12: Set Up the End
Close those jaws! Yes, this story is ALIVE!! 
Phew! AP testing is over, and I'm back! (despite much delay...) I hope you enjoy the latest chapter, and as always I'm glad to see your love and support in this project of mine. Honestly, I feel like this chapter just isn't quite right, but I've fooled around with it too long to do anything much more. I guess I'm just ready to move into the final chapters, and finally be able to look at this story with pride, because I finished it. Thank you all, I'll have an update soon.
-TBK
When the nurse had finally left him alone, Snape pulled himself off the bed and stood on his own two feet for the first time in a month. It had been too long. His legs ached and his head was still spinning. The month of idle waste wasn't going to bother him much, but the agonizing things his mind had been subjected to, the horrors he'd relived over a month that felt like one bad night...
The sun was shining, but it wasn't as bright as Snape remembered it. Good, he preferred the darkness anyways, and did not spend more than a few seconds near the window. He went over to the wall and stuck his hands against it, resting his head on his arm. Slowly, he got down on one knee and maintained that position. Blasted magical land of insanity. Hogwarts was far kinder.
War was coming. Darkness was hovering over Equestria, literally, perhaps, and if the changelings hadn't made their move by now, it would occur soon. Waiting was never easy, but wait they would. Wait and prepare. In a sense of self-debauchery, he was glad. He never asked for another life, he never wanted one. He believed that death would embrace him with open arms, and that was the end of it. Dumbledore got that nicety. All the others that had died in that Godforsaken war. Even Voldemort himself was likely in whatever hell of an afterlife he earned. But not Snape. That would only be fair. This was the moment where he had to live up to all those things he used to say, like "life isn't fair". One life was more than enough for him, but complaining was of no use; when was it? Push past it, concentrate...focus.
No magic was powerful enough to get him out of this mess, no book could teach him how to evade this judgement. Waiting this out was his only option. Now the waiting was almost over. But was two enough? Would his deeds here be good enough to make up for whatever he lacked back then? Or was it that he was doing too good a job? That lout calling himself the "Guide" was no help. There was no direction here, no rules, no goal, just a vague idea of what victory was and an impossible incentive to attain it.
"Snape?" Twilight's voice called from the door.
He inhaled and stood, covering up his physical state. When he walked over to meet her, she was more apprehensive than he'd ever sensed her to be. She look more hunched over, more tightened and strained. She looked cold.
"Snape, you're up." It was not a statement of positives or negatives, simply fact.
Snape looked down at her, eyes getting stronger with his cold demeanor, the black gems he used on students that disappointed him. He breathed in deeply too, partially to finish his recovering and partially to announce that he felt more alive than ever. He was beginning to come back now.
"Don't concern yourself over me...what's happened this past month?"
She wasn't very taken aback, and she did seem more stoic, and did not hesitate to answer his question, "A lot has happened, frankly...the same day you were put into a coma, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna got into a fight."
The aforementioned victory was placed into jeopardy whenever such a thing happened, and with this new mindset of hers, he couldn't be sure that neither of them had died. She just watched him take in the news, and he let the silence grow.
It was a sort of relief when Twilight walked over to the dim sunlight beaming in through the window and went on with her explanation, "Princess Celestia was put into a coma of her own. Things have turned upside down ever since. She woke up a couple weeks back, but that hasn't helped anything."
"Can she still fulfill her role as Princess, or is the dimmed sun a token of her fall from power?"
"She remains weakened, and as you say, the sun shows it. The first time she raised it after waking up, it was half as bright as it was now. Slowly, she has regained her power, but she's not back to full strength. In response, Luna has become more of a pariah, hiding herself away in shame. Cadence has been getting worse too. She needs you. You helped her, but not enough. If you look closely, you can see the pained fatigue behind her eyes..."
"And what of your brother? What about you?"
She smiled faintly, but still facing away from him, "We're all a mess."
"It seems that whenever I leave you all alone things tend to go to hell."
