continued to lift her cup to her mouth. She sipped and her eyes took on a far-away cast. The cup shook a little. Then she set it back in its saucer and stared at the ground.
Fluttershy wrung her hooves awkwardly, not sure what to say.
At last, Rarity sighed and sat back on her sofa. "I never should have tried to play spy," she said. "I was in over my head. Shield Banner accused me of thinking I was more clever than him, and he was right. I did think that. I suppose I learned my lesson, though."
"It wasn't your fault," said Fluttershy. "It was the Nightmare's fault. And she's dead now."
"She left quite a wake," said Rarity with that far-away look again. "But nevertheless, we prevailed."
"Yes, we did," said the pegasus. After another moment, she said: "Look, I'll be in Canterlot for the next few days, helping with ponies injured during the battle, but we should do this again when I return. We've grown apart in recent years, Rarity. All of us. I don't want it to be like that anymore. I miss the old group."
"Me too, sweetie," said Rarity.
Rarity let Fluttershy out and closed and locked the front door, then pushed the floor-lock and the deadbolt shut.
She left every light in the shop burning as she headed up to bed. For the past month, Rarity had found herself uncomfortable with letting pools of shadow develop in her home. The lamps burned day and night now at Carousel Boutique.
Rarity sat down at the vanity, preparing to put her hair up in curlers and remove her false eyelashes. Her horn glowed baby blue as she picked up her brush and began to run it through her shiny purple mane. After a few strokes, her eyes glanced up into the mirror.
Grinning back, blood pouring from her mouth, was the demonic face of Miss Rarity. The killer's eyes burned with homicidal insanity as she slammed her hooves against the other side of the glass, cracking the mirror in huge concentric circles.
Rarity screamed and recoiled away, falling backwards on her stool and crashing to the floor. She kicked her way into the corner, hyperventilating, her screams of terror swallowing themselves up. This was it. She was dead.
"I'm dead," she whispered.
But after a few moments, nothing had happened. Rarity opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length closet mirror. She was herself again. No blood, nothing. Frantically, she turned to look at the vanity. The glass was whole and unbroken.
It wasn't real. It wasn't real. Just hallucinations. I've got to get a hold of myself.
"I have got to get a hold of myself," she said aloud. Then she placed both forehooves to her face as sobs wracked through her body.
* * *
"Easy, Princess," said Spike, gently lowering Luna down into the water.
"Ah!" gasped Luna as the hot bath hit her still-tender incisions. The Canterlot surgeons had operated again and again over the past month to help her regeneration set things right.
"You're doing great," said Spike. "Just a little further."
"I have changed my mind," said the Princess, voice wavering with pain. "I wish to remain stinky!"
"Shh, it'll be worth it," said Spike. "You just have to a be a big, tough alicorn for me." It was what Twilight used to say to him when he was little. He couldn't help but chuckle at the memory.
"And now you laugh at me? Your divine lord and master?"
"I was laughing at myself, actually, but maybe next time I will laugh at you."
"I shall... outlaw it..." said Luna. Her reconstructed wing-joints submerged into the steaming basin. "Ow! Oh, oh..." She cried out in agony, unable to hold back a sob, squeezing Spike's clawed hand with her hoof.
Spike squeezed back and held onto her. "You'll get through this, Princess."
"I know," rasped Luna. She cleared her throat. "I know. You should have seen me the first time I fought Celestia. The first Nightmare Night. I was a mess."
The dragon dipped a copper ladle into the bathwater and poured the contents over Luna's mane while he shielded her eyes with a clawed hand. The galaxy of stars that flowed along her back became apparent as normal pony-hair-- albeit unusually sparkly-- once it got wet. Spike opened the container of soaproot and aloe cream, added a touch of rose-oil for scent, and worked it into the Princess's mane with his claws. Luna let out a content sigh, despite her many aches and pains.
"The weight of a kingdom on your shoulders," commented Spike, pressing his thumbs into her sore muscles. "How you and your sister do it is a mystery to me"
"It is the highest possible honor," said Luna. She tilted her head back and looked at him. "And, of course, we have no choice."
