Disclosure
"Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. Princess Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia said in a soft determined tone, "I call this meeting to order of our respective kingdoms."
Prince Shining Armor stood near Princess Cadence. Twilight stood between her brother and Princess Luna. Inside Canterlot's war room, a slight glow came from the strange marble table near the ponies. Princess Celestia raised her hoof, and the others went silent. She placed her hoof on the table. Princess Celestia's gentle smile faded, growing into a stern expression.
Twilight raised her hoof and received a nod from Princess Celestia. She pointed at the empty space between Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence. "Who sits at the fifth seat?"
"Canterlot is hard to Navigate. Forgive me for being late." Zecora said.
"Zecora," Twilight said with a smile. She got up and moved towards her friend. After raising an eyebrow and cocking her head at the zebra, soon giving a sheepish grin to Princess Celestia, she resumed her place between Prince Shining Armor and Princess Luna. "You're a princess, Zecora?"
"She is but isn't, if that makes sense, Twilight. Zecora is the successor to the ruler of her tribe in the southern most part of Equestria, near the border with our neighboring country. Zecora's mother and I are friends." Princess Celestia said. She gave Zecora a deep nod, Zecora bowing in return. "Thank you for coming."
Zecora assumed her place between Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence. Several crystals floated slightly above their placeholders in the chandelier above the table. Five layers of powerful magic protected the war room, each cast by a different princess and Shining Armor.
The crystals descended into their placeholders, their light dimming. A magical, holographic map of Equestria floated above the table; the map -- in delicate detail -- displayed every part of Equestria.
"What is this about, Princess Celestia?" Princess Cadence said. Shining Armor stood close and scanned the map along with his wife. Their eyes traced a trail from Canterlot to the Crystal Kingdom and back. Both ponies widened their search.
Shining Armor pointed his hoof just south of Canterlot, "Is that the danger?"
A green blip rose into the air from the Ever Free Forest. It formed into a sapling that twitched about. Its roots shot forth towards each part of the room and latched onto the stone walls.
"What I tell all of you must remain in this room. Twilight, you are the exception to that rule. I ask that you use your best judgment in disseminating this information to the others." Princess Celestia said. The room remained dim as the sapling turned back into a green sphere, vanished, and the magical map returned. The princess illuminated her horn. An image of ancient Canterlot hovered above the table. "Three-hundred-fifty years before my sister's return, I battled a powerful foe. Without the aid of the Elements of Harmony, it was a hard fought battle that injured many of my little ponies."
The ancient visage of Canterlot vanished as brown colored roots jutted forth from the table. Two green eyes formed. They illuminated the tall, slender silhouette of a wooden pony. Three more figures materialized. The silhouettes of the pegasus pony, unicorn pony, and earth pony floated around the creature in a triangular formation.
"As all of you know, alicorns are an embodiment of the three pony races within a single individual. Though we differ amongst ourselves, with some of our traits being more prevalent than others, we are identical at our cores." Princess Celestia said. She pointed a hoof at the illusionary image, "Dryads -- the pony you see before us -- are similar to alicorns. Within them are the traits of Unicorn, Pegasi, and Earth," Princess Celestia lowered her hoof, "but that is where our similarities end."
Twilight's eyes focused on the silhouette in front of her. Shining Armor conversed with Princess Cadence before he whispered to his sister. The ponies went silent.
"Unlike alicorns, the earth pony trait of a dryad does not appear to be in harmony with their counter parts. Instead, it seems to be the dominant one. The most dangerous fact of all is the appearance of that side being bolstered by powerful, alicorn-like magic, giving dryads the strongest bond a pony can possibly have to Equestria itself. Sadly, I do not know all of the details as there is little historical text to go on. Star Swirl was studying them just before he..." Princess Celestia went silent. Her delicate wing tip wiped away a tear. She cleared her throat, and then steadied her hooves. Princess Celestia's determined gaze looked at each face in the room. "Star Swirl's last entry indicated a connection between Equestria and Harmony."
