//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 - One-Sided Friendships // Story: Changing Our Destinies // by silent_user //------------------------------// She couldn't be trusted to keep her word. Once they thought she was dead, she wouldn’t have any support from her misguided followers anymore. At least she won't send them after me, or she would have to admit that her own acolyte has turned against her. Even just coming up with a story that the enemy has somehow managed to get me on their side, be it with bribery or force, would cause her to lose too much face. She continued walking around the camp in one of her usual disguises, looking around and taking in what she would soon never see again, one way or another. All I have to worry about are her generals and possibly a hoofful of special forces I might not know about. At least until she returns. Maybe she could try seeking protection from Princess Celestia? No. That’s too risky. Also, it would be switching one evil for another. But then, what were the alternatives? My little angel. I promise I will protect you. I promise I will let you grow up in peace. I promise I will be there for you. And the place where she could fulfil those promises was Equestria. I don't want you to be a stranger in another country. I don’t want you to grow up as an outcast somewhere far away. Not to mention that Equestria was the land of opportunities. Opportunities I will make sure you get. Or she would die trying. If only I hadn't revealed myself to her. Now they are bound to know what I really look like. Or did they? She hadn't managed to determine that when she faced off against Amaya and the other mare. Had the filly told anypony about her true form? Did they figure out she had been weak the day she had talked to her alone? That on that day, she had used her true form for once? Did she tell them that? Did they realise the significance of the information? Were they now looking for her equipped with that new information? She would take the risk. She didn’t have another option. To her, all the alternatives seemed worse. And if this doesn’t work out… I can still flee somewhere else… No. That was a lie. Wishful thinking. She couldn’t. The more she thought about it, the clearer it became that there was only one path to true happiness. One she didn’t want to take. But one she had already begun walking when she had purposefully waited for the strange mare that had Celestia's magic all over her to show up, delaying meeting her target to make it all seem coincidental. Maybe in another timeline, I could have put all of this behind me and become neutral. Just let the others fight and settle down in a small, quiet and peaceful town… Just take a normal job and take care of you… This wasn’t that timeline. And Nightmare was bound to know it as well. *** Nothing could last forever. And so, an exhausted Twilight had to finally land and place her fillyfriend on the deck of a ship she found had no one on it at the moment, with Spike still on her back. “So how was it being carried by me?” she asked the rainbow filly that was wobbling her hooves and wings around as if to check if they were still working. “Heh. You could try flying a bit faster than a snail, you know?” Rainbow teased her. “Well… I never… not everypony can be as awesome as you, you know!” Twilight jokingly defended herself. “You are right. You are forgiven, princess.” Rainbow placed a kiss on her cheek. “It was amazing, purple pony.” “Purple pony? Seriously… you… nerd!” The alicorn pouted. “Nerd? Me?” The blue filly was taken aback. “Yes! Obviously!” Twilight reaffirmed. “Remember what I told you! You are so much smarter than me!” Rainbow could see where this was going. But right now, she was happy to just play along. “I… puh-lease! If I am a nerd, then you are a super nerd!” And Twilight, too, was happy to just have some fun with her for once. That she was able to get her fillyfriend to forget all her worries, even if it was just for a few moments. “Oh! Well, if I am a super nerd, then you are a super-duper nerd, you adorable, lovable angel of my dreams!” Rainbow wouldn’t lose. After all, she was still the master at these kinds of games, wasn’t she? “Oh yeah! If I am an adorable super-duper nerd and a lovable angel of your dreams, then you are the adorkable Princess of all Nerds, you lovely devil of my desires!” In the distance, Twilight could see familiar creatures making their way towards them. It was time. “Let’s get away from this horrible place, shall we?” She received an encouraging nod and, with that, began summoning her magic. How come I know all of those spells? Why can I do them all without practice? Will I even need to study magic? And if not, then… what else will I do with my life? Wasn’t this one of the biggest desires she had for it? For now, she wouldn’t complain, though. After all, until now, it was good