"You'd quit if you could?" asked Spike, wiping a few suds away from around her midnight eyes.
"No," said Luna with a sigh of resignation. "It's really all I have ever known."
Spike took the hanging shower-head and gently soaped and rinsed her wing-joints. Again, Luna let out only a single sob of agony as he passed the sponge over her incisions.
"We're almost done, Princess," soothed Spike. He drained the tub and, after a final rinse, shut off the water and stood to get her a towel. "Time for your nightly checkup with the Royal Physician. I think it's Doctor Hayfever on staff tonight. Then off to physical-therapy."
"I almost forgot to ask," said Luna, "has there been any sign of Doctor Stables? I thought that perhaps somepony forgot to inform me..."
"No, still nothing," said Spike with a frown, helping her towel off. "Disappeared without a trace. I hate to say it, but he was probably killed at some point during the battle. Vaporized or something, so that there was no corpse."
"Perhaps," said Luna. "Still, odd."
Spike went around the royal bath-chamber, cleaning and setting things up so that Luna could reach them in the morning. "Okay," he said at last, slipping his foreleg under her chest and propping her up. "You ready?"
Princess Luna grimaced with pain, but she braced herself to step over the edge of the tub. Another round of surgeries, another month of recuperation and she'd be close to fighting shape. For now, though, if she was going to be a bag of broken bones, at least she had Spike.
"My dragon," she said, closing her eyes for a second and leaning into him.
"My Princess," he said. "Ready? One, two, three, step!"
* * *
Fluttershy almost went straight home, but the night air was warm, so she decided to take the long route back to her cottage. She strolled through the empty town square, feeling strangely at-peace in the glow of the streetlamps.
All her life, she'd been a shrinking violet. It had been a miracle that she'd had enough courage to attend medical school in the first place, but she had done so little with it afterwards. She was always too afraid of failing.
Something had changed, though. Maybe it was Shield, she thought. The way he'd been so brave for her, even when she knew he was terrified. Him and Purple Heart, too, and Chyornyj Slon, and all the others who had died fighting that demon. Fluttershy had the strangest sensation that she owed something to these ponies. They were dead, and she was alive. They would never do or think anything ever again. She had the freedom to act.
This kind of empowerment was a strange sensation for her, and Fluttershy had no idea what to do. So, in another uncharacteristic move, she decided to follow her impulse.
Fluttershy started walking. She maneuvered down street after street, until she came upon a bright green apartment building. She let herself in the front gate and up the stairwell to the second floor, where she stood outside apartment 214. She knocked.
After a minute she heard the sound of the chain-lock being disengaged. Then the door opened. A red stallion's face poked out and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Hi," said Fluttershy.
After a moment of shock, Big Macintosh said, "Hey."
"Can we... can we talk?" said Fluttershy. "Just talk." She kicked a hoof idly and glanced at the floor.
He looked at her, a cavalcade of conflicting emotion crossing his face. At last, he bowed his head and nodded. "Eeyup." Macintosh stepped back, letting Fluttershy past him.
The door clicked shut.
* * *
Twilight helped Celestia prop herself up in bed, so that the Princess could look out the window into the starry sky. Then the purple unicorn sat down in the chair at the bedside, turned up the lantern, and started jotting down the Princess's itinerary for the next day on a notepad.
"Always working," said Celestia.
"I learned from the best," said Twilight. She chewed on her eraser for a moment. Then she said: "Princess, one thing I never could figure out. The Nightmare. She kept saying you had given her the 'secret keys to your heart.' That she had used them to possess you. What was she talking about?"
"Oh, yes," said Celestia. "Well, the secret keys are a set of protocols that govern each sentient mind. With all of the keys to my heart, the Nightmare knew my brain better than I did. She was able to control it completely, like a machine."
"But how did she get those keys? Did she buy them somehow?"
Celestia looked at Twilight for a long moment. "Twilight, the keys can not be forged or stolen. They can only be given out of love. Not through hypnosis, not through torture. And I have no idea how she came to have them."
A strange voice cleared its throat from the darkened far-corner of the bedchamber. "How indeed?"
