//------------------------------// // Rescue At Midnight Castle // Story: Pony POV Series Origins: MAJESTY vs TIREK! // by Alex Warlorn //------------------------------// = Batman (NES) Music - Cutscene Theme = "Luna... if ya had come to me and told me ya had a lotta of stuff ya had to share with SOMEPONY besides yer sister, Ah'd have lent ya an ear till dawn without complainin' on the spot. "But Mah Ancestor has her name dragged through the mud, ya tell me ya can tell me how she ain't a traitor, but ya offer the 'whole truth', and ya tell me 'bout all this that she was barely a part of! Ya USED HER as an excuse! She might be some 'dead earth pony' to ya, but she's FAMILY ta me!" Applejack panted by the end of her tirade. We have made many mistakes over our eternal existence, only Our Parents are perfect, but what Applejack has said, I hear her say THAT was how I thought of Applejack The First... It was too much. We whispered, "She was family to me too." Applejack starred, her eyes wide, I'm impressed she has the stamina left to be shocked at anything after what I've shared with her this night. My sister is probably just as exhausted from covering my duties tonight, but I can't stop until I have talked to her about Applejack The First. It's time to finish. = Mommy Still Loves You... - Pony POV Series = "For thousands of years, the Paradise Ponies lived in seclusion in Dream Valley. Long after the villains who menaced it, like Tirek, were effectively no more. The Rainbow of Light extended their life spans over several millennia, while the world around them progressed through the ages with them as hidden guardians. Until one day, a pony found herself with foal. Mimic, Majesty's daughter, gave birth to my sister and myself." "Say what now?" Applejack looked stunned. We certainly can't blame her. "Yes, Applejack. We had no knowledge of our divine selves, or the true depth of our powers." I saw something click in Applejack's head. "So... Majesty... she was..." "Yes... Majesty is my mortal grandmother... Lucky and Spike were my uncles, and the Paradise Ponies were my aunts and godparents." While we never took advantage of it, I did use that fact to help Celestia accept us being declared rulers of Equestria: it technically was our bloodright as Majesty's most direct surviving relatives. "We were all loved by our extended family. We knew your ancestor and her friends as our aunties. We were as close as thee and thy family and friends. Applejack the First and I had a special bond. I think she would have been the Bearer of Laughter, given the chance. I certainly needed the laugher at times. "Even as children, Celestia and I were inseparable from the day and night. However, I had no awareness of my true place as Concept of the Night, and felt almost cursed by the association. Especially knowing the greatest evil ponykind had ever known had championed the night. Then, one night, I overheard a conversation I shouldn't have. "Wind Whistler, ever the deep thinker, hypothesized that we represented the forces of good and evil. Celestia was goodness, and I... well, you get the picture." "Oooh..." "Yes. I cried for days after that. All my fears had been all but confirmed by the smartest pony I knew. I was the night, therefore I was evil. I was just like the awful monster in the stories that hurt my friends. I thought they hated me for it. I honestly thought about running away, until I was given a talking to by Applejack." -- It was just after bedtime one night. I waited until everypony was asleep, then I got ready to go. I had packed my saddlebags with some clothes, toys and a few sandwiches, taking one last look at the sleeping Celestia when Applejack suddenly opened my bedroom door. "Going somewhere?" I froze at the sound of her voice. I initially thought of trying to teleport away, but the last time I had tried, I ended up stuck in a wall. Instead, I tried lying. "I was just going to check the closet for monsters." "With your coat on and carrying saddlebags?" Applejack was a silly pony, but never stupid. "I'm... cold?" "Luna, I think we both know you're still upset about the other night." Applejack shut the door behind her and trotted over to me. "So, how about you get back into your pj's and we can talk about this." I slumped in defeat and obeyed. Thank goodness Celly was a heavy sleeper. I sat miserably on the bed, pulling the covers around myself as Applejack sat next to me. Yes, I was powerful even then, but I would never think of trying to escape past her or any of the other Paradise Ponies. Before she said a word, she passed me an apple fritter. I looked at her in confusion. "I was getting a late night snack. Go on, a nice apple treat always makes me feel better. And don't tell me you're full, yah didn't eat your dinner and I know you've got a big appetite," I nibbled on the pastry, but it didn't do much to improve my mood. "Now, anything you'd like to talk about?" "I need to go away," I mumbled. "I see that," she replied, looking at my saddle bags. "And why didn't you invite anyone else to come along? You know we're always up for an adventure." "I'm not going on an adventure, I just don't think I can stay here anymore." "Well, that's a shame, cause there's a whole lot of ponies who'd be pretty sad to see you go." "They'd be better off without me." "Oh? How do you figure? My klutziness has caused more damage than anything you've ever done, and I don't even know any magic spells. Wouldn't Paradise Estate be better off without me?" "No! You're a great pony! And all those things were accidents! Everypony would still miss you!" "Well, I'll be, I think you're right! But, if that's the case, why do you think everyone would be better off if you left?" I turned away from her. "Cause I'm evil." "That's not true." I felt her foreleg wrap around me. "You heard what Wind Whistler said. Celly's the good sister and I'm the bad sister. She can make the sun come up, and all the birds and animals love her. I only raise the moon and only bats and creepy things that only come out at night like me. I'm scary and dark and... when I grow up, I might turn into a monster!" "Oh, Luna, you're not a monster just cause you have a connection to the night time." "But everything that has night or dark in it are all bad and scary things. Everypony's afraid of the dark, cause that's where all the bad guys come from. Nightmares, dark magic, Dracula Pony, the dark side, all of it bad stuff. And the baddest bad guy ever wanted to make it night forever!" "Oh, him!" Applejack scoffed. "Don't pay that big meanie any attention, Luna." "But it's true, Applejack. Tirek was the worst bad guy ever, and he hurt you, and Spike and Moondancer, and he wanted to hurt everybody else all cause he wanted it to be night forever. And I feel like the night is part of me. So, everything that he was is part of me. What if I end up just like-" "Do not finish that sentence!" I nearly jumped at her tone. Applejack was many things, but easily angered was not one of them. "You are not like him." "But I could be someday! I'm part of everything he wanted, so what if I grow up to be just as bad as he was?! What if I end up hurting you "Stop it!" Applejack grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. "You are not like Tirek. You could never be like him. Even some of our worst enemies weren't like him. And all the bad he did has nothing to do with him liking the night and the dark." "But, he hurt you! You said in the story how he made you a monster with the power of darkness! What if I have that same power?!" "You listen to me, Luna, and you listen good." She looked at me with an intensity I'd never seen before. "When I tell you that you're not like him, I know what I'm talking about. You remember the story, right? When Megan, Firefly, Bow Tie, Twilight, and me were sneaking around Midnight Castle, I got caught and taken to Tirek's throne room. There's a bit more than the story tells." 