//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Project: Transcendence // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// It didn't take long for life to return to normal after the crew of the S.S. Cherryblossom's adventure. In the interest of Osiris' privacy, Shine had chosen not to reveal the source of the near-death experience suffered by so many. He felt it was better that the general public not know, for fear of misplaced hatred and possible attempts to harness his power again. Osiris himself was settling in to his new abode the best he could. Though the caves did provide privacy, he did have to occasionally venture out for some food. At those points, he would cross paths with Midnight Blossom, the seemingly identical descendant of the mare who betrayed him all those years ago. It was awkward, to say the least. The new Midnight looked and sounded so much like the original, which was why Osiris tried to give her a wide berth. It was not that he hated the mare, but rather that he was worried she was too much like her ancestor, and that history might repeat himself if he allowed himself to get too close to her. Not only for the world's sake, but for his own heart. One morning, Osiris emerged from the caves to get some breakfast. 'Ah, what a beautiful day...' He thought. 'Shine was right, this place does offer some excellent commodities... I could actually get used to living here..." "Morning." Osiris turned to see Midnight Blossom standing before him, carrying a basket of some kind. "Ah, yes." Osiris frowned. "Good morning." "What are you up to today, your Serpentness?" Midnight asked. "I'm going to get some breakfast." Osiris said curtly. "If you'll excuse me..." "No need." Midnight held up the basket. "I got some for you." "You did?" Osiris asked in astonishment, as he opened the basket with a bit of his magic, revealing an assortment of fruits and berries. "All my favorites. How did you-?" "I noticed the kind of places you flew off to, so I figured out what kind of food you liked." Midnight smiled. "...Thank you." Osiris smiled. "You shouldn't have." "Hey, I'm not just here to guard your home." Midnight smiled. "I'm here to help make your stay comfortable. That's what a Royal Guard does, after all. She serves the needs of the one she's guarding." "An admirable belief." Osiris declared, impressed by the mare's dedication to duty. "I imagine it must have been hard to reach such a position, what with you being a Thestral..." Suddenly, he realized the way that came out, as he quickly rectified, "Not that there is anything wrong-" "Don't worry, your Serpentness." Midnight shrugged. "I admit, it was a bit tough at first, but we Thestrals have come a long way since the dark days. No biggie..." "So... you don't hold it against anypony?" Osiris asked. "I know there are some prejudiced against your kind. And I had seen many travesties that had been dealt upon your brethren." "What would be the point?" Midnight declared. "If they have something against me because of how I was born, that's their problem, not mine. It's not like I'm going to suddenly go off and make them pay for what they did to us all the centuries. That would be pointless." "...Well...that is certainly true." Osiris smiled. "Right. In the end, we're all just ponies." Midnight gave a small chuckle. "Except you, of course." 'Maybe she's not like her ancestor after all...' Osiris mused. "Anyway, I shouldn't keep you from your breakfast." Midnight declared, turning away. "Bon appetit." "Wait." Osiris said suddenly. "Perhaps you would like to... join me?" "Oh, I don't want to impose..." Midnight frowned. "It's fine." Osiris smiled. "I could use the company." "If you say so, your grace." Midnight nodded. "Please, call me Osiris." Osiris declared. "As you wish... Osiris." Midnight smiled, as she helped herself to some fruit. The two shared the basket's contents, talking about this and that. "So you actually came from an island that housed many others like you?" Midnight gasped. "That's amazing!" "I suppose it was quite awe-inspiring." Osiris nodded. "Alas, that island has crashed, and I'm stuck here." "Aw, that's not so bad." Midnight smiled. "At least you got to meet me." "Yes, there is that." Osiris smiled. "You know, I had feared I had been rather distant when I first met you. It's just... there was this other pony I knew a long time ago who was just like you. To be honest, she was the first mortal I came to call..." He didn't want to go and use the 'other' term. "A friend..." "What happened to her?" Midnight