46. The Ghosts of the Past
At last, when the light stops bleeding in through my eyelids, I open my eyes and look around. The contrast in the level of light forces me to take a minute to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Fortunately, I can hear the sounds of coughing and shifting from the others that I've brought with me. Which means we've all survived the teleportation.
I think we're in a cave somewhere, since it's so dark, and I'm surrounded by rocky walls. There's a glimmer of light coming in from one branching off tunnel, but apart from that, it's almost completely dark.
Every so often the ground will shake, and I'll hear distant explosions. The rune can't actually take us that far, so I'll assume we're near Canterlot still. Which means what I'm hearing are likely the sounds of battle. That massive changeling army will have reached the city by now.
I look down at the others, who are looking around, disoriented. Well, the ones that aren't completely covered in slime, that is. The only ones that are free to move their heads are Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow. Apple Bloom is also free, but she's unconscious. The only one that's free entirely is Sweetie Belle.
The young filly grunts softly, and her horn lights up. The magic is unstable, however, and starts to fizzle and spark, and it gives off nowhere near enough light to fill the room. “Relax, Sweetie. I'll take care of that,” Rarity assures her sister, and then her horn lights up, forming an light blue orb of light that floats up to the roof of the cave and hangs there.
That's when they all notice that I'm still there. Sweetie moves closer to her sister, even as the others look at me with a mix of expressions. Rainbow is looking at me once again with an expression I can't read. Twilight looks furious, and Rarity and Applejack look at me with a mix of anger and confusion.
Ignoring them, the first thing I do is kneel down next to Rainbow, channeling magic into my hands. She watches in a dead silence as I hook my fingers into the membrane of slime around her neck. With my magic, it's easy to break off bits of the hardened slime. “I'll have you out of here in a moment,” I assure her. I don't get a reply though, but I didn't really expect one. I know she's pissed at me. I betrayed her, and that's not going to go away. I'll be lucky if I can return to Ponyville at all after this.
Once I tear off enough slime to the point where the rest of it is loosely held together, Rainbow breaks the rest on her own with her sizable muscles, and then shakes her body to throw off any shards of slime that are left on her. We make eye contact for the first time since the dress rehearsal, and I notice with shock that the ares under her eyes are slightly damp, as if she's been crying. Oh fuck...I'm totally screwed. How do I even go about answering for this?
“Rainbow...I...” I begin awkwardly, but I don't get very far before Rainbow's eyes narrow and her face contorts with rage. My head snaps back painfully as her hoof rams into my nose. And I mean hard. I grunt and pull back, nursing my aching nose with my hand. Rainbow pushes past me roughly and heads for the exit to the cave, disappearing from view. I watch her go, noting with annoyance that my nose is starting to bleed. “Yeah...I may have deserved that one.”
“You think?” Twilight snaps. I turn my head just in time to see her breaking out of the slime with a small exertion of her magic. “I can't believe you knew about her this whole time, and didn't tell anypony!”
“I agree. I noticed you were acting strangely ever since you saw her, but I didn't say anything,” Rarity points out, looking at me disapprovingly. “I didn't realize it was because you knew what she was.”
“If you had helped me...if you had just let me know...we could have stopped her!” Twilight expresses, walking up to me angrily. “I knew she wasn't Cadance the moment I met her, but nopony would believe me! Why couldn't you have supported me? What did she offer you that we couldn't?”
Twilight lowers her head, crying softly. “Now, because of you, Princess Celestia, Cadance, and my brother are at the mercy of that...thing,” she sniffs, wiping her eyes. She turns to look at the rest of her friends, still trapped in slime. “Help me free the rest of my friends, and then I want to hear you explain yourself.”
“Fine,” I emit, wiping a thin trail of blood from my nose. I feel like total shit. I know I wanted to go home, but Twilight is right about everything. But...she's not the one I want to explain myself to first.
I walk over to orb of green slime that encompasses Pinkie, empowering my fist with magic. I punch the slime hard to get my fist deep in there, so I can rip away a great deal of slime. Twilight is over near Fluttershy and Applejack, using her own magic to free them.
“Honestly, ah ain't got no idea what ta think o' you now,” Applejack admits, stepping out of the slime and looking at me. “Ya sided with this Chrysalis thing, and that ain't good, but ya also saved us when we needed it. Whose side are ya on, exactly?”
“I mean, you must have had a good reason,” Fluttershy reasons, as Twilight frees her as well. And she's being too nice to me, even after I almost got her killed.
“To answer your question, I'm on your side. I've made my choice, and my place is here,” I reply tersely, peeling some slime away from Pinkie's face. The moment I've freed her face, Pinkie's eyes open instantly and she shatters the rest of the slime, scaring the hell out of me. “Holy shit!”
Pinkie dashes to the middle of the cave, raising her hooves and punching at the air. “Where is that big meanie pants, Crystal List? I'm gonna find her and show her who's boss: Pinkie Diane Pie! Hyah!” she declares. I can't help but facepalm. Even in the midst of all this despair, she can still manage to be a silly airhead. “Oh...we're not at the wedding anymore. Hey, so where are we?”