00 It was a week or so after we defeated Tirek's army. We thought that we would be safe, after all he didn't have anybody to bully around anymore. Something big happened at his fortress and we even thought he might be gone for good. Most of our animal friends used to be Reptilians before the spell with Magic Star's wand turned them all back. Most of them went off to live their lives, but a bunch stayed in Dream Valley to be close to their heroes. It was like any other summer day. Firefly and Medley were sliding down rainbows and the rainbow waterfall, Bow Tie was racing through the fields with Moondancer, Glory was racing along on her roller skates right over Twilight's head, Ember imitating Glory's daredevil jump and Firefly having to save her from a random dip in the rainbow river. I was picking apples... until Firefly missed her Double Inside-Out Loop and crashed into me and we made yet another batch of the famous Applejack's Accident Applesauce. Twilight had to explain to Ember how she wouldn't grow up to fly like Firefly or teleport like her. Everyone grows up to their own special little pony Twilight told her, this was BEFORE Ember got her one star cutie mark. Well, after a quick dip in the river, we were getting ready for more games when a sudden storm blew in. Everypony broke into a run for the castle. We thought it was just a sudden shower, and wanted out of the lightning and thunder; but the fear inside it, it was something else. I can't remember who, but one of us shouted "What's going on!?" and another shouted, "It's the Stratadons!" And Twilight repeated scared to pieces! It wasn't a storm, it was another attack. They took us by surprise and we weren't ready for a fight. We panicked. We ran. And there was Scorpan leading the pack. We tried to get everypony back inside and fortify the castle, but a couple of the big ugly things got Cotton Candy and Moondancer. Scopran told us we'd all belong to Tirek soon enough. I was so mad, I was about to gallop out to try and save them when Twilight and Shady held me back. By the time I calmed down, I heard Medley yelling for Firefly. I ran to the front gate just in time to see that stubborn pegasus zooming somewhere to get help. Firefly isn't a dumb pony or a coward, so seeing her fly off didn't scare most of us. Except Medley, who was still terrified of losing anymore friends. Some of us did think she'd be coming back with Moochick or somepony else. We didn't expect her to come back with a human girl with a, hehe, ponytail, but at the time we were good for any help at all. Megan was something else: she saw ponies getting attacked by a giant dragon thing, and she rushed to help when she didn't even know who we were. Of course we found out later she's from a world with all kinds of crazy stuff. She's told us stories about an army fighting snake men, giant transforming robots and old monsters coming out of the ground. I guess seeing talking magical ponies wasn't the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. 'Or she was in shock,' Wind Whistler said. But, just as we were meeting our new friend, Scorpan arrived with more Stratadons. We tried to run, but they got Bubbles and Ember. To our collective horror, one of them even got Megan. Firefly flew off after her, zipping past the big galoots trying to get to Megan. Lots of monsters have tried to take Firefly down, but like she says, "I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me!" She did the double-inside-out loop and got'em to let go of Megan! Firefly tried to catch her, BUT SCORPAN caught her first and let her down on the spot. We didn't get why he did that and didn't really notice back then! The monsters flew away with Ember and Bubbles, and Scopran told Megan to just leave Ponyland. Megan responded by calling him a beast and monster and tried to beat'em up with her bare fists as he flew off! Firefly told Megan, "See? You are brave." Megan said, "Am not, he just got me mad, that's all. Come on! We'll save our friends, somehow." Our friends. Not 'your' friends. Megan had only been there a few seconds and called us her friends. How many creatures out there can ya say that about? We didn't have a choice: if we ever wanted to see our friends again, we'd need to go confront Tirek and stop him. I'll tell you, Luna, I was scared. We'd beaten more baddies than I can name, but Tirek? He was the big bad guy. When boogeymares wanted to scare each other, they told Tirek stories! He ruled a lot of the world back then. So I think everypony was scared of facing him... but we were more scared of losing our friends for good. I might be a silly pony, but I'm not a coward! So me, Megan, Firefly, Twilight, and Bowtie all set out. We started off to get Moochick's help of course. He was the strongest magician any of us knew, and the only one to ever fight Tirek one on one and make it back alive... Stories say he was ponykind's first friend, going all the way back to the beginning. And brought us plenty of sugarcubes every time he stopped by! Wish you could've met him, but he passed on a long time ago. The fastest way was by a rickety old rope bridge I didn't think was very safe. I was worried I was gonna fall and break my neck or something! But my friends shrugged it off and told me it was fine. Of course, on the way I was a silly pony and got myself dropped in a river! Though, in my defence, the bridge wasn't very well put together. Bless Megan, she dove right in to save me! But by the time she got me, we got shut inside a giant clam. I really thought that was the end. We go off to save our friends, and drown less than an hour into the journey. Or so I thought. One minute, it was all darkness and a possible watery grave, the next a blast of music that blew the clam back open. Megan and I suddenly found ourselves in a big bubble and surrounded by the strangest looking creatures I had ever seen. Yeah, that's how we first met the Sea Ponies. They introduced themselves by singing, it wasn't just Seawinkle, Wavedancer, and Sealight, it was three schools of them! Hehe, I know you're used to hearing them sing, but hearing them sing for the first time was something else! Especially underwater while they're saving you! Though not before 'playing with us' a little first, we weren't in any real danger, so they weren't above throwing in some fancy moves into their song with our bubble! They helped us get to shore, and gave us a magic shell to use to call on them if we needed them again. I was a bit shell shocked from being saved by underwater ponies! Felt like I should have known them though, it was weird. Wind Whistler said it might have been because Sea Ponies are the oldest pony tribe, but I don't know... Either that or I just went a little nuts because their song was so dang catchy. Anyway, we finally got to the Mushromp, the place is scary looking and Megan wondered if this was the right way. But then the giant mushrooms right in front of us pulled down and showed us this beautiful glen right out of a story book! We saw his pet rabbit Habbit first, and the Moochick was hiding out as one of his mushrooms! He talked a mile a minute, he knew a lot more of what was going on before we even said anything! He knew about our friends being taken already and what Tirek was up to! We didn't really question it, we were used to the Moochick knowing stuff we didn't. He told us about Tirek's plan to use our friends to bring on the Night That Never Ends with the