Chapter 15: Sibling Rivalry
Chapter 15: Sibling Rivalry
The white and magnificent pony calmly approached Alex. Like Luna, he saw that she was an alicorn, but she was taller. She wore golden regalia and a golden crown on her head. She had the sun as her cutie mark. There was no doubt in his mind as to who this was. Overcome with fatigue and breathtaking awe, Alex collapsed on his knees and bowed his head low before her, refusing to look her in the eyes.
Surprised by his actions, Celestia remained calm, bowed and introduced herself. “Greetings. I am Princess Celestia. On behalf of all ponykind I wish to welcome you to Equestria. I have wanted to meet you, young Alex.”
She knew his name. Alex was too tired to even bother asking her how. He lowered his head deeper and began to sob.
“Goodness! What’s wrong?” asked Celestia concerned. She slowly approached him, resulting only in Alex crouching further away, still refusing to look at her.
“Just go ahead.” Alex whimpered. “I can’t take it anymore. Just be done with me and make it quick.”
Celestia gently kneeled down beside him and gently wrapped one of her wings around him to comfort him. Alex cringed as he felt her soft feathers touch him. “Dear Alex… Don’t cry. I’m not going to hurt you…”
“Please your Highness, stop!” he sobbed. “You don’t realize what I’ve been through!” His eyes brimming over with tears as he suddenly looked her in the eyes. “What do you want from me? Just say it! Just say it and spare me the lies and deceits.”
“Please Alex. Rise. Dry your tears and be at ease. Please listen to me and believe me when I say that I mean you no harm. I’m here to offer you a chance. ”
Alex dried his tears. “A chance to what..?”
She sat up on her haunches and smiled. “To return home.”
Alex’s eyes widened as he looked up at Celestia as she smiled at him. He began seeing red flags. “I said no more lies! I was fooled once, so I’m not falling for it again!”
“No young Alex. I mean it.” she gently placed her hoof under his chin. “Alex… Look at me and listen… I have the means to send you home.”
Alex looked into her eyes. They seemed sincere. Still Alex wasn’t entirely convinced however, as Luna’s words still echoed in his head. “Home..? My home? My world? You mean… You’re actually going to send me home?”
Celestia widened her smile and nodded.
“But… But I thought… Luna said it was impossible…”
“Last time I spoke to her that was true. The mirror that brought you here was incomplete and did not allow travel in its current state. Her actions could’ve easily placed you in terrible danger had it not been through sheer luck. ” Celestia then stood up. “Yet for her foolish actions, it may have been a blessing in disguise. After you broke through and escaped Canterlot, I studied the mirror in hopes of finding a way to salvage it. What I discovered was an anomaly.”
“An… Anomaly?”
“An anomaly that somehow still connects our world with yours that I even now can still sense around you.” Alex looked at his hands. He couldn’t see anything. “The essence of the mirror’s magic is invisible, but it it’s there and it’s faint. Once Luna pulled you through to our world, it magically attached itself on to you like a tether and kept the gateway open.”
“You mean…”
“Yes Alex. The way back is still open.” she smiled.
Alex listened to every word. It seemed almost too good to be true.
“But, like all tethers, it can be easily severed. I’ve sensed the connection getting weaker. You’ve spent a long time in our world and it won’t be long before the gateway eventually collapses.”
“If you’re not returned through the mirror soon, the gateway will cut the tether and leave you trapped here indefinitely.”
“You mean… I would never return home? Ever?”
“Not forever. But like I said, the mirror was never completed. I myself spent years trying to figure out its secrets. To break through the magical barrier and reopen the gateway back to your world would take years, if not a lifetime.” Alex cringed at that thought.
“This is why I want you to come with me. With my help, I will not only make sure you are safely returned to your world, but also finally solve the secret in breaking the barrier that has kept us from visiting worlds for so long.” she smiled.
Alex was utterly speechless. He was finally going home. He was finally going to escape this pony nightmare!
*‘MORNING MOOD’ PLAYING*
Alex was overjoyed. Finally he was going home. No longer did he have to run. No longer did he have to fear ponies chasing him to use him for degrading and humiliating things. No more would he-
VINYL SCREECH!
“Wait…” he suddenly said. “This isn’t a trick, right? You are sending me home for real, right? Not toying with me just so you can lock me up in some lab, right?”
Celestia blinked. “No?”
“Exploit me so you can make more money?”
She cocked her eyebrow. “Uh…No?”
“Put me in a zoo”
“No.”
“Change me into a pony?”
Celestia looked deadpanned “What…?” Then she shook her head. “I mean… No!”
“Make me your pet and force me to entertain your guests?”
“No!”
“Crush me like a bug?”
“Heavens… NO!”
“Lend me out to school children so they can earn their cutie marks?”
“No…”
“Turn me into a statue so that I may be preserved for all eternity?”
“Oh for ‘me’ sake…!” she facehoofed. “Of course not!”
*MORNING MOOD’ CONT. *
Finally he was going home. He jumped and cheered as imaginary fireworks exploded, signifying his indescribable joy.
“You’re going to help me change your world forever.” said Celestia.
VINYL SCREECH AGAIN!
“What?” Alex froze in mid-air and the fireworks silenced. Dropping back down to the ground, he looked at Celestia. “Change my world? Forever? What do you mean?”
Celestia smiled. “I shall explain. As you know, the mirror was never completed and sadly much of its secrets passed away along with Starswirl. Since that time, I have been using it merely to explore and study the universe, travel farther and beyond anything dreamed up by ponykind. What I didn’t predict, was that I would find life. One day I found it. I found you. I found humanity!”
*****
Meanwhile, in the garden...
