Queen Libra laid next to her husband, sleeping soundly. Well, as soundly as the embodiment of the world itself ever got. Being connected deeply to the entirety of the mortal world on a cosmic level could be trying at times. But she still dreamed of time with her little sister that was now safely in Heaven, enjoying eternity with her parents.
The mare was currently equal in size to her draconic husband, as she often was when they slept.
Suddenly, her Cutie Mark shimmered and her eyes shot open. It felt as if a part of her long missing had returned to herself.
“This feeling...”
She looked out the window towards the frozen north.
Spike gave a loud yawn, the titanic dragon blinking awake. “Rarity? What's wrong? Earthquakes giving you headaches again?”
The Alicorn of the Mortal World closed her eyes and relaxed her entire body, or rather the body that was an Alicorn. Her senses turned inward, away from the flesh and blood body her friends thought of as her, focusing on a different part of the world, or rather herself. She gave a gasp and looked Spike in the eye.
“Spike, send a letter to everycreature in the House of the Bride. Especially Guru Fido. Emergency meeting.”
Spike blinked. “Did an ancient evil escape again?”
“No, not this time...Hopefully some of our little ponies have returned after a very long time...”
On the way to the frozen north
“The Crystal Empire was sent a thousand years ahead into the future by Queen Cadence to keep it away from Discord, as without the Crystal Heart, it had no defense against him,” I explained in the rather crowded dining car we were all seated in on the way north. My name is Queen Cadence XV, the current Queen of New Avalon (which now included the former location of Old Avalon, as it was our ancestral home after all). As with every Changeling Queen since our savior Queen Cadence I, I assume her form in her honor. I copied it from my mother and assumed it as she died, passing the crown to me, and since then only change forms when needed by circumstances. I have not seen my true face in decades.
“Crystal Heart?” asked Miss Rainbow Dash, cocking her head. “Discord never mentioned that thing. I think this whole thing happened when we weren't...broken in yet...”
(Interviewer's Notes (Ditzy): Um, Pour Majesty?)
Yes, Miss Doo?
(Interviewer's Notes (Derpy): How did it peel to be traveling pith Rainbow and others?)
It was...awkward to say the least. On one hoof, they did help Discord murder the goddess to whom we owe everything we presently are, which naturally left us all bitter, even five hundred years later, and had been our enemies for a millennium. On the other...while I was not there, it is a commonly known fact in New Avalon that Queen Cadence always said they were his victims too, that he'd corrupted them in monsters. She loved Twilight dearly, a love she extended to her fallen friends. So it was only natural that freeing them was one of her heart's desires. She didn't want them to be remembered as monsters but as the victims they were. So our history reflected that interpretation because she wrote the books. Our ability to spread that history was greatly limited when Old Avalon was destroyed and we had to consistently strike from the shadows.
If their report is to be believed...she finally succeeded long after her death.
Yes, my people did try to poison Applejack (or Abigail as she is now known) during the First Grogar War, and kill the group. And I'd be lying if I said many didn't try to kill them in revenge, or that we all believed that there was still an innocent heart beneath the rampaging monsters. That's not true. A number of us genuinely hated them. But for others of us, it was seen as mercy to them and kindness to those Discord oppressed.
But yes, we were happy to see them freed and Queen Cadence's desire be fulfilled at long last. It just took us time to accept that they'd been purifed and a good deal of proof on their part (for some of us more than others). Of course, the news the chaotic tyrant the majority of us had spent our entire lives trying to overthrow was dead and gone somewhat overshadowed our misgivings once it was confirmed.
We naturally celebrated Discord's fall. A great deal. I got drunk. I didn't care, I was the happiest I'd ever been in my entire life.
(Interviewer's Notes (Ditzy): On love or salt?)
Both, and some alcohol. I tried to get drunk on simply salt and alcohol (we Changelings are no longer parasites like our poor ancestors who believed love needed taken), but there was so much shared love between non-Changeling families celebrating it was rather difficult to avoid getting drunk on it, and we were too happy to try that hard. It was a good day.
As was the day Queen Libra gave me back so many of my children. While I am not our mother goddess, the Changeling Queen considers her subjects her children, and I am no different...Imagine a ruler's joy at seeing their army return safe when they thought it wiped out and a mother's joy at seeing a child do the same, combine and multiply them by the number of subjects that returned, and you have some idea how wonderful that day felt for me.
That was also a large help to their claims of redemption, as many Changelings had conversed with Queen Cadence I in the afterlife and returned telling of her glee at her oldest friend being redeemed.
Queen Cadence I had also given us a message through Libra as well...
“Cadence had a message for you, darling...”
“What?”
“I met her when I ascended...she told me to tell you this: 'My children, I'm so proud of you and what you've become. The heroes you are now. The harmony you've spread. Mother's proud, my little changelings...'”