"Heh...I honestly can't decide whether the special qualities you've brought to Equestria make me want to be happy and proud to call you friend, or if the trouble just your name alone has caused is enough to have earned you my scorn. You've already read me like a book. You know this past month has changed me. Let's just say everypony has become darker since you left us."
She spun back around and looked him face to face. His was as unreadable as he could make it, as always. Her face was suspicious, alert and depressed too. Some of the old Twilight shone through, but it was caged right now, and she was unwilling to grasp the key and open the door to let it out. War makes fatalities that go seen and unseen.
"The world itself is about to get darker," Snape replied, "and we don't have much time. I have learned important things, and we all need to hear them. I'd assume the other royals in the city?"
"Of course. With the changeling spies still lurking, we've all had to take our turns rounding up intruders and tying loose ends, minus Cadence and Celestia."
"Tying loose ends?" He echoed, suggesting a faint intrigue.
"We haven't been killing them, if that's what your parroting was meant to ask. Needless to say, they won't be of any use to Queen Chrysalis anymore."
"Impressive, for ponies such as yourself."
"I suppose."
"Regardless, a meeting is necessary, I trust you will arrange one."
"I will. Let's say we start just after Luna raises the moon. You aren't invincible, after all. You should try and get more rest."
She began to walk out of the room, treading away with the glimmering afternoon's light; he stopped her with a tone he hadn't found use for since a trouble of a boy with spectacles was one of his students....and for what it was worth...he wasn't the worst student he'd ever taught.
"Sparkle..."
"Snape?"
"Don't wander too far. Even this world can only have so many liars."
A flash of movement. The facial muscles reacting to old habits. He triggered the Twilight of old, he could tell. He forced her to grab that key, and shove it with prejudice into the lock. She tried to hide it, but she did not live in darkness, and if she turned the key... She was not the strong will she was pretending to be. All she could do was nod and deter her sight from his piercing gaze.
"Goodbye, Severus."
The meeting paralleled his nightmare too much to say. They all sat in the same places, they all held the same hope, and fears, in their eyes as the disillusioned dream he'd had before. One big difference, however, was Celestia. Her coat seemed far dimmer, just as her sun did, and her mane was less vibrant. It was the one ripple in the picture that stuck out, but it was no comfort.
Overall, she looked much older, and she did not carry herself with the same power as before. Most noticeably, however, was the lack of proper posture on her part. He could not sense the pride in her. Then again, what did she have to be proud of right now? Her kingdom was falling apart. And he was there to put it back together, despite his disdain for her as a ruler.
Shining Armor was also more strained than Snape remembered. Hunting down the changeling spies seemed to fall into his hooves more than any other's. They were both going to take every shot at him they could, assuming the entire world hadn't gone upside down since his departure...and that was a real possibility.
"At last, Snape has awoken," Celestia announced when Cadence arrived, and they had fully convened. She was beaming with joy, on the inside, but Twilight was not incorrect, she was not prepared to face Chrysalis's mental might, "Have you anything to report?" the Solar Princess asked.
"I do."
He paused and looked each of them in the eye, showing no preference for any of them, nor any bias in his seriousness. Most of them looked back at him, but as a whole, all of the ponies seemed to have focused on what he was going to say. He stood up to better illustrate his point, and he strolled around the circular table, passing behind each of them at his own pace.
"I have seen the future. I know that it is Queen Chrysalis that has gone after you, Princess Cadence, and I know that a Changling invasion is imminent."
"Isn't that a little obvious? We figured Chrysalis was behind it all when you screwed up with the changeling spies," Shining Armor jabbed.
Snape paused, and smiled at the insult; he replied with no agitation at all.
"Tut tut, I have gone and miffed the Royal watchdog. Shame on me."
Snape's own jab was not received well by the others, and he moved on before anypony else could make issue of it, continuing his stroll and report with regained seriousness.
