//------------------------------// // Entry 3, End (Friendship is Magic Part 2) // Story: The Poisoned Barb's Tale // by ManlyDerp //------------------------------// “... Goodness you were right! You did see quite a bit more than me!” “Hehe. Don’t get too jealous now, your majesty!” “Hah! Perish the thought! From personal experience, my dear; less is more.” “If you say so,” I chuckle right back, before downing the last few drops of tea from my now empty cup. The talks thus far have made me very parched. This is understandable. I had just finished sharing the entirety of Discord’s two episodes with Prince Solaris, after all. No event was too small and no detail was left unmentioned; the CMC's role, the chocolate rain skies, the summons to Canterlot, the stolen Elements, the hedge maze disaster, the opposite ponies, the Spike abuse, the triumphant return, and the victorious re-stoning... I covered EVERYTHING. Though certain parts are still a little fuzzy to me after all these years, I think I went over most of the major stuff. Solaris was thankfully a good listener during this. Outside of a few small comments, or a tiny inquiry concerning which mare was which stallion, he’s remained mostly quiet. He's allowed me to share my tale unhampered. Now... it’s time for the all important question. “What do we do now?” I addressed these words directly towards the Prince, and I did so seriously and without my earlier good mirth. Its been fun to get at least this much off my chest, and I can't wait to share the stuff about the wedding and the Crystal Empire later, but it will all be for naught if we don't now act on this heads up! This will ultimately come down to Solaris, however. He is the Prince of Equestria, and the only one between us able to do anything productive about this situation. With a small hum to himself, the stallion in question meditates privately on the decision now laid out before him. “... Now?” he eventually repeats, causing me to unabashedly lean closer towards him in anticipation. “Hmmm… Well…” … TwinkleTwinkleTwinkle Before I can react, I find myself once again unceremoniously lifted off the ground with the aid of golden magic, and just as swiftly deposited onto the Prince's awaiting back. “... Now I feel that a change of scenery is in order!” Solaris snickers in amusement as he magics away our used cups and pillows. “What?” I remark as the Prince begins the task of exiting the maze. I grip the back of his short mane as well in this time, so I won’t slide off. “Why?” I ask too, successfully using two fifths of the five major W’s in a single breath. “I-I don’t think we should be talking about these kinds of things out in the open…” “And we won’t,” Solaris reassures me with only the slightest tilting of his head. “It's just that I'd rather we continue things inside the castle, Barbara. The weather ponies have scheduled a light rain shower for today, you see, and if those gathering clouds in the distance are any indication... I fear we are fast approaching the storm!” “Oh,” I concur as we leave the maze and travel across the now darkening gardens. “I guess that makes sense... Are we heading towards your room then?” With a slight halt to consider the feminine statue of Discord as we pass it by, the Prince shakes his head. “No, I fear that the old place is rather occupied at the moment. Artemis' room is still being constructed, so he's currently using mine... But have no fear! There are halls within this castle that have not been touched in years! I give you my word that we will be fine. There is a place I’d like to show you as well… That and I’d also like to stretch my legs a little, if I may. I don’t get many opportunities to simply walk about these days! Haha!” I try to argue this, having not been fully convinced yet about this plan. “Bu-” “I suppose I could also teleport us to this destination instead, if you feel that we are now pressed for time,” Solaris interrupts me to add. “Though I felt that I was being considerate to you by not simply casting the spell right now. I still remember quite vividly how Dusk’s first disastrous attempt at it went all those years ag-” “Walking is fine,” I cut in, blushing hard. “Walking is suuuuper fine, yup yup!” Ahem... If I may... ... Buck teleportation. Buck it hard. Quick background for the less informed; Dusk’s first attempt at the spell involved using me as a test subject. It was not as fun as I imagined it would be. I still remember feeling unbearably hot during the process, and I came out the other side with a migraine, an upset stomach, and covered head to toe in sticky black stuff. Said stuff was not easy to get out of scales, let me tell you. With these thoughts in mind, I remain quiet as we cross the gardens together uninterrupted. The sound of crunching grass beneath us fills me with an empowering feeling of calm, and a rare moment of normalcy. The sharp, pungent aroma of ozone graces my nostrils as well in this time, and aids me a little in taking my mind off of the now slowly growing sense of anxiety welling up inside me... “... I understand that Captain Gleaming Shield has taken a vacation?” suddenly interjects Prince Solaris, during the momentary bout of silence that had formed between us. Catching the hint, I respond, “Y-yeah." I guess this will be a safe enough topic as any to pass the time with for now. Hopefully it'll be distracting enough to tide me over for a couple minutes at least. "That’s certainly what I wrote in my letter last night… You’re not mad that she did that out of the blue, are you?” “Goodness no!” the alicorn insists as we now enter the castle's doors. “That filly has more than earned a little R&R! That goes double for my nephew as well; I’m so proud that he stepped up for Equestria in her darkest hour!” At the mentioning of the Prince of Love, my mind quickly imagines