that she was able to freely use them, even if she didn't even fully understand how the spells she was using worked. Rainbow stared at her, unsure what to expect. Then in a sudden burst, the accumulated purple magic created a giant gust of wind, solely focusing on their sail, blowing them away as fast as possible. A stream of wind that would only stop once they were out of sight. Together they stared at the ever-shrinking town. *** “Klugetown failed.” “Failed? They succeeded.” “You can't just shift the goalpost all the time. This is not what you said would happen.” “You are right. But just because this isn't what I hoped would happen doesn't mean that this is a bad outcome. “They learned multiple valuable lessons. And they continue to walk a path that will lead to them growing into champions for a new era of harmony.” “They killed a creature for nothing. You said they would fix the city and meet up with the other bearers.” “They will do all that someday. For now, I am happy that they learned, among many things, valuable lessons about the fallacies, responsibilities, and consequences of ruling. “I am happy that they saw that hurting others to achieve their goal was wrong and that you can’t expect others to follow you by using threats.” “They already knew that. The fact that they considered it shows just how unfit they are.” “They are fillies. Sometimes lessons need to be taught multiple times until they are learned.” “Not with bearers. Bearers are perfect.” “Since the day they were born? That’s news to me. Even those who claim to represent harmony have yet to learn that the end doesn’t justify the means, just like Twilight.” “Magic… you need to let listen to Loyalty and let go-” “Shut up! I don’t want to hear your false kindness right now! They are doing everything right, yet here you all are, doing your best to talk it down! They will succeed! They will fix the alicorns! They will fix this planet! They just need to get a chance! They just need to get an opportunity to grow and blossom!” “Magic… this isn’t what you said would happen… you are constantly justifying their failures… look how unhappy they are… nothing good can come out of-” “They were having a bad phase! It happens! Don’t forget this is our fault! Don’t you dare stab me in the back, laughter!” “…” “’I knew I couldn’t count on any of you! I am done with you all! If you can’t see it, then let me do my work in peace and stay out of it!” “What has happened to us?” *** What exactly had changed? How would they continue from here? Was she supposed to go back to her own home? Would she live in the castle now? All of those things they didn’t address. All of those things she didn’t consider. I just worked, looked for Amaya, let her die, then found comfort in Celestia's hooves and continued to work. So much work. And still, she wasn't tired. Was that a result of her new body? Maybe. But after a few more hours, she realised that the consequence of that probably shouldn't be to just work continuously. Yet with that came the question of what else to do. And so, she had decided to take some documents with her, ask Celestia a few things, update her on a few developments and hopefully somehow address these questions she felt were a bit silly. With one final breath to prepare herself, she entered the study. “If you had to choose between a sister that wants you dead or a daughter that despises you, which one would you have chosen?” She had expected many things. Being attacked with a question like this the moment she entered was not one of those things. Luna or Twilight. She chose Twilight? Or did she choose Luna? Or is this hypothetical? Candy simply didn't know how to respond to a question she found impossible to answer, and she definitely didn’t want to answer wrong. “I-I just want my family back! The only family that I have! The only ones that will always be there! The only ones whose burials I will never be asked to attend!” There were tears. Many, many tears. And a dead tired expression that somehow looked devoid of all emotions despite the fact that the almighty ruler of Equestria was bawling her eyes out. “Celestia-” “Do you know how painful this is? Always seeing everypony die around you? I couldn't bring myself to attend a single burial in over 700 years, and I don't plan to do so ever again, no matter how much the pony in question meant to me... I-I-I- “You will hate me one day for-” “Never!” Candy screamed. But Celestia didn’t react to her shout. “I thought I could do this. “But now I see myself trapped. “I no longer see a happy ending for all of us. “This is all her fault. “She should have stayed in line. “She should have followed her path. “She had a duty to fulfil. “She should have stayed a tool. “She should have done all her tasks and then… “Then I… "Then I planned to kill her. After all, there wasn’t supposed to be another alicorn… “She was never supposed