Epilogue
It had been several universal standard months since everything had happened and only now were Scratched, Aerostorm and Zaat able to breathe. The Hesturland navy along with the other governmental navies had been busy tracking down any remaining survivors of Clear Vision’s faction to bring them to justice, and dealing with the aftermath of the blast that had left a deep gouge in the moon, trying to intercept any debris sent flying as a result before it crashed into the planet.
During that time the Excelsior had been given extensive outer hull repairs, but the leaders of Hesturland had ordered that the inner ship was to be left untouched and unentered by anyone they did not want inside. And for the moment, it was the best thing for them as they had no real place to go next or plans of what to do now that they had won. Though one thing that could be counted on was Scratched looking into the room of the missing member of the group.
With a nuzzle from her girlfriend, the two of them entered the small, spartan room and looked around the four walls again with a sense of guilt so obvious that anyone could see it. Zaat leaned on the door frame and was about to say something when there was a banging on the hull. Grumbling at this intrusion, Zaat walked out of the room and into the hallway.
After he’d left, Aerostorm wrapped Scratched with both of her wings. “Hey,” she said softly. “How you doing, love?”
“Poor,” Scratched eventually said. “It should have been me going down there. If I had just done more-”
“Scratched, don’t do this to yourself, please,” Aerostorm said, rubbing her beak against her wife’s face, the bed shifting in its frame as the two sat down on it. “She made her own choice and there is still a ch-”
“Guys?” Zaat said, leaning into the doorway. ‘“We kinda have an important guest here.”
“Who are you talk-” Scratched began before she and Aerostorm shared a gasp and immediately stood to bow before the pony in front of them. Though she had no authority over them and they had never seen her personally, the couple knew who this beautiful alicorn princess was.
“Please my little ponies, don’t bow for me,” the mare said before lightly groaning at herself and shaking her head. “And come on, you can remember that these aren’t your ponies.”
“You’re Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Scratched said, still not believing her eyes. “How - why are you here?”
Twilight smiled at her. “I was given special dispensation to come here in person, after everything that’s happened recently,” she said. “When they told me Spliced had resurfaced after all this time…” Her smile turned sad. “She was my friend and it was devastating to find that she had passed away before I could speak with her again.”
“She’s immortal, your highness,” Scratched protested with Aerostorm gripping her side. “She hasn’t been found yet and could-”
“No.” The word was simple yet devastating. Princess Twilight’s face was resolute and her tone firm. “I have spoken with someone of significant capability to determine that she is indeed dead.” She seemed to deflate at this announcement. “I was also told you three were the last to really know her, so I must ask how was she in the end.”
Scratched shared a look with Aerostorm for reassurance before she turned back to the princess. “She was really depressed in the end, your highness,” she said softly. “She seemed to be sad nearly all the time. I tried to be helpful but I don’t know how much good I actually did for her.”
“I see.” Princess Twilight’s posture didn’t change at that, staring intently at the two of them before her eyes went around the room. “Am I correct to assume that this was her room?”
“Yes your majest-” Aerostorm started only for Princess Twilight to raise a wing to her lips.
“Please, my little griffon, call me Twilight, I really dislike the whole distance that my title brings,” she said with a soft smile before she frowned and tapped her own forehead. “Come on Twilight, you just said you have to remember that these aren’t your ponies and you say that.”
Chuckling at her antics, Scratched watched her walk towards the screen before cringing as the alicorn knocked loose a floor panel that hadn’t been properly secured.
“I’m sorry about that; we’ve been meaning to fix that for a while-”
“What’s this?” the princess asked as she peered down into the access. Scratched walked towards her and peered into the hole to see a data crystal at the bottom of it.
“A message left behind?” Scratched said as the princess levitated it out and placed it into the data scanner, causing the screen to flick on. On it was Spliced Genome looking very nervous with Princess Twilight gasping.
“Spliced,” she whispered to herself.
“Scratched Wrench, if you are watching this then something has happened… no Spliced, come on,” the mare paced back and forth, vanishing from view as she walked out of the camera’s range. “You can do better than that.” With a sigh, the mare turned to face the camera again. “Scratched, there is something I need to tell you about yourself… fuck come on Spliced you can do this.” Her wings bunched up in anger as she repeated those last four words over and over again before she let out a tired sounding sigh and sat down on the bed. “Okay Spliced, you can edit this later.” She took several deep breaths to calm herself.
“Scratched Wrench, I want to tell you a very important story,” she said a voice that was clearly struggling to remain calm. “This is a story about this very, wicked evil mare who lived a long time ago.”