"The last time she attacked the city, she did so how I would have, with subtle planning and cunning trickery. She also underestimated you all, and she won't make the same mistake. She will come with fire and brimstone, and she will not settle on anything less than the ruins of this city becoming a monument to her glory."
None of them seem daunted, except for Cadence. Twilight also looked on edge, but not alarmed.
"But outright strength and overwhelming numbers alone will not win the battle. The winner will be the one who has enough power to defeat the other, as well as the one that has out-thought the enemy."
"And who has out-thought whom? Is there more you wish to tell us, Snape?" Luna asked.
"I only mean to say that we must be one step ahead of her. In light of that, our priorities must be examined. I know she has another door into the city, another secret entrance to flood this capitol with her agents. Surely it goes without saying that we must find it and expel them all."
"The numbers...just don't support that statement," Twilight interjected, glancing down at several of the papers she had in front of her, "we've rounded up almost all of the intruders we know of, and we're sure they're the only ones left. Unless Princess Luna and I have become inept, I can't see this second door as being truth."
"Then it is your word against mine," Snape dismissed.
"And who'll we believe? Our own, or you?" Shining Armor defended, "for all we know, you're as far gone under a spell of hers than I was the first time."
The others, particularly his wife, seemed to ingest that as a very real possibility. This was beginning to turn into a witch-hunt, and it would not do well to allow it to become a funeral.
"Supposing I am mistaken, that does not change the facts of the coming battle; I was going to suggest a pre-emptive strike anyways, so if you're all so convinced that the city is no danger, then you can all leave it."
"So now you're trying to get us to leave the capitol and go out to war with the changeling's main force. You aren't a very good double agent," Shining Armor accused, and stood up to stop Snape from passing by him.
"Settle down..." Celestia commanded.
"I have lived through hell and back, boy, and if you choose to ignore my advice, then you forsake my grace. I honestly wouldn't want to see most of injured, or worse, because of this moment, but in your case, I'll make an exception, P-"
"Sit down!" Celestia repeated, more loudly than before.
Her nephew obeyed, but Snape continued his circling motion after a moment to grasp his head, and breath in. He then went on with what he had to say.
"I will be leaving this city very shortly, and I will be going to stop the threat I know is just beyond the horizon. I request...I need you to help me. This will not be easy, it will not be short, and it will not end without suffering...but it must be done."
"You would die for us?" Celestia asked.
"Gladly."
There was no hesitation in his statement, but the double-meaning was not lost on any of them, except perhaps for Blueblood. She shot him a nasty look, but he remained, how she would likely describe him, "defiant". Never the less, Luna seemed to consider his words more readily than any of them, and he bent down closer to her as she stared past the table, taking care not to seem as though he was seducing her.
"I did not ask to save you. I never planned to be your guardian angel, but if I must draw my last breath to save a castle in the middle of supposedly quiet country, then it wouldn't be the first time, and I'd do it far more readily than before. I've seen what comes if you wait in your stronghold. I know the carnage of dark sorcery, and though it was under a different face back then, I know it has followed me here. You are all in danger, regardless of how much my words are taken to heart."
Luna watched him from the corner of her eyes, careful not to breath too deeply, just like him. He heard her mental whispers, her inner thoughts swirling like a fountain, unsure of where to go or where to end. They both remained on guard for a moment, and then Snape stood upright again and continued.
He went on circling them, pleading his case before hardened ears and closed off hearts, "I will take any soldiers who still spout the phrase... what was it? 'I believe in Severus Snape'?" He glanced at Luna again, "They will follow me, and I will try to avert this disaster before it arrives. If you wish to come with me, you must resign yourselves to hell, and if you are fortunate, you will come back to this city whole."
He sat down, and waited for them to give their response.
Each one kept silence alive, out of fear or uncertainty, or both. Shining Armor did not seem pleased, and Snape imagined him resisting his intentions with futility. Celestia seemed equally upset, but she also knew that Chrysalis was coming out to war without holding back. She could not afford to make many mistakes. They were far down a road of partisanship, but she would sooner fly away than stick to the path that led to destruction.
