???: It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)
Raspberry slowly opened her eyes. She lay in a bed unfamiliar to her, with its surroundings looking more like that of a foal’s room than anything she’d ever seen before. Sure enough, after turning her head slightly, she saw the Wonderbolts poster on the wall and that pretty much confirmed it. The next question, however, was simple: where was she?
She moved to get out of bed…and felt searing pain rip through her side. She looked down to see her body, wrapped in gauze, though thankfully her leg was still as okay as it could ever get. Still, she was feeling pain, something that was generally more of an annoyance to her than a motion-halting issue – that was one of the things she’d inherited from her detested ancestor, Sombra. But with the wrappings and the pain, it meant her innate healing ability suddenly vanished.
Unfamiliar location, healing way too slow for normal…what’s going on? she wondered.
A second later, the door opened, and Princess Celestia walked in. She was dressed as Raspberry had never seen her before: in the barding of a mare at war. Stranger still, her hair was not moving with its natural motion, but laying as limp as any normal pony’s mane would.
“You’re up,” the sun alicorn said, relief in her voice. “We feared the worst.”
“The worst?” Raspberry asked.
“You’ll notice you’re healing normally now,” Celestia pointed out.
“Yes, and I’m wondering why,” she mused.
“You were exposed to, amongst other things, nearly lethal levels of miasma.”
Raspberry looked at her liegelady as if the armor she wore was somehow diminishing her intelligence. “Princess, miasma’s harmless. It only makes normal ponies sick, and it doesn’t affect me at all, given that I’m, well, me.”
The ruler of Equestria shook her head. “The world has changed in the past three days, Razz.”
Rose eyes widened in shock. “Three days?” she gasped. “How long was I out?”
“Please rest. There will be time to talk about that later.”
“Princess, please – I need to know. What happened?”
Celestia was about to speak, when a guard appeared. “Please rest, Razz. Somepony will be by to debrief you later. But for now, I have a war to fight.”
“A war?” Raspberry asked, wondering if somehow she’d ended up in a parallel universe not involving humans.
“Regardless, it’s good to see you up and about. I’ll be sure to let both the girls and your parents know; they’ve been worried about you. Until later.” Celestia favored her archmagus with a sad smile, then departed the room.
It was several hours later when she received another visitor not tied to the nurses who occasionally popped in to look in on her. Princess Luna, wearing silver barding reminiscent of what Celestia had worn earlier, walked into the room. And like her older sister Luna’s hair was not flowing of its own accord, either.
“That’s a new look for you,” Raspberry snarked, trying to raise the somber atmosphere in the room.
Luna nodded, favoring her friend with a smile. “I had this made after I retired my old armor for obvious reasons,” the night alicorn explained. “After Nightmare Moon’s defeat, I thought it would be better to have something more…approachable. Either way, I came to explain what’s happened…and to apologize.”
“Please. Celestia didn’t explain much. And I have other questions. Like where’s Heelee? What happened to the others? What’s happened to me?” She would’ve said more, but she winced and her hooves went to her side.
Luna bid her to lay back down. “Please don’t injure yourself further, Razz. We’re doing everything we can for you. Now, as for your pet phoenix, he’s under Fluttershy’s care right now – he was nearly killed in the attack on the Sunny Rainphase. As for the others…Lt. Zap is in intensive care for severe wingstrain; the doctors say it will be months before she can fly again. She saved your life, Razz. Your assistant mages were able to teleport away, but with injuries severe enough that they’re both in surgery right now. As for the Rainphase and its crew….” Luna turned away. “The crew is being awarded posthumous medals for their valiant service, both for trying to fight off the enemy and steer the dying ship away from Cloudy Vista.”
“Posthumous? Luna, what the hell happened?”
“Well, I’ll make this simple, but I want a promise from you first. Until we give the all-clear, I do not want you using any magic whatsoever, save for what it takes to maintain your guise. I won’t demand it as your liege, but rather as a promise between friends. Will you do that for me?”
The look on Raspberry’s face was one of utter confusion. “Don’t know why, but sure, I promise. I’ll Pinkie Promise if I have to. I take it that this is somehow tied to your and Celestia’s bad mane day?”
Luna smirked. “I suppose you could say that. Anyway, I’ll make it simple: your healing factor was stolen from you, and as of now, you heal like a normal pony. Given that we know almost nothing about black magic, it’s quite possible that you may permanently lose that ability. To make matters worse, we don’t know what other skills you may have lost as well, or if you’ll gain those back, either.”
“I take it there’s a story to all this?”
“There is. Three days ago, we found out what those pillars really were – and you were practically on top of the one in Cloudy Vista when it activated.” A nurse came in bearing fresh bandages, but Luna looked at her, shaking her head. The nurse nodded, then departed. “The pillars were, as we assumed, creating a magic circle, and Shining unfortunately discovered that their purpose was to becoming a force vacuum, to steal momentum, mana, and in many cases, life itself. These pillars then would transfer the stolen forces to a creature, a centaur named Tirek, that has been a thorn in the side of Equus for a long time, so long that he vexed even Discord when he sat on his throne.”
“So, it’s an elaborate magic theft? Seriously?”
“More than that, sadly. Equestrians near the pillars when they activated were put in a sort of stasis that not only can’t be broken, but then infects anyone attempting to do so and transfers their forces to the pillars. Worse, once it taps out the momentum and mana, it steals the life forces until there’s nothing left of the victim. As of now, over seven hundred of our subjects, including the young, are fatalities. We ended up evacuating the affected towns…” Luna looked haggard as she sighed and added, “…and Canterlot.”
Canterlot? The fact that the princesses had left their stronghold was a worrying thing. “So where am I?”
“A home in Pyrite Town, on the western edge of Neighagra Falls. It’s where we have the temporary government while we amass our forces both in the Empire and in Ponyville for a counterattack. The Minoans are sending military forces to assist, as are the kitsune and the tigers. Unfortunately, we can’t spare troops from our overseas colonies, so we cannot rely on the troops in Haywaii, Mareitania or Saddle Arabia. As it currently stands, Tirek holds a good portion of air superiority, and much of the Navy has been grounded. If this keeps up, all flyers will be grounded as well.”
“Because of the enemy forces?” Raspberry asked.
“Yes, but just as much because of the miasma. The pillars are not only transferring the magic to Tirek, but have a secondary function: wherever there are enough gem deposits, even the most minor of ones, the magic is creating golems with it – crystalline imitations of centaurs and wyverns, and sending them against our people. Additionally, the magic circle in itself is slowly filling with this new kind of miasma, which is nothing like anything we’ve seen before. It weakens all but the strongest of our forces, and in many cases, leads them towards the pillars.”
“I still don’t understand why I lost my healing ability, though. And you said that I might have lost other powers as well?”