“Oh Spliced,” Twilight said in a quiet voice that brought Scratched’s attention back to her.
“This wicked mare did such horrible things that would forever damn her to hell and yet she never felt any guilt,” Spliced said with her eyes shut tight. “She never felt any responsibility for her actions, despite attempts to properly punish her for her horrible deeds.” Spliced’s head dipped lower but she didn’t stop speaking. “One day, she escaped her prison and found this magical world with the most amazing people I- she ever met.” Twilight gasped at this and reached for Scratched’s hoof. “They helped the wicked mare realize how wrong her actions were and then she returned to her prison as she deserved to be punished for eternity for what she did and began to try undo the harm she had done.” Spliced lifted her head with her hoof digging deep into the bed. “There she met the most wonderful, beautiful stallion. He was just perfect and for a while, we were happy.” A sad smile ghosted her face before it fell away. “But the universe knew that she didn’t deserve to be happy and they were careless as the wicked mare soon learned that she was pregnant.”
Twilight gasped loudly at this with Scratched, Aerostorm and Zaat sharing confused looks as this was never mentioned before to them. Uncaring, the recording of Spliced carried on. “She knew that those holding her would take away her child and their future would be forever tainted by me. So this wicked mare and perfect stallion’s friend came up with a solution to save the child’s life.” Her eyes began to scrunch up now with her voice being unsteady. “Their friend and the perfect stallion would get married and have their own child so they could pass off both as hers. It worked perfectly with the stallion she loved and her friend taking her foal away. A foal she never got to see again, a foal she never got to see grow up, a foal I never got to see or hold. I didn’t get to even see her after she was delivered,” Spliced was struggling to speak through her tears at this point. “Genetics are interesting; an unbroken line of maternal genetics can tell so much. Scratched Wrench, when you came into my bar, before we left… Thorn told me you had the same genetic markers I did. I’m sorry to tell you that you are my direct descendent but I thought you sho-”
“Spliced, is everything okay in there?” Scratched’s voice cut into the recording so suddenly that everyone jumped, including Spliced. “Who are you talking to?”
Spliced snapped her neck, erasing any sign of distress on her face. “Just a moment, Scratched,” she said stoically as she walked over to the data projector and turned it off, leaving everyone in complete silence.
Scratched was the first to speak. “She’s…” Her voice trailed off for a moment before Twilight stood up with her horn glowing. Before anyone could respond, Twilight had teleported them away twice.
As soon as their eyes cleared up from the magic trip, they gasped at where they were.
“This is Equestria,” Scratched stared in awe at the sight. It was just as wondrous as it had been described; a utopia of magic melded perfectly with technology. Everything was pleasantly placed, from the flowing green hills to the streets and buildings. Even the enormous crystal tree at one end of the town fit right in.
All except for this lone hill that stood out; everything of it was completely out of place with the wide world around them. It had ancient construction machines perched on it with craftsman tables off to the side and plans spread out across each of them. At the top of the hill was the start of a house with the foundation dug in.
Twilight stared at this for a long time before her horn glowed again and began to erase everything from the base of the hill up to the top. Everything faded away with the hole of what would have been the basement closing up and a tall tree growing upwards. It was a massive willow tree, its branches creating a shaded area at the base of its trunk. At the base, she created a small grave marker and stood before it with tears running down her face.
“This was to be her home,” she said through her tears. “She loved this place so we gave it to her. When they took her away, they wanted to take the steam shovels away and pack things up but I wouldn’t let them. I wanted her to see when she came back that we never forgot her and she had a place waiting for her.” She began to break down, leaning into Scratched’s side as she cried. “She would like this, Scratch. A simple grave, no flowers or announcements. Out of sight and yet in a place where she was happy.” Sobbing harder now, Twilight leaned into Scratched’s side with the pegasus rubbing her back. “I should have done more; why didn't I do more?” She continued to cry as the three of them did their best to comfort her.
Meanwhile, in the Place Between Realms, the Void Between Dimensions, a stallion walked forwards, out of a dimension, with a black object on a red pillow, the Gateway behind him shattering. Holding the pillow forward, the stallion presented it to the one he followed.
This being reached out and picked up the black object, the shaft of it extending outwards as the point of it became sharper than anything in existence.
Holding it above its head, the being said to the roaring crowd of its followers. “The Spear of Reclamation is mine.”
The sound of its faithfuls made was enough to make it smile, knowing that Subtle Dancer had not fallen in vain, her partner bringing the single most powerful weapon in existence back to them.
“Soon we will begin the next step that will start
The end