Twilight Sparkle spun to face the intruder, her horn blasting into light, charging with thunderous magic. And then, in a flash of white, her horn was gone. So was her mouth.
"Mmmpphhh!!" screamed Twilight furiously.
The shape from the corner moved closer, and took on form and substance. "I'm going to put your mouth back Twilight, but if you try to call for help, I'll have to take it away again, and your nose, too, if you catch my drift." Twilight's mouth reappeared, and she gasped for breath.
"You," said Celestia, her eyes narrowing at the intruder.
It was the squat form of Doctor Stables. He removed his spectacles and examined them for dust. "Yes, you lovable, gullible pony, you. It's always been me."
"Who are you?" said Twilight. "Really?"
"I'll give you a hint, my dear," said Doctor Stables. "'What fun is there in making sense?'"
"Discord," said Twilight with a black note.
"Doctor Discord, at your service. The truth is, I've been controlling this body for years now from my stone prison. It's not quite the same thing as being free myself, but it helps to pass the time. And how! Let me tell you Twilight, your Princess has not felt the ravages of age on any part of her fabulous body. Although she is on birth-control. I'll let you draw your own implications from that."
"What do you want!?" demanded Celestia, her face burning.
"Only to save the world," said Discord.
"No, really, what do you want?" asked Twilight.
Discord laughed. "To save the world, I swear it! Celestia could tell you herself if she wasn't so inclined to keep secrets from her loved ones, am I right, Princess? The truth is that you've probably never even heard about the prophecy of the Nightmare Fracture. The prophecy that the Nightmare would bring about the end of the world. It almost came true, too."
"But... it's over now, right?" said Twilight. "The prophecy has not come to pass, because the Nightmare is dead."
"Tell her, Celestia," taunted Discord.
"Eight years ago," said Celestia after a moment, "when you beat the Nightmare during the Summer Sun Celebration, I captured her soul in an artifact called a stasis-bottle. For years I experimented, trying to find a way to destroy the Nightmare's soul. But I couldn't do it. She was indestructible. I could only hold her in the bottle and hope that some day, I would find a way to kill her once and for all."
Twilight's look of surprise turned to anger. "Why didn't you tell me??"
"Because you are mortal," said Celestia. "I prayed that you would never have to deal with the Nightmare again in your lifetime. I... I was trying to protect you."
Twilight sighed. "Fine. She's dead now, anyway, right?"
"That's just it," said Celestia. "After the battle, I went down to the caverns under the castle, to inspect the stasis-bottle and find out how she'd managed to escape. But Twilight, she's still there. Her soul is still in the stasis-bottle."
"But... how could there be two Nightmares??"
"I know ho-o-o-ow," sang Discord. "I could tell you everything, but I don't think I feel like it."
Celestia and Twilight just waited.
"Oh, you party-poopers," said Discord. "Of course I can't possibly not tell you now. Very well. I call to your attention: Exhibit-A." An easel popped into existence next to him. On it was a large diagram of an eye. "Your right eye, my lady."
Celestia's forehoof rose to her eye. The one that had gone blind when everything was beginning.
Discord placed a plastic-overlay on top of the diagram. This was filled with a number of arcane magic glyphs.
"A time-beacon," said Celestia. "In my eye. You put a time-beacon in my eye??"
"It was easy," said Discord. "I was your doctor, after all. You're a smart mare, Celestia. You tell me the rest of the plan."
"I send the Nightmare's soul back in time," said Celestia. "To exactly one month before tonight. I use the time beacon in my own eye as a target."
"And you give her the secret keys to your heart," continued Twilight, "as you send her back."
"The Nightmare dies in an epic battle in the past, and we all live happily ever after in the present," finished Discord. "And you two said I didn't know how to save the world. I'm hurt."
"You..." stammered Celestia, "My sister and I were both tortured, almost to death by that thing!"
"Yes, and don't forget who put your sister back together again. Clearly, I had your best interests in mind the whole time. If you two experienced any discomfort, then I think we can chalk it up as a fair trade for being petrified for centuries."