Rainbow of Darkness. He said we needed to sneak into his castle and steal the Rainbow of Darkness, saying it was the source of his power. Without it, he was just a big bully we figured. He said the only thing that could defeat him was a Rainbow of Light. He said he had a little piece of Rainbow that could help, but he wasn't sure where it was. We went through his whole house trying to find where he had left it, finding a spider and junk instead. He was sure the Rainbow was playing hide and seek. As we looked, a few of us noticed that his rabbit friend was desperately trying to get his attention, while we were singing about what we were doing, but we sing about how silly I am, so who am I to judge? It went on until he even went out and dug up his garden in search of the Rainbow. Thank goodness Habbit was around, because he had the Rainbow. The Moochick gave it to him for safekeeping and forgot about it. He handed out the heart shaped locket to Megan. At the time I didn't really know, but Magic Star was shocked to hear THAT. Moochick had been holding onto that Rainbow for a long long time, and was tasked with protecting it by the gods themselves. I asked him later why he just handed it to Megan. "Well my dear, you see I was merely its guardian, not its true wielder," Moochick said. "When I saw Megan, I knew then: she was the one. The one who would treat it as a friend, not a tool, who'd let it be free, not enforce her will or teach it to become a copy of herself as Tirek had its twin. Tirek knew his Rainbow better than I did mine, only one who could know and be a more worthy wielder than either of us could overcome Tirek's Rainbow and end him once and for all. Call it intuition, call it divine inspiration, but I knew the moment I saw Megan she was the one. That and she seemed like a nice heroic young lady you could trust to watch just about anything, from your houseplant to your baby, so letting her look after a little piece of rainbow seemed fine." He had a point, you know. I let Megan watch Baby Applejack all the time! At the time we weren't sure, it was just a 'little piece of rainbow' in a locket. But it was something, and if Tirek had a Rainbow of Darkness, at least now we had one of our own. He also told us we had until midnight to stop Tirek, or else he'd bring night forever. Now don't get me wrong, I love the night, but I need the day to grow apples. We didn't have any time to waste! We kept going towards Midnight Castle until we got in sight and just looking at it gave me cold chills! I get the feeling he got Hydia's entire family as his decorators! And I don't know what happened, but it looked like the entire place around it had seen a couple dozen flights of dragons fight it out! Thank goodness Megan had that shell, she was able to call the sea ponies to get us across the moat and into Midnight Castle. They even showed us a secret passage inside I had no idea of how they knew about right under Tirek's nose!... Or at least we thought so... One of his guards must have spotted us. The place was HUUUGE, I mean BIIIG, Megan called it a maze, and she wasn't kidding! The worst part was how EMPTY it all was! A huge castle, but nobody in it! Meeting some monsters might have actually been better! They might have given us directions! Dream Castle had PONIES in it, friends, this place didn't have anybody, did Tirek really live in this big place all by himself? It was creepy! And midnight was coming. We decided to just find Tirek's Rainbow and snatch it (Megan's idea) before he could use it...but I got grabbed from behind by one of his Reptilians... I tried to yell for help, but those dang lizardmen stuffed a rag in my mouth and dragged me off. I kicked a few of them in... well, the apples, but there were too many! Also, not sure if they even had apples to kick. Next thing I knew I was hauled in front of that horn headed bully and chained up. Don't mind telling you, I was scared to death. "So kind of you to join us, my dear. I was nearly ready to give up hope of finding a fourth steed to pull my chariot, and you showed up and volunteered. Well, fear not. Lord Tirek rewards his faithful servants. When this is over and the world is reborn in the divine darkness, you and your three fellows will be remembered for all time to come for helping usher in the new age." His speech was cut short by the arrival of my friends. He merely laughed as I looked at my friends in horror. Megan called my name just as Tirek unleashed the Rainbow of Darkness. I was engulfed by a writhing maelstrom of darkness. Bow Tie, bless her heart, she tried to save me, she was willing to run into that storm of evil magic to do something to help me, but the guards held her back! It's hard to describe what the experience feels like, except that there's a burning and an icy cold running through you at the same time. And then... then I started to like it. All my life, I tried to be easy going, never held grudges and never had much reason to; but in that moment, I never felt so angry. No, not just angry, furious! I thought about my friends back in Dream Valley, and I hated them! I hated the bright, blinding sun! I hated the heat of the summer day under that unyielding ball of fire! I hated the screeching birds who sang the sun's praises. I hated all the creatures that played and frolicked in the light. I thought back to my friends racing and laughing in the sun that very afternoon, and every hint of laughter was mocking me. I hated those ponies with a fire I didn't know was possible. I hated everything! But, deep under that hate, I felt a stronger instinct. I felt a presence of my Master, and I needed, no, I wanted to obey him. I can't say I loved him, but I felt as much devotion as someone like that could feel. And now I had the power to get rid of the things I hated. I was strong! I was powerful! I could serve my Master! I wanted to see Dream Valley in flames. I wanted Dream Castle reduced to rubble. I wanted to rip ponies to pieces. I wanted my Master to bring darkness down on everything I had ever known... and I enjoyed every minute of it. I roared in in horrible rage, when Scorpan suddenly burst in. He yelled for everyone to run while he fought off the Reptilians, Ember and a little pink baby dragon, Spike, cheering Scorpan on. I roared and tried to bite at him as he dragged Megan out of the room with my other friends close behind. "Half of you, after them! The rest of you, get this one rigged to the Chariot!" Master demanded. "Midnight is upon us!" I was dragged to the Chariot of Midnight and placed besides Moon Dancer, Bubbles, and Cotton Candy, who were already like me; a scaly cross between a dragon, a horse, and a bad dream. Not that I really cared who they were, we were all just extensions of Master's will. I'd have killed them without a second thought if Master had told me to, and they'd have done the same to me, and I wouldn't have fought back if it was Master's will. We were just beasts, weapons, no different from a sword or an arrow, and we couldn't have been more fine with that! We were chained and fitted with reigns to the chariot while Master climbed aboard. He raised his hand and the castle began to shake. A great explosion ripped the room we were in, and we felt the master's whip across our backs. We charged outside through the hole in the wall, pulling Master's chariot into the sky. Tirek was laughing like a madman as we went higher and higher. "OH RAINBOW OF DARKNESS THAT DARKNESS SENDS, NOW BEGIN THE NIGHT THAT NEVER ENDS!" The power flowed through us too, and the chariot, and Tirek, and the Rainbow, all together, we would blot out the sun forever, and if I had the fuel for it I'd have wetted myself in glee