Final Mission

by Sharp Quill


16. That Ship Has Sailed

Over the next few days, Twilight periodically showed up with some new gizmo with which to study that spot in my kitchen. I tolerated it. Because of that, and the fact that I didn’t try to change her mind again, she allowed me view that image of our world in her throne room. If she was hoping that’d get me to talk, she hid her disappointment well.

The runes had already reached the skies of the Crystal Empire. In a few more days, they’d reach Manehattan, then, in another day, Ponyville and Canterlot. Word was starting to spread. Princess Celestia had put out a statement reassuring everypony that she was aware of the situation and that there was no cause for alarm.

Which was true, sort of. From my trip to the cat realm, I knew it would take years for there to be a meaningful effect. Why such a leisurely solution? The only answer I could come up with was that they were immortal, like draconequi and alicorns, so time didn’t have much meaning to them.

I wished I could talk to Celestia, to see what sort of progress she had been making and to help in any way I could, but that was proving to be a bit difficult. Twilight hadn’t been joking about Celestia not talking to her. Spike was no longer in Ponyville; he was now staying with Celestia in Canterlot.

Beyond had made no effort to contact me again, which was probably just as well. No solution would be coming from her. “Not my department,” as she might say.

That left Discord. I still didn’t know what “department” he belonged to, but a much higher rank it seemed to possess, if only because he was capable of representing their interests to Celestia. Whatever he truly was, right now he was uncharacteristically keeping to himself, spending most of his time with Fluttershy.

He was still willing to see me, so long as I didn’t overstay my welcome, but he hadn’t been willing to divulge anything I didn’t already know.

Honestly, I think he was just trying to get the most out of his friendship with Fluttershy before he had to leave our realm for good; as King Apollo had put it, we are no longer your concern.


I was sitting with Lyra on a park bench, on a warm summer day, when it finally happened: runes popped into being above the cloudless skies. There was no question about it; these were the same runes I had seen in the sky of the cat realm. “It’s really happening,” I muttered.

Lyra looked up herself. “Huh. That’ll take some getting used to.”

She had said that as if commenting on somepony’s new mane cut. I looked around the park. A few other ponies were looking up, with more joining them every second. All were taking it in stride.

And why shouldn’t they? Didn’t Princess Celestia say it was nothing to be concerned about? The runes had been appearing over the cities north of us for few days now. Nothing bad had happened, right?

“What’s wrong?”

I jerked my head towards my very best friend. “Huh?”

“You look like the world’s coming to an end.”

I… I didn’t know what to tell her, certainly not the truth. “It’s nothing.”

“Spill it.”

I sighed. “I can’t.”

She glanced at the sky then back at me. “This have anything to do with what Twilight was talking about, you know, royal secrets and all that stuff?”

I gave her a sullen look. “If, for the sake of argument, it was, you know I couldn’t confirm that.”

Lyra looked up at the sky again. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Neither do I.

It was so tempting to screw “the rules” and tell her. What more could they do?

Yet whenever I felt that way, I kept coming back to King Apollo. There were still some rules he followed. He felt there was more to lose, hard as that was to believe.

“…could get our cutie marks by solving the mystery of these here sky runes?”

My eyes were drawn to a familiar trio of fillies walking past us. They had once tried their hooves at candy making. It took hours to clean up the mess they had made of my kitchen. Why oh why had they thought that tree sap was a good idea.

“We should talk to Twilight. I bet she could use our help!”

“I dunno. Rainbow Dash says she’s been acting real weird…”

They had gone too far away for me to hear more, but I’d heard enough. It probably was for the best if they avoided Twilight, given her current obsessive state of mind, but did it really matter in the end? This world was going to die long before they could grow old—before I could grow old.

There didn’t seem to be a single thing I could do about it.


I knocked on Fluttershy’s front door. As was frequently the case, it opened by itself, letting me in. Discord was in the kitchen, making breakfast, some kind of flapjacks. They looked normal enough, cooking in the pan.

In the month that’d passed since the runes had appeared, our friendly neighborhood draconequus had been keeping his chaos pretty much to himself. “Why are you still here?” I asked him, genuinely curious. “I mean, why haven’t you been replaced by a stone statue stand-in while you move on to other realms?”

“I’m on vacation.” He lifted the pan and turned it upside down over a plate. The flapjacks fell out, started flapping, and went everywhere except that plate. The draconequus started hunting them with his fork.

After chasing one around the kitchen, he finally got one. It bled maple syrup. Once it had stop struggling, he got it onto the plate. Fortunately, for my sanity, that did not take long.

His breakfast captured, he continued: “I’ve got a few centuries of accumulated vacation time, so I figured I’d spend some of it to keep my one, true friend company for as long as I can.”

