//------------------------------// // 23 - Reverse The Spinning Clock // Story: Outsider's Game: Turning Wheel // by Bluecho //------------------------------// Ch. 23 - Reverse The Spinning Clock Many Years Ago “Hasten thy steps, Luna, and follow my lead.” Luna met her sister's eyes, the latter looking over her shoulder. Their hooves left rough prints in the dust where they trod. Their tracks began some meters away, and led towards the crater's trough. “I hear thee, sister,” Luna said softly, nodding her head. Celestia nodded in return, facing again their destination. Luna spoke up again, “Thou art sure this is the right course, Celestia?” Celestia paused, considering. “...mayhaps it is,” she said, eyes downcast. She watched a stray wind brush grains of dust away. “In my heart of hearts, wish I that there were another way. But needs must. Dost thou disagree with mine decision, sister?” “...I follow thy lead,” Luna said, looking around at the utter devastation in the landscape. “...very well...” The two alicorns marched on, their goal already in view. In moments, they entered a rough circle of shattered stones. Were such stones placed there by very superstitious ponies, long ago? Unlikely, thought Celestia. After such a cataclysm, nopony would dare enter the radius. Not after what happened. To any rational mind, the crater was haunted ground. More likely, the stones were thrown high into the air by the explosion, and being directly above the center, crashed down on it afterward. It mattered little, for even from a distance the stones were too broken and divided to truly block what hovered within its rocky nest. The two came upon it, letting the blue light play over their faces in flickers. “WHAT IS THY WISH?” Present Day “You have had a long day, sister. Rest here; see to Twilight and her friends. I will oversee clean-up and recovery efforts.” “Thank you, Luna,” Princess Celestia said to Princess Luna, hugging her briefly. The library door closed, with the Day Princess walking further into the building. She smiled at seeing Spike – Twilight's noble and diligent assistant – running hither and yon, reshelving books and sweeping away minor messes. In the center of the library, a circle of cushions were arranged on the floor. Twilight Sparkle and her fellow bearers of the Elements of Harmony (now inaccessible*) sat chatting and laughing. Three of them nursed wounds, the medics having just left. On one end of the circle, her great bladed swastika leaning against a wall, herself tended to by an ever-busy Fluttershy, sat Painwheel. “Princess Celestia!” Twilight chimed in, though rather weakly. She barely managed to sit up in her seat. “Will Luna be joining us?” “Unfortunately, Luna has volunteered to head cleanup, so she won't be joining us,” Celestia said, shaking her head lightly. She smiled, “It is a shame she can't visit, but such things cannot wait. Especially since some of the buildings destroyed housed Ponyville residents, who will need temporary shelter until repairs can be made.” “Well, at least nopony was seriously hurt,” Rarity chimed in. Under the grave eyes of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, she added awkwardly, “...present company excluded, naturally.” Applejack shrugged, “Eh, Ah guess it's fine, long as it's just us what got put through the ringer. Ain't that right, Dashie?” Applejack smirked at her Pegasus friend. “Could have...ow...gotten a little less beat up, if you ask me,” Dash said, rubbing her sore flank. She sighed, “Looks like I'm going on another break from weather work. Good thing it's summer at least. We were taking it easy anyway.” “Over here, Princess!” Twilight said, leaning slowly over to pat the cushion next to her. “Thank you, Twilight,” Celestia beamed, taking the offered seat. Spike ran into the room, balancing a bucket on his head, and a tray in his hands. “Oh gosh, oh gosh...Tea, Princess?” He held out the tray, with a steamy teapot and a ceramic bowl with a handle. “Sorry we're out of teacups! The rest were in the wash!” “No trouble at all, Spike,” Celestia said, levitating the pot and bowl over, pouring herself a portion. Were she a greater stick-in-the-mud, she would insist on one of the other ponies offering her their cup. Or comment on how Spike ought to have thought about seeing to the royalty first. Princess Celestia was not a stick-in-the-mud, so she merely smiled and enjoyed her bowl of tea. “Delicious as always.” “Thanks! Gah!” Spike said, before having the bucket on his head fall forward, blinding him. He