6. Midnight Shimmers
It was cool, and dark. Sunset felt as though she was resting on a makeshift bed on the floor, and opening her eyes, she blinked when she realized that she was resting on Trixie's cape. She could feel a warmth next to her, and looking to her side, saw that Spike was bundled next to her, making her heart skip a beat as she realized where she was.
She was safely with her friends, in one of the castle's secret passageways. She could make out Trixie sleeping nearby, and the faint glow of Twilight's horn, illuminating Clover's book as she continued looking over it. She lightly tapped the ground to get Twilight's attention, who looked at her in surprise.
“What happened? How long was I out?” Sunset whispered out, as she did so, she noticed that Shadow Blitz wasn't anywhere to be seen. Turning her head to try and find the pegasus, she then became aware of a new weight around her neck, and saw that the necklace was still there, with the red cutie-mark shaped gem embedded in it. Twilight let out a sigh of relief as she quietly moved closer.
“Welcome back,” Twilight said with a heartfelt smile, bringing to mind the memories Sunset saw of hers, and she felt her eyes start to itch as she returned that smile.
“Glad to be back,” Sunset replied. Her brow then furrowed as she recalled the Equestria's current predicament. “What's the situation?”
“I'm not really sure,” Twilight began as her brow furrowed, “We found the Elements of Harmony rather quickly, thanks to a gem finding spell a friend in Ponyville taught me.” She then blinked as she considered something, “I mean, the Elements are crystals, so I had to change the spell a little,” Sunset could only imagine how difficult that must have been for her as she nodded, “but we found them.”
Saying that, she presented a small stone box to Sunset. Opening it, there were four crystals inside, two of them filled with color, one that was orange, and the other pink. The other two appeared gray and lifeless. There was also a picture inside, that Sunset picked up, her horn aching slightly, making her realize she must have been out for at least several hours for her magic to have made a slight recovery.
It was a picture of the three of them. Sunset, Twilight and Trixie, as fillies. They were talking about something, Twilight and Trixie looked happy, while Sunset looked annoyed. Yet, despite that, Sunset could see that the eyes of herself in the photo were smiling. She couldn't recall when the photo was taken, or what topic the three of them were talking about at the time, but it still made her feel nostalgic. Out of curiosity, she flipped the picture over, and she adopted an almost serene smile as she read the words written there.
'My three little lights. ~Luna'.
“So, Luna intended us to wield the elements. She's intended it for years now,” Sunset stated, not bothered in the least by the fact. “I get it now. I'm the loyal radiance, in Clover's last poem.” She stated as she looked to the Element of Loyalty resting around her neck. So, even though I'm not a very good friend, loyalty is my element? Was it because I didn't want to gain something that would put me further from my friends? Or was it because I refused to give myself away to another?
“Yeah," Twilight began, "and I'm guessing, that I'm the spark, and Trixie is the flare,” she replied, mixed feelings adorning her face. Sunset took note of it, and recalled her convictions in the shadow snare, and nodded to herself.
“Something about that bothers you,” she stated, getting a surprised look from Twilight, who simply nodded. “Can I ask why?” Sunset asked, getting an odd look from Twilight, who adopted a smile as she nodded again.
“I've been going over Clover's book. It's pretty clear she had the ability to see the future,” she said, a small fire growing in her eyes as she continued, “Most of the poems in here relate to some past event, each taking place after she wrote it down. Luna, she's been using this book to protect Equestria. Clover the Clever has been protecting Equestria since she helped bring it about. It's really amazing!” she declared as she looked to Sunset. Then the fire in her eyes slowly died down.
“But..?” Sunset asked.
“It bothers me, that the future is set in prophecy. And that... I'm a part of it. It just makes me wonder, if the choices I make matter.”
Free will, against a prophecy? Sunset thought as she saw where Twilight was coming from. Thinking on it, she found her eyes falling to the two lifeless Elements of Harmony. Generosity, and Laughter. Sunset thought as she appraised the Elements. Will Trixie and Twilight have to go through what I did to return light to these? She really didn't like the idea of seeing her friends go through that hardship, and began to hope that there was an alternative way to defeating Shadow Flare, since lowering the sun was outside her abilities. Thinking on that, she looked back to Twilight as she closed the stone box, leaving her necklace on.
“We can take care of that pretty easily, right?” Sunset stated, getting a confused look from Twilight. “We defeat Shadow Flare without using the Elements of Harmony. That would prove that you can go against prophecy, right?” Twilight's eyes widened at the idea.
“Well, yes. I think so. But can we?” she asked as she adopted a contemplative look.
“Don't know till we try,” Sunset stated with a smug grin. She didn't care too much about whether the future was set in stone based on prophecy, she was still going to do what she wanted to make herself, and those close to her, happy. Prophecies or not.
Twilight took in Sunset's smile, nodding with earnest as Sunset started to consider how to go about defeating their foe. First, I need some answers. She thought as she looked to Twilight. “So, you guys rescued me?” Sunset asked, getting a nod from Twilight.
“After finding the Elements, we were waiting to get the signal to you, but you were caught in Shadow Flare's snare. While we were planning on how to get you out of it, one of the lifeless elements glowed, and flew off towards Shadow Flare. When it hit her shadow, there was a bright light, and when it cleared, you were free from her.” Twilight then adopted a determined look, “So, we acted. Rainbow Dash attacked Shadow Flare, distracting her while I got in there, and teleported us out.”
“Didn't you mean Shadow Blitz?” Sunset asked sarcastically, making Twilight roll her eyes.
“We're the Disciples of the Moon, I don't think she'll get in trouble if we know her real identity, as long as we keep it to ourselves,” she said with a nod, then adopted a sad look.
“What happened?” Sunset asked with concern.
“I don't know, we quickly escaped to the passageways, then returned to look for her, but Trixie and I haven't been able to find her since I got you back.” Twilight's eyes then fell as her eyes grew moist, “I, I think Shadow Flare may have banished her.” Sunset's brow furrowed at that, giving Twilight a fierce look.
“If that's the case, we'll save her, along with the others. So don't worry, we'll pull it off.”
“But, without the Elements of Harmony...” Twilight stated doubtfully, “I don't know if we can use them as they are. At least, not without the Element of Magic.”
“Shadow Flare seemed quite certain the Elements wouldn't work,” Sunset reluctantly admitted. “But, we're not letting that stop us. Luna trusted this to us, and I have no doubt, that there's another way.” Sunset then nodded, a fire burning in her eyes. “She left us the tools we'd need, so we just need to put them to use.” Stating that, she gently took the book from Twilight, and together, the two of them looked over the two poems pointed out by Luna.
“Wait,” Twilight began, interrupting Sunset's inspection of the poems as she gave Sunset a confused look, “When did Shadow Flare mention the Elements?”
“Oh. Right. When I was trapped in the shadow snare.” Sunset then told Twilight about what she experienced there, meeting her other self, and Shadow Flare's offer. However, she decided to leave out seeing Twilight and Trixie's memories.
“She wanted to possess you? That's why she called you out? I, I guess she doesn't want to be in Celestia's body anymore,” Twilight assumed, getting a small nod from Sunset as she went back into the book.
'So sun did shine, harkening to a new master.' Sunset read, her eyes pausing on that line as she recalled her attempt to lower the sun. Wait, is that why I couldn't set the sun? Yes! That's it! I was missing an important detail about that spell. The sun only listens to its master, and it's master allowed me to lower it, and nothing more. Sunset sighed in disappointment, getting an odd look from Twilight.
“It's nothing-” Her eye's then widened as they fell to another line of the poem. “Wait, I think I have an idea...” Curious to see if she gleamed the right information from it, she closed her eyes, and winced lightly as her horn started to glow. Using the peripherals of the sun-moving spell, she tried to feel out her target. It took some time, since she couldn't see it, but she found it none-the-less. Wrapping her magic around it, Sunset gave it the smallest push, praying that Shadow Flare wouldn't notice.
And she felt it shift. She immediately abandoned her spell, her eyes flying open as she adopted a large grin.
“That's it! Trixie, Spike, get up!” Sunset decreed, gently stirring them from their sleep, both of them giving her, at first, annoyed looks, which swiftly shifted to joy as they realized who awakened them.