You learn something new every day.

He put the plate down on the counter. “Besides, I’m ‘reformed’ here. I don’t think that charade is needed.” His mismatched eyes studied me. “So what brings you by?”

I had never visited just to chat, and this time was no exception. “I want permission to tell Lyra something.” My inability to explain was proving to be a source of friction between us. She tolerated it only because she understood my hooves were tied.

“Can’t help you,” he said as he sliced up the flapjack. It twitched under the cutting knife. “I’m on vacation.”

“Then put me in touch with somepony who can help me.”

He waited until his mouth was empty before replying. “Celestia would be your best bet.”

I hadn’t seen the princess since she had requested my presence over a month ago. If she had no further need to speak to me, what would be accomplished by me requesting an audience? Her negotiations had failed, obviously, and there was nothing I could do to change that.

“I thought she lacked the authority to do that.”

The other two flapjacks had perched on Discord’s shoulders, one on each side, poised to launch at the slightest threat. The draconequus paid them no attention.

“She’s in touch with the ones who do possess that authority. The negotiations are continuing”—he swatted at the flapjacks, which flapped away in the nick of time—”if at a glacial pace.”

There was still hope?

“I’ll… I’ll do that.”


Lyra was performing tonight with the Royal Symphony Orchestra in Canterlot. While she was in rehearsal, I was to have my second meeting with Princess Celestia. It took nearly two weeks to arrange without the services of Twilight’s former Number One Assistant.

Said baby dragon was preparing the tea while I waited for the diarch to arrive. “I see Rarity once a week when she visits her new boutique here, but… it just isn’t the same.” He heated the kettle with his flaming breath.

“Believe me, nopony wishes Twilight would come to her senses more than me,” I said in commiseration. “It just isn’t happening.”

“So I’ve heard.” He scrutinized the kettle. Somehow deciding it wasn’t hot enough, he gave it another quick burst of flame. “Not that I want to say anything bad, but let’s just say I wasn’t too unhappy when Princess Celestia took me away.”

I couldn’t even imagine what that encounter must have been like.

The princess timed her arrival perfectly, entering the room as Spike filled two cups with tea. “Thank you, Spike.”

The baby dragon gave a quick bow and left the room, closing the door behind him. The words about to be spoken were not for his ears.

“So, what’s my answer?” I asked, dispensing with formality as usual.

She gave me a gentle smile. “A qualified ‘yes.’”

“Qualified?” I prompted. At least it wasn’t a flat-out ‘no.’

She levitated a cup over to me. “After the performance tonight, you shall bring Lyra here to this room. I’ll explain to her what she is permitted to know, on the condition she agrees to keep it secret.”

It was the best I could hope for. “I appreciate the assistance,” I said. “So what can she be told?”

“The permissible details are still being decided.” She paused for a sip of tea. “I must confess I was a bit surprised they agreed to even this much. It appears they want to remain on your good side.”

I couldn’t help snorting. “Remain? What, so I’d join them? I think that ship has sailed.”

Her muzzle developed a frown. “Ships can be turned around.”

I stared at my princess incredulously. “Are you implying they would clear our skies of runes if I did?”

Her frown deepened. “No. Twilight’s actions, and her refusal to change course, has doomed us. Even if she stopped now… as you put it, that ship has sailed.”

So leaving with Beyond would have changed nothing. It was a small relief. Interesting that they still had some interest in me, but I couldn’t see anyway to leverage that to save our world. “Could Twilight actually find a way to counteract those runes?”

Celestia looked past me, out the panoramic windows towards our cursed skies. “I truly do not know, but it doesn’t matter; even if she could win this particular battle, she could never win the war.” She closed her eyes. “I only wish I could have made her see that.”

I couldn’t contain myself. “Why do they even let her try! They’re doing nothing to stop her. They even let Discord go on vacation!”

“Curiosity as to what she could accomplish, nothing more.”

With utter confidence that they could handle whatever she threw at them.

A question I had asked Discord came back to me. “Why did they allow you to preserve the forbidden knowledge and weapons in those vaults?”

“Allow?” The princess regally snorted. “It was a form of punishment: the forbidden was to remain readily accessible to us princesses, a constant source of temptation to which we must never succumb.”

Wow. That answered a lot of questions.

Celestia obviously hadn’t trusted Twilight with knowledge of those vaults—for good reason, as it turned out. The newest princess couldn’t be denied access, hence she knew how to unlock it, somehow, but its very existence could be kept from her. And then I took her there.

I guess they hadn’t cared when the consequences were being erased by resets, but now… “If I had known, I-I never would have taken her there.”

Celestia softly shook her head. “The onus is on me. It’s not your fault Twilight willingly unlocked and entered that vault.”