of the utter destruction I was about to help bring about, the new age of endless night. But then Scorpan appeared and tried to attack him. He tried to get the Rainbow from our Master, but he was thrown back down to the castle. All seemed lost, only for Megan to fly up with Firefly and actually knock the Rainbow of Darkness out of his hand. I was so angry at my friends for fighting my Master! I wanted to bite Firefly's head off like a big bite of an apple when she hit Tirek! From there, it became a big game of keep away as everyone kept trying to get the sack with the rainbow inside. Bow Tie caught it in mid air right from the Reptilians' clutches. They surrounded her, only for her to toss it to Twilight. Twi ran as fast as she could, but they cornered her at the edge of the roof. She was faced with three snarling lizard men and a half mile drop into the raging sea. So, she did the only thing she could; she wished and teleported away. Twilight tossed the Rainbow to Firefly, who flew off to take it to Dream Castle. It would be well out of Tirek's reach there. Fortunately for Master, a pair of Stratadons ambushed her and knocked the Rainbow away. Our friends ran and tried to catch it, but just as it fell, we swung the chariot down and Master caught it. He cheered that the game was over and the power was his. Megan yelled back "We have a power of our own TIrek, take this!" She pulled the locket from her neck, and opened it to reveal… a tiny rainbow barely larger than an apple. It hung in midair, not doing anything to attack us or stop our Master. A sitting duck. Firefly wondered, "Maybe the Moochick was wrong." I hissed and roared as that little girl let the Rainbow out! Even at its small size, it hurt my eyes just looking at it! All I could think was 'light bad!' "Behold the power of darkness!" The Rainbow of Darkness swept down to eat the other Rainbow without hesitation. I roared happily as the Master unleashed his Rainbow and it consumed the little spark of light. It looked like it was over, until the ends of the Rainbow of Darkness began to change. That darkness was being replaced by bright red, yellow, greens. The Master's Rainbow was losing! The Rainbow of Darkness was part of us, or maybe the other way around, I didn't know. I... felt it scream out. I felt the other Rainbow scream too...it sounded sad... and angry. Like its heart was breaking. When the Rainbow of Light swallowed up Master's Rainbow... I felt him feel something I don't think even he knew. At the time all I could think of was 'avenge the Rainbow', and my anger at being too weak to do that... but afterwards?... I think Tirek was actually sad to see the Rainbow of Darkness get destroyed. The Rainbow of Light didn't waste time, it zoomed upwards and spiraled around Tirek; all Master could say was, "No! Agh!" I felt a lot of things from the Rainbow of Light... A sister who saw her brother fall in with a bad crowd and be twisted until she couldn't recognize him anymore... anger. Anger at the one who taught her brother to be so wicked and cruel that she couldn't even save him. Wrath at seeing his brothers' gift being used to hurt so many. The Rainbow of Light hated Tirek. And I felt Megan. It was like she and the Rainbow were the same thing, so in sync they might as well have combined together. And the rainbow became a tornado, pulling us and Master upwards, towards the sky... Through that link I actually felt his final thoughts, and even then I felt... angry... He was screaming in rage, wondering how he could lose to a 'mere child'... And something weird right at the end. Last thing I heard him screaming in that whirlwind of light as he looked down at Megan was "It can't be... 'The Dark Lord of All will fall. His iron fist shattered by a mother's hand. By the hand of one as kind as he is cruel, one with a strength his black heart cannot hope to comprehend. One greater and stronger than either of us'... You're the one?! How?!" I don't know where he heard that... but in that moment I hated Megan as much as he did... I hated... someone, I don't know who... guess whoever told him that. But... gotta say, that look on Megan's face... You haven't got to see it, but that girl is something else when she's fighting the bad guys. She looks like she isn't afraid of anything. She's stared down every kind of baddie you can think of without blinking, and almost convinced Queen Bumble that she had an army just by looking her in the eye without blinking. Megan has nerves of steel, that's for sure! And here she came thinking she wasn't cut out for any of it! We and Master were pulled to the top of the clouds, lightning raging all around us... And Tirek went boom! He blew up good! As Tirek disappeared in that swirling Rainbow of Light and was blown to bits... I swear I saw another centaur in that explosion... A nicer looking one than Tirek, but he had raven wings and a scythe. He looked... sad. Old when you looked him in the eyes. He didn't seem to enjoy any of it... he just looked like he was tired and couldn't rest. "You?! I killed you, what else must I do to be rid of you?!" Tirek raged. He grabbed Tirek from behind and said "Tirek... it's time to go... I'm sorry it had to end like this." Then he looked at us... and smiled. "... It's not your time, little ponies. Our time is done. Yours has only just begun..." ... And then everything disappeared in an explosion of light. Moochick told me that had been Tirek's father, Chiron... I hope he finally found peace, he looked so tired. Moochick said only an angel working for Death in atonement gets those wings. Chiron held out Death's scythe, standing at the right hand of Mortis. A pink furred hoof grabbed it. Black wings turned white and a reaper's cloak turned to a halo as the mare received his old garb. Starlight Angel spread her new wings and bowed. "Thank you... I have a lot to make up for." Chiron merely gave a content smile. "No, thank you... I could not rest in peace until another would take my place at Master Mortis's right hand... This is a heavy burden, but you already knew that..." The former Emperor of the Centaurs bowed his head. "Good luck with your atonement, Starlight The First," he said, fading into light and departing to the Father's arms. The blinding light hadn't even faded before the stratadons turned back into butterflies and the reptilians into bluejays that flew away happily. The castle and the towers turned into trees, and all our friends were now on a green meadow, with a small peaceful stream through it.The filth and corruption of Tirek had been washed away. The four of us fell, Tirek's curse and corruption leaving us before we even hit the ground, turning back to normal, even our tail bows were back where they belonged, and Tirek's harnesses were unmade. We landed softly with me doing a crazy spin just before my hooves touched the ground, even decursed this stuff happens to me. We four didn't say anything, the happiest shock imaginable of being yourself again is more than you can imagine! I think our friends were all dizzy from having just saved the world! Scorpan writhed on the ground, bathed in light. Megan approached him, but suddenly the gargoyle was gone and a human in regalia stood in his place. "He's really a prince!" Spike said. "My name is Valiant... My name... is Valiant. Oh my word, it feels good to say that again." He looked ready to cry in happiness. "Tirek turned me into Scorpan when he took over my kingdom." I was shocked. Prince Valiant was a friend of ours for years, and had just helped us fight Tirek off not long ago. We had no idea Tirek had turned him into his slave and took his kingdom. Twilight asked Spike why he wasn't changing back into what he used to be. But Spike had always been a baby dragon and proud of it! Ember sneezed on one of the freed butterflies, and fell into the shallow stream, splashing Bubbles... we couldn't help it, after all this, something that simple and ordinary was too much, and we all burst out laughing. Happy ending! 