//------------------------------// // Ch.3 - In the Eye of the Chaos, Hope // Story: Requiem For The Kirins // by Chaotic Ink //------------------------------// Both alicorns looked up as a figure came sliding into the cave. “Hold your fire!” Storm Vine said, raising her wings in a gesture of peace, “it’s just me.” Celestia and Luna looked at each other. “The phrase?” Celestia asked. “Boy, that pickled banana pie sure was strawberry,” Storm Vine recited, a small grin forming as she finished, “though I would have hoped for kiwi.” Both alicorns sighed in relief. “How is the Alicorn Regalia coming along?” Luna asked, her eyes filling with hope, “Is it working as intended?” The grin on Storm Vine’s face fell faster than a rock and she shook her head. “The whole project is a complete loss.” The sisters’ jaws dropped. “What… how…?” Celestia asked. “The Amulet gave the wearer alicorn-level magic, just like we hoped, but it also drove Trickster mad,” Vine explained, sighing as she remembered the pandemonium created shortly after the test began. “As you can imagine, we tried to contain him but there wasn’t anything realistically we could do without either of you there to be on par with him. He made a heck of a show blowing out of the safe house, so we can cross another one off,” they all grimaced, “and after that he went straight for Discord.” “He didn’t,” Luna said, disbelieving. “I wish he hadn’t. Discord didn’t even bat an eye when Trickster threw everything he had at him.” She snorted. “He even did the whole theatrical yawn bit and asked him if he was done, then reached out and yanked the amulet off him. Oh, I should probably also mention that the thing won’t come off when you put it on. Trust me, we tried.” Reaching back into her saddle bag, Vine produced the amulet in question. “Trickster’s gone, probably teleported to one of his candy quarries, and he threw the thing towards the gumdrop bush I was hiding behind. Even told me to try better next time.” Celestia shook her head while Luna took her frustration out on a rock. “Maybe we can start over again, maybe not start with alicorn magic and focus more on flight and strength?” Vine shook her head. “It’s his magical might we need to overcome. All the muscle and feathers in the world mean nothing if he can just snap his way to victory, and it’s taken us two years just to grow a gem strong enough to equal alicorn magic. How much of Equestria has his chaos magic swallowed up during that time? How much more time will we need to work the madness inducement out of the next one once we get back to where we were today?” She sighed, “I think the regalia is a lost cause. We need to find another way.” Silence fell over the small group. Even with the Alicorn Regalia Plan being two years old, they’d never stopped trying to come up with other ways of defeating Discord in case it fell through. Nothing they came up had ever been as good as the idea to make average ponies as strong as alicorns, however, so slowly the idea of overwhelming Discord had become the only plan, one carefully guarded until today. “Is there any idea how Trickster was driven mad?” Luna asked. “No, but…” Vine tossed the amulet up in her hoof for emphases, “I’ve never liked the look of the thing; it looks evil, even if it’s what the materials look like to start with.” “We didn’t have much of a choice,” Luna said. “Well we need a new one!” Vine snapped back, throwing the amulet at the blue alicorn’s hooves. “It’s been two years, Luna, since we started growing this damn thing and another half year on top of that before we even thought to try it! He’s been changing Equestria into some insane dream-scape for two and a half years now at a snail’s pace, which I’m pretty sure is to mock us, and we’re no closer to stopping him then when we first tried!” Celestia stepped forward, wing outstretched to try and calm their old friend when someone else slid down into the cave. “General Steel Spark, reporting!” he announced, “and can I say to keep it down in here? Who knows when one of that maniac’s minions will walk by.” Storm Vine turned her anger towards the general. “Says the idiot who bellows his return for the whole world to hear!” Spark bristled. “I wouldn’t have to worry about such things if YOU had a better grip on his leash!” Golden magic covered the both Vine and Spark in an instant, freezing them in place and keeping their mouths shut. “Too much, General,” Celestia said, “FAR too much. No-one is responsible for the choices Discord has made other than himself and I know personally that Storm Vine did all she could to stop this from happening. On top of that you never gave us the password, so for all we know you’re a spy yourself.” Spark’s