//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 // Story: Millennium Wake: Part 1 // by Chaotic Dreams //------------------------------// Chapter 22 “Surprise, you are one of my closest friends,” Rarity began. “but that is without a doubt one the most ridiculous things I have ever heard in my entire life!” Surprise cocked her head, as if unsure how anything she had just said could not be taken at face value. “Not that I think Surprise has any evidence to back up her claims,” Firefly spoke up. “But from all we’ve seen of the other imprints, what makes you so convinced that... Pinkie Pie’s imprint... is any... different?” Rarity looked strangely at Firefly for a moment in response to her odd pauses. “First of all,” Rarity answered. “I found each of the other imprints to be detestable perversions of their originals during my first meeting with them. All that came out of my meeting with Pinkie Pie’s imprint was the discovery that she was a little off. She was much more mellow than the real Pinkie, but nothing more. “Secondly,” Rarity continued, turning to face Firefly directly with a look of concern. “Are you alright, darling?” “I’m... fine...” Firefly stated, smiling despite—wait, where those tears in her eyes?! Her face suddenly contorted, a trembling rising in her throat. Oh, no... Rarity thought desperately. Please, no! No, no, no! Firefly coughed, her eyes widening and beginning to overflow with her tears. “I thought... I thought I would have... more... time...” Firefly rasped, her voice severely strained. Then, at long last, a violent fit of coughs racked her body with that impossible motion and caused her to collapse to the ground. “Firefly!” Rarity gasped, rushing over to the fallen pegasus, fearing that by the time she reached her, she would not longer be her friend at all. “Firefly, please, answer me!” “Yeah, yeah, quit your whining, will you?” snapped a voice that, although it came from Firefly’s mouth, definitely wasn’t Firefly’s. “No...” Rarity whispered as icy claws gripped her heart. “No, no, no... Why can’t anything in this time be... not so psychotically deranged?!” “Where’s the fun in that?” Surprise wondered. “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot—” “Surprise!” Rarity snorted loudly, whirling on her friend. “Please forgive me for being so unladylike, but SHUT THE BUCK UP! This era’s bad enough without your craziness adding to the mess!” There was a moment of silence as Rarity tried to slow her breathing after such an outburst, straining with all her willpower not to let her new tail do any more than twitch in severe agitation. “Ouch...” Megan and the other Firefly stated at last, in perfect unison. “Hey, jinx!” the not-Firefly laughed, pointing a hoof at Megan. “Now you owe me a sugar cube soda!” “Shut the buck up, Firefly,” Megan retorted flatly, not taking her eyes off of Rarity and Surprise. The two ponies’ eyes were still locked, Rarity’s furious draconic pupils boring into the lavender irises of the snowy pegasus. Rarity’s right eye began to twitch. Surprise winced. Then her mane slowly deflated, falling flat at her sides. At last, beads of water welled up at the sides of her eyes, and she burst into tears. “It’s not my fault!” Surprise cried. “It’s not like I want to be like this! It’s not like I want to never have any idea what’s going on! It’s just that it’s either this, or I’m... I’m...” But she couldn’t finish, and helplessly broke down altogether, sobbing. She opened her wings without a word, and launched herself into the air, soaring away and leaving behind a trail of windswept tears. Rarity’s green eyes widened. “NO!” she roared, not caring who heard them. “What has this time done to me?! Am I just as much a monster as the imprints?!” She could barely control her tail any longer as her raw revulsion at the world, at the imprints, at herself, threatened to overwhelm her. Sure, Sweetie Belle loved her—had always loved her—but her little sister was a thousand years dead, and the only ponies alive who needed her now were ponies she couldn’t come through for. She knew it wasn’t Surprise’s fault that she was the way she was. She knew that Firefly couldn’t help being the host of a magical mind-parasite. And though she had no real qualms with Megan, she would forever live with the knowledge that she had trapped her in Firefly’s shadow, never to leave the pony’s side lest they both die. She just couldn’t take this anymore. She was broken, and that was all there was to it. This era had won. She gave up. It was actually a good thing Surprise had flown off, she realized. Now Rarity couldn’t lead her into harm’s way any more. The white unicorn, reining her tail in with all of her strength, trotted a short ways from the group, and sat down. She released her hold on her tail, which instantly began thrashing wildly from