a scenario where Bolo is sitting lazily on his throne, playing matchmaker with everpony that approaches him while Canterlot burns to the ground in the background. This image causes me to chuckle under my breath. “Hm? What’s so funny, Barb?” “N-nothing,” I whistle innocently. Speaking honestly, I add that, “I wasn’t here for his short rule, but I’m sure Prince Bolero followed your instructions to the letter!” There’s a momentary pause. “... Instructions?” Solaris asks, tilting his head so he can better see me on his back. “Well… yeah?” I ask right back, equally confused. Taking a second to make sure it was safe to talk about more sensitive things, I whisper, “You know? The instructions for the Summer Sun Celebration? You guys knew The Nightterror was coming back, so I assume you had a plan in place for when you were gone… “... Right?” “...” Turning his head back forward, the Prince continues to trot in silence. The rain begins in this time, and the sound of its splashing drops echos loudly throughout the castle's inner walls. “... Sir?” I probe again, concerned about his new quiet state of being. “...” “...” “... Here we are, Barbara.” Startled by the abrupt return to words, I cease staring into the back of Solaris’ head and instead observe our new surroundings. We're now… in the same sort of hallway that can be found anywhere in Canterlot Castle. Marble pillars, glass windows, pots with no flowers… Nothing looks special here to me. “Upon my word, these halls are safe,” the Prince declares, probably sensing my lack of understanding. “We are free to speak uncensored once more.” With the sound of hooves clicking and clacking throughout the corridor, and with the rain being reflected in the many windows surrounding us, we resume moving forward. “... Allow me to pick your brain, my friend,” Solaris restarts the talks once more. “...Why do you think I brought guards with me to the celebrations this week?” Huh? Why? Why is he asking me that? I mean, the answer is obvious... right? “Because it only makes sense to protect the ruler of the nation when he leaves his castle?” Solaris laughs at this answer. “Very true, Barb,” he concedes to me. “That truly is the logical solution to such a scenario, so please allow me to ask a different question instead... What role did they play in the prophecy that has already come to pass?” Again I’m left stumped, and asking myself what's the point of this inquiry? Regardless, I still rack my brain for a bit before getting an unsure answer of, “Well… none. The prophecy was about the boys, who I guess were the 'stars', and The Man in the Moon, who was Nightterror Nebula...” “Correct again!” Solaris cheers happily and animatedly, which causes me to dip slightly on his back. As I reorient myself, the Prince goes on to praise me a little more, “You even got the 'stars' portion correct! I'm impressed, Barbara... "... Moving on though; the prophecy, the one an old Seer friend of mine wrote on her deathbed, included no guards. It didn’t include Gleaming or her soldiers, and it didn’t include either of us… So, again I'll ask you; why did I bring guards with me? If our visions didn’t include them, why would I bring them at all?” Now this question stumps me the hardest at first. The ambient noise shrinks away to nothingness to my ears as I push all of my focus into finding an answer. Why did he bring them... Why why why...? Eventually, I come up with a solution that seems fair enough. “You didn’t know that Artemis could be restored originally,” I hazard a guess. “I was the one who revealed that to you, not your own visions! So you brought them... just in case The Nightterror needed to be contained...?” That's about the best response I can think of. Solaris still snorts at it though. “C-close,” he cracks up, clearly taking joy in my struggles. Perhaps this is sort of petty revenge for my earlier blowing of his mind... “Very close, but you’re not quite there yet. You are correct in stating that I didn’t know my brother’s hopeful outcome to this whole ordeal. The idea behind this claim though, the one about how I didn’t know... that is as close as you got to the answer, Barbara. “The real answer... is that Gleaming Shield didn’t know either!” “... What?” Now seeming a little more like his usual self, Solaris laughs at my confusion. “She didn’t know about my brother being restored as well. She also didn’t know about her own brother’s involvement, or that four days of darkness was coming… or that The Nightterror was returning at all.” I nearly fall right off of Solaris’ back thanks to this confession. “W-what?!” I jitter. “You didn’t tell the Captain of the flipping guards about a threat like that?! Why?! Y-you're pulling my leg, right? I mean, s-she had to secretly know about all this... right?!?” “Hehe” the Prince continues to snicker at me. “I’m afraid things were not that elaborate, Barbara." Then, as if he was unleashing a grand punchline, Prince Solaris grins brightly as he stretches his wings upwards to his side; reiterating proudly that "Gleaming Shield and her soldiers were as blind as everypony else that night!" I'm left dumbfounded. "The same can be said for Prince Mi Amore Bolero," he further goes on to explain. "His temporary ascension to the throne was a noble sacrifice that he made of his own free will! The knowledge of his actions comforts me greatly, and fills me with confidence that the lessons on how to be a proper ruler have not been wasted on him, as was the case with Princess Bluebelle.” As the Prince folds his wings back to his side, I find myself still too stunned to process these words properly. “But… b-but they know you can see the future, right?!” I plead desperately, trying in vein to understand. “It’s not common knowledge, but I figured that at least your staff kne-” “Only three beings currently alive today