Chapter One Hundred Twenty
Chapter One Hundred Twenty
"Ugh..."
While Luna loved her subjects dearly, and faithfully saw to her work as guardian of the dream realm, it would be a lie to say she didn't experience the occasional night of regret that she hadn't gone into a difficult line of work.
Last night had been one such night.
"There are truly some sick individuals to be found in Equestria," she noted to herself, even though it wasn't really her place to be judging others for what they experienced in the sanctity of their own minds.
As her shift in overseeing the dream realm finally came to its inevitable close as the clock striking six in the morning, she found it a little more difficult to resist groaning as she proceeded to stretch her tired, stiff joints from being stationary for so long.
"If only dream exercise translated over into the waking world..." she grunted as a pop sounded from her left wing.
By the time her shift had ended she was tired, she was frustrated, she was sore, and with some of the dreams she'd seen she honestly felt filthy and in need of a shower right now. A hot shower with lots bleach, and maybe some medicinal alcohol thrown into the mix just to help ensure cleanliness had been achieved. She hadn't even actively watched the dreams, she'd only seen them in passing while carrying out her duties, and that'd still been enough for her.
But she knew the desire to tend to her own hygiene would need to wait until later. Right now she had more important things to tend to, than scrubbing herself clean of the imagined third party dream filth that was plaguing her mind. Right now she had a very important guest to tend to. The shower could wait, but she wasn't certain Princess Twilight could.
More than once she'd tried to be a good host and check on their guest during the night, to see if she could be found in the dreamscape. But for all of her effort, she had ultimately found nothing.
Either Princess Twilight was like Ulquiorra, and not properly in sync with this reality and thus beyond her reach. Or she had been awake the entire night and thus not in the dreamscape.
Whatever information their guest had about her world that could potentially benefit their own, they wouldn't be finding and accessing it through those particular means. Not that she was particularly keen of using such methods, but at times it was simply one of those many gray necessities that laid between the absolute ideals of black and white.
Hopefully such tactics wouldn't actually be needed in this case. She already felt filthy and wrong enough without resorting to such underhoofed approaches against one who she wanted to count as being a friend.
Fortunately for her, her big sister was there to serve as a distraction from such unpleasant thoughts as she entered the throne room.
Although that hope faltered as Celestia herself faltered and shot her a look of concern.
"Oh dear. You look terrible," she commented. "I take it last night didn't go as smoothly as you'd hoped?" she asked.
"That would be putting it lightly, I am afraid," Luna sighed, not even bothering to retort that her sister didn't look much better. Now was simply not the time for it. "What I have to say regarding last night's efforts, I am ashamed of."
"And what might that be?" Celestia asked.
"That I am... honestly running out of hope that we will ever find the missing foals, Celestia. I have searched every metaphorical corner of the dreamscape, and I can find no trace of either Shining Lights or Java Bolt. Every inquiry that I have made has turned up nothing. I have consulted with detectives, law enforcement officers, and various others authorities and officials from every city in Equestria. I have even pushed past the boundaries of our nation, and beyond even the Crystal Empire itself, in order to consult with any willing dragon and gryphon who will so much as even speak with me. Nopony, nocreatue, no one whatsoever, has been able to help me! None of them can report having even seen them!"
Celestia could do little more than silently extend a wing, and drape it over Luna's back at the moment.
"I do not know how much longer I can stay committed to overseeing this branch of the search, sister. My regular duties are already strenuous enough without devoting time to looking for two foals who could very well be dead," she sighed and hung her head in shame. "The only thing we know for certain is that Nightmare Moon did not kill them, otherwise their bodies would have been left with the others. And that is the part that hurts the most; knowing that they very well could be alive, but beyond our ability to find them. I cannot even find them through their dreams. If they are alive, then they are not dreaming; not in any sense of the word that I am familiar with. I fear what that could potentially mean."
"Do you want to stop searching?" Celestia asked.
"What would you do in my situation, sister?" Luna asked back.
"That's a very difficult question, I'm afraid," Celestia replied, it now being her turn to sigh. "If an incident like this occurred some nine hundred years ago, when the pain of losing you to that nag was still quite fresh and hard to face... I would've gone in with crossbows blazing, ripping and tearing my way through all that opposed me until none were left, pursuing the guilty party or parties to the ends of the planet, and leaving no stone un-turned in the process."
"My big sister, the war horse," Luna commented with a weak smile. "Whatever did serve to mellow you out, into what we see today?"
"Age and wisdom, my dear sister," Celestia replied as she ran her feathers along Luna's back. "I had plenty of time, and plenty of opportunity, to understand the fact that such a fiery course of action would only ever serve as a temporary distraction from the pain I so desperately wanted to run away from. Along with the knowledge that, eventually, I would have to return home and confront that pain all over again; only it would be worse, because the next time I wouldn't be able to run away from it."
