Epilogue: Flutterage
Sergeant Torchlight made his way down the main stairway of Canterlot Castle just as Luna’s moon began its descent beneath the horizon. A few moments later, he turned his head towards the east to watch Celestia’s Sun rise into the sky. As the light from the sun entered the castle, he turned off the light that shone from his horn. Dawn patrol, he thought as he continued outside, finally, after weeks of Midnight patrol, some peace.
The first place he needed to go to was the Canterlot Gardens. Technically, the Canterlot Gardens were now called Princess Celestia’s Garden of the Sun. When Princess Luna returned, she had designated an area of Canterlot Castle as Princess Luna’s Garden of the Moon. One thousand years of calling them the Canterlot Gardens was going to take a while to change in the minds of the citizens, however.
An iron door swung open, and Sergeant Torchlight took his first step into the gardens. In the distance, he could hear the sound of a small fountain. Undoubtedly, many of the animals would be at the nearby pond for their morning water. As he approached the fountain, however, he couldn’t find any of the animals there. Small lotuses began to open their white blooms towards the sky, but beyond the ripples of the water, nothing disturbed its surface.
Odd, Sergeant Torchlight thought, I distinctly remember being told that the first task of the Dawn patrol was to ensure that Her Majesty’s creatures didn’t get too pushy when it came to drinking from the pond.
Sergeant Torchlight continued on his way through the gardens, though now he was on a mission to find out where the animals were. He passed by a wall of rose bushes and froze. His mouth dropped open.
Princess Celestia is raising the sun, he thought, I must find Princess Luna.
*****
Princess Luna peered over her tower and looked over the horizon. Her moon sank down and then disappeared. Rather than turn her head towards the east, however, she turned to the north. She smiled as the asteroid she had created a thousand years ago continued its path across the sky. She had created it so that it would make in between Celestia’s sun and Equus every hundred years.
I’ve missed you, Alpha, Princess Luna thought, it is much better seeing you from Equus than from the moon. She turned around and closed the curtains as she reentered the room, catching the tail end of the conversation her students were having.
“So you saw it?” Shale asked, “You saw the Helioselenian Stone?”
“It’s more of a crystal,” Edger replied, “A dull, grey crystal. A pegasus touched it, and her eyes went completely white. We had to carry her out of Flatts.”
“Where is it now?” Shale asked.
“I…” Edger began, “I don’t know. All I remember is Script staying behind, and then when the three of us got to the tracks, there was some bright light.”
Luna watched as Leila sat in the corner of the room and shook her head.
“That is enough of that.” Luna said. “Edger, you are not to leave like that again, do I make myself clear?”
“Are we prisoners here, Your Highness?”
“No, you are not,” Princess Luna replied, “Think of yourself as being part of a class for exceptional unicorns. Your skills need to be honed properly. Besides-”
“And what about Script?” Edger asked.
“Edger, you need to-”
The doors to Princess Luna’s room crashed open and she turned her head to see who had disturbed them. Sergeant Torchlight stood at the doors, and his panicked eyes scanned the room until they locked onto hers.
“Your Highness,” he said, “It is an emergency. I need you to come with me immediately.”
Princess Luna sighed. Of course something would happen as my sister raises the sun.
“Of course, sergeant,” Princess Luna said as she walked by the doors, “And could you two try to make sure that Edger stays here this time?”
The two thestral guards on either side of the door simply nodded their heads. Princess Luna left the room, and the doors closed. Leila turned her head towards the door and began to speak.
“Two threads have been severed. One rapidly unravels.
Oceans become deltas, and the deltas turn to streams.
Until the chosen path for the pony who travels
Its path has no choice but to destroy the source’s dreams.”
Edger and Shale looked to each other and then back at Leila. Leila simply turned her back towards the two stallions.
“I’m not saying anything,” Leila continued as she stared at the wall, “I’m just rambling.”
Edger continued to walk towards her, but Shale reached out his fore leg to grab Edger’s hoof and shook his head. The two of them simply turned to the other corner of the room, where Aloga focused on his stone, turning it into a ball of flame, then into a block of ice, before returning it to a stone.
*****
“How did this happen!” Princess Luna shouted, “I thought you were part of the Midnight patrol!”
“I’m part of the Dawn patrol now, Your Highness,” Sergeant Torchlight replied as he trembled, “I knew Princess Celestia was busy, and I wanted one of you two to know immediately.”
“How many are there?”
“Nine, Your Highness.”