(Interviewer's Notes (Ditzy): Are blue crying?)
A little...it is a happy memory...
...Forgiveness is not easy to give, but for our Mother, at least I give it. That is why I'm in the 'forgive them' camp. And as Queen, my Changelings value my opinion highly.
That said, at the time I was only really friends with Queen Libra (and then primarily due to having frequent interaction to her as part of the House of the Bride) and the members of their group who had not been brainwashed minions. With the others I was...
(Interviewer's Notes (Derpy): Not enemies?)
Yes, that's an adequate way to describe it. It was still incredibly, incredibly awkward.
“Uncle mentioned it to me and mom,” young Diamond Tiara said. Most of the foals, with the exception of the youngest Bearers who needed to be present for this briefing (though Aunt Celestia was with the foals for obvious reasons), were in another car playing while she was spending time with her friend Silver Spoon and our...guest (I was doing my best to ignore said guest for reasons that shall become apparent). I don't know her actual blood relation to the devil, if there is one, just that the poor child harbors emotional ties to that horrid beast she calls an uncle despite an apparent understanding of his wrongdoing. But the child was trusted with the Element of Empathy (what Queen Tiamat and Mother Deer called the purified version of the Element of Cruelty, though due to the recent obliteration of the thousand year old status quo followed by the return of Grogar, the bearers hadn't learned of that until recently) by Queen Libra, it was her choice that mattered in that case, sadly...Still, I tried not to push the issue. The child was guilty for her past actions, and whether her fault or the devil's, that kind of guilt on a child's face was wrong in ways that even one that grew up in that chaotic, horrific world finds...uncomfortable to say the least. If nothing else could be said about her, it was that she was an improvement over the butcher as holder of her Element.
As for Silver Spoon...there's little to say except the knowledge she died so young the first time is saddening, as it always is, and she is a suitable Bearer of Kindness from what I've seen.
“He didn't send us there, just gave us a two week vacation inside a video game within a radio drama within a play while things 'sorted themselves out'...I don't know why, it just made sense at the time...” her mother continued. Little more can be said that can't be about her daughter, but both Libra and Abigail's reactions to the issue of her past imply it involved...tragedy. I've chosen to leave the poor mare alone for that reason.
Brave little Scootaloo shrugged. “I joined Cadence a long time after that and only heard little bits and pieces.”
Scootaloo was quite the legend to the resistance for being able to match Traitor Dash head on and being one of our best fighters along side General Hercules in the early days of the Second Age of Chaos, before her tragic first death...That made it a little strange to see her as a foal. But nonetheless a joy to see her alive and well again...I admit, asked her for her autograph when I first saw her...
“My life was...complicated at that point,” Gilda replied, the Griffin largely remaining silent. According to Rainbow Dash, she simply wasn't used to being open around ponies she didn't completely know. “So I don't know what happened either.”
Gilda...I know extremely little about her. All I can say about her is that she isn't a murderous berserker like her predecessor and showed great bravery during the Second Grogar War.
“You know it as the crystal that granted my people our enlightenment,” Guru Fido explained, holding out the legendary gem that I do not believe has left the Diamond Dog's underground civilization since they discovered it. Queen Libra had apparently managed to return it to the form it had been a thousand years ago using the planet's memory that she now possessed access to. I am impressed...and somewhat frightened that she has such knowledge. I cannot imagine what Queen Cadence I and Libra's minds must be like to process eternity. I do not personally wish to know...
Guru Fido was a long time friend of the Changelings and the resistance as a whole, and very wise, even by the standards of his kind. I value his decisions and ideas greatly...but giving away his people's greatest treasure was a risky move. Still, if nothing else, it showed the depths of the Diamond Dog's generosity and kindness of heart.
“I cannot thank you enough for parting with your civilization's most sacred treasure, Guru Fido,” Libra replied, giving a frown. “You know I would not ask if it were not vital to the Crystal Ponies' well being.”
“Think nothing of it, Lady Desire,” the Diamond Dog elder said, giving a bow. “The 'Crystal Heart' is rightfully theirs, and it has already bequeathed its blessings upon us. Our pups born away from its power retain our uplifted status, so we no longer require it, the Crystal Ponies do. I will return it with my own paws, if that is quite alright.”
“...It's still kinda weird to see a Diamond Dog give something away,” Gilda stated with a confused expression I couldn't help giving a small chuckle at. “Uh...no offense, just, ya know...thousand years ago and all...” she stated after a glare from Rainbow Dash.
“None taken, Griffin Gilda.”
Hehe. I will admit, the reactions by those who have returned to life from the early years of the Second Age of Chaos to the intelligence of the Diamond Dogs is quite entertaining at times due to how drastically the Heart had altered them from how they apparently had once been.