The wooden pony dematerialized. As the map of Equestria returned, the blue crystals resumed their prior intensity. Princess Cadence spoke with Zecora. They went silent with Princess Celestia holding her hoof up and soon lowering it.
"After Tirek's defeat and subsequent reincarceration in Tartarus , I asked Fluttershy to have Discord create this table for Equestria's protection. Purged of its quirks," Princess Celestia rolled her eyes, "it has the ability to detect magical disturbances. I am sorry to have deceived you Zecora. My motive wasn't retrieving a potion from you, but to study the disturbance the table detected in the Ever Free Forest."
"I know of the disturbance you speak. Here, I will give you a peek." Zecora said. She waved her hoof over the table. An image of the swamp in the Ever Free Forest appeared. Several bundles of sticks lay strewn about the area, one pile being consumed by a bubbling pit of mud. "Timber Wolves regenerate from an attack, but something is off as you can see. Their power is gone after this attack. This is quite distressing, indeed."
Twilight tapped a gentle hoof against her chin. She squinted at the image then faced Zecora, "This is odd. How could their energy be drained."
"Much like a divided house that cannot stand, the powers of a dryad are in flux. Though Star Swirl's texts are incomplete, one tome did speak of the Dryad's abilities. These powerful creatures can drain energy from everything around them, be it flora or fauna. Unlike Tirek, they are not limited to just magical energy." Princess Celestia said with a grim expression. "Again, I am going off incomplete text and my own experience."
"Sister, about your experience." Princess Luna said.
The lights dimmed once more. Princess Celestia placed her hoof on the table. Time was irrelevant with the story Princess Celestia once kept secret. The table's image changed several times. The princess faced those in front of her, biting down on her lip before she relented.
"It destroyed part of me to realize a dear friend of mine was the dryad. When I discovered Oak's ruse, she cast off her illusionary form and headed south of Canterlot." Princess Celestia said. The image shifted to the Ghastly Gorge. "Do you all know the 'true history' of that landmark?"
"Sister?!" Princess Luna said.
"Indeed, Princess Luna." Princess Celestia said.
A bright flash of light came from the table. Princess Celestia's mane maintained its calm flow in the violent storm outside the yellow sphere enveloping her and the target. The slender dryad, as tall as the princess who faced her, was several wingbeats away from her foe. Both ponies floated in the air. A green aura surrounded the dryad while a yellow light radiated from Princess Celestia's body. Darkness came to the room after a final bright flash of light.
"I used a good portion of my strength to fight Oak tooth and hoof. In the end, I had no choice. My friend was beyond redemption." Princess Celestia said.
The table's image returned to the present map of Equestria. Twilight leaned closer to Princess Luna, whispering into her ear.
"Is there a problem, Twilight?" Princess Celestia said.
"I understand what happened, but I'm unsure about the dryad's full abilities. Is it possible that Oak went into a slumber and revived herself?" Twilight said.
"No. Before our battle began, I used a powerful spell to sever her connection to Equestria." Princess Celestia said. The prior image of the dryad and the three ponies materialized above the magical, marble stone table. "Remember that dryads are similar to alicorns. As a result, it's not impossible for there to be more than one, and I believe this one is in its infancy. Despite that fact, we must take great care when facing this threat and stop it at all costs, for the good of Equestria and its inhabitants."
Princess Celestia pressed her hoof against the table. The semi-opaque dryad image disappeared. A hole formed in the table's center with a hand springing out from it. The pie in the hand landed a direct hit on Princess Celestia then returned to its home in the table. Several snickers came from the room with Zecora cracking a sneaky smile.
As the pan fell to the floor, Princess Celestia said, "I see more work must be done to purge Discord's ridiculous gimmicks from this thing. Besides, I'm not a fan of bananas."
Twilight snickered to herself before turning away. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence stood up. The two nodded to Princess Celestia before departing in a flash of light. Zecora bowed to Princess Celestia before she exited through the door she came through. Princess Luna and Twilight moved to a secluded part of the castle, leaving Princess Celestia alone with her thoughts and a mess to clean up.
