Chapter 16 – Inside Out
Fragments of Memories
By Starwin
Chapter 16 – Inside Out
They had been out here all night long, sitting in the grass, at the edge of a cliff. Behind them, the brilliant white spires of Canterlot rose into the sky. Before them, the sprawling fields and forests stretched out towards the distant ocean. And up until this morning, the dark sky above them had been dotted with millions of sparkling stars.
In the hours and hours since they had first arrived at this spot, Applejack had said very little beyond her initial outburst. She had cried herself into a long silence before collapsing to the ground and remaining in that spot.
She had just lain there, staring off into the distance, hardly seeming to see anything. Fluttershy had stayed right beside her, all through the chilly night. At some point the pegasus had drifted into an uneasy sleep, unable to keep her eyes open.
Throughout the night she had woken many times, always to find Applejack in the same spot and always to drift back into uneasy sleep. She was sure she must have dreamed some of it, but at the moment she couldn’t separate the two.
When the rays of the morning sun had finally awoken her, she felt cold all over. Her eyes had found Applejack, just as she had been the whole night long. She was awake, laying in the same spot, staring into the distance and seeing nothing.
Fluttershy had wanted to say something to her friend. However the words would not come out. She couldn’t find the courage to make even the slightest whisper. The only sound was the gentle blowing of the wind and even that seemed to be louder than her.
For a short while the morning sun had been able to warm her. It had felt very pleasant. However, as the afternoon grew late, dark gray storm clouds began to roll over the bright blue sky. The gentle breeze became a chilly wind that nipped at their backs. And the gathering clouds above seemed less than promising.
Fluttershy wasn’t a weather pony, not by a long shot. Of course, she still understood the basics of weather, every pegasus did. She had been able to feel the change in the winds. She could sense the drop in pressure. She knew that it was going to rain.
They didn’t have to wait long for the drizzle to start. Applejack didn’t even seemed to notice. She simply kept looking out into the distance, as if longing to be someplace else.
Yet, the earth pony had not left the city. Sure they were on the outskirts, about as far away as they could be from the castle without actually leaving the mountain. But they hadn’t gone back to Ponyville, either by train or hoof.
The rainfall increased. It wasn’t just an afternoon shower, it was pouring now. The view in front of them was rapidly fading into a curtain of rain.
The soft ground below had been mostly dirt. Now, as the rain continued to fall, it was turning into mud. Rivulets of water ran past them before streaming over the edge of the cliff.
Fluttershy stood. The spot where she had been was dry for only a moment before water washed across it, turning the ground to mud. Applejack continued to look out over the cliff, but what she was seeing now, Fluttershy couldn’t fathom. Perhaps she had never been looking at anything.
Extending her wing, Fluttershy deflected some of the rain pouring down on her friend. Still, Applejack simply lay there.
“App…” whispered Fluttershy, the word stuck in her throat. She felt her vocal cords tighten with her nervousness. She tried again, trying to gather up her courage. “Apple…” her words trailed off, but the sound made the earth pony stir.
Applejack blinked, looking confused. She shivered.
“It’s… it’s rainin!” said Applejack in surprise. Fluttershy nodded but still couldn’t find words to respond. Applejack scrambled to her hooves, slipping a little in the mud. “We need to get to cover! Come on!”
With a tug, she grabbed Fluttershy by the leg and pulled her towards Canterlot. However, Applejack took only a step before stopping. There was a strange, distant look in her eyes. It was the same stare that Fluttershy had seen all of yesterday and all of this morning.
“Applejack…” managed Fluttershy at last. Applejack looked back at her.
“I… I can’t go back,” said Applejack. “But we can’t stay here…” her eyes looked past Fluttershy and down at something hidden in the clouds, “and not to Ponyville. What… where should I go?”
At last Applejack’s gaze fixed on Fluttershy. The pegasus felt the familiar twinge of discomfort, she didn’t like to be the focus of any pony. She especially didn’t like being put on the spot, or being asked to come up with the plan. But more than any of that, she didn’t like to see any of her friends in pain.
For the last day and a half that was exactly what she had seen. She had watched Applejack lose herself. And it had been painful for her to watch her friend like this.
