Chapter Fifty Five: Welcome Ceasefire
~BlackRoseRaven
Celestia was extremely concerned about the attack, and spent a long time going over every detail of what had happened with Luna and Scrivener. She had also had Meadowlark and Scarlet Sage carefully go over Twilight, even though the Lich was less-bruised than either Scrivener or Luna were, and hadn't suffered as seriously as they had worried she would from her living phylacteries being battered around... then again, it probably helped by that by now she was used to that.
Celestia was also markedly interested in the polymorph Scrivener had gone through mid-battle. She had something in her mind, and that worried Scrivener... but what had been truly nerve-wracking was when she asked if she could have time to think before speaking with them again, and gently urged them to go to bed. Celestia had come running the moment she found out what had happened, after all, with Scarlet and Antares in tow... she said she would stay the night here, so they could talk after the three ponies got some rest and they had all settled.
Luna grumbled, but agreed if only for Twilight's sake: the Lich was still frazzled, she had gone through a short crying fit and apologized again and again for not being able to help, then berated them both for not running away and... almost giving in. She had yelled at them a little about their worsening addiction to the corruption, too, right in front of Celestia, but Celestia had thankfully brushed this tactfully aside for now, even though Antares and Scarlet Sage both looked immediately concerned.
But all the same, almost the moment the sapphire mare laid her head down on the pillows with her partners, she was asleep. Moments later, and she was in the dreamworld, standing in the halls of some vast, beautiful castle. She frowned curiously as she looked back and forth, seeing a resemblance to the golden halls of Valhalla in the architecture... before she shivered as Nightmare Moon said kindly: “And this could all be ours. This could all be yours.”
Luna turned around, and then flinched in surprise: not at Nightmare Moon, but at the fact that beside her stood Valthrudnir, the Jötnar smiling with predatory charm at the mare as he shuffled a set of tarot cards slowly between his hands. “Yes, Valkyrie. This and more. I must admit, I am fascinated by the way you and Nihete continue to evolve yourselves...”
“Scrivener Blooms. King of the Night. You promised.” Nightmare Moon said kindly, and she smiled over at Valthrudnir almost coyly as the dragon rolled his amber eyes distastefully. “Please. It is but a small favor we ask, Lord Valthrudnir. And have we not earned a little respect?”
“Not as much as you seem to like to think.” Valthrudnir replied equably, and Nightmare Moon's eyes flashed, but her smile didn't fade before the Jötnar riffled several cards into one hand, then fanned them out and looked down over them meditatively. “But very well. I shall attempt to use the name Nihete was given by the biological entity that believed itself to be his mother whenever the mood is appropriate for it.”
Luna snarled, but Nightmare Moon smiled again, bowing her head politely as if in gratitude. Valthrudnir glanced from one to the other moodily for a moment, and then he shook his head in distaste, muttering: “And here I always believed that the existence of multiple coherent personalities in a single entity's mind was either a farce and delusion exacerbated by other mental conditions or the workings of pathetic mud-slop like demons that take far too much delight in a simpleton's prank.”
“What do the two of thee want? And I do not desire a castle, any more than I desire a country. If there is one thing that I desire to rule, 'tis only myself.” Luna said moodily, glancing back and forth, and Valthrudnir snorted at this as Nightmare Moon chuckled quietly.
“Now Luna, that's not entirely true... you may not desire an army of worshipers, but I do know that you do wish that you had the power to make others bow to you, whenever you so pleased. To have freedom, and more importantly, power so great that you would no longer have to fear either responsibility or repercussion...” Nightmare Moon said in her sultry, almost-teasing tones, and Luna gritted her teeth and looked away, but she was strangely relieved as the castle setting around them melted slowly down into a forest of tall, dark trees and jutting rocks of ice, the floor beneath them turning to warm, strangely-soothing mire. “Better?”
Luna grumbled a little, and Valthrudnir rolled his eyes as he shuffled the fan of tarot cards back into the deck, then began to calmly riffle them from hand-to-hand, asking distastefully: “May we please move on to why I have been generous enough to offer my time and services before the other two wheels of the tricycle make their appearance?”
“I do not know if I should be offended or chuckle at thy awful metaphor. Clearly spending all the time thou art in Scrivy's mind is rubbing off on thy overstuffed brain.” Luna said dryly, while Nightmare Moon only smiled indulgently.
The Jötnar only gave her a sour look, then he began to grouchily shuffle the deck of tarot cards with one hand, smoothly making the cards dance through the air and around his fingers with a dexterity that made Luna scowl crankily. “Forgive me, next time I won't use the simplest metaphor I can think of to ensure your plebeian mind is capable of understanding that I am referring to you.
“But before this can devolve any further...” Valthrudnir held up a single finger, as he finished shuffling his deck with his other hand and instead only held it tightly. “I thought it would be prudent for me, and a show of good faith, to speak you directly concerning your condition. I have not barred Nihete... Scrivener Blooms... or the one you call Twilight Sparkle from joining this conversation, but I have chosen a location a convenient distance away, so we speak without any interruption that you may not desire. You may not want to share what I have to tell you with the others.”
Luna shook her head firmly, then she looked up and said quietly: “I hide nothing from Twilight nor Scrivener. And in any event, I cannot keep a secret: Scrivy and I know one-another inside-out through our soul link. All our darkest secrets, all our brightest dreams. Nothing is hidden from the other, Valthrudnir.”
The Jötnar only smiled at this, and then he made a simple raising gesture with two fingers, and an ominous black vault slowly rose out of the mire in front of Luna, the mare wincing away from this as the dragon asked softly: “And what if I told you that there was a way you could? That I could offer you a place to hide all those things, good and ill, you don't want anyone else to know? Strangely enough, I don't mean all those filthy fantasies that parade around so proudly in your mind, but your hidden little desires, like how much it bothers you that-”
“Enough! Nightmare Moon, how dare thou feed the monster this information, let him use it against me!” Luna snapped, glaring furiously over at the entity of passion, but Nightmare Moon almost reflected the Jötnar's pleased expression as she bowed her head towards Luna.
“He read the memories from all our minds, darling Luna... but do not fear.” Nightmare Moon calmly rose a hoof as her horn glowed, then slowly made a lowering gesture, and the dark-metal safe sank back into the mire as Valthrudnir grumbled moodily. “We appreciate the offer, Lord Valthrudnir, but ask that in the future you keep to yourself instead of wandering so freely. Furthermore, we do not desire nor deserve secrets from those we love and serve.”