"A comforting story, dear sister. But I am afraid it does nothing to help me with this current predicament. The foals are still missing, and we are still no closer to finding them than when Nightmare Moon first snatched them up in the dead of my night," Luna pointed out. "So I must ask the obvious question, yet again - What the fuck are we supposed to do!?"
"To start with, you could try not cursing at me like I'm somehow responsible for the problem. I know you're frustrated, Luna, but I'm not the enemy here. You'd do well to remember that, before I give you something to curse about," Celestia pointed out.
Luna frowned in response to the warning, but ultimately said nothing. Not yet anyway. It would be far too easy to point out that she already had plenty to curse about without the prospect of threats best reserved for their parents, and coming from her no less.
She also managed to bite back the remark that she would return the threatened punishment wholeheartedly at her earliest convenience, but it wasn't easy.
"And second," Celestia continued, "what we're supposed to do is what we honestly believe is best. Not best for ourselves, but for the best of our subjects and nation, no matter how unpleasant it may be. Our ponies look to us for guidance and protection, and we owe such to them."
"Meaning what, precisely? What am I supposed to do in this situation?" Luna asked pointed, the hairs on her back starting to bristle under Celestia's feathers as she spoke.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that question, Luna, it's not my call. But know that whatever decision you make, I'll support you in it," Celestia assured her.
"Comforting, but hardly helpful," Luna mumbled, already knowing that there would be no easy answers to be had.
She didn't want to give up the search for the missing foals. But how much longer could she afford to keep traversing the same areas over and over again. How many bad dreams could she allow to go unattended? How much longer would her own mental health hold out?
She didn't know. But sooner or later, she would have to come to a conclusion, be it right or wrong.
"Perhaps it would be best to see to our guest, and make sure that she is alright," she suggested, deciding it was about time to change the subject.
And if Princess Twilight had found herself in Ulquiorra's presence during the night, perhaps it was even more important to check on her as soon as possible. Not that she didn't trust him, but...
On second thought, the less said on the matter, perhaps the better.
One quick adjusting of celestial bodies later, the two sisters began the search for their guest.
The library had been the most logical place to begin, under the assumption that Princess Twilight shared similarities with their Twilight. And in addition to being the most logical place, it had also turned out to be the correct one, much to the surprise of nopony whatsoever.
The surprise came later as the sisters approached, and were able to properly survey the situation before them, taking in details that hadn't been immediately available when they'd first entered the large room.
The purple alicorn before them looked quite haggard as she sat on one of the benches, next to a table filled with stacks of books and numerous pieces of notebook paper in various states of being crumpled up and discarded.
Ulquiorra was presently nowhere to be seen, but they knew he was still somewhere; both due to their own experience on the matter, and simply being able to feel his presence.
The sound of a piece of paper being torn from its book, crumpled up, and subsequently tossed aside, brought the attention back to Twilight as she looked dissatisfied with whatever she was presently working on.
"Problems?"
The sound of Celestia's voice served to snap the other alicorn out of whatever her present thoughts were, causing her to jerk in surprise as she turned her attention to them.
"That would certainly be one way of putting it, I guess," she sighed and slouched on her seat. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear either of you come in. I guess I've been a little distracted with my thoughts."
"Yes, I can see that," Luna said as she looked over at the pile of discarded papers, before looking back at Twilight again. "You look quite tired. Did you rest at all last night?"
"Is it morning already?" Twilight asked. But rather than wait for an answer, she closed her eyes and raised her head as the tip of her horn started to glow. "Huh. It really is morning. I guess I wound up losing track of all time. But to answer your question, I did manage to get a few hours of sleep before pulling an all nighter. Thank you for the use of your bed, it was exquisitely comfortable, and probably did me more good than anything else. Oh! You won't need to change the linen before turning in, though; I wound up falling asleep right on top of the comforter almost as soon as I laid down on it."
Luna just smiled softly as she shook her head. "It would not be the first time I shared my bed with a friend. Hopefully it will not be the last, either. Rainbow Dash and I shared a fair number of naps together during her stay at the palace."
Again, Twilight's attention turned back to Luna at hearing that statement.
"That honestly sounds like an interesting story. I'd love to ask for details. But..." she sighed and slowly returned her attention back to what she was working on. "I have to tend to this first."
"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly have you been working on for so long?" Celestia asked as she once again looked at the pile of discarded papers.
"It's a list of every incident that I can recall, that's transpired since my arrival in the Ponyville of my reality. Ranging from the minor incidents that could end a friendship, all the way up to the potentially cataclysmic situations that could very well spell doom for the entire world. Along with details about how each incident was resolved, and what came about as a result of the resolution," Twilight explained.
"And all of the crumpled papers?" Luna asked.
"Revisions as they come to mind," Twilight clarified. "Along with a cost/benefit analysis to go along with the list of events, weighing out the positives and negatives that could arise as a result of them being addressed in a different manner from how they were addressed in my world. As well as a sort of grading system of how the outcome may differ, based on the level of intervention ranging from; doing absolutely nothing and allowing events to play out as they otherwise would, low level intervention such as talking to the parties involved before their plans can come to fruition, all the way up to allowing Ulquiorra to... neutralize potential threats with overwhelming force.