“Pinkie, we're in a cave somewhere, courtesy of Seth here,” Twilight explains, pointing a hoof at me without actually looking at me. Pinkie turns her head and then zooms to me, pointing a hoof in my face.
“You! We're in this situation because of you, buster!” Pinkie accuses me, being actually angry with me for about the first time in ever. Then she puts on a bright smile. “But now we're safe, also because of you. So thank you!”
“But...what?” I stammer. Once again, this fucking pony proceeds to confuse the hell out of me. “You're welcome, I guess?”
“One thing is certain,” Rarity interrupts the two of us. “I will not even consider forgiving you, until you speak to Rainbow.”
“That's right. Rainbow considered you her best friend, you know,” Twilight adds, looking at me. “I think she was closer to you than the rest of us.”
“Seriously? Her best friend? I know she was my friend, but why in the hell would she choose a total ass like me as a best friend?” I question. This is news to me. I always thought Rainbow was closer to Fluttershy or Pinkie. Or even Vinyl. She was my best friend, but I didn't think the feeling was mutual.
“You should ask her that. All ah noticed is that she always seemed happier around ya,” Applejack points out. “Go out and talk to her. Ah'll take care o' mah sister.”
“You still need my help here, don't you?” I ask, but honestly I'm just procrastinating on this meeting. It's going to be difficult for me to face her, after this.
“No excuses, Seth. We can handle things here,” Twilight scolds me, freeing Fluttershy with a burst of magic.
“Yes, go. She needs you,” Fluttershy urges me gently. “You can explain your reasons to us when you get back.”
I take a deep breath, and then let it out slowly, as they all watch me expectantly. “So I don't really have any other choice, do I?” I ask wryly.
“Why would you even ask that? If you still consider her a friend, you should want to go talk to her!” Twilight demands. “I'm still not sure you're even on our side anymore.”
“Relax. I just don't know anything about this. I'm used to pissing everybody off, not cheering them up,” I admit, scratching the back of my head.
“You always did a good job cheering Apple Bloom up,” Sweetie Belle speaks up timidly, joining the conversation. Rarity hisses at her in warning, but she walks up to me anyway. “She always said you were a good guy, but that you had trouble showing it.”
“I have no idea where she got that idea,” I relate, but Sweetie Belle continues, resting a tiny hoof on my shin.
“Go for it. I don't know what's really going on, but I know that you're still a good guy. You're always protecting us...though not always in the best ways.” Sweetie Belle assures me. “Just go make sure Rainbow knows that. Easy as pie!”
“Sweetie, that metaphor doesn't really work, considering the last time you tried to make a pie, you lit it on fire,” Rarity points out wryly, earning a blush from her sister. “But I agree. If you continue to dawdle around here, Seth, Twilight and I will force you outside with magic. Right Twilight?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Twilight says in a determined voice, lowering her horn. “And don't try and pull anything. I'll be watching you out there.”
“Right, whatever. I'm going, don't get your non-existent panties in a wad,” I retort, turning around and heading for the cave entrance.
“Rarity, what are panties?” Sweetie asks her sister, hilariously enough. I hear Rarity groan behind me.
“Ugh, that human can be so uncouth at times,” she expresses, and then I can no longer hear them.
When I emerge from the cave entrance, I notice several things. First, this cave is on the side of the mountain that houses Canterlot, at around the same elevation. Secondly, I'm now standing on a ledge right next to the railroad that leads to the city.
And most alarmingly, the city itself. We're relatively far from it, but even from here I can see that the city is burning. Columns of smoke rise from the streets of Canterlot, and I can hear the sounds of battle from here.
The changeling armies are descending on the city like a swarm of locusts, firing green beams of magic down at the guards that I assume are fighting back. Explosions of multicolored magic dot the air like deadly fireworks, the larger ones causing tremors to run through the mountain. I wonder who's still alive and fighting. I wonder how many of them I could have saved by speaking up sooner. Every single one of those deaths are on my head.
Rainbow is sitting on her haunches at the edge of the cliff, staring up at the sky with a blank expression on her face. I stand back from her at first, awkwardly wringing my hands together and trying to figure out how in the hell I'm supposed to approach her.
“So...” I begin, being awkward as fuck. But at least I get her attention. She turns her head slightly until she spots me, and then she goes back to looking at the sky. “I might have made a mistake.”
Rainbow doesn't respond, instead shifting slightly and continuing to look at the sky. Fuck, this is going to be hard. “Look, I'm sorry,” I blurt out, unable to think of a more eloquent way to put it. “I didn't tell anypony about Chrysalis, and that made everything go to hell.”
“I don't know why,” Rainbow finally says, shaking her head. She pounds the ground with her hoof. “I just don't know why, Seth!”
Rainbow sniffs and wipes her eyes, and then she turns around at last, glaring at me with reddened eyes. “I tried so hard to be your friend. I never left your side, I always tried to cheer you up when you were sad, and then you just toss it all back in my face!? After everything we've been through together!?”
“I know...I fucked up,” I admit, looking down. Come to think of it, this is probably the first time that I've legitimately felt sorry for something I've done. I've hurt other people or ponies' feelings before, and while I've felt bad, I've always realized why it had to be done. This time...there's really no excuse. I did what I did for my own selfish purposes that in the end equated to me chasing a dream. I caused the deaths of all these ponies for nothing.