eyes left Storm Vines and focused on Celestia’s. They stayed hard and determined for a few more seconds until they looked away in submission. Storm Vine’s remained angry but she also looked away. “Now,” Celestia said, removing her magic, “the password, General.” Spark rolled his eyes but said, “Boy, that pickled banana pie sure was strawberry though I would have hoped for an avocado.” Satisfied that he’d gotten his password right, she nodded at him to continue. “The safe house near the Shades Forest is overrun. If we don’t do something quickly, our forces in the east will start getting picked off. We should speed up the Alicorn Regalia Plan at once, possibly even skip the test phases if things look well enough.” Celestia and Luna shared a glance, then hesitantly looked over at Vine. “The amulet was a dud,” the kirin explained bitterly, “it drove one of the testers mad, destroyed the safe house we were working in, and the tester tried to take on Discord himself, which failed just as dramatically. We’re scraping the regalia.” Spark blinked, then began sputtering. “Did the amulet turn you mad, too!? We have no other option BUT the regalia! If your group is so full of idiots that they can’t make gems work, then I will take over the project with my own, competent ponies!” Again, the golden magic froze them in place, this time catching Vine in mid leap with fangs extended. “Luna, please take the general and begin to go over some of our old plans with him; perhaps this time something will spring out at us that we missed before.” Luna nodded and took the general in her own dark blue magic. As they left, Vine’s eyes followed and Celestia couldn’t help but notice this time they were wet. She waited for another ten-count before lowering the kirin to the floor and removing her magic again. To her surprise, Vine didn’t try and chase after Spark; she only stood there, growling at the tunnel Luna had taken him down as tears began flowing down her cheeks. “He is horrible,” Celestia admitted, “but he’s still the head of the military and a lot of ponies look up to him.” “Ponies,” Vine spat with far more venom than the alicorn thought her capable of, “they’re the only ones who look up to him. You know he’s as bad as any of the Queen Platinums, right? I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard from creatures escaping Discord’s little blight that he’d leave anyone who wasn’t a pony behind if he could. The regalia was the only thing we ever agreed on! We’re supposed to be united against Discord, not bickering like a bunch of five-year olds!” Her voice hiked and she stamped a hoof. “And what’s worse is he’s right! I should have done something more to stop Discord! He basically told me what he was going to do and I just let him!” She grimaced as more tears fell and suddenly found herself swallowed in white feathers. “No,” Celestia said with a tone that brooked no argument, “Storm Vine, no-one is at fault for this other than Discord. We did our best with the signs he gave us and we were both doing what we could to influence the queens into changing things enough that he could roam freely eventually. If he couldn’t see that, well, then there was no hope for him then. What we need to do now is stop him before he turns the whole world into a child’s fever dream.” “You’re right,” Vine choked out, “but I don’t know what to do now. The only plan we had has gone up in smoke.” “Then we’ll think of a new one. Vine, how long has it been since you saw Tempest or Bright last?” The kirin didn’t answer. “Storm Vine?” “For nearly a year now,” Vine finally said, still not looking up at her. “I can’t. I promised the next time I saw them Discord would be beaten. I thought the regalia would be done by now but all the setbacks and now this! I can’t face them, not yet.” Celestia picked up the kirin’s chin with a hoof and forced her to look up at her. “They’ve haven’t seen you in a year. They don’t care if Discord is gone or not; they need you. Go home, see them, see who you’re doing all this for. Use that motivation for the next plan we put into motion.” Storm Vine looked away, tears done and contemplating. “As soon as you have a plan…” she began. “We’ll come get you, I promise,” Celestia assured her. “Now, get going and don’t let them wait a minute longer.” Vine nodded and stepped away. “The cat’s in the bagpipe,” she said. “And the sister is on the moon,” Celestia finish, cementing the password for next time. ----------------------------- The waves crashing on the shore and the warm sand under her soothed her nerves like nothing else had in what felt like a life time. Here, on the shore of the North Luna Ocean, one could be forgiven for thinking anything