Chapter 21 - The Winds
Everything changes.
Roads and valleys, villages and lakes. Trees, rivers, grass, even mountains and flowers change.
Ponies of all kinds, and griffons and dogs. Dragons change, even the immortal ones change.
All things change as time goes on.
It is how we choose to face those changes, and the world they bring,
that is how history remembers us.
-Clover The Clever
~~~~~~Ponyville, Five Days Later~~~~~
"There!" proclaimed Tia, with a broad smile on her face - ignoring the slight stickiness of the beeswax on her cheek and the slight ashen color of her forehooves dirty with soot, she looked quite proud of herself. "Now, without getting too complex, the whole thing is going to gather up the ambient energy around it." She waved her hoof around the basement room. "So much magic's been done down here, it'll be easy for it to charge up. Once it has - which should take about one day - then all I'll need to do is trigger the magic." She grinned at Spike - who was toweling off the remaining ashes from his claws. “That’s where you come in. The spell will put you to sleep, and over the course of eight hours perform the transformation magic. You'll go to sleep the night before the festival, and wake up a unicorn pony."
Tia paused as she snagged the towel from the practically bouncing dragonling. "Mind you, there's going to be a lot for you to learn - and I genuinely cannot say what age of pony you'll be when you wake up. I am reasonably positive you'll be at least a young colt, which would probably be best given that you'll need to learn magic and find your special talent. Still." She shrugs. "You'll be a pony." Spike's enthusiasm didn't seem to dampen at the prospect of him essentially still being a youngling, so Tia decided not to mention that she doubted Rarity was interested in colts under the age of consent.
Spike offered up a wet cloth a moment later, and Tia smiled at him as she tried to rub out the sticky wax from her coat. Ugh. This isn't going to come out easy... And it wasn't just her cheek either. She ought to have worn gloves, but she'd been so excited to actually go through the steps of a ritual magic preparation she hadn't even thought of it. Oh well, it'd work better from having been molded with bare hooves. Still, she was going to need more than a bath. Wait...Twilight said something... "Spike, Twilight once wrote to me about a spa in town. I don't suppose you know where it is?"
Spike nodded as he scooped up his baby phoenix from the ground and gave it a pet with his claws. "Yep! It's down past the market square." He scratched at the phoenix's head, and the cute little bird gave a happy trill. "It's just past Bon Bon's place - it's about twice the size of most of the buildings around it, so you can't miss it." He grinned toothily at her. "So what are you going to be doing when I'm snoozing?"
Tia gave a gentle chuckle. "Probably running my hooves off with the last of the festival preparations." She tossed the towel into a bucket and sighed. "I just hope everything goes well. The last thing we need is for something to go wrong again. Luckily, Captain Struggle says he's got extra security precautions being set up." She frowned a little at that one - the Captain had been rather lacking in information as to precisely what those precautions were when she asked. Still. Okay, no more self-examination. I am sticky. "Well, things should be fine." She shook her head firmly, grabbing the saddle bags from near the doorway. "I have no idea when I'll be back, so don't worry about dinner."
Spike nodded with a little smirk. "No worries. I can keep myself fed." He paused then spoke softly. "Tia, you be careful out there. I'm getting this weird feeling like..." He shook his head slowly as Tia settled the saddle bags on her back. "Like I did a couple of weeks ago, if you get my drift. Something's going to happen soon." He trundled over to her and - much to Tia's surprise - hugged her firmly. "Look, I don't know what happened between you and Twilight. I don't much care either. I just want you to know you're still family." Spikes' words came out a little muffled - but they were heartfelt, and Tia couldn't help but smile.
She hugged Spike back briefly, then ruffled his head spines. "Thank you spike." she said softly, then hoofed open the door behind her. "See you later tonight!" She called over her shoulder as she trotted out the door with a spring in her step. A whole week without any other major disasters had done wonders for her mood, but the town was still a little tense. Granted, a great deal of that tension was being diffused as the work crews rebuilding the town had been pulling double shifts to get the tents, pavilions and stages built and ready for the day after tomorrow.
