Deleted Scenes
Unknown Chapters - Odd bits
I have no idea where these were suppose to go. So we’ll open with them.
(Sapphire finds Rarity playing a soulful dirge of otherworldly composition)
Sapphire could hear the organ being played on the other side of the door, she carefully pulled it open and walked in. On the other side of the room, on a raised Dais sat the Empress at the keys of the organ. Her hoofs were moving gently as first, but soon they picked up in speed and with passion. Sapphire noted that various stringed instruments around her began to levitate with a blue hue and added their song to the one being played.
"Fighting's not really my thing. I'm more into fashion, but I'll rip you into pieces if you touch one crystal on their cute little heads."
(I think this was a threat from Rarity to Sombra)
(Maybe from Chapter 2? I'm not sure.)
For the third time that day, Rarity swore on Celestia's sun, that if she ever, ever got her hooves on Princess Cadence, she'd strangle that pony with her own mane for "letting it slip out" that it was her birthday. She had tried hard for decades and centuries to bury the day in the pages of history. But it always seemed like some "scholar" would discover it and announce it to the world, or Cadence herself would do something to make sure it wasn't forgotten.
Rarity would have her revenge.
(Chapter 3 Alternate Opening with Lady Sapphire, couch in Main Hall, Tour Guide, Onyx’s Son.)
Blueblood had not been established as a “bad Guy” at this point. More of an annoyance to Rarity, but quickly grew to become one as I continued writing the story. This scene was cut in favor of bringing Blueblood in as a villain. Unfortunately, I feel like I lost a fun piece of the Crystal Empire’s history with it, though I have tried to correct the matter.
Lady Sapphire snuggled deeper into the her secluded couch within the Main Hall of the Palace. It was a perfect place for her to sit and study this journal. She had learned so much from the adventures and lessons of the Bearers of Harmony, but the satisfaction to her question continued to elude her. Sapphire was still confident though that this will not be an endeavor wasted, and that surely there must be something that could help her.
She glanced up from her reading at the ponies mingling through. The Crystal Palace, as much as it was a home to the Empress, it was still the capital building of the budding Empire, and was thus a very public place. Some days it was packed to the brim with ponies - visitors and government officials alike. Their purposes had always varied though, from going to a meeting to seeking an audience with the Empress, and the popular Tour of the Palace. She found it interesting that even on a holiday such as this, there were still ponies milling about, even tours going on.
One particularly, noisy, tour full of foals and their parents was getting her attention. Sapphire tried to ignore them and the feeling to get up and follow them, but her feelings and curiosity soon overcame her. So against logic and reasoning, she packed her stuff away and put her saddle bags on before trotting after the group.
The tour guide had just finished explaining a brief history of the Crystal Palace, and lead them into a separate room when she had caught up with them. The room was some sort of museum, displaying several artifacts about the history of the Crystal Palace and of its inhabitants. She had seen it before but never had the time to actually go in. Sapphire looked at the collection of the various items within. Much of the stored artifacts had to do with the history of the Palace and the Crystal traditions. There was a model of the original Palace in the middle of the room, a few suits of pony armor, flags, and a few sculptures. Sapphire giggled at one depicting Shining Armor throwing Princess Cadence during the Return of Sombra.
"Okay, gather around everypony," called out the guide, as he stood next to a beautifully designed off-white throne. "Now let's test your history knowledge! Can anypony tell me what this is?"
Lady Sapphire inspected the throne as the ponies around her whispered and made comments about what it could be. She heard many things like "Cadence's Throne" and "The Empress' first throne". To her it looked like any other throne you would expect a pony of notable quality to have; made out of stunning marble and inlaid with beautiful pink and purple gems. But it was a far cry from the lavish throne the Empress prized.
"It's the Throne of the Chancellor of the State," piped up a voice. Sapphire turned and looked at a <different color than black> colt standing next to a more elderly stallion and a slightly smaller version of himself. The name on his visitor's badge was "Coal Dust."
"That's correct," said the guide. "The Chancellor of the State was responsible for management and overseeing many important affairs throughout the Empire. The Office was second only to the Monarchs of the Empire. Empress Rarity once held the position when Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her husband, Prince/Captain Shining Armor. The tradition was very short lived though, as Victory Belle, nephew of the Empress, was the last pony to hold the title."
"Why did they get rid of it?" asked somepony from the crowd.
"Well, the government underwent a rather drastic change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one," explained the guide. "The position became void as its responsibilities were being handled by several other ponies. Now if you would please look over here..."
Sapphire stopped listening as the guide directed the tour to another item of interests.
Chapter 8 - Extended Scene with Cpt Shining Star getting Twilight Sparkle of the train at the Crystal Empire.
Cut for length issues.
she said with what looked like a determined smile, from what Shining Star could make out from beyond the edges of the folder.
“Yes your- Watch out!” Miraculously, Twilight had stepped over a pile of tightly wound scrolls and without managing to break her neck. Shining’s smile became all the more strained.
“Princess it would be a fantastic idea if-” her horn lit up as she pulled a chart under Twilight’s hooves, directing her away from the wall and back towards the door. “You put that down and watch where you are going.”
“Mm-hmm,” replied the Alicorn as she turned pasted her Captain and proceeded blindly into the dining car.
The unicorn gave a sharp hiss as she saw the Princess walk towards the first of several sets of double steps. Reacting with lightning quick speed, the Captain of the Arcane Guard used her magic to tear the steps apart and form a small ramp, finishing just in time for the Princess to use without a care in the world.
The ramp groaned underneath Twilight’s weight, earning a snicker from Aurora and Cornelius who were waiting outside. Captain Shining Star frowned as she walked down the ramp herself and had it turn back into stairs. She shot both guards silencing glances, before looking back at the Princess and noticing a tad bit of plumpness.
The frown only deepened. She’d be damned if she let her former student gain a single more pound while under her watchful gaze! Exercise, appropriate sleep hours, correct diet with the elimination of that wonderfully delicious food known as cak-
The Captain reacted again with lightning speed. Using her magic, she snapped the pole Twilight was about to walk into and flung it over the train. Enough was enough. Her magic soon grabbed a hold of the paperwork in front of Twilight’s face, ripping it out of her own grasp and flinging it into the train car behind them, earning a angry yelp and a whimper from inside.