“Sunset! You're okay!” Spike stated happily, then adopted a composed stature, “Not that I was worried, I knew you'd be fine-”
“Sunset's awake!” Trixie interrupted, catching Sunset in a tight hug. “I'm so happy you're awake!”
“'I'm'?” Sunset got out in a gasp as she raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, um, pretend you didn't hear that!” Trixie swiftly replied as Spike joined in the hug. With all of them awake, Sunset took a moment to get something off her chest, something that's been with her since she woke up.
“Twilight, Trixie. I'm sorry.” That got a confused look from the two of them, ending the hug as Trixie appraised Sunset.
“Trixie doesn't know what you're apologizing for.” Comprehension then dawned on her face, “Ohh, it was because you got yourself caught. Isn't it?” she asked smugly, prompting Sunset to shake her head.
“I'm sorry, that I'm not a better friend,” sunset affirmed, and a brief silence fell over them, and Trixie and Twilight shared a brief, concerned look, before Trixie nodded.
“Trixie accepts your apology.” Trixie replied, almost making Twilight stumble at her words.
“T-Trixie!” Twilight shouted.
“What? She apologized, and Trixie was accepting it, so everything's fine now,” she said as she looked to Sunset, “right?”
“I-I don't know about that,” Sunset admitted, not liking the idea of getting off that easily, “I want to be a better friend to the both of you, but I don't think I can do it alone.”
“Okay, now that's just silly,” Twilight declared, getting an annoyed look from Sunset. “Friendship isn't something you do alone! If you need help, I'm always eager to help a friend.” She then nodded to herself, “Especially if its one of my oldest friends that needs it,” she added as she gave Sunset a golden smile, making her fluster a little.
“If The Bright and Radiant Sunset needs help from The Great and Powerful Trixie, then Trixie has no choice but to offer her aid,” Trixie stated with a smile, which Sunset adopted as she looked between her two friends.
“Thanks, girls.” Sunset said as she blushed lightly.
“Think nothing of it,” Twilight declared.
“Oh, I get it,” Spike began as he rolled his eyes, “Who needs an assistant when you've got two awesome friends to help you with all your problems,” he added, sounding dejected, while giving Sunset a small smile.
“Right, I'm counting on you too Spike, as always,” Sunset replied, nodding to him, which he mirrored. With that, a moment of silence fell over all of them, prompting Twilight to move on to the matter at hoof.
“So, what's up Sunset?” Twilight asked, “Sounds like you figured something out for tackling Shadow Flare.” Sunset nodded, adopting a determined look.
“I did. I know how we can defeat Shadow Flare. I'm certain that she needs the sun's light to maintain her possession of Celestia.”
“Trixie thinks so to,” Trixie affirmed confidently.
“You do?” Sunset asked, a little surprised.
“Trixie thinks Shadow Flare know's of these secret passageways, but she hasn't even come close to searching them.”
“You were watching her?”
“Well, somepony had to, so it might as well be the unicorn with the invisibility spell!”
“Right,” Sunset affirmed, her belief reinforced by Trixie's words. “Then yes, we can beat her. But, it's going to take all three,” She then shook her head, “no, all four of us, to do it.” Sunset proclaimed, looking to those most important to her, seeing an accomplishment before them, that they would complete together.
“How are we gonna do that?” Spike asked, a little excited to be a part of all this. “We're gonna trap her in a box?”
“No,” Twilight quickly replied, “If she's trapped in a box, then the shadow will still be trapped with Celestia.”
“Right,” Sunset affirmed, “What we're going to do, is trap the sun, instead,” she stated confidently, enjoying a small smile as she took in the confused looks her friends were giving her.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shadow Flare was standing on the balcony of Luna's room, her eyes closed so she could cast her clairvoyance over all of Canterlot, the light of the sun showing her all there was to see in the city. She knew that Sunset Shimmer and her friends were still nearby, likely in some hidden passageway, and that sooner or later, they would act against her.
And once again, she found herself going over how Sunset escaped her shadow snare.
How was that possible? The Elements of Harmony were damaged when Luna banished us, yet, that was clearly the Element of Loyalty that came to her aid! The faded elements need the Element of Magic to regain their glow, so how!?
Shadow Flare cast her thoughts inwards, sensing Celestia within her psyche, and heard nothing but silence, which made her heart ache. Celestia, why have you fallen silent? You know I'm trying to free you, so why? All she got in reply was an apologetic feeling, which made Shadow Flare let out a regretful sigh.
If, if they do have the Elements, then we'll be banished in the sun again... The notion itself terrified her, and as she looked to the sun, she felt a soothing calm coming from the silence in her heart. Everything will be fine? I, I suppose so. Shadow Flare nodded to herself, We won't be banished again. You won't be banished again, she promised to Celestia, as she continued to look over Canterlot.
As she looked, she recalled something of importance, and was now even more annoyed by Sunset's escape. It's almost midnight. I can't expect Shining Armor to keep watch over Discord for too much longer. Darn it! My entire timetable's been thrown off!
Her return to Equestria and subsequent banishment of Luna were very chaotic events, which could empower and free the spirit of chaos. Even Shadow Flare didn't want to contend with Discord, so she had Shining Armor keep a watch over the statue, his barrier magic being strong enough to contain the foul trickster long enough for Shadow Flare to act if he escaped. If there was one thing Shadow Flare didn't want, it was the spirit of chaos running around and making life miserable for the subjects of Equestria. She then let out a sigh, hoping it wouldn't come to that, as she refocused her search.
At this point, can I even use Sunset as a host? she wondered as she cast her clairvoyance to the east, in the direction of Manehattan. Maybe I should be heading after my secondary target instead of wasting my time here...
She then heard a pop from behind her, seeing that Twilight Sparkle now stood inside Luna's room, looking to her warily. Shadow Flare turned around to appraise the unicorn, curious as to why she came alone. Is she here to speak for Sunset, or to attack me? she wondered as she abandoned her clairvoyance to give the unicorn her attention.
“Why are you here?” Shadow Flare asked, her mane flaring up in warning, causing Twilight to take a hesitant step back.
“Princess Celestia, can you hear me?” she asked.
Is that it? Try and weaken me from within? No, that can't be what this is about.
“She can hear you. Did you wish to talk to her?” Shadow Flare genuinely asked, adopting a small smile as she saw Twilight's surprise at the question.
“Oh, I'd like to, but not right now,” she began, then hesitated as she looked to Shadow Flare. “I need to know. Why are you trying to possess my friend?”
“So you're here to talk to me? Very well.” Perhaps I'll get somewhere with Sunset if I win her friends over.
“I'm not here to talk, but...” she admitted, her curious nature seeming to be getting the better of her.
“I want to possess Sunset Shimmer because she meets the requirements, and because I want Celestia to be free of me,” Shadow Flare explained, and Twilight nodded, as if hearing that affirmed something to the mare, which Shadow Flare found odd.
“Do you need Sunset? Can't you just let go of Celestia, and leave everypony else alone?” Twilight asked, getting a small sigh from Shadow Flare as she shook her head.
“Twilight Sparkle. My life before meeting Celestia was full of fear. Celestia, she loves everypony in Equestria. She even came to love me, despite my wishes, and after what I took from her. If I return to where I came from, I'm giving up what I gained, and what I left behind will be waiting for me. I really don't want to return there,” Shadow Flare said calmly in return, getting a conflicted look from Twilight.
“I, I see,” Twilight said as her ears fell. She then looked to Shadow Flare, “Look, I'm really sorry about this. Sorry for you, and Celestia.”
“Sorry? So you came here to fight then?” Shadow Flare asked as her flames flared hotter, catching the drapes on fire and scorching the ground around her, causing Twilight to step back further from the heat.
“Well, not quite,” she stated, then adopted a determined look, “But I will fight if I need to.”
“Then why are you here, if not to talk?” Shadow Flare asked, and almost as the question left her mouth, she realized why.
“To distract you,” Twilight said as the light in the sky started to noticeably darken. Eyes flying open in surprise, Shadow Flare looked back to the sun-
The sun was in the process of being eclipsed, by the moon.