POP!
Finally having pulled her horn out of the tree, Luna got back up, shook off the foliage and straightened herself. ‘*Phew!* Am I glad to be rid of that. Now I have to find Alex fast and ‘save him’ before somepony else find him.’
*****
“I’ve seen the Earth you herald from, young Alex. I’ve seen its beauty and breathtaking wonders, but I’ve also seen your people and the toils and hardships you struggle through every day. You are at the mercy of nature and you strive above all to tame it, often with terrible results. I’ve also seen you squabble and fight over land and power, causing unnecessary suffering and grief to the innocent.” Hearing her describe his world made Alex’s heart heavy. Earth was nothing like Equestria and it sounded like she didn’t take too kindly to what they doing.
“With your help I will nullify the barrier and finally open the Earth to Equestria. Once the gateway is fully working, I shall enter your world and reveal myself to your people, guide you all into a bright and better future and spread the friendship and harmony of Equestria throughout your lands.”
Friendship and harmony did sound like a pretty sweet deal. It would be nice reprieve from what he had been through. But for some reason Alex felt uneasy about all that. “That sounds great and all, your Highness. But what if they won’t listen?”
“I’m certain that once our worlds meet, they will listen. When I show them what I and my little ponies can do, I’m confident that they will not resist my offer.” Celestia gestured towards Captain Fury Feather, who cantered up and saluted. “The time has nearly come Captain. Is everything prepared?”
“Yes your Highness! Many of our troops have been called in and we’ll be ready before nightfall!”
“Excellent Captain. You may carry on.”
“Yes your Highness!” Fury Feather saluted and left.
As the Captain galloped away, Alex suddenly had a creepy thought enter his mind. He saw how guards were galloping around, lining up and presenting their arms. Alex had sneaky suspicion as to what was going on and a dreadful thought appeared in his mind…
~~*~~
Alex ran for his life. His city was under siege.
More humans fled passed him as unicorn soldiers marched down streets and rounded up stragglers, using their magic to trap them in inescapable magic bubbles. Some humans would try defending themselves, only to have their attacks deflected by unicorn shields before being disarmed and captured.
Above, pegasi troops manipulated the weather, causing lightning and storms that grounded air-traffic and crippled sea-bearing ships. Some even dove down and fished up escaping humans in nets.
Earth-ponies manipulated the earth, causing earthquakes and floods. Their kicks sent huge boulders across the sky and into buildings while some kicked down buildings with ease. Others herded humans up like livestock.
~~*~~
Alex cringed as everything around him seemed to scream one thing; Invasion!
He could just see it now; Celestia would first try to reason and persuade them to follow her Equestrian teachings. If they refused her offer, she would then invade his world with her army. As advanced as his people were, they would be no match against a race of ponies that could use magic and manipulate nature itself.
Luna herself even said that she could move the moon, and if Celestia was the Princess of the Sun…
~~*~~
He watched as Celestia stood on a mountain top, looking over his city. She then used her horn and, to Alex’s disbelief, magically pulled the sun closer to Earth. She pulls it closer and closer and didn’t stop until the heat became unbearable and cries of surrender and mercy filled the air.
“AAH! NO MORE!!!”
“IT BURNS!!!”
“WHERE’S MY SUN BLOCK?!?”
“COULD YOU BACK IT UP A BIT? YOU'RE RUINING MY TAN!”
“WHOA! THE SUN IS REALLY BRIGHT TODAY! WICKED!”
~~*~~
‘No… That can’t be…’ Alex shook his head. ‘This whole thing sounds like some bad movie plot for a ‘Planet of the Horses’! She can’t possibly be planning this..?’
“If all goes well, you will be seen as a hero to all, Alex.” smiled Celestia.
‘Hero to whom?’ Alex wondered.
“I have to admit that I’m excited!” Celestia said with a giddy tone in her voice. Exciting wasn’t really the word Alex would describe his feelings right now. “I can’t wait to share this news with my faithful student Twilight Sparkle.”
“Twilight? Student? Did… Did you say Tw-?” It then struck him. How could he have forgotten? He remembered back to when he met Twilight…
~~*~~
Shortly after having crashed into the Everfree by that strange light, Alex stared with shock and surprise at the lavender unicorn in front of him as she cleared her throat and presented herself.
“Ahem! Like I said, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I am the faithful student of Princess Celestia, Mistress of the Sun and ruling Monarch of all Equestria. What’s your name?”
~~*~~
How could he have forgotten! She was Twilight’s teacher!
“I’ll wager she’ll be thrilled. I won’t even be surprised if she tells all her friends about this.”
Alex cringed. The mere mentioning of Twilight and her friends made him imagine the most awful and degrading scenes imaginable should they ever find out about his world...
~~*~~
Celestia trotted down the calm streets of the conquered city as her guards moved about to maintain order. She eyed Twilight as she cross-examined a human, with Spike crossing out a checklist beside her.
“There! I think that’s just about enough…”
“My faithful student. I trust you are pleased with your findings?”
“Yes! Thank you so much princess!” said Twilight happily as rows of cages with various trapped humans were carried by guards into the portal leading to Equestria. “Now I have enough humans to complete my work and finally win that Hoofbell!”
“Always a pleasure Twilight.” Celestia smiled as Twilight hugged her. “I look forward to see your presentation.”
*****
Applejack pulled a rope with several tied up humans following her, locking them up in a corral. She pulled off her Stetson to wipe off some sweat.
“Ho-wee! Now Ah got me round up enough humans to start mah own circus!” said Applejack as she looked over her first catch of humans who were now performing various acts and stunts. She was soon joined by Big Mac, who arrived with more tied up humans strapped to his back... “Great work there fellas! Boy Howdy, them sugarcubes are gonna us filthy rich as Filthy Rich!”