Fluttershy hadn’t left the others because she had given up on Twilight or Dash. She had left because she couldn’t stand the idea of Applejack going alone.
She didn’t know what to say, or what to do. She just knew that she had to be there. And when the time came, hopefully she would know how to help. And the time was now.
“I know where we can go,” said Fluttershy, more determinately than she had ever thought possible.
Rarity couldn’t even imagine how things could possibly get any worse. Ever since they had arrived in Canterlot, it had all spiraled out of control.
First they had lost Twilight Dash. Right after that, Applejack and Fluttershy had left them too. Then she and her few remaining friends, Spike and Pinkie, had been forced out onto the streets! Getting into the castle had gone horribly wrong as well. The only bright spot being that none of them had been injured by her miscast spell.
Now they were being led down into the dungeons, clad in chains. She might never see the light of day again! Or worse, have to sleep on some filthy straw bed! The very thought made her shudder.
“But I’m telling you!” tried Spike again for the umpteenth time. “We’re friends of the Princess!”
“And I’m telling you I have my orders!” retorted the guard yet again. “I don’t care if you’re friends with… Captain Dawn!”
“That jerk! No way!” protested Spike.
“I can understand your dislike,” said an all too familiar voice. Rarity followed the gaze of the others to see the pegasus captain hovering in front of the group, blocking their path. She gulped. What could they possibly be in for now?
“Release them at once,” commanded Captain Dawn. Without hesitation the guards moved into action. A moment later Rarity felt the click of the lock and the loosening of the cuffs. She could hardy believe it. “The Princess has requested your immediate presence. Please, follow me.”
The Captain did not wait for a response. Instead of galloping, he launched himself into the air and began to fly ahead at great speed. Rarity, Spike and Pinkie all shared an uncertain glance. This seemed too good to be true, but what other choice did they have.
With a slight glow from her horn, Rarity hoisted Spike onto her back. They needed speed to keep up, and Spike didn’t move very fast on his own. Without waiting another moment, both Rarity and Pinkie broke into a gallop, hurrying to try and follow the Captain.
Rarity felt Spike’s claws expertly take hold of her shoulders as she bolted off. He’d had a lot of practice with Twilight. While Rarity had carried him at least once before – she was pretty sure she had – she didn’t expect his touch to be so gentle. He wasn’t even that heavy to carry. Actually, it felt kind of nice, reassuring somehow. With Spike holding her, things didn’t seem quite as bad.
“What do you think happened?” asked Pinkie as they galloped down the hallway. Rarity was pulled out of her thoughts. She hadn’t even considered that something had happened. She just assumed that Princess Celestia had finally been informed of their arrival and had set them free.
Yet, this urgency. Perhaps something else had indeed gone wrong. Something with Twilight Dash?
Rarity frowned, she pushed herself harder, galloping faster. She could feel her legs burn in protest, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.
“What do you mean?” asked Spike as Pinkie pulled back up along side Rarity once again. “Why do you think something happened?”
“I don’t know. I’ve just got this weird feeling,” said Pinkie.
“Like… a sense?” suggested Spike.
“No, not really,” said Pinkie with a shake of her head. “More like, a hunch? It’s not like a twitch or an ear flick or anything.”
The world around Rarity sudden vanished. For an instant, everything was darkness, like she had accidentally been pulled out of reality. Her horn felt like it was tingling all over and she experienced a sensation she would have never thought possible. For an instant, just an instant, she could no longer feel the touch of magic.
Rarity skidded to a halt. The world was spinning. Spike was saying something, so was Pinkie, but Rarity couldn’t hear either of them. She had felt it, she knew what it was, and yet she couldn’t put the pieces together.
Two Pinkie Pies spun back and forth in front of Rarity’s eyes. She looked away, but the floor was doing the same thing. There was also a buzzing in her ears. That was why she couldn’t hear any words.
Captain Dawn had returned for them. He looked upset, trying to get them to continue on, but Pinkie was pointing at Rarity and speaking silent words.
“I’m fine,” said Rarity, still unable to hear anything, or focus on the world.
What had just happened? It had felt like… like magic had been changed somehow. Twisted, tangled, distorted. Rarity felt suddenly like she might throw up.