"But the calculations required to figure out how things might be changed, either positively or negatively are... admittedly more complex than even I can account for. At this point it's little more than just a best guest estimate on my part, based on what I know from my own world. Which might not even be applicable in this world, meaning I could just be completely wasting my time."
"I'm not the least bit surprised. That sounds like quite the undertaking," Celestia stated as she stepped closer, both to rest one of her wings on the smaller alicorn's back, and to get a peak at just what the list entailed. "You seem to have found the answers you were looking for when it comes to providing assistance."
"I wish that was honestly the case, but I'm afraid it's not," Twilight replied and gave a tired sigh. "I wasn't prepared for what Ulquiorra told me last night. I wasn't prepared for it at all..."
Celestia frowned at hearing this, as did Luna, as they both waited to see if Twilight felt like being forthcoming, or if she needed the answer coaxed out of her before she could speak.
But Luna's patience was wearing thin right now, and she decided a friendly nudge was in order.
"What exactly did he tell you, that sent you down this particular path?"
Twilight didn't immediately reply, as she seemed preoccupied with hesitantly biting at her bottom lip, as if she were afraid to even speak up. Her eyes moved from side to side, almost like she was looking for someone or something.
It was only after much hesitation, did she finally speak up in response.
"Among other things that were discussed over the course of last night... was the library. The Golden Oaks Library specifically," she said, softly and slowly. "Back in the reality I came from, it was destroyed in a villain attack that I couldn't stop. I just barely had time to grab Owloicious and teleport out before we were blown to bits right along with it. I had to watch as the building that'd served as my home for so long, was reduced to nothing but a smouldering pile of embers, along with everything housed within that held a sentimental value to me. The gown Rarity made me when we all attended our first Grand Galloping Gala together, the yellow dress she made me for by birthday... all of it just gone in a flash..."
Slowly, she looked back up at them with traces of moisture in the corners of her eyes as she spoke.
"I know this isn't my world. No matter how much it might look, and feel, and even smell like it, I simply don't belong here. But I simply cannot, in good conscience, just stand by and let that happen all over again; not if it can be prevented by sharing what I know. I could never forgive myself if I returned home, knowing that I could spare a version of myself that same heartache that I had to go through, but didn't speak up because I was too afraid of what might happen if I did. I was appointed as the Princess of Friendship, and I'd be entirely unworthy of holding that title, if I didn't do something to help potential friends in need; even if that friend turns out to be me."
It wasn't narcissism to be friends with another version of herself, was it? Technically the two of them weren't the same pony, they were just... extremely similar in a lot of respects, but leading entirely different lives. Saving the library from destruction wouldn't be any less a matter of helping a friend in need, than stopping Applejack's home from being destroyed... would it?
"I certainly can't fault your reasoning," Celestia replied as she rubbed at the smaller alicorn's back. If she suddenly found herself in a position to warn her past self, or an alternate past version of herself, about the circumstances that took her sister away from her, she wouldn't have been able to resist taking the opportunity. "What about these other incidents, though? Are they all related to the destruction of the library?"
Twilight shook her head in response, but made no effort to move away from the touch on her back.
"The more I thought about the matter, the more I realized it would be incredibly selfish of me to only intervene on my counterpart's behalf. So I realized that once I reached the conclusion I had to help her out, I had to extend the same courtesy of thought to everypony equally. So that's what I'm doing. And all the while hoping that I'm not in over my head on this one."
"If you feel that you are-" Luna started.
"I'll be alright. Thank you for your concern, though," Twilight interrupted. "I just wish I had some idea of whether I was making things better or worse for your reality by doing this. I think it was around two in the morning when Ulquiorra finally came around to the idea of telling me about what he could regarding the history of this reality. It was very informative, but also very concerning. There are significant differences at play, and I don't know how they might affect everything in the long run.
"Back in my world, Nightmare Moon was just Princess Luna giving into years of resentment and anger at being shunned by Equestria, but here she was apparently an independent, parasitic entity that took control of Princess Luna. Or in the case of Queen Chrysalis, she's still currently alive and was a legitimate threat for years after her initial defeat, whereas in this reality she's dead. Not only dead, but considerably lacking by comparison, if Ulquiorra's evaluation is trustworthy enough to go by. The Chrysalis back in my reality would've never fallen for such a weak ploy at trickery that this one did. She never would've believed he had defected to serve her, even if brainwashing was in play."
The look Luna gave Celestia in response, was quickly shut down by the sour look Celestia gave her in return.
"But at the same time, this difference could end up being a good thing. If the Chrysalis in this world is dead, she can't go on to become a member of the League of Villains that we faced, so it might not even be possible for them to form in this world. That could spare this reality a great deal of pain and suffering in the future. Ulquiorra might only need to kill one villain to keep Equestria safe, rather than several. It's those sort of differences that've prompted so many revisions."