her frustration, stinging the ground repeatedly as there was nothing else within its reach. “Rarity...” Megan began, venturing over to her friend. “Leave me alone or I’ll sting you,” Rarity threatened quietly. She didn’t even turn around to see the human flinch. “You should follow Surprise’s lead and leave. Both of you. All I’ve done is make your lives worse. There’s nothing I can give you now but more of what you’ve already experienced.” “So... That’s it?” Megan asked. “You’re just giving up?” “Did I not make myself clear?” Rarity intoned. “No, you made yourself perfectly clear,” Megan corrected. “You’re as clear as crystal. As clear as air. As clear as nothingness. Because that’s what you are, Rarity. If you’re giving up, then you’re nothing. Maybe you always have been.” Rarity flinched herself this time, but said nothing. “You think you have the right to stop fighting this world because of your mistakes?” Megan continued, her voice heating. “Well, you don’t. That’s not up to you. Because there are people who need you, Rarity, and you’re the only one who can help them.” “I can’t help anypony!” Rarity shot back, darting a heated glance over her shoulder. “I can’t even help me! Look at me! I’m not even me anymore! I’ve failed you all. I’ve failed myself. And there’s no way I’m going to risk hurting you all any more.” “So you think you get to give up because you can’t deal with your mistakes, even though you tried to do the right thing?” Megan scoffed. “Is that it, Rarity?” The white unicorn turned her head away, but nodded. “My little pony, you have no idea,” Megan declared. “Oh?” Rarity laughed humorlessly. “And what have you done that’s so terrible?” “Why don’t you see for yourself?” Megan asked with a snap of her hand-appendages. Suddenly the world fell away. There was nothing but darkness. No—there was nothing but nothing—as far as she could see. Or maybe couldn’t see. What did it matter? Was this what it was like when you were blind, and had no concept of light, dark, or sight at all? No, it was worse than that. This must be what it was like to not be at all. Rarity herself wasn’t even a presence in this unplace. There was no existence here, and that included her. She tried to scream, tried to flee, but there was nothing to scream with or into and nowhere to run to or from. Then there were words. Big, bold, blocky letters. LOADING PSYCHIC TRANSMISSION, FIRST CONTACT FILE 00: “HUMANITY’S WARNING,” or “MEGAN’S MISTAKE.” Megan’s mistake? What was this? Suddenly the world faded back into being. Or rather, it darkened into existence. At least the blackness was better than the nothingness, but Rarity still felt as if she wasn’t there herself. Then pinpricks of light appeared, like a billions of shining jewels thrown into the night. One in particular grew in size until it flare with all the intensity of Celestia’s Sun. Where am I? Rarity thought in total confusion. What is this place? There was something below her. it was far too dim to be a star or a sun, but it flared with light all the same as it spun swiftly through space. Suddenly the white unicorn, despite still not feeling any presence of herself, found the planet rising up to meet her. In an instant, she had descended through clouds and towering skyscrapers into a city that put New Canterlot to shame. There was one building in particular that seemed to be emphasized, and before she knew it Rarity had passed through its walls and was in a vast room filled with the strangest, most alien creatures she had ever seen. She couldn’t hope to describe them—they just were, and what they were was as strange a thing as Rarity had ever seen. But in the middle of the room was an all-too-familiar figure. Is that... Megan? Rarity pondered, wondering what in The ULE was going on—though she knew that, if all of this was real, she was not in The ULE anymore. To be sure, the figure looked like her friend, but only as a mother looks like her child. This Megan was a good deal older the human Rarity knew, but the familiar features were all there. The sheer look of determination, the long golden hair, the hard, twinkling eyes. However, rather than the leather vest, orange shirt, and blue leggings that Megan wore, this human wore a stiff gray uniform. The human was also transparent—her form shimmered and sparked every so often, as if she was nothing more than a ghost. “The United Humanities thank you for this opportunity to commence peace talks,” the older Megan stated to the odd creatures. “We regret that we could not send an ambassador in person, but we hope that this holographic communication will be overlooked in exchange for who our ambassador is.” A series of sounds, seeming to defy everything Rarity knew about the way sound should function, assaulted what would have been her ears had she actually been there. Overlaying