“Very well.” Valthrudnir said moodily, looking almost disturbed by Nightmare Moon's reaction, before the Jötnar shook his head and glanced distastefully over at Luna. “Then shall I bring Nihete and the Lich here for a nice little chat on how you now require infusions of the corruption to live?”
Luna swallowed thickly at this, her eyes widening slightly, and the dragon smiled with sour self-satisfaction as he nodded once and tented his fingers in front of himself. “I thought as much. And while I admit that there was perhaps a miscalculation on my part in considering what a lifeform such as yourself could handle without creating an imbalance, part of that fault rests on you and Nihete for your own little forays into experimenting with the corruption.”
The sapphire mare snarled at this, but Nightmare Moon was quick to step in, saying softly: “Perhaps we should save laying blame for another time, if I may be so bold as to offer my suggestion. After all, this concerns all of us, does it not?”
“Yes, yes. I suppose that's correct.” Valthrudnir muttered, and then he shook his head slowly before moodily surveying Luna, and then frowning slightly as his amber eyes locked on her, asking quietly after a moment: “Why do you still desire to have Nihete and the Lich present? I have just revealed that you have a large, glaring vulnerability, Valkyrie. Even if your kind was designed to be whores and handmaidens and servants off the battlefield, you shouldn't be so willing to go babbling about this new way Nihete can puppet you like the tin toy soldier that you are.”
Luna snarled with even greater anger at this, and then she leaned forwards and shouted angrily: “The Valkyrie were warriors so strong that even being but forty and one in number, we not only kept the Aesir and Vanir in line but your accursed barbarian kind at bay! Preen and mock all thou likes, Valthrudnir, but for all the fine silk and tenor of thy tone, thou art still nothing but a brute and a savage, and thy breeding shows all the more in the way thou cannot trust a single accursed soul!”
“What do you know, Valkyrie?” Valthrudnir snapped in return as he lost his calm, his eyes blazing as he stomped forwards and swung an arm out. He ground his teeth together, then continued with a snarl: “The Jötnar were about nothing but power and favoritism! I was the smartest, the greatest intellect, the battle-planner and far above the power of my so-called 'brethren,' and yet Ymir always bullied me, picked on me, was afraid of me! Yet I never failed a single mission that I was given, my strategies provided the brazen bully and our entire clan the means to drive off both gods and fire giants! But where was ever my recognition? Why was I never given so much as a 'thank you' for all that I provided? If I am so wrong about the world, Brynhild, where were my friends?”
The sapphire mare didn't know how to respond to this, mouthing slowly as she looked disbelievingly at the Jötnar as he breathed hard in and out, his eyes blazing, a furious snarl on his features before he glared down at Nightmare Moon as the dark entity calmly reached up and pressed a hoof into the invisible shield around the dragon, making the air ripple strangely as she said softly: “I am your friend, Lord Valthrudnir.”
Valthrudnir looked surprised at this, leaning back and frowning down at the dark entity, and there was simply silence for a few long moments before Luna sighed in relief as Twilight and Scrivener Blooms both swirled into being on either side of her in bursts of blue mist, the sapphire mare murmuring: “Good. I was terrified for a moment that I was about to be forced to go through a group hug with the Jötnar.”
“Be silent, Valkyrie, I am in no mood for your insipidity.” Valthrudnir said disgustedly, and then he shook himself out briskly before slowly brushing the wrinkles out of his suit jacket, adding moodily: “And I suppose I should have known that Nihete and your little incubator would come running.”
Luna growled again, and Scrivener grimaced as Twilight only sighed quietly. Then the stallion turned uneasy eyes on Luna, studying her and feeling her thoughts and recent memories tickling into his mind even as he replied calmly to Valthrudnir, the Tyrant Wyrm side of his subconscious features facing towards the dragon: “It wasn't hard. I just thought of the stupidest place to look, which you would probably figure was the smartest place. You know, you being such a super-genius and a master of pony psychology and all.”
The dragon fixed a dark look on Scrivener Blooms, and the stallion looked mildly back before Valthrudnir calmly rose his fingers and snapped them. And a moment later, a pillar of dark mire shot straight up and hammered into the underside of Scrivener's chin, making his eyes bulge as his head snapped backwards. “Shut up.”
Twilight winced, and Luna looked mildly over at Scrivener as he staggered a few steps away, shaking his head out and rubbing slowly at the underside of his face as the pillar dissolved back into darkness. Then all three ponies looked up as Valthrudnir said moodily: “Drinking the raw corruption is effective, but a better method would be direct injection of a concentrated form into a vein.”
Luna closed her eyes tightly as Scrivener and Twilight both almost immediately understood what the Jötnar was talking about, and they both opened their mouths to argue. But Nightmare Moon stepped forwards, smiling and saying quietly: “Please, my beloved family. Hear out what the Jötnar has to say. After all, we are already paying the cost, are we not? So instead of wasting our time threatening and attacking each other, let's work towards a solution with Lord Valthrudnir.”
Scrivener shifted uneasily, looking almost warily at Nightmare Moon. Her sultry smile, the glimmer of her eyes, the predatory look on her face half-hidden beneath everything... it worried him. After all, Nightmare Moon was normally one of their fiercest defenders... and the only time she didn't rush into a debate to prove she knew best of them all what was going on as when she had some nasty underlying scheme at hoof.
And the way she treated Valthrudnir... how the Jötnar was looking at her with suspicion he probably didn't understand was only playing into Nightmare Moon's hooves. Sure, by now he didn't doubt that the dragon probably had an IQ of about a billion, and he was cunning and a master strategist and clearly understood how the mind worked... but he still didn't seem to have the best grasp of free will. Of the idea that sometimes not everything worked according to the precise calculations, that sometimes you could give a pony every reason to go one way... and they would go in the other direction instead. Or hell, they might just sit down, or go to sleep, or start wildly screaming and running around in circles.
More than that... Nightmare Moon was living will, living passion, living emotion. And maybe what really scared Scrivener was the idea that if living will paired up with the echo of a nearly-omnipotent and omniscient Jötnar... well, Scrivener didn't think that even he and Luna could stop them if they decided to try and turn the tables on them, considering how deeply-ingrained into their mental link Valthrudnir already was.
But Nightmare Moon smiled at him as if to reassure him, even as Valthrudnir shook his head and began in a distasteful voice: “I suppose that the passion entity is correct. As much as I do not like it, we do have to work together in this situation to ensure not just simple survival, but avoiding any... serious consequences occurring as a result of our actions.”