No!! How did she know!? Shadow Flare thought as her horn glowed, quickly shifting the sun to the side, away from the moon's path. She then saw the moon shift to follow the sun, making Shadow Flare's brow furrow further-
She lost a hold of her spell as a lance of magic struck her side. The attack washed over her for a moment, almost making her topple over as she glared at Twilight, whose horn was glowing brightly.
“Looks like we were right. You need the light of the sun to possess Celestia.”
“Tch. You've distracted me long enough!” Shadow Flare declared as she gathered her magic to teleport away-
Her horn flared as she was struck with backlash, making her stagger for a moment. She hit me with an anchoring spell!? Why is it so powerful!? she wondered as she looked to Twilight, who was preparing another spell. Feeling the sky darken by the second, she lashed out at Twilight with her shadow, making the unicorn dodge out of the way. Before Twilight could recompose herself, Shadow Flare gave her a dose of her own medicine, catching the unicorn off guard as she was sent sprawling back by Shadow Flare's own anchoring spell. While Twilight was picking herself up, Shadow took flight, quickly avoiding the next spell Twilight fired off.
Swiftly flying around the castle, a trail of fire following in her wake, Shadow Flare grabbed the sun, moving it a respectable distance away from the moon. Now that Sunset has the moon, I can't let her get away! She didn't fancy the idea of Sunset hiding away for a few days, waiting for Shadow Flare to fall asleep before eclipsing the sun. She has to be close by! She wouldn't leave her friends behind to play as decoys while she did all this from a safe distance! After what happened in the shadow snare, she was certain of that.
Closing her eyes, she started looking for Sunset. Only she can cast that spell, and she needs to be looking at the sun to know where to move the moon- Her thoughts froze as she spotted the orange unicorn in the castle's courtyard, Sunset's horn shining bright as she worked to smother the sun's light. Found her! Should I wait till she exhausts her magic before closing in? she briefly wondered, then shook her head as she started to descend, She wouldn't make the same mistake twice, she'd teleport away before running out of magic!
Shadow Flare soared down towards Sunset Shimmer, not risking to see if she was still under the effects of the anchoring spell. As she reached the courtyard, however, she stopped, as a notion came to mind. Wait. Luna's student, Trixie, she can use illusions! This 'pony' is standing out here completely exposed! Seeing through the ruse, Shadow Flare started searching with her sight again. The illusion of Sunset took note of her, looking to her warily.
“Hey! What's the matter? Not gonna fight me!?” the pony in the courtyard cried out, affirming Shadow Flare's suspicions as she spotted her target. Sunset Shimmer, the real Sunset Shimmer, was hiding around the corner of the balcony entrance of her old bedroom, which was overlooking the sun, and the courtyard. As Shadow Flare flew to the balcony, Sunset took notice of her, and moved away from the balcony with haste.
Shadow Flare landed, a wave of fire engulfing the balcony, sending a shock-wave into the room that knocked Sunset down, her horn winking out. Shadow Flare quickly looked over her shoulder, and saw that the moon had stopped moving, and smiled. Her horn flared, and a wall of fire enclosed the room from the balcony, obscuring the sky beyond. She then walked through that wall, entering the room, where Sunset was getting on her hooves, glaring at her.
“Now, you have two choices, Sunset Shimmer,” Shadow Flare began, getting a hesitant look from Sunset. Wait, just in case. She sent out her shadow, forming a dark ring around Sunset, prepared to snatch her if her horn even tried to glow. Sunset looked to the ring before glaring at Shadow Flare.
“And those choices are?”
“Join me, and gain everything I offered earlier, or be locked in a dark cell for the rest of your life, never to see the sun, or your friends, again.” She could banish her to the moon, but Shadow Flare didn't want to limit her options, as she couldn't bring back anypony she banished to the moon without freeing all the others in the process.
“How about option three?” Sunset asked with a smug grin, getting a frown from Shadow Flare, increasing the heat of her fire, making Sunset wince. “You know, the one where you think the pony you're suppose to be worried about is this pony before you, while The Great and Powerful Trixie proves that she's more clever than you!”
What!? Without even hesitating, Shadow Flare stomped the ground, her horn pulsing out a wave of force that knocked everything in to room smashing into the walls. Everything, but Sunset Shimmer, who simply wavered and disappeared. An illusion.
“And here Trixie thought she was going to run out of juice before you did that," Shadow heard from a disembodied voice, unable to see its source.
That foul mare! she thought as she turned back to the balcony, dispelling her wall of fire to see that the sun was again being eclipsed. The one in the courtyard was the real one-
She felt something heavy, and alive, land on top of her head, clinging tightly to her horn, which instantly made her blood run cold. Ahhh!! Get-it-off!! Get-it-off!! Get-it-off!! Completely caught off guard by the invasion of her personal space, she failed to realize that anything alive landing on her head would be burnt to a crisp. Anything but a dragon, that is. Or a phoenix, for that matter. After shaking her head in a state of panic for several seconds, she managed to shake off Spike, sending him rolling across the floor.
Her ears perked up as she felt the fire of her mane start to die down, sobering her of her panic very soundly, as she saw that the sun was almost completely covered, and in a desperate bout of defiance, repeated the spell she just cast, and directed it towards the courtyard.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sunset was really relieved that Trixie's gambit had worked. Though, she was quite worried about her and Spike right now. With Shadow Flare moving the sun as she did, Sunset found her magic reserves almost depleted. Yet, victory was almost in her grasp, she had just a little further to go.
She then heard an explosion from their former bedroom, and Sunset truly hoped that Trixie had kept her word in regards to looking after Spike. Her worry then turned to confusion as she caught the strangest scream she's ever heard in her life come from the balcony. It almost made her lose focus on the spell, but whatever the cause of it, Sunset was sure that Shadow Flare was still distracted, for the sun was almost completely eclipsed.
Sunset's concentration was shattered when a wall of force struck the courtyard, causing an explosion that sent her flying back towards the castle, landing before the front gates. There was a ringing in her ears, and she wasn't sure if she had momentarily blacked out or not, but when she came to her senses, Shadow Flare was standing several paces before her.
The sun was mostly eclipsed, Only a little bit further and this whole thing would be over! Sunset thought, but now, she was cornered. She didn't know what Shadow Flare had done to her friends, but she was under the impression they wouldn't be coming to her rescue this time.
“Don't. Even. Think, about using your magic,” Shadow Flare threatened between heavy breaths. She didn't look harmed, yet she did look tired, and Sunset couldn't help but wonder how drained she was compared to herself.
No, that's not quite it. Sunset thought as she noticed how weak Shadow's mane was, and that she wasn't radiating heat. She thought that the shadow needed the light to maintain the possession, but she didn't know it was also the source of her strength. Wait! She probably can't move the sun in this condition! Sunset realized, If I can get away from her- As if reading her thoughts, Shadow Flare acted, sending out her shadows towards Sunset.
At that moment, Sunset felt a desire to re-educate Shadow Blitz on the definition of slow. Because Shadow Flare's shadow, was anything but that. Before she could even take three paces back, before she could gather magic to teleport, she was snared again.
“Let me go!”
“Silence!! You've tried my patience! I'm dragging you to the dungeon, where you can enjoy never seeing the sun or your friends, ever-” A pinkish wave came up from behind Sunset, moving past her, pushing aside shadows that ensnared her, freeing her. “Y-You!?” Shadow Flare stated in complete surprise, as Sunset felt somepony move next to her, and her heart skipped a beat as she caught sight of his white coat, and blue mane.
“I'm probably going to regret asking this,” Shining Armor began, clearing his throat as he adopted a heroic look, “Fair lady, do you require aid?” Shining Armor asked in a voice he used when playing O&O, offering his hoof to Sunset with a smile. She couldn't help but blush as she shook her head, getting on her hooves as she looked back to Shadow Flare, a magical barrier now separating them from her.
“I see,” Shadow Flare said after a moments pause, her mane dying down as she adopted a small smile. Sunset looked to her, confused, as she glanced back to the moon. “Well done, Sunset Shimmer. It seems that I've lost.” She then looked to Sunset, and their eyes met, and for some reason, Sunset hesitated, seeing sadness buried in those eyes. “Finish it.”