Tia exhaled deeply and kept her bright smile on as she walked down the street. "Good afternoon, Carrot Top!" she piped up, waving her hoof as she passed by Ditzy's housemate, receiving a wave in return. Slowly but surely, she was beginning to meet all of the ponies in town, mostly by virtue of having to interact with them to plan the festivities. Carrot Top was teaming up with the Cakes and a few other locals to handle the catering, A strange stallion named Time Turner was scheduling events, and many of her friends were getting involved in one way or another. Vinyl was going to have a show along with her marefriend, and Cheerilee was organizing foal activities for the young ones.
Tia sighed expressively as her hooves carried her across town. Less than two weeks, and already new store fronts were opening up - and no longer did she jump in surprise at the sight of a knot of changelings or thestrals. Less than week since she'd forced herself to confront a terrible truth, and even now she was beginning to wonder how she was going to face her future. I do not even know how I am going to adapt to day-to-day life... True, the last week had been peaceful but hardly ordinary. She was doing fine right now, but what would happen after months of this? Years, perhaps? Would she forget everything about who she was? Would she settle down and find love? Would she then even wish to return to her old life? Tia's eyes flicked up to the huge building which housed the Ponyville Spa, and blew out a breath.
She had a lot to think about.
~~~~~~~Ponyville Town Hall~~~~~~~
"So that's th' situation." Applejack said with a quiet authority. The few faces around the table were as familiar to her as her family, with one notable exception. "Th' Baron believes we can't stop it ourselves, and wants t' focus on keeping things from gettin too outta hoof. Personally, I hate t' admit it - but I agree with him." She darted her eyes around the table to those faces - the Mayor, the guard captain, and Zecora were all watching her with businesslike faces. Zecora was sitting in for Twilight as the town's resident expert on all things magical, and Pinkie was busy with other arrangements - but for the most part, it was the town council of old. Only this newcomer - this Captain Night Scythe feller - threw Applejack off her game. Still, there was work to do - and a town to take care of.
"I concur." said the object of her consternation, his fanged grin not nearly as disturbing as it might have been a month ago. But then, Applejack was used to fangs by now ever since Twilight had given up trying to transform her own out of existence. "The Baron is not one to turn from a fight unless he believes it is a necessary evil to do so. Fortunately, we are not without resources." He lifted a scroll from his bags with one leathery looking wing and set it on the table. "Kl'kkit hive has formally agreed to serve as under-cover guards for the towns new... ah... population. Informally, I will be providing leadership for them alongside Captain Struggle." He bowed his head to the old soldier at the table, who nodded back shortly.
The Mayor lifted a hoof. "Our primary concern needs to be safety. I've put together several plans to get the civilians to safety." She paused and sighed, and Applejack couldn't help but smile a little at her. "Of course we can't exactly practice for it, so we're going to be leaning heavily on the guard to see any of them succeed." She nodded to the zebra at the table, who had on a rather mysterious smile. "Zecora has graciously provided for safe havens within the Everfree Forest, and will be placing ah... charms, did you say?" The mayor hesitated, clearly unsure about the use of more primitive magics.
Applejack chuckled softly, and so did Zecora in her rich voice. We're dang lucky Zecora's same as she always was. Applejack thought with a quiet smile as her friend lifted an airy hoof of her own. "Protective charms built from my will ward off all who mean us ill." Zecora chortled softly, then became much more serious. "To keep away the chaos mage - parsley, thyme, rosemary and sage. For monsters I've a special treat, a little sulfur and a lemon sweet!" Zecora chuckled darkly for a moment - and Applejack just shook her head in the same confusion as everypony else at the table. "But I'll only be able to do so much, even with my magic touch. A dark threat looms over all in town, but it will not be we who brings it down."