asked. "Well..." Osiris trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to go into details about this one mare, knowing it could lead to a rather messy conversation afterwards. "Things didn't work out. She ended up lying and using me and it ended horribly..." "How horribly?" Midnight asked. "Very." Osiris sighed. "There were... deaths involved. The deaths of innocents, at her hoof. I had no choice but to put her down for her crimes." "Oh... that's awful." Midnight frowned. "What kind of pony would do something like that?" "Fortunately, the kind I don't see in you." Osiris declared. "You are a good soul, Midnight Blossom. I'm glad to have met you." "Same here." Midnight grinned. By that point, the basket was empty. "So much for breakfast." Midnight shrugged. "Time to get back to work." "Perhaps we can do this again sometime." Osiris suggested. "Only next time, I'll provide the food." "Sounds good to me." Midnight smiled, as Osiris made his way back inside the cave. "Later!" "Later... my friend." Osiris smiled. Meanwhile, Daring and Caboose were regaling their offspring with the story of their adventure (leaving off the more horrific parts for Michael's benefit). "...And that's how your daddy found the Sanctuary!" Caboose revealed. "Pretty smart, right?" "Smart daddy!" Michael cheered. "Only you could pull off something like that, dad." Hurricane declared. "Thanks." Caboose smiled. "Yep, only your dad." Daring rolled her eyes. As they continued their story, the part about the Garden of Souls reminded Caboose of what Sandy said. A short while after, he travelled to Ponyville to the mansion in the Everfree Forest, informing Grimoire of Sandy's words, and of the whole adventure. "And then we all went home. I don't know about Daring, but I had to take a shower. After being in Nalik's funny-sounding country, I got sand in the weirdest places." Caboose explained with a smile. "What do you think?" "...Well... I must say... this tale is... well..." Grimoire couldn't seem to find the right word. "...You don't believe me, do you?" Caboose frowned. "It's not that I don't want to, Caboose." Grimoire sighed. "I do buy the Serpents. I mean, I was there when Zecora collapsed from that 'killing spell', but you are telling me you actually met our dead father, our dead brother, and my dead wife at this 'Garden of Souls'. Forgive me if I'm a bit sceptical." "But it's the truth." Caboose insisted. "Sandy said that she gives you her blessing over marrying again, and that Zecora's a lucky mare. And that she misses you all very much." "No offense, Caboose, but I'm going to need a little proof here." Grimoire declared. "You want proof?" Caboose smirked. "I'll give you proof." He whispered something into Grimoire's ear, making his brother freeze in shock. It was quite a lewd remark, revolving around a bedroom involving whipped cream, a bucket of ice cubes, and an industrial sized tub of swarfega. "That proof enough for you?" "Y-yes." Grimoire gaped, surprised. "Only Sandy could know what me and her did that night in Haywaii. My Faust, you really did see her." "Oh, yeah." Caboose nodded. "And dad, and Anarchy. It was amazing." "I'll bet it was." Grimoire murmured, still in a state of shock. "How is everypony?" "They're great." Caboose smiled. "Y'know, aside form being dead and everything. Sandy's as nice as ever. Dad reminded me of how much we all looked up to him. He says that he doesn't mind us splitting up the way we did, as long as we're happy. And Anarchy? He was even more awesome than I imagined." "That's Anarchy for you." Grimoire chuckled. "Why, I remember this one time..." The two stallions lapsed into nostalgic talk about their eldest brother. The discussion was even more poignant to Caboose, since he had finally seen his eldest brother in pony. A couple of days, Shine took a quick trip back to the fallen Sanctuary, bringing Celestia and Miracle along. In order to prevent the wrong kind of Pony exploiting the Sanctuary's secrets, a contingent of Guards had been stationed around it. Naturally, they stood aside to allow the royals through. The island was missing a few chunks, but was still in good shape. But there was one place in particular Shine was hoping was still intact. "It should be right over here..." He declared, leading his family closer into the island. "Are you sure it's still in one piece?" Celestia asked. "There's so much damage..." "It has to be." Shine insisted. "I hope it is." Miracle declared. As they continued searching, Shine finally spotted the silver ivy that lead to the Garden of