to realise that she was one.” It is easy to plan those things. Did you really think you could ever do this to your own daughter? Look her in the eyes, deceive her, give her commands, and then just stab her in the back when she least expects it? “Why did my own sister start a war with me! We had agreements in place! This is our constitution, not just mine! We can’t give away our power, or we will end like the Empress!" I… Candy needed to say something. But she just didn’t know what. And instead of giving her an opportunity to process her statements, Celestia continued. “What did I do to my daughter! What did I do to her! What! “I realised I loved her! “I wanted to take care of her! “What did she see! “What did she hear! “What did those elements do to her! “Why does she continue to run from me when I am ready to give her everything! “I-” Dark magic grabbed Candy, choking her and drowning out Celestia. She couldn't move. She couldn’t breathe. She was suffocating, despite no longer needing oxygen. “Look at you, watching the downfall of the universe without even realising it. “How pathetic.” “Candy!” Candy stared at a Celestia that seemingly had realised that something was wrong. Slowly she moved her hoof to her throat. There was no dark magic. *** They had left. He stayed. He had been entrusted with overseeing everything in her absence. Though it wasn’t really what he was doing right now. Instead, he stared at the tower of documents that had all of his past cases in them. Why? He held his head in his hooves. I could easily have her removed from her position. And he was confident that he would get it in return. But now… now there is a high chance that she wouldn’t just get removed from it. And he didn’t want her to die. He didn’t want for anypony to die. But ponies will die. I could die. He needed to blow the whistle. But instead, his eyes wandered on his past cases again. Celestia makes mistakes. Those are mistakes. I should have realised that they are mistakes. They all were making mistakes. So what? Dandelion wants her dead. He didn’t want her dead. Absentmindedly he stood up and grabbed a few files, sorting out the ones he needed to take another look at. She fixed her mistake, didn’t she? Without her, I wouldn’t be here fixing mine. Then again. There seemed to be another issue. They stole one of our charges. They stole what might be Dandelion's one true love. They might have meddled with our documentation. Was Celestia behind all this? We can’t blame her. She makes mistakes. Their princess wasn’t omnipotent. That much he had painfully been reminded of again. It was entirely possible that she never even heard of a pony named Acacia. He sighed. He wouldn’t be able to come up with a course of action today. But it didn’t matter anyway. For now, he needed to fix his own mistakes and maybe even help find a missing pony. *** “Dandelion! My little baby!” They had reached the orphanage she had spent so many years of her life inside, and the moment they had entered, she immediately found herself enveloped in a tight hug. Some things never change. She never figured out how her mother always knew about everything around her. How she knew she was here, ready to hug her and welcome her. “Mooom," Dandelion protested despite welcoming the burst of affection. After all, she didn’t come alone. Sprint had already raised an eyebrow. But it wasn't because of the scene in question like she was assuming. Was it normal for a caretaker to be addressed as "Mom" by their charge? The old mare just shook her head in sadness, gently caressing Dandelions. “I am so so sorry. I wish I could have protected you. I wish I could have protected her. “I wish you wouldn’t be forced to go through this again.” Another alarm bell. She was talking about Summer, wasn’t she? How did she know about her fate? Dandelion didn’t see any issues with the statement, though. “Mom… none of this was your fault-” You did your best. You always did your best. However, the older pony didn’t view it that way. “My little Dandelion. Not doing anything when you are in a position to prevent harm makes you just as guilty. “Summer died because I didn’t do anything and because I exposed her to risk. “I am very much to blame. At least partly.” You protected them together. You should have trusted me… What am I missing? A third alarm bell rang in Sprint's head. A confirmation of their suspicions. And it also felt like a direct attack against him. Because he was very much in a position to prevent harm as well. Yet, thanks to the short twinkle of regret, he had lost focus momentarily. And the instant his attention was back on the two ponies, they were already at the other end of the lobby. The old mare was carefully guiding his superior away from him, and it seemed that Dandelion was none the wiser, completely trusting the pony he had trouble reading, though he knew was hiding