//------------------------------// // Revelations // Story: My Little Teelo // by Ardwolf //------------------------------// Teagan decided to wear her dress and pack the other clothes along with the bunny slippers. Her sandals, while not as stylish as the dress, were definitely a step up from bedroom slippers. She had no idea when or if she would be back in Ponyville. If things went well Princess Celestia might send her home immediately. Fortunately Rarity had put her pajamas in with the other clothes. She found a secluded nook to change in, doing so as quickly as she could manage. When she had changed she carefully pinned the pegasus broach to her dress. It seemed fitting somehow that Rarity’s first gift should grace her second and it added a touch of sophistication. If Teagan was going to meet the ruler of a country she wanted all the refinement she could lay her hands on! “I still can’t believe I’m about to meet a princess. Another princess.” She muttered as she rearranged things in her knapsack. She couldn’t remember if Earth still had any countries still ruled by a prince or princess. Maybe somewhere in the Middle East? Her musings were interrupted by Spike’s return. They were discussing the tulpa when Fluttershy came in, followed closely by Rarity who was wearing decorated saddlebags. “What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked, watching Twilight mutter to herself as a parade of books floated past her face, only to spin away when she angrily dismissed them. “We had an unfriendly visitor.” Teagan replied. “Oh no! Are you all right?” “Yeah, Spike managed to send it packing with an amazing display of fire breath.” Teagan said. “No telling what would have happened if he hadn’t been here.” “My little hero!” Rarity said, giving Spike a hug. The little dragon was immediately lost in dazed happiness. Teagan laughed inside as Rarity had done exactly what she’d thought she’d do. “But what was it?” Fluttershy asked insistently. “Twilight called it a tulpa, a thought made real.” Teagan responded. “It was invisible and acted like a fly at first, just annoying her, but the third time it bit her. If Spike hadn’t destroyed it who knows what it would have ended up doing?” “That’s terrible!” Fluttershy said, appalled. “Is Twilight ok?” “Seems to be.” Teagan said, watching the purple unicorn amidst her flock of books. “She’s really angry, though. She said the tulpa is mainly used as a spy. She also said it takes some serious magic to make one.” “Discord?” Rarity asked apprehensively. “Looks that way. If it was him though, he’s definitely turned evil. I am not looking forward to this mission.” Pinkie Pie came into the library, wearing large saddlebags. She took one look at Twilight and decided, somewhat atypically, to keep quiet. Applejack and Rainbow Dash came in not long after, Applejack sporting even larger saddlebags than Pinkie Pie. “Howdy, Teelo. Howdy gals.” Applejack said in a quiet voice, casting a weather eye on Twilight. “Looks ta me like Twilight’s in full research mode. That don’t bode well. Ah thought we was done with the plannin’.” Teelo explained about the tulpa and their suspicions about Discord. “Ah purely hope ta Celestia Twi’s wrong on this one, Sugarcube.” Applejack said quietly. “Otherwise it’s gonna get right nasty. Nasty like in the old days when no pony was safe. Nasty like none o’ us ain’t never seen afore.” “We kicked his rump last time!” Rainbow Dash said confidently. “We can do it again. No sweat.” “Hope yer right about that, Dashie.” Applejack said as they waited for Twilight to finish. Twilight slammed her hoof down on the desk and all the books snapped shut with a crack like a pistol shot. In spite of her glower the books settled gently onto the desk in neat piles. “So, Twilight, what did ya find?” Applejack asked hopefully. “Plenty. Almost none of it good, and nothing that can help us. The one bit of good news is Discord can’t be evil. He’s the Spirit of Chaos, there’s no possible way for him to turn evil. It would be like the color red turning into the musical note C sharp.” “Well, that’s good, right?” Pinkie asked with a hopeful smile. “As far as it goes.” Twilight said grimly. “But that still doesn’t explain what’s going on. Teelo’s abductor was evil, there’s no arguing that. The tulpa was pretty nasty, too. To be that nasty a tulpa’s got to be created by an evil mind. But to deliberately alert us it was here when a tulpa’s main job is to spy makes no sense—and that has Discord written all over it.” There was a knock at the door. “Twilight Sparkle! We’re here to transport you and your group to Canterlot!” A booming voice said from the other side of the door. “Coming!” She called. “Well girls, time to go. Everyone got their stuff?” Teelo shouldered the heavy knapsack. Twilight’s saddlebags floated over and settled onto the unicorn’s back. Spike grabbed a backpack nearly as big as he was and they filed out the door. In the yard were four large two-wheeled wagons pulled by a pair of armored pegasi each. One of the chariots was enclosed, the others open. That Teelo expected. What she didn’t expect was the escort of pegasi—there must have been at least twenty of them. “Whoa.” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Since when do we rate a full wing of royal guards as an escort?” A brawny white pegasus wearing the typical armor of a royal guard, with the exception of a pair of yellow stars in place of the single blue star adorning the others, stepped forward. “By the order of Her Grand Royal Highness Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and Sheppard of the Sun, know all ye gathered that Lady Teagan Laoise, scion of Clan O’Gara is under the protective wings of the Sun Shield, and that any seeking to do her harm shall face the Wrath of the Sun.” He faced Teagan and brought one foreleg across his massive chest in a salute reminiscent of the Roman Empire. “What?” Teagan asked stupidly, totally blindsided. “My lady, the Princess thought you would be more comfortable with an enclosed chariot. Who would you have as your fellow passenger?” “Twilight?” Teagan turned to ask the purple unicorn what was going on, only to find all her friends staring at the guard with their mouths hanging open. “Very well, Lady Teagan, Twilight Sparkle, if you would board the chariot please? We are under orders to bring you to the palace without delay.” “Oh. Yes, of—of course, Wing Commander.” Twilight stuttered and headed toward the chariot. Teagan, still bewildered, followed her automatically. The other ponies and Spike made their way to the other chariots. Inside, there was a padded seat obviously intended for Teagan and a pillow on which Twilight Sparkle flopped, clearly still befuddled. Teagan grabbed a loop attached to the wall as the chariot suddenly shot forward and began to climb at a gentle angle, as if the pegasi were climbing a steep hill. “Teelo, who are you?” Twilight demanded as the chariot leveled off. “Nobody special.” Teagan replied. “I’m just as shocked as you are. What’s all that about the Wrath of the Sun? Sounds serious.” “It means Princess Celestia will declare war on anyone who tries to harm you.” Twilight said soberly. “What?” Teelo yelped. “Why in the world would she do something like that?” “You tell me, scion of Clan O’Gara.” Twilight stared at her resentfully. “I thought I was your friend, Teelo. Why keep something like this a secret? Don’t you trust me?” “What? Twilight I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Teagan protested. “At least tell me your real name, Teelo.” Twilight looked hurt. “It’s Teagan Laoise O’Gara.” Teagan said. “But my friends call me Teelo. Like I told Princess Luna that’s the name I’d rather use.” “So you are a scion of Clan O’Gara after all.” Twilight said, looking away. “You could have trusted me.” “Twilight, for the last time, I don’t know what you’re talking about! What’s a scion? What does my last name have to do with anything? Does the name Sparkle mean something special? Or Dash? Or Pie? What’s so special about O’Gara?” Twilight looked at her with dawning comprehension. “You really don’t know, do you?” She asked in wonder. “Know what?” Teagan felt like tearing her hair out. This world suddenly was making even less sense than normal—not that it made a lot of sense at the best of times. “Not a lot of ponies know about Clan O’Gara anymore.” Twilight began. “It’s a legend from the dawn of pony history. I wouldn’t know about it either but I ran across an account in a book written by Starswirl the Bearded.” “Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! There is not some God-forsaken prophecy concerning the coming a scion of Clan O’Gara! Please, Twilight for the love of God tell me there isn’t!” Teagan pleaded. “No.” Twilight looked strangely at the girl. “There isn’t. It’s nothing like that. See, back before pony history began ponies didn’t live in Equestria. This was long before Princess Celestia became ruler of the sun and Princess Luna became ruler of the moon.” “It’s said ponies lived on a cruel island, where the winters were harsh and food was hard to come by and ponies were slaves of ruthless taskmasters that worked them so hard their lives were cut short from the brutal toil.” “Meanwhile, in a kinder, verdant land lived another kind of pony, far more like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna than a normal pony. They were called the capaill, and they were earth ponies more than anything else. They had a ruler much like our Princess Celestia, and her name was Epona.” Teagan frowned. “Epona? That