“Eeyup!” said Big Mac.
As she looked over their performances, she then eyed a Mime and frowned. “You need work though…”
“How adorably amusing!” said Celestia as she appeared beside them. “I hope to see them perform in Canterlot soon.” Applejack removed her Stetson and bowed.
“Thank ya’ll Princess!”
*****
“This way little ones.” called Fluttershy as she was guiding a group of human children over to Celestia. “It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. Princess Celestia is very nice. She won’t hurt you.” The children looked at Celestia with a mixture of fear and awe.
“Oh Princess! You don’t know how happy this makes me! With this many humans, I can start my own human adoption center. Give these poor little ones a nice home from this harsh world.”
“A pleasure my little pony.”
“Isn’t that adorable?” They turned towards the voice and noticed a mare and her filly approaching. The young filly galloped over and hugged one of the little girls.
“Mommy! I want this one! I promise I’ll take good care of her!”
The little girl was confused. Normally it would be she that wanted a pony, not the other way around.
“A good choice little one.” said Fluttershy with a smile. Celestia smiled as well.
“She won’t be any trouble, will she?” asked the mare.
“Oh no! They were all a bit unruly at first. But after a little stern talking to, they became quiet and timid as sweet little lambs. Right little ones?”
“DON’T STARE AT US!”
*****
“This was a wonderful idea Pinkie.” said Celestia as she inspected a group of humans who had somehow been turned into equestrian ponies. Some just stood around wondering what to do while others had trouble getting used to walking on fours. “Now we’ll have enough ponies to achieve our goal a lot quicker.”
“Not to mention all the great parties we’ll have! Wee~!” Pinkie squealed as she bounced up and down.
One ponified human wearing a business suit looked himself over. “For Pete sake, I’m an accountant! How I am I supposed to type numbers with these?” he raised his hooves.
“Easy! Use this!” replied Pinkie and threw him an abacus. The ponified accountant held up the abacus and was utterly speechless. “I knew you’d love it!”
*****
“Marvelous! Simply marvelous!” Rarity exclaimed as she inspected a line of humans all dressed in fancy attire. “Princess, these humans will make excellent hoofservants for the castle. And I’m certain the Canterlot nobles will benefit nicely having one of these in their households.”
“I’m sure they’ll be in good hooves.” smiled Celestia as she overlooked a noble busily making his selections.
“I believe I shall take this one.” He magically pulled forth a young girl who shivered as he levitated her in the air and inspected her.
“An excellent choice good Sir.” said Rarity as she approached them. “I believe she used to be a manicurist.”
“Wonderful! I was looking for somepony to help me polish these.” He showed them his badly polished and horribly trimmed hooves that made both Rarity and the girl recoil in disgust.
“Um… On the bright side dear, he is a noble.” said Rarity with a forced smiled as she slightly pitied the girl.
The girl grimaced. ‘Oh joy…’
*****
“Ready? NOW!”
KA-BLAM!
Rainbow Dash and a group of pegasi kicked their storm clouds and launched a barrage of lightning bolts that caused many humans to scatter and hide. “Look at them run!” she laughed. “This world is great! So many humans that I can play with!” she smirked while rubbing her hooves.
“What are you doing?” asked Celestia as she flew up to her.
“Nothing! We’re just playing with these humans here. Right fellas!” The other pegasi smiled and nodded. “Right guys?” She scowled at the humans below and they all nervously smiled and nodded, too afraid to answer back.
“Okay, have fun. But please be careful. They’re pretty fragile.”
“Will do!” Rainbow saluted, waiting for Celestia to be gone right before happily sending a bolt that sent more humans to scatter.
KA-BLAM!
“Best World. EVER!” she laughed wickedly.
*****
“Did you make sure it's tight enough?” asked Scootaloo.
“What are you girls doing?” asked Celestia as she approached the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She then saw an elderly human all wrapped up with bandages like a mummy. “My goodness!”
“It’s okay.” said Scootaloo.
“We’re just seeing if we can earn our ‘Human Doctor’ cutie marks.” said Sweetie Belle.
“Playing doctors! How delightfully amusing.” smiled Celestia. “Carry on.”
As soon as she left, the Crusaders drew their attention back to the bandaged human. “No cutie marks yet. Perhaps we gotta do more doctorin’?” said Applebloom.
“Good idea! Sweetie Belle, go fetch a tool box! We’re going for surgeons!”
The bandaged human suddenly went wide eyed and muffled screams of protest.
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS; HUMAN SURGEONS! YAY!”
‘This is torture!’ the human mentally groaned in agony. ‘If they’re gonna play surgeons, could they at least remove my ears so I don’t have to listen to THAT again!’
*****
“Now hold still.” said Luna as she cast a petrifying spell on a posing human holding a wooden sword.
ZAP!
“Perfect!” said Luna as she magically levitated the petrified human, placing him next to another human statue holding a similar wooden sword. By now she had sported quite a collection and was proud with herself.
“It’s finally finished! Huzzah!”
“What’s going on Luna?” asked Celestia.
“I finally have enough humans for our new chess game!” She revealed a large oversized chessboard with each chess piece being a petrified human in a look and pose fitting their roles.
“How wonderful! It’s good to see that you’re putting that spell to good use.”
Luna smiled. “Care for a match? I’m not going to let you beat me like last time.”
“I accept.”
*****
Alex was running down the ruined streets. He stopped briefly eyeing a poster on a wall titled ‘Hero of Equestria!’ with a picture of himself standing by and smiling with Celestia with the word ‘TRAITOR’ written over his face with a pencil. He tore it down and continued to run, only to find thousands of similar posters plastered on buildings.