“That's not good enough! You were my best friend, Seth! I felt closer to you than anypony else, and I've known them for months!” Rainbow shoots back. “You were the only one who I could say anything to, and you wouldn't care. Did you know that you were the only friend I had that would go to a Wonderbolts show with me? I trusted and appreciated you, and then you do this? Were you really going to let me die!?”
“No, dammit! That's why I stopped Chrysalis! I couldn't watch you die, I just fucking couldn't!” I shout, having come to a decision. I'm going to lay everything out on the table right now, even some things that I've left hidden for way too long. “You want to know why I didn't tell anypony about her? You want to know why I was going to leave all of you behind!?”
“Yes! Tell me what was so important, you were willing to watch me and all of Canterlot burn!” Rainbow snaps. “Whatever it was, was it worth this? Was it worth sacrificing our friendship?”
“You know what, it almost was!” My words take Rainbow aback, causing her to look at me with a hurt expression. “Don't look at me like that. Come here.”
Rainbow hesitates, but then she notices me reaching into my pocket. “What are you doing?” she asks.
“Come here, goddammit, before I change my mind. I wasn't going to tell anypony about this for as long as I lived, but it seems we're not going to get past this unless you understand me!” I return viciously. Rainbow hesitates for another second, and then she slowly moves over to me. Her eyes widen in surprise as I take my phone out of my pocket and power it on. It's on 40% battery, so I tap the orb on the converter with a magic empowered finger to charge it up.
I beckon for Rainbow to get closer, which she does, peering over my shoulder at the screen of the phone. I input my password, until the phone opens up. The next thing I do is navigate to my photo album, and open up a particular picture, which shows me with my mother, Elaine, and my father, Don. “Do you know what this is?” I ask her.
“Are...these more humans?” Rainbow responds, her eyes taking in the features of the picture curiously. “I think I see you in there, but who are these other two? That one right there looks like you a little bit.”
“That's my mother and father,” I say simply. Rainbow's eyes open wide in shock, and she looks at me, realizing that I'm trusting her with more than I ever have before. She knows I don't want to talk about my family, and has stayed away from the topic whenever she's been with me, because she respected my silence. I think it's safe to say I have her attention now. “This was taken at my graduation from high school. My mother canceled all of her plans to come and be there for me, and my father traveled all the way back from another fucking continent to come see me. He's in the military, you see, so he's always traveling.”
“Wow...you must have really loved them,” Rainbow whispers, the anger no longer present in her voice. “What's high school?”
“That's not important,” I say, scrolling to the next picture. This next one showed me and my brother at a yearly anime convention, where the both of us are standing next to one of the Japanese voice actors for Soul Eater that had attended as well. My stupid brother is wearing a dumb smile, enjoying the convention far more than he should. He's cosplaying as Soul, even wearing the dumb headband and everything. “That's my brother, Adam. I'd been making fun of him that entire weekend because of the dumb outfit he wore, but it was still one of the best memories I have with him.”
“So you do have siblings. He looks like a funny guy,” Rainbow notes, peering closer at the small image. “But what does this have to do with you joining with Chrysalis?”
“Shut up, and I'll tell you,” I say flatly, and then I scroll to the next image. This one is much more important to me. It shows Amaryllis and I standing together on the beach, dressed in our swimsuits, our arms around one another for the purposes of the picture.
I scroll to the next, which shows the both of us at a table on the cruise ship for that same trip, eating together. Except, she's shoved a cap of ketchup onto my nose in this picture because I was making fun of her spilling water over herself.
The last picture I show Rainbow is the one of Amaryllis and I at a college formal dance, where the two of us had gone together as friends because it would have looked bad for both of us to go alone, especially since it was for a career fair and we were hoping to get noticed. She's wearing this gorgeous black dress that really complements her crimson hair.
“Who is that girl you're always with? It...is a girl, right?” Rainbow asks, looking somewhat foolish for having to ask that latter question.
“Yes, it's a girl,” I answer wryly. “This...is Amaryllis.”
“Ama...oh. Oooh...” Rainbow cuts off in the middle of her response, understanding dawning on her face. “She's your close friend, the one you said you didn't trust until a month after meeting her.”
“It was more than that,” I reply. I can't believe I'm going to tell her this, but there's literally no other way to make Rainbow understand why I was willing to let them all die. “I loved that girl more than life itself, but I never mentioned it to her. I was happy just being with her, though I was too thick to notice my feelings for what they were, until after she was dead.”
Rainbow looks anguished at my words. She must be trying to empathize with the pain I felt when she died. She can't understand, though. She's never lost anypony close to her. I've lost everyone that was close to me.
“Do you understand now? I miss them. I miss them so bad I tried to kill myself because life felt empty without them, the one group of people that I knew were not like the rest of my useless race,” I express, locking the phone again and putting it back in my pocket. I put some distance between Rainbow and I, so I can look at her in the eyes. I sit down on a rock near the entrance to the cave.“I would have given anything to have them back. So what do you think I did when Chrysalis came along and offered me the chance to do just that?”