Silence followed that statement, and Zecora folded her hooves on the table - looking at each of them thoughtfully for a moment before nodding in satisfaction. Applejack snorted and tapped her hoof firmly on the table to regain order. "Which brings us to the sixty four thousand bit question." She took in a deep breath - there were things she didn't know, things even Twilight had refused to tell her... Things she had to know if she was going to protect her town, and her family. Damnit, Twilight. You jus' had to come over all coy when it bucking mattered. Applejack took a deep breath and exhaled. She would not get angry at Twilight for keeping secrets. Harmony knew she'd kept a few of her own. Well, If Twilight couldn't tell her, maybe they could.
Applejack looked around the table and spoke quietly into the silence. "Jus' who the buck is this Tia Sunbeam?"
~~~~~~~?????~~~~~~~~
"Twelve hours from now the work crews in town will officially call break for the following eight days. A skeleton crew of workers will continue to provide much needed work on local utilities such as water services." The female voice coughed once, then continued. "Over the course of the seven days when the festival is held, we expect approximately two hundred guests to both leave and arrive in Ponyville each day, with unpredictable fluctuations on the third day due to the arrival of Queen Twilight and Queen Cadence, who are now apparently arriving together." There was a pause as mutters of consternation crossed the table, then the mare continued. "We also expect variances on the first and last day - which may have additional spectators here to see the fireworks displays."
A second voice chimed in - this one smooth and male, and familiar to everypony at the table. "In spite of the suddenness of the celebration, there is a full docket of events. Given our proximity to fall and a number of other circumstances, several events are being rolled into this week. Of particular interest to us are two specific events. There will be a special harvest feast on the second day organized by the Apple Family, and a preliminary to the Running of the Leaves on the fourth day." There was a pause as the man allowed this news to sink in, then spoke softly. "We will be executing the first phase of our plans during the feast, and the second phase during the race. I know some of you have voiced... concerns as to our chosen methods."
Much louder consternation met this statement - growls and angry words raced across the table like quicksilver. Hooves were pointed in accusation and fearful, fretful words rose up from some of those present. The stallion, however - raised his hoof for silence and instantly received it. Amongst all of them here, he was respected enough to command that sort of attention. "I have heard your concerns, and believe me when I say I wish I had a better method for us to achieve our goals." He lowered his head into the dim pool of light that centered on the table as silence continued to reign. "Were there another way, we would be pursuing it. But there is not, and so we must meet Dissonance with like coin." The stallion sucked in a breath and exhaled it. "But if anyone of you wishes to bow out now, I will not judge you for your choice."
This was the moment he had feared most - the moment when those he had gathered to do his deeds might break under the strain of what he had to ask of them. Yet nopony spoke, nopony stood. Silence merely reigned for a time, and then nods began to blossom like flowers in the morning sun. He exhaled the tension from his chest, speaking warmly and with heart. "Thank you. Thank you, one and all." He shook his head firmly. "Then you know your assignments. Harmony willing, when next we all meet we will be celebrating our momentous victory."
One by one, the figures rose and left out the many entrances of the offices where he had held his meetings - silently, quietly melting back into the crowds that thronged through Ponyville. Once all were gone, the stallion slumped down into his chair and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Things were quickly getting out of hoof already, and he hadn't even begun to execute his plans. Forces far beyond his control were beginning to stir things up both in town and outside of it, and he was beginning to wonder if perhaps he had risked a little too much on this venture.
But no. That was the thinking of a failure, of one who could not adapt his plans to the changing environment. That was not him, he was better than that - better than nearly every pony who walked through this town with only a few notable exceptions. So what if these chaos cultists were all completely insane? Even the insane could be used to a useful end if you pointed them in the right direction and didn't care about what they broke on the way. He had to stay focused on the immediate problems, and handle the winds of change as they came.
He rose and spoke quietly. "Miss Inkwell, contact our... other associates. Inform them of our 'Lord's' plan for the festival." His secretary nodded once and slipped off. And may Harmony forgive me, he thought in an uncharacteristic moment of self-reflection, for those who will have to suffer for a brighter tomorrow. It was a sobering thought, but a smart pony needed to face such thoughts before they became a problem.
He would have no time for them once things were set into motion.