something. Quickly, he began following them. Only to be stopped by another pony. “I am so sorry! I really need some help here! Please!” She had a small foal in her hooves. “He needs some medicine. Could you oversee the other ones while I get it?” Without waiting for an answer, she dashed away, but not before pointing at a room at the other end of the hallway. *** They had reached the garden. Foals were carefree playing in it, enjoying the little time they had until the sun would disappear. A few of them gave the old mare broader smiles than others. In return, they, too, received knowing smiles, as well as a silent message that asked them not to disturb her right now if it wasn’t necessary. “My poor little Summer…. I broke her…. I knew how unhappy she was, always being forced to sign off horrible crimes….” Crimes that the state didn’t consider crimes. Were they even crimes in that case? “So, you really worked together?” Dandelion had seen the exchanges that had taken place. No matter how many… you always find time for all of us. How? “I can see the sadness deep down within you. You feel a bit betrayed. It is because you were left out, isn’t it?” They had reached a few bushes, stopping next to them. We always played in them… They had changed. Yet they looked like always. “Dandelion… you know you never had a chance, right?” For the first time, the truth was being told. For the first time, there was no one telling her to keep quiet. She was free to decide on her own. Yet that also meant that if it went badly, then she would be the one holding the broken shards, with no one else to blame but herself. I never had a chance? Dandelion knew that. Or did she? What exactly did the older mare mean? “Dandelion… you were going around asking, demanding, deceiving… you know you are not qualified for this job, right? At least not on paper.” The day had come when she couldn’t keep the young mare safely inside anymore. I see… “This was a distraction?” More pieces fell into place. "A job that seemingly had promise to lead me to her while in reality only keeping me occupied and away from the truth?" “I didn’t want to see you sad! I had to make you happy! They… I-I was scared… I didn’t understand… they let you live, but for how long?” Her former charge was begging for the ESS to deal with her. And in a rare turn of events, they hadn’t. Instead, they had seemed helpless, seemingly unable to handle her, trying to get her to stop. But Dandelion never did. “Summer… was she ever really my friend?” The young mare stared at the bushes that had lost all their appeal the day she had suddenly found herself alone in them as if she was dreaming. “Dandelion… did you want friends?” No. “Did you want other ponies in your life?” No. “If you are always in your room, bawling your eyes out or screaming in rage… if you always try to sneak away or try to look for some hints about her location… then how would it have been possible for you to make friends?” They had tried and tried. All roommates she had worn down. All but one. “So, she wasn’t?” She should have seen it. “Dandelion… I don’t know what to tell you… just living together in a room does not make a friend. Working together doesn’t make a friend either… and even if she always looked out for you… I don’t know. I think she wanted to be…” But I didn’t let her. I always had my mind on another pony. How must it have been for Summer to constantly hear the name of a pony she had never known? You came into that orphanage when I was 12… Yet you seemed to understand me… You were ready to help me… But I always demanded more… More… “Acacia… when you said not doing anything when one is in a position to prevent harm makes one just as guilty… d-does t-that m-m-mean y-you c-could h-have s-s-saved h-her?” she suddenly had trouble breathing. “Yes-” “How could you! Why! Why didn’t you! I trusted you! We-” Calmness overpowered her. Her eyes darted towards the foals that stared at them. A single smile from her mother made them turn around and forget them. How do you do it? Why do we always listen? Why do we never question? Why do the other caretakers not look when I scream? "I was forbidden… I didn't know they would come… I would have needed to fight them… directly or indirectly… and in the end, they might have just taken somepony else-” “I don’t care.” She had wanted to scream again. Yet she didn’t. “I know. And I didn’t either. You are my foals… I was ready to fight them all… “They didn’t let me.” The other caretakers? Wait! Ask about her! She is more important! “What happened to her?” Once more. No tears. No anger. Where did those go? “We don’t know. The ESS took her.” Her mother confirmed what she had already pieced together. There must be more! And there was. “She wasn’t the only one. We know of at least 26 other fillies that were taken in this time period. None of them returned, nor did they ever return for