“Uh, may I interject darlings?” asked Abigail. Yes, we know that she lied that she alone had killed Queen Cadence I and did so to protect her friends. Queen Libra had insisted we know the truth and judged them all accordingly. I was still uncertain if Abigail had lied again or not, but it seemed likely she was truthful given the evidence.
“Yes, Abigail?” asked Libra.
“Last time an ancient civilization returned from limbo, we had to fight that brute Grogar, should we be worried about that happening again?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow continued. “Do we need worry about another evil overlord trying to kill us all?”
“Yeah, we gonna have tah save the world again?” little Apple Pie asked. She is a sweet, but somewhat confusing little foal, that is more or less all I know of her. “Maybe somepony else will get a Ender form thingie...”
Applejack chuckled. “Now don't bank too much on that happening again, darling...”
I couldn't help noticing Mother Deer give a smile at that...
“No, we don't have to worry about that, Queen Cadence I already killed him,” I replied simply.
I can't help chuckling a little at their expressions. What? You think a Changeling Queen can't have a sense of humor?
“I was kidding! There was really an evil overlord?!”
Libra shifted. “I'm afraid in my rush to get us on the road I may have not had time to explain some details...”
“Oh! What was his name? What did he do?” asked Inquisition, who like Apple Pie I knew little about except she was close to Rainbow Dash. The young ones I don't know much of. Not for lack of desire to do so, but because we do not interact often due to my royal duties.
Poor little Silver Spoon looked quite shaken and had to be comforted by Diamond Tiara.
I nodded. “Aunt Luna, care to explain?”
Yes, I refer to the Night Princess as my aunt. All Changelings are Queen Cadence's children just as all Dragons are Queen Tiamat's and the Windy-Goes are Aunt Luna's. And Luna is Cadence's aunt.
(Interviewer's Notes (Derpy): Blow does blat mean the Windy-Goes are blur cousins?)
...Yes...I suppose that is correct. I hadn't thought of that.
She nodded. “Yes, King Sombr-”
“Excuse me,” said Aquamarine. The sea ponies are interesting creatures. They turned out to be considerably more beautiful than we believed...and incredibly innocent. Almost like children. However, Aquamarine was a unique example of her tribe. Not only was she the first Sea Pony to truly see the world outside of their gilded cage, she was currently the only one that truly knew the truth about their creator. I'm not entirely certain about the specifics, you'd need to ask her.
The story is too long to explain here and now, Mrs. Doo...But when offered the Element of Generosity...I was told by Queen Libra that if I took it, I would need to give up my innocence and hear an awful truth, for the duties that came with it and the trials we may face would expose me to many things about Cotton Candy King Discord I would wish I did not know...I took it knowing what I was giving up and accepted those truths so I could protect my fellow Sea Ponies from beings like Grogar...
Libra says that was the act that meant I was right to be Generosity...
“Yes?”
“Should I record this?” she asked, generally acting as the Sea Ponies' 'eyes' for the rest of the world, but I believe also wanting to keep the 'awful truths' from her kind.
“...Parts of it...As I twas saying, Sombra twas what appeared to be a Unicorn king with cruelty as limitless as space. In actuality, he was something far far worse...”
“Worse?” Abigail asked. “What could be worse than that?”
“Did he do something like Grogar or Sideways Harmonica Discord?” Inquisition asked.
“We think tis better our guest explain that part.”
We all looked at...ugh...our 'guest' on this journey.
What appeared to be an adventurer Earth Pony with a maze for her Cutie Mark, sitting next to Diamond Tiara. In actuality...the devil's elder sister.
Queen Libra had apparently somehow became her friend during her ascension and she visited the castle with some frequency (apparently Libra's imagination when it comes to fashion appealed to her), in the same fashion as Ponythulhu still did (though now they needed to 'call ahead and knock when they get here' as Libra put it, the portal being long sense closed). Libra insisted that she was harmless and that if she did do something, she or Luna would be capable of dealing with her, as Discord's powers were an exception and not a rule....but I still didn't trust the Draconequus as far as I could throw her.
It appeared nearly everycreature in the room bar the Alicorns felt the same way. Libra claimed there was good reason she was on this trip...
She had been spending most of her time with her 'niece' Diamond Tiara. The two seemed to get along...I had a spy constantly watching her like a hawk...
“Oh! King Sombra, right. You see, Dissy really, really hated the Crystal Empire. Which is a shame, I always thought it was a great place. 'The shining genuine paradise in the arctic.' It always felt like a real life fairy tale...which I've wanted to see happen for a long time.”
“Why did Discord hate them?” Inquisition questioned. “Did they not invite him to their princess' birthday? Mama said he got mad at somepony for doing that once.”
