//------------------------------//
// Tragedy's silver lining 
// Story: HUMAN: The Crystalvision Series 
// by Razalon The Lizardman 
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	Mozier's question threw Twilight completely off guard as she hadn't expected him to say something sounding so . . . ludicrous. She spent a few moments trying to wrap her head around the idea of the titular creatures from her HUMAN trilogy being brought to life and made to entertain everypony in Equestria. Failing at that, Twilight replied to Mozier's question with two of her own.

"First of all, that doesn't make any sense." She pointed at the book. "Humans are nothing more than a product of mine and my friends' collective imagination; unless you're being metaphorical, in which case what are you talking about? Secondly, how does this relate to DELOS' bout of gross negligence?"

Mozier turned the book over in his hoof and stared at the cover image with a look that betrayed no emotions, but Twilight could tell he currently had a lot on his mind. She couldn't even begin to guess what the purple stallion was thinking if she had actually cared; all she wanted was for him to answer her questions so she could start tearing into him. When Mozier finally returned his gaze to her, his face set into a sorrowful, yet determined expression.

"To answer your second question, princess," he started, "DELOS' management is fully aware of the negative publicity this tragedy will bring to the resort, made worse still when knowledge that the Bearer of Honesty herself was victimized becomes widespread. To that end, the decision has already been made to shut down the resort and lease the island it's built upon."

Twilight blinked. "Ummm . . . okay, it's nice to see you guys are owning up to your mistakes, but my question remains unanswered."

"Be patient, princess." Mozier missed the momentary scowl Twilight adorned in response as he continued. "Now that DELOS' entertainment division's primary source of revenue is lost, an equally profitable replacement is needed. Since you lived in the Royal Palace for much of your life, am I correct in assuming you've witnessed the use of Crystalvision?"

"Of course I have," Twilight replied, quickly losing her patience.

"Well, DELOS has licensed use of Crystalvision from Their Majesty's. We also have the resources to distribute C.V.'s around Equestria and keep them at an affordable price. All we need is something for everypony to watch. To answer your first question, we would be elated if that 'something' was an adaptation of your HUMAN trilogy. What do you say, Princess Twilight, are you interested?"

In an instant, all of Twilight's irritation and rage was replaced with shock and disbelief as Mozier's words struggled to register in her mind. It was bad enough he and the rest of DELOS had inadvertently caused the near-deaths of so many ponies, Applejack among them, due to gross-negligence. The fact that Mozier was now asking for her help despite that left the lavender princess questioning if he himself had a death wish. Once his words finished registering in her brain, Twilight, yet again, replied to Mozier's question with a few of her own.

"What in Celestia's name makes you think I'd help your company after what it did to not just my friend Applejack, but so many other innocent ponies? Even your own friend was victimized from what I've been told, so why should I help DELOS when its management doesn't even value its own safety?"

What followed was a heavy silence that seemed to freeze time itself as it waited to be broken by Mozier's reply while the purple stallion reeled from the damage Twilight's accusation dealt to his psyche. He wasn't lying in claiming awareness as to how angry Her Highness was with DELOS for what happened to her friend; he'd feel the exact same way in her horseshoes without a doubt. But for her to accuse DELOS, no, him of not valuing the safety of his friends was painful to listen to. Twilight was right about Bite Back being Mozier's friend; that's why he'd flown out to Hiddenite immediately upon hearing what had happened. He'd even cancelled his next big meeting in order to stay out here and support his friend through to recovery. Mozier was almost brought to tears by Twilight's accusation, but he stayed strong and proceeded to reply to Her Highness' latest questions. 

"To answer your second question, princess, I speak for all of DELOS' management when I say we're genuinely sorry this tragedy occurred. But saying DELOS' management doesn't value anypony's safety is absurd; we always go the extra mile in ensuring our services don't endanger our customer's health/lives. Bite Back can attest to this, especially, since his reason for even being there personally was to ensure the technicians performed their jobs with efficiency and safety above all. While it may not have been enough, things don't always go as expected or wanted."

Mozier gazed upwards in thought as he continued. "You of all ponies should know that accidents don't just happen; they're a chain of critical events leading to disaster's breaking point. While I doubt the truth of what caused our cybercorn Sin to run amok and attack everypony it saw will ever be uncovered, the past can't be changed . . . even with time travel. DELOS has already done its part in putting this tragedy behind us by shutting down the resort, to which we now ask that everypony does the same and embrace the future alongside us." He brought his gaze back down to face her at eye level. "And to answer your first question, think of accepting the offer as showing forgiveness to DELOS for the wrongs it committed." He held out a hoof. "What say you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, does Her Highness accept?"

