“Ain’t it a tiny bit early to be back on one a’ these things?”
Many of those gathered shared Applejack’s sentiments even as Quiver Quill clapped his hooves to bring things to order. “I know it hasn’t been long since our last installment, but we had some unfinished business with the last one. Items that needed clarifying, plus that challenge issued the last time. After this, however, I think we’ll be a long way away from seeing one of these again.”
That seemed to satisfy the crowd as Aria Blaze slouched in her seat. “Well, let’s get this over with.”
Quiver went through his cards. “First, I have a statement here from FinalLegendZero which I shall read out in full.
“‘I feel that I owe all of you an apology. I didn’t mean to cause any of you pain with any of my questions. While there are some things that a few of you have done that part of me wants to call you out on here, that wasn’t my intent for anything I’ve asked thus far, or will ask in the future. At worst, my questions were meant to give you a chance to clear up ambiguous scenarios that had potentially unsettling explanations. I especially want to apologize to those living in or originating from Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash most of all. I already knew that dead foal wasn’t an ingredient in making rainbows in this universe. I know that none of you would do that. But I also know how sick this fandom at large can be, and while I wouldn't expect it of any of your world’s current audience, there's a very real possibility that someone else would make that accusation someday. My question was an attempt to preempt that – to put on record ahead of time that you don’t kill foals to make rainbows. But clearly, I didn't word my question properly. So to you, and to everyone else I’ve hurt with my questions these past two sessions, I truly am sorry.’”
The gathered ponies nodded as they considered that statement, before Rainbow Dash grinned. “It’s all good, guy, no big.”
“Indeed,” Rarity amended primly. “Your questions have tended to be very insightful, and we certainly appreciate them. And so far as any criticisms you may have, well…” The fashionista turned anxious as she amended, “I like to think that we are civilized enough to handle such things, provided they are delivered in a reasonable and constructive manner.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Quiver went to another card and continued, “Mugen Kagemaru has expressed similar sentiments, though he has asked for clarification concerning the cellar from Pinkie Pie.”
“Okay!” The party pony sat up and beamed as she answered, “In order. The cellar at Sugar Cube Corner is mostly for storing supplies that we don’t need year-round. Extra blankets in the summer, jams and jellies in the winter, stuff like that. We make sure to clean it before we swap one thing out and another thing in, though. And yes, Rainbow Dash has been down there.”
“Helped Applejack and Pinkie put away some deliveries of zap apple jam,” the prismatic pegasus explained.
“And for our part, we’d like to point out that we value and appreciate all of the questions asked of us,” Twilight interjected. “The fact that our audience is asking us about such things shows that they care enough to wonder about our story, and I for one am glad for that.”
There were general murmurs of agreement as Quiver smiled and went to the next card. “Okay then, now we’ve got some questions from Comickook. First, for Princess Celestia. ‘This is purely a hypothetical, but if you were ever planning to retire, do you think it would be wiser to give your intended successor two or three years notice to make sure they had plenty of time to prepare (and so Equestria in general would have more time to adjust)?’”
Celestia nodded. “Of course it would be wiser for me to give them notice and preparation time. Under normal circumstances, I fail to see any sense in rushing a transition, if only because it would be terribly unfair for those succeeding me.”
The stallion nodded. “Next, for Princess Luna. ‘Relating to the first question; if Celestia DID plan to retire, would YOU stay on for a while to make sure your sister's successor's adjustment period went as smoothly as possible?’”
The younger of the two royals idly considered that question. “That is admittedly a difficult question. I would be lying were I to say that I would not relish being free of my responsibilities, but were Celestia to retire, I imagine that I would stay on for a short time, if only to ease the transition.” She then sat up and added, “With that in mind, however, I think Celestia has been quite clear that she is in no rush to force such responsibilities upon the only logical candidate to replace her or myself at this time.”
Celestia’s nod of confirmation led to a sigh of relief from Twilight as Quiver continued, “Next for Shining Armor.”
The unicorn stallion grinned. “Wondered if anyone would have a question for me. Go ahead.”
Quiver cleared his throat and continued, “‘If there were an alternate universe where Cadance met and fell in love with somebody else before she even knew you (like, say, a surprisingly nice changeling broke away from Chrysalis’s hive, met Cadance almost immediately after she ascended, developed a friendship with her that gradually grew much stronger over a period of years, gradually developed a backbone without losing the niceness, etc.), do you think that universe’s you would be able to bounce back?’”
That caught Shining Armor at a loss as he considered the question. “Well, yes, but it might’ve taken me a while. And know knows how things would’ve gone if I didn’t have Cadance keeping my head on straight.”
The pink alicorn at his side grinned. “I’m sure somepony would’ve kept you from doing anything too foolish.”
“Though had a changeling broken away from the hive, they would have sorely regretted it!” Heads turned as Chrysalis seethed in her seat, only to be calmed by the fluffy pink pony at her side. “Yes, yes, I haven’t officially appeared yet, but still, I have an image to maintain.”
“Pftthpbt.”
“Okay, and maybe I’m a little impatient to appear. I am, after all, the best villain in the franchise.” A cackle sounded, and the changeling queen shouted, “Hush you! The fans agree with me!”
Adagio Dazzle smirked as she inspected her nails. “Just the ones who don’t recognize me as being canon.”