"So, what did you get out of it?" said Twilight. "Besides the joy of watching us all suffer?"
"Why chaos my dear," he said. And now his laughter turned sinister. "Wonderful, delicious, tantalizing chaos. More than this kingdom has seen in eons! My goodness, it was so beautiful. But even more importantly, it was just what I needed to break free of my stone prison."
"The guards," said Twilight, "they would have reported if your statue was gone--"
"I left a replica of course! Come on Twilight, I thought you were the bright one."
Twilight and Celestia glared at Discord for a moment. Then Twilight said: "So, what now?"
"Now? You and Celestia go down to the catacombs and get your temporal wands a-waving! Or you could choose not to do it. You could decide that it's not worth it. Then maybe time will revert to a scenario where you never sent the Nightmare back. A paradox time-storm! Won't that be chaotic!" He laughed. "So I win either way. Ta-ta, you two. I'm off to see the world. Equestria is just too small-time for me anymore. Maybe I'll go hang out with some dragons for a change." He grinned. "Wait until they get a load of me."
Twilight stomped on the ground three times in rapid succession and suddenly, a huge magic circle appeared on the floor of the bedchamber, searing in neon-white with glyphs three-feet across.
"We made a few improvements to this room, Discord!" shouted Twilight. "You're trapped now!"
But Discord just laughed. "Oh, oh, how rich. Twilight Sparkle you are such a cutie-pie, I simply can not stand it. I'll definitely be seeing you again before you die of old age. Maybe I'll pop back in around, say, twenty years? It's a date. Bye now, and take care."
His laughter echoed about the room. Then Doctor Stables's body fell apart into a thousand apples, bouncing and rolling in all directions at once.
THE END
DAYLIGHT BURNING
A story by Ryan "Guesswork" Ladd
Special thanks to
Jason "KalethSakuzan" Moore
Rosie "TehBeesKnees" Wertman
And the mysterious DanielPribinaValašik111
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Picture Credits:
http://img07.deviantart.net/bf06/i/2013/127/a/6/mane_6_wallpaper__grunge_version_available__too___by_dashmagic6-d63s2gw.png
http://www.deviantart.com/download/280708449/discord_profile_wallpaper_by_phantombadger-d4n4k0x.jpg
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Discord is so awesome in this story lol.
Deus ex Discord to the rescue for all the loose ends!
Oh shit. What an ending.
Go Pinkie Pie!
"Well, it's not like you would have cared," said Dash. "You would have been dead."
"Okay," said Dash, "let me try again. I'm really sorry I fractured your skull."
Ooooo, and Shadowbolts command. Someone remind me, in the backstory to this, did Dash ever make it into the Wonderbolts?
Rarity, nooooooo!
Go Fluttershy!
Hmmnn, sequel hook there at the end?
All in all a truly excellent story, well worth it's presence on my user page wall of awesome stories.
Brilliant, just brilliant.
This has been one of the best stories I have read.
Great stuff but i gotta say that Rarity got royally screwed in the end
Here's hoping you throw her a happy ending before it's wrapped up
917658
Technically, Celestia did not injure her. It was her losing control of her return passage through the time-stream that caused her disability. She was only healed by another taking her injuries onto themselves. I agree that the pace was a bit rapid for the level of drama in the chapter, but the dying act trope commonly allows for such things to occur.
An epic battle for the ages. Countless innocent ponies dead. Good mares and stallions forced to do wicked deeds.
All because of Wibbily-Wobbily-Timey-Wimey..
Dude, for serious, this is one of my favorite fanfictions. Great job, friend.
Have a mustache. You've... you've earned it.
A masterpiece. There is no other word to describe this.
Why was Mac living in an apartment and not at sweet apple acres? Aside from that question it was a really good story.
918199
She lost control because the parasitic entity that took over Celestia attacked her. Celestia was fully aware of what was happening too, there's no way she would not feel guilty.
The healing by having a already dieing pony "take" the injuries onto himself just felt cheap and out of place.