Souls. "Finally." He smiled. "This way, girls!" Celestia and Miracle followed Shine through the ivy, and they emerged into the Garden, the familiar mists swirling around them, "My, what an odd place." Celestia looked around. "So... what now?" Miracle asked. "Simple." Shine declared. "We just need to focus on mom and dad, and they'll appear. Just picture them in your mind." "But I've only ever seen pictures of them." Miracle frowned. "That doesn't matter." Shine assured her. "Caboose saw his eldest brother, and he never met him before either." "Okay..." Miracle shut her eyes in concentration. "Here goes..." Celestia declared. After a moment's concentration, the spirits of White and Silver emerged. "Mom... dad..." Shine smiled. "You two are still here." "Of course we are." White grinned, "I admit, we were worried when we learned that the island had crashed, but everything seems to be in order, still." "But look at you." Silver glanced fondly at Celestia and Miracle, "You brought guests." "Sure have." Shine nodded. "Mom, dad, this is my wife, Celestia, the princess of Equestria, and my daughter, Miracle..." "Your highness." White bowed. "It's been a long time." "It certainly has." Celestia smiled. "I was sorry to hear of your premature death. You always were a fine and noble stallion." "Thank you, Princess." White grinned. "It was always an honor to serve you." "Hi!" Miracle waved. "Wow, I never thought I would actually meet my actual grandparents..." "To be honest, we never thought we would meet our grandchildren." White chuckled. "Just look at you." Silver smiled at Miracle. "You are adorable, young lady." "Thanks, grandma." Miracle smiled. "...I can call you 'grandma', right?" "Of course you can." Silver smiled. "I am glad that you had chosen Shine to be the one you loved." White told Celestia. "I always knew my boy deserved a wonderful mare, but I never guessed that mare would be you." "It came as a pleasant surprise to me too." Celestia chuckled. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again." White told Shine. "I'm proud of you, son. You've gotten everything I wished for you. A beautiful wife, a wonderful child, and a place to call your own." "Thanks, dad." Shine smiled... before it turned to a frown. "I just wish somepony else would be here as well..." "You're talking about Black, right?" White asked. "Yes." Shine sighed, "I just... I just wanted a chance to set things straight between us. I know he wasn't truly evil, but it doesn't help that all the memories I do have of him is nothing but what had happened in the Crystal Sun incident." "It can be hard to see somepony in a positive after they kidnap your family and attempt to take over Equestria." Celestia admitted. "And try to kill your daughter." Miracle added. "I know it seemed Black had nothing but evil in him the day he died... but there was something more to him than you think." White told them, "I had thought the very same you did when things went south between me and him, and he had apparently 'perished' from that fall... but there was this moment...the day of the flood..." "You mean when you..." Shine frowned. "Yes..." White nodded. "I didn't believe it at first, but the moment your mother and I perished in the water... I woke up to find myself standing over my body... and not just me... Black was there too. He dragged both our bodies out of the water, and he was trying his hardest to revive me. I wasn't sure how to feel... he was alive... and I was dead. Black kept pressing on my chest, ordering me to wake up and stay with him, but I could see the look in his one eye that he knew that I would never wake up..." "He did that?" Shine murmured, surprised. "It wasn't till a few agonizing minutes later that Black finally stopped trying... and I saw something I hadn't seen him done since we were just young boys... he cried. He cried and cursed and screamed at the heavens, holding my body against him. I couldn't make out some of his words, but all I could hear was him saying sorry over and over..." White explained, as the sounds of his brother screaming in pain over his death echoed in his mind. "Why... why didn't you tell me this before?" Shine asked. "I wasn't sure if you would believe me if I did." White sighed. "I had trouble believing it myself, after he denounced me as his brother that fateful day. But it was that moment that I realized that Black never stopped caring about our family. Whether his reasons for doing the horrible things he did were selfish or not, I knew that Black had good in him. I only wished that I could