//------------------------------//
// End 2 
// Story: The Hag, the heroes, and a few other things 
// by Amaranthine Thought 
//------------------------------//

I slept for a fairly long time.  Actually, Rose woke before me, and I slept through both her getting up and the morning light coming in.  I even woke groggy and unsure where I was, which had never happened to me before. I’ll get to why later on, but until then, accept that my sleep was… busy.

Either way, I woke late, after Rose had already woken and left.  I spent a moment or two lingering within the bed, thinking, before I got up.  I headed downstairs, and found a surprise.

Pinkie had, according to my wishes, let me rest, and not gone and screamed about my being back all over town.  She had instead gone to each of her friends, individually, and told them in a nice, quiet tone, and gotten them all to gather at Rose’s house where they were waiting for me to wake.

I can only imagine how Pinkie managed to get Twilight to actually wait, because the moment I was in view, she was up and active. Her horn lit and floating scrolls and paper out of a rather large box next to her, which only added to those that were already there with her.

After a moment of that, I blinked, thought for a second, headed downstairs, and asked, “Where’s Rose?”

Twilight paused momentarily, but Rarity responded, “In the kitchen.” with perfect control of herself.  That in spite of her own, demanding curiosity.

“Hag.” Twilight said firmly, getting everything organized in her magic.  “We need to talk.”

The rest of the day was spent in that one room. Talking.  They told me their side of the story, and I told them my own… mostly anyway.  I left out… quite a bit to be perfectly honest.  There were several parts of my story that I would not tell them, and bits I won’t tell anyone.

Even you.

Anyway, we learned of one another, filled in the blanks between us.  I learned their tale and their reasons and they learned mine and my own.  Not everything was so easily spoken of, such as my keeping the girls away, or their lying to me about forgiving me at Manehatten. But if nothing else, we understood one another.

Save for my fear of Celestia.  I never brought that up to anypony else before, and my saying I was afraid of the Princess surprised most of them and my describing her as a ‘vengeful sun goddess’ got them rather worked up.  For the most part, it was confusion and surprise, but Twilight surprised me.  Twice.

First was her abrupt anger over my description, defending her teacher with some fervor and emphasizing Celestia’s kind nature. And then stating that, apparently, it was actually forbidden to refer to either Princess as goddesses, a crime punishable by banishment.  A fact that surprised me and everypony else that heard it.  I asked her why it was forbidden to say the obvious and the best she could offer me was that it was simply ‘wrong’.  And that it was wrong because Celestia herself had rather firmly put her hoof down on the matter.

I did think about pressing her about that, but I didn’t. There was no true point to it, and besides:

Even if it was ridiculous, it was demanded by the solar goddess and I was already in enough trouble with her.

So, I just told them that I felt Celestia wanted me dead and that I was afraid of her.  That was enough to make everypony stop talking and stare at me, before recovering from that shock.

The others took this as opportunity to try and reassure me about Celestia, but Twilight took it as invitation to talk for longer and with more fervor than I’ve ever heard anyone talk.  I’m not convinced she had not rehearsed that speech she gave, giving example after example of Celestia’s kind and forgiving nature and firmly stating, over and over again, that the absolute worst thing she ever did to anypony was banishment.  And that only to ‘monsters’, only some of which Twilight described to me, but all of which were determined as being dangerous threats to ponykind that could not or would not be redeemed or pacified.

She very nearly restarted it when I seemed uncertain anyway, but I cut her off, saying I understood and that she didn’t need to make everypony’s ears fall off.  She did give me a look for that, but stated, rather firmly, that she and the rest would be right by my side when I once more met Princess Celestia and that I would see I was wrong about the Princess.

I told her I hoped she was right.

All that done, I told them what I wanted to do: renewing the tree back to its former glory, finding Honest, meeting Celestia, and finally, confronting Discord.

Why confront, you might wonder.  Long ago, I had presumed they had stoned him.  They had not.

Discord had stoned himself, without any action on their part whatsoever.