He ran and ran, seeing his whole world being overrun and subjugated by ponies all around him.
“THERE HE IS! THE TRAITOR!” yelled a mob of angry humans. “GET HIM!”
“THERE HE IS! EQUESTRIA’S HERO!” yelled a mob of happy ponies. “GET HIM!”
With the horde of ponies and humans chasing him, Alex eventually managed to lose them by ducking into an alley and hiding inside a trashcan. He waited until they were gone, before looking out to see if the coast was clear.
RUMBLE!
He looked up and saw a giant statute had been magically raised in the middle of the city. It was a statute of himself with Celestia beside him, towering over the city like conquering heroes. He rose out of the trashcan and threw his fists in anger.
“THOSE MANE-IACS! THEY BLEW IT UP! CURSE THEM! CURSE THEM ALL TO HE-OFF!” he was suddenly pushed out of the trashcan by a familiar homeless man.
“This is my house! Get your own!” he yelled before slamming the lid back on.
“There you are Alex!” Alex cringed as he heard Celestia voice behind him. He turned and saw her standing a few feet away. “I’ve been looking all over for you! We can’t hold a celebration of our victory without you.”
She used her magic to levitate him off the ground and he helplessly floated towards her.
“Thanks to you, this world will soon bask in the glory that is Harmony. Come hero. Come and join us!”
“No! NO!”
~~*~~
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
Alex held his mouth and saw the surprised looks on Celestia and her guards.
“Alex..?” asked Celestia. “Goodness! Are you alright? You look pale.”
Slowly recovering from that terrible ‘daymare’, he removed the hand from his mouth to speak. “Your Highness… I’m all for friendship and harmony and all that, but I believe we can find a way to settle our differences on our own...” said Alex, hoping to convince Celestia to rethink her idea. “Making contact with my world… No offence, but I don’t think we’re ready to meet you guys just yet.”
Celestia chuckled. “Oh Alex… I admire your modesty. Do not fret. I know we are vastly different from you, but once they see what we can do they will accept us with open arms.”
‘Yeah… they sure will...’ Alex nervously muttered to himself, knowing just what kind of ‘arms’ his people would greet them with once she revealed her intentions. As much as he wanted to go home, he didn’t want to be the key to Earth subjugation.
He didn’t trust her one bit. In fact, he didn’t trust anypony. No matter how warm and sincere Celestia seemed, she was just like the rest. He could not be a part of this.
*****
Meanwhile...
Luna scouted from the air looking for him before finally spotting him just outside the garden, surrounded by guards and speaking with Celestia.
‘Oh no! Tia has Alex!’
*****
“Come along Alex, let us go so we may prepare.” Celestia invited him to follow, but Alex stood his ground. “Alex? Is something wrong?”
“I’m sorry your Highness… But I don’t want to endanger your world. You claim to know all about us. You don’t! We’re dangerous!”
Celestia merely shook her head and giggled. “Oh Alex… I know what you’re trying to say. But I’ve watched your people for a long time and I know what to expect. And believe me, there isn’t a thing your people have that will harm me or my subjects. Now seize this silly stalling and come along now, please.” Within moments, a couple of guards flanked Alex on both sides, ushering him forward.
Alex knew this was it. If only…
“STAY THY HOOF, SISTER!”
Everyone looked up and saw Luna as she descended from the sky and landed between Alex and Celestia. “This human is mine! How dares’ thou lay claim to him without my say?”
Celestia looked at Luna with a frown. “I’m glad you decided to finally join us Luna, because you owe Alex an apology for what you did.”
“I have already told him of my mistake. Now, if thou won’t mind, I would like to take Alex off thy hooves.”
“Luna…”
“Tia, Alex does not belong in our world. In my care I can give him something much better…”
“I can send him home.”
“...I know thou won’t approve of my methods Tia but- what?”
“Luna, I can send him home.”
Luna blinked and glanced at Alex before turning to Celestia. “Really? Thou hast found a way?”
“Yes Luna. But the magical energies that are connecting our world to his are fading. If we don’t return him now, we may not have this chance again.”
“Chance to what?”
“With his help, Equestria will finally have a new world to explore.”
Luna blinked again and stared deadpanned at Celestia. “Explore?”
“Not only explore Luna, but do so much more.” Celestia smiled.
Luna glanced back at Alex. A hint of sadness appeared on her face. “Thou are going to send Alex home…?” Celestia nodded. “I’m… glad Tia. Very glad! But…”
“But what?”
“Tia… It’s just… I found him. By right he should belong to me…”
“Luna… We’ve been through this…”
“HE SHOULD BE MINE!” yelled Luna as she stomped her hoof, her Canterlot Voice causing Alex and the guards to back away. “How can you take away my happiness like this?” A tear trickled down her cheek.
“Luna!”
“Am I not thy favorite sister? Does’ thou not wish for me to be happy?”
“Of course I want you to be happy Luna! But I won’t simply allow you to use the mirror to hunt down poor alien creatures like Alex for your own personal gain and amusement!” Luna gasped at that accusation.
“I only did that ONCE!”
“I’ve also been aware of your little ‘scheme’.” Celestia glared at Luna. “Appalled as I am by your actions, deep down I know your heart was in the right place. But now I shall return Alex home and I do not want to hear any more talk about this!”
“But… But I…”
“Luna! This is my decision. Now if you don’t mind…”
“Yes sister…” Luna muttered in defeat and stepped aside as the guards led Alex passed her and followed Celestia. Luna stayed behind and sulked. “You’ve really changed Tia…” said Luna, earning Celestia’s attention. “I remember thou used to love the hunts. What happened to those times?”