Then, just as fast as the feeling had come, it receded. It didn’t leave her, but its impact lessened substantially. The sounds in her ears echoed slightly, but at least she could hear them. The world was still a little out of focus, but it wasn’t spinning anymore.
“I don’t know what it was,” explained Rarity. “But it felt like the world was… out of balance.”
“We must hurry,” repeated Captain Dawn. “Can you walk? Do you need me to carry you?”
“I think I can manage,” said Rarity. She tested taking a step. The floor stayed still and she didn’t topple over. A good sign. “How much further?”
“Not far,” said Captain Dawn. He didn’t take to the air again, but galloped on ahead. Pinkie waited for Rarity to go before she too galloped up to speed.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” asked Spike, whispering in her ear so that Captain Dawn wouldn’t hear.
“Yes,” answered Rarity.
“What happened?” pressed Spike.
“I’m not entirely sure, but I think I may have just had my first Pinkie Sense,” said Rarity. “Or, something like that.”
“No, you had a Rare-it-E-sense,” corrected Pinkie. “You have to be Pinkie Pie to have pinkie sense.”
“You mean, you have to be you,” said Spike sarcastically.
“Yep, you’d have to be me!”
They had only been galloping for a minute or so when another pegasus guard appeared in front of the group, flying as quickly as she could towards them. Rarity recognized the pegasus as the one that had brought her down from the tree, after the backfired teleport spell. She didn’t recall the pony’s name.
“Captain,” cried the pegasus. She landed into a hard gallop, charging towards them, forcing the group to stop or collide with her. Dawn slowed, Rarity and Pinkie did as well.
“What's wrong Lieutenant?” asked Captain Dawn.
“I am to deliver the prison… guests… to the upper vault in the north tower,” explained the Lieutenant. Captain Dawn seemed taken aback, but before he could say anything, the Lieutenant pressed on. “The Princess says it is an emergency. She has asked that you rally all the guards on patrol and surround the tower in the air. No pony is to leave the castle grounds.”
Captain Dawn’s expression became very hard, then he nodded solemnly.
“I leave them in your hooves,” said the Captain. He took to the air and zoomed off past his Lieutenant.
“Follow me,” said the Lieutenant, as she trotted past Rarity and Pinkie. “The fastest way to the tower is back the way you came.”
“Excuse me, but just what is going on here!” exclaimed Rarity.
“I honestly do not know,” said the pegasus with a shake of her head. “The Princess did not elaborate, but she did say it was extremely urgent.” Without arguing further, the Lieutenant broke into a gallop.
Rarity and Pinkie glanced at each other again. Why did there have to be so much running?
They galloped as fast as they could manage, backtracking only a little ways before taking a new path. They were in a section of the castle that Rarity was not familiar with. However, she had noticed something odd. Ever since they had come inside, Rarity hadn’t seen a single other pony beyond their escort.
There were no other guards in the halls. No diplomats. No castle staff. It was as if the castle was deserted… or evacuated… that last notion trouble her. Also the uncomfortable sensation in her horn was growing stronger, the further in they went.
At last, the Princess came into sight ahead of them, yet, it was not the pony Rarity was expecting. Luna stood a good ways back from what seemed to be some sort of large, pink, reflective wall.
Luna turned to look at them as they approached. She held up a hoof, halting their gallop as they drew near.
“Rarity, Spike, Pinkie,” said Luna, looking to each of them in turn. “I am relieved that you have arrived. My apologies for the miscommunication. As you may have noticed, we are extremely short hoofed at the moment and the danger is very great.”
Rarity’s gaze wandered away from Luna and onto the shimmering wall of pink behind her. From a distance, Rarity hadn’t been able to tell what it was. Now she could see it was some sort of crystal formation. It looked as if it had grown up into the stone, causing fractures.
Around the base of the gem-wall was a ominous pink mist that lingered in an unnatural way. In the mist were for transparent pegasus statues that seemed very out of place. All four statues had been carved in terrified poses. Rarity was starting to suspect something ominous about them. A thought too horrible for her to really comprehend lingered in her mind. They weren’t statues.
“Miscommunication!” cried Spike, drawing Rarity’s attention back to the Princess. “We were nearly thrown in the dungeon!”