have met him one last time before then..." "If anypony could talk into him, it would be you, dear." Silver smiled. "I'm afraid I'm not as certain of that." Celestia frowned. "Once a pony falls into fanaticism, it can be difficult to pull him out." "But he still cared about his family." Shine pointed out. "Even if he was willing to fight us for his goals." "I just know there's more to Black's story than we've seen." White declared. "My brother wasn't always so twisted. Something happened to make him that way. Some... influence." "Perhaps one day, we'll find out just what that 'influence' was." Shine declared. "If you do, be sure to let me know." White told him. "My spirit will be able to rest easier, knowing my beliefs are validated." "I sincerely hope you're right." Celestia declared, still sceptical. "I really do." "So do I." Miracle nodded. "Thinking of my uncle would be a lot easier if I knew he wasn't totally at fault for what he did." "I'm sure of it." White smiled. "If Black were truly beyond redemption, he wouldn't have tried to save me. I know it doesn't excuse all that he had done, but what he did for me that day has to count for something, doesn't it?" "Yeah, I guess it does." Shine smiled. "Let's talk about something else for a while." Silver suggested. "How's Mist doing? I hope that foal of hers isn't too much trouble." "Not that we've heard of." Shine declared. "Then again, Mist always was a stubborn little filly. She wouldn't tell us even if she was having trouble." "Though from what I've gathered, she and Blue are greatly enjoying being parents." Celestia added. "And the foal is sooo cute!" Miracle squealed. "Oh, we know." White chuckled. "Little Tempest is such a handsome colt." "Just like his uncle." Celestia nuzzled Shine. "Perhaps when he's old enough, we'll bring him to see his grandparents." "We would love that." Silver smiled. "And we'd love seeing our little Mist again." "Not so little anymore." White pointed out. "If we hadn't been keeping an eye on her all her life, I doubt we'd even recognise her." "I know Mist would love to see you." Shine grinned. "And she will, very soon. I promise." "And a Paladin always keeps his promise." White grinned. "That's my boy..." After talking a little more, Shine and his family made to departure. "It was an honor to see you again, Captain Paladin." Celestia smiled. "Same here, your highness." White smiled. "...Though I could call you my daughter-in-law if I wanted to." "I imagine that would be something to brag about to the other spirits..." Celestia quipped. "Bye, grandma!" Miracle waved. "Goodbye, darling." Silver grinned. "Come back soon, okay?" "Can we, dad?" Miracle asked. "Of course." Shine nodded. "A filly should know her grandparents. Even if they're from the afterlife..." "Perhaps, with Osiris' permission, we could bring others here." Celestia suggested. "I know there are many ponies who would love to see their loved ones again. It would provide such a sense of closure." "Yeah, maybe." Shine nodded. "I just hope Osiris goes for it..." As the family departed, White and Silver faded into the ether, already eager for their next meeting. Over in Ponyville, Isis was just returning to Discord's home from a trip to Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack had given her some apples as a "Welcome to the neighbourhood" present. She soared through the twisted pocket dimension containing Discord's house, and entered the abode. "I'm back!" She smiled. "And I am so glad." Discord embraced her. He noticed the basket in Isis' claws. "I see you paid Applejack a visit." "She is so nice and neighbourly." Isis smiled. "Gave me these apples, just because. She really is a sweet pony." "Not exactly my experience, but if you say so." Discord shrugged. "I'm happy to see you've managed to fit in so well with these ponies. Faster than I did, actually..." "Now, now, don't be jealous." Isis gently chided him. "Sure, I do get some odd looks from time to time, but generally, they've been so accepting of me. Especially that Princess Twilight. I went over to her castle, and got such a warm welcome. Honestly, I never thought I'd have this many friends. And it's all thanks to you, Dissy. Having you back in my life has made things so wonderful!" "What can I say?" Discord chuckled. "I'm just that good." "I met this other mare named Pinkie Pie." Isis declared. "The second she found out I'd just moved here, she offered to throw me a 'welcome to Ponyville' party!" "Yep, that's Pinkie Pie." Discord chuckled. "A word of caution, though; Some of her