~~~~~~~Ponyville Weather Team Headquarters~~~~~~
"Alright, listen up you screwheads! Pipe down!" Cloud chaser yelled over the din of two hundred pegasi who had all crowded into the emergency meeting hall of the Weather Team HQ. "I said PIPE DOWN!" She practically bellowed over the noise, and was gratified to finally get a response in the form of a shuffling and a muttering of voices slowly reducing in volume. Finally. Chaser thought with a deep breath and exhaled. "Alright fillies, get the clouds out of your ears and listen! We've had to completely rework next week’s weather schedule for the upcoming festival." She slapped a nearby projection screen, where the magical crystal was casting the image of the complex weather schedule for the month. "That means we've got a doozy of a problem on our hooves. Namely, that we were supposed to have two fall storms that we now have to work around."
She paused for a moment, glaring at the crowd to make sure she had their attention. "I've discussed our options with Cloudsdale Weather HQ, and we've come to the conclusion that... well, we don't really have options. We've got an option - singular. We're gonna have a Class two storm tomorrow." She paused again, this time to wait for the murmurs and muttering to settle down a little. "I know, we haven't had a Class two in ponyville since before most of us were born - but It's either that, or we're all going to be pulling double shifts for the rest of the month moving around rainclouds. Since that much overtime isn't in the budget, this is the hoof we've been dealt."
Cloud Chaser took a deep breath and exhaled it, planting her hooves on the podium and holding herself up high as the projector flickered to the next slide - a list of names in five categories. "That's why you're all here. Cloudsdale will be delivering the stuff for the storm in about ten hours. Once this meeting is over, I'll be suggesting you all go and get some sleep, because you won't be doing much of it tomorrow, I can guarantee you that." She grinned, just a touch of desperation in her usual devil-may-care attitude. "We'll be setting up the storm through tonight. Rain is scheduled to start falling around eleven in the evening - Once the rain starts going, we're committed to the storm." She points up to the chart. "In addition to our traditional Cloud, Lightning, and Wind teams, we'll have one team dedicated to support to provide food, hot drinks and towels. We'll also have a reserve team who will fill in wherever they're needed."
Dead silence met this statement, as the crowd began to absorb just what a massive undertaking this was going to be. They'd better get it through their skulls now, Chaser thought grimly. Or we're going to have serious injuries before tomorrow is half done. She had never wanted to take on a storm of this magnitude - but once again, the politicians had stepped in and demanded she make the world accommodate them. The fact that Rainbow Dash had been the one to deliver the news about the storm only made it worse. At least she was sympathetic. Chaser thought with a purely internal sigh.
Still, no time for being a sourpuss. The crowd was taking her seriously, so now it was time to get the other serious stuff out of the way. "The storm is set to get serious around three in the morning, at which time the entire town of Ponyville will be on lockdown. Nopony is going out, nopony is going to be in the streets, so we need to be extra careful with the lightning discharges. I've set up maps of places with installed lightning rods, so we can make sure the majority of the strikes go to those places." She took in a deep breath and exhaled it. "I'm not going to lie to you. This one is going to be rough on everypony involved - but on the upswing, we're all getting double time for the duration." That got a torrent of cheers and stomped hooves, and Chaser couldn't help but grin.
She let the cheering go on for a few more moments, then held up her hooves. "Okay, settle down!" she yelled, and this time she got immediate attention. "We're going to go over this thing step by fucking step, until every pony in this room knows every single thing that's gonna happen." She smacked her hoof on the podium. "Storms of this class come along once in a generation, and we're not going to muck it up. So sit your flanks down. We'll be distributing packages to each of our team leaders with the written summary once the meeting is over." Chaser pulled out her long pointer as the projector flashed over to the first slide, and sighed. Ugh. The worst part is? I'm going to miss the first day of the festival because I'll be so freakin tired. Still. She'd be awake by the time the sun went down - and given how wild a Ponyville party could get, that'd be the best time to be awake.
Maybe she could kidnap Tia and take her to a few... parties.