00 Applejack The First (Still!) The forces of evil feared us ponies before, but now? They were quaking in their boots! We'd beaten Tirek, the Dark Lord of All who'd been attacking the world for a long long time. Though some of them just took to making us look big and scary so they wouldn't be embarrassed of losing against the 'pretty pastel ponies.' Hehe. You know, seeing a painting of Firefly looking like some big strong warhorse was one thing, but seeing Bowtie like that? That was something else! And Megan, she became an overnight celebrity around Equus. People started calling her all kinds of fancy names and sending her thank you gifts. One was a big picture of her riding Firefly looking like an Amarezon! You should've seen her blushing! She was just happy to be our friend, none of that mattered. Didn't mean she wasn't willing to use that to intimidate a few baddies. Hehe, I swear a few of them wet themselves when they found out they were facing the 'Slayer of the Demon King.' The celebration was big. People from all over the world came to celebrate. We were free, they were free. The world was free. It was so big Surprise had to ask for help with the party! Starflower tuckered herself out making and sending off fireworks for days straight! I don't think Dream Valley has seen that much cake before or since! Gingerbread considered it her masterpiece! Rest of the world got better too: Tirek's empire fell to pieces without him around, and the baddies who were left started fighting each other as much as the good guys to try and fill the void, so lots of places were starting to rebuild themselves and could live in peace. Prince Valiant reclaimed his homeland as a triumphant hero. Megan had to go home after that, but there was no way she wasn't going to come back to visit! We were friends after all! She loved Equus and liked having friends who were just a trip over the Rainbow. Some of us visited her over there too... she had a pony that wasn't smart like us though. That's just plain creepy. Still... everything wasn't all sunshine and rainbows... I couldn't enjoy the victory party and just ate apples till I got sick trying to... forget. For weeks after that night, I was a wreck. I felt so guilty about what I felt after I changed. I avoided my friends every chance I could. I couldn't look them in the eyes after what I'd done. I'd spend hours in my orchard just to have an excuse to be away from the castle. Even my apples didn't make me feel better. I felt like I had made them rotten just by touching them. I couldn't sleep most nights, which just made me feel worse, because I thought it meant the effects hadn't gone away. I thought I was staying awake in the night because Tirek wanted an endless night. I used to love strolling through the apple trees on a starry night, and Tirek turned that feeling into something ugly. Why hadn't Tirek used the Rainbow of Darkness to turn some ladybugs into the Midnight Wyrms he needed? Why us? Had there been something rotten about us all along? I thought I was going to turn back into that monstrous thing and attack everypony. That's when I started having serious thoughts about running away so everyone would be safe from me. Oh yeah. I told you, I've been where you are, Luna. But we also both had friends to talk us out of doing dumb stuff like that. Turns out that I wasn't the only one who felt like this. Cotton Candy, Moondancer, and Bubbles were all feeling the same thing. Moondancer was scared she'd hurt Baby Moondancer. Megan and Mr. Moochick had set up meetings for the four of us to talk and try to deal with what we'd been through. They'd bring in our other friends too, so we could tell them what we were feeling and see how they felt. Not one blamed us or hated us. Twilight, Bow Tie, Firefly, Medley, Wind Whistler, everyone came and heard what we had to say. And they all told us how much they cared for us. Ember and Spike... they even drew pictures of us all having fun so we could forget about all of that stuff happening. Moondancer burst into tears when she saw that, because she was sure they'd be scared of us after seeing us become those monsters. It still turns our stomachs for having Ember back in the valley so soon after Tirek's first attack. We should've had her and the other foals stay away until we were absolutely sure that Tirek wouldn't try anything again. But she was still there and saw all the horrors that Tirek brought on us. And she still could look past it all and remind us who were are. Spike and Ember, makes me wonder how things would have gone between them if Ember had been a dragon herself. The Moochick was able to explain what the Rainbow of Darkness did to us. That the Rainbow tore into my mind and took away everything I was. I was hollowed out and refilled with everything Tirek wanted me to be. And you know what I didn't feel? Love of the night. There was nothing but hate and rage against the day, but nothing about why I liked the night. I couldn't think of a single thing about darkness that I enjoyed. In fact, I couldn't think of anything I enjoyed at all, besides wanting my Master to destroy everything. It wasn't until later it hit me. It was never about loving the night, it was about hating the things Tirek hated. He couldn't make us love the night, because he never had enough love for anything or anyone but himself. Even when he was going on about how he wanted the night to love him, it was all about him. The Moochick explained to us that Tirek had needed four adult ponies, any four, we'd been just the closest herd. Moochick didn't know all the details, a spell to end the day wasn't his speciality, but he said it had to do with the particular magic us ponies have always had. The Moochick even told us that the Rainbow of Darkness was never meant to be bad. It was supposed to work with the Rainbow of Light to make things better, but then Tirek got ahold of it and ruined it. And I don't mean with evil magic. Mr. Moochick said that by the time we defeated Tirek, he'd warped the Rainbow so badly that it could never be what it was. When it attacked the Rainbow of Light, it was basically trying to kill its own sister, not because Tirek told it to, but because it wanted to. The Rainbow of Light tried to heal it, but it didn't want to be healed. Tirek had turned it into a monster like him, and the only mercy the Rainbow of Light could offer its twin was the kind we saw at the end of the movie Megan showed us about the family dog who went rabid. It's no wonder the Rainbow destroyed Tirek for what he'd done. He wasn't evil because he liked the dark, he was evil because he was a selfish, cruel, small spirited bully. He could have championed anything else, like ice, or trees, or fire, or stone, or anything that some of the other baddies we've faced have championed, and he'd have been just as bad. But that doesn't make any of those things bad. And just cause he liked the night, that doesn't make the night bad. And it isn't Luna. When people get scared of the dark, it's cause they don't understand it. And bad guys like to scare people, so they take the easy way to be scary and make everything they do about the dark. Doesn't make the dark a bad thing. How would we see the stars and the moon? Where would the fun be in camping out without a night of sing alongs and stories? Or how about when Megan comes over for movie night? We'd never be able