Twilight blinked around in surprised, and looked down at her smiling Captain.
“Flat Rate found it!” she blurted out. “Nomoreworryingnowletsgetgoing!”
“But I-”
“NOW!”
Chapter 13 - Sapphire finds Rarity’s sock collection.
I think this was either cut for time, or it just didn’t fit. I can't remember, and it’s a shame because I liked this one too.
Sapphire wasn’t listening though. Her focus remained on one of the drawers the empress had been looking through. A single piece of fabric stuck out of the drawer, and it had ensnared her curiosity. She wondered for the briefest of moments if her suspicion was correct as she approached it. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as she squealed for joy when she found out what it was.
"OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh" squealed Sapphire as she dove into a drawer. "SOCKS!"
She squealed again as she fell out of the drawer, holding onto several pairs of socks. "Oh my gosh, you have Stances, Bracers, Air-Nikes, Panes... Oh what are these? Pretty thin socks, I can almost see through them, and they have the most adorable little lacing up at the top, and the strangest buckle at the top. Ohh a tag, it's from Victoria Se-, oh." she quickly threw those socks back in, blushing furiously as she realized what she had been holding.
"My Lady! I didn't know you had so many socks, I mean I know that you would since you're an all-powerful Empress, but these are simple..." She trailed off as she caught sight of Rarity looking at her with a smile and a eyebrow raised.
Lady Sapphire stood, dusted herself off and cleared her voice. "You have a very exquisite sock collection, my Lady, very fine and unique."
Rarity could stop herself from laughing at the other mare. "I didn't know you had such an interest in socks, Sapphire. Or else I would have let you take a set In fact, why don't you browse through them and take some that you like.
"My Lady?"
"Please, darling, just call me Rarity," replied the unicorn as she continued to look through some more dresses. "There's no need for such formalities in such personal spaces."
“Yes, M— Rarity,” corrected the mare as she looked through the socks in her hooves before finding a pair she liked. They were black, with white crescent moons all over them. She opened her saddlebags and put them in.
Chapter 13 - Looking at Rarity’s Crowns.
The original of the published version. There was some different situations which went into this, but were removed due to time, being fluffy bits and not helping the story, or going somewhere and just being unable to bring it back to the story.
Her eye caught sight of the Platinum Crown, still sitting out, and she moved to go put it away for Rarity as the unicorn kept going on about what to wear.
In the very back of Rarity’s so-called closet, stood glass cases filled with all sorts of crowns and other emblems of royal regalia. The Empress had her Royal Regalia of the Crystal Empire, suitably designed by herself and what she was wearing this morning. She wore it the most often and kept it in her room. But that certainly didn't mean she didn't have addition crowns.
Sapphire marveled at the display of crowns that were displayed before her. The jewelry guarded by the armored poniquin in the middle of the room were mere trinkets compared to these. At least a dozen different complete regalia sets were proudly displayed, and another half dozen crowns sat near them. The crowns varied completed from material made, gems used, and the elaborate designs painstakingly taken to craft them. Sapphire recognized one set as having originated from the griffins, with crown taking on more of a look of a helmet with gold wings sweeping down to cover the cheeks.
There was one crown in particular that stood out of the rest. It rested on a black velvet pedestal, with a small banner of the moon behind it. The main body was made out of a very rare blue metal, shaped much like a boomerang, giving it’s surface the appearance of the northern lights. In the center of the crown was a black, horizontal crescent moon, supporting a flawless diamond that Luna only cared to called “Heart of the Moon”. She remembered the day she gave that crown to Rarity…
“Wow, that one is pretty,” said Sapphire, which really underestimated her biases towards it. Luna loved that crown, the way it looked on Rarity when she wore it.
“Hmm?” Rarity walked over to the cases and looked at the crown that Sapphire was staring at. “ Ohh, that one. It was given to me from a friend long ago. Very sentimental.”
(V.1 - Rarity puts the Crown on)
Sapphire glanced over and found her looking past the crown as if she was remembering something, but her face was otherwise unreadable. “No, Sapphire, I have not worn that crown for quite sometime, not since I got it, in fact. It’s… it’s not a crown ment for this night.”
“Well, you need something for this night,” said Sapphire, a little heartbroken that Rarity didn’t want to wear the crown. Luna loved it when she wore that crown. “Can I see it on you anways?”
“What?”
“Please?!” begged Sapphire as she stuck her bottom lip out and batted her eyes.
“Fine, just please stop with that face,” said Rarity as she levitated the crown to her. “No freaking out.”
Sapphire grinned as Rarity put the crown on. Sudden a black mist seem to pour out of it and consume the Empress. Sapphire could just make out the flashes of light from within as the magic took hold of Rarity. Finally, the back mist vanished.
“Well?” asked the much larger, black unicorn. It had Rarity’s voice, but also a little deeper as well. The purple mane had streaks of white flowing through it. “How do I look?”
“Awesome,” said Sapphire, still grinning like an idiot. “You should just stay that way.”
“Hmm,” said Rarity with a raised eyebrow as she looked into the mirror. “I do look good. But I’d have to redo all my clothes, none of them quite fit me like this, neither do the crowns.”
“It be worth it.”
“You think so?”
Sapphire nodded excitedly. Rarity’s magic took hold of the crown again and pulled it off. Another flash of light and the normal, crystal unicorn Rarity was standing in front of her.
(Chapter 14/15 Twilight Alt Intro - Dress issues and what nots)
I think this was removed because it was too short, or some reason. I really can’t remember why. It was split into two though, with Sapphire replacing Shining Star for some of it, and a letter for the other half.
Twilight shrugged and tried to push her discomfort to the back of her mind, but a phrase caught her attention, inadvertently causing a eye to twitch in frustration.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and slowly released it while counting to ten. Once that task was completed she looked back down at Captain Shining Star with a fake smile. “Would you care to repeat that, Captain?”
“It just says that Princess Cadence will be unable to make it this evening,” replied Shining Star as she looked back at the letter, and fiddled with one of the medals on her Officer Dress. “The diplomatic meeting with the Goat-Lords of Yule is taking longer than she had thought.”
“Of course it is,” replied Twilight as she took another deep breath, and closed her eyes. It was all up to her. She now had to bear the weight of representing the Equestrian Diarchy. Twilight had been counting as Cadence to help smooth things over with Rarity. After all, Rarity had been the Chancellor of State for Cadence for nearly twenty years before becoming the Crystal Empress. But now...