know about my Seer status, Barbara,” Prince Solaris states bluntly, halting my rant. “You, my brother, and an old enemy of mine. My powers have been a close kept secret for the entirety of Equestria’s history, and I'm afraid to say that I plan to keep it that way for the foreseeable future.” “WHY?!” Solaris chuckles further at my frustration. I’m not finding this particularly funny though. “If you have such a power,” I raise my voice. “Why aren’t you letting more ponies know?! S-so many of them were scared out of their minds when the sun went down yesterday! They were frightened too when Nightterror Nebula originally showed up! Red Gala thought she lost her little brother, and so did Gleam! And ponies weren’t prepared to see Artemis’ beautiful night, being too afraid of him, and, a-and…” “And you’re afraid of letting Dusk know about your past.” Solaris’ words silences me completely. My eyes widen. Again, the Prince turns his neck so as to better look at me. His expression is reassuring and consoling. “Fear is a natural part of life, Barbara,” he speaks wisely. “My power can't eliminate it as a whole, as it lies within us all in one form or another. It is as unavoidable as sadness, love, and death at the end of the line. “That said... you're right to think that it is an emotion that should be mitigated to an extent. It is why I assume you have chosen to bury your secrets deep within yourself, and why I assume you express it through creative outlets such as… oh, I don’t know; let’s say… "... writing?” I now find my free claw subconsciously gripping the strap of my purse. The same purse that holds The Poisoned Barb. With heart beating fiercely in my chest, my two eyes lock on to Solaris’ one as the two of us participate in the fiercest staring contest I’ve ever been apart of. It thankfully doesn’t last long, as Solaris willingly blinks first. “Your secrecy is valid, my friend,” reassures the alicorn as he starts trotting forward once more. “In time I hope you'll understand that mine is as well... I also feel as though your fear will prove to be valid too. It is because of this assumption that I have not pushed you any further on the subject, and why I grant you your freedom in keeping the full truth from me... "... Please note though that if I felt in any way that what you hide may prove dangerous to yourself or others, I would have under no circumstances extended such a kindness onto you in the past. “And now, by that same token... This is the reason why I did not grant you the same freedom when it came to your Seer powers, Barbara. You have my word that I will never reveal to your friends either secret, if I am to ever learn more... But this will come at a... price.” “P-price?” I whimper out as I shrink under Solaris’ metaphorical gaze. “Yes...” he confirms, not granting me another glance. “A price. The same price, in fact, that even I still pay to this day. "It is as thus, Barbara The Dragoness," the Prince goes on. "I expect, neigh, command you to follow the Code of the Seer that I have spent hundreds of lifetimes maintaining. In doing so, I feel as though we could together lead Equestria towards a truly harmonious future.” “Code... of the Seer?” I mindlessly repeat, in an attempt to gain clarity from the words alone. "... What was your intentions in showing me your vision, my friend?" "T-," I try to choke out for Solaris. I'm scared of where this is now going. "T-to change it, sir..." With head still aimed squarely forward, focusing on the path ahead, the Prince simply grunts in response. “Just as I feared... and exactly why The Code was originally created." My heart beats loudly in my ears. "The Code's current form is a relatively new revision, Bard,” the Prince attempts to explain for me, emphasizing every vital syllable as if it were his last. “It's not even a decade old yet. I simplified the original contents myself after an event reshaped how I view our powers as a whole… and how I interpret their actual worth." With no warning, my alicorn steed halts in place once again and intently trains his good eye on me. “... The Code is as follows," he begins, making damn sure that I'm paying close attention. "It consists of only two truths, working in tandem, to insure that our secret society's morals can be easily passed down and preserved to those who will come after us. "The first truth, Barbara, is that the Future is not set in stone; it is as fluid as a river and just as ever changing... “... The second truth is that the Future is a stone; one whose face has already long since been fully carved.” “That… t-that doesn’t make sense,” I stutter out weakly, grasping at straws; trying to get a straight answer for once in this miserable life. There’s a pause as mine and the Prince's eyes remain locked in place. Eventually, as he turns his head once more and resumes his slow stride, Solaris speaks plainly and clearly for me for the first time in a long, long while. “It means that our visions must come to pass, Barbara.” My heart plummets into my stomach as a result. All sense of hope still within me soon follows suit. “No,” I stammer out hysterically, shaking in my seat. “N-no no no! Y-you can’t be serious! You… you lost an eye!” I roar, gripping the pony’s mane harder. “That happened during an event we let happen! One we saw! One we worked at making come true! You can’t… y-you can’t be seriously telling me that what happened to you was fine?!” “Barbara.” “You can’t be telling me that we should just let Discord walk all over us and do what sh- he wants!” “Barbara.” Tears blur my vision. “Y-you can’t be telling me that everything is going to be okay if we just do nothing…" The future can change, but it's set in stone. "... You can't be telling me..." No matter what I do, I can't change the destination. "... that you w-would have still had your eye..." All