removed it, then visibly remembered what he planned for it. “Mop! Gotta find the mop! Twilight, where is the mop!” “Upstairs in the bathroom, silly dragon,” Twilight Sparkle teased, giggling as her assistant scrambled up the stairs. She turned to Celestia. “Now that we're all settled, Princess...” “Yes, of course,” Celestia said, nodding and taking one last sip of tea. She placed in before her, and cleared her throat. “Our dear Painwheel,” she said, turning to the human, “wanted to know how I know what a Skull Heart is.” “I did,” Painwheel agreed, shifting in her seat. She thoroughly enjoyed such freedom of movement after weeks confined to a chair. “I'd like to know that as well,” Twilight said. “Iffin it's all the same to ya'll,” said Applejack, raising her voice, “Ah'd kind of like to know what the hay a Skull Heart is in the first place.” “Me too,” Rainbow Dash said, raising her hoof. “Me three!” Pinkie Pie shouted, bouncing on her bottom and grinning like the madpony she was. “I would, as well, like that answered,” Rarity chimed in, nursing her own tea. “Um...me too,” Fluttershy said, followed by dropping to a whisper. “That is...if it's alright with you...” “Wait...” Twilight said, cocking an eyebrow, “I never told you all about that?” “No,” said all five ponies in unison. “Well, I did order you not to,” Celestia said, drawing attention away from Twilight so the latter could save face. “But I suppose it would do to explain the Skull Heart. Painwheel, would you do the honors?” “Me?” Painwheel asked, surprised. Celestia nodded. “I think we ought to get your side of the story first.” Painwheel frowned, looking at her feet. Then she sighed. “Back home – in my world – there is the legend of the Skull Heart, an artifact of great power. If a girl or young woman found it, the Skull Heart would grant any wish she made.” “Any wish?” Rarity asked, a twinkle slowly forming in her eyes. “Any wish,” Painwheel nodded, shifting to sit cross-legged. “Before you get excited, there's a price. If the girl making the wish wasn't pure of heart, or her wish selfish, the Skull Heart would corrupt that wish, and the one who made it. “The wish itself would almost certainly be twisted so that it would cover what the wisher asked, but not what they wanted,” Painwheel continued, watching Rarity's burgeoning excitement die down. “And the wisher herself would be twisted too, made into a puppet of the Skull Heart. Powerful, undead, and malicious. A creature bent on wreaking havoc on the world, and raising as many from the grave as she could, as her minions. She was a threat not easily destroyed, and almost guaranteed to resurface every seven years. “We called this creature a Skullgirl.” “Hang on,” Rainbow Dash said, drawing everyone's attention. “A creature raising the dead as an army. Why does that sound familiar?” “Because I mentioned it to you before, remember?” Painwheel answered. “Oh...wait, that was real!?” “Yes! I told you that was real!” Painwheel insisted. “Or did you think I had any reason to lie? That I cared enough to boast just to show you up?” “So...the Skullgirl is real?” Applejack asked. “It's not just a story?” Painwheel shook her head. “No, it's real,” she said solemnly. “In my world, it's a history changing event when the Skullgirl shows up. People set their watches to the Skullgirl's reappearance, and dread it more than they dread anything else. “You all know that I was turned into...this,” Painwheel said, gesturing to her body, “to be a living weapon. But you don't create a living weapon just to fight wars. To fight mortal foes. You certainly don't turn someone into...me...for just anything. I was modified...created...to fight the ultimate enemy of the world. “I became Painwheel as a weapon against the Skullgirl.” “ASG Labs,” Twilight whispered. “Anti-Skullgirl Laboratories.” Painwheel nodded. “I may have been made into a freak, but it was because someone – a particularly amoral someone – decided I needed to be how I was to beat it.” She closed her eyes, sighing loudly. “Between her henchmen and all the other women who wanted the Skull Heart for themselves, I only barely beat her, even with everything Lab Zero gave me.” “That bad, huh?” Applejack asked. “Some of the previous ones were worse,” Painwheel answered. “How?” “The last one that came around took the military of three different countries working together to finally take down,” Painwheel explained. Applejack broke out into a cold sweat. “Land sakes...” “And that thing we just fought today?” Rainbow Dash asked. “A pathetic