“Aye, well, that has already happened, has it not?” Luna asked sourly, and both Twilight and Scrivener looked softly at the mare, but she only shook her head quickly and muttered: “Nay, I... I wish to move forwards. But I do not believe I wish to stab myself with needles on a regular basis, either.”
“I have hypothesized that, like a Tyrant Wyrm or several of my other creations, you require a certain level of corruption present in your body at all times. This is consumed by natural processes over time, and likely used up faster the more you draw upon certain powers... your magic, for example, I believe is partly fueled by the corruption, which is why some of your magic powers have been further amplified, and others neutralized.” Valthrudnir said calmly, and Luna snarled even as she glanced up at her horn... and she shivered as she realized that even in the dreamworld, it was a crystal prosthetic now. “No, I do not believe that you will actually die if you run out of corruption, but you will be left in agony, and you will not be able to use your magic, Valkyrie.”
“Wonderful.” Luna muttered, and then she shook her head slowly before hesitating and glancing up, asking quietly: “But thou art not sure?”
“I... am not.” Valthrudnir looked pensive at the quiet question, then he reached into his dress jacket and pulled out a silver coin, beginning to play this meditatively between his dexterous fingers as he continued: “You have a choice. Complete replacement of your bloodstream with corruption, but as the Clay of Prometheus has a... particularly... interesting... effect on organic life-forms, and on you especially... I do not believe this is feasible. You would be powerful, yes. I am not sure if you desire to trade your mind for power, though.”
“The mind is power.” Luna muttered, and Valthrudnir laughed shortly, glancing up in surprise even as he flicked the coin into the air, then caught it easily as it fell. “Heads. And if I am right, I demand thee explain why precisely thou suggested needles.”
Valthrudnir snorted at this, then he began to play the coin through his fingers again, saying dismissively: “I am not playing a game with you, Valkyrie. Or at least I have no interest in a game based entirely on luck and probabilities, that is for children who do not understand that winning and losing is how the superior are differentiated from the inferior and not something they can avoid forever. But I will answer your question: it is because a direct injection of concentrated corruption into your bloodstream means less of the substance will be destroyed through biological processes before being absorbed and stored, and it will circulate and self-replicate to a greater extent. Think of... no. Explaining how cells replicate and differentiate to such feeble minds as yours, who probably still all believe that all biological life was created and watched over by a magical god in the sky, would be too boring and irksome a process.”
“Funny. A Jötnar like you that doesn't believe in god or religion.” Scrivener Blooms remarked dryly, and the dragon gave a distasteful smile at this.
“Please, Nihete, don't be so naïve. No god believes in religion.” Valthrudnir replied distastefully, fixing the two ponies with an almost-contemptible look, and then he shook his head slowly before continuing mildly: “But I do not wish to waste my time on a theological discussion with two creatures I doubt can fathom the principles of basic arithmetic, much less any school of thought not relying on 'it was magic!' as the explanation for everything.”
Valthrudnir made a mocking little motion with his hands beside his face, and the ponies glowered at him before Scrivener felt a strange shudder run through him as he realized... that was a different kind of mockery than Valthrudnir had usually indulged him. No, that was more like... that's the kind of thing I'd do.
But the Jötnar was already moving on, apparently unaware that he'd almost mimicked Scrivener's favorite form of mockery, continuing in a moody voice as he watched the coin dance slowly over his knuckles: “Let us focus instead on this: Nihete, you are more than capable of synthesizing a concentrated form of corruption, without even needing to use the blood from your veins to amplify the mixture. As a matter of fact, the mixture that I had you create... let us call it 'Prometheus Elixir' for ease of reference... if injected into your body, it should give you... oh... two weeks, perhaps, assuming against any major exertions.”
Luna looked down at this thoughtfully, before Nightmare Moon added gently: “But of course, sweet Luna, you will have to monitor the dosage... and there's that sensation you crave, as much as you need the corruption. The pleasure... you long for that momentary high already, don't you? Just like the slave hoof thralls in the old day, kept in check by drugs and magic...”
“I am no junkie. I am no... addict.” Luna snarled, shivering a little and looking away. “Tis... 'tis something I need to survive. Literally. I cannot be addicted if I need it to survive.”
“That's the very definition, sweet Luna. But we are all here for you, are we not? We will all help you through this... to learn to curb and control yourself, and to take the corruption only when it is necessary... not just for pleasure, and power, and sake of revenge.” Nightmare Moon said kindly, and when Luna glared at her angrily, the dark entity surprisingly turned a kind smile to Valthrudnir. “Reassure her, won't you? It would be a powerful gesture.”
Valthrudnir looked disgustedly down at Nightmare Moon as he dropped the coin between two fingers, then caught it in his fist. He squeezed compulsively, then moodily opened his hand and looked down at what was no longer a silver coin, but instead a single card that he flicked easily up to hold by thumb and forefinger, silently studying this for a moment before he grimaced in distaste when Nightmare Moon placed a hoof almost imploringly against his shield.
“Oh, very well. Valkyrie, I do not believe that your disgusting animal urge for pleasure will overwhelm the little rational sense in your mind.” Valthrudnir said moodily, and all three ponies glared at him before the dragon tucked the tarot card calmly away and added in a mumble: “Because in spite of all logic speaking to the contrary, you seem to continue to trust in your so-called friends and they continue to fail to take every advantage of you they could.”
Twilight softened a little at this, even as Scrivener only snorted and Luna muttered to herself, before the mare asked distastefully: “Should I thank thee now or simply bite back another insult later?”
“I would much prefer the latter. Every time you thank me I am reminded of the fact that I am stuck here, offering my aid to two cheating little insects who I would direly love to crush out of existence in my bare hands. And their... I do not understand what you are still.” Valthrudnir said moodily, turning his eyes to Twilight as he made a rolling gesture with one hand. “I thought your kind had evolved past forming bands of mares to prance happily along after a single dominant stallion.”
“Well, I am sorry, Valthrudnir, I am apparently just such a mighty stallion that these two pretty mares were unable to resist their ancient instincts, that is all.” Luna said dryly, and Valthrudnir slapped his forehead as Scrivener looked torn between exasperation and amusement, and Twilight only fixed the sapphire mare with a sour look.
Nightmare Moon, surprisingly, gave a quiet laugh before she turned her eyes to Valthrudnir, saying softly: “Your knowledge never fails to impress me, Valthrudnir... but tell me, if it is instinct for mares to fall in line after a stallion, why would society consider having more than one mare at one's beck and call a sin?”