I'm doing, all my mere presence in this world is doing... "... if I h-hadn't tried to stay a-awake.” ... is making the journey bumpier. Plunk! Twinkletwinkletwinkle Before I’m given the chance to process what’s going on, I find a sort of white material softly wiping itself across my wet face. Fighting back my waterworks, my mind puts two and two together and causes my eyes to widen once more. Solaris had plucked a few of his own feathers, and is using them to dry my tears. With head once again turned to face me, that same pacifying smile of his from earlier makes yet another appearance. “Barbara,” he coos gently to me. “You are not to blame for what happened to me. While it's true that what we do can send massive ripples into the future, and change events drastically for the worse; ultimately it was Nebula's choices and Nebula's choices alone that scarred me so, not yours! "Please understand that I meant it when I said that your fears for the future are valid; I meant it when I said I value your Sight, and that I value our friendship! I would do nothing to purposely hurt you, child, and The Code is not meant to do that either, despite its bluntness. "The Code was crafted long ago by Seers wiser than myself, in order to maintain a sense of balance to events yet to transpire. The changes I've made to it in recent times have not caused it to deviate from this original intention, but to instead better highlight this unbreakable law to all. I reforged and refined it into it's current form in response to an event that still haunts me now; an event that strengthened my trust in its words and its worth. "This event of which I speak was when my Sight surprised me greatly. "It surprised me by forcing me to watch the same vision... twice.” Sniffing, I calm myself down enough to listen more carefully. This attempt at stability causes Solaris to lean the side of his head against my own, and to softly lie it on top of my forehead in order to comfort me. We remain in place as such until he breaks the contact first; perhaps sensing how my body is now stiller. Though he now looks away from me, the Prince's eye refuses to focus on anything in particular. Instead he stares outwards forlornly through the rain soaked window besides us. “... The scene I witnessed," he mutters quietly, before drumming up the courage to speak normally once more. "The scene was of The Nightterror’s defeat at the hooves of six ponies, and Artemis' timely rescue. "It came to me first during a meeting with an old orphanage’s owner. The subject of the discussion I had with her has long since been lost to the recesses of my mind, but I still remember what the Sight provided for me that day as clearly as if I was watching it again as we speak. “The vision I witnessed saw my then future student, Dusk Shine, standing triumphantly alongside his fire-forged friends… “... all while the blue Element of Laughter dangled proudly off his form.” “...” “...” “... Barbara? Are you okay?” “Y-yeah,” I manage to squeak out, all while my head finds itself in a new daze. “Just trying to figure out how we had an entire conversation about a parallel Equestria where you’re a Pretty Princess…and yet you still found a way to one up me!!” Despite the serious swerve and edge this whole meeting has taken, this still puts stitches right into Prince Solaris’ side. “It’s n-not a competition,” he attempts to lie around his guffaws. “And the scenario is not as unlikely as you may think. A pony can mean many different things to many different ponies; where in one group you may be seen as the kind one, in another you could be known as the most loyal! Dusk wielding such an Element was not outside the realm of possibility to me back then, as this vision revealed itself to me quite a number of years before I even so much as met the young colt...” Solaris' expression then turns dark. “... But I’m afraid that my current student is not the focus of this old tale, Barbara. No," he then chokes slightly, as his words gain a mournful aura to them. "Instead... the focus of this sad story for today will be about the bearer of the Element of Magic from my original vision... It will be about my personal student before Dusk. "It will be about a young unicorn known as Sunset Blaze." Sunset... Blaze? ... That's not a name I recognize, from this world or the show... But then... why does it still sound so familiar to me? My friend's story continues on as I search my own memories, and try to find an answer. “Destiny saw fit to bring the two of us together that day; the same day the vision appeared before me," Solaris waxes poetic. "Sunset started out as an orphaned foal within the walls I was visiting back then. He showed great promise in the art of magic at an early age, so I chose to take him under my wings and aid him in his growth. "... Originally my intentions were not so noble, I'll willingly confess. I was only aiming to set him up to play the role fate had assigned to him; I felt it was my part to play in his story. "This poor attitude of mine reflected greatly in his early lessons, and it only served to drive him further and further towards pleasing me. I, as the fool that I was and still am, saw this as a good thing, and as the sign of a worthy cultivation. My first vision contained Prince Artemis' safe return, Barbara! I wanted my brother back so badly that I... I-I refused to let anything stand in my way towards our reunion... “... And Sunset suffered because of this tunnel vision. I pushed him too far... So eager to please me was he, so willing to rise up and win every challenge set before him... Before I realized it, he started to drift towards darker pursuits. He… h-he started seeking forbidden knowledge to better himself, and he eventually attempted to make himself an alicorn like me, consequences be damned. "When it became