“We believe that the pillars function to seek out unusual magic properties: alicorn, chaos, dark, so forth and so on. During the destruction of the Sunny Rainphase’s aerostats, one of the deckhooves and Lt. Zap found your magic being sucked into the pillar. Petty Officer Deckplate sacrificed himself to push you away and give Lt. Zap time to grab you. But the cost is that your healing is gone, and we don’t know how much else of your magic is gone as well. But early reports against Tirek’s forces indicate that the golems are harder to break, which hints that your healing ability may have been transferred en masse to that monster and his forces.” She pointed at her mane. “This is why we halved our own magic. We will explain further at tomorrow’s meeting, Razz, but for now, please rest. As I understand it, a doctor from Manehattan arrived thirty minutes ago and he’s a specialist in magical healing. You should be back on your hooves by tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
Luna nodded. “Rest for now. You’ll need your strength in the morning. And it’ll be a long meeting.” Luna lit her horn, casting a sleep spell on the unicorn. “I will see you tomorrow, my friend.”
“If you insist,” Raspberry yawned. Luna saw herself out, and heavy lidded, the unicorn looked at the foal’s room, the Wonderbolts poster and the other things of youth, and she wondered how the foal that normally lived here fared. Did he have loving parents? Did he have everything she hadn’t when she was that age? She could only hope he did.
And as she finally closed her eyes, she dreamed of a life she never had – one where she did have what she’d wanted.
The following morning, Raspberry opened her eyes once more to find three mares, all earth ponies, standing in her room. The three wore black armor that was completely bare of unit identification or rank. They also wore two swords each and a bow. The lead one, with a coat of dark salmon and a mane of celeste and Alice-blue in the same manestyle as Cloud Chaser, had gentle violet eyes and bowed before her. “Good morning your grace. We have been assigned to be your protectors from this point on. I am Marimba Rondo, your most humble servant. To my left is Cuíca Trecento.” A smiling mare with a cream coat, pink and magenta mane in a docktail, and also violet eyes, bowed. “And to my right is Pavane Bayan.” A sleepy-eyed mare with a two-tone blonde mane in waves, a rose coat and golden eyes, bowed. “We will serve you in any way possible. Our lives and bodies are yours to do as what you wish, Lady Raspberry.”
Raspberry caught the odd phrasing. “Lives and bodies?”
“She’s a smart one, Mari,” the one identified as Pavane said. Turning to Raspberry, she said, “There have been times in the past where a Hoof has had to guard somepony…who takes it a bit literally. In my parents’ case, my father took my mother’s vow literally, and…well, Mom had to retire, but the Princess insisted father marry mother in return. But blood always rings true, and when I showed the legacy, I came to fulfill my mother’s spot with the Hooves. Besides, Mom and Dad eventually did fall for each other.”
“I…see. Well, I don’t swing that way….” She the saw three mares give looks of relief on their faces. “Please don’t tell me you would have…!”
“Part of our duties, Lady Raspberry,” Cuíca explained. “Even if we don’t, ahem, ‘have that inclination’, our duties are all. There is a reason why our duties include lives and bodies. The Princess has asked us multiple times to amend our vows to her, but we dare not. We serve our regent dutifully for what she’s done for us and we dare not disappoint her at all.”
Marimba looked at Raspberry. “Fortunately, our duties rarely come to that. Most of the time, we have much more urbane duties for the Princess, and it is only in rare times that we serve in positions outside our scope. Besides, if you were, I suspect the Princess would have assigned a triune more inclined to do so, filled with mares who were ready to step away from active duty.” She bowed once more and said, “Regardless, we are the Princess’ Hooves, and this triune is here to serve you, life and body, Lady Raspberry.”
“The Princess’ Hooves? Isn’t that a myth?”
“All myths have a grain of truth, milady,” Pavane explained. “Our tribe owes a perpetual debt to the Princess for what she’s done, and so we serve her every wish and need.”
“Your tribe? Aren’t you earth ponies?”
“You’d think that, but it’s a bit more complex and I’m not at liberty to say, Lady Raspberry. What I can tell you is that right now, some of our forces are being deployed to serve the Princess in the old ways,” she said, nodding her head to indicate her weapons. “Others not as talented remain in their modern duties.”
Cuíca stepped forward and said, “In any case, we are here to escort you to the meeting. Lady Luna has requested that we do so.”
“Lady Luna? Don’t you mean Princess Luna?”
Pavane nodded. “We mean no disrespect, but we Hooves only have one Princess. It is merely our way, and I assure you, Ladies Luna, Cadance and Twilight understand. In fact, Lady Twilight’s repeatedly requested we even drop the ‘Lady’ sobriquet, but we do have to respect our nobles, milady.”
“Please, whenever you are ready, we will depart, though we strongly recommend that you dress suitably for the meeting, milady,” Marimba told her.
“We have had your formal robes sent from Ponyville,” Cuíca told her. “I will be happy to assist you, as I understand you are honor bound by Lady Luna to not use your magic.”
Mariba nodded. “Please assist Lady Raspberry, Cuí. Pav, move into a position where you can neutralize any threats if need be. Magic arrows are authorized.”
“Understood, Mari.” Pavane immediately departed.
Marimba looked at Raspberry. “I shall be right back, Lady Raspberry. I need to make sure that the pathway is secure for our trip from the manor to Government Hall.”
After a few minutes, Marimba came back, carrying a halberd and a triple staff. “Cuí, brought your sansetsukon.”
Both Raspberry, dressed in the formal robes of her station as an archmagus of Equestria; and Cuíca, still dressed in her armor, departed the room. Marimba threw Cuíca her triple staff. “Thanks, Mari. Means a lot to me.”
“You have a triple staff?” Raspberry asked Cuíca.
The mare nodded. “Yes, it was a gift from the kitsune princess Hatsumaru. I defeated her in a duel of honor on behalf of Lady Cadance, and in return, Hatsumaru bestowed her personal sansetsukon on me. It’s my most valued treasure. You are familiar with them?”
“Not really,” Raspberry said as the two mares escorted her from the mansion and out the doors, into a wide garden. “I’ve only seen them in magazines, though my understanding is that it’s a kitsune weapon and incredibly hard to get used to.”
Cuíca grinned. “I’ll say. Still, learned it – I gained the weapon from Hatsumaru, and thus was honor bound to use it in my duties. It is a fine weapon of war – and letting it sit around, gathering dust, just won’t do.”
The trio continued to walk through the gardens on their way to the main gate. Raspberry found the place beautiful, though the look of the ponies around was dour. One of them looked up into the sky, and so did Raspberry. High above, she saw black clouds floating up there, and she knew it was miasma, beginning to coalesce as clouds, something she’d never seen before. Additionally, arcs of energy, burning green and purple, tore across the sky. It looked as if the very heavens above were starting to fall apart.