was wrong with Equestria, save a glance to the east where Discord’s corruption could just be seen on the horizon. She let out a growl and let her head rest on the sun-baked sand. It was hard to rest with the constant reminder of her old friend’s treachery. A gentle nuzzle turned the growl into a growl-purr. “You need to relax,” Tempest chided gently, rubbing the flat of a wing claw up and down her back, “you’ve only been back a few days.” “Mmm… keep that up and I just might…” Vine warned, her limbs slowly but surely going limp due to the back rub. “Now, tell me there’s a bowl of fresh meat and rubies on its way and that Discord’s given up on this “rule the world” horseapples and I’ll call this all perfect.” Tempest nuzzled her again. “Gotta burst your bubble on the later and while it’s not on the way, I can cobble something together back at the house.” She turned to nuzzle him in return which ended up as a deep kiss. “Two out of three isn’t too bad,” she said as she growl-purred into his neck. She wasn’t sure if it was just seeing him again after nearly a year, the closeness, the atmosphere, or all three, but she was suddenly feeling exceptionally… frisky just then. “Makers, I’ve missed you.” “I’ve missed you, too,” he said quietly, then chuckled as his gaze wandered out over the water. “You might want to take a quick dip and cool down,” Tempest whispered in her ear, knowing what his wife was thinking, “Bright, Dazzle, and Rust are coming back.” Vine’s ears flattened as the romantic mood broke. Still, she turned to greet her daughter and the other kirin members of Storm Clan. All three had been hunting off the coast with the wyverns of the clan and despite the interruption she was interested if they caught anything. “An adult bottle-nosed dolphin!” Bright explained proudly, “we got it back in all by ourselves!” “And the others got a big whale,” Rust added, licking his lips, “dad says this one is extra fatty, too!” Both Vine and Tempest licked their lips. Sea mammals tasted even better than land ones and whales and dolphins were extra tasty, especially when cooked properly. They also weren’t easy to catch, so they were an uncommon treat. “I suppose we’ve lazed about in the sun long enough,” Vine said, getting up and shaking the sand off her belly, Tempest following suit. “Time to pamper our bellies.” ----------------------------- “…And Fire Feather Rookery is doing well,” Firestorm said as he and Storm Vine wandered by the foot of the cliffs by the coast. He frowned as he looked up at a small flock of harpies that had just taken off; a bunch of young ones that were mock-fighting as they headed out to sea, probably to hunt. “Green Feather Rookery is talking about heading into the Undiscovered West. Somehow some of them got it into their heads that Discord’s Blight won’t cross into it,” he shook his head disapprovingly, “which is complete folly.” “Mmm-hmm,” Vine mumbled, staring after the young harpies as well. Firestorm looked down at her, then lowered his head and nudged her, which seemed to startle her. “What-?” “Do the rookeries, colonies, and others not interest you anymore?” he asked teasingly, hoping to get a rise out of his baby sister. To his disappointment, she only shook her head. “No, I mean, yes, I’m glad to hear they’re all doing alright.” “But your mind is back in central Equestria,” he finished for her. He had hoped being here, away from the lands Discord had twisted and surrounded by family would help her recover from the most recent setback. At first it looked like that was indeed the case but now, several days after the clan had brought in a whale to feast on, she seemed almost as dejected as when she’d first arrived. “You know you can always share any concerns you have with me,” he told her, settling down onto the ground. He knew that she knew that he’d never really liked Discord. From the day he learned how to use his chaos magic, Firestorm felt that the draconequus had acted like petulant child, doing whatever he wanted with his magic rather than putting it to actual good use. True, the many Queen Platinums could have handled things better but he could have made a show of good faith as well. He could have made crops grow large or even speed them up to make multiple harvests per season, served with the military, joined the civil services, heck, even join a theater troupe! But no, that was all beneath one of his talents and he just wanted to roam free as was his “nature” as a being of chaos. Both Firestorm and Luna had agreed he was more a nuisance that anything but their siblings liked him, for some reason, so they held their tongues for the most part. They became a little looser once everything went downhill. “I