Aria Blaze joined in. “Or don’t like Tirek.”
Sonata Dusk thoughtfully tapped her chin. “Are we counting villains in general, or just the ones that stayed bad after they got beat down?”
“For the record, the Great and Powerful Trixie was at worst an antagonist!”
“Okay, let’s move on before someone loses their heads.” Quiver went to another card and continued, “Next question for Twilight. ‘If you ever decided to take on a student of your own (once you gained enough experience to be more confident in doing so), what do you think he/she would be like?’”
The young alicorn considered that. “Well, I’d hope that they would be eager to learn, but not impatient. I mean, I’d be new to teaching, so I’d be bound to make a mistake here and there. Beyond that, as long as they show themselves willing to learn from their mistakes and mine, I’d welcome whoever wanted to be under my tutelage.”
Quiver nodded and moved on to another card. “And the next one is for Pinkie Pie. ‘If you ever met a male party pony who was just as good as you, do you see a rivalry or a friendship that could gradually develop into something more? Or a combination of the two?’”
The party pony giggled. “Aw silly! The closest I came to anything like that was with Cheese Sandwich, and he and I are great now and…!” She paused, and then blushed. “Oh my goodness, him and me? Together?” She then grinned and added, “Our foals would know nothing but love.”
Quiver grinned. “Well, nice to know Rarity and I aren’t the only ones with shipping goggles.” He went to the next card and continued, “Ooh, we’ve got more for Celestia. First, ‘Do you think there could exist a universe where the day-to-day runnings of Equestria are handled by a democratically elected council comprised of equal parts unicorns, Pegasi and Earth ponies while you and Luna basically just raise and lower the sun and moon and occasionally deal with the villains and monsters too dangerous for the normal police and military?’”
Celestia sighed. “I would welcome living in a universe like that, to be honest, though I fear the arrangement we have now is the closest we’re going to get for the time being.”
“Sadly true.” Quiver then went on to the next question. “Second, ‘Considering the incident with Starswirl’s “unfinished masterpiece spell”, has there been anybody that has accused you of excessively rewarding Twilight for cleaning up her own mess? Mind you, I'm not one of them. I'm just curious if anybody WAS short-sighted enough to make those accusations.’”
Celestia rolled her eyes. “There are some with positions of power who would no doubt feel that way, were they aware of all of the pertinent details. As of yet, however, nopony has raised such claims with me, which I admit is troubling in its own way.”
“And third, ‘Are all alicorns immortal or is it just you and Luna that are?’”
“So far as my sister and I are aware, we are the only alicorns who can be considered immortal.” Celestia briefly considered Twilight and Cadance before she continued, “Natural born alicorns were not immortal, merely long-lived in comparison to the other pony tribes, and we still don’t know whether the same is true for ascended alicorns.”
“And in our case, our immortality is only due to our magical bond with the sun and moon, and the reasons for that continue to elude us both,” Luna amended. “Also, that immortality is conditional, and may likely end should we be seriously injured or fall gravely ill. Naturally, this is not something that we have seen fit to advertise.”
Chrysalis and Adagio both chuckled to themselves.
Quiver gave them weary glances as he brought up the next card. “And one last question for Spike. ‘Considering how long dragons can live if healthy (i.e. they literally have a long enough life span to consider 100 years a short nap), do you feel bad about the fact that the only ponies with a comparable life span are your foster mother and aunt? That, pretty much any potential love interest outside your own species would probably die centuries before you did, even if things went mostly ideal?’”
The young drake nervously rubbed his hands together. “It’s not something I’ve really thought about. I mean, I don’t like the idea of outliving everyone I know and love, and I’m not looking forward to it, but…”
Twilight wrapped a wing around him in comfort. “But it’s not something he’s going to have to worry about for a long time to come.”
“Indeed.” The stallion moved to one last card. “Anyway, that leaves us with the challenge from diablo4000. And for that, I present this image.”
A large screen projected the image in question, which inspired a large number of coos, squees and ‘awwws’ from the gathered audience. Such was the reaction that Chrysalis went rigid as a board, overcome with the love surrounding her and drooling as if comatose. Her fluffy pink companion poked and prodded her for a moment, before pouting and whimpering like a puppy.
Adagio was less than impressed. “Seriously? That’s cheap bait. You’d have to be a horrible bleeding heart to…”
“HNNNGGG!” Sonata grasped at her chest as if in pain. “So…cute! Can’t…handle…!”
Derpy then fluttered over and grinned, a familiar little grey unicorn in her front hooves. “She’s even cuter in real life.”
Sonata turned to find Dinky looking at her with a smile. “Hello Miss Sonata.” She then held up a small baked good and asked, “Want a muffin?”
That was the final straw for the blue siren as she fell out of her seat, much to the chagrin of her associates. “Too late! Going dark! What a world, what a world…!”
“Pftthpbt?”
Sonata looked up to find Fluffle Puff standing before her, a taco presented in one hoof. “Taco!” She seized it and began to munch it down. “Thank you, big ball of cuddles and love!”
The cuddle pony let out a childlike squeal of joy as Adagio groaned. Aria merely smirked while everyone else laughed. Quiver wiped away a few tears as he offered, “See you next time!”