Sunset had mostly thought Shadow Flare's offer earlier was a bunch of lies. A small part of her found it tempting, because she wanted to believe it was true. Now, defeated, with that sad smile, Sunset saw that what Shadow Flare had offered her had been genuine, which led Sunset to a conclusion she didn't plan for.
“You … actually care about Equestria,” Sunset stated, getting an odd look from her opponent.
“What, starting to have doubts now that you've won?” Shadow Flare asked. Sunset looked away from her, considering something for a moment, before looking back.
“Can't you live separate from Celestia, without possessing another?” Sunset asked in an almost pleading tone, surprising herself by her question. Shadow Flare looked at her, a little surprised herself, then shook her head.
“I am a shadow, and a shadow needs two things to be. A body to cast it, and light. There is no shadow, without light.” She then looked Sunset in the eyes, looking conflicted. “Why are you hesitating? You didn't hesitate before, so why now?” Sunset blinked at her question.
Why am I hesitating? Sunset wondered as Shining Armor looked between the two of them. She got Celestia banished. She banished Luna, and the Shadowbolts. She tried to possess me. And Equestria is in a mess right now because of that heat wave! So, why am I hesitating now?
“I … don't know why I'm hesitating. But, something's different now. I don't want to end it, not like this,” Sunset admitted, giving Shadow Flare a determined look. Shadow Flare appraised Sunset for several moments, before giving her a kind smile, and Sunset saw that there were tears running down her cheeks.
“Honestly, you could have at least followed through with your plan. Instead, you went and gave me a little bit of kindness,” she stated, bowing to Sunset, before looking to the sky. Her horn then glowed, and Sunset's eyes widened as she immediately looked to the sun, then blinked as she saw it shift towards the moon, completing the eclipse.
The light of the sun tried to leak beyond the moon for several moments, before a brief flare struck the sky, and the light dwindled away into night, revealing the stars. “Sunset Shimmer, I'm entrusting Celestia, and Equestria, to you, and your friends...” Shadow Flare said weakly as Sunset looked to her in shock.
With the night returned, Shadow Flare's mane died down, losing its fiery glow, turning a light shade of pink, as the alicorn collapsed. The shadows around her, with no source of light to cast them, faded away. As Sunset's eyes adjusted, she saw the light of the moon cast a new shadow from Celestia, a typical, normal alicorn shadow.
They had won. They returned the night. Yet, for some reason, it didn't feel like a win. Which brought on a trace of annoyance to Sunset Shimmer. Darn it! After all she put me through, she still made me feel sorry for her! Sunset thought as she cast her gaze to her hooves. Why couldn't she have been like some sort of comic book villain, that did bad things and had a stupid cackle for no good reason! She raised her hoof, prepared to slam it down in frustration, but simply lowered back as she let out a tired sigh.
“You okay?” Shining Armor asked, and if she were honest, she'd say no. Shadow Flare's final act put her in a poor mood. That, and six hours of rest was enough to return a third of her magic, but it didn't get rid of the aching brought on from exerting herself earlier. And after going through all that again, her horn was being a real pain, and likely to ache for several days now. Turning her head at any pace besides 'comfortably slow' made her wince.
“I could be better,” she admitted. Looking to him, she saw that he was looking tired as well, as there were shadows under his eyes. “Have you been up all day?”
“Yeah. Luna ordered me to play along with Shadow Flare's orders till midnight.” He then pointed to Celestia as he continued, “She wanted me to look after a statue, an important one, but I don't know why.” He then looked back to Sunset, catching her confused look. “Oh, after midnight, I was to help with Shadow Flare's defeat, so I left the dungeon-”
“And you heard the explosion,” Sunset finished, getting a nod from the stallion. “Well, thanks,” she said as she blushed slightly, “I don't think it would have ended well without your help.”
“Think nothing of it!” He quickly replied, puffing his chest out, “Just saving a mare from a shadowy fiery monster that can fly and use magic!” Sunset shook her head, slowly, with a smile.
“Sounds like something right out of O&O,” she stated, getting a proud smile from him, as something came to mind. “Hey, Shining Armor. I, I've been wondering something for a while now, and I kind of want to ask before I get ahead of myself,” she started, getting an odd look from Shining as her light blush deepened, Oh just spit it out Sunset! “Shining, do you like-”
With a light pop, Twilight, Trixie, and Spike were with them in front of the castle, almost making Sunset bite her tongue as she tried to make her blush come to an end by willpower alone. Quickly putting her suddenly jumbled thoughts into order, and mentally cursing their timing, she appraised her friends.
Twilight looked fine, if a little messy and breathing heavily, Clover's book and the stone box levitating at her side. Trixie was breathing heavily, and her clothes were terribly singed, but she was giving everyone a proud smile. Spike looked like he had just climbed out of a chimney chute, yet he was mirroring Trixie's grin.
“Where were you guys a minute ago!?” Sunset asked, almost indignantly, “I needed to be saved by Shining Armor. He wasn't even in the plan!”
“Y-You were here?” Twilight asked her brother, who was getting confused looks from Sunset's friends. After a brief explanation, Twilight nodded, then looked to Sunset, “I'm very sorry we couldn't get here sooner. She got me with an anchoring spell before flying off, so I couldn't teleport.” Her brow furrowed as she glanced to the side. “I should have guessed she'd know that spell too. I had to run all the way through the castle to reach Trixie.” She then looked to Celestia, who was unconscious, but breathing soundly. Twilight walked up to her as she continued, “The anchor is gone now... Just wish I could have gotten here sooner.”
“Trixie is sorry too, dropping Spike on the firemare used up the last of my magic.” She then winced as she rubbed her horn, “Honestly Sunset, you've gotta have it worse than Trixie, how can you stand like that?” Sunset simply shrugged as she gave a small smile.
“I'll admit,” Sunset heard from a very familiar voice, making her ears perk up in unison with the others, “I was expecting the Elements of Harmony to have defeated the shadow.” The five of them all looked to Luna, who was smiling to them, the Shadowbolts to her sides. “Good work, all of you.” Luna then looked to the pegasi, “You have your orders.” With that, in unison, they saluted the princess, and each of the flew off in a different direction. Shadow Blitz gave Sunset and the others a wink, as she flew off towards Ponyville. Luna approached Celestia as Sunset and the others approached her.
“Luna,” Trixie began, getting the princess's attention as she looked from Celestia, “You could have told us, you know.”
“Oh? But I did,” Luna replied with a sly smile.
“She meant earlier, Luna,” Twilight added.
“Come now, you were no longer obligated to follow me after you graduated, and you're not part of the royal guard. And it's not like I asked you to take on Shadow Flare,” Luna said defensibly, her sly smile never disappearing.
“Luna,” Sunset began, stepping forward, “Shadow Flare, who was she?” Sunset didn't care that Luna had played them right now, that could wait for later. Luna appraised Sunset, before letting out a small sigh as she wrapped her magic around Celestia, repositioning her into a more comfortable posture, before sitting herself next to Celestia. The entire act carried an emotional weight that gave everyone else reason to stay silent.
“Shadow Flare was a part of Nightmare,” Luna began, “In the time before Equestria's founding, it wasn't just the windigos that were gaining strength. Nightmares born of malice and mistrust between Unicorns, Earth Ponies, and Pegasi formed the entity known simply as Nightmare.”
“I remember reading this,” Twilight interjected, “You defeated Nightmare, but you were cast into a long sleep from the battle's aftermath.”
“That's right,” Luna affirmed, “I destroyed Nightmare, and its essence was scattered throughout the Realm of Dreams. Shadow Flare was one such essence. In my long sleep, Celestia at some point was struck by an overwhelming loneliness when she lost a good friend.” The others shared a look, which Luna caught, “You wouldn't know of him, but he was quite talented with magic,” she then looked to Twilight, “And was Clover's mentor for a time,” Twilight considered that for a moment as Luna continued. “I wasn't able to comfort Celestia, and our subjects idolized us as something greater than what we were at the time, so she couldn't look to them for comfort. And in her isolation, she lost herself, believing she was abandoned. So, the fragment of Nightmare was drawn to her, and she accepted its offer to end her loneliness.”
“Was that when you woke up?” Spike asked.