baby zombie compared to the Skullgirl,” Painwheel said. “I don't know,” Pinkie Pie said, scratching her head. “I've dealt with babies before, and they didn't need dropping a building on top of. Not that I would do that, of course!” Pinkie smiled guiltily. Painwheel blinked, then decided she didn't need to know. “Apparently the Skullgirl I fought ripped a building off herself and threw it at a blimp. One that was somewhere in the vicinity of several dozen floors high.” “Oh dear!” Fluttershy gasped, covering her mouth. The rest had mouths slack, trying to comprehend that image. Celestia merely nodded solemnly. Painwheel looked to her next. “So now that I've said what I know, would you mind sharing, your majesty?” “...it is a long story, going back a long ways,” Celestia began, taking another swig of tea. “It began...well over one and a half thousand years ago. “Long ago, before Equestria was founded, ponies dwelled in the old country, to the west. Now there only exists nations like Saddle Arabia, far to the southwest. But in the north and central parts, there were fertile lands. There ponies of the three races lived. “There also lived the alicorns Uranos and Gaia...my and Luna's parents.” Twilight had to pick her jaw off the floor. “YOUR PARENTS!?” she gasped, eyes bugging out. “Wha...guh...why is this the first time I'm learning this!?” “Calm down, Twilight,” Celestia cooed, patting the fledgling alicorn on the shoulder. “Of course we have a mother and father.” The day diarch grew a mischievous smile. “Or did you think we simply sprang from the heavens, fully formed?” “I don't...I...was there a lesson I missed?” Twilight said, holding her head. “A book I forgot to study? Oh, I'm such an idiot!” “You wouldn't likely find mention of the old country in any book, Twilight,” Celestia explained, trying to shush her former student calm. “Most such records were lost prior to the settling and founding of Equestria. Anything that survived did so as legend or myth, and might not have been written down. For my part I...don't like to speak of that time.” “Why's that, Princess?” Fluttershy asked softly, a sad expression on her face. “Well, that's part of the story, I suppose,” Celestia said. She shook her head, happy to get back on track. “Uranos and Gaia dwelled in that land, though they were not rulers. They acted more as sages than anything; figureheads or councilors to the three races. Mother and Father always felt that ponies deserved to manage their own affairs, and to only gain their aid when they wanted it. “One day, however, they were made aware of a mysterious artifact...the Skull Heart.” Celestia heard the gasp and nodded. “Yes, Painwheel, Equestria had a Skull Heart in its distant past. And yes, Twilight, this was something not recorded in any books. “It came to pass that the Skull Heart surfaced in the old country...or perhaps it had always been there. Whatever the case, two instances of its use were known to Mother and Father, and to the pony population at large. The first was of a mare who wished to eradicate a certain plague that had been running through pony society. Lo and behold, it disappeared, and the sickness to my knowledge never surfaced again. “The second use apparently had a mare wishing for great wealth. She became a Skullgirl, and ruled her village with an army of the dead, from a throne of plundered gold and skulls.” “Oh goodness!” Fluttershy gasped, holding her hooves to her cheeks. “How horrible!” Rarity said. “But they stopped the Skullgirl, didn't they Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Indeed, it was not long before militias rose up and eradicated the Skullgirl, though they suffered no few casualties. This was made worse by their fallen comrades joining the fight on the Skullgirl's side. Eventually, however, the Skullgirl was vanquished, and the Skull Heart captured. Realizing the apparent double-edged sword they had, the commander in charge delivered the Skull Heart to the council of the three races, and they in turn delivered it to Uranos and Gaia. The Skull Heart was a terrible gamble, so only the wisest ponies would be fit to see what was to be done with it. “At first, Father locked the Skull Heart away, believing it a tonic too strong to be used lightly, if at all.” Celestia sighed, looking up at the ceiling wistfully. “But then the troubles started.” “Troubles?” Rarity asked. “Luna and I were young then, so we didn't quite understand the underlying causes,” Celestia said, “but it was those days when the racial conflicts