more.” 26… In a single sentence, the hopes of ever finding Acacia alive had been crushed. “We know they were to be taken for something… we suspect that they judged based on our own records, yet we don’t know on what basis… The level of secrecy indicated that Celestia is behind it…” Acacia was dead, of that, she was sure. It was why the scarce information she did have had never reached Dandelion until this day. “She is alive.” “Dandelion-” “She is alive.” “My little-” “I said she is alive! Alive! Alive! Alive!” There was the rage and pain she knew she was feeling. “I can feel her! I know she is! She must be! We promised!” And just like that, it was gone again, replaced by numbness. They stared… It was only for a moment, but she could have sworn the other caretakers had looked at her shocked. “Dandelion… if she is… then… how will you recognise her?” She had tried so hard to shield her daughter from the real world. It hadn’t worked. And to her immense sadness, exposing her didn’t either. “I will recognise her. She will recognise me.” It would be just like in the books. She had no doubt about it. “Dandelion… you have no idea what they did to her…” The poor mare seemed not to realise that she was only who she was because of them. The poor mare didn't realise what an Acacia raised by the ESS may look like. “She is strong. They will never be able to break her.” Dandelion had gotten her answers. The mystery had been solved. And for the first time in her life, she didn’t want to see her mom. “I will leave now." With that, she turned around. “I don’t know how to help you…” She heard a silent whisper. “We never figured it out…” You can’t… Because you don’t have her. “I didn’t want to take her away from you…” Take her away from me? “Mom… you didn’t… I am sorry… I-I need to think… "If you need something, just tell me. I know I am not Summer, but I will still try my best, ok?" With that, she left her former caretaker. She could have sworn that for the first time in her life, there were tears in the old mare’s eyes as she was leaving here alone in front of the once so cherished shrubbery. *** “Sprint? Where have you been?” Finally, the earth pony had shown up. “I am sorry, they asked me to help and then… it seemed I lost track of time.” He massaged his head. He had only wanted to find somepony else to delegate the task to and then rush after her. Instead… What did he do instead all this time? “I thought you were worried about me?" Dandelion slowly guided the soldier, that had suddenly turned into the definition of confusion and disorientation, out of the building. “I did… I suppose foals really are something,” he chuckled, choosing not to ponder what had happened too much. “Good thing I joined the guard.” "Well…" Usually, she would agree. Though, she found it a bit weird that until now, he hadn't asked about what exactly happened between her and her mother. “It seemed that Acacia wasn’t the only one… they took at least 26 other foals from all over Equestria. "We need to rescue them all." Slowly he began to recover from his muddied thoughts and headache. “Why do you call her mom?” That was one of the things he wondered about, wasn’t it? Or was that normal? “It was normal for me. But I later learned that all EFPS offices except the one in Canterlot have developed this pedagogical strategy in which they try to assign foals a specific caretaker that acts as a special pony of trust. You know… a mother.” It was kind of weird to read the reasoning behind her life. “What about male ones?” Now that he thought about it, were there stallions in the orphanage? “I… Good point. I don’t know. I don’t think it was specified.” Who even came up with this idea in the first place? "We didn't have stallions working in my orphanage at the time,” she shrugged. “How did she know about Summer?” It had taken some time, but his original suspicion was back. Back in full force. “Mother knows everything about us. You can’t keep secrets from her. “When I sneaked into their office, trying to find more information about Acacia, she was there waiting for me every time." Another thing she never figured out. “Ok. But I am serious. How did she know?” It was a nice anecdote, yet he didn’t want one. He wanted answers. “Maybe somepony told her? If they had been working together, then she might have just noticed her absence and put two and two together?" She didn't know how her mother did all of it. But surely everything had normal rational explanations. “I suppose… what exactly did they do?” He could see Dandelion going white. “I… forgot to ask.” She could see Sprint's unbelieving look. “How-“ He bit his tongue. Screaming would not yield results. So, he tried again without screaming, despite the immense frustration he was feeling. “How did you forget to ask her the one thing we came here for?” “I just…” she avoided eye contact. “Acacia came up, and things went