“That isn’t your fault, milady,” Marimba told her. “We heard that you tried to stop what came, and that you nearly lost your life trying to halt it and that your companions are still fighting for theirs.”
“We will seek justice for them,” Cuíca insisted. “They are heroes of Equestria and deserve to be treated as such.” As they arrived at the manor gates, Cuíca opened the gate and cleared a path while Marimba followed alongside Raspberry.
As the duo led the unicorn towards their destination, she tried to talk to them. Marimba said that she was in her thirties while Cuíca was in her twenties and Pavane in her late teens, and all three wanted this life they chose. Yes, the Princess’ Hooves existed and served as Celestia’s maidstaff in peacetime. Marimba and Cuíca were both lone foals, though Pavane had an older brother she adored. All three had been trained in the arts of both domesticity and war since the day they earned their cutie marks. No, they didn’t wish for a normal life, because to them, this was normal, though Pavane had once told them her parents had wished she’d stayed with the family. Yes, if necessary, they would sacrifice their lives to save her. Yes, that was just how their tribe worked. Yes, their tribe was as rare as crystal ponies used to be, and only superficially looked like earth ponies. No, they weren’t at liberty to divulge that; she would have to ask the Princess directly.
Finally, they arrived at Government House, the building that was serving as the temporary home of the Crown. The building, normally what was likely Pyrite Town’s community center, was encircled with various members of the Solar and Lunar Guards, Royal Army soldiers and several members of the Hooves; the latter group looked to be the heaviest-armed of all. Standing by the door was Celestia and Luna, still dressed in their barding and speaking to a well-dressed earth stallion.
“Hello, Razz!” Luna said, waving her over. “This is Earl Waterspray. We’re currently holed up in his manor while we work to recover Equestria.”
Waterspray turned and offered his hoof for Raspberry to bump. “Ah, Archmagus Beryl. A pleasure to meet you! The princesses have been kind enough to tell me of your efforts to save Equestria, and I assure you, the land is in your debt.”
Raspberry blushed, not sure what to say. “Thank you, sir,” she finally said.
Celestia addressed the unicorn. “Well, we’re about to start the meeting. Please head on in and take a seat.” She then turned to her Hooves. “Marimba, thank you for keeping her safe.”
Marimba looked at her liegelady. “And we will continue to do so, my Princess,” she said. “We shall continue to honor you and Lady Luna in all that we do, both on battlefield and in chambers.” She then turned to Raspberry. “We will depart for now, Lady Raspberry, but I promise you that we will return before the end of the meeting.” With that, they departed.
“I object to this!” Tumblehome shouted, looking around at the number of Hooves present. “Princess, you should have real guards – your Solar Guard, even! Dressing your maids up in weapons and hoping they know what they’re doing is not good for your health!”
“Tumblehome, relax,” Halbard said, his eyes filled with mirth. “I am quite sure that Captain Armor would not risk the life of both his regent and his wife’s aunt to untrained ponies. I am more than sure they are vetted.”
“Thank you, good sir,” a mare spoke. Like the Hooves present, she wore a pair of swords and a bow. Unlike them, however, she wore a uniform that was akin to the Guard formal uniform, though there were slight differences. She had a lavender coat, a wavy cyan mane, and brown eyes. “My forces are more than vetted, and I would make them available for training against yours whenever you wish.”
“And you are?” Tumblehome demanded.
“I am Symphonia Breaker,” the mare said with a bow. “Castellan of the Princess’ Hooves. When she is unavailable, I speak for her in all matters associated with the Hooves. Though we are a rankless organization, for the sake of argument, I hold the same rank as you, the good General, and Captain Armor. Besides, Captain Armor will vouch for me.”
“Princess, again I protest!” Tumblehome insisted. “If the Guard won’t do their duty, then I assure you, the Navy will!”
“Admiral, you exceed your authority,” Luna told her. “Do not worry, Symphonia. We know we are in good hooves.”
Symphonia bowed. “My thanks, milady.”
“That’s ‘your highness’,” Tumblehome grumbled.
“Please, all, let’s get this meeting started,” Luna told those present. “Sister, if you would?”
As Celestia began the meeting, Raspberry looked around. She could see several other senior-ranking mages present from the Guild; most gave her a cursory glance and a nod of acknowledgement, but continued to focus on the introductions. Present for the Guard was Shining, via astralpresence; additionally, his Vice Captain, a jovial pegasus mare by the name of Arrowswift, was in attendance, flanked by some of the regional lieutenants in charge of Guard detachments. Halbard, accompanied by some of his junior generals, represented the Army. On the Navy side was Tumblehome as well as two vice admirals who were meek enough that she clearly had them around as yesponies. Strangely enough, though, she had three lower-ranked officers as well, two of which Raspberry recognized: Captain Spitfire, the Commanding Officer of the Wonderbolts; and a steely-eyed griffin in a haze gray flightsuit that had to be Captain Gallard, the Commanding Officer of the Thunderheads. The third, however, was a mare in a naval captain uniform that didn’t look at all familiar. On the far side, seated close to Cadance – attending through astralpresence and wearing a bronze replica of the same armor Celestia wore – was a kitsune in samurai finery. Finally, through astralpresence, Twilight was present; she was wearing her formal attire as Princess of Friendship and wore a torc that held a replica of the Element of Magic.
“Thank you all for coming,” Celestia said. “Additionally, my thanks to Prince Dōkaku, our ambassador from Inari, for committing his troops to aid us.” She bowed to him and he bowed back in a resplendent manner. “I will not mince words: this is the gravest threat that Equestria has ever faced in modern times, far more so than the return of Nightmare Moon or Discord’s brief rampage. This time, subjects – your fellow countryponies, beings that swore fealty to the crown and I could not protect – have died. Last night I received reports that Tirek’s golems were invading Vanhoover and the city’s defenses will not hold. Additionally, Baltimare, Manehattan, Las Pegasas, and many of our largest cities are under attack right now. We even have reports of changeling spies fleeing for their lives.” Several in the room laughed at this.
“While many of you may find this funny,” Luna said to the crowd, “I assure you this is no laughing matter.” She looked to Celestia again to continue.
“Three days ago, our archmagus for the dark arts, Raspberry Beryl, was partially affected by a near-direct exposure to an activated pillar. In the process, her natural accelerated healing ability was stolen, and possibly others as well.” Celestia looked to Raspberry. “Raspberry, would you be so kind as to lift the statue in the middle of the table?”
“Sure thing.” The statue of Queen Faust rearing into the sky was made of gold, stood a foot in height and weighed no more than ten pounds – foal’s play to lift. Raspberry looked at it and cast the natural levitation spell that was second-nature to all unicorns…
…and failed. She then cast a lifting spell, to no luck. Spell after spell after spell was thrown at the statue in an attempt to make it move, and still nothing happened. In frustration and desperation, she finally cast a force bolt at the statue. Chances were, it was going to break it into tiny pieces, but at least an explosion was a form of motion.