918166 No kidding!
At first I was all like
static.fjcdn.com/comments/Like+_9a96c9c37485be0b4c32082eeeca8651.jpg
But then at the end I was all like
fim.413chan.net/fim/src/132440918115-FiM49.gif
umm... will this continue?
plus discords an ass.
but thats already been established also one last thing he's also become predictable after a few months of study. its quite sad really no wonder the pain in the but tactition butch in upheaval was able to predict him and win without difficulty.
I'm pretty pleased with how things have ended. Not everything is rainbows and gumdrops. The fact that there will be some lasting residual effects to the events that unfolded just means that this story left an impact, the readers wishing that everything turned out well, but are forced to accept the things that are. This has been a fun venture, and I'm interested to see what you'll create next.
Spike needs to help Rarity soon..... boy he's going to be a busy dragon.
RD doesn't have to die does she? To become a ShadowBolt
Looks like another person to add to my list of "Favorite Fim-Fic Authors", up there along with Cyanide and shortskirtsandexplosions
Oh man that ending, it was just amazing!
Make me wonder if you are going to do a sequel.
> "Well, the secret keys are a set of protocols that govern each sentient mind. With all of the keys to my heart, the Nightmare knew my brain better than I did.
Amateur cogsci/ai enthusiast here: how did Celestia find out about a fundamental aspect of cognition? Maybe it might have been easier to discover with other self-aware species around, but it's still a significant discovery.
On that note, does this tie into mind hexes in anyway?
Also, it's sapience, not sentience - sapience is the cognitive aspect, sentience is just perception.
A very well done ending in my opinion. The heroes have won, but not without heavy sacrifices and trauma for everyone. The threat hasn't even been truly vanquished either, and Discord of all people makes a last-minute entrance. You seem to be hinting at a sequel... I look forward to your future work. I have been following this story for quite some time, nice to see that it is finally finished... at least for now.
Wonderful job on this, I really enjoyed reading it from the beginning to the end.
epic ending with an epic evil cliffhanger and with enough open side stories for a sequel ^^
That was the most epic story I have ever read.
I demand a sequel.
You sir, are a creative genius, and this was a truly a epic work.
I look forward to your future stories.
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/discord.png
Agent Coltson?
I think this ending might actually be my favourite part of the fic. A slew of nice character moments, tieing up conflicts, and "His laughter echoed about the room. Then Doctor Stables's body fell apart into a thousand apples, bouncing and rolling in all directions at once." That line is just terrifying enough to make him real. Great work.
Didn't see that one comin'.
Can't wait to see where you go with the sequel. You ARE going to do a sequel, right? Because this was absolutely awesome!
See also: EPIC
EPIC 
EPIC 
EPIC 
EPIC 
EPIC 
EPIC 
EPIC 
EPIC ... ... No Luna icon? We must fix this!
ffffffffffffffffffffffDISCORD. ... Was actually kind'a fucking awesome here. I don't think it's too unreasonable to think that mayhaps Canterlot Embassy takes place roughly twenty years from this point? It would be very interesting if it turned out Discord has a claw in the terrorist activities going on over in that fic. And if Twilight's still alive in that one, I'm pretty sure she'd be elderly by that point, which would explain her lack of involvement, and consequent mention, in the political environment in the years following First Contact.
But I'm still hoping Twilight somehow gets involved in that story.
(why am I talking so much about a different story, wtf) BUT YEAH, this was an amazing ending to an amazing story!
Oooh. A nice mixture of closure, sequel hooks and unabashed, Discordian trickery! This has been a very entertaining read, and I hope to see more from you eventually.
wonderful ending, I have always liked the idea of Luna forming the shadowbolts as a sort of special ops team that operates at night deep in enemy territory... you are the first author i know to actually go with the idea.
Oh and DISCORD! so awesome!
Amazing! Simply Amazing!!!!!
You get mustaches from me! ( I'd give you twenty, but that puts me over the limit.)
That was so AWESOME!
This is by far one of the best fanfics I have ever read! Simply amazing. but why must you end this?
There must be a sequel i demand it! i must have MOAR!
Thanks for this awesome read! Truly one of the greatest fanfics ever!