to watch them on that big screen if it wasn't dark. Heck, without the nighttime, when would we ever get any sleep? Shucks, Wind Whistler says you'll die if you don't sleep. -- "Well, I guess not… But Wind Whistler said…" "Let me tell you a secret about Wind Whistler." She gave me a smile that I'd usually come to expect from Surprise when she was in a pranking mood. "Wind Whistler is smart, she thinks things through, and she's very good at seeing things from every possible angle. But she can also let her big ol' brain run away with her sometimes, and it takes a bit for her heart and her head to catch up. She'd never hurt somepony's feelings on purpose, but she can forget that badly chosen words can be hurtful." "But she said…" "She said that, yeah, but that doesn't mean she thinks so. Wind Whistler's the kind of pony who looks at every possibility, even the ones we hope aren't so, because she wants us to be ready for anything. But just because anything can happen doesn't mean it will happen, or that she thinks it will happen. According to Star-Reacher, she had also looked at the idea that since Celestia's connected to the sun, she might burst into flames at any minute. Or that if you two were apart for too long, the sun and moon would fly away and the world would turn upside down." "...Really?!" "Yeah, crazy right?" Applejack laughed. "I was talking with her earlier and she told me, and I quote, 'I've come to the conclusion that my earlier hypothesis was not only erroneous, but illogical. It was based upon circumstantial evidence and preconceived notions on the symbolic meanings of light and dark, with no actual evidence based on the character of the subjects in question. I fear I have not only committed an intellectual blunder, but grievously harmed the psyche of one of our dearest fillies. The next time I encounter Luna, I must make amends for the emotional damage my ill conceived supposition has caused.'" Applejack gasped for breath after running through that monologue. I could only stare because I had no idea what she just said. "That's Wind Whistler's way of saying that you and Celestia being the embodiments of good and evil was a stupid idea, and that she feels terrible because she made you think you were a bad pony just because you're connected with the night. I could tell she was upset, cause whenever she gets really worked up she piles on her brainy talk even more than usual." I couldn't help laughing at that. "There's the smile." Applejack hugged me again. "It's not how we're made that makes us who we are, Luna. It's the choices we make. Tirek would never feel bad about hurting someone, but you're so worried about everyone that you were ready to leave because you thought maybe someday somepony might get hurt. And besides that, take a look out there." She pointed a hoof out the window. The stars were out, and the moon was full that night. It was dark, but it didn't seem so harsh and scary anymore. It was so peaceful, inviting, calming. The scary darkness I had seen monsters and evil hiding inside was nowhere in sight. "It's… a really pretty night." I smiled, feeling much better as Applejack hugged me again. "Yeah, now come on, it's late and even the night needs her sleep." She tucked me in and sang me a lullaby. Hush now, little filly You're loved by all you know You'll never lose their friendship No matter where you go There ain't no call to worry So don't you cry or fret We love you just because you're you And won't let you forget "Is that the story you wanted to hear, Applejack?" I finally asked. Applejack looked thoughtful... and slowly nodded. Tears in her eyes, but not sad or angry tears. "Yeah... ironic. It reminds meh of how lots of ponies felt after what Discord did... Guess meh and her have more in common than eatin' apples and farmin'." "You would make her so proud, Applejack..." I said with a genuine smile. "She's looking down from Father at you with the same smile she showed me." "Ah hope so. And Ah know this'll help clear up that book with the family that knows..." she said, then looked confused. "... But Ah don't get it, why not just tell me that story from the get go? Do ya think Ah wouldn't understand, 'she was brainwashed by evil magic', after it happened to me twice? Were yah really just clearin' your conscience?" "For Tirek... I felt that you needed to know the context of why being like him scared me so, and so you'd understand why he'd do such a horrid thing to your ancestor as he did... and... because as I said, Majesty is my mortal grandmother... I cannot say 'if only I had' or regret... instead I must live with the truth: I did not pass over Tirek in disgust and give Majesty, a truly worthy wielder who Heathspike would have approved of, the Rainbow of Darkness, as a truly wise goddess would have... I've seen it in the Truth, Applejack: eventually the two would have come to blows as inevitably as night following day. Tirek would threaten Dream Valley one day no matter what and she would defend it... and if she'd had the Rainbow instead, it'd have revitalized her at the end instead." Majesty smiled to the Rainbow that had learned righteous anger and protective instinct from her... as it shared, alongside its energy to restore her, a glimpse of something that could end him for good. "You like lasting solutions... so do I..." she said, and took a deep breath. "I call the End unto me. From deepest depths of Oblivion's sea. From She who when the last star dies is awoken. Break the one who can't be broken..." said Majesty, cringing as dark magic tinted her horn black. Tirek snarled, firing spell after spell, only for all of them to be blocked by the Rainbow. "How can such radiant darkness not see me as its one true master?!" "Queen of Not, enter my soul And make my heart like smoldering coals." Majesty required all her love to not be crushed by the absolute void of Entropy she was channeling. "To summon forth a deathly power To see my hated foe devoured!" Majesty finished, before opening eyes that were pitch black. She unleashed a beam that assumed the shape of the Mother of the Draconequi herself, who crashed down on Tirek like a tidal wave. "THE END…" Flying skywards, the spell carried Tirek's writhing, defiant spirit in its jaws... before diving straight down into a vortex to Oblivion itself. Majesty panted, falling to her knees, horn black from the forehead up. She smiled to the Rainbow, watching as Tirek's lifeless husk of a body turned black and the very atoms faded from existence. His spirit unmade and body less than dust. "The Rainbow of Darkness would never be tainted by Tirek, and he would have never returned, destroyed down to his very soul while Majesty returned to her loving family and subjects in Dream Valley... and lived to see my mother become the mare who raised me." Majesty looked down at her granddaughter... her little moon at night, her horn permanently blackened from the dark magic spell used to end Tirek forever. "Luna... you are like me. Dark magic comes naturally to us both... but dark is not evil. You and Celestia are both special, one must not run from the darkness or the light... both are important. Why do you think we are stewards to both Rainbows? They're siblings just like you two... meant to work together," she said, nuzzling her lovingly. "... Majesty would have loved me, understood me... I would have had a grandmother who understood me as I deluded myself into thinking Tirek did... and I killed her with my selfishness before we ever could meet... and my mother, I never got to apologize for what I'd done to our family, by the time I was aware of what I was, I didn't get the chance and even if I had, the spell would've stopped