“Ugh...he really ripped off that movie? Then again it is a classic...No, he hated them because of that,” Pandora stated, pointing to the Crystal Heart, her hoof stretching across the room to do so. “It protects the Crystal Empire from anything evil when they power it up,” she explained, spontaneously dressed like a knight slicing a menacing shadow in half. I tensed up, but she was back in her original dress before I could react. “Dissy couldn't touch the place so long as it was running full blast, the Heart would've curbstomped him and it blocked all his attacks. He literally tried everything.”
Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. “It could've done that?!”
“Wow...” said our resident foal population in an awe.
I nodded, having some knowledge from our historical knowledge of the Empire's return. “Yes, that was one of the reasons why the changelings traveled there; it was one of the only weapons in the world other than the Elements of Harmony that could defeat Discord. But you see, it only works that way with a proper channel, which the Diamond Dogs didn't possess even if anypony knew what they'd had.”
Pandora nodded. “Yeah, it's Elements level strong when they plug it into the heart of the Empire and combined all their light and love into it!” she said, making a 'boom' gesture with her hooves. Which being who she was, resulted in a random, small explosion resembling one of the Changeling Rangers' finishing moves. “Last baddie who got hit by it's power ended up in Dad. Though that was with magic wands and it was called something different at the time...”
“Magic wands?” I asked, but was ignored.
“Dad?...Oh...right, you're literally the daughter of Tartarus...” Rainbow Dash asked what was on my mind.
“Hey! Dad isn't a bad guy!” the Draconequus defended. “You act like being in charge of Tartarus makes Him a bad guy!”
“...It doesn't?”
“No! Does a warden being in charge of a prison make them a bad guy?”
“...No...”
“Well Dad's Warden of Tartarus, so there you go. He's even nice enough to let souls from Heaven try to save their loved ones from Him.”
“Really? How does that work?” our questioning filly...chick...fillychick asked with a curious grin. I can actually somewhat confirm that. Some Changelings from the early years of Discord's reign that returned stated Queen Rosedust did exactly that for them.
“Normally involving a lot of trials and...” Pandora looked strangely on the spot at the hopeful look on the foal's face. “...Normally they save the soul...sometimes...”
Libra cleared her throat. “Please continue, Pandora.”
“Oh! Right! Imagination, I get side tracked. A lot. Anyway, he got SO angry with it, he ended up calling one of our cousins-”
“Ponythulhu?”Inquisition asked once again.
“No! Ponythlhu's a nice guy! This was a different cousin...” At that point, she produced a picture from her ear of Ponythulhu at a picnic with her and an Alicorn I don't recognize...Strange, that's a lot tamer than I expected from a Draconequus. Though I also had the strange feeling that we were only seeing what our minds could comprehend.
“...Should we worry about him?” I asked, cautiously. I'll admit, Discord's cousins were...a confusing topic. Ponythulhu was on good terms with the devil, but was known to be a fairly nice and polite as far as cosmic horrors went. Yes, even to us rebels. He had never hurt anycreature to my knowledge...he also makes wonderful cookies...
“Nah, he just owed Dissy a favor. And before you ask, no, I had nothing to do with it. I have no control over what my cousins do.”
Queen Libra nodded, presumably knowing my distrust of the Draconequus.
“Okay...I think...Continue...”
Why are Draconequi so confusing?
“Anyway, Dissy got him to trick the Crystal Ponies into making a rune that took all their negative emotions they didn't want to feel and merged them together into King Sombra.”
She held out her hooves, causing a mass of shadows to converge between them, combining into a roaring shadow. I normally wouldn't jump, but given I was on edge with her present, I didn't relax until she dispelled it.
“Okay...I guess that is worse...” Rainbow Dash admitted.
Aunt Luna then thankfully stepped back in. “After he ruled the Crystal Empire for some time, my sister and I were alerted to King Sombra's reign of terror.”
“By who?”
“...A brave pony that sadly we could not save in time...”
“Why?”
“Inquisition, can you please stop asking questions dear right now?” asked Queen Libra carefully. “I know it's your nature, but we need to get through this before we arrive.”
“Sorry...” Poor creature looked quite disappointed...
“It's okay, dear, just there isn't time for the questions right now.”
Aunt Luna cleared her throat. “As I twas saying; at the time, we believed he twas merely a unicorn king and came to free his slaves from his tyranny. Twas a long battle that ultimately ended with the two of us destroying his physical form and imprisoning him in a glacier to the frozen north...but sadly, he had a failsafe. When we defeated him in the fashion we did, it sent the Crystal Empire a thousand years ahead in time.”
I noted Aunt Luna's sadness at remembering this event. I cannot imagine how it had to feel to have come to save a people and have them vanish without a trace. I was tempted to put a wing over my tiny aunt, but Luna was a bit proud.