“You’re best friends with her,” said Shining Star. Twilight looked over at the unicorn with some surprise as the Captain continued. “You don’t need someone else to bridge that gap between you and the Empress.”
“Thank you, Captain,” replied Twilight with a half hearted smile. “But I wish I knew how.”
“Well, how about being just a friend?” offered Shining Star. “Empress Rarity doesn’t need Princess Twilight Sparkle, she needs Twilight Sparkle she met in Ponyville.”
“It’s not that easy, Captain,” said Twilight, standing a bit straighter and nodded to a pair of passing griffins. “I have a country to represent. I can’t just go in there and sling a hoof across her back and ask her “what’s up?” can I?”
“I wouldn’t do it that way,” said Shining Star. “Greet her like friends, a hug and no formalities. Don’t talk about business tonight, but fun. She needs a friend, not a princess.”
Twilight nodded at the idea, but kept quiet otherwise, lost in thought until she felt Shining Star poking at her again. “Yes, Captain?”
“Princess, I’m going to go check with the head of the Crystal Guard about tonight’s security,” said Shinning Star. “I’m leaving Cornelius and Aurora with you.”
Twilight nodded again, watching Shining Star trot away until something started pulling on her dress.
“Twilight, what are they doing?” asked Spike as he pulled on her dress and pointed down the hall. In his other hand/claw was the present for Rarity from Twilight.
Twilight looked down the line to the entrance of the ballroom. Aside from the Crystal Guards, a crystal stallion stood, dressed in a white uniform, reading names out from a scroll. Twilight watched as a pair of deer walked up at stopped at the entrance. The stallion nodded to them briefly, taking their invitations and calling out, “Now presenting the Prime Minister of Elkdom and his Wife, Johne and Jiayne of Doe!”
“He’s a herald, he announces the guests as they come in,” explained Twilight. “Fancy parties have them to pay respect to honored guests, usually giving them a lot of titles to seem more important.”
"Should I ask the stallion to introduce me as Sir Spike, the Amazing?” asked Spike. “Or the Amazing Sir Spike? No, wait what if I had a cool scar? Twilight, can you magic me up me a cool scar? Then I could be The Amazing and Cool Scared Sir Spike. Do you think they'll have any pizza? It's been a long time since I've had a slice of Crystal Empire pizza. Oh what abou-"
Twilight rolled her eyes. This night was going to be long.
(Chapter 15 - Rarity Playing Twister, observing the birthday party)
Another scene that I can’t remember the full reason why it was cut. Sombra was involved a little in here, but it was too early for him to have rebounded back. Overall, I found the scene just not fitting in very well with the flow of things, though I do love the idea of Empress Rarity playing Twister at a birthday party. That would increase the difficulty level for sure. And not because she’s good at it. (Hint: frozen coat).
The other part was her own doings. Rarity was in the middle of a very important, and very fun game.
Twister.
“Right forehoof to red, Empress.” Rarity stretched out her limb and placed it on the dot, giving out a sigh of relief as her unsteady position held. For years, it was rumored that the Empress had always kept herself in top physical shape, and while that wasn’t a lie, that wasn’t the truth either.
“Excellent work, your Majesty,” said Party Hats with a giggle as she gave the wheel another spin. “And Lady Golden Beryl, you have left forehoof to blue.”
The noble trembled slightly as she carefully eased herself underneath the Empress. Rarity kept her mischievous grin to herself as she waited for the trembling mare to get just a little closer. Golden Beryl was just about there when the Empress let herself slip just enough to let her frozen coat touch the bare back of the mare. A slight shriek was all the time the players had before Golden Beryl jerked herself over, sweeping the hooves of Lord Jade Chest out from under him, and causing the Empress to titer into General Stonewall, and a pile of ponies to form.
Rarity couldn’t help but laugh as the ponies all fought to get up, occasionally bumping into her. “Ohh, Party Hats that was a blast!”
Party Hats was getting over her own fit of laughter as she nodded in agreement. “It’s a good thing Grandma Pinkie wanted us to keep your party folder, this was an absolute best idea!”
“Yes, well, I can’t wait to see what else you have planned for this evening, darling,” replied Rarity as she summoned a mirror to straighten her mane back out. But despite her game playing, not a hair of her mane, nor a spec of her makeup was out of place. Earlier in life, she might of questioned it, but after a lifetime with Pinkie Pie, she knew things happened.
Rarity shook hooves with each of the players, congratulating them before making her way back to the line that had gathered to meet her. Now, the real game started, and everypony was her piece.
The Game didn’t have a name. It’s one that Rarity enjoyed playing with herself decades ago to prevent parties and celebrations such as this one from becoming boring, and had occasionally taught it to the Ministry of Imperial Intelligence. The entire purpose was to gain the secrets of somepony without letting them realize they had done so. It involved reading body language, and what and how things were said, or which things were not said.
Rarity had turned her gaze towards the crowd for just a moment and found a very easy one, Lord and Lady Citrine. Their backs were towards each other, a sign that neither one wanted to talk to the other, let alone see each other. There was also a slight rigidness to their movements, and emotion in their gestures. Lady Citrine laughed a little too much, a little too forcefully at remarks being made. Lord Citrine on the other hand, was almost silent, nodding politely, and talking when he should. Marital issues.
“A fascinating game, Seamstress.”
And then there was this as—
“Empress Rarity?”
Rarity turned back with a smile, almost walking into the speaker. “Forgive me, darling. I was lost in a thought just now. What was it you were sayin—”
(Chapter 15 - Luna and Celestia meeting 1 - Celestia vs Rarity discussion)
Not a complete telling of their meeting, but it was scrapped as there was a lot for Celestia and Luna to discuss, and as fun as it would have been to include it, it just didn't fit anything else. There were more pressing matters that needed to be discussed.
“About that,” said Luna as she straightened up, taking on a sterner tone as if she was disciplining a colt for throwing balls in the house. “You melted her in half?”
Celestia’s cheeks tinged a slight pink as she avoided looking at her sister. “Oh, that… where did you hear that from?”