“Yes,” said Luna. “And again, my apologies. We face a very significant threat…”
“When do we not,” grumbled Spike under his breath. The Princess narrowed her eyes slightly but continued.
“Steps needed to be taken to protect the castle, and Twilight Dash” explained Luna.
“I’m not sure how well those steps actually worked!” said Sky. “From what you’ve told us, our daughter has been abducted right out from under your nose!”
“We were all standing right outside her room,” said Night Light. “If it’s any ponies’ fault, it’s ours! We were right there!”
“It is no ponies’ fault,” said Doctor Heart.
“She’s right you guys!” cried Pinkie almost excitedly. “Blame isn’t going to get your daughter back! By the way… who are you?” Pinkie zoomed over to Sky and poked him in the chest.
“I’m – Hey! Quit that!” demanded Sky as Pinkie raced around him, poking and prodding him.
“Heyquithat? What a funny name!” said Pinkie. Breeze couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.
“We are Rainbow Dash’s parents,” said Breeze. “I’m Winter Breeze and this is Rainbow Sky.”
“Wait! Twilight’s been ponynapped!?” exclaimed Spike. Rarity felt his weight on her back shift and suddenly he was standing on her. It was far less comfortable as his clawed feet press into her spine.
“It is more complicated than that,” said Luna. “Discord has taken hold of them. At this moment he is attempting to seize the Element of Magic. I can only guess that it is not going as planned. I can still sense the disruption of magical energy all around us, which means the Element of Magic has not passed to a new owner yet.”
As Luna said it, Rarity realized that this must be what she was feeling. Not just in her horn, but in her whole body. An imbalance of magic.
“Why are you so against Twilight having the Element of Magic!” exclaimed Spike. “Ever since you took it away, things only seem to have gotten worse!”
Luna hesitated for a moment, obviously contemplating something. She glanced across Pinkie and Spike and finally Rarity. Then she nodded very slowly as if coming to a conclusion.
“Very well,” said Luna. “I believe you all should know the full truth.”
“Full truth?” asked Rarity, “About… what?”
“My sister and I decided long ago that all the facts surrounding Discord’s creation should be… obscured,” explained Luna. “My sister did not give you the whole truth. Aurora Wind merged with two other ponies, not one. She became a goddess, the goddess of Order and Chaos.
“When my sister divided her, it was not Aurora, nor Silver Stars that came back, it was Discord and his sister Harmony.”
“Sister!” exclaimed Pinkie. “Discord has a sister!”
“Great, another ‘bad-guy’ we have to take care of,” said Spike, rolling his eyes.
“He had a sister, yes,” said Luna. “However, order and chaos are forces against each other, opposites if you will. When the opportunity arose, Discord destroyed her.”
Rarity was too shocked to do anything but gasp. Discord had done away with his own sister? She had thought him a monster before, but now… he was even worse than she had imagined. And he was inside Twilight Dash’s mind, controlling them! They had to act now! But Luna continued.
“My sister, and I, both fear what Twilight Dash might become, should they merge a third time,” continued Luna.
“They wouldn’t do that,” said Spike and Pinkie at the same time.
“Jinx!” cried Pinkie.
“I do not believe they would either,” agreed Luna. “But even still, the risk is too great. The last time, a pony that brought great chaos to the world and created her own order by merging with others, brought forth order and chaos. However, as Twilight Dash was born out of… death… we fear what she might unleash.” Her last words hung heavy in the air.
“My sister has suggested that should they merge a third time, it will be the God of Life and Death that emerges into our world. A power so great that it should never be given physical form.
“That is why we took the Element of Magic away. That is why we must stop Discord now, at all costs!”
“What are we standing around talking for!” shouted Spike. “Let’s get in there!” He leapt from Rarity’s back and charged headlong towards the door. However, he made it only two steps past Luna before she lifted him into the air with her magic and pulled him back. “Hey! Put me down! I have to save Twilight! We have to do something!”
“Spike,” said Luna very seriously. “We are going to do something. But rushing in is not that thing. Do you see that wall of crystal? And the pink mist on the floor? Touch either of them and you would be instantly turned to crystal, just like those poor ponies there.” Spike stopped struggling.