The dragon looked almost... uncomfortable at being addressed like this, shifting before he answered distastefully: “Personally I find the idea of spending any amount of time in animal 'mateship' with some creature likely chosen only for its visible features repulsive... but I suppose that is because all societies are frail and weak, based on favoritism of intangible values chosen by some entity of questionable intellect and judgment instead of fact and eugenics. But nature has always been shallow, and seems to enjoy choosing what is physically attractive over what is actually useful.”
Twilight shook her head slowly, and then she asked quietly: “Why can't you just... try and understand us, Valthrudnir? Why can't you try and appreciate us instead of just hating us blindly, acting like our nature, our beliefs, our society, our... everything... has done nothing but led us towards being failures? If you understand what that's like, then can't you understand what you're doing is wrong?”
The ivory dragon was silent as he reached up to adjust his bolo tie, turning his eyes away before he said abruptly, as if the conversation had never gone off on a different tangent: “You plebeians should be capable of finding something so simple as a needle capable of delivering the injections, and the elixir will last for quite a while. Furthermore, even your simple minds should have memorized the recipe, so I will not waste precious time repeating it if you require more... but even concentrated corruption will be more than effective enough.
“Nightmare Moon is correct. The same dosage should be enough to sustain you for the moment, but the pleasure you receive from each dosage will gradually diminish as your body adjusts. At first, though, I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy plenty that momentary, disgusting pleasure of injecting pure power into your body.” Valthrudnir said distastefully, and then he smiled dryly when Luna gritted her teeth and Scrivener narrowed his eyes. “How does it go? A life is worth only what it lives through?”
“A life is worth only what it lives through others, although I don't think you'd understand that, Valthrudnir. So don't quote sixteenth century poets at us.” Scrivener said moodily, and the dragon snorted in distaste before the stallion added sourly: “And by the way. If you're done with your Flourish, maybe you can go and try to fit your head around Blot.”
The ivory-scaled reptile snarled at him in disgust, and Scrivener felt a strange shiver run down his spine: the dragon seemed to take the same insult he did from being compared to that particular brand of poets... and yet I'm sure that if we didn't have this stupid link between us, he'd love them. They might be even wordier than he is, after all. “It's a small wonder that I decide to help you ponies out at all, with how you do nothing but insist on getting on my nerves and throwing my generosity back in my face. Wretched, ungrateful vermin.”
“Well at least we are not fat!” Luna snapped, and Valthrudnir gave her a disbelieving and hateful look before the sapphire mare added flatly: “Thou art fat. Fat in thy fat head. And stupid, too.”
The Jötnar slowly closed his eyes and reached up to rub at his temples, before Nightmare Moon interrupted gently: “It seems that our conversation has come to an impasse. So perhaps we should go our separate ways... but there is one last thing I wanted to comment on, Scrivener Blooms. You made a very handsome Tyrant Wyrm, my King of the Night, and I believe I speak for both myself and Lord Valthrudnir when I say you should continue to pursue your path of power. After all, it may be the only thing that will allow you to protect your family from Thesis, and perhaps even save little Luna from herself.”
There was silence at this, and then Valthrudnir looked distastefully over at the dark entity, muttering: “Do not speak for me. And as a matter of fact, your original design had nothing to do with a Tyrant Wyrm, Nihete. But I suppose the exposure to corruption, the mutation and evolutions... and the influence from outside forces, not to mention my own modifications done to you during our... former forced rooming together in this hollow mind of yours...”
Valthrudnir rubbed thoughtfully under his chin, then he nodded once to himself and murmured: “Yes. Yes, before I only considered whether or not I could make you into a... more-sizable warship. A Tyrant Wyrm of any kind would have been able to do vast damage to Valhalla, after all, and with the power source coming from the Valkyrie the destruction potential would have been immense. I did not expect you to turn that malice on myself, though... but I will not make that error again. Nor would I attempt to override your unfortunately-necessary conscious functions if I were to perform that experiment once more...”
Scrivener gritted his teeth, but he didn't know how to argue. He didn't know if he could argue, all things considered: after all, he could no longer lie to himself about what he was, or what he'd be willing to do or become in order to protect the ponies important to him.
Twilight trembled a little, looking silently over at Scrivener and Luna before Valthrudnir turned away, saying calmly as he began to stride off into the darkness: “I will consult with you later, after I have had some time to consider the possibilities of further enhancement. Do me a favor, and try to follow the advice I have been so generous with for once, ignorant ponies. It will only reflect far worse on you if I am forced to save your excuses for existence after you ignore what advice I have shared with you already, after all.”
The Jötnar vanished, leaving Nightmare Moon standing alone in front of them for a few moments before the dark entity smiled softly and said gently: “Listen to Valthrudnir. He is not wise, but he knows much all the same. He is powerful, and he will make us powerful He will make us powerful indeed...”
Luna shivered a little at these words, the way they were spoken, everything they implied before the dark entity laughed quietly to itself, then turned and burst apart into blue mist. It left Scrivener, Luna, and Twilight all standing silently in the middle of the dark forest, the sapphire mare and the stallion both looking at the ground as Twilight trembled and looked over at the two of them in silence.
Luna began to open her mouth, but it turned into a gape of surprise as Twilight shouted: “Don't start! Don't... don't say anything, either of you!”
Both ponies stared at the Lich, startled, as she rounded on them angrily, and Luna mouthed slowly as Scrivener blinked dumbly before Twilight continued furiously: “Honestly, I've had... I've had enough of all this! Do you two just not get it, that... that if you let yourselves become monsters, that if you stop fighting, you're going to leave me and our child all alone? That you'll fail Celestia and Sleipnir and Pinkamena and all the other ponies you're supposed to care about? And how are you both so dense that after all this time you... you don't get that you don't have to handle all this alone? God, what about Antares? What about Scarlet Sage? What about me?”
Twilight trembled, lowering her head and whispering: “What about me... it's not the thought of becoming some kind of monster that scares me. I'm a Lich already. It's the thought that I'm always going to be dead weight to you, and left behind and... no... no pun intended...”
She laughed faintly, trembling and rubbing a hoof slowly at her eyes, and Scrivener and Luna traded silent, ashamed looks before they both strode forwards and hugged her tightly. Twilight trembled a little, but then settled slowly in the embrace, sliding a hoof up to rest against the chest of either pony as she murmured: “I want to be beside you. Equal in everything, right?”
“Right. We're sorry.” Scrivener said quietly, and then he and Luna traded looks again before the sapphire mare nodded at him to continue, and he sighed a little but nodded back, trying to find the right words. “Twilight... you're still... pure. Special, in a lot of ways. We love you and you amaze us and make us both happy. We want to protect you. We don't want you to become... like we are.”