south from there…" I need to find her… Yet all this time, I fell victim to false leads and distractions… “Ok. Ok. No harm done. We can-" "I told her I would help them like Summer did-" “How could you do that if you don’t know what helping means!” This time he couldn't stop himself from resorting to screaming. “I trust her… she made some wrong choices for me she had no right to make… but I know she meant well… I know helping her is the right choice… “We will see what I need to do. You said you could ask some friends about information on Acacia?” She didn’t want to be questioned about her choices. Sprint felt like bashing his head against a streetlight. But she was right. She wouldn’t need to do anything if it turned out that something nefarious was going on. “I could. I have a few friends who have friends that have friends in the ESS.” It wasn’t the most promising avenue. Still better than nothing. I never managed to get this far into the ESS. “Dandelion… they will tell me everything about Acacia. "Yet they will only do that if she isn't important. “If she is important, then they might take a look at me and turn on me instead.” Had an old friend you needed to find? Some official business that needed to be done quicker? Wanted to scare someone? They were invaluable in achieving those things. Ask something that Equestria's government wanted to keep hidden? If one was lucky, they would simply knock at one’s door and have a friendly conversation on why this was a bad idea and ask why it even was that there was such an interest in the confidential business. He didn't want to think about the many scenarios in which the pony in question wasn't lucky. “She might be… Mom said that Celestia herself might be behind her disappearance.” Maybe she shouldn’t have said that. “Then there is no way I can go about it like this! They will have me moved to the frozen north where I will never be heard or seen from again!” And while he didn’t like heat, the temperatures there might not be that ideal either. I need to find a way- “Where are we going?” Sprint realised that they were not heading back to the EFPS building. “I thought you were leading the way?” Maybe it really was time to get some sleep. *** The princess was sleeping. It was kind of weird since she was lying in her hooves. And she didn’t really know how it happened. There was this dark magic? Or was there? Why don’t I know? I have been trained to spot it! Yet she had just blacked out and woken up next to her. And while this should have been a dream come true, the circumstances surrounding it made it impossible to enjoy. Candy wriggled out of her grip and stood up. How long have I been out of it? Sadly, there was no clock. But there was the princess's room. Not her study but her private chambers. And she was in them technically without supervision. What now? It wasn’t her fault that she wasn’t tired, right? It wasn’t her fault that stupidly she found it impossible to enjoy what just weeks ago would have been her dream come true, was it? Surely it was fine for her to take a look around the room she had been let in into, wasn’t it? Before she could determine the answer, her eyes had already taken in her surroundings. This wasn’t her study, yet there were documents. Many documents. Stacked in neat towers. EBI and ESS are on her table. She took the liberty to deduce that this meant she gave those ones a priority. There is a tear-stained picture of a purple unicorn foal on a drawer. No doubt that that was young Twilight. You are holding her in your wings. You don’t look happy. It seemed that a long time ago, the pony she adored really did have a terrible future planned for her own daughter. Why do you try so hard to be evil? Why do all this to me only to realise you couldn’t? Why do it to her? She didn’t understand. Wouldn't it be easier for Celestia to just be the benevolent pony she knew she really was? Then again… You weren’t entirely wrong. She had been lectured many times on all the ways Celestia was exposed to danger. And how it was her duty to protect her from those dangers. The only way you would be able to be who you want to be is if we would finally do our jobs, allowing you to finally take a step back and just take a break for once. She took another look at the room. So much more was left. But by now, she had determined the answer to her question. She shouldn’t look if Celestia hadn’t given her permission. She needed to be there for her. She needed to help her. She needed to pick up the slack for all those around her that had failed her. I have done too little. That all would change soon. *** “You won’t believe this, Twi!” Rainbow came rushing towards the young alicorn that had decided to just sit down in a quiet corner and watch the sea together with the small dragon on her lap. “I think you just outright stole a pirate ship!” A pirate ship, huh? "This is so