“A thousand years later the Empire returned, and King Sombra along with it,” I explained. “Queen Cadence I destroyed King Sombra completely when he attempted to retake the throne...but sadly, in the struggle, the Crystal Heart was thrown from were Sombra hid it and we never found it, requiring her to trigger Sombra's fail safe once again to keep it safe from Discord. I assume somecreature else found it and that's how it found its way to where the Diamond Dogs discovered it.”
“Fate's winds rarely blow the clearest route,” Guru Fido replied in that sagely manner he tended to speak in. “The how does not matter, what is important is that the Crystal Ponies will return to a liberated world and the Diamond Dogs have bettered ourselves from our previous selves. That is the path we have chosen.”
I nodded. “Well spoken, Guru Fido.”
Mother Deer gave a relieved sigh, having largely remained silent and allowed us to discuss the details of past violence. Not that I blame her, her pacifistic nature was simply who she was. The changelings gave up our 'survival of the fittest' mentality long ago so I don't think less of her for it. “At least there won't be any fighting...”
“Yeah...but if the bad guy is already dead, what's the mission here?” asked Rainbow Dash, raising an eyebrow.
“We need to convince them to willingly shut down the rune that created Sombra in the first place,” Queen Libra explained. “As Pandora explained, it takes away their negative emotions, such as fear and hate so they don't have to experience them.”
“Why do we need to?” asked Abigail, giving a thoughtful look.
“Well, darling, it's enabling them to hide from their problems instead of facing them, which as you know I am not fond of.”
“Understood. I'm simply saying, dear, rushing ponies to face things isn't always the best idea. You need to get them ready for the truth.”
“...Thank you for not simply rolling over for me, Abigail, I appreciate you balancing me out.”
“That's what friends are for.”
The two smiled. I admit, a year ago I would have never imagined Rarigreed actually thanking somepony for contradicting her or Liarjack telling a truth. It is still so surreal. As was Abigail's ladylike appearance.
“But in this case, it is far more vital. The rune is designed to fuse those emotions into a monster like Sombra. While we're uncertain how this will work without direct intervention from Discord's cousin, it's entirely possible it may make another Sombra or resurrect him. And as the rune is composed of magic from a different section of the pantheon than any of the deities present, none of us can alter it.”
“Yeah,” Pandora remarked. “Our cousin's magic is kinda...okay, you know how there's Alicorn magic?”
“Yeah.”
“And how it and Discord's magic is kinda like comparing apples and oranges?”
“Like mah Cutie Mark?!” Apple Pie asked as cheerfully as ever, looking at her flank.
“Yeah, kinda like that...only with more explosions...Well trying to compare Draconequi magic, your magic, and our cousins' magic is like comparing apples, oranges, and pine cones.”
“...Hehe, that's kinda funny!”
“Yeah, kinda. Any way, I don't know much about it, and Ponythulhu is more into baking than magic. So yeah...”
“The point is, not only is it good for their psyche, it will ensure King Sombra will never return and another like him can never be created,” Libra explained.
“And why don't we just wreck it and explain later?” asked Rainbow Dash pragmatically.
“Because we'd be forcing something on them suddenly they are not prepared for,” Libra explained with a sigh, Abigail nodded. “And if they're willing, then they'll not make the same mistake again.”
“And why don't we just tell them 'hey, keep this up and Sombra will come back'?”
Abigail cleared her throat. “Well, Sombra is powered by fear and the poor dears are scared to death of him, if I'm hearing everycreature correctly.”
Pandora nodded. “That's about the long and short of it.”
“So I'm guessing if we tell the Crystal Ponies that the pony who made their lives a living Tartarus might not actually be dead, the poor dears might get so scared of him that it may speed things up instead of stopping them. It might be for the best to just let them think Sombra is dead and gone and move on with their lives if we can.”
“I second her,” I stated. I paused for a moment. It was still so incredibly odd to actually agree with one of Discord's Chaos Six. “Queen Cadence I did her best to shatter their fear of Sombra and liberate them from it.”
“Which, by the way, was why she was able to kill him for good,” Pandora pointed out...And it was unbelievably, incredibly odd beyond reason to have a Draconequus agree with me.
“So tellin' 'em that keepin' the rune up might bring Sombra back might make him come back?” Apple Pie asked.
“That's the long and short of it, kid.”
“Hehe...kinda funny how that works...”
Libra gave a sigh. “I concede the point, I don't like it, but I'm the Mortal World that mortals need, not the one I want.”
If nothing else can be said, she's an improvement over the psychopathic tyrant that only wanted the world he wanted. Still, I will admit I'm keeping the closest of eyes on her, despite considering her a friend.
(Interviewer's Notes (Ditzy): You're spying on sir?)
Yes, and she's fully aware of that fact. She requested I call her out the moment she steps over a line in the most public fashion possible.
“But still, they've spent several hundred years hiding from their emotions,” the Bride of All stated. “It's time they finally face them.”