“I already am, though. And I don't want to be anything different.” Twilight replied softly, closing her eyes and smiling faintly, and there was silence for a few moments before the Lich added quietly: “Don't hide things from me. Let me help you, work with you. And you know you have to tell Celestia and the others...”
“I... I know. But... 'tis... hard. It feel shameful, and weak. It... is a vulnerability, as Valthrudnir said.” Luna murmured, shifting a little and looking silently away, and Twilight gazed quietly at the sapphire mare before Luna shook her head quickly and mumbled: “And damnation, I do not want to ever think of the Jötnar as being right about anything. 'Tis... uncomfortable.”
“Then don't believe him, because he's not always right, and it's not your fault. You need it to live. It's just...” Twilight looked down quietly, laughing faintly before she closed her eyes. “You don't... I mean... I'm sorry. I guess my emotions are getting all out of whack again and...”
“No, don't apologize. You're the only pony that gives us that kick in the ass we sometimes need.” Scrivener murmured, smiling a little, and Luna nodded moodily before the three parted, studying one-another before the stallion asked quietly: “So what are we going to do about everything, then? We... we have to protect you Twilight. You're carrying... our child.”
Luna smiled at this, brightening a little as she looked up, and the Lich blushed a little as she rubbed silently at her stomach before nodding hesitantly and glancing down. But after a moment, she murmured: “I'm still well enough that I can help out, though... and you're going to let me help out and... at least be there for you. Talk with me, be honest and open with me, like... like you promised. You owe me that much at least.”
“Oh, no more guilt, damnable Twilight Sparkle, I already feel terrible as it is.” Luna groaned, grabbing at her head, and Twilight laughed despite herself as Scrivener smiled a little, before the sapphire winged unicorn nodded hesitantly and mumbled: “But... aye, we shall. We promise. Is that enough for now, my beloved mare?”
Twilight nodded a bit after a moment, and Luna smiled softly before leaning in and kissing her forehead gently. “Good. Then in that case, Twilight Sparkle, let us try and relax, shall we? We may speak a little, but for now the danger is passed, and we owe each other a small respite. Come. Let us see what awaits us in our dreams and nightmares.”
Luna turned and flicked her horn, and the world around them began to change, looming buildings rising up around them through the black forest, sending mire spilling down from their turrets and palisades as strange creatures began to appear all around them. Scrivener Blooms shook his head in amusement, and Twilight Sparkle sighed but smiled in spite of herself, admiring as always Luna's control and power in the dream world... and deciding that maybe the sapphire mare was right, and they could afford a short break after all.
When Luna and Scrivener woke up, Twilight was still fast asleep... but that wasn't much of a surprise. The Lich's body needed the rest, after all, and they were both happy to leave her at rest in their comfortable bed.
Scrivener carefully tucked Twilight back in after they slipped out of bed, while Luna smiled around their clustered room: it was a mix of neat and messy, textbooks mixed up with poetry books and art theory. A little bit of each of them could be seen scattered all around the room... and after a moment, Luna's eyes roved up to the ceiling above, where she had long ago painted stars and constellations and lunar symbols, and they still seemed to shine down with their own strange brightness from above.
There was the faintest hint of light spilling out beneath the curtains, but all the same, both Luna and Scrivener winced and mumbled curses when they opened the door and saw how bright the sunlight pouring in through the hall window was. They stumbled their way out, closing the door quietly before bumping into each other as they made their way down the hall... and then both ponies simply stared blankly at the sight of Celestia, Cowlick, Pinkamena, Sleipnir, and their two children sitting and waiting for them.
Luna and Scrivener traded looks, and then the stallion yawned loudly before he mumbled: “If this is an intervention, I really need to put on coffee first, okay?”
“Oh come now, brother, if only two mares are enough to wear thee out so, then thou truly aren't a proper stallion after all.” Sleipnir remarked cheerfully, and then he winced when Pinkamena punched him in the side, grasping at his kidney with a wheeze as Celestia sighed tiredly and Cowlick huffed a bit. “What? What?”
“Hey, jackass, that ain't just dependent on the stallion, that depends on the mare too, you hear me? I bet I could wear you down a good bit if I wanted to.” Cowlick replied flatly, and when Sleipnir grinned widely at the engineer, she looked meditatively back at him. “I ain't saying I want to. Look at you, you work at a forge all day and yet you're spotless most of the time. That just ain't right.”
Sleipnir looked injured at this, grasping his chest as if hurt. “Thou thinks I am a skartsmaðr! I am no skartsmaðr! I am the most masculine of mighty stallions, far from afraid of a little dirt!” He paused, then reached up and grasped his vine-like locks, adding meditatively: “Except in my mane. Nary a speck of dust may touch my mane, 'tis a grave and terrible offense. 'Tis the source of all my prettiness, after all.”
“Yeah, I've always wanted to date a guy who could grow weed out of his head.” Cowlick commented, and Pinkamena snorted in amusement as Sleipnir only favored the engineer with an ill look, and Scrivener took this moment to carefully slip into the kitchen... only to stare stupidly at the sight of Barry, his agent giving a lame grin and a little wave and clearly trying to ignore Abaddon, who was sitting on the counter and peering suspiciously at him.
Luna blinked in surprise as she caught Scrivener's shock, and then she leaned over and stared blankly for a few moments at the lanky stallion in the kitchen, before turning a horrible glare on Celestia, snapping: “And what in Helheim's name is he doing here? How dare thee bring him to take part in my public whipping!”
“Luna, this isn't about that. This is about Thesis.” Celestia said carefully, and Luna stared for a few moments before the ivory mare softened and added quietly: “Although we also have noticed... your problem... and it is important to speak about it.”
“And it ain't nothing to be ashamed of. Getting past the shame's important. I mean, hell, you think you'd know that though, from your weird-ass relationship with your two mares and all.” Cowlick added mildly, gesturing easily down the corridor with one hoof, and Scrivener grumbled from the kitchen as he pointedly ignored Barry to begin putting on coffee.
The sapphire mare turned her head away moodily, and there was silence for a few moments before Scarlet Sage looked up and asked softly: “How's Twilight?”
“Fine. Much better... her wounds have already healed as well, even if...” Luna reached up and moodily rubbed at her stomach, which still felt sore, and she was unsurprised when she felt the pebbly texture of a slowly-healing wound. “But I believe that has to do with the energy, and that we, of course, serve as her anchors. She has been able to be in contact with us and draw energy from us all night.”
