//------------------------------// // Epilogue: The Harmonious World // Story: Tempest Shadow: Mooby Road // by Captain_Hairball //------------------------------// Rarity’s hand kept winding up in Tempest’s. It felt nice there, slim and delicate fingers intertwined with Tempest’s strong, rough ones. But Rarity and Pinkie liked to load Tempest down with their shopping. With her only hand spoken for, she had to hold the bags awkwardly in the crook of her right arm. It was all right. Tempest liked to feel needed. Mooby World was good. The rides were fun. The food varied in quality, according to Rarity, but Tempest wolfed all of it down with equal gusto, from fried counter service crap to perfectly grilled ribeye steaks as big as her head. There were people from all over the world to look at. It made Tempest consistently, continuously happy. Being happy all the time felt very strange. The characters took some getting used to, though. Pinkie had taken revenge on Rarity for the Ponypolitan by making them stand in line for two hours to meet Surly Duck. It was just a person in a costume, but Pinkie acted like she was actually meeting a cartoon character. Tempest didn’t understand. The ponies were more unsettling still — after the first contact incident, Mooby Entertainment Ltd. had somehow acquired the likeness rights to actual ponies from the actual pony world. It explained Tempest’s Twilight Sparkle tunic (she’d bought a new one the first day at the park), but it made her feel strange. There was no sign of any brave light blue pegasus stallions, but she had nightmares of one stalking her through the park and snapping her neck when it caught her. It was their third and final day there when Pinke said they had to go on The Harmonious World before they left. “Pinkie no!” gasped Rarity. “Surly Duck was bad enough. That ride is the most tedious, most infantile…” Tempest held up her right arm. “Is that it?” The ride facade was a technicolor bas-relief showing a cavalcade of equestrian ponies, capped off with a spread-winged Princess Twilight in full regalia. Rarity rolled her eyes. “Yes.” “You can stay here, Rarity. I have to ride it.” Rarity came with them. It was a slow boat ride through a series of dimly lit chambers, where black-light enhanced ponies, dragons, gryphons, and yaks sang in loving harmony. It was an offensively exaggerated misinterpretation of Equestrian culture. Ponies were silly and threw pies, yaks were big and gruff and lived in primitive yurts in the snow, gryphons were fierce and rude, and dragons were worse. It was ridiculous and it made Tempest laugh. There was something achingly familiar about the song. Tempest was sure she’d hear it somewhere before, but she couldn’t place it. Maybe on the radio. Open up your eyes See the world the way it stands You live only in this moment Your choices yours to plan! Open up your eyes, Enter our sweet and happy land It’s time to grow up and be wise Come on sad one Open up your eyes. Tempest knew she didn’t deserve to be forgiven. Maybe nobody did. But Twilight had forgiven her, and knowing that… well, it made it possible to try to live as if she deserved it. The ride boat drifted out into the light.