know, but…” she shook her head, then walked on a bit past him. She stopped, turned around, came back to him, turned around again and took another few steps, then sat on the ground facing away from him. “I should have thought of something by now,” she finally said. “You’ve barely been here past a week,” he reminded her, “no-one is expecting a miracle from you like a bolt from the blue.” “I should have had something else!” she roared, hitting the sand with a hoof. She visibly composed herself but still refused to look at him. “I should have had other plans going in case the regalia failed but I was so sure it could work, that even kirins could wield magic against him, that I dismissed everything else.” She finally looked back at him and he saw that fat tears were rolling down her cheeks. “How can I be expected to lead or even help if I can’t think of anything to contribute or even get Steel Spark to understand we need to work together if we’re ever supposed to win this!” Firestorm got up and moved to his sister, nuzzling her as he used his much larger body to cover her in comforting and familiar shade. “Vine, you’re putting too much on yourself. Just because you can’t think of something to stop him doesn’t mean you can’t lead others; you’ve proven that ability many times over. As for Spark… well, with any luck Discord will get a hold of him before all this is done and it can be said he’s done something useful in his life.” That got Vine to finally crack a smile. “Then again, I could come back with you and accidently step on him.” “No,” Vine said, wiping her tears away and stepping back out into the sun, “do that and we’ve got a whole other issue to worry about. I’ll take just one crisis at a time, thank you.” Firestorm chuckled. “Very well, but the offer still stands.” Then he gave her a serious frown. “And Vine, please take this time to relax and recuperate; you can’t let these worries consume you like this and expect to go back with a clear head, like Celestia and Luna expect.” Vine looked up at the harpies perched high above, then further down where one of the thestral colonies had taken up residence. The Silverwing Colony, if she had to guess from their colors this far away. Them and so many others depending on her, who would be affected by whatever actions she would take next. “I still don’t know what to do,” she said, as if pleading with him to give her an answer. “One step at a time,” her brother advised gently, “and never lose sight of your goal. This way, when, not if, you stumble you’ll never get distracted from what’s important. Discord will lose someday, be it by a plan you come up with or someone else’s, by your actions or another’s, but never think you have nothing to add, something to contribute, even if it’s just being the glue that keeps everything from falling apart until that time comes. Everyone always underestimates the glue or the simple nail, until things come undone in the most spectacular of ways.” She gave him a small smile again. “Hammer being a pain in the neck again?” “Like a thorn lodged in a place I can’t reach!” Firestorm grumbled, which turned Vine’s smile into a full-blown laugh. Hearing about another one of Hammer Storm’s pitiful attempts to gain control of the clan suddenly made things feel normal again and she liked it. ----------------------------- “I wish you were staying longer,” Bright said as she helped pack the last of Vine’s things. Vine raised an eyebrow at her. “Bright, I’ve been here for three weeks. I have to go back sometime.” “I know, it just doesn’t feel like you’ve been back that long.” She closed the bag she’d been packing. “I really missed you, mom.” Vine trotted over and embraced her daughter with both forelegs and wings, Bright doing the same in return. “I’ll do what I can to not be gone so long again but things aren’t going well out there.” She smirked, “and you miss me now? I remember just a few years ago you would grumble about how me or your father were always around and how you couldn’t get away with anything.” Bright chuckled. “I can change!” Vine nodded. “Yes, and when you finally get a boyfriend, you’ll be back to not wanting me around! Then it’ll swing back to missing me when you have a foal of your own and want some peace!” They both laughed and hugged again. “I packed a few of my old story books,” Bright said when they let go, “you can read them at night and imagine you’re reading them to a younger me. You know, before all of… this.” Vine almost hugged her again, but this time settled on grabbing Bright’s cheeks with the flats of her wing claws. “Do I need to tell daddy to keep an eye on the cookie jar again?” Again, they both laughed. “Really, though, Bright; thank