Neither Celestia nor Luna were quite certain how to respond to this news, leaving them looking at one another in confusion in hopes that one of them would be the first to actually speak up.
The only sound that really served to interrupt the awkward silence, was that of Twilight's pencil moving briskly across the page's surface as she wrote something else down.
"Well then. If you don't mind my asking, hypothetically of course, who exactly would Ulquiorra have to kill in order to ensure Equestria's safety?" Celestia asked, finally being the one to properly break the awkward silence.
The explanation on Twilight's part was more or less a repeating of the one she'd given last night. Although the words flowed a bit easier the second time around, now that she was in a more comfortable and familiar sort of company, and from being fairly certain that the worst degree of damage had already been done the previous night when she'd told Ulquiorra everything she could about the Storm King.
The fact that said company was more comfortable and familiar, may or may not have motivated her to open up and share a bit more detail about everything she knew regarding the incident, than she could've brought herself to say previously.
"Well now. I certainly wasn't expecting that," Celestia replied. "Thank you for sharing this information with us, my young friend, I'm certain this will go a long way in helping us out."
"I hope so," Twilight sighed, before glancing back at her notes. "That particular incident got its own subsection of notes, detailing everything that came about from our adventures, including the allies we met along the way."
"I'll be certain to review them, once you believe they're completed to your satisfaction," Celestia assured her.
"If I may ask," Luna spoke up, "your account of this "Tempest Shadow" pony has me confused. Does your world not possess the means to replace a broken horn?"
Twilight could only shake her head in response to the question.
"I mean... in one alternate timeline that I saw, Equestria was at war with the Crystal Empire under King Sombra's reign, and in that scenario we had the technology to produce prosthetic wings so pegasi could continue to fly. So I suppose the notion is possible at some point. It could simply be that my Equestria hasn't yet learned of this breakthrough if it's already happened. Even now there's still a lot of territories we haven't made proper contact with yet."
"Then before I turn in for the day, I will speak with Doctor Manidular Malar in the infirmary, and ask for him to speak with you on the subject. He will be far more capable of directing you to the texts on the matter, and perhaps naming the experts who specialize in the procedure. With all that you are doing for us, it would only be fair that we do something for you in return," Luna stated. "And I can think of no better place to start, than what we know about fixing a unicorn's broken horn."
Despite how she currently felt, Twilight couldn't help but smile warmly when she heard this. Although her good mood was almost immediately tempered as something else came to mind.
"Wouldn't Ulquiorra object to sharing such information, on the grounds it could put the safety of this Equestria at risk?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if he did. But the most he can do is simply object, he doesn't really have the authority to prevent us from doing such if we wish," Celestia assured her. "But on that subject, I would like to speak with him about a few matters. Do you happen to know where he might be?"
"Acquiring breakfast from the palace mess hall for our guest."
All three alicorns jumped or otherwise flinched in response to intrusion of another party to the conversation, before turning to the sound of the voice and seeing Ulquiorra standing there, regarding them with the same dull expression he always wore, holding a tray of food with his right hand while his left was tucked away in his pocket.
Only he could be in the act of carrying a tray of food in the same fashion as a waiter at a high class restaurant, and still look like a badass while doing so.
"If she is anything like this reality's Twilight Sparkle, she'll end up becoming so absorbed in her research and reading, she won't think to stop and eat on her own," he spoke as he approached their position. "One blueberry bagel, lightly toasted, with Fillydelphia cream cheese. One cup of black coffee. Two eggs, scrambled. Three pieces of crispy hay bacon. One piece of rye sausage. And one side of hash browns," he concluded, before setting the tray down on the table in front of where Twilight sat.
"... As much as I'd like to object to that assessment on the basis of it being rude, even I can't deny just how accurate that is," Twilight stated calmly, before practically thrusting her notes to the side, and picking up one of the bagel slices with her magic to chomp down into it.
"Very considerate," Celestia noted, before turning to face him directly and step forward. "Ulquiorra. Did you write Twilight to inform her about recent developments?"
"The fact such a question is being asked indicates you already know the answer to it," Ulquiorra retorted as he turned to face her in turn, his hands once again securely in his pockets. "Thus making the question entirely pointless on your part to ask. So one can't help but wonder why it would even be asked in the first place."
Celestia tried not to facehoof in response. Somehow, she felt like she should've expected that.
"I would've appreciated if you'd at least consulted with me first, before deciding to go that route," she stated.
She knew from the moment she opened her mouth that she'd said the wrong thing. She knew it when she saw the look Ulquiorra gave her as he turned his head ever so slightly to better affix his gaze on her. It was a look she hadn't been on the receiving end of in quite some time, and had almost allowed herself to believe she wouldn't be again. Almost.