“Sort of. Shadow Flare ended that loneliness. I don't know what magic it employed, but it managed to free me from my sleep in order to fulfill that wish. Naturally, we fought when Shadow Flare refused to lower the sun. At the time, I didn't know the nature of what possessed my sister, or that using the moon could spare me from using the Elements of Harmony.”
“So, now that she's been defeated-” Sunset began.
“The shadow has returned to the dream realm,” Luna explained, “And in time, will either find another to bond with, or more likely, rejoin with what's left of Nightmare.” Twilight gasped lightly, drawing everyone's attention.
“'By Shadow's Flare, dreams swallowed in nightmare.'”
“My thoughts exactly,” Luna affirmed. “But, that problem is a ways off. We have time to prepare, but first we need to take care of the mess caused by the shortest day of winter having become the longest day of winter.” She then gave everyone a smile, “If you'd give me several moments.” With that, her horn glowed, and she pointed it to Celestia, casting a spell to end her sleep, making the larger alicorn stir, looking to Luna at her side. Sunset's heart skipped a beat when she saw Luna's eyes begin to water, as Celestia looked away from her in shame.
“Luna, I'm so sorry, I-” she began, but was cut off by Luna giving her a loving hug, and for the first time, Luna's students saw tears running down her cheeks.
“Don't, Don't say such foolish things!” Luna quickly replied, sounding a little annoyed, “I shouldn't have locked you in the sun for a thousand years. I should be the one apologizing. So none of that.” Celestia and Luna fell silent for a moment, before Celestia returned the hug. “I've missed you, dear sister. It's been hard, looking after our home without you, for so long.”
“Luna, you surely don't mean to let me-” she was silenced by Luna placing a hoof over Celestia's mouth.
“I said none of that,” Luna repeated, ending the hug as she got on her hooves, offering Celestia a hoof up. And after hesitating for only a moment, she took it. “Sister, I've missed you dearly.” She then nodded, adopting a happy smile, “Welcome back!” And though it wasn't as pronounced as Luna's, Celestia smiled back.
“Thank you, Luna.” She then paused, looking to the others. "Sunset, Twilight, thank you, for showing Shadow compassion." Trixie gave them both a confused look as they quietly nodded in reply. Celestia then looked to Luna, then the moon. “Shall I … end the day?” She asked warily, getting a stern nod from Luna. Celestia hesitated a moment, then her horn glowed, and the eclipse ended, as the sun descended down beneath the moon, flooding the sky in a brief twilight, as true night returned to Equestria. Celestia then looked to the others, and Luna followed her gaze.
“Luna,” Twilight began, levitating the stone box containing the Elements of Harmony, “The prophecy hasn't been completed, what should we do with these?” Luna appraised the contents, taking the photo, and leaving the rest.
“Two of those belong to you and Trixie, of that, I'm certain. Who the Element of Kindness, and Honesty belong to, I can only guess, but they are undoubtedly friends of yours,” she explained as she looked over all of them.
“So,” Twilight continued, her brow furrowing, “The prophecy, it didn't matter that we used the moon, since the prophecy isn't completed yet.”
“What?” Luna asked in a concerned tone.
“We thought of using the moon to show that we could go against the prophecy,” Twilight explained, prompting Luna to shake her head.
“Twilight, I have some advice for you concerning prophecies. Don't think too much about them. They're vague in order to draw out conclusions made by the reader, if you think too much over them, you'll find yourself losing your way, which could bring about catastrophe.”
“Is that from experience?” Sunset asked, and Luna nodded.
“I'll … try to keep that in mind,” Twilight replied.
“Good,” Luna affirmed as she looked over all of them. “Now, as princess, I have an order for all of you.” All of them reflexively stood ready, much to Sunset's annoyance.
Some habits never die.
“Get cleaned up, and get some rest. You've all earned it,” She then looked to Shining Armor, “Be sure you also get plenty of rest, you'll have a very busy day tomorrow.” Shining Armor nodded, then a look of comprehension dawned on his face, as well as Sunset's as they looked to each other.
“Your Highness, would that happen to mean all day?” Shining asked.
“Likely through the evening too.” Luna replied, and Shining nodded, saluting the princess as he gave Sunset an apologetic look. He then left, waving goodnight to Sunset and the others, proceeding to the front gate. Her eyes following him, he paused at a part of the garden, something catching his eye, which Sunset also took notice of.
A certain patch of buds that were covered in snow earlier that morning took full opportunity of the unusually warm day. And along with the enchantment Sunset had placed upon them, had bloomed into a thick patch of yellow daffodils. Sunset saw Shining Armor pluck one, taking it with him. Something about the entire notion made her blush, which drew her thoughts back to the fact that there wasn't going to be a date tomorrow.
Well, great. Shadow Flare did ruin my date! Sunset bitterly thought as her eyes fell to the balcony, and the mostly destroyed room beyond, And our old bedroom! Just great! That was a terrible Winter Solstice! she thought to herself as she followed the others into the castle, all of them too tired or drained to bother with heading to Sunset's home. As Sunset frowned at the floor, Trixie bumped into her, and Sunset saw her giving her a wide smile.
Twilight then bumped into her as well, mirroring Trixie's smile, and Sunset found herself adopting their smiles, as Spike got on her back. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, she thought to herself, as they all walked through the familiar corridors, together, glad to finally call it a night.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sunset was standing at the front gate to a familiar building. It had been many years since she was last on this street, and appraising the mailbox, saw that its owner hadn't been changed out with the passage of time. Now at the front gates of the home she was raised in, she found herself hesitating.
“...We can come back later if you'd like,” Twilight offered.
“Trixie doesn't understand what the fuss is about, but, if Sunset is scared, then she should know we're here for her,” Trixie said as she looked to both of them, then looked to Spike as he tugged lightly on her coat.
“I kinda wanna meet him. Can we?” Spike asked. Sunset appraised her company, before looking back to the home. It was snowing, and a small layer was starting to form on the ground, enough to paint the cobblestones of Canterlot white.
After a pause that felt like several hours, but was likely only ten seconds, Sunset nodded, pushing the gate aside as she entered, the others right behind her, helping her move forward. Reaching the door, she hesitated again.
All the years she'd avoided being at this doorstep weighed on her, urging her to turn around. She knew that on the other side of that door was a torrent of emotions she wasn't ready to handle. But, she also knew, that on the side of the door she was standing on, was nothing but regret. Looking over her shoulder, she took in the expressions the others were giving her, taking strength from them.
With that strength, she adopted a determined look, seeing the door as a wall in her way, and she did the only thing that was needed to take that wall down. She knocked on it, three times. The first knock, to mend her past. The second knock, to beckon tears for what could have been. And finally a third knock, to welcome a radiant future, where she wouldn't be standing alone.
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The length of this doesn't sit right with me. The large number of unresolved plots makes this feel like a small part of a larger story, but not in the way you intended it. It feels like it should have been a handful of chapters to a larger story, not claiming to be a story unto itself.
That was a great story. Yay, sequels/prequels!
So for Elements is it Applejack, Fluttershy and Sunset for Honesty, Kindness and Loyalty, with Twilight and Trixie being Generosity and Laughter? Who's going to get Magic?
I enjoyed this chapter and look forward to more from you.
5842074 rarity maybe?
That was good yet...I hope you can resolve everything. You left quite a lot of holes in your story. Good story though!
5841988
The length is too long and yeah not enough is self contained.
Always answer more questions than you leave hanging.
5842223 Your avatar thingy is so random
that's a good thing
5842074
The impression I got from the prophecy is that no one will.
I know how you feel, about not being able to see a story from a reader's POV very well.
Anyways, I for one am enjoying this story greatly, and can't wait for the many chapters to come.
Keep up the great work, because I'll be reading every word.
5844897
Yes, and? False advertisement, especially on the level of Flim and Flam, is a dishonest business practice that is associated with con men.
Remember, what they were advertising to the Apples was different from what they were advertising to the town. To the town it was:
"This machine makes cider!"
Which was true. To the Apples it was:
"This machine will quadruple your profits!"
This was a lie, they intended to pocket all the money and leave the Apples financially ruined. Con men.