me... I felt I owed Majesty one thing." I looked her in the eyes so she knew I wasn't lying. "I know you can't stand all the good Majesty did to be covered up and lied about... Majesty's final curse has long since served its purpose... I am not as trusted to be honest as you, and that is my fault as Nightmare Moon. My sister, bless her, lies about herself to save others pain... You are dependable, honest, and respected... If you know this story and share it... others will listen... I'm sorry, but I am not my Father... I have never had the knack for 'working in mysterious ways' as he does... nor are you Twilight Sparkle who would read an entire book I just left for you to find... I didn't do this the right way... but I did it the way I thought you'd remember it the best." I then sighed as I had to remind Applejack of her uniqueness. "And... dear Applejack, I also tell you... because the spell has no effect on you. I've tried before. I tried telling the Paradise Ponies after my ascension, but the spell would always make them forget within an hour of hearing it. It became too hard to tell anypony the story just to see them forget. But you? You bear the Element of Honesty and hold the power of the Truth. Like any illusion or deceiving magic, Majesty's spell can't affect you. You can't forget it because the Truth has seen it. The curse was broken the moment you learned all of this. You provided me with the loophole I needed to bypass her spell. Now, you can remember the story, pass it on to others, and Majesty can finally be remembered. It had to be you, it could be no one else." "... So, ya told me all that stuff we've gone over since this started was to be sure Ah got the whole story. So, Ah'd keep her memory alive... Well, Ah don't like how yah did it... but wantin' tah right a wrong done tah yer family? Ah can appreciate that..." AJ replied. "But Ah'm still cross at yah fer it." She's honest. "Then I will subject myself to any nightmare of your choosing as penance." "... Let meh think on that..." We sat there for a few moments. "So, anything else ya were hidin' this whole time ya wanna be straight about?" she asked. "Well there is one thing..." I said, trying to lighten the mood a bit...she deserved it. "I have been using terminology you know and understand this entire time, so some things were not named as they actually were when this happened, as it'd have required far more explaining on my part. Do remember this was thousands of years ago and as my speech pattern when I returned should attest, language can change quite a bit. If I spoke it in the language of the day you would likely not understand me, and you lack translation spells like Twilight does...for instance, the word 'Cutie Mark' was not common use until well into the second age." She raises an eyebrow. "Really? Then what did we call 'em then?" I can't help snickering at what I am about to say. "Rump Designs." Applejack stares at me blindly for a few moments. "...You're jokin'." "You have the truth, you know I am not. Ponies in complete earnest referred to Cutie Marks as Rump Designs in her day as the common word for it. Does it really surprise you? Ponies called their sub groups 'Rainbow Ponies' and 'Big Brother Ponies' and to this day still name themselves very descriptive names based on likes, talents, and such. Therefore is it really surprising your species' name for designs that appear on your rumps would be equally as literal?" We both share a laugh at it. It feels good to do such a thing. "Good, that is why your ancestor told me about that: to make me laugh." Applejack chuckles. "Yeah...guess Ah can see why, it'd be kinda hard tah take yah seriously if yah had to say 'Rump Design' every time yah said Cutie Mark." I do not remind her that Griffons have a similar reaction to hearing the word Cutie Mark. Or remind her that not too long ago ponies considered the most outlandish and strange mane styles top fashion. Applejack has her answers now. She need not know the details that the Rainbow of Light did not kill Tirek, but sent him alive body and soul to Tartarus. Nor would she gain any wisdom from the tale of Tirek and the true Scorpan's return to the mortal world. Tirek escaping Tartarus during the war, taking Scorpan from purgatory, and Starlight Angel trying to stop him wouldn’t hold her interest either. And if she has had her fill of epic battles, she’d have no patience for how Scorpan befriended with one of the Starswirl the Beardeds during our reign after Discord's first defeat, bravely stood up to what his brother had become, and the ensuing battle where I took the Chariot of Midnight. She knows her family were not that monster's cohorts, and that is enough. If you wish, perhaps one day you can listen in on me telling Pip... again. He will never hear it enough times. Even if the version I tell him leaves out details that young foals needn’t hear. "... So, what happened tah Majesty? If Ah'm gonna be spreadin' her story, Ah'd like to know how it ends. She become our Mother Goddess like Tiamat or something?" she asked me. I chuckle. "No, she didn't. My brother Leo is your Father God and has no wife. But we did offer." "I am proud you think me worthy," Majesty said, speaking to my sister Abbatissa, Goddess of Prayer. "But I'm tired... I just want to rest and be with my family again. Godhood is not something I have ever wanted. I held my throne long enough in life, let another who wants the empty throne of Magic to take it. Personally, I think the race for godhood is a fool's game. No offense to you... quite the opposite." - And for one moment, Applejack's eyes widened, and her gift/curse of Truth, caused her to glimpse beyond the veil, and she saw the heavy pillar carried on my back that helped hold up the universe. She shook her head free of the vision. - Abbatissa smiled and bowed her head. "As you wish, Majesty." "I just have one question: are my ponies safe?" asked Majesty. My sister Fate looked to Majesty. "It is as you told him: Tirek's iron fist will be shattered by a mother's hand. Avoiding that fate is now beyond him. His foe shall not take your crown, but will be their 'mother' and hero in your place." "Then I may rest in peace," she replied. "Do you wish to wait and watch his end so you may be certain?" Mortis asked. Majesty gave a snort. "And miss another moment with my family? He's not worth it." Mortis nodded. "Then come, Majesty. Our Father awaits." As Mortis lead her along to her reward, many gods of both Pantheons saw her off, all for their own reasons. I will admit, Majesty was the rare mortal our families both respected. Strife merely gave a rare applause. "I thought you didn't care about those trampled by your march," Celestia asked Strife. Natural Selection chuckled. "She wasn't trampled. She ensured her species' and bloodline's survival to the last act of her life. And I have nothing but respect for that." Pandora sang a Bard's account of Majesty's life Strife had commissioned herself. Majesty looked to Destruction and instantly knew him. "... Thank you for lending me your power. I couldn't have stopped Sea Wizard's tsunami without it." Destruction gave a rare lucid smile. "You're welcome... nobody has ever thanked me before." "Great work knockin' down all those tyrants, girl. And big props for taking Tirek down a couple pegs." Anarchy gave the queen of Dream Valley a thumbs up and a wink. "Always happy to serve the cause of freedom." My brother Pensilis met her at the gate... and took a key and unlocked invisible chains lined with weights she'd never known were weighing down her soul, letting them fall to the 'ground' where he turned them into a halo of gold. "You gave all for those you love. Truly