you so much. I know how much you treasure those books.” She shrugged. “I think you need them more than I do. Besides, I’m going to want those books back at some point, so you have a reason to come back.” Vine picked up the bag Bright had packed and slung it over her back. “Yes, yes I do.” ----------------------------- “It’s good to have you back,” Celestia said as she came into Vine’s quarters. The kirin was just finishing unpacking, having ordered a status report on any changes that had happened the minute she’d returned as well as updates on all the programs that had been started in her absence. She’d also butt heads with Steel Spark again over that, him arguing that she had no right to demand anything after being gone for so long and her arguing back that because she’d been gone as long as she had she needed to be up to speed ASAP. Both Celestia and Luna had been glad to see that Vine had kept her head the entire time and it had been Spark who’d left in a huff while Vine had gone right back into the reports without so much as an extended fang. “I wish I could say the same, but I miss them all over again already,” Vine said as she placed a bunch of books on a shelf near her bed. “Bright was right; it felt like I was barely back before leaving again.” She looked up at the alicorn as soft white feathers laid across her whithers like a blanket. “We’ll stop him someday,” Celestia promised, to which Vine nodded. “Yeah, we will. Maybe one of these new projects will have more success…” She shoved the empty bags under the bed, not sounding exactly confident in what the reports had given her. Celestia, meanwhile, was looking at the books Vine had brought back with her. “Odd reading material,” she commented as she picked one up and began flipping through the pages. “Are you hoping a fairytale about bugbears and plucky maids will have an answer?” Vine gave her a look as she plucked the book from Celestia’s magical hold and put it back on the shelf. “Bright packed them for me as a way to think of home. If you think my next plan is to get him to walk over a bridge with a troll under it while he’s dressed as a goat, I’ve got news for you.” Celestia shook her head with a smile as she picked up another one. “Goodness, no, though since we’re just throwing everything at the wall right now… ah, the old tales of Starswirl and his companions! I always loved these stories.” “So did Bright. Of course, she loved Rockhoof. Even ran around with a shovel for a month digging random trenches.” She rubbed her front right leg. “Grounded her for just as long for the one right outside the front door.” They both chuckled. “Hmm… you know, Starswirl really did do and see a lot of things, if not to the exaggeration of these stories. His old journals were in Canterlot.” “Please tell me that he didn’t really dabble with time spells. If Discord ever figured that out,” she let that hang in the air. “Oh, no, all of Canterlot’s royal library was removed when he first went rogue,” Celestia assure her, but they still shivered at the idea of the draconequus mucking about with time. “We made sure they’re very far away from his new little realm. The only thing close to a time spell I ever found in them was something that sent you back just a week and that itself looked too experimental to even try in my opinion. There were other things…” she continued to flip through the pages, “Terror of the Sirens, Ponies of the Shadow Lands, The Harmonious Elements…” she stopped flipping through the pages and silently reread the last story title. “What is it?” Vine asked. “I recall one journal seeming to reference the gems in this story. I always thought it was some sort of guide to magic stones he wrote himself but now that I recall, these “Harmonious Elements” and their properties sound very similar to what he noted.” Vine raised an eyebrow. “You mean it’s possible that the story of a bunch of gems that turned a bad witch good when everyone hugged might actually be real?” “Well, I wouldn’t expect them to work like that, not literally, anyway,” Celestia confessed, “but if what half of what is written here is true and they do exist like his journals seem to suggest, then it wouldn’t hurt to find and study them.” She smiled. “It might even restart the regalia program with much more reliable gems if things pan out just right.” “Alright,” Vine said, now seriously mulling the matter over, “then, unless you have more confidence in any of these other plans than I do, then I say we start looking over those journals. Maybe there’s some truth to digging ditches fast enough to divert flowing lava. Just one favor if there is.” “What’s that?” Celestia asked. Vine grinned. “Don’t let Bright know.”