“Besides, it's the only way for them to really be free of him!” added Pandora cheerfully, the draconequus giving a smile (accompanied by a squee sound effect from nowhere) that...I will be honest, I never thought I'd see on a being I knew was a draconequus. One of...genuine glee completely bereft of sadism. I am uncertain if that makes it more or less disturbing.
“Um...alright...” I muttered, uncertain of what she meant. “I thought we established that...”
The devil's sister sighed. “Alright alright, let me explain, even if actually saying it is kinda cliché by now, but eh, good moral is a good moral,” she said, suddenly in a teacher's outfit I believe I've heard described in novels (the Changelings have a hidden library of books we managed to recover when Old Avalon was destroyed). “You see, King Sombra made the Crystal Ponies depressed and afraid, right?”
“Right...” said Rainbow Dash, sharing my confusion.
“Well, if they're just sealing away all their sadness and anger, he wins because they're just ignoring what he did to them instead of facing and overcoming it, so in a way he's still enslaving them by making them afraid to face what happened and move on, even if we destroy the rune without their permission.”
“...That...kinda makes sense...”
“Also makes for a very satisfying happy ending,” Pandora pointed out, with a strange authority that...for all my distrust for her felt wrong to question. If it weren't for Changelings being immune to Draconequi magic thanks to Queen Cadence I, I'd have been paranoid.
“I thought Twilight was happy endings...”
“She is, but I'm Imagination,” she said, spreading her hooves and forming a rainbow between them as she spoke. “So our spheres of influence kinda intersect a little bit when it comes to Happy Endings,” she stated, producing a circle charge with her name and Twilight's names intersecting from nowhere. “And I know literally everything there is about storytelling...and hallucinations, but ponies tend not to like them very much...”
“Yeah...I wouldn't think so...” Rainbow Dash muttered with a roll of her eyes...At least me and her were on the same page. “Why are you even here?”
“Glad you asked!” the devil's sister said, trotting around as she spoke, apparently more focused on her speech than on where she was going. “Well, first off, I'm the cousin of the guy who made Sombra, so even if I don't know the magic, I know at least some of what's going on with it.”
“...Right...”
“Two, this is fun!”
“...Debatable.”
“I'm having fun, Aunt Pandora...”
“Thanks DT, so am I. Oh! And three, an alternate version of Fluttershy redeemed Discord by befriending him, so long story short I owe you a boon because your Fluttershy asked me to give it to you instead of her.”
“WHAT?!”
(Interviewer's Notes (Ditzy): Who bled that?)
Everycreature.
“Really?!”
Except a frighteningly happy Golden Tiara and Diamond Tiara.
“Yeah, long story. Involving the magic of friendship. It's actually quite beautiful to be honest,” she said, acting like she had just read a happy ending to a romance novel. “Multiverses are kinda weird like that. If you think that one's a hoot, you should see the universe were Cadence died fighting Dad and I took her place out of friendship and married a version of Twilight's brother who doesn't exist in this universe...his insertion certainly had some weird shockwaves...”
At that point I think my brain needed to reboot...
“Pandora...I believe you probably shouldn't have said that out loud darling...” Libra lamented in what I think was annoyance (like I said, my brain was rebooting at the time).
“Oh...yeah...probably...Oh well, cat's out of the bag.”
“Ahh! Not again!”
“Huh, that guard has bad luck with cats.”
“Yes, unfortunately,” I replied, helping one of my Hippogriff guards (not every member of New Avalon are Changelings, some are descended from the Equestrian Guard Queen Cadence I had with her when Discord's reign began or refugees), Mythology Gag, get the spontaneously generated cat off him off his back. He has the worst luck with cats: he hadn't even been in the car at the time...
“It runs in my family...” he sighed, before going to his sister for medical aid.
“Oh! And the really weird part is Mom actually was touched by the Fluttershy thing!”
Luna, Mother Deer, and Libra all gasped in shock.
I blinked. “...Am I missing something?” My other fellow nondeities minus Guru Fido seemed equally confused.
“Entropy, Discord's Mother...She is Nothing personified,” Queen Libra explained. “She...felt something? I'm sorry, darling, but to us, that's the equal of when you discovered Discord had a heart.”
“Ah...that explains a lot...”
“Anyway, she was the first creature in eternity to ever touch Mom's heart, which ranks up there with Celly making Her laugh on 'list of impossible things Mom has only done once in eternity'. So being a multiversal singularity, Mom more or less decided to give every Fluttershy in the multiverse that in some way shape or form helped reform a Discord Her blessing. Which includes yours.”
Queen Libra blinked. “How?”
I think we were all too confused to ask more questions by this point.
(Interviewer's Notes (Ditzy): Because dove the multiverse bing?)