*The man places the book back on the desk in front of him, the back cover now over the rest of the pages. He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his red-plaid hoodie, nodding with a smile of satisfaction.*
Now this is the kind of fight I'm trying to create in my own stories. Wonderful wind up, tons of emotion, and a cataclysmic battle and semi-happy ending to tie it all off. Like a present on Christmas Day, this brings a smile to your lips and a tear to your eye.
*Nods as he heads out of the library and into the daylight, wandering down the dirt road as many sentient beings pass him, both pony and human.*
But now, how am I going to match this...hmm. It SEEMS like a theory about how the Elements were created as such a weapon is accepted...I wonder if they could have been naturally created though? A phenomenon of the universe, a construct of the cosmos, something bringing balance to everything...interesting.
*The man strokes his chin as he wanders down the road, still happy about finishing this story.*
Hell of a book indeed, Mr. Author. It was a joy to read, through and through. I only hope I can find a story that could possibly stand on a pedestal next to this masterpiece. Good luck to me on that front!
925120 The Party Cannon may be powerful, but it's nothing compared to Fluttershy's Stare.
What's the point of a cannon if you can't fire it before you're locked in Fluttershy's eyes? One-on-one, she's unbeatable, two-on-one...well she's kinda screwed.
Seems like in any situation beyond a duel, Fluttershy immediately comes at a disadvantage :V.
I wonder how Pinkie devises the ordnance for the cannon? Are you aware of any engineering PhDs she may in possession of?
What a monstrosity this post is. I apologize, seriously. It's like 50 pages long. Onwards!
918097 Funny thing is, I had that idea before I had the idea for any of the rest. I knew it was going to be him all along. Mwahahaha!
918121 I wanted to do a Whedonesque ending. In fact, this whole thing was supposed to be kind of Whedonesque.
925164 Okay, first of all, you are absolutely right, the Stare is definitely more powerful than the Party Cannon. Secondly, you are absolutely right, the Stare is the second-most-powerful weapon in Equestria, although only against a SINGLE enemy. Obviously, the most powerful weapon is the Element of Magic when it is reacting with the other 5 Infinity... I mean Harmony Gems. (Please tell me you got that).
The idea for using the Stare on the Nightmare actually came from Friendly Uncle's "The Creature That Came to Ponyville," in which FS uses it on a f*cking Geiger's Alien and stuns it because-- get this-- it thinks she's a Queen Alien. Go read that story, by the way. All of you. (Rarity spears a f*cking Facehugger with a pitchfork!! I'm not making this up.)
Incidentally, I would think the Party Cannon is a summoned artifact. No ordinance or foreknowledge required.
920407 Why can't I hold all these moustaches?
920249 The Shadowbolts!! And yes, guys, this is official, RD is going to have to vamp up. Vampire Dashie, y'all. She's going to be a rock-and-roll vampire, too, by the way. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT, EQUESTRIA? **fat guitar riff** And what should be her vampire powers? Oh man, she and Slim-to-None are going to be girl-soldier buddies. But not vampire lovers. Because that would be too hot. ONE-SHOT TIME!
920184 Thanks a lot, Lurks-no-More. It's been a pleasure having you here.
919819 A sequel? Well, I don't think I'm going to do another giant novella with an ensemble cast right away. What I'm planning is more an ongoing series of one-shots, similar to the format of Chapter 15: A Closed Loop, only extended into episodes. I really had fun with that chapter (in a lot of ways, it was the deepest I think. I hope!). A few ideas I've had are an Agent-and-the-Night-Guard thing, a Dashie Shadowbolts thing, a Twilight and Cinnamon Oatmeal fling-thing, a Spike/Luna spy-thriller fling-thing, and a Rarity/Fluttershy horror thing. 10,000 words or less.
919308 Saved! Thanks for the icon, mate.
919091 Thank you for the compliment, and for reading all the way through my humungous and ridiculous action movie! I actually used over 8,000 tons of explosives making this story, not to mention 50,000 rubber fish for the flood scene. One stunt-pony almost died for reals.