Neither I nor them could puzzle out what Discord had been trying to do.  He had perfectly convinced me he had defended me from some attack and given himself up for me.  And after, he had remained stubbornly in stone, even when attempted to get him out of it.  Eventually, the twin Princesses had simply ensured he would remain stone and moved him back to Canterlot, where he still remained.

Learning that was a shock to say the least.  It changed my perspective on the Draconequus, and made me wonder more about his behavior so long ago toward me.  All those odd actions I first dismissed so easily.

I would still free him, of course, but I made a firm determination to demand answers from him as well.  Everything I had heard about him from them had made me… question his actions.  

Twilight assured me that she and the others would go with me to Canterlot to meet with the Princesses.  In fact, she said that we would do so first thing in the morning, to, in her own words, ‘finally get some closure on this entire disaster’.

I let her make that choice, since I didn’t really want to start an argument right then (the sun had already set and everypony was getting tired.  Except for Twilight for some reason).

All that finally done and completed, the bearers each went their separate ways, everypony agreeing to meet at the train station tomorrow morning.  Rose and I waved them off, and though I was tired, I felt… good.

I had tried to reach this goal for so very long, feared Celestia so greatly, that having it so close at hoof, and receiving so much support in my final tasks felt fantastic.  

Rose sighed, tired, as she shut the door, and turned back to me with a tired smile.  “That went on longer than I imagined it would.”

I nodded in agreement, but I wanted to know something. “Rose?” I asked.

“Yes?”

“What’s a train station?”

Rose hesitated for a moment before giving a little chuckle.  “It’s where trains stop, grandmother.” She told me.  Before I could ask more, she added, “Trains are like big, long carriages that go really far places.  But its really late and I’m tired and apparently, we’re going to Canterlot at sunup, so can we please just get what little sleep we can?”

“We?” I asked, even as she and I began heading back upstairs.  “Rose, you shouldn’t be,”

“Grandmother,” she interrupted me with a firm voice, “there is absolutely nothing you can say to convince me not to go.  I’ve walked through the Everfree like this, I can handle a train ride and walking through Canterlot.  And there is no way that I'm going to let you go and face your fears without being there.  You're my grandmother; and I'm going to be by your side as long as I possibly can be.”

I smiled a little at her words.  Then I whispered, inaudible to her, "As I will be by you, my beloved granddaughter."







I was feeling nervous all through the train ride to Canterlot.  Though the bearers and Rose were right with me and Twilight had already sent a letter on ahead to Princess Celestia, I was nervous.

Part of that was for the upcoming meeting.

The other was the oddity of the train.  Rose found my behavior familiar, having been with me throughout Manehatten, and the train was far easier to understand and learn about than the big city had been.

The bearers found my ignorance strange, though Twilight was not only happy to, but actually eager to tell me everything I wanted to know about it.  As we neared Canterlot, however, the curiosity about the train gave way to growing nerves, particularly as Canterlot was reminding me a lot of Manehatten.  The two places are incredibly different, but they were both massive cities.

Receiving an escort of royal guards to guide us directly to the Canterlot castle did little to calm those nerves.  Rose was nervous right alongside me, for very different reasons, but the calm attitude of the bearers helped the both us remain at least somewhat calm.  They even reassured me of their support and that everything was going to go just fine.

We reached the castle and were escorted into the throne room, where Celestia herself waited for us.

At first, she had sat tall and regal and determined, neutral and calm, the picture of a royal alicorn.  To my sight, however, she was glaring from atop her divine perch, and once more her power, shining like the sun itself, frightened me.  I’m not sure what she was expecting, but I am sure she was not expecting what I did.

I stopped in the doorway and attempted to back up suddenly, my fear of her momentarily overriding my normally determined nature. She was a goddess, and everything in me was screaming at me to get away from her.  

I was only stopped leaving entirely by Pinkie who got behind me without me seeing her do so.  My fear was soon noted by the rest, and while others tried to encourage me to follow, Pinkie gently pushed me forward and Rainbow helped pull me along as I more or less refused to move on my own.  I looked back to Celestia, near terrified, but what I saw stopped me.