“Things changed Lulu… Nothing truly remains the same.”
Luna lowered her head in sadness as they left her to be alone. Alex saw this and the gears in his head suddenly started to turn.
“You really put her in place.” said Alex suddenly with a smirk.
“I take no joy in that, but she has to learn that the old ways have changed…”
“No I mean it! You really whipped her!”
KA-CRACK!
Luna’s ears twitched. ‘Whipped?’
“What?” Celestia was surprised by that comment.
“If that was me, I wouldn’t have given up that easily. It must be tough playing the second fiddle.”
‘Second fiddle?’
“Alex..? What are you-”
“I mean, it’s perfectly natural that you’d be calling the shots around here, even though you’re both princesses, sharing the kingdom and all…” Luna raised her head and listened. “But I suppose it does go without saying who Equestria’s favorite princess is.”
‘Favorite?’
“Wait! That’s not-”
“I mean, I’d be very upset too, knowing all my efforts to allow myself one single shred of happiness had to be taken away because my eldest sibling, who clearly has more love and praise, told me it was wrong because she wanted more.”
‘ MORE!?!’
“Alex! That’s-” Celestia was cut off as Luna suddenly appeared in front of them, glaring at her sister.
“What is all this talk about whips, fiddles, favorites and more?” asked a fuming Luna. “Am I that inferior to thee? Am I not worthy to bask in the love and praise of our subjects same as you? Just what is thy deal with his world anyway? What’s so important that thou need to go there?”
“Maybe the question you should really ask her is why there are so many armed guards around?” added Alex.
Luna finally now noticed the large activity of armored soldiers trotting to and fro, being assembled as if they were making ready for… Luna shot Celestia a very long and questionable look.
“Luna..?”
“Tia… Does any of this have anything to do with something called ‘Operation Stormbreaker’?”
“What? What do you know about-”
“Oh I see what going on here. Tia… You surprise me! It’s been a long, long while since last time, but I never knew thou still craved for it.”
Alex went wide-eyed. ‘I was right!’
“What are you talking about?”
“Come now Tia… Young Alex. The mirror. The soldiers. It’s simply not enough for thee is it?”
Celestia blinked in confusion and now found herself backing away as Luna glared intensely at her.
“Don’t you try and deny it. Thou want Alex simply so thou can enter his world and take it over, isn’t it?” Celestia was speechless. “Is his world so lost and chaotic that it sorely needs thee to lead them? Isn’t the love of thy pony subjects enough for thee anymore? Did my return to thy side rob thee of loyal subjects thou hast ruled over a thousand years since my banishment? Maybe all this talk of sharing was a lie all this time!” She pushed Celestia into a corner.
“I… You… Why I…” Celestia stammered, fighting to suppress her anger over Luna’s wild accusation.
As the sisters quarreled, Alex noticed with luck that the guards were too caught up in the heated debate to pay him any attention. Ducking down, Alex crawled silently away between their legs and sprinted back into the maze, hoping to lose them this time.
“How can you say such a thing? How can you..?” Celestia stopped as she looked passed Luna. “Where did he go?” Luna looked too and Alex was nowhere to be seen.
“He got away again?!” Luna annoyingly stomped her hoof hard on ground. She then eyed the guards. “YOU! WHY DIDN’T YOU WATCH HIM?” The puzzled guards looked at eachother and blushed with embarrassment. Some of them smiled nervously, digging their hooves on the ground and whistle while others coughed and tried to work up some excuse. Luna glowered.
Celestia used her horn to scan the spot where Alex last stood. Using her magic she picked up the trail and followed it. “He’s in the maze.”
“Again?” yelled Luna. “That unruly little whelp likes to test my patience! Does he not understand what I’m trying to do?” While she was ranting, she then noticed Celestia talking to her guards.
“Understood your Highness!” with a salute, several pegasi guards took off, while the earth-pony and unicorn guards went their separate ways, leaving only two to stand guard by the entrance with Celestia and Luna.
“Tia?”
“Sister…” Celestia said. “I will admit that Alex’s sudden departure is understandable, but I will not stand by and let him ruin years of work and planning. He will open that barrier for me, even if I have to go in and chase after him myself.” Luna looked speechless. “And Luna… You’re right about one thing. I have indeed missed the joys of the hunt. As much as it pains me to say it, I dare say this could be fun.”
Luna eyed her sister curiously. “So… You’ll allow this?”
“Do not assume too much! I’m hunting him down solely for the purpose of getting him home and to bring his world into the Equestrian fold. Nothing else!” she said with great conviction.
“Seriously Tia… Invading his world… Isn’t that…”
Celestia frowned at her and sighed. “Luna, I’m-”
“Save it Tia! Whatever it is you’re planning, I know it will just make thou more popular than me!”
“Luna…”
“And if thou art going to allow this to achieve thy goal, then thou shall allow mine!” Luna said to make her point. “I brought him here for a reason but now that reason has changed. I aim to save him! And I will not stand by and watch him be used as a naïve pawn in thy scheme to take over his world!”
Celestia just stood there and cocked an eyebrow. “Will you at least consider sending him home?”
“No! As much it pains me, he has to remain here! Besides, how am I to trust thou won’t use that as a window to get thy way? No Tia. We don’t belong in his world any more than he does in ours and I’m going to save him, even if it kills me!”
Celestia blinked at that. She knew Luna could be stubborn at times but this seemed a bit over the top. Still, being a Princess of Equestria, Luna was entitled to make her own decisions, no matter how misguided they were.