No, Discord sent my mother to an alternate universe once, she actually preferred it to our world and only left out of duty to New Avalon. It was more the concept of Discord being reformed by kindness.
“She was little Odyne's mom, so no Fluttershy would mean no reformed Dissy!...” Pandora blinked, looking down at us. “...When did I get on the ceiling?”
I was tempted to point out that by 'being Odyne's mother', she meant 'being spiritually violated by the devil himself and having the monumental strength of heart to still love her' (Libra had explained it to me), but there were foals present.
(Interviewer's Notes (Derpy): Bank you...)
You're welcome.
However, dear, I believe there are better points of view you could choose for this part, as it didn't really involve me at this point, and I was kind of mentally short circuited at the time.
(Interviewer's Notes (Ditzy): Oh! Blight!)
“That's not the point, dear,” I said, trying to wrap my mind around it. I had looked into the Truth...or was pushed into it by the ghost of my sweet sister, as the case may be, so I knew better than most about the multiverse. Though given some of Discord's games and Nightmare Eclipse, most of Equestria was aware of alternate universes, since we were still trying to find all the portals to them he left in Eden (though old Eclipse never let him use any himself). And she was a Draconequus, their logic was a bit different than ours if Rancor was any indication. “What about this boon?”
“Oh! Sorry!” Pandora replied.
Pandora...I wasn't sure how to feel about her, to be honest. After all, she was Discord's sister. But so was Rancor, and at the very least she did help us defeat Eclipse...I think. It was kinda hard to tell if that was intentional or not. Draconequi as a whole are difficult to understand
So I was more in the middle about her than anything else.
“Yeah, you kinda lost me at 'reformed Dissy'...” Rainbow Dash remarked dryly. Not that I blame her, Discord's games had nearly drove the poor dear to kill herself and understandably made it hard for her to trust him or Pandora on anything.
“Hey! My brother's been doing a good job since getting banished back to the spirit world!” Pandora replied.
“Like what?”
“Like our new champions we got a few months ago...”
Meanwhile, in another universe
“Coupling Bazooka!” announced a red suited pegasus with a one inside a black and white circle on his chest and forehead, a railtrack around his helmet as he and his team constructed a large cannon from their weapons. His compatriots dressed similarly, 2 being a blue suited Diamond Dog, 3 being a yellow suited Griffin, four being a green suited Minotaur, and 5 being a pink suited unicorn.
“The train is now departing!” announced the device as the pegasus inserted a silver bullet train like projectile into it.
“Crying Foal Statue Rainbow Rush!” he announced as they pulled the trigger, sending the imagination powered projectile flying on rainbow tracks at the monster that had been making children cry to feed on their despair, exploding on impact...leaving him holding a statue of a crying foal in his hooves that multiplied until he struggled to hold up a mountain of them.
“This makes no sense...” he muttered, before screaming as the statues fell on him and crushed him, triggering a huge explosion for some reason.
Discord laughed in the spirit realm nearby. “Ponies are being saved from harm, nonsense is being weaponized, and the only one being hurt is the evil monster who terrorized children to try to engulf the world in darkness in a hilariously karmic fashion. Oh I should've been doing this all along!”
He looked over at Mortis standing nearby, looking annoyed. “What's wrong?”
The monster suddenly revived as a giant monster, moments before Mortis could actually take his soul.
Death gave a sigh. “That always happens in this universe, I hate it when the Shadows Who Rule ignore my rule...”
“Oh well, at least we get to see them use their robot composed of trains that can inexplicably stretch its limbs!”
“I'm glad you're enjoying yourself...”
“Don't worry, as per usual the giant monster fight always takes place in the abandoned warehouse district so nopony gets hurt! It's written into the very laws of this universe!”
“I am happy for that...I take it the team being composed of multiple races was your idea?”
“Yeah, multi-form balance and Concept of Diversity and all that. Makes the position switching gimmick a tad more useful too.”
(Interviewer's Notes (Derpy): I have blow idea were Rarity blot that recording...)
“I also had a team of Champions who's powers ran on delusions and hallucinations,” Pandora explained. “But they're unofficial.”
Rarity blinked. “Why darling?”
“Oh, they're officially my champions, just they're literally unofficial, it's in their title.”
“Can we get back on topic here before all this multiversal stuff makes my head hurt?!” asked Rainbow. “Or Inquisition explodes from holding in all the questions she's not allowed to ask?”
“I agree...”I added, mine already hurting. I looked at the little Hippogriff who was presently covering her beak, apparently trying to contain herself. Can't blame her for being curious I suppose... “So what's this blessing business?”
“Well, you see, I tried to give Fluttershy a boon for earning Mom's blessing, cause that doesn't happen...ever, so me and my sibs were a bit impressed, but she said 'Oh...um...sorry...but...I didn't do much...I don't deserve it...' and when I pushed, she said 'O-Ok...if it has to go to anypony, please give it to my friends...'”