sounds familiar.” “Does it? Anyway, the capaill shared the land with another race called the tuatha—” “Wait, doggone it! I’ve heard of the Tuatha! The Tuatha De Danann. The rulers or gods of ancient Ireland.” “What? No, they were just normal creatures, like the capaill, but very clever. The tuatha and the capaill cooperated and lived together peacefully, a lot like ponies and cows do today. Epona was great friends with one particular family of tuatha and they were called—” “The Clan O’Gara.” Teagan said gloomily. “Right!” Twilight nodded enthusiastically. “Oh God.” Teagan buried her head in her hands. “I see where this is going, Twilight. Just tell me one thing. What’s a scion?” “A descendent of a noble family.” Twilight answered promptly. “Tell me the rest.” Teagan said with a groan. “Well, one day there was an invasion of the land by creatures called—” “Melesians.” Teagan said, sighing. “Right again.” Twilight looked at the girl. “I take it you know this story?” “Just the human side, Twilight. Why don’t you tell me the pony side?” “All right. The new invaders were very cruel and Epona knew the capaill had no chance if the tuatha fell, and it looked very much like they would, even with the aid of the capaill. The melesians were just too powerful to stop.” “But Epona knew magic, deep ancient magic. She had alliances with creatures that lived deep in the forest. With their aid, she created a kind of bridge, a bridge to another place. But there was a price.” Twilight looked at Teagan, and there was sadness in her eyes. “The magic required a sacrifice. Neither the capaill nor the tuatha could use the bridge to escape. But part of them could live on, provided they were willing to stay behind and let the bridge carry others.” “Ponies?” Teagan asked softly. “Ponies.” Twilight agreed. “Epona freed as many of the ponies that lived on that cruel barren island as she could, for each pony she freed meant another pony that could carry the essence of a capaill and a tuatha over the bridge even though they themselves had—” Twilight stopped. “Had what?” Teagan asked, even though deep down she knew. “Perished.” Twilight said. “As a sacrifice, fallen in battle. The Clan O’Gara loved the capaill. Of all the tuatha they loved the capaill the most. The tuatha rode the capaill into battle and each pair fought until—well until they fell. The spell linked their lives so that if either died, so did the other. And then some of their essence magically merged with a pony on the barren island and that pony was transported across the bridge.” “That’s so—so tragic.” Teagan felt as though she were going to cry. “I thought so too, until I really thought about it. No one forced them to do it, Teelo. They did it knowing they were doomed anyway. Their willing sacrifice allowed another creature to live. It allowed some part of them to live on too.” “Starswirl called it the dreadful algebra of necessity.” “You see the ponies from that island paid a price too. When they crossed the bridge it changed them, they weren’t the same ponies anymore. Because the spirits of a fallen capaill and their rider merged with the pony during the transfer what stepped off the bridge into Equestria was a creature that had never existed before. Part tuatha, part capaill, and part pony.” Twilight looked Teagan. “That’s how ponies arrived here in Equestria, Teelo. But at first they weren’t exactly like the ponies of today, they were more like the ponies of the old world, except as smart as the tuatha and with the magical potential of the capaill.” “It’s also said that on that day the spirits of Epona and her rider Daghda entered into two sister ponies that were carried in their mother’s womb across the bridge. Those two sisters were Celestia and Luna.” “Once Celestia and Luna grew up their magic started getting stronger and stronger. Celestia loved the sun and the day while her sister loved the night and the moon. Eventually their powers grew so great they somehow became part of the things they loved and gained control over them.” “One day Celestia discovered a spell that would unlock every pony’s potential, so they could become the best they could possibly be. She called it the Great Spell. After much discussion with her sister and much discussion among all the ponies it was decided she should cast the spell.” Twilight watched Teagan carefully. “That spell transformed every pony in Equestria, Teelo. It created unicorns, and pegasi, and earth ponies. It made Celestia and Luna immortal, and they became our beloved princesses of the sun and moon.” “The spell had a couple of unexpected side effects too.” Twilight giggled, her eyes dancing in sudden mischief. “What side effects?” Teagan asked suspiciously, wondering what was so funny. “Well, before the Great Spell Starswirl said