began. The races couldn't get along, or belittled each other. The earth ponies were downplayed as “lesser” or “inferior” ponies; the pegasi grew militant; and the unicorns grew proud. Distrust and condescension ruled. Disharmony thrived like a cancer. “More and more, Father saw the foolishness of the little ponies. Saw their folly, and hoped they could get better. No, not hoped. He wished it...and then his thoughts turned to the Skull Heart.” “No! They didn't!” Twilight said. “They did,” Celestia said, nodding her head. “Father asked Mother to use the Skull Heart. Surely she, he reasoned, was pure of heart enough, and the wish to bring harmony to pony-kind selfless enough. Mother was...hesitant. But she loved Father very much...” “It went wrong, didn't it?” Painwheel said. “I've heard that story before, in my own world.” “Really, Painwheel darling?” Rarity said, surprised. “You've heard this before?” “It was only seven years ago, just in time for the Skull Heart to appear,” Painwheel explained. “The Queen of New Meridian, bless her heart, wanted to end the war they were involved in with the surrounding countries. She ended up becoming possibly the worst Skullgirl the world had ever seen.” “...a Skullgirl so strong, it took three whole countries working together to stop,” Fluttershy whispered. Celestia nodded knowingly. “As it was in your world, Painwheel, so it was in mine,” she said sadly. “With no less disastrous results. If I had to guess, it was her love of Father that did it; Mother's wish for harmony between the races was not purely selfless, she wanted to please Father so.” “Princess Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle said, tears forming in her eyes, “I'm so sorry.” “Thank you Twilight, it is appreciated,” Celestia said, smiling sadly. “In the end, Mother...became a Skullgirl far greater than our world had ever seen. Perhaps it is a curse upon the Skull Heart that afflicts the rulers so...Mother knew immediately what was wrong, and how the Skull Heart compelled her so to destroy. With all her strength, she flew to the edge of the continent, to the mountains that had no names. There she waited, though she could not wait long. Father, overcome with guilt over what he'd done, told Luna and I to be good...and left to fight her.” “Come on!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, on the edge of her pillow. “Princess, please tell me it all worked out!” “Yeah...I'm not so sure I like this story,” Pinkie Pie said, ears drooping. “It...ended, I think,” Celestia said, sighing. “Luna and I defied the order to stay put, and flew off after Father. But by the time we got there...all we could see was a massive explosion. We...only ever found the sash Father wore when he left, partly burned away. The only thing we found of Mother was the Skull Heart. We...abandoned it where we found it...” By this point, most of the room had started crying. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie clutched each other, bawling their eyes out. Applejack and Rarity wept, though Twilight more than them. Even Rainbow Dash, self-proclaimed tough mare extraordinaire, sniffed back tears. Painwheel frowned sadly, though she didn't cry. She was too stunned, trying to process the weight of that tragedy. Celestia remained sorrowful, but in control. It was not a story she liked telling – least of all to her little ponies – but they were demons she'd long ago made peace with. A millennium dulled grief better than anything. Finally, Twilight Sparkle collected herself enough to ask, “Princess...what about the wish itself?” “Hmm?” Celestia hummed, turning to Twilight. “The wish?” “Y-yes,” Twilight sniffed, rubbing away tears. “You said that it all started because your...your mother wished for harmony between the races...what happened there? Did it get corrupted?” “Hmm...” Celestia said, considering the point. “In a way, yes. Though it corrupts wishes, it grants them in its own twisted way. Do you all remember the Windigos?” “The Windigos?” asked Applejack, brushing her nose and sniffing. “The ones from the Hearts Warming Eve play?” “The very same, Applejack,” Celestia said. “Windigos? Hearts Warming Eve?” Painwheel asked, bolting upright. She winced slightly, the parasites making their presence known again. “I think you'd like it, Wheelie,” Pinkie Pie said, trying to smile despite her tears. “It's this great holiday where we celebrate harmony, and have fun parties!” “And there's a play that gets put on traditionally,” Spike said, ambling on by, carrying a stack of books to shelve. “We were all in it once, in fact.” “I'm sorry, Princess, but how does that...” Twilight said, before trailing off. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. “Oh...oh! You mean...?” “Indeed I do,” Celestia said, nodding. “I cannot confirm it, but I think the Windogos were created by the Skull Heart to fulfill its end of the bargain.” “Question!” “Yes Painwheel?” “What's a Windigo?” Painwheel asked, hand raised. “No one has told me what those are.” “A Windigo,” began Celestia, “is a creature of air and winter. An elemental that, when in large groups, can bring frost to the world. It is also attracted to conflict...like the one between the races of pony so long ago. “As told in the story of Hearts Warming Eve, the old country experienced a heavy, never-ending winter that threatened to kill everypony. A detail omitted in modern tellings is how the loss of Gaia and Uranos exasperated the conflict. Their loss deprived ponykind of their wisdom.” Twilight Sparkle made a mental note to write everything she learned that night down as soon as possible. In fact, she had to resist the urge to get out paper and quills that moment. “The winter threatened to starve the whole country. In desperation, many ponies fled, settling here, the land that would become Equestria. But the Windigos were not localized to the old country: they followed ponies wherever they went.” Celestia smiled, happy to be able to tell the proper story now. “It was only by learning to work together that their harmony pushed away the Windigos. It was upon this harmony that Equestria was founded.” “And the Skull Heart made these Windigos?” Painwheel asked, raising an eyebrow. “The timing fit,” Celestia said, shrugging. “The Windigos were never seen before Mother made her wish. Moreover, the Windigos exhibited no natural habits for living creatures. They fed on nothing, and seemed to have no biology. They could be spirits and elementals, but it seemed always odd to me how they were attracted specifically to conflict. To disharmony, and nothing else. Almost as if...” “As if they only existed to punish disharmony!” Twilight exclaimed, gaining a gleam in her eye. She looked at her hooves. “I thought that seemed peculiar when I read about it, but I just brushed it off! This makes way more sense! “...wait, does that mean Equestria was founded only because of a corrupted wish?” Twilight's ears sagged. “Yes, that does put a bit of a damper on the whole spirit of things, doesn't it?” Rarity said, tapping the ground with a hoof. “Oh, I don't know,” Celestia said. “I like to think that my little ponies had more than a little to do with it.” “How so?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Yeah, that seemed like all the Skull Heart's doin' ta me,” Applejack said. “Indeed, but would harmony also be restored, to a certain point of view, if the whole of pony-kind were destroyed?” Celestia asked. “It wouldn't be a positive thing, of course, but it would have ended the fighting.” “I...suppose so...” Fluttershy said, growing queasy just thinking about that alternative. “Then as far as the Skull Heart was concerned, whether the three races worked together or met oblivion, it would have done its job,” Celestia explained. “I like to think that Equestria was founded, not because of the Skull Heart, but in opposition to it. My Mother's wish, though corrupted, nonetheless came true, because ponies were able to put aside their differences and let their better natures shine through.” “Huh,” Twilight said. “I guess that does make sense...though I suppose you kept out the Skull Heart and Skullgirl stuff from the story because...I guess it was hard on you, Princess.” “Oh, it was,” Celestia said, nodding. “I admit, the memory of our loss was still fresh in the mind, so I gently encouraged the story to be abridged. However, I also think that ultimately, the story itself worked better without all that baggage. I wanted it to be about ponies triumphing over their own differences, not about ancient alicorns and malevolent artifacts.” “Speaking of,” Painwheel said, drawing all eyes back to her, “what happened to your Skull Heart, Princess?” “Yeah...yeah, I'm wondering that too,” Twilight said, nodding. “Is the Skull Heart still around?” “...well, that takes things a little closer to the present,” Celestia said, coughing into her hoof. “It happened roughly one thousand years ago...with the rise of Discord...” Somewhere, relaxing in his purely theoretical easy chair in the Deep Dreaming, the avatar of chaos sneezed.