5844913 Not true, the Cider Machine would have been able to produce vastly higher volumes of cider than the Apple family could. The bottle-neck for Apple Cider isn't demand (look at those lines) or raw materials (way more orchards than they are using for cider day) it's the Apple family intensive labor process. Flim and Flam's device would have produced significantly more than 4 times the cider the Apple family could have produced on their own. Both the Apple family and the FlimFlam brothers would have profited. Now, there is a possibility that supplying that much cider would dampen demand over time, which may be why the Apple family turned them down, but that's a far cry from "leave the Apples financially ruined." The FlimFlam brothers are great inventors (apparently they invented the magielectric car as well) but short-sighted businessponies who don't understand long term profits, but in this instance they were anything but con artists.
5847263
No, the bottleneck is absolutely demand. I did the math on this already. The Apples serve more ponies than you realize,
because you are willfully ignorantbecause there are timelapses in the middle. When Apple Bloom declares that they've made "enough cider for everypony in Ponyville", it's not even three times what they were making before Flim and Flam showed up.A 75-25 profit split would have completely ruined Sweet Apple Acres. In the absolute best-case scenario, they would make three-quarters as much profit on this seasonal item, profit that has to stretch over the rest of the year. They still have exactly the same expenses, too.
It really finished strong, but are you saying Luna never cried in front of the girls once?
5847808 I honestly couldn't think of any other reason Luna would cry in front of her students during their time together. Maybe when they graduated? But I pictured that Luna always had faith in their abilities. Maybe being as old as she is has made her secretly jaded.
Then again, she might have shed a few tears when they managed to drag her to the Gala.
Poor Luna.
5847564 You're assuming they could continuously keep up that speed in the middle? There's also wear and tear on their existing equipment that has to be avoided, that's another expense they are skipping with Flim and Flam. If they could normally make enough cider for everyone, they wouldn't run out every year, I doubt Apple Bloom is actually giving an accurate estimate here.
Also, just because the deal would have ended badly for the Apple Family isn't the same as saying the FlimFlam brothers were con men, like I said they were overly aggressive businessponies who didn't recognize that a 50-50% split would have benefited them in the long run. It's not like they had access to the Apple Family balance books.
5848281 I would of hoped that luna would of shed a tear around them I mean love isn't about being strong for someone it's willing to be weak.
5849130 As I said, I couldn't picture any other reason Luna would cry in front of her students in the years they've been together.
I'm open to any suggestions. (via pm)
5848364
I've been trying to avoid calling you retarded because of your opinion on a cartoon horse program. The problem is that your opinion is not an opinion, because opinions cannot be true or false, and you are objectively wrong.
As such: You are retarded.
You're asking if I'm assuming who could keep up what speed, exactly? If you mean the Apple Family and the final "enough for everypony" speed, then it's irrelevant. First, the point is that at the maximum rate of production that increases profits, the quantity which the Apple Family is able to sell is NOT four times their initial quantity. Second, the Apple Family has no need to keep up that speed by themselves. They could hire some neighborhood foals to help them out for a few bits a day.
False. Flim and Flam have a much more advanced—and therefore complex—machine. That would have much higher overhead costs than the Apples' cider press, and that overhead would be coming out of the profits before the split, which would hurt the Apples even more.
They were clearly working under abnormal circumstances. Your statement is irrelevant. Also stupid.
They explicitly stated that they intended to drive Sweet Apple Acres out of business. Take the cotton out of your ears, and maybe use it to cushion your brain against what is clearly extensive head trauma. They also tried to skirt the law at every opportunity, attempting to sell cider that they didn't technically own and trying to take Sweet Apple Acres as their prize when it wasn't part of the wager.
5849280 Given the immense demand for cider we see demonstrated by people waiting in line, the maximum quantity that increases profit for the Apple family is actually way more than four times their initial quantity. Heck, they barrel cider, they could use the increased production capacity offered by the Super Squeezy to sell to Canterlot and beyond, the Apples could have been making 10x profits!
You do have a point about machinery repair costs, I'll give you that. But "abnormal circumstances?" That phrase doesn't really explain anything. Either the Apples can work that hard without serious consequence every Cider Season, in which case Ponyville should not be running out of cider, or they ran themselves ragged to get that much cider made, in which case they should upgrade to more sophisticated equipment like the Super Squeezy. Heck they can raise prices with that kind of demand and make a killing!
They threatened to legally drive Sweet Apple Acres out of business, that doesn't make them con men, just stupid. They brought the Mayor in and had everything done above board! The fact that the Apples abandoned Sweet Apple Acres because they thought it would be unprofitable is unfortunate, and Flim and Flam would probably have been unable to run the farm on their own anyway, but they didn't cheat the Apples, unless you think all of Ponyville cheated, since they all stood there and watched as the Apples packed up their possessions and left.
Oh, and can we keep the personal attacks out of our extremely important discussion of fictional horse economics and the lines between predatory business practices and outright fraud amongst cartoon ponies?
5849375
No, I'm not having this conversation anymore. I've analyzed all of this, extensively, and I'm not going to bother going back and forth with another spastic who won't listen to a damn thing because he's too intent on labeling the Apples as stupid hicks.
5851159 Wow, watch who you're calling hicks. The Apples are a shrewd clan of interconnected business ponies who probably hold near-monopoly power over segments of the produce market in Equestria, and are successful enough to afford airships, fancy Manehatten apartments, and the capital to invest in starting a whole new town. Heck, Sweet Apple Acres is almost certainly the source for most of the apples eaten in Canterlot. They may have lilting accents and "countryisms," but that doesn't detract from their skills as entrepreneurs.
In fact, with their coat colors identical to Apple Bloom and their apple cutie marks, it wouldn't surprise me if the FlimFlam brothers were cousins!
5851523
The levels of doublespeak are off the charts here. I assume it's the result of whatever tragic mental condition led to you badmouthing the Apples in the first place.
Realize that you just admitted that the Apples know more about the business than you. You have no idea what a nightmare half the stuff you suggested the Apples should do if only they had your "incredible business savvy" would actually be. Shipping cider by the barrel? Do you even know how long cider keeps? Hard cider lasts because alcohol is a preservative, but the mere existence of hard cider would cut into cider season profits because it would be available year-round. Do they have refrigerated freight cars in Equestria? How much would you pay for spoiled cider? Would it be enough to offset the shipping costs? Which is more profitable by weight, apples or cider?
And that's before you get into the actual logistics—because a hub of transport, Ponyville ain't. They have one train station. They're surrounded by mountains and forests. Just getting anything into or out of Ponyville is a problem.
Before the Apples made a single move in the direction of "abandoning Sweet Apple Acres", Flim and Flam declared the farm theirs, despite not having won any form of rights to it; the Apples complied because, without the right to sell cider, they wouldn't have the money to keep the farm anyway. To say that the Brothers are not con artists requires outright ignoring the basic facts of what happened. And that is why I cannot respect you in this conversation.
5851661 When on earth did I badmouth the Apples? And as someone who has studied supply chains and logistics, I do know about kind of costs and difficulties involved in transporting produce.
First off, Ponyville is exactly a transportation hub, it's the last train station before Canterlot. What do you think 90% of the towns exports are, if not foodstuffs up the mountain to the large capital city with zero arable land? Why do you think the Princess gave the land right below Canterlot to farmers, if not to have them grow food to sell to Canterlot? Ponyville has the lowest shipping costs to Canterlot, so unless there are some sort of giant mechanized farms using FlimFlam devices out there, Sweet Apple Acres is going to be able to ship to Canterlot and sell their apples at a lower marginal cost than any other apple farm, because Ponyville is only a few hours train ride from Canterlot. Heck refrigerated train cars would hurt the business of Sweet Apple Acres, because without them SWA is basically the only apple farm able to get apples or barrels of apple cider up the mountain before they spoil, unless Canterlot grocers bring in food by airship, which has to be a lot more expensive than rail. But yes, a 3 hour train ride up to Canterlot is not going to spoil apple cider, that stuff will stay fresh for months in a barrel, and with SWA materials and FlimFlam technology removing the production bottleneck, Canterlot could be swimming in fresh cider. If apples were more profitable by weight, then SWA wouldn't bother with Cider Day at all. Apple family members like the Orange cousins and others like Apple Slice (owner of the airship) are clearly successful enough to know how to set up complex supply chains, but considering SWA was able to negotiate a retail and distribution arrangement that has been mutually beneficial to the Apple Family and the Riches for generations, I doubt SWA needs the help.