“From nearly everypony I’ve met today,” said Luna. She let out a sigh, and took a much gentler tone. “The act doesn’t upset me, but what does is that I hadn’t heard it first from my sister. Thy letter was short, Tia. I had assumed that you had been compromised by her as we feared, but never had I imagined this. What happened?”
Celestia was quiet for a long time, long enough for the rising impatience in the Lunar Princess to almost come true. Luna opened her mouth to repeat the question again when Celestia began to speak.
“I got… upset,” said Celestia in a hushed tone, her great wings folding out, before tightly wrapping themselves around her body as she let out a shiver.
“That seems to be happening a lot, as of late,” replied Luna. “Ever since we returned, thy temper has… been apparent.”
“I was a budding artist at the time, Sweeping Brush, or something” continued Celestia. “Such a position allowed me to not only keep my eye on the Crystal Empress, but also members of her nobility too.”
Luna nodded, a small notebook appearing next to her as she wrote the account down. The action distracted Celestia for only a second before she resumed her story.
“Rarity had called me… (Scene was incomplete. The Account would have detailed what occurred between Rarity and Celestia.)
(Chapter 15 - Celestia and Luna Meeting 2 - Minor Sapphire background)
“T’was not a trouble,” said Luna. “Luckily, I had already been young Lady Sapphire for a while in Baltimare. Though, she was a different pony then.”
Celestia nodded. “But how did you get so close to be her assistant? Did you apply?”
“Not at all,” said Luna. “I was approached by a messenger from the Palace. I was originally looking at applying at the spa in the Capital.”
(Chapter 15 - Luna and Celestia Meeting 3 - ‘Poison Pill Bill’)
The meeting underwent a few rewrites and alterations. I had the basics down, knowing what I wanted to say, but not sure on the best approach of it.
“Well what of this then?” A folder appeared before Celestia, and she took it in her magic. On the front was a very familiar six pointed star. Luna watched with some satisfaction as she watched her sister’s eyes widen as she opened it and recognized what was inside. “I am told that the young Blueblood presented this document to Rarity after negotiations over the telegraph project collapsed. Do you know anything of this?”
Celestia nodded as she kept reading the bill. “It’s a complicated series of international laws, trade agreements, and taxes designed to cripple a nation without resorting to the violence and horrors of war.”
Luna blinked a few times, forgetting her mouth was hanging open. “I… yes, how do yo—”
“Because I made it,” replied Celestia, looking back up at Luna. “Not this one, but the idea.”
“You made it? Tia, why in the heavens did you ma—”
“To stop a war.” Celestia placed the bill on the floor and sat up tall in all of her regal might. Luna’s mouth twitched in annoyance as she watched her sister assume such a position before her. This wasn’t sister dearest Tia, this was Princess Celestia of Equestria, Goddess of the Sun, and <another fancy title.
“You had been banished for nearly two hundred years when the griffins saw their chance, believed they had a chance” continued Princess Celestia. “They believed Equestria was weaker with just one alicorn and saw the time for a massive land grab, seeking to absorb smaller countries into itself. Some self proclaimed Manifest Destiny.”
“And you couldn’t have lead our armies into battle?” asked Luna, shaking her head. “Celestia, we had the finest military in all of the realms, and thou thought of this?”
“Had, Luna, had,” replied Celestia. “Equestria was in no state to go to war, I was in no state to go to war. Your banishment had… it had hit me hard as well, as you know. I was afraid that if I entered the battlefield at that time, in that much pain…”
“You’d have destroyed everything,” finished Luna. “Your own darkness taking hold, just like mine.”
“I did fear the Nightmare,” said Celestia with a nod. “I had no idea what it was that caused Nightmare Moon at that time. I believed it was your rage and pain that allowed it to be so. I did not wish to fall into the same trap, so I built these bills as a weapon to stop violence before it happened.”
“Why had I not heard of this on my return?”
“Because I never actually used it,” replied Celestia. “I threatened the Griffin King in private, also showing how many other nations will rise up and carve up his own lands. The King wisely stepped down from military action.”
“So this… poison pill bill then.”
“It’s Twilight’s,” nodded Celestia. “I’d recognize her signature anywhere. But this is far too complete.”
“Why would Twilight do such a thing?” asked Luna as she took the last cookie. “Rarity is one of the Elements, she… they…”
(v.0)
There were a few drafts to answer the "Why did Twilight make the poison pill bill" against Rarity this is one of the surviving drafts. Twilight would later explain her own reasoning to Rarity about it, and it felt better for the story and avoid repeating it twice.
Celestia frowned for a moment before replying. “Do you remember the first ‘Mare-Do-Well’ incident, the one in Ponyville?”
“I believe so,” replied Luna with her own frown, trying to remember the story. “Young Twilight had not yet ascended, her friend, Rainbow Dash, was very boastful and prideful of herself.”
“Yes,” replied Celestia, pausing to sip at her own tea. “Twilight and her friends dressed as a superhero to steal Dash’s thunder, and while it may have been a very… creative method to solve the issue, it could have had a disastrous effect as well and permanently broken the Element of Loyalty.”
“You believe this… bill of Twilight’s, this poison pill to be the same thing?” asked Luna.
“I suspect Twilight wants to avoid a similar path with Rarity,” said Celestia. “She has stated before that she is going to exploit every alternative option before ever considering war with the Empire. I think it would break both of them to face each other on the battlefield. I believe you are looking at Twilight’s trump card, her last resort before marching to war.”
Luna nodded solemnly in agreement. “I see. Such an action would cause the Empire to be completely unable to mount a military campaign. But would Twilight use it?”
“Only if she was desperate, and only if the threat of using it doesn’t work.”
(Chapter 16 - Rarity and Twilight Meeting 1)
This portion of the scene was created earlier on, and just didn't fit anywhere once the main scene was completed.
“I don’t know what there is to say, Twilight,” replied Rarity. “While I’m not upset to see you, I’m not…”
“Happy either,” finished Twilight with a drooping of her ears.
“Don’t put it that way, darling, it’s just…” Rarity trailed off as she looked out at the city. “How long have we talked to each other? Honestly talked to each other, not as Empress Rarity and Princess Twilight Sparkle, but as friends?”
“Five years, seven months, and three days,” replied Twilight. “It was at some water board meeting in Manehatten, about using the water run off from the Crystal Mountains for irrigation in Northern Equestria—”
“And we skipped out of it,” interrupted Rarity, the memory coming back to her. “We ran off, just you and me. Saw the sites, the theater, and ended up at that lovely spa. Commander Onyx was so upset from that.”