“I bet she did. I bet she did.” Cowlick said with relish, and then she sighed when Celestia gave her a pointed look and Antares stared pleadingly at the engineer. “I know, I know, my big mouth is why I never get invited to any parties. Do you want me to talk about the White Matter now or later?”
Luna tilted her head at this, and Celestia nodded once. Cowlick grinned widely at this as she began to fumble her cigarettes out of her vest, saying easily: “Great, 'cause I was getting goddamn bored with you chickens clucking away. Okay, then, listen up, Luna. We got a fully-working sample of White Matter from the labs in Manehattan, finally. It's expensive as hell to produce, though, so I'm gonna continue to need a little funding to pay for the necessary materials, and to get all the stuff we need to make it shipped all the way from Manehattan to here. Right now, we only have about ten gallons of the stuff... not a whole lot, unfortunately, because even though the stuff kind of settles into the ground for a while, it doesn't spread all that much, so it works on a one-one ratio against mire. Basically it can be used to neutralize and protect against the corruption gunk... but I'm betting an injection of the stuff would make even one of those big ugly lizards cry for mommy.”
Luna tilted her head with interest, and Celestia said quietly: “If the Replicants use the corruption to power themselves, like Scrivener Blooms...” The slightest pause, as all eyes turned towards the kitchen, where Scrivener was awkwardly sitting back and trying to keep his eyes on the coffeepot. “Then the White Matter might be a way to even the odds on the battlefield. Thesis is powerful: I don't dare to guess precisely how powerful, because I think it would be foolish to assume we've even begun to understand precisely what he's capable of. We've only successfully angered him once, and haven't yet left any serious injuries on his body.”
Scrivener and Luna both nodded slowly, and Barry muttered a little loudly into the silence that followed: “Well, champ, at least if you survive you'll have another bestseller for Underbrush, right?”
“Can I eat him?” Pinkamena asked almost curiously, and when Scrivener looked meditatively at Barry and the agent paled, the demon snorted and muttered: “No, nevermind. You're on your own. There's some things that make even us Gluttony demons sick.”
Scrivener snorted in amusement, and Barry looked injured before Sleipnir remarked mildly: “And I must admit, darling phoenix, I always feel so much the safer when thou art not going around, putting other stallions in thy mouth.”
Pinkamena slowly looked over at him, and Sleipnir gazed back at her with his childlike, pleasant smile, before he added positively: “Although there is nothing quite as good now and then as a decent sausage, I must admit.”
The demon snorted laughter, then hurriedly covered her mouth and cleared her throat as Antares only stared blankly and Cowlick grinned widely, before Celestia said tiredly: “Can we please stay on the subject? I understand that's difficult for you sometimes, little brother, but...”
“Oh, fine, fine.” Sleipnir huffed and flailed his hooves a little at the air, then he became more serious as he asked quietly: “Can the White Matter be used to polish our blade and shields, or is its grip upon steel too weak?”
“Huh.” Cowlick looked thoughtfully over at Sleipnir for a few moments, then she sat back and remarked: “Okay, maybe you do know your stuff, at least about beating the hell out of things. Yeah, I think we can apply the White Matter in coats over some of our weapons... might help you pierce the defenses of those Replicant Clockwork things, but... the only way we'd know for sure...”
Cowlick slowly looked towards the kitchen, and Scrivener groaned loudly before he called dryly: “Cowlick doesn't get a coffee. Does anyone else want coffee?”
“That's fine. You got any whiskey? You must, you're one of those jackasses who like to tempt fate and keep a fully-stocked liquor cabinet.” Cowlick remarked, and when Luna growled at her, the engineer huffed and waved a hoof. “I ain't saying nothing that ain't true.”
Luna muttered under her breath before Celestia looked up and asked: “I know that you... aren't fond of this idea, Luna, but why don't you think about staying in Ponyville until we have everything sorted out? It would probably be for the best.”
The sapphire mare shook her head after a moment, replying quietly: “I understand why thou art suggesting it, Celestia, and I even appreciate it, I do. But I cannot abandon my home here... and nor do I believe Twilight Sparkle desires to leave here. Nay, this will be where her child is born, where her baby will live... we will instead make this home a safe bastion against any who would do us harm.”
“That's not what worries me.” Celestia shook her head slowly, saying softly: “The problem is the path through the Everfree Forest... you could be ambushed at any point between here and Ponyville. And I don't dare to guess what other Clockwork creatures might be...”
Celestia frowned a bit as her flowing mane rustled, and then Ratatoskr popped through the curtain of locks to scurry onto her shoulder, leaning up and whispering quickly into her ear. The ivory mare blinked in surprise, and then she frowned before standing up and saying quickly: “Excuse me. I need to send a quick message to Discombobulation. May I use the office upstairs?”
“I am offended thou has to even ask.” Luna replied mildly, and the larger mare smiled and nodded before striding quickly away, gently touching Scrivener's shoulder as she passed him before Luna called loudly over her shoulder: “Thou had best be trading naughty love letters with him instead of hiding some important piece of knowledge from me, Celestia!”
But Celestia was already out the back door, which swung closed behind her with a snick as Scrivener Blooms smiled and shook his head. He turned towards the counter, then clicked his tongue at Abaddon, and the pseudodragon hopped happily onto his shoulder before he winced when Cowlick asked quietly: “So how are you holding up, Luna, with that whole... thing?”
Luna glared at Cowlick for a moment, but the engineer looked calmly back before Scarlet Sage said quietly: “Mom... this is a safe place. None of us are going to judge you, we all love you. We all just want to help you, if... that's possible.”
There was silence for a few moments, as Luna swallowed and lowered her head, before she said finally: “It is not an addiction. It is not a weakness or a... a failing... I simply... I require corruption now to survive. Or at least... that is what... the parasites said.”
It was clear who she was talking about from the way she used the word, and the ponies glanced between each other quietly before Scrivener strode into the room with a tray loaded with mugs of coffee, two empty shot glasses, and a large bottle of whiskey. Luna took this from him with telekinesis so the stallion could begin passing the drinks out, smiling a little as he added a dollop of amber to one of the mugs before Sleipnir took it with a smile, while shot glasses of the same substance went to Pinkamena and Cowlick.
Demon and engineer clinked their drinks together before both knocked back their shots, neither caring it wasn't even late morning yet, while the others sipped slowly at their coffee. There was silence for a few moments, and then Luna finally sighed when all eyes turned back to her. “I... do not know what the truth is, but it seems that going without for a long period of time... it will weaken me, and sap my magic. Valthrudnir was very sure of this. And it feels like dying is a very real possibility when I go for so long... without.”