"I will have my guards follow you," Luna said quietly, not meeting his still eyes.
"I will go," Twilight also confirmed.
"I must ask you something, Snape, though I think I know the answer: Is there anything you'd like to tell us, anything important to share?" Celestia inquired, resting with a knowing glance.
All eyes shifted closer to examine the human wizard as he looked back at the others. He settled back further into the chair and folded his arms at his chest.
"I have told you all you need to know."
Celestia closed her eyes and inhaled, shivering with the rush of cold air into her nostrils. She held herself in that ecstasy as long as its memory was strong, and then she opened her eyes. She stood up and walked over to him with renewed vigor. She was not smiling now, but looked judgementally at him.
"So you know as much as we do? You've shared your entire heart with us?"
Snape stood up to meet her, and their gazes locked intensely; of all times, Celestia seemed most recovered now. That was it, the meeting was a witch hunt now. He swallowed and leaned down into her ear, whispering so that only she could hear.
"Put your trust in me, or turn your dagger on me now. What's it going to be?"
Her eyes narrowed, and she knew that he was hiding something. Perhaps if she hadn't been in a coma, she could do something about him. She wished. For some odd reason, Snape didn't seem to have many lasting effects from his coma. She bit her lip as he stared at her expectantly, and she did nothing more. He walked out of the room with his usual demeanor, and never looked back.
Celestia didn't bother to say anything, but like Snape, she merely walked away in silence. The others remained seated, and shared unsure glances. The only sound was a deathly quiet that reverberated around them all until Blueblood spoke for the first time.
"How rude..."
A fierce gale was stirring in the Mount of Chaos. Snape apparated inside blindly, for the chaotic energy bouncing around inside was too vast to make a concrete plan of entrance. Rather than the previous world, a world at least bearing some semblance to Equestria, this time, the mountain was more akin to an apocalyptic nightmare. Lava flowed where grass once was, and flowers were replaced with bubbling blow holes of toxic waste. Even the weather was conflicted, with bitter-cold and icy winds flashing in and out of existence around fiery tornados and the explosive atmosphere.
He immediately brought his hand to his mouth and covered his face, stumbling about the large cake, which was now melting and rotting from the inside out, as if it were afflicted by a magical illness. His feet were already sinking in, which alarmed him slightly, but he was soon distracted by a booming voice in the foul air.
"Oh my goodness, it's been five-ever since my favorite pen pal popped in. Or are you more of a...shall we say, dealer?"
"I was unavailable, as I'm sure you know."
"Excuses will get you nowhere; I'm actually pretty miffed at you, sir, and I expect a big payoff before I let you take your leave!"
Snape, who was until that moment spinning around every few seconds to locate the Master of Chaos, was teleported off the melting cake with a bright flash of light. After a momentary stun, he realize that Discord had found him, and they were both standing on a large bubble, ready to pop and release the yellow-green concoction within at any moment. Below them was a volcano, and likewise, one hovered above them, upside down, available to destroy them at any second, though it seemed now that the lava inside was content to remain in defiance of gravity.
Snape also noticed that the same ponies from his initial visit, now paler, skinnier, and much closer to seeing that bastard Guide, were floating around in the volcanos both above and below them. They seemed to be extremely weak and barely conscious, but not so mutated as the other critters that ended up captives of the Chaos Lord. Discord paid them no mind.
"Like what I've done with the place?"
Snape stared back in a way that told the draconequus he was not impressed or pleased with the work that had his magic had funded. Discord shrugged it off and jumped off the bubble to float in the air, unaffected by the raging winds of ice.
"Now then, before we get to the matter of my payment, I think we ought to discuss this new pal of yours," He said angrily, grabbing a couple of notecards that he flashed into existence a second before and shoving his face right into them, "...Malum, is it?" He tossed the cards away, "I don't like it. At all."
"Necessary precautions, nothing more."