"Had you advised me to leave Twilight Sparkle in the dark regarding recent developments over the last eighteen hours, I would've gone about meticulously picking apart such a position, and explaining precisely why such an approach was not only inherently idiotic, but potentially dangerous as well, all before proceeding to inform her regardless of your objections on the matter. You know that, I know that, the readers know that," he pointed out, with all the dull ruthlessness he was so well known for. "There was no point in wasting either of our time with a pointless procedural endeavor when we both know what the outcome would ultimately be. Twilight Sparkle was informed of what she needed to know in order to mentally prepare herself for the inevitable meeting, and you were spared the additional mental strain that would've interfered with your ability to rest peacefully."
Celestia grunted in response, doing her best to bite back a reactionary response as she tried to think of something that was far more diplomatic, and appropriate for the role of a ruler; something that she'd have to project far sooner than she cared for.
"While I appreciate your consideration," she began as she settled on sarcasm, "your decision to act has caused its own problems. Twilight wrote back last night, just before I had turned in, and she's already asking questions. Very hard, very difficult questions, that I don't know how to respond to."
"Truthfully would seem the most appropriate course of action," Ulquiorra idly pointed out.
Celestia's response came in the form of an annoyed huff.
"Be that as it may, you and I both know Twilight well enough to understand she doesn't always do well under stress. And there are times when giving her weeks or months of advanced warning to worry and stress over factors that're beyond anypony's control, will only serve to do her more harm than good in the long run. And you and I both know her well enough, to know that she doesn't do simple preparation, but rather goes all out in her commitment to trying to resolve a situation all on her own. Contrary to what you might believe, I'm trying my best to do what's ultimately for the best; not just for her sake, but for everypony's sake at large," she practically growled. "And whether you choose to believe it or not, that concern includes your sake as well. So I would appreciate at least a little more consideration, before you go charging off by yourself and operating in what you might think is the best manner."
"You were given consideration. As were Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Applejack's family. All of you were taken into consideration when the decision was made to inform the Twilight Sparkle of this reality about the appearance of her counterpart," Ulquiorra replied calmly.
Celestia paused, sensing an explanation was incoming. And right now she didn't want to miss just how he was going to justify this one.
"First, Applejack and her family are in much closer proximity to Twilight Sparkle than any of us, due to the location of Sweet Apple Acres in relation to Ponyville, as well as the fact the family regularly does business in the Ponyville marketplace, meaning they have a far greater likelihood of interacting with Twilight Sparkle on a day-to-day basis. Even before becoming the bearer of the Element of Honesty, Applejack's skill in deception is sorely lacking. If she felt the need to keep yesterday's events a secret from Twilight Sparkle, this would put a significant degree of strain on her, possibly making Twilight sparkle suspicious as a result. By preemptively informing her, the two can operate more openly as they will both be in the same page.
"Second, while it's accurate Twilight Sparkle doesn't do well under stress without the assistance of her friends, she has shown a remarkable degree of mental resilience under the right circumstances, such as when she believes a friend is in need; in the immediate aftermath of Rainbow Dash falling victim to Nightmare Moon, she switched from despair to determination in the span of a minute as she concocted a plan for how we should proceed. She's capable of handling this development, but she's in need of time to prepare herself for meeting with another version of herself; she doesn't need a surprise visit at the library where she opens the door and comes face-to-face with an alicorn version of herself. If her immediate response is to assume she's meeting with a changeling, she may react with violence.
"Third, you're in the unenviable position of having an entire kingdom to run and maintain. You have enough responsibilities to deal with as it is, without the added burden of trying to determine the ideal time to inform your student about this development; especially when taking into consideration your ongoing efforts towards reestablishing trust with her in the wake of the fallout following the second changeling invasion. By being informed immediately, even if by me rather than you, she won't have grounds to question whether or not you've disregarded those efforts for the sake of some ulterior motive. And considering the wild leaps in logic she's been known to make in the past, such a development couldn't be ruled out as being a possibility."
The certainty Celestia had in her position just a moment ago no longer felt as firm as it had been just a moment ago. Right now the only certainty she had on the matter, was that her facial features were betraying her current state.
Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Ulquiorra had given this whole matter at least as much thought as she had, but from an entirely different point of view than her own. Honestly, to her at least, it -almost- sounded like he'd evaluated everything from the perspective of one looking out for their friends. Perhaps it was a stretch to believe such, but she would take what she could get right now.
"Yes, well... please remember that not every responsibility in the kingdom falls squarely on your withers alone. Er, shoulders. I don't expect you to do everything by yourself, even if you feel the need to. You have friends who will help you when you need it, provided we know when that is."
"If the situation and circumstances permit for such."
As the two battled it out verbally, Luna simply stood by the side of their guest and watched, glancing back and forth between Celestia and Ulquiorra as the duked things out with their words. And all the while feeling conflicted as it unfolded. As much as she loved her sister, she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't somewhat enjoy seeing Ulquiorra running circles around her, and demonstrating how she wasn't always the smartest.