apparent that I had failed him as a teacher, I prematurely ended our lessons and removed him from my school before I could hurt him any further. As it slowly dawned on me that I had just banished an orphaned, cutie mark-less eight year old into the cruel world all by his lonesome, he… left. He left before I could hope to correct my mistakes... “... The event left a hole in my heart, Barbara; a hole equal in size to the one my mistakes with Artemis had left in me centuries earlier.” Our movement stops completely as Solaris lowers his head to the ground in shame. "My Sight, and my actions as a result of it, ruined a young pony's life, Barbara. "I killed his happy future." Rain continues to fall as the halls return to silence. I… … Wow. T-that’s a lot to take in. Sunset Blaze… I’ve heard this name before... ... and now I know from where. Sunset Shimmer was the name of an old pony toy Ashley once had, whose box mentioned that the orange mare was a former student of Celestia's. The pony herself never appeared on the show, at least from what I can still recall, but I always knew that her colt self existed here in this Equestria somewhere. You may remember when I mentioned before how I stumbled on an old journal of his, way back when The Poisoned Barb was a journal itself instead of a diary? Well, outside of it being a completely full book with no pages left to write in it, I didn’t glean anything else of importance from the dusty old tome at the time. All it served to do, in the grand scheme of things, was to confirm for me how real this world actually was during the darkest point in my life; back when I felt that this place was only here to make me suffer. To hear such a sad story about him now… “... Where did he go, Solaris?” I ask, momentarily setting aside our past conversation about the future. I honestly want to know. “His future may have obviously changed, but did he ever find peace at least?” I don't receive an answer at first. “That… is a story for another time, I'm afraid,” the Prince eventually deflects, walking forward down the hallway. Looking up, it seems like we’re about at the end of this winding road. We’ve hit a number of twists and turns so far, but mentally I still know where we are in this big old place. We’re for sure a long ways away from most of the common traffic; I don’t even think Dusk has been this far off the beaten path before. “This current story I speak of isn’t complete yet, Barbara. I haven’t explained my second vision; the one that replaced Sunset with Dusk, and the other bearers with five completely different ponies. “I received this followup vision on the same day that you were born, actually, and the same day when I first met Dusk Shine. I recognized him from my first Sight right away, and upon meeting him in person I came to the discovery that a lighter touch was going to be necessary in order to push him towards his new destiny. My Sight may have shown me a future that lacked the return of Prince Artemis, but it was still a future I was willing to work towards. I refused to let another suffer because of my negligence… T-though I did briefly fail this goal when it came to you, my dear friend; when I sent you to those horrible Bluebelles for training. It seems like this has become a rather poor[ habit of mine. Perhaps my brother may be able to steer me back to the proper path, or perhaps even yourself or Dusk… Only time will tell, I suppose.” Solaris then stops trotting; perhaps even for the last time today. We've now halted in front of a locked set of doors so far removed from everything else that I don’t have the foggiest idea as to what it could be here for. To further allude towards this being the final stop in our travels, the Prince next uses his magic to slowly place me back on the ground. Now able to face me fully, my friend chooses to do just that at this time by staring at me head on. “These events,” he finishes strongly and passionately. “Are what motivated me to create the abridged Code of the Seer, and they are what drive me to be as cautious as I am towards influencing the future; or so much as letting other ponies know about what's to come. "The events we see will happen one way or another, Barbara. The future can be changed, but I don’t believe even I have the authority to make such decisions lightly. Not without causing another tragedy like Sunset's...” With ears wilting I… … can only nod my head in agreement. There’s no way I’m going to be able to break through a grief-wall that flipping thick! Solaris' reasons are sound, sadly. The future can be changed, but it will just correct itself towards a bumpier path like I said. I... I really can't do anything else but just go with its flow... It looks like Discord/Eris is going to return no matter what. Guess I’m just going to have to rely on my old fall back; having faith in Dusk. “I... understand,” I speak in defeat. “I don't like it, but I see where you're coming from... C-can we at least figure out a way to have the scrolls sent to Ponyville during Discord's return so that they won’t cause me to sneeze my brains out each time? I'm really not looking forward to that part!” Is keeping my dignity intact in this world really that hard to ask for? I mean, seriously?! Though I’m expecting an answer to my selfish question, Solaris doesn’t provide me one right away. Instead, he turns towards the door in front of us and proceeds to place a key within its lock. With a slight twist with his magic, the dusty room beyond reveals itself fully to the both of us in all its… oldness. It takes my eyes a second to adjust to the oppressing darkness. Although my sight tunes into the dark really quickly due to my draconic nature, the dust particles being thrown up into the air right now make the task quite a bit harder than usual to accomplish. Eventually though, I’m rewarded