She had a Fluttershy puppet say what Fluttershy said by the way...it was kinda weird...
“...That's Fluttershy alright,” Me, Rainbow, and Rarity all said at the same time. Even in Pony Heaven or wherever she is, the sweet filly never stops being kind...
“Anyway, Fate said if I came on this thing 'some paths lead to a chance to give one of them her boon,'” Pandora explained, using another puppet of an Alicorn none of us recognized but Rarity. “I'd give you yours now but this subplot is taking up way too much screen time right now as is, and this way I can keep the Shadows in suspense about who's boon it actually is, so it can wait till the train ride back...Also, I want to see the Crystal Ponies finally earn their happy ending after all this time.”
Before another word could be said, there was knock on a little door in the ceiling. It opened and a little orange eye poked out and squeaked a lot, meaning 'we're almost there.'
“Alright, Pancake, thanks for telling us,” Rarity replied, giving a nod before the eye withdrew. Pancakes' such a darling little living subway monster thing. So polite. “Somepony should tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders to get ready to disembark.”
If no pony else mentioned it in their interviews, little Scootaloo restarted the Crusaders as a 'mentor'. Cherry Pie is one of them, along with a little Changeling nymph named Ladybird and a sea pony named Waterflower...
An attendant ran out of the other car and collapsed on the ground. A changeling web shot out and pulled the poor dear back into the other car screaming. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS CHIROPRACTORS! YAY!”
They're every bit as rowdy as the original trio...
Pandora blinked. “Huh...Rota, you have quite the sense of humor....”
Diamond face hoofed. “Mom! Why did you tell them what chiropractors were?!”
I was still getting used to Mrs. Rich's new personality. She wasn't quite back to her old self or 'Screwball'. She was somewhere in between...I guess that's how all of us are, huh?
“Ah thought Minty Pie was watching 'em...” Bomb Pie pointed out (he's kinda like Big Mac was, doesn't talk much).
“I'm glued to a wall!”
Like I said, rowdy little foals. Diamond and Scoots went in to handle it.
“Um...Can I ask questions now?”
“Yes Inquisition,” Rarity said, and the girl took a BIG breath. Oh dear...
----
“Thank you, Pancake,” Diamond told our mode of transport as we disembarked.
Pancake, the Giant Living Subway Worm we'd been riding on, gave a content screech and dove back underground. Apparently the geology wasn't correct for him to go much further.
The devil had created his species from Manehattens' train system at her request, so I suppose him liking her made sense. Though ponies had managed to domesticate a great many of Discord's creations both during his reign and after his fall. While some of his more evil creations were undone by Queen Libra's repairs, most survived as normal animals or had become useful in every day life or were kept as pets.
(Interviewer's Notes (Derpy): Yeah! By have a bet muffin cow!)
“Spike, darling, I hope the flight wasn't too hard on you,” Libra told her husband, who naturally hadn't been riding in the cabin with us but instead flew above us. Queen Libra merged with an Avatar of herself that had been riding with him and I believe briefing him as well.
“I'm fine, Rarity. A little cold, but my inner fire handled most of it,” he replied, giving her a nuzzle. I was amazed not by what species they were (interspecies romance was not uncommon in the least) and that apparently Libra was with child (I'm a Changeling, you think I can't sense such things?), but how surprisingly strong the love between them was (once more, Changeling). Having become friends with her or not, seeing the former Element of Greed actually in a loving relationship was still odd.
“Speaking of which, can you please carry Aquamarine and Waterflower, until we return the Crystal Heart only the Empire's boundaries will be warm. I can clear some of the snow, but I can't do much about the cold in this specific area or I might disrupt the ecosystem, and it'd be irresponsible for me to do so just to make our lives easier.”
We were currently standing in the middle of the arctic, though Libra being herself had provided admittedly fashionable winter clothes. I believe her concern stemmed from the Sea Ponies primary means of movement being their water magic, which obviously didn't mix well with the frozen north. Poor things would likely be ice sculptures in seconds if they tried.
“Will we meet Santa Hooves?”
“Nah, not this time, he's way up at the North Pole. Nice guy, inspires a lot of creativity. I think there's like eighty imaginary versions of him in my realm...born a day...”
I turned as King Spike picked up our shivering sea ponies to find young Inquisition still questioning Pandora, as she had been constantly since given permission. Pandora strangely seemed to enjoy every minute of it. If I hadn't known she was the devil's sister, I might have thought it was cute...
Libra looked forwards and seemed to concentrate...
And then a long path between us and our destination thawed, leaving the exposed ground for us to walk on. Once more, I admit, I am very glad she's more responsible with her power than Discord ever was.
“Let us head out, everycreature and everydeity, we have a sizable walk ahead of us.”
To be continued...