But nothing happened.
Raspberry looked at Celestia and Luna with an expression of horror.
“Raspberry…you’re not using any magic, including that which you use for your normal look,” Luna said, a look of sympathy for what her friend was going through.
“What are you saying?” Raspberry asked, knowing what the night princess was about to explain.
The look in Celestia’s eyes was one of sorrow. “You finally got your wish…but at a terrible price, Raspberry. You’re normal…
…and depowered.”
Raspberry collapsed to the ground, in shock. She couldn’t stand, she didn’t know what to do. She was normal again, normal for the first time since the accident had happened. But she was also very not normal. Unicorns had normal magic. Right now, she had none, just as if she were a three-month-old filly.
Luna was at her side in a flash. “I didn’t want to tell you,” the princess said. “And that’s why I wanted to apologize.”
Meanwhile as all present looked at the pair, Celestia raised her voice and caught her attention. “Right now, Tirek and his armies are using Archmagus’ Beryl’s power against us all. He will not stop until he has won. And worse – she is not the only one he is hunting.”
“August Princess,” Prince Dōkaku spoke to Celestia, “what do you mean?”
“I mean, Dōkaku-dono, that Tirek will be after Discord soon, to add chaos power to his arsenal. After that, he will go after the alicorns. And after that, your father, the august Ō-kyubi. And then countless beings after that. He will not stop until all power is his, and whether that means that there’s any beings left to oppose him or is immaterial.” The kitsune gave her a wide-eyed look, and the sun alicorn sadly nodded.
“Tirek has been running rampant in my realm for too long, ladies and gentlestallions. I think it’s time to deal with him for once and for all.” Celestia gave her forces a surprisingly wolfish smile. “Fortunately, my senior cadre and I have been working on a four-fold plan.” She then looked at Halbard. “General?”
“The first part is the easiest,” Halbard said as he stepped forward. “We have the bulk of the military that we can spare amassing in two places: The Empire, and Ponyville. From there, the northern forces will concentrate on destroying the northern and eastern pillars, while the southern armies will handle the western and southern pillars. Our most powerful mages, soldiers and guardsponies will tear through the enemy forces guarding the pillars, leaving clearance for the ships to destroy them.”
“What about those crystal dragons?” an Army pegasus asked. “Those things are nearly as dangerous as real ones!”
Gallard laughed. “Oh, please – we’re the most dangerous things in the sky, soldier! Nothing is more dangerous than a pissed-off Equestrian, and I don’t know about ponies, but as a griffin? This is my homeland, and I won’t stand for it being taken over by some scum-sucking, landlubbing centaur!” He then looked over to Tumblehome. “Ma’am?”
“My thanks, Captain,” Tumblehome started, giving nods to both Halberd and Celestia. “To deal with the air assault, our ships will do what we can, though our main plan is to destroy those pillars. As for dealing with one-on-one combat, we’ve established combat squadrons to deal with it. Some of them are already in existence: Capt. Gallard’s Thunderheads and Capt. Spitfire’s Wonderbolts. But we are establishing another one made of Equestrian griffins, two from the batponies, and the remainder from Wonderbolt reservists. After they cover the destruction of the pillars, their orders are to engage and destroy the remaining crystal dragon golems as well. Which leads to the second part of the plan. Captain Armor?”
Shining stood up, and looked at those assembled. “Once the pillars are down, Phase Two will begin. Given the amount of magic Tirek will have obtained by then, the princesses and I, with the exception of Princess Twilight, will engage Tirek’s forces. We have reason to believe that he is somewhere in the Unicornia Plains, so he shouldn’t be all that hard to find.” He looked back briefly at Celestia and Luna, then to his wife. “Some of you will notice that the princesses don’t look as…vibrant…as they normally do. That is because they transferred most of their magic to Princess Twilight. While we engage Tirek, she and her forces will focus on undoing the damage he’s done.”
“And what if you’re defeated?” somepony from the back asked.
Celestia looked up, noticing who it was. Ah, took them long enough. It happened during every crisis: there would always be some of the greedier nobles looking out for themselves before the good of the realm, and this time, it was no different. Duchess Highfalutin’ had been a recent thorn in her side, and now, with a genuine crisis going on, the young firebrand apparently thought she would make her move. Time to remind her who’s in charge. She watched Twilight carefully, knowing the younger alicorn would deal with Highfalutin’’s proxy.
Sure enough, Twilight addressed the speaker. “Then I will engage him, if need be.” The room gasped, looking at admiration for their young warrior princess. “Ponyville stands ready to do what it must, and so do my Bearers. Furthermore, we will have what forces are available from The Agency to assist; while they are not soldiers, I have no doubt they know how to fight, if it comes to that.”
Another voice came from the back. “With all due respect, Princess Twilight, you are a very capable battlemage, but what are the alternatives if the unthinkable occurs and you are defeated? We have to think about the alternatives of our people!”
Celestia, Luna and Cadance all looked at one another, then at Twilight. “Go ahead, Twilight,” Celestia said.
Twilight gave her mentor a knowing smile. “In the event I am defeated, we activate Project Wanderer.” The room fell silent as Twilight walked to the center of the room, looking at them all. “While the main brunt of our attack on Tirek’s forces occurs, we will send two small teams to prepare for the worst-case scenario. The first team will head to the known entrance to Discord’s pocket dimension to seal it off. It is the best way to keep him protected from Tirek, lest the beast steal his power. He has agreed to this.” Murmurs broke out amongst the crowd; to think that Discord would consider the good of ponykind above his own selfish desires was shocking, to say the least.
“The second thing that will happen, I have no control over,” Twilight said. “Once the other nations realize that we have been defeated, they will do everything within their power to assault Tirek on our lands. Our diplomatic personnel overseas will do their best to ensure that the invading armies will follow the Geneighva Convention, but in a catastrophic situation, we cannot guarantee that they will bind themselves by international law to do this.” Louder murmurs broke out with a couple of shocked gasps. This was a controversial statement, after all; if the alicorns and ranking nobles of Equestria were wiped out, what would happen to the common ponies? Celestia couldn’t help but be proud of those present who actually cared about that statement. One way or another, they would do what they could to ensure the safety of the populace.
And then it happened. A lone unicorn mare stood up. She had a cyan coat, sea-green eyes and a purple mane done in a style reminiscent of Cadance’s. She wore a resplendent white dress that covered her cutie mark – a diamond, topped by a crown – but she wore a torc that had the design emblazed on it in gems. The look on her face was that of somepony who owned the place, and clearly thought of Celestia as an impediment to her plans. This was Duchess Highfalutin’, and she prepared to play her part in the game that she thought would vault her past the alicorns.