Cowlick grunted, picking up the bottle to refill her glass, and then she tossed it over to Pinkamena, who caught it, took a swig from the neck, and then refilled her own as the engineer asked: “So what? You have to manage your drug, then?”
“It is not an addiction!” Luna snapped, and then she flushed slightly, looking embarrassedly away when her children both looked at her with concern, and Sleipnir smiled faintly. “It is not. But unfortunately, I cannot go without it...”
“Remember when thou poisoned thyself with dragon's blood?” Sleipnir asked, and Luna smiled after a moment, glancing over at him and nodding once. “Thou put on an incredible show. Thou wert truly mighty, and the tremendous strength made the battle that much the easier. But thou wert berserk: Celestia and I had to hold thee down afterwards and drain it out of thee, because thou hurt innocent ponies, and us not so innocent siblings. And thyself, too... but thou never noticed thy shattered foreleg until the poison was culled from thee. For, for all the strength it gave thee... 'twas still a poison.”
“This is not like that, Sleipnir. I promise all of thee, this is not like that.” Luna bit her lower lip, looking down silently and closing her eyes tightly. “I promise all of thee I shan't be weak, but I will... I recognize that I need thy help.”
She looked up, then turned her eyes down the corridor, smiling faintly as Twilight Sparkle approached with her own soft expression to join the circle. “By myself I would fall. But with all of thee to hold me up I can survive this and learn to live with it, I know... but I know, equally, that... it must be managed properly. I say again, I am no... junkie. I need this. But I know equally without all of thee watching and aiding, it would.. take a grip on me.”
There was silence for a few moments, and then Cowlick looked up and said softly: “Yeah, Luna. Yeah, you kind of are an addict already, I ain't gonna sugarcoat that for you just to save your precious ego. The biggest clue that you are isn't the fact you keep saying you aren't, but how you keep talkin' about them with such disgust... the people who hate addicts most are those who went through it themselves or who had to put up with 'em their whole life long. Me, I've seen both ends, so I get that, even if not everyone will.
“But yeah, I get that you need it, to some extent or another. But I don't want any of us here enabling her, especially you, Scrivy.” Cowlick said pointedly, glaring over at the charcoal stallion, and the male shifted awkwardly. “I find any bite marks on you I'll kick your ass up and down Ponyville, and I got the means to put even a big crowbait like you in his place, so don't think I won't. We'll manage it until we find a way to get you off the juice, Luna. But it's gonna suck.”
“All hail the conquering dyke.” Pinkamena muttered, raising her shot glass in the air, and then she shoved the whiskey bottle across to the engineer, who swept it up with a wry grin before they clinked glass and bottle together, then both took another deep drink.
There was silence for a few moments, and then Scarlet Sage said softly: “I'll help too. I know you're always telling me it's dangerous, but maybe I can do something with my powers. Modify the corruption or find a... a safer substitute.”
“And... we're here for you, Mom. We all are.” Antares added quietly, glancing over at Luna as Twilight smiled faintly and nodded beside him, reaching a hoof up to rest gently on her son's shoulder. The sapphire mare blushed and closed her eyes, bowing her head forwards in silence before she sipped slowly at her coffee, if just to avoid speaking.
There were a few moments of quiet, before Sleipnir asked softly: “Does thou think that... the cravings will vanish when we are able to restore thy old horn?”
Luna shrugged: she wanted to nod, to assure everything would go back to normal... but she didn't quite dare. There was too much that could go wrong. Too much that could be proven wrong, as she only smiled faintly. And then she looked up in gratitude at the sound of the back door opening and Celestia drawing everyone's attention, as she said calmly while striding through the kitchen: “We have a visitor, everypony. Let's not keep him waiting.”
“I hope it is a prostitute.” Sleipnir said cheerfully, and Pinkamena rolled her eyes as Luna laughed in spite of everything, and the ponies all climbed to their hooves. Twilight smiled as Antares helped her up carefully, leaning against him a little before they headed towards the front door, led in a line by Celestia as Abaddon chirped curiously to Ratatoskr, and Scrivener could swear the squirrel shrugged in response on Celestia's back.
Awaiting them outside was Discombobulation, rubbing self-consciously at his stump of shoulder... and beside him, Kismet was standing calmly, the death entity bowing his head politely with his hand behind his back to them as the ponies filtered out. Cowlick went into a coughing fit at the sight of the death entity before she fumbled for a cigarette, shoving it into her muzzle and not relaxing until it was lit, while Scrivener, Luna, and Twilight looked at the creature with only a bit of surprise, and Sleipnir smiled warmly, greeting: “Well met, friend, and all the more for these better circumstances! And how art thou fairing since when last our paths crossed?”
“Very well, thank you.” Kismet replied politely as he straightened, and then he added softly: “I am, of course, here on business instead of personal pleasure. Thesis has asked me to come and extend a hand of friendship on his behalf-”
“Well, 'twill be difficult to take it as we have hooves.” Luna responded acidly, raising one of these and flailing it around, before she paused and then stomped firmly down on one of Scrivener's front hoofs, making him yelp as it snapped apart automatically into a claw as he raised it with a wince. “Well, Scrivy does not. He may take thy hand.”
Celestia slowly turned her eyes to Luna, and the sapphire mare cleared her throat awkwardly after a moment before she dropped her head forwards and mumbled: “I shall shut up now.”
Kismet only shrugged, still calm as ever, and Antares cocked his head curiously, reading into the death entity even before he continued: “For once, I actually approve of my current master's course of action: he asks nothing in return this time, but instead as... apology... for his thoughtless behavior, and the excessive hostility the others have all treated you with, he wishes to offer a truce while Lady Twilight Sparkle is pregnant. He promises a time of peace while she is in her fragile state, during which he will quietly retire to his own projects, and he will not come forwards to ask for your help until after her child has been born. And he will do so more peacefully this time. He is still convinced, for better or worse, that he can earn your trust and aid.”
Kismet stopped, then added in a quieter voice: “I apologize for the fact that I did not think to tell Thesis myself of Lady Twilight's pregnancy, and the dangers I put you all in. I... feared that Thesis might see the unborn child only as raw materials, not as a life-to-be, and he may have tried to... take it, or injure it. I am very glad this is not the case.”