But at the same time, she certainly appreciated the rare times when even Ulquiorra had to concede the fact that he wasn't always right. There were times his intelligence was simply annoying, and made her want to kick him. So seeing him concede had an appeal all its own.
Was she playing both sides of the field? Oh absolutely! Did she feel bad about it? Not in the least. She knew when push came to shove, both parties would drop their mutual differences and be at each other's side in a moment's notice, ready to do whatever was necessary of them.
But her entertainment with the engagement was tempered with a glance towards their guest as she just sort of sat there, staring with an uneasy look on her face while most of he food sat untouched on the tray.
Perhaps breakfast hadn't been the best time for the two to engage in their mutual combativeness.
"Is he always like that?" Twilight finally asked in a soft, uncertain voice, as she turned to Luna while gesturing at Ulquiorra with her right foreleg. "Princess Celestia had a valid complaint about his conduct, and him overstepping his bounds by going behind her back to do something she didn't want him to do. She had every valid reason to be displeased with him, and what he did.
"And instead of wilting under her scowl like even professional and hardened nobles back in my reality have, he just stands there, with the nerve of looking utterly bored in the process, before not only explaining why he did what he did, but actually listing off reasons why he was right in doing what he did, and why consulting with her beforehoof would've been wrong. Granted they were good reasons, but that's beside the point! He's treating Princess Celestia like she's his secretary rather than his superior, he easily reduced her to the one wilting, and practically apologizing to him for taking issue with his going behind her back!"
All eyes in the room were now on Twilight in the wake of her statement. And now she suddenly felt like now had potentially been the wrong time to speak up, with Ulquiorra still in the room and able to hear what she'd just said.
Luna responded by extending a large, downy wing, and patting the younger alicorn on the back.
"I am afraid that he is," she replied. "The longer you are a guest in our reality, the more you will come to understand that Ulquiorra Cifer is the biggest asshole in the entire kingdom."
Twilight physically flinched at the assessment, and just how casually it'd been thrown out there.
"He certainly is that," Celestia agreed. "He's also unquestionably loyal, and utterly unwavering in his dedication to keeping Equestria safe from harm. We might not always see eye-to-eye on what the best course of action is, but I've long since come to understand that I can trust him to have our best interests at heart. And given the choice, I'd much rather have rude competence than an incompetent suck up. I have enough of the latter to deal with already in the course of a day."
"If necessary I can do both. However being a suck up will cost extra," Ulquiorra commented in a tone that would make even a desert complain about the degree of dryness to be found within.
Exactly what got the two sisters giggling in response, Twilight didn't really know. She'd have to sort that out later on.
"As to the matter of Celestia being his superior," Luna spoke up as she settled down, "it would be far more appropriate and accurate to regard Ulquiorra Cifer as an equal. As well as a friend."
"But you called him a..." Twilight paused, unable to bring herself to finish that sentence. "What you called him was very rude. That doesn't really sound like something one friend would -or even should- do to another. Especially not when done with all the casualness of taking a breath."
"Perhaps not. But one thing your counterpart stressed during one of our conversations on the subject, is how there's no quintessential, definitive example of what friendship amounts to, that she's ever been able to find. According to her, it's ultimately left up to individual interpretation," Ulquiorra stated, bringing his attention back to her as he spoke. "In my time here, I've been subjected to no less than five different interpretations of what friendship amounts to, and a myriad of differing and even conflicting ideas about what it does and doesn't entail. The very best friendships may very well be those where the mutual parties can freely trade insults with one another, while still knowing they'll have each other's back at a moment's notice if needed, even without being asked."
As Ulquiorra spoke, Twilight sat silently and listened to what he had to say, all the while wearing a confused and slightly wide-eyed look.
She responded by pushing her tray of food out of the way to grab her writing equipment, and quickly flip to a new page before scribbling something down.
"I'm definitely going to have to take that one home with me," she mumbled, before setting the notebook aside again, and returning her attention to the others. "That's one interpretation I've never really considered before. But now that you've said it, it sounds like it makes so much sense! It dabbles into the subject of just how deeply a friendship can go between two creatures with different ideas about what is and isn't appropriate. And if a years-long friendship really could actually be broken by something as simple as one party being rude, was it even a friendship to begin with?"
"I would say it isn't," Celestia commented and gingerly shook her head. "As much as we'd like to believe friendship is an easy to understand matter, I'm afraid they're not as cut and dry, or as sanitized, as we allow ourselves to believe. They're often as nuanced as the ponies themselves who maintain them. And one of the reasons why your counterpart had to learn about them firsthoof, rather than trying to study some overly simplified description in a book, and believing it was all there was to be had on the subject."
Twilight forced herself to bite back a response of just how accurate that assessment was, still not quite ready to go into too many details about how different things were in their reality. Especially not with what Ulquiorra might have to say regarding a specific school; he'd outright eviscerate its legitimacy in a heartbeat.