“Princess Twilight, far be it from me to question your wisdom,” Highfalutin’ began, “but I refuse to believe that in a worst-case scenario, we would simply allow our ponies to be leaderless! Ponykind needs those to look up towards, to be role models and rulers. I would think that someone as learned and wise as you wouldn’t do that to our gentle species?”
The four alicorns present read the threat as it was: abandon the people and Highfalutin’ would declare herself the rightful heir to Princess Platinum in a heartbeat and would depose Tirek and Discord to become the rightful dictator and tyrant of Equestria, if that was what it took.
Unfortunately for her, Twilight was far from done. “Thank you for our concerns, Duchess. It is good to know where you stand.” The princess of magic let her silence speak for her for a second before she continued. “We would not leave our ponies to the vagaries of the literal and metaphorical four winds, Duchess. I will now tell you the final part of Project Wanderer. Should we all fail, Archmagus Beryl will activate a protocol and summon the one pony left who stands a chance of defeating Tirek. That pony will be our candlelight in the darkest hour.”
The room erupted in ironically loud whispers:
“Starswirl is returning to deafeat our enemies?”
“The Queen! It must be her! Queen Faust is finally returning to rescue us all!”
“Commander Hurricane will return from the dead to save us!”
“Could it be that Daring Do is real and has a plan to win the day?”
Twilight let the murmurs die down before she looked at Highfalutin’. The duchess took the bait and asked, “And who, praytell, your highness, will be coming to save ponykind in its darkest hour?”
Raspberry looked up at the duchess and said, “The only other pony aside from the princesses who has ever wielded the Element of Magic.”
As everypony present looked around in confusion or surprise that a third could wield the vaunted relic, Celestia couldn’t help but have a smile wide enough to split her face in two as she said, “Who else? My daughter. Sunset Shimmer.”
The room then exploded in verbal roars of outrage and shock.
“THE EXILE? HOW DARE SHE?”
“The Would-be PrincessSlayer dares to return to our lands? She must be punished!”
“Oh, so she plans to join Tirek in conquering the world?”
“PRINCESS TWILIGHT, SAVE US FROM THAT MONSTER TIREK – AND KILL THAT OTHER MONSTER AS WE—”
“SILENCE!” The room rattled as Twilight roared the command in the loudest tones of the Royal Canterlot Voice that she could muster. “You dare to threaten the daughter of our Princess?” the Bearer of Magic thundered.
Despite her status at the moment, Raspberry drew herself up straight. “Sunset Shimmer is not that kind of mare – not now, not when she came to see us in Ponyville a few months ago!” The room collectively gasped as one at Raspberry’s words.
“Everything you know about my niece…is a lie,” Luna said, practicing the speech she’d been working on for some time now. After Sunset’s brief visit to Ponyville, it had been decided that to counter the dark reputation she’d built up in Equestria would be covered up with a lie. None of them liked that at all, but the truth was because the outrageous stories ponies had said about the “PrincessSlayer”, the typical “turn on a dime” attitude ponies had about a foe that was defeated was likely not going to happen; by coincidence, an Equestria Daily article from two years ago on the possibility of Sunset’s return had shown that around the nation, ponies just could not forgive this one act. Thus, the lie: Luna, Cadance and the Bearers had worked it out with the Agency, who had spent the past couple of months laying the groundwork for the moment the speech had to be used. It went without saying that Applejack was disgusted enough by the lie that she left the room; she later told them that though she hated the lie, that ponies refused to forgive Sunset was just as bad, so while she could not endorse the plan, she understood.
Besides, my sister lies on occasion to our people via omission – she hid the existence of Nightmare Moon and my exile for centuries, to the point that ponies forgot I exist, Luna mused sadly. So, lying to protect my niece is something I can live with. After all, running this realm can be a dirty business, sometimes.
“Years ago, when the return of Nightmare Moon became inevitable, my sister told her daughter that she would be the one that would likely face me in battle and that it would end with one of us dead. You see, our dear Twilight here may have far more finesse in magic than Sunset or Raspberry, but when it comes to raw power, Sunset outstrips them both.” The room looked at the night alicorn with disbelieving eyes, and she knew she had their attention. “However, Sunset could not find it in her heart to do what her mother had asked, and so she asked to take a journey, a long journey that would take her far from the pony lands, to places no pony has ever trod before, and to learn new skills and abilities that would be of benefit to us. Reluctantly, my sister said yes.”
Cadance cleared her throat and then added. “However, given how much she was beloved by the populace back then, we knew it would cause my aunt a major scandal to send her only child out into what looked like exile. So, Sunset and I planned something that hurt both her and my aunt – Sunset would make herself out to be a traitor, to turn against her mother and would head into exile herself. It worked.” Cadance hung her head as if in shame, but she knew it was one of an entirely different kind. “It worked too well.”
Halbard looked at Celestia. “Your majesty? Is this true?”
Celestia looked at her faithful general with teary eyes. Those, if nothing else, were true. “I miss my child,” Celestia said with a true heart. “I miss every day that she is in alien lands, far away from me and doing what must be done. I missed watching her grow into the mare that she’s become. When she came back a few months ago to speak to Twilight – who has valiantly served as my go-between – my heart broke when she returned to the role she is in. I pled with her to stay, but what she is doing now is too important to the realm to have her pulled away so hastily. Which is why bringing her back is the last resort it is.”
Celestia smiled. “I see the questions on your face. ‘How powerful could she be?’ That is a simple answer. She is the first non-alicorn since the days of the old dynasty to be able to access the true power of the sun. And those sunkeepers did so in groups. My daughter did it by herself.” At that pronouncement, more voices broke out in surprise.
Raspberry whispered to Twilight’s astral image. “Is that true?”
Twilight nodded. “Apparently, she did it when she was twelve. Wanted to impress Celestia for Mother’s Day and accidentally caused a solar eclipse. Celestia said she wasn’t allowed to do it afterwards. Oh, and I just barely learned how to get a grasp on the sun and moon last week. Sunny did it instinctively.”
Twilight turned to those assembled. “We also hope that by heading to where Archmagus Shimmer is, she will be able to restore Archmagus Beryl’s magic, and by doing so, will remove that asset from Tirek’s grasp.”
“Excuse me?” A guardspony lieutenant spoke up. “Your highness, is that even possible?”
“We really don’t know,” Raspberry spoke up. “Dark magic doesn’t play by its own rules. And yes, it might actually fail. But…we have to try, right? What’s the option? Letting Tirek win? I don’t think so.” The mulberry unicorn looked at the assembly. “I hope we never have to get to the point that we bring Sunset back; I can only hope that the beast is defeated long before that. But we have to try, regardless – millions of ponies depend on us!”