Discord raised one eyebrow and leaned in closer, and the bubble Snape stood on weakened. He stroked his beard a few times with his claws, then leaned back, content enough with the answer.
"I suppose you did have to dig yourself out of a hole there, huh?" He chuckled as Snape's eyes wandered to the volcano above them, watching the ponies carried by the drifting, red liquid, carrying them around in an iron grip. Discord followed his line of sight up and grinned.
"You're preparing to join this war, I see. I trust you won't jump in until I've finished my business, as per our arrangement?"
Discord feigned shock, "Of course! As I've said, we're both liars, so we can trust each other to the fullest extent, right? I know you a little too well to try anything of the sort!"
Snape looked at his partner with intrigue, "Do you? Know me so well?"
Discord laughed much harder after that inquiry, "I know every inch of your black heart! Let's take these ponies in here with me, and compare them to the ones all safe and snuggled up in the castle with you, shall we?
Those ponies at the capitol, they don't really know you, and they don't trust you. They know you're a liar, but that's it. But me? I trust you, because I know without a doubt that you're a double-crossing liar without remorse or sympathy! I know you better than your mother ever did. How do I know this? Those ponies I've been torturing since before you showed up on my doorstep; you could've freed them if you really wanted, but you let them suffer!
No matter what you used to be, in this world, you're a traitorous back-stabber who's only in it for himself...oh, but then that's not too far off from yester-life, right? It seems the Half-Blood Prince is no hero."
Another deep cackle sent Discord rolling in the air.
"It served my purpose to let them remain with you..."
"As I said, you operate with yourself first and foremost in your mind, which is why by the end of this little adventure, you'll either keep a Princess from death or die yourself in the attempt, and then you'll be gone, after which I can make my move and you won't turn your mind back here ever again. Tell me I'm wrong!"
Snape said nothing.
"Alright, we've smoothed things over for now, please be on your way once you've promptly delivered me the power you promised!"
Silently, Snape drew his wand and waved it in front of Discord, blasting him with golden power; the Master of Chaos grew taller and his voice deeper while he absorbed the power, and the entire mountain shook. The lava burned brighter, the winds chilled more fiercely, the toxic waste singed the air with a louder, more menacing sizzle. The bubble popped and Snape fell towards the volcano beneath him, looking down into the mush pot of ponies who were just now coming to realize what was happening.
They all looked at him as he plummeted downward, their hopes elevating for the smallest fraction of a second, and then crushed harder than ever before as Snape was teleported back out of the mountain by Discord's magic.
The equestrian forces were still in final preparations for war, and the moment of waiting was coming to a close. Though given a chance to rest, Snape found himself busier than he had ever been before, attending to all his needs, not to mention those of whom were dependent on him. In particular, it was stressed to him that one last meeting was necessary with Cadence before the invasion broke out.
The mental attacks were more detrimental to her health than any of the ponies could have anticipated or realized, and Snape took her down to his classroom to create a potion he believed would alleviate the long-lasting tensions and stressful offensives that frequently assaulted her. She stood staring at a poster on the wall, reading or pretending to read while Snape dropped various ingredients into the cooking brew.
"Would you describe the after effects as more of a burning, pounding, or spinning?" He asked while measuring blue liquid from a bottle.
"I guess it's mostly a burning," Cadence replied without looking at him. Tensions from the meeting must've boiled up after he left. She was more introverted than he recalled, but he also caught wind of a desire to be near him. Perhaps the mentality of being attacked by Chrysalis was a comforting bond. Snape was skilled enough to leave those pains behind, but Cadence was subject to them at all times. Another connection of their minds might change that, but that is exactly why they both knew it was a bad idea.
He added the blue measurement into the potion and pulled the pony potions book nearer to him, crossing out some of what was written and hastily scribbling in his own directions. He reached down to the cabinet below the counter and took four vials, adding each into the cauldron one after another in five second intervals. She was still looking into the poster.
"How frequent are these attacks now days?"