ponies had muted colors, black, brown, a few white or gray, and roan. But after the spell ponies turned every color of the rainbow, most getting two colors and some even more. Bright vibrant colors.” “Oh, so that’s why you guys look like you got caught in an explosion at a paint factory.” Teagan laughed. “I gotta say, Twilight some ponies make my eyes bleed. They’re so bright.” “Yeah, some ponies really are.” Twilight agreed. “Don’t tell anypony I said that!” They laughed and Twilight continued her story. “The other side effect was actually the main point of the spell. Each pony’s potential was unlocked, so they could be the best they could be. When a pony realizes their potential, their cutie mark appears.” “So those tattoo-looking things on your flank actually advertise that you’ve achieved your full potential? That’s pretty awesome.” “Well, not exactly. It means we’ve discovered the path to our full potential.” Twilight said. “Take me, for example. All unicorns have some magic, usually related to their potential, but my potential is magic, so I can learn more magic than other ponies. But although I can learn more, it doesn’t mean I have. You see?” “Right. It’s kind of like that for humans, too. Some people discover their calling in life, and some never do. Seems like the ones who know what their calling is are always the happiest. But we don’t get cutie marks.” Twilight nodded. “So what the Great Spell did was let every pony learn what their calling was, as you put it.” Twilight said. “Starswirl had some other theories about pony nature too. He thought the reason why most ponies are kind natured, yet still strong and proud was because of the heroic sacrifice of the tuatha and the capaill. Because they are forever part of who ponies are, we’ll always have heroes.” “That’s why Celestia is willing to go to war for you, Teelo. Without Clan O’Gara Equestria would not exist, ponies would not exist, even the Princess herself wouldn’t exist. In a very real way ponies are part of Clan O’Gara too. We owe them everything.” “Even if all that’s true.” Teagan said slowly. “And I am a scion of Clan O’Gara, that doesn’t make me anything special. It doesn’t mean I’m a hero; it just means I had ancestors who were.” “Really? I think you underestimate yourself. When you faced the manticore, did you cower and scream?” Twilight asked gently. “Well, no.” Teagan admitted. “Did you panic and run?” “No. But that was because my dad taught me what to do if I ever encountered a wild animal.” Teagan argued. “I could teach you spells, Teagan, but if you didn’t have magical ability you couldn’t actually cast them.” Twilight said patiently. “Your father could have taught you everything he knew, but if you weren’t brave deep down inside, you’d have still panicked.” “Yeah, well, I was terrified.” Teagan retorted. “Heroes don’t get scared like that!” “Who told you that?” Twilight laughed. “Being a hero isn’t about being fearless. It’s about doing what you have to when all you really want to do is run away and hide.” “You know, I just realized something else! Discord didn’t pick you at random.” “He didn’t?” Teagan asked, stomach knotting. “No. Tell me are you the oldest child of your father’s line?” Twilight asked. “Um, yeah, I guess. I’m an only child.” Teagan said. Twilight nodded in satisfaction. “As the eldest living descendent of Clan O’Gara your link to Equestria was strong enough to let Discord cross over the bridge back to your world.” “You mean this mess is my fault?” Teagan asked, appalled. “What? No, of course not!” Twilight exclaimed. “Why would you think that?” “Well if I didn’t exist Discord couldn’t have used the bridge, right?” “Then he’d have kidnapped your father instead. Or your grandfather. Would you prefer that?” “No.” “You see my point. If this mess is anyone’s fault, it’s Discord’s.” Twilight said. “So am I going to have to be the one to fix it?” Teagan asked. “Not alone, Teelo. You have us.” Twilight smiled at the girl. “But be honest. Don’t you want a chance at evening the score? The rest of us have already fought him once. I thought we trapped him forever. I’m sorry I was wrong.” “Yeah, I am mad at that monster.” Teagan nodded. “And it would be sweet to watch him turn to stone, he does deserve it. But then again, if it hadn’t been for him I wouldn’t have met all of you. And while I could have done without the manticore and the whole towel thing I must admit the rest has been a lot of fun. I guess every cloud does have a silver lining, huh?” “You’d have to ask Rainbow Dash about that.” Twilight said, grinning. Teagan burst into laughter just as the chariot tilted downward. There was a bump and the chariot slowed abruptly. “We’re here. Welcome to Canterlot, Teelo.” Twilight said with a smile as the back of the chariot opened.