“Well said,” Celestia told the younger mare. “Now, you all have your orders and you all know what to do.”
“Dismissed,” Luna ordered.
Later that night, Raspberry sat in her room, preparing her new saddlebags for the trip. It was a fortunate thing that she was still in good physical condition, her lame leg aside, because she would need to use everything they had given her for the trip ahead: two crossbows and several dozen quarrels. They would be the only thing protecting her from being assaulted by Tirek’s forces.
Well…almost the only thing. Raspberry felt her eyes go misty as Heliodor flew into the room, chirping happily as he saw her. He tried to land on her horn, but his weight was now too much for her depowered self. As she started to give way, he hopped off and hovered before her face, a curious look in his eyes.
“I’m okay, Heelee,” she lied. “I’m just getting used to not having magic. It feels…weird.”
There was a knock at the door, and the unicorn was glad for the distraction. “Come in,” she said. The door opened to reveal the three Hooves standing there, wearing cloaks and carrying a variety of weapons. “Are you ready to go, Lady Raspberry?” Marimba asked.
Raspberry looked at the trio with surprise. “What?”
Cuíca laughed. “Oh, you sweet summer foal.”
“Be nice, Cuí,” Pavane admonished. “We announced your departure intentionally, because we had no intent of sticking with it, milady. All that does is make you a target in case of sympathizers.”
“Sympathizers?”
Marimba nodded. “Of course – in war there are always those who would cozy up to whoever they think will last to the end. And we watched Duchess Highfalutin’. She clearly is hedging her bets, and we’re sure that she’s covered up any necessary evidence. Additionally, I think the Princess wants to deal with the Duchess herself. That being said, she presents a threat to you, and the only way to stop that is to kill her or to get you out of here.”
Cuíca nodded. “And since Mari won’t let us kill her, the only other option is to just depart earlier than announced.”
“Your bird will have to remain behind, of course,” Pavane informed her. “We’ve arranged to have your pet sent to the Empire, which is likely the safest place at the moment. I assure you, it will be in good hooves.”
But Raspberry shook her head. “Heelee’s coming along,” she told them. “He goes where I go, and he’s more than just a pet – he’s one of the closest friends I have.”
“Pet phoenixes aren’t exactly common, milady,” Pavane argued. “And green ones even less so. Even with the disguises we brought, we have no way of hiding him. And we cannot put him in your bags, milady; you need those weapons while you are depowered.”
“I need him there. Once we separate and I head into the other realms – wait, do you gals know about…?”
Marimba nodded. “We have been told all that we needed to know, Lady Raspberry. Anything else would be a breach of our duties and protocol both to you and our Princess.”
“In any case, I will need him for additional protection. The lands beyond the mirror are, for the most part, magicless, and while Sunset retains her ability, without any, I am completely at the mercy of everything there until I find her.”
Marimba nodded. “I see,” she said, placing a hoof under her chin in thought. “We still have a couple of hours left to craft something for him. But in turn, he must be willing to live with our restrictions. No excessive hunting or flying, no revealing that he’s anything other than what his disguise will make him appear to be.”
Heliodor nodded and did another wing salute in reply. “I think you have his vote of confidence,” Raspberry told them.
Cuíca nodded. “I’ll be right back then. Heliodor, right? Please follow me. We shall return shortly and we should plan to leave no later than two hours from now.”
Marimba agreed. “Two hours it is, then.”
Meanwhile, Raspberry looked at the crossbows she’d been given. To say that she didn’t know how to use them was obvious, or at least she didn’t know how to use them well – she certainly wasn’t trained for them. Yet it only served to underscore that things weren’t going to be the same for her anytime soon.
Pavane looked at Raspberry with some sympathy. “I understand your concerns, milady. Such equipment is not meant for gentler souls. And I suspect that if the Princess had her way, she would have prevented many of us from taking up these arms. But we swore a vow, inviolate and immortal, and we will fulfill the compact until the last breath of the last Hoof.”
Marimba looked at her friend. “Look at her, Pav. She’s no stranger to the long roads. She’s not the wilting flower that Lady Twilight used to be.” The mare then directly addressed Raspberry. “I know a little of your past, milady. While I am not privy to the remainder, I am told you know the backroads and byways as well as the best trained scout.”
Raspberry gave a smile. “Don’t mean to brag, but I’ve been around the block a few times, yeah.”
Hours later, as the sun began to rise, Marimba slowed to a canter and looked to the trees in the distance to the right of them. “There seems to be the ruins of an old homestead there,” she said as she pointed towards the copse. “We should be able to sleep there for a few hours.”
“I’ll go scout it out,” Pavane replied and took off at another gallop towards the site.
A few minutes later, two more mares followed up. “And I thought I was in shape,” Raspberry gasped as she came to a stop by Marimba. “Now I know how Sunny Flare feels.” Seated on her saddlepack was a very concerned-looking greenjay, chirping in worry. She turned her head. “I’m okay, Heelee. I think.”
“You are, I assure you,” Cuíca said as she came to an easy stop. “It’s just that we three undergo the same training regimen as do the EUP and the Army. So we’re in top form. For somepony who doesn’t work out at that level, I’m impressed that you can keep up.”
Marimba looked towards the copse, where Pavane was waving her stave. “It looks like we’re clear to go,” Marimba replied. “I think we can take it a little easier for Lady Raspberry’s sake.”
“Thanks,” Raspberry gasped as the trio cantered over to the trees.
The copse turned out to be several large oaks of the same type that grew in the Everfree; either this had once been part of the great forest, or these had been seeds dropped by a bird. In the center of it was a weathered cabin that looked like it had seen far better days; Pavane identified it as being early colonial revival style, which meant it had to have been abandoned for a few decades. However, as they went in, it was clear that the inside had been enchanted, as it kept the same look as it likely had ages ago.
“This is probably our best chance to rest,” Marimba told the three. “We’ll sleep for a few hours and once it’s afternoon, we’ll head out once more. We’re only fifty miles or so from our destination, so we should be able to get there by tonight.”
“I’ll take first watch,” Pavane insisted.
“No, you rest,” Marimba told her. “You’ve been working harder than the rest of us, and I’m concerned you’re overdoing it.”
“I’ll be fine,” Pavane promised. “I’ve been through worse.”
“I doubt it,” Cuíca laughed. “You haven’t had Blueblood duty.” The three mares looked at each other and began laughing, but from the moment she lay down to rest, Raspberry’s eyes grew heavier. She wanted to ask something, especially since it dealt with Prince Moron, but when she opened her mouth, all she could do was yawn. And before she knew it, sweet darkness claimed her.
“Lady Raspberry!” Pavane said, shaking the unicorn. “Wake up!”
Raspberry opened dreary eyes. “Huh, wha?” She then looked out the window, seeing the last rays of sunset hitting. “Shit!” she said as forced herself to her feet. “Why didn’t anypony wake me up?”