As for fermenting the cider, of course they know how, Applejack is named after an alcoholic beverage. SWA may choose not to ferment because they don't want to compete in the hard cider business with a relative from a different town.
When Flim and Flam openly declared that they owned SWA, Applejack agreed, stating: "a deal's a deal." Now, either the title to SWA was somehow thrown into the bet that the mayor oversaw, which means Flim and Flam were playing fair (though being jerky about it), or the Apples were canny enough to realize that Flim and Flam would not be able to keep the farm running on their own, and would soon be begging the Apples for help in maintaining the farm, giving the Apple family a dominant bargaining position. One set of businessponies was a lot more cunning than the other, and I suspect it was the Apples. They knew without earth pony magic and farmer skills soon Flim and Flam would have no new apples to harvest, and would have to renegotiate after they had made a bunch of commitments to supply cider. Either way, saying that Flim and Flam were somehow "conning" the Apples here is completely unsupported by the evidence, it almost feels like the Apples were planning a long con on the FlimFlam brothers to squeeze them on terms for their equipment!
5852592
Inductive reasoning is cool and all, but it doesn't hold a candle to evidence. Bats! describes a situation in which a year's crops were wiped out. If the town were as well connected as you claim, they could have imported produce and gotten through it fine, but instead, the remaining apples had to be rationed out to keep everyone from starving. Ponyville is on its own.
I feel like you're conflating "by weight" with "per unit".
I didn't say they don't. I said they don't want to make hard cider. Aside from then having to compete in that market, it would cut into cider season profits by making it available year-round.
There is ample evidence, you just don't listen when I list it off. Rather than run down the list again, I'm just going to point out that the intent of their characters was to be con artists, as demonstrated by having a song inspired by The Music Man. A lot of your arguments seem to cling to the idea that we don't know what was actually in their heads when they did all this, but we do, because the characters' inspiration gives us a lens for interpreting what we see.
Boy oh boy do we know the perfect play for you Sunset
.
5853444 Bat's describes a situation with a flashback to when Granny Smith was a young mare, so let's say 50 years ago, before the rail-road was invented. And the fruit bats wiped out the crop of one farm, not all of Ponyville, so apples were rationed, not anything else. Now who's using inductive reasoning?
If you don't think Ponyville is a hub of transportation for Canterlot, how do you think food gets transported to Canterlot at all? Do you really think it's cheaper to fly bulk supplies in via airship?
As for not fermenting the cider for fear of cutting into profits on cider day by making it available all year round, there is some logic to that idea, seasonal brews are a popular tactic. But when there is consistent unmet demand in the form of many ponies not getting cider every year, making more cider available would not cut down on profits.
No, the intent of the FlimFlam brothers was to make a huge profit of the Apples, without concern if it left them in a sustainable position, or even left them unable to maintain the farm. You're right that the FlimFlam brothers are an expy of the Music Man the same way Discord is an expy of Q (they even get called on their BS by the snarky town librarian!) But to be a con artist you have to intend to deceive your target, not merely exploit them. The FlimFlam brothers were honest the whole way through. They honestly would take the bulk of the profits (without worrying about the break even marginal production point this would leave the Apples at), then they honestly would challenge the Apples to a contest in terms wildly favorable to the FlimFlam brothers, then they honestly would Apple Honorary Family Members compete only because they were sure they could win. They used high pressure sales tactics and took advantage of Granny Smith's pride, but they didn't con the Apples.
5859092
You.
You just said they didn't have a railroad in the early days. How did food get transported back then?
In fact, you said earlier that Ponyville was the last stop before Canterlot; this is demonstrably not true, as in MMMMystery on the Friendship Express, there are several stops after Ponyville on the train bound for Canterlot. And in both that episode and Over A Barrel, important cargo is transported via what appears to be a passenger train instead of a freight train. I don't think Ponyville has freight trains.
Narrative intent, you gibbering mouther. They were created to be con artists; therefore, treating the interpretation of their actions as though it occurred in a vacuum is deceitful.
Doublespeak at its finest.
5859152 Before railroad, they had to pull food and everything else up the mountain by cart. Before Ponyville existed I'm sure they just traveled directly from the nearest towns, passing through the empty land where Ponyville is now. Seriously, what is your theory as to how food and other bulk supplies get to Canterlot?
MMMystery on the Friendship Express makes zero stops between Ponyville and Canterlot, all the other deserts are already on the train. The train goes really slow because it is moving a giant cake up a mountain. Equestria only seems to have one type of train car, mixing passengers and cargo freely.
Gibbering Mouthers are a CR 5, thanks! And you're right about narrative intent, but death of the author and all that, no visible character intent.
5859200
It depends. Are the airships magical?
Magitechnology seems to be a big thing in Equestria, most fantasy settings use magical airships and the only airships known to exist are in Canterlot, magic capital of the world, while trains are known to run on mundane fuels. In the real world, zeppelins lost out to land-based travel for bulk transportation, but with magic as a fuel source, airships could be much more efficient. In that case, Sweet Apple Acres actually benefits from not having any supply exchange with Canterlot, as that would open them up to competition on the mass market.
In any case, even assuming there are supply lines to Canterlot in place, you're still making a huge assumption in thinking that there's a cider market there. Remember, these are snobs. They don't like country food. Sweet Apple Acres would have to do a lot of rebranding to sell their cider in Canterlot.
That's not what death of the author means, and even if it was it would just be another layer of disingenuousness.
5859369 You have a good point about zeppelins, for all we know with unicorn magic helium is dirt cheap to produce. But Canterlot has been here for centuries, they must have gotten the food up those hills pre-Zeppelin!
There's a larger issue here though: Sweet Apple Acres is one of the founding industries of the town, which is "founded by earth ponies" and seems to consist mostly of farms and small houses/retail shops. Ponyville has to be exporting food, because every town has to export something, and there doesn't seem to be any other goods or services Ponyville can offer the rest of the world, especially Canterlot, the nearest major market. I'm willing to bet that Sweet Apple Acres is one of the largest farms in Ponyville, since they still hold all those town wide events, they founded the town and hold the original deed, and people in town count on the apples to do things like raise money for a broken town hall. Do you really think Sweet Apple Acres only sells apples to the Ponyville population and nowhere outside it? You're right that if this was true, then a lack of efficient supply lines to Canterlot would benefit them, but then how does the town's economy work? Where do the bits come in that ponies use to buy things from the rest of the country?
As for the Canterlot taste, a small segment of the nobility has been shown to be stuffy, but I would argue A)There are a lot of ponies in Canterlot, it's unlikely they are all snobs. Do you really think Donut Joe or Hayseed TurnipTruck would turn down SWA cider? B) Snobs love cider, if it's locally sourced and has a story attached. Look at San Francisco today full of snobbish hipsters and serving fancy ciders by the boatload. I'll give you Blueblood rejecting a fried fritter and calling it carnival fair, but think realistically: Where do you think most of the apples he's been eating his entire life in Canterlot are going to come from? Shipped halfway across the continent, or from local land granted to farmers by Celestia herself?
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A millenium, in fact, as canon sources (primarily, The Journal of the Two Sisters) establish, whereas Ponyville has only existed for half a century, three-quarters at most, having been built within Granny Smith's lifetime.
So here's another thing Ponyville has against it; establishment. The upper class loves tradition almost as much as the Apples do, since it is after all why they're the upper class to begin with, and other sources have centuries of trade with Canterlot. The Ponyville vintage is simply too young for that appeal.
Congratulations, you've discovered a niche market. Hey Apples! You should sell your cider in Canterlot, we've found two ponies who will buy it!
That... is a good question. Tourism seems like a good candidate. The town has plenty of tourism draws—even zap apple jam, something truly unique to Sweet Apple Acres and available only for brief seasons. We've seen plenty of tourist-looking ponies, too, and a travel article written by a professional tourist was the subject of an episode. Alternately, there's nothing stopping other Ponyville producers from selling to Canterlot, as long as they can establish their own supply chain, and there's a product that would fit perfectly in a Canterlot market and can only be sold if it's the freshest of the fresh: Flowers.