"I honestly can't say..." She replied, rubbing her hooves into her eyes.
"Then I need your best estimate."
"I'd say...once every five hours?"
He nodded and bent down again, reaching into the cabinet for something else. When he could not find what he was looking for, he reached up into the top cabinet and rummaged around until he found a very large, expensive looking pot. He opened the lid and a terrible smell wafted towards the Princess, causing her to move herself away and gaze uncertainly at the potion, which began to bubble up as he added the red liquid from the pot.
"Lastly," he asked, "how far along are you now? Three months?"
"Four," she corrected, and winced as he added a few more drops from the baster sitting in the pot.
He began cleaning up, and Cadence found the courage to look closer at the potion, which was slowly cooling off after he put out the flames. It smelled more atrocious than before, and looked like dirt tasted better. Her face turned lighter green the closer she got to it, so she decided to walk several paces away and look at another poster.
"I'm afraid all benefits in life also come with detriments," Snape told her upon noticing her struggle, "even in this life. Not the perfect world one might imagine after all..."
"How many doses do I have to take?"
"As many as possible."
"Wonderful..."
Snape finished cleaning, and approached her sternly, "Now I do have to tell you that this potion does come with an almost unbelievable plethora of side effects. You needn't concern yourself with most of them, but be extremely careful about exactly what you eat, and for that matter, I would begin eating less if I were you."
"There's nothing fatal...?"
"To you? No, but the child...is another story. I'll have a list written up for you."
He walked to his desk and began that task as Cadence took another quick peek at the cauldron. It was no more pleasant this time.
"My Queen," Malum reported as he strode into the throne room, "the final preparations are under way. I am ready to begin my siege at a moment's notice!"
"Excellent," Chrysalis replied, her eyes and horn glowing with intense magical force.
The long-lost changeling eyed his soon-to-be-dethroned Queen with suspicion as she finished up whatever mental task she was attending to. She seemingly paid him no more than minimal attention.
"When you are ready, allow me to lead your mightiest forces into the battlefield."
"You will be the first to see the pathetic pony towns burn, I promise you that and much more."
"Very good, great Queen."
Chrysalis allowed the green magic to disperse all around her throne, and the glimmering remnants of her magic fell like dust over Malum's head, in a sign of anointment. Her smile was as proud as ever.
After attending to Cadence's medicine, Snape found the time to complete his last bit of preparation work, and he retreated to his office and locked himself inside. Hours passed and candles fell shorter without interruption, until a loud knocking assaulted his door. He used his wand to fling it unlocked and open.
The youngest Princess and her posse of friends were at the door, each one bearing a smile. He invited them in silently and placed his wand in his hands as they obliged his invitation.
"What might you want me to do for you?" Snape asked, looking down at his wand and tampering with it as Rainbow shut the door.
"Can we speak with you for a moment?" Rarity enquired.
"By all means," He answered, still fidgeting with the magical tool in his hands.
"We know our friendship is...unique," Twilight announced, "and we're glad that you can accept it like that, but we'd like to take things a little farther, if you don't mind."
Snape looked up and directly at her for the first time since her arrival, and he noticed that she had been doing some key-work. Her smile was no less sincere or bright than the first time the idea of being friends popped into her head. The others looked equally hopeful. He, however, was not smiling.
He set the wand down on his desk, and looked at them all more closely, "Speak your minds."
They shared a somewhat nervous glance with one another, and Pinkie stepped forward; Her smile was not so deterred.
"Wellllllll, Snapey-" She began with a sly, almost suggestive look.
"Don't call me that..."
"We know that you know things we don't, and we know you'll want to spill the beans, because honestly, who doesn't spill beans now and again? It's like they stick to the pot like taffy or something, and-"
Snape held up a hand to shush her, and looked past Pinkie at the others, "Is this really another attempt at being a closer friend to me? My friends are not historically fortunate, and I've made myself clear on this matter, I will not bend who I am to accommodate you; as for your pathetic attempts at getting me to 'spill the beans', I assure you, my secrets are not for the faint of heart."