“Because this happened twenty minutes ago,” Pavane told her. “You’ve been asleep for only two hours at most.”
“Two hours? It was just dawn!”
“The Princess has fallen,” Marimba said. “We just received this flamefax from Captain Armor an hour ago. The Princess, along with Ladies Luna and Cadance, Captain Armor and the Castellan, engaged Tirek directly just outside of Canterlot. The first part of the plan has succeeded: the pillars have fallen. Unfortunately, it has only made things worse.”
“Worse?” Raspberry asked.
“The Castellan was slain outright by Tirek’s sword. Captain Armor barely survived and is currently reassembling the troops. But the Princess and our ladies…they were soundly defeated, and their powers stolen by the damnable centaur. He then spirited them away to an unknown location, but most likely under his control. So we need to join up with Princess Twilight’s forces and assist them in any way we can. That, of course, includes getting you to your destination, Lady Raspberry.”
Raspberry was about to ask why they were now referring to Twilight as their princess, but then she stopped as she recalled their earlier words: they only served one princess. With them referring to Twilight now as their Princess, it meant that they didn’t believe that Celestia, Luna or Cadance had survived. And that revelation made the room spin.
Is Twi all that’s left? A bigger fear then filled her: if something was powerful enough to wipe out three alicorns without much struggle, then it was headed to take out the last one – Twilight. Worse, it was heading for Ponyville: her home, where all her family and friends were.
Meanwhile, Cuíca turned to Marimba. “Your orders, Castellan?”
“Castellan?” Raspberry asked, forcing herself to think past the completely horrifying shock she felt at the moment.
“A few months ago, Symphonia announced that I would be her replacement as Castellan. She intended to step away from active life to marry a stallion that was on the palace staff.” Marimba looked away. “They were perfect together and I wanted her to be happy. I never wanted to succeed her like this.” Her eyes then grew steely. “But I do not have the luxury of a choice now.”
“Will you be okay, Mari? You two were friends,” Cuíca asked.
“I will grieve later,” Marimba answered, her voice dull. “I will cry my heart out and stomp my hooves like a foal later. Right now, we must honor our fallen Princess and rally to the side of our new one. We must keep the faith.” The new castellan of the Princess’ Hooves looked at Raspberry. “Pavane, your only task will be to get Lady Raspberry to the portal. Cuíca and I will join up with the Princess to ensure the safety of her and her court.” She then turned to Raspberry. “Pavane will see you to your goal, milady. I must join up with the Princess.”
Raspberry gave Marimba a stone-sober look. “Protect Twi – she’ll need your help more than anything, Castellan.”
Marimba gave a faint smile. “I have known the Princess since the day she earned her cutie mark, milady. I have no doubt that the Princess will succeed where our fallen Princess did not.” The smile then fell from Marimba’s face, and the mulberry unicorn could see the heartbreak on the Hoof’s face.
“You must’ve served her a long time,” Raspberry said.
“Faithfully and loyally, and I fully expected I would be the one to fall before her. In truth, I wish I had. The world is now going to be a dangerous unknown without the Princess and Ladies Luna and Cadance, and I fear our new Princess is not yet ready for such a heavy burden, no matter how talented and able she is. And with Captain Armor now in charge of the Empire, the Princess cannot be left be. I must be at her side to help – we must all help.”
“I know. So let’s get to it.”
The last time she’d seen day and night out of whack, it had been when Discord had decided to take a metaphorical – and maybe literal, given him – whack to both the sun and moon. However, there was something orderly about this time, as if Twilight was trying to get a hold of the sidereal cycle and just couldn’t yet. Within the first few miles, a technical day had passed. A few miles after that, and a week had. Yet the four raced on, with Heliodor flying just beside them to lighten the load on Raspberry. She was glad for that; the pace that they were rushing at was more along the lines of one of Rainbow’s exercise regimens and something even the mulberry unicorn had some difficulty keeping up with. By the time the Everfree was finally in sight, the equivalent of a month and a half had passed by.
The group came to a stop as they hit a fork in the road. The right fork would push them towards Ponyville, while the left led into the Everfree Forest, and was the historical route to take towards Castle Everfree.
The four looked at each other. “It is time for us to part ways, Lady Raspberry,” Marimba told her. “Please, take care. Should the Princess fall, it will fall to Lord Blueblood to rule the land, and well, I’d rather not discuss that.”
“Oh, trust me,” Raspberry grunted, “I certainly have no interest in serving that self-centered, egotistical twerp of a would-be prin—”
“Ladies,” Pavane cut in, “we should make this farewell short. After all, time is of the essence.”
“You’re correct, Pavane,” Marimba said. The three Hooves looked at each other, each clearly wanting to embrace one another, given that to Raspberry, they seemed very much like a family, certainly far more than any other member of a tribe would feel towards one another on the average. They all gazed at each other with trepidation and Raspberry knew that look: it was the look of a pony committing to memory the features of the other, because it could be the last time the three ever saw each other alive again, and it would be up to the survivor to carry on the memories of those lost. With that, the unicorn couldn’t help but do it herself.
After a few more seconds of silence, the four moved from their reverie and, without a word, began to take off, both Marimba and Cuíca rushing off down the Ponyville path like quicksilver. Meanwhile, Pavane and Raspberry watched them run off. “I hope they make it okay,” Raspberry told her escort.
“As do I, milady,” Pavane said, looking around to make sure they were safe despite being out in the open. “Lady Raspberry, before we continue, I have a couple of things to say.” The mare smiled as she said, “It has been a true honor working beside you. In the past, I’ve had to escort nobles and high-ranking officials who have tried to be, shall we say, less than kind. A few of them attempted to insist on fulfilling the compact that Hooves serve body and soul – the Princess gave me special dispensation to ignore that part of the compact, but there have been quite a few who have insisted, though they failed.”
Blueblood and his asinine ways immediately came to mind. “Oh, I can think of at least one good – or should I say bad? – example.”
Pavane then went over and whispered something in Raspberry’s ears; despite the two of them being the only ones present; while it seemed like overkill, it was clear that Pavane took security and privacy seriously. As she stepped back to allow the mulberry mare to process what she’d just said, Pavane gave a small smile and said, “That is my last request, milady. If you will do that for me, I will be content if I pass.”
Raspberry looked at the mare as if she’d turned into a live lamia. “You’re serious about this?”
Pavane nodded. “I will likely die today.” As if to underscore her statement, a deep boom in the distance sounded, and the ground shook a little. “I would like to see my wish be fulfilled, but I cannot. As such, I need somepony of honor that would do so. Would you please be so kind, Lady Raspberry?”
“I can’t,” she said.