Twilight was so enthralled by Mozier's speech that she completely overlooked the fact that he apparently knew of her time-travelling escapade. She'd started the conversation expecting him cowering and pleading for mercy by this point, not standing up to her and being sincerely apologetic for what DELOS had let happen to her friend. In fact, she was so pleasantly surprised that she took a moment to redo her mental checklist so that her first order of business was changed from "Tear New Flank" to "Forgive and Forget". While she did this, Twilight held a hoof up to her forehead so it appeared she was contemplating a response, even though she'd already decided on her answer. 

"You've got yourself a deal, Mozier." She reached up and shook his hoof. "And I forgive you and the rest of DELOS' management for all that's happened."

Mozier smiled genuinely. "Thank you, princess."

"However," Twilight said, "even though I'm royalty, I'm still just one pony. To truly redeem DELOS, you'll need to tell everypony in Equestria everything you just told me." She thought for a minute. "How soon can you distribute at least one C.V. to every pony settlement in Equestria?"

"By the end of the week," Mozier replied without hesitation. "Why?"





By the time Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy returned to the hospital from Sol Do's place dusk had fallen. The introduction between Rarity's friends and her cousin went along swimmingly, with Sol Do even inviting them to stay for the night upon learning why they were there. Needless to say, the four ponies gladly accepted her hospitality.

Upon entering through the hospital's front doors, the group caught sight of Twilight conversing with an earth pony stallion. He had a purple coat, yellow mane/tail, brown eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a bit with an upwards arrow printed on it. The two finished talking and the stallion rushed through the front doors just as Twilight's friends approached her.

"Twilight, darling," Rarity said.

The lavender alicorn turned to greet her friends. "Oh, hey girls," she said, "where've you been all day?"

"We've been hanging out with Rarity's totally awesome cousin, Sol Do," Rainbow Dash happily replied as she did a mid-air flip and flew straight up to Twilight. "So, how'd things go with Moz-what's-his-name?"

"Yes, Twilight, do tell," Rarity agreed.

"If you want to . . . that is," Fluttershy meekly said.

Before Twilight could explain what had transpired earlier, she realized Pinkie Pie had failed to give a retort of her own. In fact, it was only just now that Twilight noticed the pink party pony was missing from the group.

"Where's Pinkie Pie?" she asked.

The other three ponies turned to look where they all thought she was, only to see that Pinkie was indeed missing. Suddenly, a loud shout was heard coming from within the hospital, followed by sounds of struggling and, strangely, various farm animals in succession with each other, and finishing off with Pinkie Pie being launched through the door connecting the lobby with the rest of the hospital. She landed on the hard, tiled lobby floor and skid across it into the opposite wall just a few meters from her friends. They paid her no heed, however, as questioning Pinkie Pie was the ultimate crime against one's sanity.

"Anyway," Twilight said, returning her gaze to her friends, "that stallion who just left was Mozier."

"Really?" Rarity asked, turning to look out the front doors, only to see a quickly darkening sky as nighttime fast approached. "He seemed unusually chipper for somepony torn a new flank."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed. "C'mon Twi, what happened?"

"Gir-"

Twilight sighed. "Believe me, I had every intention of tearing him a new one at first, but I changed my mind in the end."

". . . why?" Rarity asked, stupefied.

"Excu-"

"Because he made it clear that DELOS is genuinely sorry for what happened. Though, there's still something the company needs to do before it's truly redeemed."

"And what's that?" Dash asked, growing impatient.

"Could you ple-"

Twilight smiled. "It's a surprise; one that'll be revealed this Saturday at Noon."

Rarity and Rainbow Dash groaned in response while Twilight giggled.

"Can I say something now?" Fluttershy finally got out.

The three other mares turned to the shy pegasus. "Of course, Fluttershy," Twilight answered. "What is it?"

Fluttershy pointed back to the spot where Pinkie Pie had previously been, the key word being "previously". Before anything more could be said, a sound-for-sound repeat of the earlier noises came, once again from behind the door to the lobby. It was followed up with Pinkie Pie being launched through the door, yet again, and skidding along the floor until she came to rest against the opposite wall in the exact same position as before.