He looked right at Fluttershy as he finished, and the yellow pegasus shrunk a little in the background, but her friends were not deterred. Applejack walked closer, standing next to Pinkie.
"I don't know how you live with your friends, but around here, friends truly know each other and look out for one another, and I can't honestly say I know much about you, not that any of us do. Like Twi said, we're glad that you're comfortable with how close we all are, but we'd like a little more than what we've got."
"Right, It's not a bad thing to get to know somepony better than you already do," Rarity stepped up to add, so that the three of them crowded around his desk.
Snape stood up now, and looked down on them all, noticeably angrier, "You say so only because you've never known someone like me."
"But we'd like to know you more, that's why we're here," Twilight defended.
"My secrets are my own, and as we've already been through this, I suggest you turn away now. There is nothing good to come from knowing me any better, and I am far from interested."
"Maybe," Fluttershy suggested from the rear, "You only think so because you've never tried to open like this either?"
Snape glared rudely, but Rainbow and Applejack stepped in front of their friend with stern faces of their own; "We're here to help you, but we can't if you won't choose to!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Friendship is about faith and trust...and...pixie dust? No, cupcakes..." Pinkie added from the side, more and more confused as she ended her thought.
"It goes beyond that," Rarity told him, "it's about honesty, kindness...love."
"Don't you dare speak to me about love!"
Snape grabbed his wand and pushed himself past them all, stepping between them with fervor. They let him pass, but Twilight stopped him at the door.
"That sounded pretty hypocritical!"
Snape paused and spun back around, eyes more wild than any of them had ever seen, eyes like black holes sucking out all the attitude and emotion in their souls, and ingesting it to produce a reaction far more combustible. Fluttershy most of all was stepping back, in contrast to Twilight being the only one to step forward.
"What do you know of love, Sparkle? What do any of you know about love? Love is-"
He put his hand over his face and half-turned his face away, almost ready to give in to their desires.
"Let it out..." Twilight encouraged.
"We want to be friends to heal this sort of pain..." Fluttershy squeaked out from her spot behind the desk.
Snape revealed his face again, unaffected by their words and numb to his own emotions; he leaned back slightly, and replied with a calm demeanor, "Trust me or don't. I will do what I must. I will do what I was sent into this world to accomplish, and I won't be looking back afterwards..."
He spun around again after muttering a bitter "good day" to them, but was stopped by Rainbow Dash this time.
"You act like some kind of hero, and I can't deny that you are cool and powerful and all that, but a real hero is somepony who knows what friendship means!"
"Somepony who opens their heart of darkness and invites in the light!" Rarity bolstered.
"Unlike you all, I am comfortable in darkness. I always have been, and I always will be. Do not come to pester me about deepening our friendship, because it is plenty deep for me. I am not like any of you, and with any fortune, I never will be. I will do what I must, but don't pretend or try to know me, because you do not know what I have done nor what I am willing to do. You do not know darkness, for there can only be so much in this world...Good day."
He apparated away and left them speechless.
"Should've had a cupcake ready..." Pinkie finally at last lamented with a facehoof.
Snape stood alone on the castle wall, the moon's glow touching his black garments, but not his pale face. His hands were still tampering with his wand, and he was rather fixated on his work. The few guards that passed by now and again left him alone, but some did smile upon getting far enough away from him.
'Silly ponies...no sense of privacy, no idea of what they prod at with giddy smiles. Never the wiser to the ways of the world...' He thought, fueling his work with resentment, despite his attempts to shake the matter from his head.
"It's awfully rude to think such things," Luna commented as she flew down and landed behind him.
He looked up and turned to her, narrowing his eyes at what she was suggesting with her words, which caused her to chuckle. It seemed almost all of these ponies had lightened up since he came back to the land of the living, irony in that fact be damned.
"You looked like you were thinking some mean things," She admitted.
"I do have a right to think what I will, do I not?"