these sounds, though, were words she could understand. “And who would that be, human?” the creatures asked. “Our patience grows thin with your race.” “We understand that,” the Megan look-a-like replied. “Which is why you shall be conversing directly with me: Megan Williams, Head Council Member of The Council of Humanity.” A general murmuring that remained untranslated followed. Then one of the creatures said “It is about time you showed us your leader. Now, are you ready to surrender to us and cede all of your space to our control, submitting fully and without question to our rightful authority?” “The United Humanities have made it clear to you time and again that we will not now nor will we ever surrender to you or any other species,” the other Megan spoke. “Can there not be a mutual, peaceful cooperation between our universes?” “No,” the other beings all shouted at once. “Never. You shall submit wholly to us or we shall devote every last moment of our existence to forcing you under our command or, failing that, destroying you altogether. There is no other alternative. You shall submit to us or be eliminated. We have the entire armada of our federation ready to attack your universe this very instant should you refuse us one last time. This is your last chance, human. “So,” the things went on. “Do you surrender?” “No,” Megan’s doppelganger stated grimly. And was that a touch of... Sadness in her voice? “And this is your last chance. Should you declare unending war on us, we will eliminate you. Forever.” A sound that might have been laughter filled Rarity’s mind. “You can never defeat us,” the alien creatures declared. “And for your insolence you shall suffer, and die. Your end begins now.” “If that is your final stance on the matter,” the Megan-that-wasn’t sighed. “So be it.” She flickered out like a candle in the wind. And then Rarity was rushing upwards once more, through the walls of the building and into the space between the stars and the planet. She was turned, and saw a fast-approaching wall of what looked to be metal vessels, stretching out as far as she could see in any direction. Many of them were far larger than even the planet she had just ‘been’ on. Then Rarity was turned again, this time facing away from the armada and towards what looked like... Like something that shouldn’t exist. it was a perversion of reality, a patch of space that seemed to collapse in on itself and swirl out of existence. Beyond it was another patch of stars, and just in front of them the white unicorn could see a single ship. No, it wasn’t a ship at all. It was hardly the size of the building she had just been in, but it was moving far faster than any of the other metal contraptions rushing forwards to meet it. It raced below her, and she caught just a smidgeon of what was written across it. QUANTUM WARHEAD #1: HUMANITY’S APOLOGY. MAY WE BE FORGIVEN. The metal pod slammed into the planet below, burrowing out of sight inside of it before— BANG! And there was nothing but more nothingness all over again as the planet and armada and stars and reality itself all melted away. HEAD COUNCIL MEMBER MEGAN WILLIAMS RESIGNED SHORTLY AFTER AUTHORIZING THE ORDER TO ERADICATE UNIVERSE #2 read the blocky letters, suddenly appearing once more in the naught. SHE WAS FOUND DEAD DAYS LATER IN HER PERSONAL LODGINGS, APPARENTLY DUE TO SUICIDE. HUMANITY DOES NOT MOURN HER LOSS, THOUGH NEITHER DO WE CONDEMN HER ACTIONS. IF YOU [INSERT UNIVERSE NUMBER HERE] CHOOSE TO INTERACT WITH HUMANITY, YOU WILL BE AT RISK JUST AS THESE BEINGS WERE. KNOW THAT WE CAN SAVE YOU JUST AS WE CAN DESTROY YOU, AND THOUGH WE HAVE NO WISH TO DO THE LATTER, WE WILL IF YOU FORCE US TO. END PSYCHIC TRANSMISSION. And then the world—The ULE—reality came rushing back. Rarity collapsed onto the ground, though she came back into existence as though she had never left, having been sitting just as she was before she witnessed the death of a universe. “What... What was that?” Rarity questioned, unable to turn herself to look at Megan. Her mind was racing, but it didn’t know what to think. “That’s my mistake,” Megan replied. “Or rather, my potential mistake. I just sent you a psychic recording of First Contact File 00, which humanity sends to all new races we encounter in new universes. It’s general knowledge back in Universe #1. Or rather, what’s in that recording is general knowledge. But there’s a smidgeon of untruth on there. “We definitely blew up a universe,” Megan went on. “But Head Council Member Megan Williams didn’t commit suicide. She was cloned and they killed the clone, making it look like a suicide. Her abductors put her in suspended animation and took her to the farthest reaches of the known universes. That was all illegal, of course, and the name ‘Megan’ has even been blacklisted by The United Humanities.” “Then