(Autumnschild: I love this! There should be a side story with this.)
“We had a lot of fun, Rarity,” said Twilight. “What happened?”
“Duty. Responsibility.”
(ER 250 Unused/Unpublished Prologue 1: Discord Scene)
This was all just removed. A better Discord scene was drafted to allow a smoother transition into ER 251. And because the mechanics behind this scene, while I believe were well intended, put Discord/Chaos into the ‘Out of Character’ realm. There is a note at the end from Autumnschild on the matter.
Something is wrong
He couldn’t sleep, could barely rest. His thoughts were fuzzy, jumbled up as if someone had taken his head, shaken it, and put it in a washing machine. A very confused washing machine, and now everything just felt so wrong. Out of place. Orderly.
Discord groaned and rolled out of bed, reaching out to the glass spinning past his bed and snatched his eyes from inside. Shoving them in and blinking a few times as he looked around what he called his room and let out a sigh. Everything was wrong, everything was cleaned, neatly put away, and organized in such a manner that he was sure would make Twilight Sparkle giddy.
Even his screwball collection was missing.
The God of Chaos stood up and stretched, feeling his sore joints crack and pop. He looked around the room and gave it a snap of his lion’s paw. Shelves collapsed, books floated up into the air, and promptly dropped to the floor. A picture of himself on the wall spun like a top until it stop, just barely off center.
But there was some noise occurring downstairs that made his chaos senses just tingle. And not in the good way of mischief and discontent.
Discord stalked out of the bedroom, giving just a brief moment to grab the edge of a desk and flip it over. He watched as it soared through the air, spectacularly crashing into a bookcase and bouncing over to his bed. But before it could land, it reversed itself, flipping back through the air, and landing right where it was.
His eye twitched and lip curled up in annoyance as he spun around and marched downstairs.
“Perfect,” growled Discord as he looked at the sight before him. Brooms and mops, buckets and brushes were busy at work, scrubbing literally at everything in his living room. The floor, no-longer-floating furniture, pictures, books, his rug, each other and of course, him.
Discord frowned and flicked a brush off of him. It was going to be one of these days. He raised his paw and snapped it, and something unusual happened. In fact, nothing happened. Everything continued to move on as if nothing had happened at all. Discord’s frown only deepened as he tried snapping his paw fingers again, then tried using both of them.
Nothing. In fact, one of the mops began sort of ‘looking’ his way with a bit of interest.
“Interesting.” Discord reached out into the metaphysical realm and taped against the flow of chaos.
Chaos was actually more orderly and stable than one would give it credit for. It wasn’t unpredictable, but had a normal ebb and flow. It’s pathway wasn’t straight and narrow, or wide and deep, but forked much like lightning. But it’s pathway was a pattern that Discord had grown use to. As the levels of peace or disharmony fluctuated in the world, so did the level of available chaos magic. It took a lot to upset its balance, this was true. But it didn’t take that much to mess with Discord’s link to it.
And somepony was messing with it. Actually, two
Discord collapsed on the stairs, suddenly unable to feel his cosmic ties to the chaos stream. He struggled, reached out and grasped on what he could to pull himself back onto his shaky legs. Mentally, he pulled in what chaos he could find to give him the energy to stand. Slowly, he felt himself fill up from the top down with it, enough he could do what was needed.
He blinked a few times to clear the blurry haze from his vision and stumbled down the stiars and into his kitchen.
It was time for a visit. A special visit.
He got to the backdoor of his kitchen. He opened the door to his backyard and stepped out, literally, into a different world.
It was a grove, a beautiful one full of all sorts of flowers and trees. Animal life of all kinds made their homes within this secluded and peaceful region, only known to them and him, and maybe a rare handful of others that had been permitted in. Discord stepped onto
It was a peaceful place, and had been the first, normal thing Discord had made for another, a very special pony. He had made it to be perfect for her, and kept it that way for her. He liked it because she would have liked it.
<Garden made for Fluttershy. Discord would have been complaining his woes to a statue made of Fluttershy, perhaps reminising on simplier times, although unwilling to admit that he missed them. During this he gets a crazy idea to ‘help’ Twilight and Rarity become friends again so he could control Chaos again. The idea behind that is that when there is arguing and conflict between people you care about, it affects you. Discord had merely gotten too close to Rarity and Twlight. Once their friendship problem was resolved, Discord would “take his leave” so to speak, and would be connected with how he was found in PTS505>
(Autumnschild’s Note on the Chaos: I'm not sure about this. It makes Chaos like any other ordered system. It's just a complex ordered system. I much prefer it as chaos. As in it works when it works and also when it doesn't and there's no sense that can be made from measuring it. Even if taken in huge data sets, chaos shouldn't return uniformity or predictability. This is part of what makes it hard to write good Discord. The human mind struggles to organize and order and classify things. You have to fight against that very human pull to do it right. Sometimes that means Discord doesn't make sense. And that's perfect.)
(ER 250 Unused/Unpublished Prologue 2 - LunaxRarity)
Cut because it was way too soon, and way too fast. But dammit, I loved it.
(Autumnschild’s Note on the entire scene). They're going to have to work into the hug I think. Recall back to the chapter where Rarity was ready to hug her and slap her and cry and scream and laugh all at the same time when she found her again. On top of the very emotional end to the last chapter, she's going to be a little frayed at the edges. I imagine there would be a verbal sparing match that ends in them embracing, or that Rarity would be so emotionally compromised that she'd demand silence, and just want to be held. As it is, it feels a little "How was your day?" "Oh, you know. Terrible. Let's do it." "Okay." Which is out of character for both of them)
The Crystal Palace was silent that night. The remains of the festive day lay where they had been abandoned. Even the food had been left out, where guests had simply gotten up and left, or dropped it in their exodus out. Thunder echoed out in the distance and the beginnings of a late summer rain began sprinkling down on the silent capital.
But not all was still that night.
The shadows within the Palace warped and curved with a will of their own, darting down the hallways. Sometimes, one of the shadows would slip away, pause at points within the Palace, as if listening for something before moving on. They had a purpose, a mission from their Mistress, and it would be completed.