“Exactly how is turning him into a statue a way of ‘saving him’?”
“I’ve seen the dangers he’s faced. I know now that bringing him here was a mistake. Equestria is not a place for him and thus he has to be isolated from it. I know it sounds cruel but it’s the best choice for him. Nopony or beast will ever plague nor bother him and thou will not use him to invade Earth! And most importantly, he shall be under my protection.”
Celestia was about to say something, but then sighed with a faint smile. “Very well Luna, but let us at least let’s make this fair, both for him and us. No flying and no ‘tracking’ spells.”
“Agreed! May the BEST PRINCESS win!” declared Luna. Celestia rolled her eyes.
Both sisters entered the maze and went down their separate paths, both crossing the feathers on their wings.
*****
Alex ran through the maze. He made quick turns and often hid to make sure he wasn’t spied on from above.
It had all been one rotten turn of events after another. Out of all the ponies wanting to catch him, the only pony who could actually send him home would bring slavery and submission of the harmonic kind to his world. Feeling more alone than ever before, he sulked and wished that he could find some way to get out of this nightmare.
Suddenly, he found himself unable to move. His body seemed to be frozen in place. Recognizing the tingling sensation in his body, he knew that this could only mean…
“GOT YOU!”
In a flash, two very happy alicorns appeared simultaneously, Luna in front of him and Celestia behind him.
“HUH?”
And apparently, they both caught him at the same time…
“Cheater!” yelled Luna. “Thou used a tracking spell!”
“So did you!” answered Celestia.
“Let go sister! I caught him first!”
“I beg to differ! I caught him first!”
“Me!”
“No, ME!”
Alex found himself in a tug-o-war between the two matriarchs. After a moment of being pulled back and forth, he was gently dropped to the ground as the two sisters approached eachother.
“There appears to be only one way to settle this.” Celestia sighed.
“Agreed.”
The two sisters looked at Alex. “You, which of us caught you first?” demanded Luna.
“Huh?”
“Please Alex, tell is which one of us got you first.” said Celestia.
Alex was speechless. They were going to let him decide which of them caught him first. If they both caught him, then by their logic no one caught him, and he ‘the caughtie’ had to choose which he believed caught him first. Alex had to play this out just right. He got up on his feet and dusted himself off.
“Let’s see…” he started. “Luna was the first pony I saw, seeing how she appeared in front of me. So technically she FOUND me…”
“Yes! In thy face sister!” Luna mockingly pointed her hoof at Celestia.
“…however, I felt warm when you stopped me, and Celestia is the princess of the sun. So technically, she CAUGHT me…”
“Well, I guess that settles it then…” smiled Celestia.
“HOLD ON!” protested Luna. “He saw ME first! Therefore, I caught him!”
“But he felt MY magic.” Celestia said. “And to be fair, your magic is a bit chilly.” she teased.
“CHILLY!?!” exclaimed Luna. “Art thou implying that just because I’m the princess of the night, my magic is COLD?”
“Blue is the color of cold.” Celestia plainly replied.
“SNOW is cold too! I’m surprised thou hasn’t melted in the sun along with thy ego!” mocked Luna.
“Are you implying that I’m COLD and DISTANT?” Celestia glared, angered by that comparison.
“Like I’m WARM and CHEERFUL!” said Luna, angrily pushing her muzzle against her sister’s, causing them to stare lightning into eachother’s eyes.
‘Sibling rivalry… Who knew?’ shrugged Alex as he nonchalantly sneaked away.
“Sometimes I wonder if a thousand years in the moon was enough! Maybe you need a hundred more?”
“Maybe thou should send me to the sun! I might actually get warm and a TAN!”
As the sisters argued, Alex rounded a corner and fled. He knew their bickering would seize eventually, so he had to find a way to get out of the capital.
“A TAN? Your coat is dark enough as it is! Who would tell the difference?” argued Celestia.
“Coming from somepony who spends hours in the sun and still looking like chalk!” glared Luna.
“One of these days Luna, I… Wait... Where’s Alex?”
“Don’t change the subject- Wait… Huh? Uh…”
Both sisters stared dumbfounded at eachother before turning their heads to find that Alex was gone. They blushed as they eyed eachother and looked shamefully away.
“Ever since you returned, I promised myself to never fight with you again. Why are we letting a human get between our friendships?”
“I don’t know Tia. I wonder that myself…”
“I… I always cared for you Luna, and I still do. As unfair as I may have acted, I’ve never looked at you as anything less. I’m sorry if you felt that way.” Celestia apologized.
“And… And I don’t think thou art distant or cold. I know thou care deeply. I can be a bother at times but… I just want to have what you have.” Luna shed a regretful tear just before Celestia embraced her in a warm hug. “I’m sorry for being so selfish and jealous!”
“I forgive you sister, if you forgive me.”
“Always.”
They hugged and cried until Luna broke the moment.
“Shall we get him?”
“Let’s go.”
*****
Back at the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight, Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and the Crusaders were busily organizing and going through all the books that were scattered on the floor. Twilight grew immensely frustrated as she was unable to find the spell book she was looking for.
“Where is it? Where is it?!” Twilight groaned.
“Relax Sugarcube.” said Applejack, trying to calm her. “We’re just about done. Ah’m sure we’ll find it.”
“I hope so Applejack. Without that book, there is no way we’ll… No!” After counting all the books and going through all the titles, Twilight realized that the book was nowhere to be found. “It’s not here? Where is it?” She turned towards her friends.
“Don’t look at me. Ah’ went through mah’ pile.” said Applejack.
“We finished our pile too. Nothing.” said Scootaloo.