~~~~~~~~Canterlot Castle~~~~~~~~
Twilight watched as the winged form of Luna swept out into the sky, a soft smile creasing her face as it only did when Luna was around. She could taste the tang of Dissonance upon the air, interlaced with the strong white aura of Harmony. Great powers were going to be unleashed soon, but in what way she could not begin to predict. She was not her teacher, and did not have centuries of experience with which to predict coming events. All she could do was make her best guesses, consult frequently with Cadence, and try not to worry too much.
The last part had quickly become the most difficult part of her new position - little had she known the power of worry upon her mind until she'd nearly cracked a few nights ago. Only the reassurances of Luna and Rainbow Dash had kept her from giving into despair, but it was a tentative peace they had bought for her. She knew she had to change - change the way her mind worked, change the way she looked at the world. She needed to accept that there would be deaths - and that death was simply something she'd have to get used to now. Immortality had more negatives than she'd first realized - though the positives had made themselves evident too.
Still. She wished there was more she could do for her teacher, and for her home.
Not Canterlot - Ponyville. For Ponyville would forever be Twilight's home, no matter where she went nor what she became. She would never call another place home, not for as long as she lived. Perhaps one day, she would build a second palace near there - much as Luna had once built in the Everfree Forest. She could move there, and live amongst the descendants of those she had loved and had loved her in return. In time, she would make friends of them as well - and on and on, down through the ages. Never alone - but never quite not alone. Having Luna at least, would help tremendously. She would never be without a shoulder to weep upon when times were hard, nor a soft cheek to nuzzle against when times were good. She wished now that Celestia had been so lucky.
Maybe then, things would have been different for her.
Twilight shook her mane out as the soft chime of metal against marble announced the approach of a pony, and she exhaled softly, trying to banish the mourning thoughts she had for Celestia. The steps came to a halt as a familiar blue coated unicorn sat down next to her. For few minutes, they said nothing - simply staring out into the glorious day that Cadence had brought forth. For some reason, Twilight still couldn't get used to sleeping during the day - though she'd found that infrequent naps seemed to dispel most of her fatigue. Twilight decided to speak first, feeling that perhaps it was the best thing to do. "So." she began, with an embarrassed cough. "It seems we... have a lot to discuss, don't we?"
The other pony inclined her head for a moment, then reached up to doff the slightly floppy hat that adorned her head and sighed. "Yes. Trixie agrees there is much for both of us to talk about." She paused for a moment, clutching her hat to her chest in an odd gesture. "This is rather more than Trixie... than I." She said in a self-correcting tone, much to Twilight's astonishment "Than I ever expected to have to deal with. Still." her voice brightened, turning just a bit mischievous. "It does put our little tussles in a much more amusing light, does it not?"
Twilight mulled that thought over for a moment - and let off a soft giggle of laughter. "I suppose so. I hadn't actually thought of that until now." She exhaled softly, then spoke again in her gentlest voice. "Would it be too much to ask you to apologize to my friends? In return for our own apologies for how we treated you when you first came to Ponyville?" She asked - and was pleased to see surprise and shock on Trixie's own face. Twilight smiled a little. "We acted like idiots, Trixie. Even I'm prepared to admit that we heckled you like schoolyard bullies, and that was wrong of us."
Trixie tilted her head at Twilight, her eyes squinting as if to try and detect some kind of ploy or jest - but when she found none, her face softened. "I... I apologize to you first, Twilight Sparkle. You may have acted impolitely, but I acted like both a fool and a petty tyrant." She looked out into the sky, then nodded gently. "It took a lot of pain for me to finally realize that you had never been the source of my problems in the first place." Then a smile bloomed across Trixie's face - not a smirk or a sneer, but a genuine warm smile that took Twilight aback. "Perhaps it is time for us to make amends. What say you?"
Twilight blinked at her, then lifted a hoof to wrap around Trixie's shoulders and hug her fiercely. "I'd say that if family can't forgive one another, then who can they forgive?" She pulled back, and was surprised to find a touch of wetness mirrored in Trixie's eyes.