“She...she promised you that? How? You came from three thousand years ago, right?” Rainbow demands, though it looks like she's starting to understand how I feel.
“She has a time spell, a very powerful one. She said that if I kept quiet about her plan, I could go back home,” I explain.
“And you believed her? Twilight says that kind of spell is impossible!” Rainbow snaps.
“Of course I did! She proved it! Did you know I had a short conversation with Discord, one thousand years ago, as a result of her demonstrating that spell for me?” I shoot back, shutting her up. “Hell yes I agreed. Simply not telling anypony was all I had to do to get my family back.”
“But...” Rainbow starts, but I cut her off.
“And you know what? I gave that up. I gave up everything I've ever known and loved, just so that I could save your life,” I tell her vehemently, pointing a finger at her. “I just could not stand there and watch you die. Besides...they've been dead for years. Even if I went back, I'd just have to watch them die again.”
“You gave up your human life...for me? Even the one you loved?” Rainbow asks softly after a long pause. I nod tersely, having exhausted my will to tell her anything else. “That's...wow. I'm still angry at you for causing...this, but I've never had anypony feel that strongly about me. You really did that for me?”
“I'm not saying it again,” I reply difficultly, but that doesn't seem to matter. A small blush appears on Rainbow's cheeks. “You're my best friend, Rainbow. I couldn't let you and all your friends die for a bunch of ghosts.”
Rainbow sniffs, and then she walks up to me slowly, somewhat unsteadily. I watch her carefully, wondering what she's going to do. When she gets close to me, she rears up on her hind legs...and then wraps her forelegs around my neck in a hug. Holy shit, Rainbow is hugging me. That fierce tomboy pony that's never shown any tendency for physical affection ever, is now hugging me for the first time.
Fuck it, it's Rainbow Dash. I'd never do this for any other pony. I reach my own arms forward awkwardly and wrap around her back, pulling her closer to me. Together, we share a warm hug, out there on the rock outside the cave, taking comfort in the bond that exists between us. “Thank you,” Rainbow whispers into my ear. “I won't forgive you until all of this is fixed, but I appreciate the sacrifice you made.”
“I'm sorry for betraying you,” I whisper back. “Even if I have to crush the entire changeling army myself, I'll make it up to you.”
A few moments later, Rainbow and I break apart and stand up, both of us averting our gazes and feeling extremely awkward. Rainbow coughs lightly, adjusting her mane. “So, shall we go back in the cave?” she asks.
“Yeah. The others still think I'm the worst kind of person,” I reveal, causing Rainbow to chuckle slightly.
Together, we walk back into the cave to see that a makeshift clinic has been made. By that, I mean that Applejack and Apple Bloom are resting on smooth slabs of stone, a cloth wrapped tightly around the former's ribs to keep them from moving. Apple Bloom has a bandage around her snout, which is more than likely broken after getting it smashed by Chrysalis.
“You'll have to keep from moving too much, Apple Bloom. I've done my best to heal it, but I'm not the best,” Twilight advises the young filly, who nods, only to wince and hold her snout gingerly. Twilight turns to Applejack next, with a sorrowful expression. “I'm sorry, but I am only good at closing surface wounds. I don't know anything about setting broken bones.”
“You ain't got nothin' ta be sorry for. Yer doin' the best ya can,” Applejack assures her friend with a smile. “You got mah thanks just fer helpin' mah sister.”
“Gah, slime is icky,” Spike complains, as he had been freed from the slime at some point while I was outside. “I still have bits of it under my scales. This is the worst.”
“Hold still then. I'll try and remove as much as I can,” Rarity orders him. Spike freezes and immediately stands completely still, his eyes following Rarity as her horn lights up. “Hm, yes, I can feel bits of that horrid substance still in there.”
I notice that Pinkie is the one with all the medical supplies. I don't know here she found all those bandages and shit, but thanks to her, recovery seems to be coming along.
“Rainbow!” Scootaloo exclaims, as she's now free from the slime as well. She runs over to us, but then stops when she spots me. “Why is he still here? He's the one who caused all of this, isn't he?"
That gets everypony's attention. They all turn away from what they're doing to look at the two of us. They all look somewhat surprised that I walked in with Rainbow, and that we're not trying to kill each other. “He also saved our lives, squirt,” Rainbow points out, though she does kneel down and pat Scootaloo on the head. “I don't agree with his decision...but I understand it.”
“So ah'm guessin' you two came to some kinda understandin'? Applejack inquires curiously. “Ah half expected ya to have beaten some sense inta him, Rainbow.”
“I still want to...he's an idiot,” Rainbow replies, shooting me an annoyed stare, but the accusing rage isn't there anymore. “But I know why he did what he did. And why he decided to save me.”
“Perhaps you can enlighten us? I'm still furious at him myself,” Twilight demands. “It would have been so easy to tell one of us, and then Princess Celestia would have defeated her.”
“Uh, Seth? How much can I tell them? Or would you rather do it?” Rainbow asks me tentatively.
“They'll probably listen to you better. And tell them whatever you think they need to hear. I'm never talking about them with anypony other than you, though,” I tell her. Rainbow nods, and then turns back to Twilight.