“I’m so sorry Twilight…” whimpered Fluttershy. “I really tried…”
“Dear, dear darling…” cooed Rarity as she comforted Fluttershy. “Nopony is blaming you.”
Spike waddled up to Twilight with his checklist. “I’ve checked, double checked and even triple checked Twilight. All are present and accounted for except that one book.”
“NOOOoooo!” Twilight threw herself to the floor and hid her face in dismay. “Without that book we can never find him!”
“Hi!” the ponies looked and saw Pinkie Pie enter the library, along with Rainbow Dash who was now wearing a strange bottle around her neck. “We’re back!”
“So? Are you guys ready with that spell yet?” asked Rainbow Dash hopefully.
“No…” said Twilight weakly. “We’re not going to find anything. The spell book isn’t here and we looked everywhere…”
“Ooh! That reminds me. Thanks for letting me borrow this!” Pinkie reached into her hair and pulled out a book to which she placed in Twilight’s hooves. Twilight gazed at it and went wide-eyed.
“Pinkie! This is the book!” her cheerful demeanor quickly vanished as she glared at her. “Wait… You mean you had this book the whole time?”
“Of course! Remember? I tried asking you if I could loan this book, but you were like so busy so I borrowed it anyway for a short while, which is lucky because this book has a really neat spell to find Alex with.” Pinkie smiled.
“Yes Pinkie… I know…” grumbled Twilight through her teeth, fighting off every urge not to strangle Pinkie Pie. Using her magic, she quickly went through the pages and found the spell she was looking for. “Ah! Here it is!” She read the spell and her horn lit up. Within seconds, Twilight finally located her target. “I found him! I know exactly where he is!”
Everyone cheered.
Twilight wasted no time and began to charge up her teleportation spell. As soon as she was ready, she suddenly felt everyone pile on top of her.
“HEY!”
“Ya ain’t goin’ without us now, ya hear!”
Twilight groaned as she felt her legs nearly giving out. With all her friends holding onto her, Twilight cast her spell and everyone disappeared...
FLASH!
-leaving Spike alone with all the recently organized books suddenly falling off their shelves in a chaotic fashion.
“Sigh!”
*****
Having temporarily given the regal sisters the slip, Alex finally reached what appeared to be another exit from the maze. But as soon as he tried to leave, he found his way blocked by a pair of Celestia’s guards. Looking up, he saw several pegasi guards keeping track of him from above. It soon became apparent that the sisters were determined to get him on foot and had the guards block off the exits.
“There he is!” He heard the sound of Luna as she and Celestia appeared from behind and cantered towards him. Hopelessly trapped and with nowhere go, Alex backed himself into a corner.
Alex braced himself. “Well… Guess this is it!”
Suddenly, a brilliant flash of white light emerged between them and Alex. It expanded like a bubble and with a loud flash it burst, revealing something they did not expect.
FLASH!
From out of nowhere, Twilight and her friends materialized right between Alex and the Royal Sisters. Having finished her spell, Twilight finally collapsed due to the sheer weight as her friends fell on top of her. Pulling herself out from beneath the pile of ponies, she groaned as she readjusted her sights and, to her pleasant surprise, beheld Alex in front of her.
“ALEX!”
“ALEX?!”
Happy to see Alex again, the ponies were suddenly cast aside as Twilight, with sudden renewed strength, magically pushed them off her and leaped towards Alex, pinning him down.
“Finally I got you! You’re not getting away this-”
“Twilight Sparkle?”
“-time..?” Twilight froze as she recognized the voice behind her. She turned around and shared the same surprised look as her friends. “P-PRINCESS CELESTIA?!”
There was a long awkward pause.
Luna, who couldn’t help but crack a smile, finally broke the silence. “Well this certainly got interesting…”
Stats
Page generated in 0.041 seconds
Total duration
995 users online
169,049 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
You should do a side story where Celestia does invade Earth and Alex is the leader of the resistance movement. Maybe TCB?
5173957 Agreed. I hate all of them, even Pinkie! Where's Discord when you need him?!
And now I imagine Discord watching this, rolling on the ceiling and howling with laughter.
Am I the only one who's finding the "comedy" part of this story starting to ring hollow now, or is just me?
I won't even get into the whole "Ponies vs Humans" debate, 'cause that's a whole other pile of shit that I wouldn't touch, even if you paid me.
Admittedly, I'm a bit skeptical of Celestia's intentions, but I'm betting that was intentional. I'll reserve any conclusions until the end, however, as she usually has good reasons for what she does (though they may end up being misguided in this case).
Interesting that you brought up Luna's jealousy. She may be free of Nightmare's influence, but those feelings were her own, and since she probably hasn't been back for even a year yet they're probably still pretty strong.
He needs to off himself. For the good of Earth.
This guy cannot get a break. I wouldn't be surprised if he does something drastic.
Callin' it; Alex will turn into a pony when he breaks the mirror because he broke bonds with his world/dimension/universe/whatever.
That TCB Celestia idea just turned me off of this story
...
I hope Celestia realizes the extent of the wrongs her ponies have inflicted upon poor Alex, and then realizes that they are not as harmonious as she'd like.
Then again, I'd like for Alex to stop being a ponce and tell the ponies off for once.
5173957
Agreed. At this point, ponies are pure evil. They are racist(speciest?), and they ignore the right of sapient beings outside their species to free will. According to themselves, they can do no wrong, even when another is emotionally or mentally hurt because of their actions.
At this point, if I were Alex, death would be a mercy to me and to my people. With my death, they may be free from this clearly insane tyrant horses' plans.