“So what are we going to do?” asked Rarity. “Can you reverse the spell that made the wall and the mist?” Luna shook her head.
“No, not without the help from all of the elements,” answered Luna with a shake of her head.
“Then what are we going to do?” asked Pinkie.
“I am going to combat the source of the problem,” said Luna. “I am going into their mind.”
“You mean, like before?” asked Spike. “When the Doctor did that window thingy into TD’s mind?”
“No,” answered Luna. “I can physically move within their thoughts. I have gone within their dreams before… well, Twilight’s nightmares really…”
“Nightmares?” cried Rarity in alarm. “They’ve been having nightmares?”
“No, just Twilight,” answered Luna. “My sister… asked me not to interfere. She wanted me to just let Twilight Dash be, until they were ready for our help. But I could not stand by night, after night, and do nothing while Twilight tortured herself.”
“So what good is this going to do?” demanded Sky. “You’re going to go inside their head and do what? Give them good dreams?”
“I am going to make Discord leave,” said Luna.
“We are going to make Discord leave,” added Spike. “If you’re going in, so am I!”
“Me as well,” said Rarity. “We have come too far to be left behind now.”
“Oh, oh! Me too! I’ve always wanted to see what Dash dreams about! I bet it’s dancing!” cried Pinkie excitedly.
Luna looked at each of them in turn and for a moment, Rarity thought that she would argue with them. That she would say it was too dangerous, or give them some excuse. However, she did not.
“Very well,” said Luna with a nod. “Doctor, you as well?”
“No,” said Doctor Heart. “Somepony with expertise in this matter should stay behind. Twilight Dash may need my assistance when they are freed of Discord’s presence. I will attempt to monitor your progress from here. Without Twilight Dash actively participating it may be difficult.”
“Do the best that you can, Doctor Heart,” said Luna. “We will return as soon as possible. Are the three of you ready?” Rarity and Spike nodded, while Pinkie jumped into the air with a battle cry.
“Let’s get this party started!”
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Oh god the tension...
So, we're getting near the end, that's good...
...
...here's hoping it ends with Rainbow and Twilight being separated...
Kinda wanted to slap Spike.
5352222 And still alive...
Alright, I`m ready for the insanity. Bring it!
5262686 If people were being honest with themselves, the notion of a Harmony entity trying to murder everyone is one of two thing:
a) an idiotic, poorly conceived idea of a villain which is totally self-contradictory
or,
b) a being that is lying through its teeth about who and what it really is, though that should quickly become self-evident to all other characters and lead rather quickly to a standoff.
I like insane. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
great chapter
Very good
5352439
which was why hitler's command structure was about as random as discord
Dreaming intensifies...
5353177 That, and the amphetamines prolly didn't help either.
5352439 the ONLY way a "Harmony Villain" can work, is if it's trying for a hivemind/borg thing. Every being as one large thing in total balance because there is no separation between one and the whole. But it's hard to do such a thing believably. Not to mention the villain couldn't show ego or drive or anything outside of cold logical detachment.
5354078
I think this particular scenario (an "absorb everything and everyone for everlasting harmony" entity) was supposed to happen back at the end of Veil of Thoughts. However, it was changed due to a heated backlash from many readers that lasted two rewrites if I recall correctly.
Mostly it's been argued it can't be harmony, because harmony is balance of both sides, not one side missing entirely. Plus, it was completely out of freaking nowhere. Or at least that's how I remember it. And since it's been a while, I might be mistaken.
I am interested in how it's going to go now. I don't think they will achieve much without all Bearers. And their reactions to the truth will be great for sure.
This brings up my one big problem with the mlp universe. The name harmony implies balance between chaos and order, not order. If Discord is chaos, then his opposite is order, not harmony. If Discord is harmonies opposite, then he isn't chaos, but imbalance. Chaos and Order are both equally horrifying, but they also cancel eachother out. The villains you depict here are Chaos and Order, not Discord and Harmony. You know, I think I'm gonna go write a story that justifies this stuff, like Discord changing his name after killing Order or something.
8 ponies, 1 head.
The great cage match will soon begin.