Princess Luna walked past the walls of roses to the scene that Sergeant Torchlight was just describing to her. She had to use a great deal of her trained stoicism not to wretch at the scene. A pair of loons lay side by side, their ribcages crushed and their eyes pushed out of their sockets. Next to them was a toucan with a crushed beak and broken wings. A green jay and a pink jay were now nothing more than a bloodied bundle of green and pink feathers. All of the bodies surrounded a large bear whose neck had been snapped. On top of the bear lay a flamingo whose legs and neck were broken at numerous places, as well as another toucan. The most disturbing of all was the squirrel on top, or what was left of it.
“Where is the squirrel’s head?” Princess Luna asked as she tried to retain her composure.
“I don’t know.” Sergeant Torchlight replied. “But I do know that this had to have occurred sometimes last night before dawn. The guards reach this point at the beginning of their shift. Therefore, it had to have taken place between midnight and six o’clock. The other animals are hiding, too scared to come out yet, I suppose.”
“So there is something out there that is strong enough to take on a bear, and capable of flying to capture birds, all while doing it quickly and quietly enough so as to not cause a big enough disturbance to arouse the guards’ suspicion?”
Sergeant Torchlight could only nod at the assessment.
A white orb appeared before them. The orb grew until Princess Celestia emerged. She turned to her sister. Sergeant Torchlight bowed his head.
“Luna, we have to get to Ponyville immediately.” Princess Celestia said, “I’ve received a note from-”
Princess Celestia stopped talking when she saw the sight before her. Her eyes widened at the sight of the dead animals. She circled the pile and then made her way back to Princess Luna. She handed her the scroll that had been sent to her. Princess Luna unwrapped the scroll and began to read it.
Princess Celestia,
Please come to Ponyville as fast as you can. I don’t know how to explain it, but Twilight has done something to Fluttershy. I only now just found out because she had told me that she was just fixing a problem with Fluttershy’s eyes. It wasn’t until Rarity told me about Fluttershy’s accident that we both agreed I needed to contact you.
Princess Celestia, I don’t know how much of this I can write. I feel like I’m betraying Twilight by doing this, but I know it isn’t right. Something happened to Twilight ever since she became a princess. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I’ve lost somepony who I always considered family.
I’m just a dragon, Your Highness. I know that I’ll never really be a pony no matter how many times Twilight says I am a real part of this family.
I don’t feel it anymore.
Please come to Ponyville. Maybe you can talk to Twilight. Maybe you can help her. I don’t think I can anymore.
Spike
Luna looked up from the scroll just in time to see a bright light surround the animals. A moment later, the animals disappeared, leaving behind only the dried blood. Luna approached and saw that the blood had formed an eerily familiar pattern. She and Princess Luna looked at one another.
“It would seem that Twilight has been given some new reading material.” Princess Luna said.
“He shouldn’t have done this.” Princess Celestia replied as she tried to contain a sniffle. “But what is done is done. Unless we can get Leila to-”
“No.” Princess Luna cut her sister off, “Besides, even we don’t see what she sees. We don’t know what would happen if we used her like that.”
“I see.” Princess Celestia replied as she turned to Sergeant Torchlight. “Sergeant, Princess Luna and I are leaving for Ponyville. Until we return, I want a guard posted at both gardens. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Sergeant Torchlight replied, “I shall tell the charioteers to-”
“That won’t be necessary.” Princess Luna replied.
The princesses disappeared into two orbs – one blue and one white. A moment later, they arrived at the Golden Oaks Library. The lights were off. Princess Luna made her way to the light switch, but Princess Celestia stopped her. She pointed her hoof in the corner of the room, where a pair of yellow eyes began to open. Princess Luna rolled her eyes and flicked the switch. She turned back to face the eyes, only to find that they belonged to Owlowiscious.
“A bit jumpy, dear sister?”
“This is not a time to joke around, Luna.” Princess Celestia said, “If I am right, then the creature that Twilight created is very dangerous.”
Princess Luna pointed towards the door to the basement. Princess Celestia nodded. They opened the door and flipped the light switch. Rather than walk the stairs, they flew to the floor, the wind from their wings reached the empty beakers. The sound of howls echoed through the room as the air passed the beakers’ glass lips. They stood on either side of the glyph that had been drawn onto the floor.
“A rudimentary protection spell was created over this.” Princess Celestia said, “Easy enough to break.”
A white aura shone from Princess Celestia’s horn, while a blue aura shone from Princess Luna’s own. A flash of white light shone through the room, followed by a flash of blue light. The glyph on the ground disappeared.
“Didn’t you say that there was a glyph at Fluttershy’s cottage, Luna?”
“Yes,” Princess Luna replied, “But that one was different than this one. Twilight is merely mimicking the spell. The one back at Fluttershy’s was different.”