“Twilight, how would you feel if you had to choose who lived an who died? What if you had to choose between saving me, or saving your family?” Rainbow begins. That one question causes Twilight to blanch and look at me.
“I...I couldn't make that kind of decision. That's a horrible thing to ask!” Twilight exclaims in horror. “What does that have to do with anything though?”
“That's what I had to choose between,” I say, joining the conversation. Contrary to what I said, I feel like it would be a cop-out to let Rainbow explain my own reasons for me. All of them are watching me now. Every single pony and dragon in this room has their eyes fixed upon me. “Chrysalis offered me the chance to go back to my time.”
“That...makes a surprising amount of sense,” Rarity admits. “I remember Chrysalis saying something of the sort during her fight with you. You told her that your race was going to become...undead.”
“That's right...Seth told Princess Celestia and I that much,” Twilight recalls, remembering the whole hologram Celestia showed us. “You believed that Chrysalis could send you home?”
“I do. She showed me. I got to experience a few moments of life as it was during the reign of Discord,” I reveal, much to everypony's surprise. “You tell me how I can make a choice like that.”
“You chose us over yer family?” Apple Bloom questions, joining the conversation. “Why would ya do that? Ah'd give up anythin' fer mah family.”
“Dammit, I chose Equestria because my family is dead! They have been for three thousand years. Going back would serve no purpose except to make me feel worse,” I snap at her, even though she essentially proves my point. “I hate that my indecision caused this invasion. But I am glad I saved all of you.”
“So what's the plan, Twilight? Are we going to go save the princess?” Spike asks, rejoining the conversation.
“That's a good point. We can set aside our judgments for Seth until after Canterlot is safe,” Twilight agrees. “We need to find the Elements of Harmony, and stop Queen Chrysalis...but I need to know something first.”
Twilight turns to me, regarding me with an intense stare. “I haven't forgiven you for causing this, but I need to know that you're on our side. We need your power more than ever right now,” she affirms. “Are you with us, or not?”
“I'm with Rainbow. And since she's with you, I am too,” I assert, making Rainbow smile somewhat. “But we'll need a plan. We can't rush in there head on. Did you see how many changelings she brought with her?”
“I did. It looks like a real mess out there,” Twilight admits. “Honestly, I don't know how we can do this. The Elements of Harmony are in the castle vault, and there's just so many changelings between here and there...”
“I say we beat 'em up. Seth and I will show them what for!” Rainbow announces, punching the air enthusiastically.
“I say fuck the Elements of Harmony,” I suggest, much to their surprise. “I know they're some super weapon or whatever, but if we can free Celestia, we win.”
“That's a fair point as well. Either with the Elements or with Celestia's power, victory is assured,” Rarity agrees. “But there's still the problem of numbers. There's just too many changelings. We'll get surrounded if we're not careful.”
“Now, this is a problem. If we just had a little more power...” Applejack grunts in annoyance. There's a silence as all of us try to think about what to do. Rarity is right. There's just not enough of us to fight an army like that, and even if we did make some progress, all it would take is for Chrysalis to show up, and we'd all get fucked again.
“Power! Ooh, like a princess?” Pinkie suggests, bouncing up and down, having way too much energy for a situation this hopeless.
“That would be great, if there were any princesses that weren't...” I begin, and then suddenly a pressure falls over the cave. At first, I think that Chrysalis has found us somehow, but it feels different. It still feels dark, but yet, somehow benevolent. Not to mention it's slightly weaker than Chrysalis, but still stronger than me. Who the hell has this kind of power? Wait...there's still a princess that wasn't at the wedding. “Holy shit, it's Luna.”
“Princess Luna is here?” Twilight asks hopefully, and then she feels the magical pressure in the air as well. “You're right! We may have a shot after all! Let's go and meet her!”
Everypony that can move heads for the entrance to the cave, walking into the sunlight. The ledge isn't that large, so some of the ponies stay back in the cave entrance.
Looking up, I can see dark speck approaching in the distance. As it gets closer, I can see Princess Luna's dark chariot being pulled by six dark ponies with bat wings. Luna herself is in the back of the chariot, and holy fuck, I think she's in full battle armor.
The chariot touches down in our little clearing, with barely any room to spare. Luna first looks at Canterlot with a concerned expression, and then she gets down from the chariot. “Twilight Sparkle. It is good to see thee,” Luna greets Twilight, who is standing at the front of our group. “What hast befallen Canterlot? Where is mine sister?”
“It's probably best if you came into the cave. There's...a lot to talk about,” Twilight confesses. “We have injured inside as well.”
“Injured...very well. Lead us inside,” Luna commands. She turns to hear guards as the rest of us filter back into the cave. “Accompany us.”
Soon, we are all in the main cavern. I'm standing with Rainbow in the back by Apple Bloom and Applejack. Twilight and Rarity are next to Rainbow, and Fluttershy and Pinkie are next to me. The Lunar Guards form up along the front wall of the cave, as Luna makes her way into the chamber. Now that she's this close, I can see that she's wearing a tight fitting armored suit made of interlocking ridged plates, colored as black as night. Her mane is actually pulled back by several black rings, probably to keep it out of her face if she's going into battle. Hell, she looks like she outfitted herself for war. Come to think of it, where the hell has she been this whole time, and how did she know where to find us?
