Salvation from the Stars

by PhycoKrusk

The Love of a Hero

The Null Storms, as they came to be known, had ended one week prior to the day that all the creatures still in Canterlot were asked to come to the parade square to hear a royal address. The square had rapidly filled to capacity, with more creatures of all types filling out the surrounding streets in hopes of hearing what was to be said. Some impressive last-minute spellwork by Princess Twilight Sparkle allowed this to happen, even if they couldn’t see as well.

A platform had been constructed in the square for the occasion. Next to it was some object covered in a white tarpaulin, its identity concealed. The four Equestrian Princesses sat on the platform itself, along with the changeling Queen, Prince-Consort Shining Armor, and even Discord. It was clear all of them were making an effort to look happy, but the Princesses — in regal finery beyond what they normally wore, including dresses — and Shining Armor — in his sharpest blue dress uniform — could manage only a melancholy happiness. Queen Chrysalis — in a dress of her own, a bejeweled choker and with her mane done up in a suitably regal bun — could not manage even that, looking strangely sad when the bleak situation a week earlier had seemed little more than an inconvenience to her. Even Discord — wearing a uniform identical to Shining Armor's with the exception of being a garish yellow — was unusually subdued.

Finally, once the audience had been assembled for several minutes, there was some unseen signal, and PrincessTwilight stood and walked to the front of the platform, her horn briefly glowing as she worked one more spell.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming today,” she said. “A lot’s happened in the past week, and I know that details have been hard to come by. It’s no secret by now that the terrible storms that threatened to destroy everything have ended, and there’s been no end to the rumors of exactly how this came to be. We are here today to tell you.”

What few whispers there still were in the audience died immediately.

“Several months ago, it was determined that there may not have been anything on all of Equus that could stop the storms. Discord suggested that the answer could be found out among the stars, and while he hasn’t yet clarified exactly why he thought that, he used what little bit of magic he still had at the time and created a number of ships that could travel beyond the planet. The changelings volunteered to fly them, because with careful rationing, they could survive with only stored love for a long time, the same reason they weren’t subjects of the Hyper Sleep spell, and the best candidates were sent. One of them was named Flick, and I’m sure many of you recognize that name.

“Flick wasn’t the strongest or fastest changeling, and his magic wasn’t very powerful, but he was always eager to help in whatever way he could. He tried farming, and while he wasn’t very good at it, I’ve heard plenty of stories that just having him nearby made working all the more enjoyable. He tried weather management, and while he wasn't very good at it, he received plenty of commendations for his infectious joy. He tried researching, and while he was better at that than he was at farming or weather management, I know that what all of us remember most fondly about him was the way he always did everything he could to make the rest of us smile, despite the circumstances. He helped us feel normal, if just for a little while. He was charming, charismatic, and fun.

“One week ago, on the day when the storms suddenly stopped and the land everywhere recovered as if nothing had ever happened we received a communique from Flick telling us that he found someone who agreed to help, and asking if it worked and everything was ok. I’d never seen him smile so brightly when we told him that everything was fine.”

Twilight paused for a moment to organize her thoughts, even though she’d written her address the day before. “The last of the volunteers returned yesterday. You’ve probably seen some of them around, but one that you won’t see around anywhere is Flick. He found help, but he had to push his ship far. Much, much further than it was ever intended to travel. It had enough energy left to send his transmission, but nothing else. Flick isn’t going to come home.

“His last words —”

Chrysalis began to sob, and Twilight paused to look and ensure things were under control. They were, as best they could be; almost immediately, Cadence had wrapped the Queen in a hug and allowed her to cry in a shoulder, rather than in the open. After a few seconds, Twilight continued, swallowing a lump in her own throat.

“His last words before his circuit lost power were a simple request to us. He asked us to tell you that he loved you. All of you. Every mare and stallion, every colt and filly. Every pony and every changeling, every griffon, every minotaur, every diamond dog. Everyone that he’d ever met, everyone that he hadn’t met, and everyone that he wouldn’t ever meet, even if things weren’t the way they are.

“He said that he loved each and every one of us with all of his heart, and that even if he wouldn’t ever see any of us again, it was all worth knowing that we were ok, and he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if he had to. We —”

Twilight paused again, this time to get ahold of her own emotions. When she looked out at the audience again, she could see that many of them were either crying themselves, or were trying very hard not to. Taking in a deep breath, she continued.

“We owe Flick a debt that I don’t think we’ll ever be able to repay. He’s so far beyond our reach now that we won’t ever find him. All we can really do is remember all the trials we went through, and that even when everything seemed bleak and hopeless, that a changeling named Flick pressed on and found our salvation not with the love he felt from us, but with the love that he felt for us. Discord, if you would.”

Twilight looked over her shoulder to the draconequus to see that he was still unusually subdued. He dabbed at his eyes with a white kerchief, and then snapped his eagle talons. The tarp that covered the object next to the platform exploded in a cloud of purple smoke and rapidly dissipated to reveal a stone statue of a life-sized changeling. He stood tall, his posture strong and confident, one leg raised as if preparing to walk forward and head tilted back to look towards the sky. Engraved into the large base was a single word: COURAGE.

Twilight turned back to the audience. “We can remember that we didn’t need a hero that was a Prince or a Princess, or a King or Queen, or a wizard or even very powerful. Just one that was brave,” she said. “And, we can remember that it was not just his courage and love for us that saved us, but also the love we felt for him and for each other, and the courage we all shared that made today possible. We love you too, Flick, and we won’t ever forget you.”

In an instant, the air filled with the stomping of hooves, the clapping of hands and the full chorus of applause from a grateful and loving audience. Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, wiped tears from her eyes and looked up to the sky smiling.

“We love you so much,” she said, remembering fondly the changeling named Flick, who had bravely stepped into the unknown and brought his whole world salvation from the stars.

Author's Note:

The last chapter took about two weeks to write. This one took about two hours, with nothing more than a tethered iPad to do it. Another monologue experiment, sort of.

Comments

[Castiel2712]

good closure
good chapter

[changlinggod45]

Good jast good is there a secol

[PhycoKrusk]

6397258
I'm kicking the idea of a sequel around, but I have a few other projects I need to work on first.

[changlinggod45]

6397840 ok hope you do one

[D48]

This was excellent. The first two chapters were good, but this last one really made the story shine with the sweet but sad feeling the setup really demanded.

[PhycoKrusk]

6939722
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I gave some thoughts if I decide to revisit this canon again.

[FanOfMostEverything]

A simple but effective feel-good story about an emotion-eating insect traveling to a planet of slug people so their dragon god can help end the apocalypse.

You know, simple. Thank you for it. And kudos for writing a DBZ crossover where no one ever so much as throws a punch. I didn't think that was even possible.

[PhycoKrusk]

9948323
If there is only one thing I have learned from Son Wukong, it is that you will always encounter obstacles in your journey, and the only way to overcome them is to train your writing until it is strong enough to surpass even the woodiest of blocks.

Or, you know... something.