"Now then. As much as I'd love to answer whatever questions you may have, I'm afraid my schedule for today is very busy, as always. But I do look forward to hearing about what information you can provide us with, and what we can provide you in turn," Celestia continued, but paused in mid-step before she could turn to leave. "If you don't mind my imposing for just a moment. By chance could you tell me which pony was promoted to Captain of the Guard after your brother married Cadence and left to oversee the Crystal Empire?"
Twilight shook her head in response as the pencil in her telekinetic grasp came to a halt.
"To the best of my knowledge, I don't think anypony took over after Shining Armor left. It wasn't exactly a subject I paid much attention to. I know they do a vital service, but at the time I had other pressing matters to focus on."
"Of course," Celestia sighed, figuring it couldn't possibly be that easy. "That leaves me with conducting more interviews to find the most qualified applicant. Unless of course Ulquiorra wants the position."
"Ask the guards if they want me in charge of their training regimen, and you'll have your answer," Ulquiorra shot back without missing even half a beat.
"I thought not. Very well then," Celestia sighed again. "I'd best take my leave now. I still need to get breakfast before my day starts. Luna, behave yourself. Ulquiorra, behave yourself. Princess Twilight, don't allow these two to try and talk you into doing anything you're uncomfortable with. I swear there are times they act more like conspiring siblings than anything."
Luna pulled back at Celestia's parting jab as she left the library, before turning to better face Ulquiorra.
"She is not exactly wrong. You do possess a certain elder brother quality about you," she stated with a hint of mirth in her voice as she tried not to smirk.
"There's no need to get insulting," Ulquiorra retorted flatly.
The entire exchange had been weird for Twilight to observe. And the fact she was now left alone with the two of them, in light of Princess Celestia's parting words of advice -or maybe warning- had motivated her to quickly return her focus to breakfast, as if it were the most interesting thing in Equestria right now. Maybe if she was busy eating, they might leave her alone for the time being, and not involve her in any shenanigans.
Had she known exactly what course the conversation was going to take, she might've thought otherwise.
Once Luna was certain Celestia was no longer in earshot, she began speaking again, but in a quieter and much more serious tone than previously.
"You are aware of this whole "Storm King" issue, correct? This is not exactly the sort of situation we can just stand idly by and ignore. How do we proceed? What is the best course of action for us to be taking?"
"A mere three months ago, I would've proceeded straight with killing him outright and being done with the matter before any discussion on the matter could even be had," Ulquiorra stated bluntly. "But the corrupting influence of you ponies continues to prove greater than I could ever anticipate. And while execution may still be the best course of action in the end, we will have to consider other possibilities first. Find the Storm King, determine what similarities he does and doesn't share with his alternate version, and reevaluate if necessary."
"I am not opposed to resolving a situation without bloodshed. But how do we go about actually finding the Storm King in order to attempt such?" Luna asked. "I have never seen a yeti before, much less even heard of one; before today I did not even know that such a species existed."
"By focusing our efforts on finding Tempest Shadow. If we find her, then we find the Storm King, and we can proceed accordingly."
"Um... I don't know if that would actually work out."
Despite Twilight's best efforts at seeming inconspicuous while she ate breakfast, she'd been wholly unable to really tune out the conversation. And what she'd heard, she didn't particularly like. What she hadn't yet eaten could wait until later, as this was more important.
"I'm guessing you have some sort of paranormal/otherworldly manner of finding Tempest that I wouldn't properly understand. But leaving the discussion of how that might work aside, even if you do manage to find her, the odds are good she won't actually be at the Storm King's location at any given moment. She's sort of his best enforcer, sent out in advance to weaken the defenses of an area his forces are going to conquer and pillage, because he's too much a filthy coward to do it himself. She's... very good at what she does; how easily she took down Canterlot is proof of that. Even if you do find her, she's likely to be out in the field, far away from whatever base of operations the Storm King maintains. So you'd be back at square one in that regard.
"And if all things being equal, I don't really see even you being successful in convincing Tempest to help you find her boss so you can kill him. Her loyalty to him, in the hopes of restoring her horn, is too unwavering to just be broken by talking. Even when he betrayed her to her face and said he was just using her, she still didn't want to believe that he'd be that low. I just don't see it happening, either through words or brute force. And if you did try to convince her, she'd likely just kick you in the face and tune out whatever you had to say."
"All she would receive for her efforts would be a broken leg," Luna mumbled in response, before clearing her throat as she spoke up louder. "You need not concern yourself about such details, my young friend. We will tend to the logistics of making everything work, all you need to do is tell us what you can, and we will take it from there. We have ways of convincing even the stubbornest of ponies."
Twilight felt an uneasy lump forming in her throat that necessitated a hard effort at swallowing back down. The way Luna has phrased that last sentence had sounded far too ominous for her liking.
"I honestly hate even having to ask this. But with how different this world is from mine, I think I might need to ask it, before we go any further," she clarified. "You wouldn't actually torture Tempest, would you?"