“Where is thine injured?” Luna demands, looking around. Without receiving an answer, she spots Applejack and Apple Bloom. “Ah. Dearest Applejack, how hast thou been injured?”
“Mah ribs, Princess. Ah think a few o' them are broken,” Applejack answers, looking sheepish. Luna nods, and then looks at Apple Bloom.
“And thy sister?”
“My nose. That mean bug pony hit me,” Apple Bloom complains. Luna looks confused, but decides not to ask. Instead, her horn lights up, and a dark blue aura surrounds both Applejack and Apple Bloom, healing their respective wounds over the period of a few seconds. “Oh! I feel much better now. Thanks, Princess!”
“Think nothing of it,” Luna replies, smiling at the little filly. Then, she looks at Twilight Sparkle, seemingly seeing her as the pony she trusts the most to give an accurate description of events. “Now, tell me why I sensed mine sister powering up from an entire country away, Twilight Sparkle.”
“A country away? Where the hell were you, and what were you doing?” I demand, joining the conversation. As annoyed as I am, it's a stroke of fortune that she wasn't at the wedding, else her magic would have been canceled and she would have been screwed as well. With Luna here, we might actually stand a chance.
“Seth. We see that thou hast refrained from learning any proper etiquette,” Luna responds wryly. Right..she doesn't know of my fuck up yet. Well...she'll probably try to kill me when she does find out. “We were on a diplomatic visit to Griffonia, investigating rumors of activity in the wastelands that once contained the Crystal Empire. But we left, as mine sister's safety is more important than diplomacy.”
“I'll be honest with you, Princess. The situation is bad. Because of an error in judgment on Seth's part, Canterlot is in danger of being lost,” Twilight explains. “Princess Celestia is captured, and the city is under attack by strange creatures called...changelings.”
Luna shoots me a sharp stare that quickly turns into a glare. Shit. Thankfully, it doesn't last for long until she turns back to Twilight. “We knew it was bad. Celestia never powers up to that extent save for the gravest of circumstances. We are interested, however, in how Seth hath caused this conflict.”
“With all due respect, princess,” Rainbow interrupts before things can go south. “We can point hooves after all things are said and done. We should focus on saving Canterlot, right?”
Luna stares at Rainbow and I for a long moment, before she nods. “Very well. Seth, we shall discuss thy responsibility later. For now, give us as much information as thou can about this unprovoked invasion.”
“The culprit's name is Chrysalis. She outwitted Celestia with a magic canceling device, and then captured her,” I start.
“We see. And where didst this 'Chrysalis' come from?” Luna questions, her hooves grinding into the ground with fury.
“She infiltrated the wedding by imprisoning Cadance, and then disguising herself as her,” Twilight relates. “She used some kind of mind control spell to get my brother to drop the barrier he erected after the assassination attempt. That's how all the changelings got in.”
“Assassination!?” Luna rages, this obviously being the first she's heard of this. “We should have come back sooner. Art there any casualties?”
“Hard to tell,” Twilight says, looking forlorn. “Seth managed to save us all and transport us here, but the fighting is going on even as we speak. We were trying to come up with a plan to take back the city...but there's just not enough of us to get past all those changelings.”
Luna is quiet at first, and then she looks at her guards, who all nod. She turns back to us with a determined expression. “Very well. Then we hath made a decision. We shalt take command of the reclamation effort.”
“How? Even with you here, there's simply not enough of us,” I point out, deciding to throw aside my earlier optimism and face facts. “Chrysalis is stronger than all of us, and we might get overwhelmed before we even get to her. There's only twenty of us here, and four of us can't fight at all.”
“Rest assured, Seth Rogers. I hath confidence in mine ability to retake Canterlot. Thou shalt discover why I was once called...” Luna expresses. A determined grin slowly crosses her face. “...Luna, Princess of War.”
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I'm curious. Would Celestia or anyone really have believed Seth if he'd told them? Celestia was suckered in like a five year old seeing a van with FREE CANDY painted on the side.
It probably would've gone so:
FALCON PUNCH!
Seth "She turned into a giant bug thing!"
Chrysie "Auntie, he's trying to ruin my wedding!"
Really, if it's anyone's fault, it's Celestia's. For what can only be described as 'willful stupidity' given how shallow Chrysie's act was and Tia's own 'Sherclop Holmes' powers.
'Battle Princess Luna'?... Really?
not some epic name like 'The living nightmare' or 'The moon of war' you pick 'Battle princess luna'...
this has to be for a joke right?
i think ive lost all hope in the creativeness of this story... though the rest is good
No offense, but that is a stupid name. Try changing it to "Princess of Battle" or "Princess of War". (you can edit your story using google docs)
You're good at writing Rainbow Dash, you know that? You should write her more!
4906308
While that's a rather harsh way of putting it, I somewhat agree. Keep in mind that this is a rough draft, and will likely be rewritten. I am also doing this without an editor or beta reader.
I was intending to pick a title that would hint at a talent for battle strategy and tactics, rather than one that would present as more of a killer.
