//------------------------------// // SIDE CHAPTER- Pep Talk // Story: Duel Nature // by Eakin //------------------------------// SIDE CHAPTER AUTHOR’S NOTE Remember that conversation Twilight was having with Captain Reinolds before she stepped into the ring with Luna? How do you think that went? Probably not quite like this. A chapter that didn’t actually happen (unlike all the other chapters of this fictional story that totally did happen *cough* *cough*) Also, I was ready to declare the story complete after the chapter 5 and start working on a sequel that would pick up after a bit of a time skip in a new place and begin a new plotline. It would be a direct continuation of this, so I wanted some input on what people would prefer. New chapters of this story? New story altogether? Throw my laptop into a fire and never write again? Leave your opinion in the comments. New chapters it is! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Twilight! What do you think you’re doing?” said Captain Reinolds as he pulled her away from the ring where the Princess of Night and Darkness had just challenged her to a sparring match. “She challenged me to a fight. If I don’t accept she’ll just pick someone else, and at least I might be able to hold my own against her” said Twilight. “Hold your own? She’s an alicorn, and a freaking goddess! There’s no way to fight her.” “Well that can’t be true. Didn’t you tell me once that the Royal Guard had created a secret plan to deal with a rogue alicorn after Nightmare Moon returned?” she asked. Reinolds suddenly seemed embarrassed “Secret plan. Well, yes we have one but it’s the kind of thing that’s sort of on a need to know basis” he stammered. “Look at what’s happening! I think I qualify as needing to know!” she hissed angrily. Reinolds sighed. “Alright, fine. But this is extremely classified information so we’ll need you to keep it a secret, even from the princesses.” “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye” said Twilight, going through the familiar motions. Reinolds nodded, satisfied by the solemn oath. He’d once had a young recruit who foolishly broke a Pinkie promise. The recruit had gone missing, only to turn up in an alley behind an arcade in Baltimare, unconscious, covered in cake batter and streamers. When asked he was unable to recall anything that had happened over the last three days, but he had suddenly developed a crippling fear of confetti. “Alright Twilight, here’s our plan” said Reinolds, as Twilight produced a quill and parchment and prepared to take notes. “If Celestia or Luna turn evil, the entire force makes a rapid, strategic withdrawal to a series of highly fortified bunkers and secures them. From the inside. Then we wait for the bearers of the Elements of Harmony to come and clear everything up.” Twilight stopped writing “So... you provide support for my friends and I while we handle it for you?” “Moral support, absolutely, but not any assistance or resources as such.” “You run and hide? That’s a terrible plan!” “Yes, that’s the main reason we try to keep it a secret, actually” said Reinolds “Do you have plans for dealing with other kinds of things? Like, what if Discord got out again?” asked Twilight. “Run, hide, wait for the bearers” recited the Captain. It sounded like something he had said many times before and committed to memory. “What about if the Changelings attack again?” “Oh, well, that would be different. Your brother would empower the city's magical defenses again...” Twilight perked up at Reinold’s words “...THEN we would all run away and hide until the bearers came and fixed everything” Twilight pressed a hoof against her forehead to try to prevent the headache that she felt coming on “Well, what if the Elements aren’t available? Or one of the bearers can’t use their Element for some reason? Is it really smart to put all your eggs in one basket like that?” asked Twilight. “Hey, give us some credit! Of course we thought of that. That’s why there’s the Emergency Backup Plan if the Elements are unavailable.” “Yes! A backup plan, perfect! What’s the backup plan?” asked Twilight. “We run and hide in the bunkers, and wait for Celestia to fix whatever’s gone wrong!” said Reinolds triumphantly. Twilight could no longer contain her frustration “Well why do we even have a royal guard then, if all you do is run away and hide at the first sign of trouble?” “To keep the crime down, of course! And if I may say, we do an excellent job. The crime rates are very low” said Reinolds. “I didn’t realize that crime had been such a problem before the creation of the Royal Guard.” “Oh, it wasn’t. Crime rates were just about as low back then as they are now.” “Then how do you know that you’re even doing anything?” Reinolds looked at her like she had just asked why one plus one was two “We’re out patrolling every night, and the crime rate is low. Obviously what we’re doing is working.” “You can’t just assume causation from correlation like that! It’s completely specious! That’s... that’s like saying my old saddlebags were preventing alicorns from attacking me! I bought a new set last weekend and now Luna wants to fight me” said Twilight. Reinolds seemed skeptical “how would that even work?” he asked. “It wouldn’t! They’re just old bags! But as soon as I stopped carrying them around, Luna challenges me, so by your logic they must have been them keeping her away the whole time, right?” Reinolds considered this. “So... what you’re saying is... that you want me to stall Luna while you run home and get your old saddlebags!” “NO! THEY’RE JUST SADDLEBAGS! Why can’t... How can you...” Twilight trailed off, her eye beginning to twitch. “Are you sure? They sound like they would be really useful right about now.” Twilight’s mouth worked, but no words came out. She sputtered helplessly before a sudden wave of calm seemed to roll over her and she turned towards the ring. “Thank you for the offer, Captain. But now I think I would rather risk having a goddess unmake me from existence with the raw energies of creation than continue this discussion.” She walked away from the confused Captain, who had taken off his own saddlebags and was examining them closely. He waved them in Luna’s general direction, but seemed disappointed when nothing happened. Twilight stepped into the ring and approached Luna. There was no way anything that was about to happen could be worse than what she had just endured. Right?