It could no longer be ignored. Twilight facehoofed and, hesitantly, asked the dreaded question. "Pinkie Pie, what are you doing?"

Pinkie turned her gaze to the lavender alicorn and pouted. "I'm trying to check on Applejack but those meanie-pants nurses keep throwing me out! Why, I ask, WHYYYYYYY!!?"

Another facehoof. "Pinkie?"

"Yes, Twilight?"

"Nighttime visiting hours don't start for another fifteen minutes." She gestured to a clock on the wall to illustrate her point.

" . . . oopsie-doodle."





"Spike!" Twilight called. "I'm home!"

No response came from inside Golden Oaks as Twilight stepped through the front door and set her saddlebags on the floor next to it. She called out once more but still received no response. She wasn't worried, however, as it didn't take a magical prodigy to deduce the baby dragon was currently asleep upstairs. Ascending the stairs she found that Spike was, indeed, sleeping snug as a bug in his basket. What the lavender princess hadn't expected to find was piles of soda cans, popcorn bags, cupcake boxes, and various other miscellaneous trash littered throughout the bedroom. What really threw Twilight through a loop, however, was the fact that nothing in the room was out of place otherwise. All the books were shelved properly, her quills and ink bottles were neatly aligned on her desk, even her bed's sheets looked to be untouched.

At least he had the courtesy to neatly arrange all the trash into piles instead of haphazardly throw them around the room. Oh well . . .

"SPIKE!!!"

The baby dragon woke with a start, falling out of his basket and landing belly-down on the floor next to it. Groaning, Spike stood to his feet and yawned before letting his eyes adjust to the light.

"Oh, hi Twilight," he said groggily. "Is Applejack gonna be alright?"

"She will soon, but," Twilight gestured to all the piles of garbage surrounding them, "would you care to explain this?"

Spike looked around and grinned sheepishly. "I guess I kinda, sorta, maybe had a few snacks since you left?"

Twilight deadpanned. "Okay, now answer me these two questions. One, where did you acquire so much junk food from? And two, how did you manage to chow through it all in a timespan of less than two days?"

"I've been saving bits of food from Pinkie Pie's parties for the past few months; hoarding food is different from gems and stolen objects I suppose." Spike chuckled lightly while Twilight only briefly smiled before returning to her deadpan expression. "As for how I managed to eat it all, well, eating and sleeping was about all I had to pass the time."

Twilight cocked an eyebrow at that. "We would've let you care for our pets again to prevent boredom if you'd asked."

"Trust me," Spike said with conviction, "I learned my lesson last time. Besides, Discord's MUCH better at keeping those little cretins in line."

Twilight frowned. "What happened last time?"

"Nothing," Spike replied, eager to change the subject. "Anyway, tell me all about the trip. Did anything exciting happen?"

"Actually, yes, which I'll tell while you're picking up this trash." Spike groaned and proceeded downstairs to the kitchen where the garbage bags were. "And afterwards," she called down to him, "I'll need you to write a couple of letters for me."





Saturday had finally arrived. Applejack had woken up the previous day during visiting hours and, since they never left the cowpony's side during said time, proceeded to get bear hugged by her family while her brain scrambled trying to piece together what was happening. As could be expected, the last thing she remembered seeing was Rarity screaming, "BEHIND YOU!!!". Once the Apples let her go they explained everything; the berserk cybercorn, the trip to Hiddenite, the telegram informing them of what happened, their own trip to the mining community, etc. By the time they'd finished, Applejack was fuming over the fact that she'd been taken out by a "scrap pile on legs", as she put it, but was happy to be awake and well all the same. 

Currently, the Apple family was waiting in Hiddenite Town Hall with every other resort victim the hospital had admitted, now awake as well, along with their own families. Princess Celestia had sent decrees to every pony settlement in Equestria saying DELOS' management had an announcement to make in regards to the tragedy. Attached to each copy was what she called a "Crystalvision", or "C.V." for short, which would allow their message to be broadcast in real time. Hiddenite had received theirs earlier and as the only unicorn in town used to (and willing to do) labor, Rarity's cousin Sol Do spent the better half of the morning reading the instructions for and setting the odd device up in town hall.