5355029
You are correct. It is important to remember that while she might have the name Harmony (carried over from the previous stroy's un-ending) she is the embodiment of order (not balance as the name implies, after all it is just a name (or is it? DUN DUN DUN! (no, its just a name))).
Yay another chapter! Huzzah and joy!
Can't wait to see what happens next, inside their head
5353733
drugs and cruelty rarely ever mix, but they are always an interesting combination
5354078 Yes, it can't display anger or hate or lust or... pretty much any emotions other than those which are distinctly 'harmonious'... which then would kinda make it be not-evil automatically.
Which leads to, as you say, the only possibility being an emotionless machine-like mind driven to achieve perfect balance in everything. Not 'order' because that's not equivalent with 'harmony'.
It's be like... evil buddah or something weird like that.
5354793 Correct, that was the original ending (I actually liked it) but it did kinda show up outta nowhere and recieved a TON of backlash. This was followed by an overly sweet ending (which I unfortunately missed).
5357478
LOL! The villain achieves omni-galactic-super-one-ness.
I do think that villain, as a primary focus, would be incredibly boring (kinda like the Smooze).
5357943 Smooze = Buddah (???)
The Dahli Llama floats in (in lotus position, naturally) and kicks your ass for daring to make such a comparison!
5361532 No, no comparison of Buddah and the smooze.
For one Buddah doesn't sing.
*ducks thrown bottle*
I was actually talking about the type of villain, the emotionless uber-balance devourer of worlds. Without depth they become natural disasters instead of villains, and that's a whole other vector when it comes to writing.
5355029
The opposite of order is disorder, not chaos. It's easy to get the two confused, but disorder is not chaos. For instance, a double pendulum when released is very chaotic. The tiniest of inital parameters can cause huge and unpredictable movements. As the pendulum increases in disorder, by the friction of the air and itself, and the stresses on the material releasing heat, it slows down and comes to a stop. And once it has stopped, it's not chaotic at all since its movements or lack thereof are entirely predictable and not subject to the butterfly effect.
That is a situation where increasing disorder reduces chaos.
5369157 True, even in chaos order may exist, infact order cannot exist with out chaos, even discord himself knows this, heck he refers to himself as the lord of chaos and bringer of disharmony, he is the opposite of harmony not order. Chaos and Harmony are opposites, this does not mean they have to exist with one another. So yes discords opposite would be harmony. I know this because I took music, and because of my lit classes, either one could tell you difference.
5397557
Well, yes Discord in calling himself the lord of Disharmony would be the opposite of Harmony. But Disharmony and Chaos aren't the same thing. I mean, go hit a bunch of random notes on the piano really hard. Then just repeat those exact notes regularly once a second. That's disharmony without chaos. Or the other way, you can spin a top on the piano, and position your fingers steadily over two keys an octave apart. Then when the top falls over, you hit both keys at once. That's harmony with chaos. It doesn't have to be time either, it's still chaotic harmony if you roll dice to see which note to hit next, but always hit parallel notes in harmony. Things can't be the same thing if you can have one without the other.
Oh god not the shipping! Make it stop!
5402126
Nope, no shipping here. Where relationships are concerned for fanfiction unless it exists in the source material (between Spike and Rarity there is small romantic tension from the show (and you've read about the greatest extent of it this story will contain)) I avoid it.
5404543
Thank Celestia. Great story by the way. Possibly one of my favorites.
“Let’s get this party started!”
Party rockers in the house tonight
Everybody's gonna have a good time
And we gonna make you lose your mind
We just wanna see you.........shake that
You know I really just want to punch Applejack, and (can't believe I'm gonna say this) Fluttershy too. Just...WOW, good job there, both of you! Round of applause everyone! You're both aware that you don't have to be the Element of Loyalty to be loyal to your friends, right? Just...just checkin'. Because you're both fucking horrible ponies otherwise.
Again, Luna is being an idiot. She knows Discord hates the crystal mist, so it's obvious something else is going on with Twilight. She should know that it isn't discord doing this for this one simple fact.
5355075
Eight ponies fighting over who gets to use the restroom first... Now that is a mental image I didn't think I'd get to see today...
DAWWWWWWWW