But I suppose in the end the most likely candidate is Filthy Rich. He has the resources to start a franchise; he gets paid so franchisees can use the name Barnyard Bargains.
Or perhaps their revenue comes from the famous Ponyville shipyards.
5859523 You're right, Canterlot has been around long before Ponyville, and presumably some sort of capital population that serviced the castle of the Royal Sisters even before then.
You do have a point about established vintages, if there is some sort of fancy 300 year old cider made in Hoofington the nobles would prefer it. But we've also seen servants, guards, there are plenty of working class ponies in Canterlot. How many support staff do you think each noble needs? (Or demands, because even if they were all unicorns and could do domestic spells with their magic, there's no way they are casting the toilet-scrubbing spells themselves). I doubt all those ponies are unwilling to drink cheaper cider from right down the mountain.
Nobles also don't buy their own food, chefs place orders based on dishes they plan to make. But surely it's a reasonable expectation that Canterlot has some sort of produce market, and whoever the re-saler or whole-saler of those markets is, if there is a local source they can transport food from cheaper, they will buy it there. Don't get me wrong, in the case of cider, specifically hard cider, you make a good case that the nobles would have a firm preference for certain established vintages (I would guess those vintages are Apple cousins, and an un-official non-compete arrangement with the hard cider branch of the Apple family is the main reason SWA doesn't produce hard cider).
As for the town's economy, you make several good points. Perhaps Carrot Top and the other farmers are not as traditional as SWA, and they have modernized and are exporting their produce while the SWA Apples cling to their traditions. Applejack doe act as though their farm barely stays in the black on many occasions, but we've never seen any other farmer financially stressed. The theory of flowers is a good one, I could see the Flower Trio selling fancy orchids and roses to discerning nobles, that would explain how they have hazmat suit money.
You also have a great point about the tourist industry, at least in recent years. Besides Carousel Boutique as an "anchor tenant" that wealthy ponies will travel for, and we have seen a variety of fancy restaurants and waitstaff, as well as fancy ponies sitting at local cafes. And of course, "Small Town Chic" is exactly what small towns do when they are renovating the down town to bring in wealthy tourists. Heck half the stores we see that sell a few random combinations of goods work much better as a business model if you think idle tourists are the main customers. I can see bed and breakfasts, tours of the Ponyville lake, take pictures of the librarian/princess! (Estee has really gone into this in detail in a number of his stories). The only catch I see here is, who is close to Ponyville and has a lot of money: Those Canterlot Nobles again. They are almost certainly the wealthy tourists in question, going around calling things "delightfully rural" and probably owning a summer property near White Tail Woods or something. The only reason I would call that a "problem" is because if nobles are hanging around Ponyville, they are probably exposed to the SWA brand before long, and I expect they would start demanding some of those sweet sweet apples back up in their mansions. So I would say food export is probably the #1 industry, with tourism a close 2nd.
I assumed Filthy Rich was the main retail presence in Ponyville, with Barnyard Bargains as the largest store. But if he has all these distribution deals with the local farmers, he's probably the pony that sells directly to Canterlot grocers as well. It would certainly explain his wealth, one large store does not seem like it would pay for that mansion of those servants.
Just for fun: Don't forget SWA pigs! (I always assumed they were exported to hungry Griffons).
Was Trenderhoof from Canterlot? I feel like where he came from was mentioned. I don't think tourism from Canterlot, at least the "wealthy snob" sector, would be a significant factor, though. When you're rich, the point of traveling is to travel. It's a status symbol, you go somewhere far away and exotic, not nearby and rustic. Ponyville is just too close to home. Manehattan snobs, on the other hand, might.
I was trying to get at this earlier, but it's also possible the reason Sweet Apple Acres doesn't have a strong export presence is that they can't afford the initial investment. After all, when Applejack dreams of a business boost, she's dreaming of living expenses, not luxuries. If they can't afford to expand, then hunkering down and keeping the local market firmly under control is the next best thing.
Pigs have non-food uses; digging for truffles, for instance. But are Equestrian pigs sapient? I would point to Starlight Glimmer as evidence that they are. (Wonder how many people will really get that joke.)
And for that matter, do the Apples collect rent from the cows and sheep?
Suddenly when I wanted to post, I see a massive, massive debate. Made worse by mobile.
With that, a moment of silence fell over all of , prompting Twilight
which lead Sunset to a conclusion she didn't plan for
you've gotta have it worse that Trixie
and it's essence was scattered
Who the Element of Kindness, and Honesty belong too, I can only guess
1. Fell over all of them.
2. Led.
3. Than.
4. Its.
5. To.
Prophecies. Can't live with them, can't live without them. I look forward to reading your in between stories timeline. Too bad I can't form any coherent thoughts at the moment.
I wonder if they thought of lowering the moon to Equestria just a little to make it both easier to move and bigger to block the sun? Just for a little bit. Then to have the moon crash into Equestria.
The sympathetic villain angle was unexpected in a good way. Also, the ending was definately more effective than actually showing the reunion.
5842074 I think Twilight will still get magic.
I enjoyed reading this. I'm looking forward to future installments in this set of stories.
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I feel that that was actually a thing back in the day, sort of a lost art, so to say.
In the Hearth's Warming Eve episode, I believe it was stated that the Unicorn's role was to raise and lower the sun and moon. What I took from that was that before the Princesses came about, it took a group of unicorns to pull off that task. But that's just my headcannon firing away.
/whisper That may be coming up in chapter 4 of the FCC.
**coughcoughreadmorecough** Oh, dear, sorry for that, something seemed to be caught in my keyboard.
What's Shadow Flare up to? Good question!
They are so going to fulfill the prophecy by attempting to subvert the prophecy.
Dash/Blitz got banished to the moon? Figures she'd go out in a self sacrifice, I was kind of expecting that ever since we heard that the rest of the 'Bolts were cooling their heels there.
That's gotta be the moon, which means they must be going for a surprise eclipse if the goal is blocking out the sunlight.
It's interesting how much less villainous Flare is compared to the Nightmare.
Hmmnn...
Shining Armor for the heroic save!
Yeah, that went about as I was expecting, with the exception of Shining showing up and Flare taking the final fall herself. Then again, as I was reading towards the end I was half expecting that Sunset would finally say yes to the possession now that she was in a position to set more favorable terms for the deal. Here's hoping that Flare can be saved from merge with the rest of the Nightmare once we get to that in a future story, she was a surprisingly sympathetic character. On that note, interesting difference in how Luna and the Nightmare played out way back when.
This ending appears to be indicating that Twilight's future Element is one of the ones in the box, which would make hers something other than Magic. New theory on who the Bearer of Magic might turn out to be, it'll be whoever Flare's backup plan in Manehatten was.
Fun story.
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Sounds good.
I had to scroll quickly through a page of potential spoilers to post this. Before I start, which sequel should I read first? This one, or The Fillies of Canterlot Castle?
5990316 I'd say Midnight's Radiance first, if only because The Fillies of Canterlot Castle is still ongoing.
6006982 In my head-canon, the mare in the moon, while tying to Nightmare Moon's origin, also helped explain the unicorn silhouette on the moon for the ponies of Equestria.
In this AU, since Celestia was banished to the sun, there was no visible silhouette for stories to be based around. That, and I felt that Luna wouldn't want her subjects to have an initially poor notion of her sister. (Think Luna Eclipsed in the show's case.)
6011512 shadow flare used to live in the EVERFREE castle.
I was very curious as to how Shadow Flare was be defeated. Wow. Now, we have to wait to find out what happens next. Well, don't just stand there. Get a shovel and start filling those plot holes.
6014429 There's an Everfree castle in this verse?
6017105 It suffered a similar fate to canon's Castle of the Two Sisters.
6179455 Yes. At least that's what my headcanon is regarding that. I think that Canterlot was made after the banishment because the Castle of the Two Sisters was abandoned after that, and the Everfree seemed to change from the battle.
6199509 Yes, crack-ship confirmed.
6230908 Even though I've written AJ as the mayor, I always chuckle a little when I try and picture her dressed as Mayor Mare.
Sunset could earn Galvatron's respect, but I don't know if it'd work the other way around.