"We don't do that here," Ulquiorra stated bluntly before Luna even had the chance to respond. "Torture is nothing more than an inefficient waste of time stemming from sadistic tendencies, and yields no worthwhile results to warrant its use in the first place. It does nothing more than motivate the victim to tell whatever lie the torturer wants to hear the most, simply to make the pain and suffering end."
How exactly an answer could be simultaneously comforting and concerning, Twilight couldn't say for certain, but it had been.
"That's... good to know," she replied, doing her best the keep the unease out of her voice. "But if you're planning on getting Tempest to help you find the Storm King, how exactly are you going to do that? How can you get her to agree with that plan, if you aren't going to try and force her to?"
The look she received from him in response was an entirely different degree of unsettling, and was only made all the worse by the resulting silence.
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Ulquiorra....the negotiator par excellence is more than ready for the task of....convincing Tempest to work with them.
Nice chapter
I can see one major problem with their current throught process that would hopefully be brought up in the near future.
Tempest Shadow as a villain may not even "exist" in this realm. If they already have horn restoration technology, she'd have little to no reason to seek out the Storm King, and thus, would likely never have become his lieutenant. If she never became his lieutenant and Twilight's assessment of the King's cowardice is true, he may not even be a threat (still best to check of course).
Unless you already considered this.
Plot twist: Twilight forgot to tell them Tempest's real name, leading to a shock for Twilight when Fizzlepop Berrytwist becomes the new captain of the guard (not that such would be problematic, assuming Fizz wouldn't be evil).
A new chapter of our favorite Bat dealing with Ponies. One that makes the story hit the front page, no less! My friend, you truly have a way with words. And while you may consider this particular chapter to be somewhat 'incomplete', the cutoff point makes for a rather tantalizing teaser. What does Ulquiorra have in store for us next, I wonder? I'm very eager to find out.
Especially once he finds out that "Tempest Shadow" isn't even that mare's real name.
I must say that this chapter is a major step up from the last few. I really hope there are more like this, the confrontation with Celestia was hilarious.
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That is a very interesting thought. Would indeed be funny to see Tempest and Alt Twilight talk.
You know, what with Chrysalis being gone, there's the point to be made that Cozy Glow and Tirek may actually reform... Reason why I think that is because, while I haven't seen any entire episodes past season 2, I have seen clips of a bunch and I remember a particular one where Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and Tirek had to work together to get Grogar's Bell. Maybe replace Chrysalis with a 3rd villain, or just have a similar event take place, but after watching the scene where they originally worked together for a moment it actually seemed like they might accept the 'Magic of Friendship' as an actual thing, until Chrysalis made a comment that refused to believe so out what appeared to be plain spite rather than logical thinking... While it might not actually lead to Cozy Glow and Tirek reforming, I feel that without that comment they might have actually might have considered not being villains anymore and at least pursue a better path...
This is quite a stretch though, and probably unlikely, but hey; this universe could use all the help they can get, and I feel it would be an interesting situation where they can actually manage to convert the villains to good where in the original universe could not. Really put the whole thing into perspective since, despite all the ponies that have died and other horrible things to have happened, some good may have come out of it that was not originally a possibility. May make even Princess Twilight regret on some of her past actions that ended with the League of Villains in stone rather than possibly reformed.
On the fact of if they could even be helpful in combating the current major threat, universe annihilation, or whatever though is highly questionable, and I doubt that even if they had access to all their usual powers they would not be of much help.
Anyway, great chapter and I can't wait to see what happens when Tempest shows up! Hope she doesn't get blasted immediately and does end up becoming an ally. Was a bit bummed where, despite the events of the movie, she never really turned up again in the show...
So moving directly into the movie territory. As said previously by A Soul In Limbo, with how things are different from the canon line, we will be up for quite the interesting surprise.
Anyway, always funny to see Celestia trying to up one over Ulquiorra and also like his little fourth wall breaking remark.
thanks for the chapter is very good, each chapter I look forward to it, I hope you continue writing more of this story
Good chapter, I just finished re-reading start to the new chapter and gotta say it's a fantastic story you have. Looking forward to the continuation!
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This exactly, it's like you took the words right out of my head. Thanks for saving me the time with such a well thought out comment, lol
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You're welcome? X3
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Twilight: "Tempest?"
Fizz: "Whodaheck is Tempest? The names Fizzlepop Berrytwist, but I prefer Fizz."
Twilight: "..."
I really like the relationship between Luna, Celly and Ulquiorra. Nice character development
Did ulquiorra start assimilating some abilities from pinkie or something. He just casually kicked the forth wall in the teath.
I do like how Ulquiorra and Luna are bonding, according to Celestia.
*Is just patiently waiting for new chapter*
YES! Ulquiorra will prevent "MLP the movie" from happening! This is for the greater good! 😂
Big Brother Ulquiorra ciffer has a nice sound to it