"Yes," Luna admitted with a shrug.
"Do get on with what you came to say," Snape told her, now back to his wand.
"Honestly, I don't know exactly why I came...I guess just to apologize for the things I thought about you this past month. Not having you was bad enough, but without my sister..."
"Yes, I heard you all fell to pieces in some form or another."
"Well, I had my doubts. But you're back now, and I think I can once again say that I believe in you."
"That's encouraging," he said, just emotional enough to avoid her getting hit over the head with the sarcasm.
"Well, I am ready to stand by you in the battle that comes. I think that despite how we may at times act, we all are. I know what it is like to walk in darkness myself, but my sister did not shy away from me, nor others of the same path we have gone down."
Snape put the wand back in his sleeve, and turned to face her completely. Though sheepish, she seemed sincere enough. He wondered if he'd hesitate, if things came to that. He'd be harder pressed not to with her than with Celestia, at least. Luna didn't say anything else, but deferred to him.
"I will remember that."
She smiled, but it was broken as Snape jerked his head down and clutched it suddenly. She stepped forward and reached out, but he spun around once again, and turned into the stream of black shadows that was his form of flight, traveling quickly down the mountain. She was left alone and with wide eyes.
"Snape..."
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FIRST COMMENT THIS HAS NO MEANING BUT I WANTED IT TO BE THER ANY WAY!!!!!!
by the way Ilike how snape is not opening his heart to the pony plz have him allways be sower....Please
Alright... who opened the necronomicon..
Well seems Discord been reading up on decor from the chaos gods...with a few changes of course. But wow your Discord is...a weeeee bit dark huh? Ah well lets see how this whole insane set up works out, if anything should be...well very violent.
For some reason, I now want to rewatch old harry potter spoofs. Potter Puppet Pals, for example.
6046581 Rest assured, you are not the first person to come to me with such a request, and I remain firmly routed in the idea of portraying Snape as he was in the books and movies.
6047319 Ha ha ha ha ha!!
You know, I have to owe my interpretation of Discord to the fact that I also frequently RP as The Joker; naturally, my greatest influence was Mark Hamill, the man who can make The Joker be hilarious, scary as all buck, and anything in between, up and down, horizontally slanted, and all. But, this is a Harry Potter crossover, so it isn't supposed to be all buckets of sunshine, right? 
6049697 yay!
I was starting to get a little worried when all of the mane 6 came into his office I was like sh## this better not
Be what I think it is
So many authors make the human with a dark past or secret, sad past life, ect pour there hearts to the ponies I like that u didnt do it and thats why I read your storys so plz keep it up
6050962 Snape doesn't deserve such a drastic change of character; he's perfect just the way he is...you know, more or less
6053441 snape is not a very nice guy and a fair amount of people I know hate on him but honestly I like snape as much as any of the main characters.
OMG I AM GOING TO ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yay
I wish hogwarts was real
Or is it real
6053441 also I was pleasantly surprised when I came across a snape in equestria I really didn't expect someone to make a story like this so great job and thinking
I am totally not going to go and tell everyone I know about this and share this story all over the Internet cause you to become famous and rich
6054304 Hey hey now! Don't go out and crush my dreams
On that note, when I conceived the idea for this fic, I was thrilled to get started and began working on it at once, but when I posted it, I noticed that another Snape in Equestria fic had been publish just before: Always, by Vlad. It was just one of those weird things that happened, you know?
And I hope your trip is loads of fun!!! If you find Hogwarts, let me know!
I can't thank you enough for not butchering Snape's character. If I could like this 10 more times, I would.
6125157
Thank you! I've been swamped lately, and the newest chapter has been revised several times, but I know I can keep going and chipping away at it, rather, I know I have to...because of awesome readers like you who let me know how much you enjoy the fruits of my labors. You are, as I'm sure you know, awesome! 
Love this story I'm considering doing a crossover myself but mr. Auther may i make asuggestion
8512551
Yaes?