“I’d like to see this glyph.”
“Don’t you think we should try to find the book first?”
“Yes, sister, that we should.”
The two alicorns began trotting around the room. They looked beneath the metal tables, through the shelves of beakers and books on advanced magic practices. There was no book. The two sisters rejoined and made their way up the stairs and slammed the door shut. With their magic, they began to take the books down, one shelf at a time. It became clear, however, that the book they were looking for was not here either. Finally, they made their way upstairs.
“What is this?” Princess Celestia said as they entered the room.
They trotted towards the board that Twilight Sparkle had made. Princess Luna looked down on the floor at the mess of papers that littered it. She looked closer at the dates and the writings.
“This is how Twilight learned about Fluttershy,” Princess Luna said, “She stole her friend’s diary once she placed the shadow into her.”
“Not only that,” Princess Celestia said as she pointed her hoof at the journal entry regarding her animals, “I think we can ascertain who killed the animals.”
“But that doesn’t make sense.” Princess Luna replied, “Fluttershy loved animals.”
“No,” Princess Celestia corrected, “She loved being loved by the animals. I saw her the night of the Grand Galloping Gala as she ran through the ballroom. She had actually grabbed a squirrel by the teeth. The look on her face as she chased the animals was terrifying.”
“Then what other things has she done?” Princess Luna asked.
“Nothing, from what these diary entries indicate.” Princess Celestia continued, “It seems that Twilight was pretty accurate in discovering what parts of Fluttershy were filled with regret, though.”
“Does that mean it is over?”
“We need to find Twilight to find that out, sister.” Princess Celestia said. “And we need to find Discord.”
“But first, you said we need to go to Fluttershy’s cottage?”
The two of them teleported once more until they were at the front of Fluttershy’s cottage. Princess Luna looked around.
“Didn’t you station a guard here?”
“Yes.” Princess Celestia replied, “I did.”
“We really need to have a meeting with the Captain of the Royal Guards about the mental capabilities of our guards.”
“Prince Shining Armor isn’t the captain, anymore.” Princess Celestia replied, “But you’re right. We need to discuss that with him. Maybe we can get him to come back for drill instruction.”
Princess Luna opened the door, and the two immediately entered and made their way up the stairs. When they opened the door and turned on the light, Princess Luna immediately pointed to a patch of blood on the floor near the bed.
“That patch of blood is new,” she replied, “Maybe the guard had some struggle with an enemy?”
“Or,” Princess Celestia replied, “He just tripped over this jewelry box.”
Princess Luna placed a hoof over her face and sighed. She then pointed to the corner of the room where the glyph was located. Princess Celestia examined the glyph in detail. Her sister was right. The magic that was used with this glyph had a very distinct energy signature.
“The only being that can even closely match this energy signature is Discord.”
“Discord would not have allowed for this to happen,” Princess Luna replied, “However, I do remember feeling a similar energy signature when I examined the cell that held Script.”
Princess Celestia whipped her head towards her sister.
“Then that would mean that he is a vessel.”
“Not only that,” Princess Luna continued, “But I overheard Edger saying that Script was with them in Flatts when they went to retrieve the Helioselenian Stone.”
“Then that has to mean – Ah!”
Princess Celestia winced as she walked over a piece of broken glass. The sudden pain sent her forward and she bumped into her sister, who then tumbled into the desk, knocking over the wastebasket.
“Sorry, sister.”
“It is quite all right.” Princess Luna replied, “What is this?”
Amongst a pile of crumpled papers, Princess Luna levitated a single sheet of paper.
“It looks similar to the sheets of paper on Twilight’s floor.” Princess Celestia noted.
“And the date is only a little more than two months ago.”
July 13, 1006,
“Ah don’t think y'all should,” she told me, “He’d probably want somepony a little heartier.”
It hurts. It hurts. I find out that he’s with her now. I’m not upset about that. I finally had the courage to say something to him.
If it hadn’t been for… her.
The two just read the piece of paper, unsure of what to think about it. Before they could ponder much longer, they heard a deep voice begin to cackle.
“Oh, look at the two of you,” Discord said out of nowhere, “thinking that you have all of the pieces of the puzzle...”
In front of them, a ghostly image of Discord began to form as though he, too, were a puzzle. The puzzle completed itself, with the exception of Discord’s head.
“Only to realize that you are one piece short...” The disembodied head continued as it floated in between the two sisters.
“Where are the books?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Where are the vessels?” Discord replied.
The two watched as Discord’s head floated to his body and reconnected.