antics can be even more chaotic than mine." "Now that I'd like to see." Isis grinned. "Oh, you will." Discord smiled. "That Pinkie Pie's like a force of nature. You can't stop her. All you can do is weather the effects." "As long as I have you by my side, I'm sure I can weather anything the mortal world can throw at me." Isis nuzzled against Discord. "Of course you can." Discord hugged her. "I'm so glad I came to see you again. This old house of mine has never felt so homey." "Anything you say, you darling of a Chaos Spirit, you." Isis grinned. The two shared a deep kiss, then sat down on the couch, watching a television program of mice with cat heads trying to eat their own tails. "By the way, Fluttershy tells me she'd love you to join us on our Tuesday tea time." Discord announced. "Up for it?" "Without a doubt." Isis smiled. "You were right about her. She is such a sweetheart." "Yeah, she is." Discord nodded. "You know, if it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't have come to find you again." "Remind me to thank her the next time we see each other." Isis smiled. "You know what would help me remember?" Discord chuckled. "A kiss." "Smooth, Casanova." Isis rolled her eyes. "Well, it's not like it won't help." Discord snickered. "True." Isis grinned. The two locked lips once more, expressing the strength of their immortal love for each other. At long last, Discord's world was truly perfect... Meanwhile, over in Dodge Junction, Big Red had found himself constantly reflecting on something; Namely, the fact that he never saw Black Knight's spirit. As he watched the boys relaxing outside from the living room window, he found himself wrestling with a disrespectful, yet overwhelming urge. To follow up on that urge went against his beliefs, but he felt as if he would go mad if he didn't. "Red, is everything alright?" Cherry asked. "Ah'm not sure." Big Red shrugged. "Ah gotta check sumthin' out. But Ah'm not sure ifinn' Ah have the right to." "What do you mean 'the right'?" Cherry asked. "It's... sumthin' that's gen'rally frowned upon." Big Red admitted. "But it's the only way to prove a hunch Ah've bin havin'." "A hunch?" Cherry frowned. "Is that why you've been so... preoccupied lately?" "Kinda." Big Red shrugged. "It's kinda a crazy thought, but Ah can't shake the idea that Ah'm right about it. Ah need to make sure Ah'm wrong, but..." "Whatever you think you have to do, do it." Cherry urged. "For your own peace of mind." "But it ain't right..." Big Red frowned. "It ain't proper..." "If you're truly sorry about what you have to do, it's okay." Cherry told him. "Besides, it's better than just sitting around, mulling over what might be." "...Yeah, yer prob'ly right." Big Red kissed her on the cheek. "Ah'm goin' round back fer a while. Don't tell the boys, okay?" "Okay." Cherry nodded. "Ah'll be back soon, darlin'." Big Red smiled. "Good luck, Red." Cherry said solemnly, her mare's intuition telling her that the matter was more serious than Big Red let on. Big Red made his way over to Black's grave, a shovel in hoof. "Ah gotta be sure." He told himself. "Gotta do this..." Big Red started digging up the grave. He hated to disrespect the dead like that, but the nagging thought in the back of his head wouldn't leave until he got a good look at the contents of that grave. There was a dark worry that he needed to alleviate... "I'm sorry, Black... I'm sorry, White... and I am so sorry, Shine... but I gotta know what's going on..." Big Red murmured to himself. Once the coffin was dug up, Big Red opened it... revealing nothing inside. "Aw, buck..." Big Red gaped. "It can't be... It jest can't be..." He simply fell on his flanks. "W-why..." Meanwhile, at the Forefather's secret headquarters, the remaining council members reflected on what had recently happened. The same somber piano music played in the background of their meeting room. The first member (the Unicorn with lightning crackling around his horn) was speaking into a communicator. "And you're sure about this?" He asked the pony on the over end. "...I see. Good work. Keep me informed of further developments." The Unicorn hung up. "What did they have to say?" The second member (the Earth Pony Nalik had dubbed 'Squeaky', in the wheelchair) declared. "Well, for starters, Nalik is dead." The lightning Unicorn scowled. "Had all his organs magically vanished. A very gruesome way to go... but what's more is that our agents had uncovered some notes regarding Project: Transcendence that Nalik had failed to mention." "Such as?" The third