Ooh, Ooh, you should tell Celestia you'll help her, if she can prove the ponies are more harmonious than humans - by using her student and friends as examples, in a courtroom format...
Then have them confess the extent of their plans and the ways in which they've tormented you in the past week.
5174022
A pile of shit humans are on top of
5174022 I agree
This is my own opinon but as soon as i heard take over the human race NOW LISTEN OWN OPINION COMING i would kill myself to stop them no matter WHAT i dont care as long as the human race is safe that is a saccrifice i am willing to take
5174048 I was just thinking that
5173923 Nah! I think after I'm done with the last chapters, I'll move on to something else. Despite my attempt, this story hasn't really been a great read among many
5173978 I can imagine he does
5173998 I think they made one here
5174034 Needed a reason for Luna to challenge Celestia somehow...
5174064 Luckily that was just Alex daydreaming...
5174136 At first it was shaping up to be a fun little read, but it really jumped the shark with the later chapters.
5174080
It's only been a day...
5174064 Technically she doesn't want to convert them as far as we know but that is the logical end.
How about discord joins in the chase?
Why do we have to be boring and have discord be boring?
Why would discord go out of his way to stop the chaos that this is causing instead of adding to it?
5174146 Yeah I know...
Still, it was worth a shot
One has to fail first before one gets better...
5174189
Honestly, the only real issue that I can see is no Teen/Dark tag.
I'm still enjoying it.
Some people just can't stand seeing their favorite ponies as the bad guys.
5174158
EVEN WORSE!
They haven't given Alex any time to wind down. So essentially they are pushing Alex's mental limits - intentionally - until Alex snaps.
The only options I'm finding here are for Alex to kill himself and prevent the ponies from launching an invasion, or for humanity to trigger Global Thermonuclear War in a bid to kill all life on the planet and destroy as much as possible in a grand "If we can't have it, you can't either" campaign.
Of course, even then this Celestia would probably blame them, and not herself for launching an invasion in the first place.
*cough*Atomic bomb*cough*
I've changed the rating from Everyone to Teen and added an AU tag. I know it's late, but it's probably for the best...
Reading between the lines makes me think Celestia isnt actually going for some kind of TCB takeover plot. I hope.
5174217 She's seen it... She knows... She can handle it... Don't ask me how...
5174270 Awww, no fallout
This story is officially one bad end away from confirming my guess about it being a TCB prequel...
5170266
I'VE learned that apparently these ponies are racist jerks who will exploit another sapient creature for personal gain or otherwise mistreat them. Heck, according to Twilight, it's STANDARD PROCEDURE to lock up a new species, sapient or not, even if it hasn't proven hostile. Good thing nopony in Ponyville ever knew about that or Twilight probably would have met Zecora while she was locked up in the town hall basement or something. Also their own rulers seem to either see us as toys or someone else to impose their ideals on(granted Celestia's invasion plans were Alex's fantasy, but I somehow doubt given what we've seen so far that he was too far off).
So yeah, screw em' and let the Zebras take over, since going by Zecora, they actually know how to treat another sentient species.
5174202 The reason there wasn't any in the first place was because there's no blood, gore, sex or any sensitive material. Alex's little TCB daydream was supposed to be a nood to the Changelings takeover of Canterlot.
oh my fucking gosh, i seriously want to nuke equistria and then five more times....
5174300 Zecora is a native to Equestria. Alex is an alien and therefore not a native. For all Twilight knew, he could've been either a friendly E.T. or a malicious Thing. Can't be too careful
5174270 Because MAGIC!
Turn him into a being like Discord and be done with it!
5174362 Exactly
5174363 Or you could read this
So Celestia basically wants to invade Earth... That escalated quickly.
Humanity is at stake XD In under a Year the entire planet equestria is on would be parted in to Colonies owned by America Russian China Korea and England because England needs his Colonies.
Seriously Ponys vs. Humans in a all out war. That would be a really sad to look at massacre. Because if there is one thing that Humans Have perfected than it is Warfare...
5174437 Did Celestia use the word 'invade' anywhere in the chapter?
Alex should just jump off of Canterlot Mountain. Deny all of his hunters their rewards.
5174447
Implied, via Alex and Luna. Which I thought was pretty cool by the way, implying and making people think is always fun.
Kind of suprised Alex hasn't taken up Fight by now, rather than his Flight response. Especially when he learned Celestia's intentions towards his world. If it had been me they would have been looking for a new Princess of the Sun or finding a place to bury my corpse.
5174447
Also, for some reason on my screen it shows you have 0 stories.
i.imgur.com/rhbc880.png
5174450 Some of the hunters can fly...
5174455 I think they would've buried your corpse...
Celestia hasn't exactly revealed any specific details behind her plan.
5174460 That's because you're looking at the story right now. Go here and you'll see it
oh, this gonna be good. dis be crazy wit moa playas like:
- (a) dragon(s) (collecting things for its hoard)
- Sombra (a unique slave)
- Chrysalis (um, humans are super emotional = more love?)
- Discord ( for causing all the chaos and offering to be chaos buddies for life, not such a bad thing)
- equestria girls? (prom date?)
- diamond dogs (slaving for gems)
- Timer Turner ( for time lord-y reasons that can't be told )
- Button Mash ( for beating his high score)
- Fluffly Puff ( to devour his soul and glomp him)
5174494
... I so didn't forget the new update did that. So didn't.
5174498 Ironically enough, I did contemplate on doing that
When are we going to get the hallway scene? You know the one.
5174509
yeeeessss. . . . .
iambrony.steeph.tp-radio.de/mlp/gif/196946__safe_pinkie-pie_animated_spike-at-your-service_moustache_plotting.gif
sooooon . . . .