918459 Thank God someone understands the ending.
918111 Discord was made to be a deus ex. It's in his job description. A little too convenient?
918121
says, "Gotcha!"
918392 As stated above, I plant to do a bunch of one-shots within this continuity, similar to the epilogue of DB.
918484 Sorry, but vampire Dashie is a real thing.
918287 When Fluttershy and Big Mac got married several years before Daylight Burning, they moved into Fluttershy's Cottage and Mac became her assistant working with giant and dangerous creatures that were injured. When Fluttershy and Mac separated, he got an apartment and started working for the railroad. Applejack kept the family business going with hired hooves, and AB joined the military. Granny Smith had demanded she be buried next to her husband in the family plot near the edge of the Everfree, and that's just what they did when her time came.
She had said she wanted to hear the timber wolves.
918211 You've been commenting for months and I really appreciate it. I'm glad you liked the ending, and were okay with the time-travel thing. I had no idea if that was going to go over well, since time-travel is both an overused trope, and an easy one to f*ck up. I just loved the idea that Celestia really had done it to herself after all. It did preclude the Prophecy and save the world.
918148 Just what every writer dreams to hear. My heart a-splode!
918885 I'll change it to sapience. Also, I was about to say that the keys to the heart were discovered through centuries of careful magical-neural research on every sapient species in the world, but actually, I think it was a wizard that did it.
918166 Nope, sorry, I threw that poor girl to the wolves. She'll be okay, in time, but I wanted to show how her wounds and Luna's wounds were similar, but opposite. You know? I actually had a part in the last Twilight scene where Celestia talks about having a wounded soul, and how even though she was physically whole after the battle (on account of not having her horn ripped off), she fell into an incredibly deep depression as her soul had to regenerate itself. No hope, no laughter. Another totally different type of wound. Alas, that conversation ended up on the cutting-room floor.
918379 Your pic made my non-brony friend laugh. AMBASSADOR!
918500 I am absolutely honored. Thank you.
919310 It took me 24 hours to get that joke.
918935 Thank you, I am so glad that you liked it! Stay tuned for more PONAYS! As many as this weary author can handle. And all with brushable hair!
That's all for now. Jesus, it took me longer to write this post than the whole damn story. No, not really. Anyway, if I missed anypony I'm SO SORRY. I really appreciate the devotion that you have all shown to getting through this "season" of Daylight Burning, and I think you will like that I have planned for the future as well.
Have a great day!
925359
One by one the non-bronies shall be converted, one way or another
Agent and Pinkie are cute and fun. I also laughed at Pinkies threat level. More Pinkie is always great *hint hint*
Jolly good show!
Just goes to show that there are no winners in war
925120 I must point out that soldiers of every single horrible regime on earth revel in what they do for revenge against those who oppose their leaders. Somehow, no one seems to want to forgive them for it...
It's a matter of mind. Some have a sense within themselves of a line that is never to be crossed no matter what. The best soldiers in history always held an inner sense of dignity for even the enemy. Remember how reviled the Japanese Army was for their vicious treatment of prisoners, while the Americans in WWII often went beyond what was expected to treat their captives with kindness.
Even if Shield was in love with Celestia, it would take a very unhealthy, obsessive-type love to resort to his cruelty. His actions were not the fruits of true love, which is ALWAYS in tandem with kindness, gentleness, and compassion. And indeed, since it is unrequieted, I must conclude that if his feelings towards Celestia are attractive in nature, then it is the obsessive form, which almost always results in broken hearts (and sometimes murder-suicide when the parties involved are humans).
925359 I can see a Vamp Dash, yeah. And seeing a bunch of one-shots branched off this story would be amazing!
It'd feel kind of like a video game, with all the branching stories you have to earn by completing certain objectives, like not saving Rarity in time as Spike, or failing to keep Nightmare held with the Stare long enough for the eclipse to happen. Then you get all the extra stories that branch off the real ending, like Rarity dealing with her psychotic hex-induced side, and Spike's ongoing work with the army. I didn't think AB actually got in with the real Military though, but she did call the Surveyors a 'Corps', so I guess that pardons it?