for my perseverance with a good hard look at this location. ‘Junk closet’ are the first words that come to mind. Though the room looks to be as large as mine and Dusk’s new bedroom in Ponyville, it doesn’t look like it’s currently being used for much else outside of knickknack collecting. There's old picture frames lining ancient shelves, ratty looking books stacked haphazardly to and fro, and a large tarped object stands front in center over it all. The shape sort of reminds me of a large vanity mirror; perhaps an old one kept around for sentimental reasons? I did the same with an old broken mirror from my youth, back on Earth… “What… IS this place?” I question as I step inside the room. Casting my eyes around grants me the sight of much of the same; old novels, old paintings, old furniture, old everything. “This…” Solaris starts to explain as he enters the room as well. He takes in the same sights as me for a brief moment before turning to face me once again. Returning the favor, I bring myself forward just in time to watch as the Prince extends his wings fully, so as to gesture to the entire place as he explains that this, “... will be Discord’s new home.” My heart just about leaps up from out of my chest. “W-what?!” I ask equal parts loudly and hopeful. Is he insinuating what I think he’s insinuating?! With a single nod, and calming smile, I confirm that yes; this is the case. “I said that changing the future isn’t a decision I could make lightly,” Solaris jokes cheekily. Never have I been so overjoyed to be trolled by the master. “But this isn’t a decision I’m making by myself; this will be our choice, Barbara. Next time you have a vision, you tell me. We'll bear the burden together, as a team. You have a vision you don't like, we'll change the future together... “... Does that sound acceptable to you, my dearest friend?” Sometimes I love this jerk more than I probably should. “I… I think it does, your majesty!” I don’t believe Solaris could look happier if he tried. “Excellent!” he cheers alongside me. “I’ll be honest with you; I have been dreading that monster’s return ever since I first received those visions about him! I’ve been trying to drum up a solution for months on how to, or even if I should, prevent his return. I believe his power may be too great for this world... But this isn't a change we can make lightly, Barbara. Even with our combined Sights, we may be unable to accurately predict how removing him from the equation will alter events... but together we should be able to steer the outcome towards a more favorable direction! "From the sound of things, Dusk will be losing out on a valuable bonding experience with his friends as a result… I’ll be sure to replace the end event with one a little more controlled and safe." "We can replace this stuff?!" I practically squee, hardly believing the words. "For better or for worse; yes," the Prince confirms for me, sloppily straddling the line between his earlier seriousness and his usual silliness. "The future is set in stone on a few events, but not all of them. Sunset proved this to me long ago. It will not be an easy undertaking, but I feel as though we can together fabricate an equally important and better lesson in the long run... Perhaps a vacation will be in order around that time? I hear that Las Pegasus is quite the place to 'hang out' these days!” “Now you’re speaking my language!” I joke right alongside the pony, now equal parts happy and emotionally exhausted. So the typical result of a Solaris talk, basically... A question comes to mind, however. “There's a question I wanna ask you, your majesty." "Go right ahead." "Well... If you were so worried about Discord coming back… then why the hay is his statue outside where anypony can access it?!” Solaris winces at this. “I’ll admit that it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to a casual observer, Barbara, but do understand that he’s been out there for hundreds of years without real issue! The fact that a common schoolyard argument will release him is ludicrous! I wonder if the Elements changing owners might have weakened his seal…” “I guess that makes sense,” I concede, giving him the point. “But, still… why outside of all places? Why not in a museum?” Solaris now blushes. “T-the reason for that is a bit more… pony than logical, dear. While a museum would make a lot more sense, as it would still allow today’s ponies to learn about his history, it would not allow… well… Did you notice how his head is aimed upwards and is quite visibly open?” “Yes… Why?” Solaris face turns a shade even more red than the last. “I may have wished an eternity of dirty rain water, dead spiders, and bird droppings upon him once upon a time and simply desired to follow through with the threat.…” “... Seriously?” “Seriously.” “... That’s gross.” “I-I was a younger stallion back then,” the Prince shamefully pouts. “And it was mostly Artemis’ idea! I was simply… preserving his memory all these years! Yeah!” “Suuuurrrreee,” I play along, though I still have to roll my eyes at this. Boys will be boys, I gues- Wait. By Solaris' train of thought, Celestia and Luna must have been doing the same thing back in their own world... ... ... Alicorns will be alicorns, I guess? “A-anyways,” my friend coughs, trying to get me to forget about his humorous (and childish) choice. “I’ll be placing his statue inside this locked room as soon as possible. Moving it will be tricky; I don’t trust the use of magic to accomplish the task, and moving him by hoof might result in parts of him falling off. Even flakes and petrified pieces of Discord hold portions of his chaotic power, and have been known to cause bizarre effects… But I still feel that it will be worth removing him from the public’s eye.” Turning my head around, I observe the storeroom one more time