“Are you sure?” Celestia asked quietly, and when Kismet looked at her, she said tactfully: “I trust you, Kismet: my brother trusts you and my sister says you are honorable, and this is more than enough for me to put my confidence in you, even if we are unfortunately on different sides of the battlefield. But Thesis has proven... unstable.”
Kismet nodded slowly, looking down and rubbing slowly at the underside of his chin, before he glanced up and asked softly: “Then let me extend my own personal assurance that if Thesis does make a... foolish play, I will do everything in my power to intervene. But I do not believe that he will break his word this time. Please do not take this the wrong way, but Thesis perhaps sympathizes for the baby in his strange way: it is an incomplete life, as he is obsessed with living an incomplete existence.”
Pinkamena snorted at this, saying distastefully: “I was a broken model once... and all my parts still aren't in the right place. But even I got it through my goddamn head I couldn't just go cutting up everyone who had a happier life than me.”
“Yeah, because most of us would be dead and you wouldn't have anyone left to torment.” Scrivener remarked, and Pinkamena punched him in the kidney even as she nodded, the stallion wincing as Luna flinched a bit.
Kismet chuckled quietly at this, but he didn't respond, only calmly looking at the ponies as they looked across at him. Cowlick chewed slowly on her cigarette even as smoke wafted slowly up from it, while Barry was peering nervously over the row of ponies, staring in fear at the death entity before Discombobulation finally broke the silence by holding up his hand and saying: “I don't like being one-armed twins with him. It makes me feel like I should be Sickle and he should be Hammer. Because you know, Sickle's the overtalkative one and Hammer wears the clown mask. Also, that is not by any means an invitation to lay a beatdown on my face.”
“Yes, we have plenty of reason to do that already.” Luna rolled her eyes, before she studied Kismet moodily, then asked finally: “May we... offer thee anything, Kismet? I do not know what death entities enjoy. Drinking? Grave dirt? Blood? We have all manner of blood, as thou can see. Or does thou just desire to wax philosophical, in which can thou can do so with Scrivener Blooms and Twilight Sparkle and Celestia, and the rest of us will go inside and get cheerfully drunk.”
“Ooh. That's a hard choice. But every time I get drunk Celestia takes terrible advantage of me.” Discombobulation remarked, rubbing absently at the underside of his chin, and Celestia smiled despite herself before the chimerical creature looked moodily at Sleipnir. “And I'm very scared that kind of thing runs in the family. And the last thing I desire is to be abused by a large and bulky stallion.”
“Fear not, I shan't abuse thee, Draconequus. I can be most gentle, even when quite drunk.” Sleipnir said kindly, and Discombobulation shivered as Luna grinned widely and Celestia laughed and shook her head slowly.
Kismet chuckled himself, then he bowed his head and said gently: “I have no wish to interrupt you. If it is of no trouble, though, I have a moment of freedom, and I desire to enjoy the... the life of this world. The world that Thesis comes from...” Kismet's glowing eyes seemed to fade slightly, his head turning away a little. “It is an old world, a world that has been dying for... more years than I desire to count. And yet it is no longer alive, either. Only... metal.”
There was silence, and then Antares looked up and asked quietly, surprising the others: “Would you mind if I walked with you, Kismet? We could go back to Ponyville if you wanted. I think people would be a little less afraid of you if you show up with me, too.”
“And I'd... like to walk with you too. Please.” Twilight Sparkle added, and Kismet bowed his head deeply to them, the Lich blushing before mumbling: “And... thank you, too, by the way, for... everything. I actually appreciate you... keeping my secret from Thesis. That means a lot to me.”
Kismet only nodded, and then Luna shrugged and huffed, but she was smiling even as she said: “Well, very well then, abandon me here. But I warn thee, Sleipnir and I will doubtlessly heckle Celestia into the great log-toss, and thou art going to miss all the fun.”
“You guys are such freaks. But I'm staying to watch that.” Cowlick said mildly, tapping her cigarette before she glanced mildly back at Kismet. “One question, Mister Death: it ain't Decretum, is it, where your big bad boss is hanging out, right?”
“It is not. But I cannot tell you more than that. As it is, I've perhaps let a few things slip that I should not have.” Kismet responded, and then he turned and gestured to the two ponies, asking softly: “Shall we, then?”
Antares smiled a bit, then he hesitated before impulsively turning and hugging Luna tightly, and the sapphire mare looked surprised for a moment... but then closed her eyes and hugged her son fiercely back, the faintest tremble going through her as he murmured: “I love you, Mom. I'll see you tonight, okay?”
“Aye... I... I love thou too.” Luna almost whispered in gratitude, smiling warmly after her son, and Antares smiled wider despite the faint blush in his cheeks. But he saw happiness in his parents' eyes, approval on the faces of others, and he bowed his head quickly before turning and heading quickly towards the path as Kismet calmly strode out towards the path, and Twilight called her own goodbyes to the others.
The three strode down the snowy path together, and Kismet kept his pace leisurely, hand behind his back as he looked back and forth with a smile. And it was like around them, the forest lit up with all the life hidden beneath the blanket of winter: squirrels and birds stuck their heads out of holes in trees, and deer and even Phooka poked their heads curiously out of the forest around them.
Antares was quiet, looking back and forth before he finally turned his eyes to Kismet, asking softly: “So you really like it here, huh? And they... well, everything seems to like you. I mean, that sense around you that you give off... why does it seem to make all these things come out and so calm, when us ponies it kind of... scares?”
“Because I have found that many people forget death is not just an ending, but a beginning. But nature knows that. A single deer dies; it feeds a pack of wolves, and a flock of birds that pick apart the scraps, and countless insects. What remains are left rot, and spill their nutrients into the soil, giving birth to grass that will feed the grazing animals that pass.” Kismet turned his kind eyes to Antares, nodding to him once. “Life begets death; death begets life. I like to believe that there's nothing wrong with that, as biased as I may be.”
Twilight smiled faintly, before Kismet turned his eyes towards her and added softly: “But there's nothing wrong with clinging to the life that you have for as long as you live... as long, of course, as you continue to live, instead of only delaying inevitable death out of fear or selfishness.”
There was silence for a few moments, and then he gazed ahead and gave a soft sigh of serenity. “Yes. This is a good world. You have fought much, and there has been much pain... but now, in these moments of peace, your entire world resonates with how thankful you all are for the lives you live, and everything you have earned. I like it here.”
Antares and Twilight only smiled on either side of the death entity, bowing their heads to him gratefully as the three continued on towards Ponyville, both silently agreeing: this was a good world. And they would never, ever take what they had earned for granted.