Actually, yes. Someone make this a game. The story's already there for you. It'd be one of those blockbuster games I'd actually pay for :V.
*Alondro cannot resist*
"You kind of remind me of my father," said Pinkie Pie.
The agent arched an eyebrow and just stared at her.
Pinkie's grin turned savage, "I HATED my father!" She drew closer, "Wanna know how I got my Cutie mark?"
The agent was all like OH MANURE!!!
PS: The Doctor eventually kills Discord forever. He found out where Discord really came from, and the single weapon that could desrtoy him. I wrote it, so shall it be.
927766 Fixed!
927431 I'd think the Surveyors Corps is officially military, but not directly combat-oriented. An example is how NASA is technically part of the US Air Force, but its actual combat application is limited to GPS satellites and things like that.
928279 True, true. Wonder how her training went, and if her Cutie Mark really IS three sticks of dynamite :V?
928300 No it's an apple with a lit fuse. Or, if you prefer, an apple with a pin and spoon like a grenade.
928401 A proper Apple family demolitions expert Cutie Mark. Wonder what Scoots and Belle are doing then? They following their own careers?
I think I like the grenade idea more, since she's following a military career, rather than civil demolition.
AWWWW YEEAAHH!! This story was amazing! And what a great way to end a story.
Yes Pinkie, no one cane make life worth living like you can.
I agree with Apple Bloom, AJ needs to stop being so hard on herself
Rainbow Dash, leader of the Shadowbolts? Heck yes!!
I sure hope Rarity gets better, I can't stand to see her like that.
Go get 'im, Fluttershy
Well, hopefully with Spike's help, Luna will have a faster and better recovery.
Discord is such a troll and the possible key to a possible sequel maybe?
This was a great fanfic. Original enough without having to draw from too far outside the show. What OCs there are come from believable places. Excellent! Definitely one of my favorites.
I just found this, and read it over the course of the day. At first I was a little wary, but...
I have to say, this was truly amazing, and one of the best-written fics I've seen thus far (and I'm reading a lot of fics right now.) I do like the Discord ex Machina at the end to explain what the heck happened, and using the various skills and talents of the ponies was excellent. More importantly, this was perhaps the best depiction of Pinkie Pie I'd ever seen, and she's usually my least favorite in fics (due to being a little... TOO Pinkie.)
Hats off to you, great writer! I give it 5/5 mustaches.
I always saw Rainbow Dash as Special Forces material. The whole thing with Discord is making me itch for a sequel or spin-offs or something to that effect.
I adored how you closed out each character, you orchestrated the ending perfectly. Sure they were victorious but they didn't get off scot-free.
Rarity having mental issues, Shield's death, the two night guards that died, injury recovery for the princesses, the hinted Spike/Luna shipping, all of it man!
I love how the ending isn't the clique 'everything is fine and no lasting effects remain' ending, but it is good enough to be called a victory for the good guys, even if they good guys came out bloodied and battered.
Like Rarity's PTSD.
With all these military organizations popping up in Equestria, it makes you wonder about a second conflict in the future. Of course, they were only made so that if something like this ever happened again, Equestria would have a better prepared military to handle it, but still....makes you wonder a bit.
Wish there was more I can think of to say and trust I DO have more that I wanted to pour into this, to insert my emotions for this fic and its occurrences into words but frankly, I can't!
So I'd like to apologize for that.
Gypsy Magic? Rarity having PTSD? Do you watch Friendship is Witchcraft?
This story is shorter than most of the epic MLP fiction there is here, but that was another thing I liked. Not too time consuming to read but still packs the same punch as some of the other epics on this site.
My #5 Top-Class fic...
And there's a reason for that.
This was an amazing story, simple yet complex, I can't even describe it.
Its just weird. I kinda feel sorry for Shield Banner but looking at the shi*
* that he did, I don't know what to feel about him.
That's another plus for you. Your OCs are excellent. We get to them well and love them but you still apply a level of mystery to them, the Agent and the Night Guards for example.
Excellent work!
It's over...?
So for the last time for this fic, I say this...
Silver out!