The shadows snuck about the Palace, finding the few staying there, tossing and turning in restless dreams and infiltrated their minds, luring them to peace and letting rest overtake them. The night watch was no exception to the shadows. They too succumbed to the trance and the will of the shadows, collapsing in a restful slumber.
Princess Luna walked the halls and watched as her shadows finished up with the last unit of guards posted outside of the Imperial Suite. Once completed, the shadows raced back to their Mistress and were reabsorbed back into her being.
Luna paused for a moment before the door, and sighed. It had been a long day, and it seemed almost like another lifetime ago that Merry Sapphire had opened these doors with the hopes of giving Empress Rarity the best birthday she ever had. Great banners, parades, parties, excitement. She had failed, and what hurt the most is that Luna could never truly ask Rarity for forgiveness. Not as long as she had to hide.
She lifted her head in the air and took a few sniffs. Magic was in the air, thick and heavy with emotions of pain and anger, but Luna grinned. Beneath all of it was the faintest hint of spiced chrysanthemum.
Luna took a deep breath pushed the door open wide enough to slip inside the room.
To say it was in tatters was a mild understatement. It looked more like it had been prepped to be part of a haunted house attraction for Nightmare Night.
The only source of light was the moon, breaking through the clouds for a moment and illuminating the room. Broken glass covered the floor, along with torn clothing, blankets, and the once impressive banners that hung in tatters from the ceiling.
Luna silently walked over to once impressive and exotic vanity and shook her head. It had been wrecked by the rage of a wounded mare. Drawers ripped off and flung across the room, the wooden top had splintered from the forceful blows of a enraged pony. Luna looked into the mirror, and winced. In the center of it was a broken crown, snapped in half and rammed into the mirror.
Luna shook her head and stepped away from the vanity, looking around the room for Rarity. It was easy, the distraught Empress had left a trail of broken bottles and empty ice cream cartons all the way to her spot by the open window. Rarity was staring out into the night sky, occasionally mumbling something in between sobs, but Luna couldn’t make it out.
Luna creeped closer to the pony and paused, suddenly conflicted, unsure of what to do. Rarity was suffering. Should she not go to her in her time of need and give counsel? But then there was the words of her sister and the decision they had made upon returning to Equestria. To not interfere. To allow ponies to choose for themselves, and only involve themselves when absolutely necessary. Luna frowned and knew what Celestia would want, would do if she was here.
But she wasn’t Celestia. Taking a deep breath, Luna knew what she had to do.
“Hail, Empre-”
A crystal shard shot up out of the ground, causing Luna to leap backwards. Rarity was looking at her, trembling with rage as her eyes narrowed in recognition. “You. What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to bring tidings during this dark time, and counsel,” replied Luna.
(Scene gap)
“The stars are so vivid in the Empire,” said Luna, stepping behind the Empress and wrapping her hooves and wings around her, drawing Rarity into a hug. The Empress’ mind numbing chill failed to even phase Luna has her own natural and magical defense came to her aid. “So clear, so beautiful.”
“Hello to you too, darling,” Rarity said as she leaned back into Luna’s embrace.
“How was your birthday?” asked Luna.
“Horrible. Absolutely horrible,” groaned Rarity. “I should just pass a decree that this day had never happened.”
“Not all has been lost, my little star,” said Luna as she rested her chin on the top of Rarity’s head, and used a wing to brush off the tears from Rarity’s face. “Shimmering Bay is now yours, and thanks to your generous heart, a colony of my Children of the Night now have a home, a nation they can belong to.”
"Is that why you are here?” she asked. “To make sure that I keep them nice and cozy?"
"Not at all. Something has vexed you greatly, hurt you. What is it?" asked Luna, feigning ignorance.
"It's Twilight,” spat out Rarity, fighting to keep her voice from breaking. “We got into quite the argument and things don't look very good."
Luna sighed as she clutch the unicorn in her grasp. She had heard about the fight, even witnessed the end as Merry Sapphire. It had broken her heart, and Celestia’s as well as she stood next to her and watched. That’s all they could do. Once Twilight had stormed out and Rarity had left, things went downhill fast for Lady Sapphire. Nobles and all sorts making demands of her, Party Hats enlisting her to keep the guests from leaving, the shockwave of emotion from Rarity only fueled the fire.
Clearly, they had failed. Luna had never seen Party Hats so defeated before. The pegasus had left without saying so much as a word to Lady Sapphire, her mane deflated, and spirit clearly broken. But thankfully, Silver Dash had caught sight of her, and had jumped it to do her best to help Party Hats.
Which left her to manage damage control. It had gone as well as one could expect.
"What happened with Twilight?" Luna softly asked. "Let it flow, just like how you would vent frustrations to me on clothing orders."
"Those were such easier days," said Rarity. "Things were so happy, easy compared to now. And you were always there for me."
"I'm always here."
"As a friend?"
The question was innocent enough, but it cut into Luna like a knife, and she couldn't help but wince as she felt her heart twist. She gripped Rarity tighter as she struggled to keep her voice from breaking. "Tell me about Twilight. What soured between you two?"
Rarity took a deep breath and began with what had happened at the beginning of the party, and later with Twilight in the throne room.
Luna nodded respectfully, pausing her and asking questions to clarify things, or even to distract the Empress as her emotions began to catch a hold of her. Eventually, Luna released her grip on Rarity and picked her up with her wing, with no protest from Rarity. Luna plopped her on the top of her bed, and crawled on top, sitting down next to her and draping a wing over her. Rarity didn't resist the gesture and was soon snuggled up against the alicorn.
"And then she just said goodbye and walked off," finished Rarity. “Every guest left after that. I dismissed the Guard, and came up here myself. W-what have I done?” cried Rarity as she descended into another choking fit of sobs.
Luna hushed the unicorn and rocked her slightly. “You have done as we all have. You tried to do what you felt was best, and made some mistakes.”
“Y-you wouldn’t have made this mistake,” moaned Rarity as she buried her head into the crook of Luna’s neck. “Nor Celestia, or Cadence, or even Twi—”
“I have made far worse mistakes than you,” interjected Luna. “Mine was the craving of attention, the lust for power by any means. Your crimes is doing what you feel is best for your ponies. Don’t be so quick to discredit yourself.”