The C.V.'s size was about equal to four horseshoe boxes stacked together in a cube-like formation. It was encased in an outer shell of black obsidian enchanted to be heatproof, which covered all except for the crystal screen on the front. The expression "crystal clear" did not apply here as the crystal used to make the viewing component was too thick to see through. If one were to remove the outer casing they would find out that, inside the device, its internal component structure was well refined and each individual component was easy to single out.

For a broadcast, the desired action would be recorded via a "crystal monocle" enchanted to tune with a unicorn's Visual System. Using the unicorn's carbuncle in conjunction with the recorder, the action could be transmitted to any/all desired carbuncles. Displaying it to non-unicorns through C.V.s, however, was a bit trickier if full color visuals were desired. Inside each C.V. was a carbuncle that worked just like a unicorn's except it was ten times larger. While a functioning C.V. carbuncle could correctly interpret and display received visuals easily enough, it needed a colored light source to show them in full color; otherwise, the visuals would all be color-saturated shades of gray. For said colored light source, a crystal of each primary color, secondary color, and white was tuned to the carbuncle. The carbuncle would receive and interpret the visuals, then cycle through each crystal while applying their colors to corresponding parts of each image; the color's shade and tone was also determined here. Once completed, the now colored visuals were projected through the C.V.'s crystal screen, ready to be viewed.

And right now, everypony in Equestria was a potential viewer. While most weren't affected by the tragedy, the news of what happened had shocked them nonetheless. Therefore, they were very interested in what DELOS' management had to say regarding the matter. They didn't have to wait long, as the broadcast started immediately when the time struck noon. Everypony watching the C.V.'s throughout Equestria stared in awe as the devices came to life; their displays showing DELOS' CEO's gathered together in a room within the Canterlot Royal Palace. Shock turned to disgust for ponies affected by the tragedy, however, as they remembered that the ponies currently on-screen were indirectly responsible for what happened. Then DELOS' CEO's started speaking their message, which sailed right past those ponies angry with them, at first anyway. Gradually, however, they began listening to the CEO's words of apology and regret for what happened. Their message was an elaboration of every point made during the conversation between Mozier and Twilight a few days prior. Upon its conclusion, no longer was anypony enraged at DELOS' management. Just as Twilight predicted, everypony watching was quick to forgive them after hearing their genuine sorrow for everypony affected by the tragedy whether directly or indirectly.

It was in Canterlot Castle's ballroom where the message was recorded and broadcasted. Only Princesses Celestia and Twilight were in attendance with DELOS' CEO's and the royal guard who was recording. While Twilight paid full attention to the broadcast, Celestia kept rereading the letter Twilight had sent to her the other day. It was quite possibly her new personal favorite of Twilight's friendship reports.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's been quite a while since I sent you a friendship report, hasn't it? I can tell just from looking at him that Spike's feeling a little awkward right now as he writes down what I say, and I have to admit the feeling is mutual. Anyway, I came into contact with one of DELOS' CEO's at Hiddenite where Applejack is currently comatose in their hospital. The doctors say she, as well as everypony else, will be up and alright very soon. I'm sure you can imagine how ticked off at Mozier (the CEO I met) I was for what his company had let happen to my friend. I'm also sure you can guess that I was ready to verbally tear into him until he was on his knees pleading for mercy. But it never came to that, to which I learned a very important lesson indeed.

Holding a grudge against somepony for something they never intended to happen is unfair and amounts to scapegoating. Just because somepony inadvertently causes a major tragedy doesn't mean they're inherently negligent. While they may have gotten slightly careless for said tragedy to occur, there's a difference between being slightly and wholly negligent, and it takes a true understanding of character to determine which is the case. Needless to say, a pony that simply made a mistake always deserves forgiveness if they're genuinely remorseful, no matter how severe the consequences were. Such was the case with Mozier when I conversed with him, and as such I'm confident that the rest of Equestria will follow the same path as me if given a chance to hear what he and his fellows have to say.

We can make that happen, princess; all we need from you is a royal decree that everypony must be in their respective town halls to hear DELOS' announcement at noon this Saturday. DELOS' management will take care of distributing the Crystalvisions and just need those decree copies attached to each one so nopony is confused as to what's going on. See you soon!

Your ever faithful protégé,

Twilight Sparkle

P.S.- It might interest you to know that Mozier offered to adapt my HUMAN trilogy to Crystalvision as well. I've already sent a letter to the books' publisher informing him of this; I think he'll readily agree to the offer.

Stay tuned!