member, an oversized Earth Pony, asked. "As it turns out, Nalik was planning on staging a coup on our little organization." The lightning Unicorn explained, "With the Serpent Deity of Death in his possession, the Forefathers would had been hard-pressed to face him. I doubt even our blessings that Father had bestowed upon us would had helped much." "Too bad for him, we aren't some organization that one pony can take down by himself." The wheelchair member declared. "Even if the project hadn't went south like it did, Father's powers far trumps that of a Serpent." "It's a pity Nalik had to go bye-bye." The oversized Earth Pony member sneered. "But I always thought he held us back..." He then put a hoof to his masked chin. "However, I am curious as to why didn't Father's blessings protect him from the Serpent's power. Us Earth Ponies and Pegasi were all unaffected by the killing spell. Yet the Serpent killed Nalik just like that." "Hmph, yes, Nalik would had been safe... if Father had actually gave him the blessings." The lightning Unicorn chuckled darkly. "Father knew that he couldn't be fully trusted. There was no place in our new world order for that Unicorn supremacy garbage he was always spouting..." "Amen to that, brother..." The oversized Earth Pony member agreed. "It's a shame, though." The fourth member, a skinny Pegasus, shrugged. "Nalik had plenty of resources for us to utilize." "If you ask me, our operations will go so much more smoothly without that egomaniac. He was a flight risk." The fifth member, another Unicorn, but a lot lankier, snorted. "Speaking of which, what is our next order of business?" "Well, there's been reports of increased Nightcrawler activity lately." The lightning Unicorn declared. "We have to look into that. Left unchecked, those freaks could one day cause problems for us. Just look at what that fool Echo had wrought upon Sterling..." "What about Sterling, anyway?" The wheelchair stallion inquired. "Nightcrawlers are his area of expertise. Perhaps we should break him out." "Not just yet." The lightning Unicorn declared. "Sterling's allegiances are still not fully known. Until we can be certain of his loyalty, I say he stays where he is." "In that case, we should send Scalphunter to check out the Nightcrawler situation." The wheelchair stallion announced. "Unlike certain others, he always gives results." "You mean Sterling's old partner?" The lanky Unicorn member asked. "The very same." The wheelchair bound stallion smirked, "He had dealt with the 'Nightcrawler' crowd a lot in working with Sterling. If these Nightcrawlers and our dear friend Echo try anything, Scalp will be sure to contain it." "And what of our plans for those Napoleon brothers?" The lanky Unicorn asked. "They are as much a threat to us as the Nightcrawlers." "Oh, we already have our operative ready to go." The Pegasus smirked. "He's out of the hospital and he's quite eager to set matters in motion, actually. I find our allies are always so much more motivated when things are personal." "Exactly why we hired him." The lightning Unicorn sneered. "Vengeance has always been the best driving force for action." "Let's just nopony decides to meddle in our affairs anytime soon." The wheelchair stallion remarked. "That sort of thing seems to be happening with startling regularity lately." "We can blame Nalik for the most recent failure." The lanky Unicorn scowled. "He was only supposed to grab the Serpents. If he hadn't taken those others along for the ride, maybe he wouldn't be dead right now." "Nonetheless, we could all afford to be a little more cautious from here on out." The lightning Unicorn declared. "Father is growing restless due to our recent run of bad luck. Not to mention the fact that we are dangerously close to being discovered." "We cannot allow that to happen." The wheelchair stallion declared. "If we are to be revealed, it must be at the time of our choosing." "Exactly." The hulking Earth Pony agreed. "And that time will be soon." The lightning Unicorn declared. "Father decrees it. We will emerge from the shadows, and show the world who the true power is. We will lead all Ponies to the glory we rightfully deserve. There will come a new world order, with the Forefathers at its helm! So says Father!" "So say we all!" The assembled members chorused. Even the loss of one of their most influential members hadn't slowed down this dark cartel of ponies. Their schemes would continue onwards. The world could only hope more courageous souls would step forward to foil those wicked plans... The End.