Rarity sighed. “And where has any of that gotten me? Into debt, threats of infrastructure collapse, on the brink of war with Twilight. Maybe I should just… leave.”
“Leave?” asked Luna, looking down at the unicorn. “Where would you go? What would your ponies do?”
Rarity refused to look up at the alicorn. “They’d manage. Some other pony would step in, more capable. I’d just… go somewhere quiet.”
“The Empire is yours, Rarity,” said Luna. “You are its leader and protector. The crystal ponies look to you for strength and guidance. You can’t leave, you’re needed here.”
“So were you.”
The remark felt like a slap in the face to Luna. “There is much regret in my life that I must carry with me,” she whispered back, biting off the string of emotions that no doubt Rarity could feel. She nuzzled Rarity, getting the unicorn to look up at her. “I broke the hearts of many that I loved by what I’ve done and will do in my life. But I do so that they may be safe.”
“Safe,” muttered Rarity, leaning back into Luna and letting out a long yawn. “I like feeling safe, but I’d much rather enjoy your company.”
For a time the two just sat there, looking out into the distance with each other, Luna stole a quick glance down to Rarity, thinking she had fallen asleep, but soon nudged her as soon as she noticed a frown on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“This is too perfect. This a dream, isn’t it?” asked Rarity, as she looked up with pain in her eyes.
Luna gave a soft smile. “Would you like it to be?”
Rarity looked up at her with wide, searching eyes, and shook her head. Luna smiled and pulled her closer with her wing before. “Then it doesn’t have to be.”
“You know, Luna,” said Rarity, a slight smile curving up on her face as she snuggled into the crook of Luna’s wing. “It has been far too long since I’ve had the pleasure of a proper viewing of the Moon from my bedroom.”
Luna grinned.
(other random parts within the LunaxRarity scene)
* Something feels amiss with the world, but Rarity can't pin it.
For a time the two just sat there, looking out into the distance with each other, Luna stole a quick glance down to Rarity, thinking she had fallen asleep, but soon nudged her as soon as she noticed a frown on her face. “What’s wrong?”
Rarity cocked her head to the side, and opened it slightly as if to reply, then closed it.
*Where did Celestia and Luna go?
“Are you ever going to tell me where you went?” Rarity asked, settling back down.
"That is a story for another time." Luna smiled. “But, we had seen the world. Not the one that you know of, but of the one beyond the Empire and Equestria. Across seas and mountains, plains and forests. A world long forgotten by ponykind.”
"Why?"
"We sought the missing Elements of Harmony," explained Luna, a frown creasing her face as she remembered the adventures and dangers they had faced. "Or a replacement. Our mission had... mixed results."
"Mixed results?"
"There are dangers in this world that threaten even a god," Luna replied. "But you need not worry here. It will be explained in time once Celestia and I can no longer be hidden."
"You could just tell me," pleaded Rarity. "I won't tell."
"And create another secret for you to hide from Twilight?" Luna shook her head. "No, I will not do that to you. Time and patience, my little star, even if it must be to wait another two hundred years."
Rarity groaned and layer her head down on the bed, her ears flicked in annoyance at that.
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7980950
Blueblood gambles a lot whenever these two meet. He is rather confident that his system of disinformation and direction will maintain the job for now. But he always has a back up just in case, and the later chapters provide that.
I have no idea if you have read further yet, and do not wish to ruin anything for you. But rest assured, I believe the rest makes sense of the situation. I think someone actually asks the same question you just did.
And there is the sequel to this as well.
7983307
Yup! And there is the Crystal Empire's (eventual) view of the poison pill bill. I'm glad that's there. I've had readers see both sides, and that's what I was going after.
The big difference between Twilight and Blueblood is the intent behind the bill. Blueblood would use it to force the Empire to the will of Equestria, while Twilight is only willing to use it to prevent war. She wouldn't use it for any other reason, unlike Blueblood.
Twilight and Cadance do consider the Empire to be indepenedent, but there is no official declaration on the matter. That has caused a political division in the last few years within Equestria on how to handle the Crystal Empire's recent aggressive expansion. Some are in favor of allowing the Empire to do as it wills, others believe that the Empire had slowly been allowed too much freedom and need to be brought back into the fold.
Thank you for your comments and reading my story. I hope you've enjoyed, and that you'll read the sequel too. But if not, then thank you for giving my story a chance and reading it all the way through.
7983361
... by forcing the Empire to the will of Equestria. Subjugating a sovereign nation through economic warfare, rather than conventional, physical warfare is no less an act of war. By creating the “Poison Pill” Twilight has made it clear that she thinks of the Empire exactly the same way Blueblood does, and the only difference between them is how much of an illusion of independence they're willing to grant their subordinate vassal state.
She has openly established that if ever their interests diverge to a sufficient degree, she will crush the Empire through economic means, causing untold suffering on their side alone, without risking or sacrificing anything herself. The fact that she sets the “sufficient” degree of disobedience at a higher level than Blueblood doesn't really make a substantive difference. Stabbing someone in the back with a 5 inch blade may be “better” than stabbing them with a 10 inch blade, but that difference is insignificant when compared with, say, not stabbing them at all.
Twilight ends up looking way, way worse than I believe you intend her to be. At best she can be seen as a bumbling naif who has no idea what she's doing (after 250 years on the job!) and should absolutely not be in charge of any country, let alone an economic powerhouse able to steamroll over its neighbors. At worst she looks every bit as evil as Blueblood, only much more hypocritical than him, because she dares to put a saintly air on her actions.
To create another metaphor, imagine you found out that a friend of yours has secretly been carrying a butcher's knife with your name on it, the entire time you've been friends. But it's okay, they hasten to assure you, because they would never use it to intimidate you! They're only carrying it so they can slit your throat and kill you quickly, just in case the two of you ever got into a fight with each other. Fighting is bad, so it's much better that they have the ability to threaten you with a knife and slit your throat (but only if you make it necessary). Besides, it's not as if it's personal or anything; they carry special knives for all their friends, and in fact everyone they know. Just in case they ever need to kill one of them quickly. Only to prevent fights, of course. Because those are bad.
Even if that person was 100% truthful about all of that, and they really never ever intended to use the knife to intimidate or coerce you... they would still be a goddamn lunatic who needs to be locked up for everybody's safety.