why is your name—” Rarity began. “Because I am Head Council Member Megan Williams,” the human cut her off. “My father was the former Head Council Member and he still wielded a lot of power. After I resigned, he had some men remove me from general society, wipe my memory, and genetically de-age me. I was even put into a surrogate mother and born all over again.” “Why?” was all Rarity could ask, beginning to shake in a fear she couldn’t quite control. “To give me a second chance,” she answered. “My father didn’t want me to die with my mistake defining who I was. As soon as I was old enough, again, he told me the truth of who I was. He told me to never stop fighting for what was right, but to never make the same mistake again. “I couldn’t take looking at other humans anymore after that,” Megan continued. “I’d heard tales all my life of ‘Megan Williams,’ and to learn I actually was her... It was too much. So I ran away to be with people who didn’t really know the extent of who I was. Humans grow up with this knowledge, but ponies have only recently been introduced to it, and then only your leaders. With your race, I could truly start over. “But you’ve just told me everything you said you didn’t want people to know,” Rarity noted, still feeling the cold grip of fear around her heart. If what Megan said was true, then Rarity was in the presence of a killer so terrible that genocide didn’t begin to describe her actions. But the white unicorn had seen the recording—what choice had she had? Was the protection of every last one of your own species worth destroying the entirety of another universe? “Why?” “Because you needed to know,” Megan stated simply. “And because I’m still fighting the good fight even knowing all that. If I can go on even after knowing that, then you sure as heck can. What have you done, honestly? Yelled at an insane pegasus? Allowed the death of some hybrid thing that claimed to be your son? Been too focused on your own goals to care about Firefly’s? Forget all of that. If I can move on from eradicating an entire universe, then you can get off your rump and help fix this world.” Rarity winced at the mention of Sapphire. But Megan was right. If this human could still be trying to do good even after all she’d done, even when she had been trying to do the right thing all along, then Rarity could too. Megan had destroyed an entire universe. Rarity had just failed to adequately even try to help fix one planet in this one. “Well, I suppose I should be going now,” Megan chuckled humorlessly. “I never thought I would reveal any of that to anyone. I hope it does you some good, because I know it sure as heck hasn’t done me any. Well... Goodbye.” Megan turned to leave. Before she could take so much as a step, though, Rarity caught her in a hug. “What the...?” Megan inquired incredulously. “What are you doing?” “Giving you what you need,” Rarity told her, smiling through her tears of thanks. “You need to know that even if you did all that, and even if I’m just one person, I don’t care what you did before I met you. You’ve stuck by me this whole time and been a true friend, and you were even willing to risk facing your past all over again to help me see the light. So I thank you, and I want you to know that it really doesn’t matter to me what you did.” Megan hugged her back. “Ugh...” the Firefly-that-wasn’t interrupted. “I hate to break up your obviously meaningful moment and all, but I think you need to see this.” “Firefly!” Rarity exclaimed, realizing what she had to do now. If she was going to keep on going, then she had to keep on going for something. She had to try and fix this era, and that meant starting with the split pegasus. She broke off the embrace with Megan and ran over to the multicolored pony, smacking the tree she was hiding under with her hoof. Unfortunately, no medicinal fruit came down, even when she asked for it specifically. Rarity cursed, realizing that Fluttershy’s imprint still must have The Fluttershy Forests in a state of dormancy. Wait a minute... Firefly was hiding under a tree? She turned to the pegasus, following her line of sight to see a spidery black shape soaring through the sky on leathery wings. In the spiderbat’s claws, a speck of white and gold screamed at the top of her lungs despite the wind that was whipping her voice away. “No...” Rarity breathed in utter horror as the thing took her friend over them, not seeing them below, and headed back to Fluttershy’s factory. The cold flame in Rarity’s heart flared up, and her dragon eyes narrowed in pure rage. Only this time, Rarity would use her overwhelming emotion for a purpose. It seemed they would be going back to the monstrous tree after all, and when they did, Rarity planned to end it once and for all. That abomination would not have Surprise—or anypony else—ever again.