“You can, and you will. You are the kind of mare who would do so, even if I hadn’t asked. The Princess chose you well when she made you an archmagus; that befits your character. So, I implore you, please, see that my final wish comes through. I know that you will – I believe in you, milady.”
Raspberry opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off be a louder thump, and the ground shaking a little more. “What the hell is that?”
“We do not want to be around to find out, milady. Run!”
The two began galloping as fast as they could, the ground shaking and the deep rumbling behind them starting to slowly pick up. Pavane and Raspberry looked at each other, hoping that one or the other would have some sort of answer as to what was happening, but neither having a clue. Finally, a familiar sound chirped at Raspberry’s ear.
“It could be dangerous,” the unicorn said to the disguised phoenix.
“What could be dangerous?” Pavane asked.
“Heelee’s offered to fly back there and find out what it is, but he could be hurt!” Raspberry explained.
“True, but he might also be our best chance to get some needed intel on what’s behind us. It could be part of Tirek’s army…or it could be Tirek himself.” Neither of them wanted to deal with either of the choices, but it was likely that, ironically, they were far safer up against hundreds of crystalline golems than a single overpowered, megalomaniacal centaur.
“But it’s not safe! And he’s barely just a fledgling!” Heliodor chirped a long, steady and variable-pitched blur of sounds at her, and Raspberry narrowed her eyes. “You watch your mouth, Heelee,” she scolded. “And you’re a phoenix, not a normal bird – so you are just barely a baby.” Pavane, for her part said nothing, but gave a small knowing smile.
A massive gout of flame suddenly ripped apart the ground beneath the two, sending both flying. Raspberry, no longer with her magical healing ability, crashed painfully against a massive oak, knocking her out. Pavane, however, was able to recover, flipped in the air, and landed on her hindlegs, using her forelegs to withdraw her crossbows from underneath her cloak. “RUN!” she shouted to Raspberry, who couldn’t hear her.
A massive hoof crashed down next to her, nearly knocking her off-balance. Pavane looked up to see a titanic monster, the size of a mountain, looking down at her. It was mostly ponylike, with a coat of sable nearly as dark as a crow. But that’s where the similarities ended. The monster had red arms like a minotaur, as well as a chest and face similar to one. A downwards inferno pointed where a beard would have been on its face, and its eyes were like twin suns of hate. He had massive horns, each as long as a tree, and between them a massive sphere of magic burning with shades of purple, green and indigo warped and woofed with power.
Pavane looked up at him, pointing her crossbows right at his face. The quarrels began to glow with golden magic, the charge within them igniting. “IN THE PRINCESS’ NAME, STAND DOWN OR I WIL—”
Pavane Bayan never completed that sentence.
With no more concern than squishing an annoying insect, Tirek brought up a hoof then brought back down. An explosion ripped underneath his hoof once it hit the ground, and he winced, looking at it once he’d lifted it again.
“So the little bug had a sting,” he said in a bored tone. “Too bad it’ll never have a chance to sting Tirek again.” The creature looked around and soon found what he was looking for. “And there you are, little insect. You’re going to be Tirek’s little pet now.” The giant minotaur gently plucked the unconscious unicorn from the ground placing her in his palm. “You gave Tirek such power, little thing. You will get to live, so that Tirek becomes that much more powerful.”
The minotaur felt a slight bit of warmth on his hand and found a greenjay breathing an immense blast of fire on it. “And so Tirek’s pet has a pet of its own. How quaint.” He snapped his finger with his other hand, and a blast of energy hit the bird, removing his disguise and revealing it to be a green phoenix. The blast also slammed him against the unicorn, waking her up.
Raspberry snapped to, seeing Heliodor’s unconscious form before her, and the towering face of Tirek above her. “You monster,” she spat at him. “You know you’re not going to win this, right?”
“There is none who can oppose Tirek, insect. Your power is Tirek’s. The alicorns have fallen before the hooves of Tirek. And soon, all shall bow before Tirek’s majesty: that fool, Discord; that bitch, Chrysalis – all shall bow. And you have no chance to survive, make your time.”
Raspberry moved in front of Heliodor to shield him. “You will lose, Tirek. You will be defeated!”
Tirek laughed, the harshly booming sound filling the air. “Someone will defeat Tirek? Is that what you claim? There is no chance of that! Tirek has beaten the alicorns! Tirek has made Discord hide for his filthy life! And soon, THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BOW AT TIREK’S HOOVES!”
Without warning, a massive magic circle opened up in his palm, and Raspberry could feel herself being pulled in. Was she being absorbed into Tirek? She didn’t know if he had that ability, but he clearly had black magic to spare. Worried for Heliodor, she reached out to him, taking him in her forelegs. If she let him go, there was chance he would fall to his death.
Although maybe I’m sentencing him to his death by holding on to him, Raspberry thought worriedly as she saw the look of anger on Tirek’s face. A second later, it didn’t matter much, as she started to feel dizzy and her vision started to black out. Is this what death is?
Meanwhile, she could see Tirek as he opened his mouth as if to say something—
—and a second later a massive column of purple energy hit him in the face as Twilight Sparkle roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “I AM MAGIC, AND YOU WILL NOT WIN, MONSTER!”
Out of the corner of her eye, Raspberry could see a lone figure, blazing like a violet comet, rushing in their direction. Raspberry wanted to shout a warning to Twilight, to warn off her friend. Raspberry wasn’t sure if Twilight could win it alone, even with the magic boost she received from the other alicorns.
And a second later, as Raspberry’s world crashed to black, it didn’t really matter.
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Oh boy...things look like they're off the rails for season 4 finale. Or that things will play off weird for Divine Right's plan.
Tirek: ALL THE MAGIC IN THE WORLD IS MINE!
Sunset Shimmer: I brought a tactical nuclear weapon. *BOOM*
7879330
So basically this?
So, wait, is Sunset actually Celestia's daughter, or is that part of the elaborate ruse? I guess she must be, since Luna calls her "niece" even in her private thoughts? But in that case, I feel like I must have missed something important back in Book II...
At this point, a .50 cal round to the head or a mini nuke would be enough to kill Tirek.
7878696 I'm starting to think Tirek is the demon that Divine Right mentioned a coupe of times. It makes sense, as Tirek is another satanic archetype in poneh
7880692
My bits were on a certain goat with a bell fetish for the human side, but at this point it can go either way.
7943550 You my friend are a kind man.
Thanks!
7879444
I'd just like to remind you, this is a large, LARGE fic universe.
And there are several side story's... take your time, and go through everything to get the full story my friend.
7953980
Oh, believe me, I haven't forgotten! In fact, I think I've read about 95% of the Berylverse stories by word count. Though, as you might guess, I hadn't gotten around to reading "A Mother's Duty" yet at the time I posted that comment.
Is Sunset really that powerful or were they bluffing?
So all our base belong to him?
9044902
Move every zig for great justice?