you have earned this," he said, putting it above her head. My sister Venus formed Majesty's love into beautiful wings of pink flame upon her back. "A mother who loved her children more than her own life. A Queen who loved her subjects more than anything in all the earth. You have earned these." Majesty bowed. "I am grateful. But my family is reward enough." "Let it never be said the Gods have no gratitude for true works in their name," Pensilis said. "And one more reward, one I am sure you will find greater than all of these combined," Venus said. "...You never got to share you kingdom with your mate in life. So if you so choose, I would proudly give you a wedding to unite you for all time." Majesty thought it over... and smiled. She had long since stopped fearing civilization. She knew well from allies what a wedding meant: a pledge to each other for all time in love. "A simple wedding in a forest with our foals. Black Anvil and Feanor as ring bearers if they will accept... I don't see anything wrong with an elf knight for my maid of honor if she's willing." "A mare of simple tastes as always, Majesty." "I always was." And with that, Majesty entered my Father's forehooves and has never left. Even for Tirek's final judgment, she merely repeated what she had said before: he wasn't worth it. Her wedding was as simple and beautiful as her coronation. Just as she desired. As each of her friends joined her, she was one of the first to greet them as they passed on... and remembered her as they met once again. Together in eternity. - "Glad she got the endin' she wanted," said Applejack with a smile. "Indeed... Well, I'm sure after all this, you must be ready for bed. I'll have the servants take you to one of the guest rooms." I took the silencing spell off the room and rang the bell for a maid. "Ah'd appreciate that." She still looks like she's trying to process everything. "Also, I can enchant your sleep to make it as restful as a full night as an apology for using so much of your time." I notice the look she gets in response. "Yes, I can do that. No, I won't do it more than this one time. Because you are yourself and would work yourself to mental exhaustion taking advantage of it." "... Yeah, Ah would..." She is indeed honest. We just wait for the maid to arrive and all we can do is stand there, neither of us knowing what to do. It astounds me that I've faced powers that most mortals can't even fathom, but I'm stumped by an awkward silence between friends. "Guessin' that Ah can't really call ya 'Cousin', though, huh?" "Um, I beg your pardon?" "Well, like ya said, mah ancestor and her friends were yer adopted aunts. Not the strictest connection, but Ah learned a long time ago that family don't end with blood." She looked at me with an expression that was filled with a turmoil of emotions. "So, if the first Applejack called ya family... Ah guess it wouldn't be too far fetched ta think of ya as mah family, too. If ya wanted to be, Ah mean." I couldn't speak. I didn't trust myself not to start blubbering like a foal, so I gave a grateful smile and a thankful nod. "Though, callin' a princess 'Cousin' probably wouldn't go over well, huh?" I couldn't help but giggle from that assessment, and neither could she. "So where's the book, cousin?" I startled. "We don't know what ye mean, Abigail Jacqueline fifth of the fifth line." "Ya said that ya couldn't just leave a book for me to read like ya could Twilight, which means ya have a book that could've answered what happened to Applejack The First, and Ah'm bettin' Moon Dancer The First, Bubbles, and Cotton Candy The First. After all, ya just told me ya were born and raised at Paradise Estate." "Abigail, Applejack, we didn't exactly have time to gather our things when we left." "But ya've had thousands of years since then am Ah right? There's no way in blue blazes ya wouldn't have gone back. Even if it had painful memories, there would have been way too many good ones for ya to leave it all to rot..." "Obviously, thine family has Applejack The First's diary, how else would ye have found out the incomplete picture to begin with?" "Yeah, but Ah've seen enough of the Truth to know: nothing is by accident, but not everythin' is planned. And ya wouldn't have mentioned that idea unless ya thought ya could." I sighed. There was much to be told, but much that was meant to be private. Truth and privacy have never been friends. It becomes an incomprehensible spiderweb of what ponies knows what, and what piece of information could be said that would spiral out everything. For the greater good, sacrifices must be made. "If we have such a book, what would you do with it?" "The right thing. Just before Ah got here, Moon Dancer was lookin' in a really bad sorts! She read a book by somepony named Stan Auburn about the rescue at Midnight Castle! "Ah don't know if he's some jerk, or if he's just pulled together the wrong picture from the little bits he could get like us, but it's easy to guess what Moon Dancer read! Mah family ain't the only one hurt by all of this! If this was just some private little thing among the Apples that would be one thing. The guy obviously isn't a big seller or the Apples would have ponies at our doorstep askin' what it was like to descendant from a 'traitor!' And Rarity's taught me facin' the guy would just make his book sell more! But Moon Dancer read it! And she's hurt by it! Ah'm no writer! Ah'm no history pony! But maybe Ah can help somepony who IS set the record straight! It ain't gotta about be yer crazy extended families! Just the truth of the paradise ponies! It deserves to be said that none of em were traitors!" We perform an old trick that Applejack knows all too well. We rolled up a tapestry, and pulled away several stone blocks with our telekinesis. We reached past the infinitely-self-repeating-spacial barrier and pulled out a book... Kimono's journal, Bon-Bon's diary, Applejack The First's... And now... "Here Applejack... The notes of events the paradise ponies gave Megan for events she wasn't present for and their own point of view for those 'good old days'. These will fill in the holes. Don't worry, we've already arranged for much of the First and Second Ages to be 'miraculously recovered' as part of an initiative Twilight started with us, adding one more to the pile won't hurt. It was recovered from the ruins of a first age structure, that isn't a lie." I considered giving her one of Megan's books based on her visits to Ponyland, but Megan's editors had revised the accounts to make them more appealing to audiences, and Megan herself had made changes to appease watchful parents and not to give her own children nightmares. "The Lickety Splits are sure gonna have a lot more stories to tell." "Maybe, maybe not, oral tradition tends to embellish events as the generations pass, and some might not care for the brave farmgirl over the invincible valkyrie." Heh, that look in Applejack's eyes was all I needed to know she was thinking of how SHE would be remembered in eons in come. I wonder if I should show her the portrait the Children of Lilith painted to hide their shame of repeated defeats at the hands of a ranch girl that depicted her as an Amarezonian warrior with the Rainbow of Light in one hand and a shotgun in the other as she rode atop a version of Applejack that looked more like that musclebound stallion I've seen around Ponyville. What? I have a sense of humor. "And Applejack?" "Yes, Princess?" "When we meet next, would you like to hear the story of how your ancestor saved my mother and the other Twinkle Eye Ponies and gave them back their eyesight? This time no diversions." Applejack smiled. "Would love that Princess."