Celestia had actually stood up, and in a fleeting moment, I saw concern in her gaze.  For a few moments, I saw the kind and caring pony Twilight had been so insistent she was, instead of the angry sun goddess I feared.  And the angry goddess did not return.  I stared at her for a small time before I relaxed a little, enough to begin walking on my own instead of being gently guided forward as I had been.

We reached the step of her throne, and I did not see the vengeful goddess I had feared.  Her first words ensured I did not.

Before anything else, she first asked me, “Are you alright, Hag?”

I was stunned for a few moments, but managed to respond, “Yes.”

Celestia nodded, and I was… shocked at the relief she had as she sat back down.  Almost as if she really cared about me, I was thinking at the time, the mere idea of such a thing enough to stun me.  It was so... so incredibly unlike my ideas of what a god would behave like.

“Twilight had already explained much," she began as I watched her, "and before I ask you anything, I want you to understand this: I have forgiven you your actions, and wish for nothing more than for there to be peace between us.  Please; tell me your story, so that this can finally be finished.”

I nodded slowly, still a little stunned, before I began once more told my tale.  For the most part, it was the same as I told the bearers, though I was far more respectful of Celestia.  I tried to be careful not to upset her, and ensured that I emphasized that I never intended any harm.

She stopped me from continuing to apologize over Luna as well; after the fourth time, she simply told me she knew and asked me to finish.  The others were interested to hear that story, since I only lightly touched on it before and the bearers had only received the vaguest of impressions of what had happened between myself and Luna.  I'm fairly sure one or maybe more of them had given little gasps during my retelling.

I explained how I had managed to defeat her as well, though I did not name nor describe the varied things I had used to do so.

Then Celestia, upon hearing that the monsters in my dreams came directly from my actual experience with them, firmly ensured I would never see her as what I feared her to be again.

She offered her compassion and sorrow that I had ever had to endure such things, and hoped that I might never have to do so again.  With that, she was no angry goddess, but a kind and caring pony, just like how Twilight had described to me.

Finally, I attempted to explain about the dark thing I had become, but to my shock, Celestia said she already knew about it.

Apparently, I was not the first pony to turn into something horrific through dark magic.  She was unwilling to further clarify that particular subject, though I did not press her on it, and seemed very relieved when I said that there was no longer any dark magic within me.

“It is quite the tale, Hag.” She said as I finished. “It seems all of us have reached incorrect conclusions, and that we all seem to share some blame in this.”

“I,”

“No, Hag.” Celestia interrupted, shaking her head. “If I had tried to understand you as something else, perhaps everything might have ended that fall, when you first came to my attention.  Over and over, we have wronged each other, and we share the blame equally.”

I hesitated at that, unwilling to blame her, or anypony, for what had happened.  By that point, it was not related to any fear of Celestia, but a simple desire to wash others clean of any guilt.

Celestia smiled at my hesitation.  “It serves you well that you would sooner accept guilt, Hag, than to blame others, even when that blame is deserved.  However, there is but a few more questions I would like to ask.”

“Ask.” I told her.

“From what land do you come from, Hag, and from what do your powers come from?” Celestia asked me, “For though I and my sister both once wandered the world, I have never even heard of the land you describe so briefly, and never have I heard of the powers you wield.”

I hesitated, and felt the gazes of the others looking at me rather keenly.  For a long time, I wasn't sure how I was to answer that, but I finally reached a decision.

“I come from a land farther than can be reached, Princess.” I told her.  “When my village was destroyed, my spell cast me here, to the Everfree, and I feel that what was once my home is beyond any mortal reach.”  I only watched her, seeing her nod slowly.

“I see.” Celestia said, thoughtful.  After a moment, she said, “Your home seems very far away, Hag.”

I had a very sudden idea.  “It really isn’t, Princess.” I said, making her hesitate.  I grinned a little at her slight confusion, though a part of me was wondering what madness had taken me, for me to be playing with her.  Comfortable as I had become with her, her power still shone like the sun she commanded.  “Even from Canterlot, one can see the Everfree.”

A moment passed before she smiled, to my great relief.  “That forest is your home now, Hag?”