“Tell you what,” Discord said as two briefcases appeared – one in front of himself, and one in front of Princesses Celestia and Luna, “Why don’t we play hide and seek? You have one day to find me, and I’ll be sure to leave little clues. If you find me, I tell you where the books are. If you don’t, then you tell me what you have been teaching the unicorns.”
Two tiny Discord’s appeared in front of each of the suitcases, presenting them as though they were on a game show.
“Do we have a deal?”
“No.”
The little Discord in front of the princesses’ briefcase opened it, revealing nothing. A small horn played in the background, as though they had lost.
“Oh, what a pity,” Discord replied as everything else disappeared, “You do realize that you need me, right?”
“We both know that the appearance of these unicorns is proof that the cycle is spinning again.” Princess Luna replied.
“And you do realize that your ‘Princess Twilight’ knows about your other ‘students’, right?” Discord continued.
“Why did you tell her that?” Princess Celestia asked. “She did not need to know that. Not yet.”
“I believe that she does.” Discord replied, “You two have no idea what it is that these unicorns portent. The cracks in your world are beginning to show.”
They watched as Discord began to crack and splinter, only to crash into a million pieces. Just as quickly as they fell apart, the pieces realigned once again.
“This time, no games,” Discord said, “You two cannot do this alone. You need both Twilight and me for what you are preparing. You know it. I know it.”
“No.” Princess Celestia said.
“Very well.” Discord replied, “I guess you’ll just have to catch me then.”
“Then how will you give Twilight the rest of the books?”
“You’ll just have to catch me to find out.”
Discord laughed and then disappeared.
“He went to the Crystal Empire to get the books.” Princess Luna said.
“The door is magically locked.” Princess Celestia replied.
“I get the feeling he’ll find a way.” Princess Luna answered.
As she dropped the piece of paper to the floor and disappeared in an orb of light, Princess Celestia followed her sister and did the same.
*****
Twilight entered the library and shuddered. She didn’t want to think about what she had just experienced in Room 47 with Rainbow Dash. Her eyelids were barely open as she trudged up the stairs to her bed. The sheets of paper slid beneath he and she began to slip around. Finally, she simply teleported to her bed and fell down. She didn’t noticed that a note had been placed on her pillow, nor did she noticed that the force of her falling down sent the sheet of paper flying until it landed beneath her bed.
Dear Twilight,
There is not an easy way to tell you this. You are going down a path that I can’t let myself follow. I don’t have the strength to get you out of it, either. Maybe it’s because I don’t really know the pony way of doing things.
I always felt of you as my mother, and that I just had a collection of crazy aunts… and Rarity. I know that we can never really be family, because I’m a dragon and you’re all ponies. But I thought families were supposed to go through hard times together. I thought we could weather anything as a family, with you as my mother.
Until now.
You lied to everypony, Twilight. You not only lied to everypony, but you’ve changed. You aren’t my mom, and you never will be.
Goodbye.
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Well. . . That was upsetting.
Also, who is "HER" Fluttershy was talking about?
3600101
Who would know Big Macintosh enough to suggest that Fluttershy wasn't a good match for him?
3600101
And why did Applejack run away from the comfort of the farmhouse to run around the fields in such horrible weather?
3600101 I fixed the journal entry to fix the confusion. I didn't want you thinking that Fluttershy was always innocent. Previous chapters did give hints that the idea of not being loved by animals is a trigger for her.
3600113
Okay so there's somepony pulling the stings. I understand targeting the elements of Harmony and trying to break them or remove them. What I don't understand is what role Spike and Big Macintosh play in this? They are both as much a part of this as the others, and both are at least semi-aware that something bigger is going on, and while Macintosh didn't know what happend to Fluttershy. He has been keeping Rarity together and keeping her from breaking. Why let them walk? What role do they play on the chess board? Whoever is behind this is too smart and has to know what they as well as the other untouched guards are capable of. What do they have to gain from not getting rid of them?
3600179 I guess only Leila knows that now, doesn't she? And remember, we are only getting to episode 4 of 7. It's good to have some questions at this point. :)
3600186
Well hopefully Macintosh and Spike can figure out what the hell is going on before something happens to Rarity or Twilight. I mean they're both smart guys. Surely they can find something?
3600255
This is true, but story four is about Rainbow Dash, and story five will be OC filled, but still an important part of the story. Stories six and seven will show the stories converging and coming to a resolution.
I was thinking of paying someone to commission cover art for these seven stories. I wonder if I can.
3600263
So my last question is, which of the old ones is it?
3600301 Why can't it be all three? All of the War Torn Gods need to be there. Besides, we still don't know the last location of the gem... I mean stone of the Old Gods now, do we?
3600367
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Fuck
You can has review!