Which means that they don't consider the Empire to be independent; if they did, they would long ago have made that proclamation. The sovereignty of another nation isn't something you can be coy about or leave for everyone to make up their own mind. If you leave open the question whether or not the Empire is independent, then it isn't.
I think you seriously underestimate the import and gravity of all these gestures and actions on the political stage. Whether it's the act of never officially clarifying the independence of the Empire, or the revelation of something like the “Poison Pill”, these would be earth-shattering events. Real wars have been fought over less.
Oh yes, very much so. I'm starting on the sequel right after I post this. ^_^
7983604
Yup, I know.
I'm not saying that the poison pill was a good idea. It was a really stupid mistake for Twilight to make, and I wholeheartedly agree with you. The entire feeling of "omg, Twilight, this was a stupid thing, it could lead to a far worse situation" is exactly what I wanted people to understand about it. The thing is that Twilight doesn't realize or see that these bills as that dangerous to understand, and it is due to her naiveness as a leader, and her logic and reasoning to understand that. Now to us, it doesn't seem logical or reasonable at all. It comes off as being quiet insane. Agreed. What I'm trying to explain is that to Twilight, it doesn't. She honestly see's this as a nuclear deterrent, a way to stop something worse from happening. In a way, I suppose she finds it similar to the "Mare Do Well" incident. One of the deleted scenes had Celestia arguing that very point with Luna, but the scene was scrapped.
Twilight assumes these bills, if applied correctly, will act like a restart button to negotiations and by merely waving it around, will force the offending nation to come sit to the table and work through their problems and come to a mutually beneficial solution. Does that sound insane, an abuse of power, a strong arming of others? Yes, it's suppose to. This is a flaw. Twilight, by attempting to replicate her own rule based off of Celestia, is making the same mistakes as her mentor, and failing to be herself. It is very intentional to have done this.
The conversation with Rarity, with Rarity pointing out how devastating the bill is, how it is a betrayal, does wake Twilight up, and helps her understand that this was a really stupid idea. My particularly favorite moment is here:
Should Twilight have used it against Rarity, it would have lead to open warfare. Sombra's vision of the future would have come true, with the Empire being crushed by Equestria, Rarity and Twilight engaging in battle, and Twilight sealing the Empress in crystal.
Hmm, my previous statement was misleading, and I apologize for it. I shall have to read more clearly and think better on my posts when working night shift.
Twilight and Cadance assumed that the Empire was a recognized nation by Equestria. After all, Cadance had been its leader and did not need to consult Celestia when it came to making policy for the Empire. Although she was still regarded as one of the four Princesses of Equestria. They believe, or thought, that a bill of recognition had already been made by Celestia and Luna. Did they check? Clearly not, and a lot of problems could have been avoided by drafting one early in their reign. Nopony bothered to check until the "Empire is actually part of Equestria" began to build up movement, instead of coming off as something crazy Uncle Joe would say at the family reunion. Because for a while, it was an extreme thought with a very little support base. But it has grown into a more formidable power and countering it has not been successful yet, especially with the more neutral of Equestrian Senators being swayed with the Empire's aggressive expansion. An interesting note is that a lot of other nations recognize the Empire as a nation, such as the griffins. And Equestria suck in a limbo about it.
It was an oversight, an assumption for Cadance and Twilight, one they are paying dearly for and are fighting to correct. Unfortunately, they cannot simply pass an executive order and make it so. Much of the political power in Equestria resides in the Senate now, where a simple unicorn like Blueblood, can be on equal grounds with an alicorn and rival or surpass them with political power and influence. I suspect that without him, the movement to have the Empire belong to Equestria, would collapse quickly.
I can assure you that I don't underestimate these gestures and actions. Neither does my editor. If my casualness about it makes it so, I apologize. If my explanations about character actions makes it seem that way, then the story did it's job because you understand what the bills are. I'm just trying to point out that Twilight did not. That was fixed with talking to Rarity.
We've made sure that these actions have logic and a connection with the characters, and yes, I do believe that Twilight doing a poison pill bill was once within the character of Twilight being between season 3 and 4 (which is where the Birthdayverse breaks away from canon). I do consider it to be similar to the whole "Mare Do Well" thing with Rainbow Dash, except on a grander scale. Should this Twilight have been based on more recent seasons, such as season 6, then I believe it would have been out of character for her. By that time, she is much more trusting and knowledgeable about friendship, while after season 3, I think she was still learning things.
These are very critical issues between the Empire and Equestria. They are meant to be heavy and hard hitting because a certain white unicorn needs it to be that way and has been able to get away with making it happen. I made extremely serious situations to arise because Blueblood needed the distractions from what is really going to happen. He has aggravated and prevented healing here, as soon as he stops, resolution can come quicker that Twilight or Rarity realize. These are flaws, oversights, mistakes. Yes, they are very stupid, and dangerous. Yes, I know what they mean and can potentially do. Yes, I realize even with my flimsy logic and defense of Twilight that it is very easy to regard it as out of character. But it needs to be recognized and flawed as such because Twilight is not perfect, is not Celestia, has mistakes, has flaws, and this is one that her character will develop and overcome, become a better and wiser leader, and friend.
Awesome! I'm glad to hear it, and I've been enjoying this little conversation here. Although, I shamefully don't have much more to add to it. I can't wait to get ER251 going further because it not only expands so much more into the political realm of both the Empire and Equestia in regards to these two issues, but the social realms as well.
If I can ever get it updated. -.-
7984666
I don't think this means what you think it means...
7991992
Gotta love tablet based auto correct. Thanks for pointing it out for me.
I think the deleted Twister scene was my favorite if the bunch.
8057342
It's always been labeled as a prequel, since it was published...
How exactly? Are we talking about a comment made by myself or a reader, or the paragraph about it in Chapter 4?
Bits and pieces from one of my favorite storys. I love it. I do hope this Universe gets revisited eventually.
8404725
*looks up from writing chapter 7 of ER251.
It will.
3 years.
10865516
Except it's not singular as much as it's an "implied plural". Aka, directing the question at a group, when talking to an individual, that individual is a representative of the group.
That's where a lot of people that aren't southerner's mess up. Since not a lot of places outside of the south have implied plurals.
(That and if you crack open a dictionary. Any dictionary, it's a plural of you. Y'all = You all, You all =/= You (singular).)
You can has review!