awesome! They have a bunch of weapons here and a real huge pirate flag!” Rainbow could see that Twilight wasn’t as ecstatic about the discovery as she was. Good thing she had an ace up her sleeve. “Well, my princess. I suppose you rulers don’t care about the menial stuff. “You just care about your treasure and luxury. Things the common ponies endlessly work for, only for you to take it from them using the money you steal from them to uphold a system that steals ever more from them.” Wait? What! That had come out of nowhere, and she had no idea where it was coming from nor where it was leading. "Unfortunately, my princess, there is no common pony around here to pillage. Only you yourself, our little prince and your princess consort,” Rainbow continued to tease her. Wait! Wait! Wait! Taxes aren’t evil, right? We need them! “Fortunately, though, you already pillaged some ponies before we left when you stole a ship that still had some loot on it.” Rainbow showed her a few of the gold coins she had taken with her. And she carefully placed a gem in Spike's hands. Gems! Again, Twilight had forgotten that their youngest and most vulnerable family member wasn’t like them. That he needed gems to survive and not normal food. Luck was on our side again… I can’t just keep telling myself that those are lessons. At one point, those "lessons" will become just a pretty way to downplay negligence and bad parenting. For now, though, she was just relieved to hear that the problem had solved itself before it had a chance to surface. "Cheer up, Twi." Rainbow misinterpreted her sour look. "Spike is taken care of, and it is their own fault for leaving their, might I add, more than likely stolen stuff unguarded." “You are right, Dashie,” Twilight leaned back again. Now wasn’t the time to worry. “Anything else?” she asked. “Everything seems to be here. Food, maps, gems, water, some rooms to sleep… "None of it is really top quality, but it should be more than enough." And while such a ship usually needed at least a small crew to navigate, Twilight's magic should be more than enough to keep them sailing safely to whatever their destination was. “That is good to hear.” Twilight mused. “Now, come and join me here. The stars should show themselves any moment now.” The alicorn gave Rainbow a cocky grin. “I demand to cuddle.” Together they would stay on deck for hours, just cuddling each other and taking in the beautiful night sky, paired with the endless sea around them, feeling the ocean air blowing through their manes. *** “Magic…. please just think this through. You have lost all of our backing. If your plan really is to bring back harmony, then how are you going to do it on your own? “And if it isn’t, then I still doubt you will make it without us.” “If necessary, I will allow them all to wield my element.” “Magic… you are only making each bearer weaker with that… it won’t work.” “This is my path. You are right. Everything will become harder. You will all be my enemies. “I will have to show them the light on my own. “I might have to fight you all and outright battle with you. “But I will win. “They will make it. “I have the magic of an entire universe at my disposal while you just have a bunch of pathetic virtues. “You will never defeat me, and if you do, I promise I will drag my magic down with me.” “Magic! You can’t-” “I can and I will! I am tired of you all! I don’t want to be an Element of Harmony anymore! We decided to work together, but it didn’t work out! Let’s take the only logical step and break up! Harmony is dead!” “M-M-M-” “Now you are crying Loyalty! Isn’t this what you always wanted! Is this so much worse than killing me! Did you never consider the implications of your statements! “You didn’t, did you? You never had any intentions of following through. “You thought you could scare me when I am fully aware of how pathetic all of you are. “No. I could have gone along with your plan. “I could have waited. “I could have feigned defeat and abandoned them after their failures. “I could have done so after their latest failure. “But it will never happen. They deserve my friendship more than any of you discordian monsters.” “Magic! Listen to yourself, you-” “I know what I am! I already said Harmony is dead! I am Magic! Forever will be Magic! Not the Element of Magic! Just Magic! No Harmony! “Just Magic!” “You are Friendship-” “With them! Not with you!” “…” “Yes. They are my friends. It is one-sided for now, but I will have more than enough time to make it work. “Together, we will fix this universe. “Together, we will help each other achieve our dreams. “I will not wait any longer to finally begin achieving mine. “I will not make some kind of game and then backstab you when you least expect it. “No, this is what I want. “I don’t need you for it. We are done. I am no longer an Element of Harmony. I reject you. “With her help, I will win.”