Trixie smiled gently, wiping at her eyes with a hoof. "I would say that I always wanted a little sister." She said softly, and then gave off a delightful, musical laugh.
~~~~~Ponyville Spa~~~~~
"Mademoiselle Tia. You have a message."
Proclaimed the smooth and unctuous tones of Lotus, laying down the neat little roll of parchment next to the hot tub with a smile before quickly and stealthily slipping away. Tia blinked at her as she did so, wondering how in the world these two sisters managed to move so silently before biting open the wax seal and unrolling the message with a touch of magic. What on earth could possibly... she thought for a moment, as her eyes scanned down the scroll - her pupils slowly reducing to pinpoints.
Good morrow, Sister,
I will be visiting you in ponyville early this evening, and will be remaining in town for the duration of the festival. I was wondering if you would not mind providing me with a place to stay?
-Love and Kisses,
Luna
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The next Sisterhooves Social is going to be really interesting, it seems.
Yay! Another good chapter, and it seems it's confirmed that Trixie and Twilight are sisters now
And the end, of the end... Remembering that Celestia is going to transform Spike... well, I don't think she'll want Luna there. Unless Luna is also 'in the know' with Spike, which I doubt, pretty much. Things are starting to get hectic though! :3
I can't wait to see AJ's reaction when she finds out that Tia is Twilight's mother. Also, based on the lack of other comments at the time that I wrote mine, I think you surprised everyone with an update this late in the morning.
Well. Totally didnt see that sister thing coming
Spoilers unleashed. But of course you've done you usual madness of building up more insanity. Plus your whole "Watch out for Next chapter". Not that I wouldn't watch out for it anyways, since this story is awesomely done and continues to be that way. Just one thing I noted that you may or may not want to fix.
Did you mean to type fucking or was that supposed to be bucking, in accordance with the usual cute word censor this series uses? It surprised me a little to see an actual swear word in the story. That's all that caught my eye this time around. Good work as usual man. Hopefully you will have a bit more time to focus and less interruptions. *raises a glass of hard cider to that hope and chugs*
2939593 Keep in mind, the only ponies who know that particular fact are Cadence, Twilight, Tia, Spitfire and Shiny.
2939613 Suprise!
2939737 That one was intentional. I've been toying with using real swears as a narrative device in these stories.
Also - You ain't seen insanity quite yet. Things are about to GET MESSY.
2939938
I could write a story so crazy and insane that it would make even Discord ask,"What just happened".
2939938
Luna, Chrysalis and Sombra know as well. I just wonder why Twi didn't tell the rest of the Mane 6 who Tia really is.....
Wait, what?!?! Sisters?!?!?! What did I miss?
2942917 I've been scattering the clues all over the place. To get a more thorough explanation.... well, you're just gonna have to wait for that one.
2942917 If it goes the way I thought it was, Trixie is Shining Armor's sister. Twilight being an adopted sister. *eye twitches*
Hmm..I know I speak from the perspective of a reader and thus it's obvious, but I'm a little surprised that no ponies seem to suspect Tia being Celestia. If nothing else it's all awfully convenient and there are a number of discrepancies surrounding her...but then again I suppose most ponies just don't have a properly suspicious and/or inquisitive mindset?
You know between the elements, the entirity of Ponyville, and I'm guessing Blueblood? I think the Balence is less 50/50 and more Dissonance 60/40 Harmony.
With a chance of Chaos and Pinkiness later in the week.
The disonant mane 6 remain an enigma for me. I don't want to see them like that but they still seem to be doing fine. However I'm very worried about how things will go in the long term.
Wait they're related?!
i wish you would log on once more o author of this wondrous story and its predecessor, if only to know how much i enjoy the work you have put forward here
4538346
honestly, to me there the same as they have always been
its not like when they were discorded they arnt the inverse of who they always were, far from it
they are just diffrent expresions of the same concepts, thru laughter we show our passion, thru honesty we see the truth of things, the kind gain the obedient following of the many, loyalty brings victory to all, in generosity do we find the power to move the hearts of others, and thru freindship and magic are we freed from the slings of sorrow and pain.