I am open to suggestions, however.
4906335
And...suggestion taken. Thank you, sir. I am somewhat embarrassed of my chosen name now.
4906400
thank god, dont mean to put it harshly but i was getting so hyped that there would be some luna action, then you bring out a title like that and it kinda puts a dampner on things.
as for titles: 'The Star Seer', 'tide of the eclipse' just some ideas
for the record though i thought you were going to have seth insult the title so much because of how bad it is for a bit of comedy...
Heh, you gotta slow down on the updates mate! You'll spoil us...
Try taking a break and reading another story! Just make sure to save your current progress
4906450
Ah, no worries. Yes, I hope to appease some Luna fans with some awesome in this arc. As for titles, I'm going to use Starlight Nova's "Princess of War," until I come up with a better one.
Another update? Begging for help to stop?
media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/6b/af/65/150-mm-cannon-one-of.jpg
I don't think so...
thedailysheeple.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/gun-to-head.jpg
Keep writing.
Wow, this chapter was just amazing
Starting off we have the ponies being remarkably calm about Seth. Admittedly he just saved their lives, but in the grand scheme he royally fucked up and got some of them hurt too. I'm amazed that the only hit he gets is a relatively restrained punch from Rainbow (though if anypony was going to hit him it would be her). Seems I was correct about Fluttershy and Rarity being understanding (I say understanding not forgiving) while Applejack seemed the most conflicted (bar Rainbow but I'll hold her opinions separate for a moment) and unsure about how to think of Seth. Pinkie was as nuts as usual, and Twilight was understandably pissed, but logical enough to wait for his response before completely giving judgement. All in all, I had expected far worse, but thinking of it, the ponies have always been far more forgiving then they really ought to be, so I'm not complaining.
However the strongest response is Rainbow. I wasn't sure whether Rainbow considered him her best friend or not, but the previous chapters have implied that they are far closer then the norm, and he has shown a far more tolerant attitude to her antics then most of the remaining group have at times *cough* Mare Do Well *cough*. They're bond has been one of the strongest I have ever read, and it certainly surpasses the other mane 6 members in some aspects. Hell we've even seen potential signs that it may be the start to something more then friendship. To say Rainbow has been hurt by his actions is like calling the sun just a little bit toasty. His actions even brought her to tears, as her reddened eyes indicate. This scene was almost heartbreaking, and yet within just a few paragraphs you turned it into one of the strongest moments of character development I have ever read.
Rainbow starts by yelling at him, devastated by his actions and demanding an answer of why. Seth had a few different options here, and he chose to give her the strongest show of trust he has ever done. explaining to her that he cared about her so strongly that he couldn't let her die, he shows her his family. His mother and father, his brother and finally Amaryllis, his best friend and the girl he was deeply in love with. Just the descriptions of the photographs show some of the happiest moments of his life, and he is sharing his with her. Then he flat out tells her that despite Chrysalis offer to send him back in time, he gave up his chance of ever seeing them again so he could save her life. He placed her life above his entire human life. Man, I don't think he has even shown Amaryllis that kind of devotion and care. This shows us that right now, after all the shit that has come his way since arriving in Equestria, Rainbow's friendship has literally become just about the most important thing to him. This scene was amazing. Rainbow was even touched enough to give him a hug. The blush on her cheeks can be determined a couple of ways, as embarrassment to this level of flattery, appreciation for his actions, or possibly another sign of future shipping. No way to know for sure, but these little teases you keep slipping in are becoming more noticeable. I wonder why...
.
While she hasn't forgiven him yet, she hasn't let go of their friendship and right now their bond is incredible. The other ponies are understandably surprised by this because it seemed very unlikely Seth would get any response beyond a beating. Perhaps this may be an indicator to the rest of the mane 6 that Seth and Rainbow's friendship is even stronger then they thought (Rarity is going to have a field day if she teams up with Vinyl once this is all said and done
). After his explanation for his actions, we don't much reaction from the group. Twilight I think seems to have become extremely confused about whether to hold onto her anger due to him endangering her family and getting her mentor captured, or whether to be sympathetic to his plight and try to understand just how big of a sacrifice he has made for them. She covers this up by simply trying to focus on the task because she is aware she won't be able to think clearly if she tries to come to a decision right now. We don't get much indication from anypony else beyond Apple Bloom being a little upset that he 'abandoned' his family, due to the tragedy of her losing her own parents. I doubt they will be uncooperative with him during the retaking of Canterlot, but once the conflict is over, it will be interesting to see what they decide.
With Luna showing up, it seems she doesn't have the power to take on Chrysalis directly, so the group has to come up with a plan. I'm unsure of how Luna will feel once the battle is over. She has been suspicious and mistrustful of him since the start, however her Nightmare Moon tirade had far more potential for harm on Equestria then Seth's inability to forewarn them of Canterlot's upcoming attack. She may be sympathetic to his situation and offer a second chance, like she was given. She may of course try to beat the crap out of him and have him banished or imprisoned though, so I'm just gonna have to wait and see. I am particularly interest in the reactions of Cadance and Celestia though.