before asking, “Are you sure this will be a safe enough place? It doesn’t look too special…” “You’re not incorrect in that deduction, Barbara,” Solaris agrees with me. “However, I feel that this place will be as good as any protection-wise. I feel that any place we hold Discord will be unable to withstand the full might of his powerful magic.” “Y-you got a point there,” I admit. He did seem really strong in the show, being able to take away horns and warp reality and what not. “I also feel that a high security vault may be the wrong way to go about things too,” the Prince continues. “It might attract the wrong kinds of ponies. I’m already busy trying to think of a good place to store the Elements… You said Princess Celestia kept her own set behind a sealed door? I may just steal that idea off of her... Hopefully she won’t mind! Haha!” “I’m sure she won’t,” I giggle alongside him. “And, yeah; I get what you mean now. It’s like when you purposely hide a bunch of gems inside your home's vault... but all the while you're secretly stashing the juicer ones inside the hollowed out remains of a book instead! Classic misdirection!” The alicorn lifts a single eyebrow at this. “An oddly… specific example... but yes; this setup will hopefully be out of sight and out of mind enough to work.” With the plan set, the two of us give the room one more look over before leaving it behind. Upon Prince Solaris taking a long peek at the state of the object underneath the tarp, and after locking the door and returning me to his back, we begin to retrace our steps and return towards the entrance. “Our time is drawing to a close, Barbara,” Solaris informs me in a matter-of-fact tone. The sound of rain begins to wane at the same time, as if to highlight this truth. “I must return to my duties, and I imagine that you’re eager to return to Ponyville before it gets too late.” Huh? Is it already that late? Checking out a nearby ornament window, I confirm that yes this is the case. There’s a tiny bit of redness in the skies now as the sun reaches the endpoint where Solaris’ magical path from this morning guided it to. The Prince actually doesn’t move the sun every step of the way; he sets courses for it to travel down from sunrise all the way to sunset. In a few hours he’ll have to lower it completely, so that Artemis can set his own path in, but the mere fact that we’re already this close to those specific times is bananas. Goodness this went on for awhile, didn’t it? “I’m glad you listened to me, Solaris,” I thank the stallion kindly carrying me down the hallways. Solaris chuckles in return. “Think nothing of it, my little dragon.” Heh. Oh you corny old coot... “Honestly I should be thanking you here, Barb,” the Prince counters. “Your Sight will be a great boon for the path I have planned for young Dusk. Together, we will steer him towards a grand future; one that, according to my visions, we can all benefit from!” “Spoilers,” I chide cheekily. “I think you’re a few chapters ahead of me there, big guy.” “Ah yes. My apologies,” Solaris laughs right back. “I guess I must do better to remember my own words! Like I said earlier; sometimes more is less.” “True that,” I retort. “Though… I do have a lot more to share with you…” “Oh?" my rides tilts his head. "Well then perhaps we should continue this conversation next time. How does… a month from now sound? I would like the opportunity to hear how Dusk is progressing with his studies around that time. I’m certain he’ll follow through with my request to send me friendship reports as well, but I would appreciate to hear your take on things too... if you’ll grant me the time, that is.” “A whole month?” I question, thinking how far away that is… … but then I remember how many episodes there still are between now and season two’s premier, so I come to the conclusion that this will most likely be just fine. “Sounds good to me,” I confirm as I quickly write a little reminder to myself on a spare piece of parchment from out of my purse. With a nod of his head, Solaris and I commit fully to this date. “Excellent… Are there any other small visions or insights you care to share with me at this time, dear, before we must depart?” Drawing a claw tip to my lips, I summon up my show memories and review them as I hum. Let’s see… everything else up in here is just slice of life stints all the way up to ‘The Best Night Ever’. Celestia’s involvement in season one was pretty minimal too; a ticket here, a request to move a dragon there, a small number of appearances as well if I’m remembering that right. Luna doesn’t show up again until the Halloween/Nightmare Night episode, so nothing to worry about there either. I don’t think there’s anything here worth bringing up except maybe the dragon, but I’m sure the smoke it'll produce will be enough of a tip to get Solaris moving into action. “Nothing I can really think of right now,” I finish after a pause. “Nothing too big is going to happen between now and then, at least according to my Sight.” I think this is the first time I’ve ever said ‘Sight’ out loud without mentally adding air quotes… Heh. Guess I’m a real Seer now. “About the only advice I can give is to just… do more. Like, give things more thought, and maybe keep Dusk and I more in the loop about things.” The Prince mulls this suggestion over. “Do more… I think I can handle that just fine, Barb.” “Good,” I chime… … Then a thought occurs. I’m probably going to hate myself for this, but… “Is… is there anything else I should know too, your majesty? Vision or insight or what-have-you?” There’s a pause. It’s a longer pause than I like. “Well…” he notes… cautiously. “I do believe there is one thing I should probably say to you before we part ways.” Me and my big mouth. Why is blissful ignorance never an option for me?! “W-what’s that?” I ask, dreading the answer. Though the sense of nervousness never leaves his voice, the Prince still manages to make his next words sound deceptively confident. “Know that the secret of your power is safe with the two of us, my friend, and that we’ll always be here for you.” I release the breath I’ve been unknowingly holding thanks to this declaration. “We’ll that’s a relief,” I tell my pony friend as we reach the exit. “It’s reassuring to hear that you’ll be-” Wait. Freeze frame. Rewind back by ten seconds. ‘... safe with the two of us.’ “T-two?” I whimper out pathetically as I’m levitated back towards the ground. Now on my feet, I stare slack jawed at my questionable friend as he rubs a hoof behind his head in an embarrassed manner. “Yeeeeeaaaahhh,” the ancient pony shyly reports, like a foal caught with their hoof in the cookie jar. “About that… Your secret will be kept safe between myself…” He then turns his head backwards towards the hallway, and yells out at the top of his lungs, “AND MY LOVELY, NOSY LITTLE BROTHER!!” “Eep!” Catching the faintest sound of a stallion, I shoot my gaze down the hallway and just barely manage to catch a glimpse at a retreating alicorn’s blue tail. ... ... … Buck me sideways. “H-how…" I internally scream. "How much do you think he overhear-” “Probably all of it.” “ALL?!?!” “I can’t apologize enough, Barbara,” Solaris turns to bow lowly towards me. “I am a millennium out of practice in sensing his presence! It was only towards the end there when I finally noticed him. I should have known better though; he is still relearning about this world, so of course he would be exploring the castle at this time! "I will have ‘the talk’ with him about your powers and I will be sure to inform him that he is not to share your secrets with anypony. I’m certain he’ll comply to the request; he remembers everything he did as Nightterror Nebula, after all. He's already experiencing immense guilt towards his actions involving you and the children of Ponyville that horrid night… You’re secret will be safe, Barb; to this I swear to you as both a Prince of Equestria and as your friend.” “Okay,” I respond a little too quickly, as I'm too numb to really say or do anything else. “Whatever you say.” “... Have a great evening, dear.” “...” Turning my back towards the Prince, I wave my claw passively back at him as I begin my long trek back home. “Whatever you say, Solaris. “Whatever you say.” _______________________________ “... THE TRAIN FOR PONYVILLE WILL BE DEPARTING SHORTLY!!” shouts the train conductor outside my window. Since I'm all ready aboard the train, I tune the noise out. “ALL ABOARD THAT’S COMING ABOARD!!” Since we are departing shortly, I recheck the contents of my bag to assure myself that everything I needed to grab from the Spire is already inside. I find my thoughts wandering as I do so, and they drag me once again back to my meeting. The result was ultimately the same to a typical talk with Solaris; a small amount of progress, and a lot to think about. More of my secret was revealed today as well, which is honestly a concerning trend. At least I’m now free from him for a month; that’s a nice change of pace from the weekly correspondence I'm usually expected to accomplish. I also managed to change the future in a good way this time! That’s pretty nice too, and I even did it within Solaris’ Code of the Seer rule set! I’m actually really surprised how smoothly everything went. About the only thing that’s a little troublesome now is that I can't seem to focus my mind; it’s currently jumping around from Eris to Sunset to Artemis to… Well, in summation, it’s a right old mess up there right now. I need find some fun and distracting activities in order to get my mind off this garbage. Activities like… like… Absentmindedly, my claw readjust my purse's strap. After a momentary pause to process the action, an idea suddenly forms within my mind. I’ve never ridden a train before, but this one is well known for supposedly being a smooth ride. Rumor has it that author A. K. Yearling once wrote the entire first draft of ‘Dashing Dare And the Great Train Robber’ on this same locomotive! I think that’s a rumor worth exploring, don’t you? With goal now set in mind, and with the train now departing, I take ownership of an empty privacy nook and whip out The Poisoned Barb. Once I’m sitting comfortably on the small bed, and once my wet quill gently touches the blank piece of parchment, the words flow out of me like water out of a faucet as my story takes shape before my eyes. “... My apologies for this slight interruption in my retelling,” I read out loud after awhile, as I write; taking advantage of the rare opportunity to do so without repercussions. “But a thought now occurs to me. Since I was unable to do this previously, due to the circumstances surrounding Entry One’s original creation, please allow me to continue this chapter properly. “It’s just not a diary without these classic two words. “~Dear Diary~" ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠ As you observed already upon finishing entry two, my claw writing was as steady as ever, even upon a moving train. I suppose this proves that the rumors about that Dashing Dare book are true. I’ll have to find a way to share this information with Rainbow Dash the next chance I get. For now though, I believe that this would be the best place to stop for now. According to the yawn I just produced between this paragraph and the last, it’s getting pretty late here in Ponyville. I’m going to call it a wrap on this third entry, so that I can hit the hay and be nice and alert for tomorrow. You see, Dusk and I promised Applejack that we’d help him with his apple bucking that day, as well as his little bet with Red Gala. We certainly don't want to be late for that now, do we? See you next time, my secret diary.