“Yes, it is.” I told her, smiling.  “As for my power:  A hag’s power comes from the woods and spirits.  We speak with the forests and the spirits, making deals and bargains with nature. Any hag’s power is borrowed power, granted to us by a spirit, or by a forest.”

“How is it that you speak with a forest?” she asked.

I paused a moment, thinking how to explain that, continuing to think even as I began.  “To become a hag, one must give of themselves first, Princess.  Hags stand between nature and pony, and to do so requires a sacrifice of self.  In becoming a hag, one discards their first being, and accepts to bow to the laws and rules of nature; what we call The Order.  In so doing, we are more connected to nature than any other, and through that we may hear the voice of the forest.”

Celestia nodded, understanding.  “Then next, I ask, do you have even the faintest idea how you broke the elements of harmony, or how you managed to find the regents to have them repaired?”

“I do not know how I broke them, Princess.” I told her.  “Nor can I tell you how I found Happiness and Loyalty.  I can only describe it as Pinkie Pie once described it; I have a talent for destruction, but an equal one for repairing the destroyed.  I can only imagine that that had something to do with it.”

She nodded, though I could easily tell she was slightly unhappy to not receive a clear answer.  After a few moments, she asked me her final question.

“After your apparent death by the elements, where did you go, and why did it take you so long to return from there?” she asked me.  “Why did we find ashes left behind?”

That, more so than the rest, made me hesitate greatly.  Speaking of what actually happened felt… incredibly wrong. Like I absolutely should not tell her about Avarantus or the white void.  The same feeling I got when I thought about telling the bearers and Rose about it.

That left me with no answer for her question, and the silence stretched as I tried to imagine an answer to give her.  I was growing nervous, though she seemed impossibly patient, simply waiting for me.  Until, at last, I decided to tell the truth… sort of.

“The dark magic had taken me over, then.” I said, sighing.  “The ashes came from when that corruption as burnt away; the rest of me with it, because I was nothing more than darkness at that point.”

I continued, though Celestia tried to say something, “The elements spared my soul and washed the dark magic from me.  I felt I had truly died, but they had spared my life.  It took time for me to recover from that, to realize I was not truly dead. When at last I did, it was only the voices of Rose Bush and Pinkie Pie that gave me the determination to return. I do not know where the elements took me to heal me, but I emerged from the tree of harmony, whole as I once was before.”

Celestia watched me as I finished, and I was mostly unable to read her eyes. I didn’t look back at the others at all. I didn’t want to.

“…Perhaps the newly remade nature of the elements might have had some influence.” Celestia said, though her tone suggested she was unsure, her face thoughtful, if a bit concerned.  “Never before have they acted in such a manner, but never before have they ever been broken and repaired.”

I did not respond, and merely watched her and waited until she finally looked back to me.

“What do you intend to do now, Hag?” she asked me.

“I feel I need to speak with Discord once more.” I told her.

“I feel we all do.” she said, her gaze flickering back to those gathered behind me.  “You have given your answers; it is long past the time when he should have given his.”

I nodded, but she surprised me once more, standing up once again and walking towards me.  “Please, follow me to the gardens Hag; that is where we have placed him.”

I stared at her as she passed me, and it took Pinkie nudging me to get me to startle and begin following after her, everypony else doing so already.  As I rejoined the group, I saw several of the bearers glance at me.

To my confusion, they seemed happy.  It was then I saw something I hadn’t seen before.  Then that I finally realized something.

I stood amongst them, and I then knew that they stood with me.  I could read it in their eyes; their belief in me, the trust they had given me.  It confused me, and I wondered what had changed, for a moment, unable to understand them. Pinkie must have somehow read my mind in that moment, because she answered an unspoken question: “You’re our friend now.” she whispered to me with a wink.

Friends.

I remembered when Discord asked me if we were friends.  I remembered the odd feeling I had when he asked me that, and his sheer joy when I had accepted him.

And I suddenly knew why he had done everything he had done.  I knew why he had hurt them, why he fought them, why he had cast me away as he had, and why he had stoned himself.

And I knew it was all my fault.