Man I can't wait for the next update. This whole arc has been absolutely amazing to read. Great work
(Tell me if I'm going into spoiler territory.) Is that meeting with Discord going to come back at Seth? Like when or if Discord gets set free will Discord remember Seth?
4909768
Discord will indeed remember Seth if he ever gets free again. Though I can't say whether or not that will happen.
I was listening to Chosen One from Sahdow The Hedgehog the entire chapter. It fits so well!
Don't fuck with Luna
Looks like the proverbial fecal matter is about to hit the metaphorical circulation device.
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Oh! This is going to be good!
6645513 which immediately made me think of disturbed: indestructible
HOLY JESUS I LOVED THIS LINE
4909768 is your profile pic an actual oc i can read about, or see more pics of, or is it just a cool picture?
7472046 Meh, too simple. How about "Death by Starfall"? Or "Nagula"? Or "Nightmare Moon"? (eh, that one's taken already)
I hope Seth sees some real repercussions for this. I mean, treason on that level is impressive. Playing turncoat that late would help his case sure and they definitely need him now, but that was a legendarily stupid decision. Purely from the perspective of the many ponies that have lost their homes and possibly their families, he really can't get away without some kind of legal punishment to placate them without causing a mob. Obviously they can attempt to keep his involvement out of the public, but it's a severe miscarriage of justice.
I suppose that might be coming from me seeing his thought process. From the perspective of someone who couldn't see his thoughts, one could imagine that Chrysalis had been enthralling or something and he had been actually struggling with his allegiance. But from what we saw, it appears that he just genuinely didn't think through the implications at all.
Not that it's out of character. Just, from a moral perspective, that was a willful act of evil which he then gave up on due to a moment of squeamishness. That's pathetic.
Anyway, I look forward to reading how they make it out of this. Good times.
8617546
Well, nobody wins in the situation Seth was put in. It basically comes down to deciding who lives and who dies. Everything he's ever known is gone; everyone he ever loved is dead. (This sounds kinda dramatic, but it's true) He's given an opportunity to return his world, to his loved ones, and maybe even a chance to save them. If he went back he might be able to help stop the apocalypse; his magic would have many applications. He gave it that up because of what Rainbow means to him (Amaryllis 2.0), and that he would be essentially murdering her if he went through with doing nothing, along with all that other moral stuff you mentioned.
And what punishment could be given to Seth? He's already in the worst possible situation. He only has one possession, and it's all that remains of his past—his own personal life. Everyone he knew is dead, and so is the one responsible for erasing his world.
He could be imprisoned or exiled, but I doubt either would make a difference to Seth. The only things he cares about are his phone and Rainbow.
My point is he's already experiencing the worst possible punishment. Wouldn't you want to go back if you could?
Of course you would have to deal with the ghosts of everyone you condemned to a terrible fate—you still lose. Unless you can change the future, but you won't know even if you're successful so you still lose.
8618845
Man, the way the site does comments is really irritating if you want to reply and actually see what the other person said. Not important to the point, but still.
Yes. He might be able to change history in some way. That is yet another thing we aren't shown him thinking about. Unfortunately he doesn't think about that, so that isn't something you can really claim affected his decision. You can say he gave it up because of what Rainbow meant to him, but from his internal perspective, he really did stop out of squeamishness. I mean, really. He isn't exactly fine with it, but he makes the decision in the first place knowing that Rainbow and all the rest of the bearers and Apple Bloom would likely die. It's one of the things he complains about, he clearly understands it. It's the justification used to not hang around the ponies, that he doesn't want to grow any more connected to them since it will feel worse to cause their deaths. Whether there are other reasons around his choice, obviously there were, I was being reductive. But the catalyst was his unwillingness to watch certain ponies die. Not for it to actually happen.
Well, it actually extremely easy to punish Seth. He takes everything personally and gets upset with almost no provocation. Just imagine the freak out he'd give at being told he has to go to prison under normal circumstances. For, say, assaulting minors.
Besides. I did say that the reason he should be punished is more because, genuinely, if the ponies who's families and homes were lost in the attack on Canterlot find out he played such a role in allowing it to happen, they would probably collectively lynch him. Think, in the real world, what would happen if a person knowingly facilitated a war and the ruling body of your country just let them off. You realise the point of punishment is more than just punitive? You have to discourage other people from thinking they can get away with that as well as the original offender. In this case, it also discourages others from taking their justifiable revenge on him.
To answer your question... I mean, as myself, probably not? Personally I would doubt my ability to fight off Sombra with a month or so of training with power he gave me considering he managed to wipe out the human race. Plus in my head, the act of saving the humans would likely directly change history and result in all the ponies being written out of the world and being effectively dead anyway. A bit of a "prime directive" I'm only responsible for all their deaths if I take action to change the past, not if I allow things to be how they already were.
Seth, of course would. I won't dispute that. It's just not an action I have sympathy for. Sometimes it feels like he's putting his old relationships on a pedestal just so he doesn't have to interact with others. It's not like the world actually was better for him back then and he'd just be going back to war. Maybe the possibility of revenge would have added to the motivation, but again, he doesn't think about that. He only thinks about the selfish issues, soooo... I don't really see a reason to be nice about him.
Still like the story though.