In a dark, secluded hallway of Canterlot Castle, a blue hoof mark appeared on Twilight's chest with a purple mark on Princess Luna's chest. Both marks faded away.
"That was close. It took me forever to memorize this spell." Twilight said.
"Yes... 'forever.' I spent one hundred years of my time to create it. You spent an hour's time to memorize it." Princess Luna said.
"But. You're such a good... mentor." Twilight said with her ears back, her eyes closed, and a coaxed smile. She opened her eyes to see Princess Luna's stoic expression unchanged.
"Remember my words of caution, Twilight Sparkle. That spell borders on dark magic. It can and will corrupt the user if used beyond its intentions, however, that is beside the point right now." Princess Luna said.
Twilight glanced around the corner then faced Princess Luna. With a dejected tone and expression to match, she said, "I can't believe it. Your sister -- the mentor I trusted to guide my magic -- has used a dark magical spell on those around her to keep this secret."
Princess Luna held out her hoof. Two guards stood at attention and saluted the two princesses. Dismissed, the guards proceeded with their patrol. Twilight and Princess Luna entered the small room to the hallway's right and closed the door.
"So," Twilight's ears lowered, "what do we do now?"
Princess Luna let out a sigh. She moved toward the table and sat down on the couch near it.
"Until we have evidence to the contrary, we must conclude my sister has used a forbidden spell to purge this event from Equestria's history." Princess Luna said. Her eyes focused on the room. A dark blue sphere grew from Princess Luna and encompassed the room. "We will speak with our minds using this spell. I'm not sure if Zecora can be trusted."
Twilight Sparkle scratched her head before her eyes widened. "Amazing. I read about telepathy magic's possible existence, but I didn't know it could be done. This is neat -- wait, I trust Zecora. Why shouldn't you?"
"Zecora may be your friend, but she was too forthcoming with that information. She has made no promises, and I cannot gain access to her dreams to see her thoughts. I fear she may tell my sister." Princess Luna said. She shook her head at Twilight, "No, do not forcibly use the spell you have been taught."
A loud ping entered into Princess Luna's ears. She dropped her spell.
"Sister, is there a problem?" Princess Luna said.
"Zecora may not be dependable." Princess Celestia said. She illuminated her horn with a yellow sphere enveloping the room. "I will speak with my mind to the two of you."
"Wow, this is neat." Twilight said before she looked at Princess Luna.
”I did not mention it, but Star Swirl encountered a dryad pony on his final journey to study the world of Equestria. Among my departed friend's research, there was a note in regards to the dryad's essence. When dryads receive severe physical damage, they secrete a green liquid that has extremely powerful regenerative properties. If one were to combine that liquid with other reagents through various alchemical processes, the resulting potion can nourish a land for generations." Princess Celestia said.
"Wait, you're saying Zecora might take the dryad for herself?" Twilight said.
"As I said, Loa and I are good friends, however, the Zebra tribe lives in troubled times. The southern area of Equestria is a malnourished land, almost barren of life. Loa has refused assistant from Canterlot, feeling it's better for her tribe to go it alone. After some persuasion, she agreed to let her daughter come to Equestria as a test to see if ponies' would acclimate well to outsiders living within our borders. As you saw Twilight, Ponyville wasn't too welcoming." Princess Celestia said.
”I know." Twilight said with a sigh. She moved toward Princess Celestia, "I have to get back to Ponyville and talk with the others. We will need to prepare if a threat is coming."
Twilight moved toward the door. Princess Celestia extended her wing. Twilight stopped and faced her former mentor.
"Twilight, before you go, I saw you, Applejack, and Apple Bloom in Zecora's hut. Why were you there?" Princess Celestia said.
"I was assisting Applejack and Apple Bloom with an errand." Twilight said. She maintained an expressionless stance toward the mare that towered over her. "If you'll excuse me, I need to think this over and discuss it with my friends. We need to be ready if this threat comes."
Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. Her spell dissipated. She looked at Twilight, and then Princess Luna. The princess lowered her wing.
"I'll teach you that spell sometime, Twilight. It lets others communicate with their thoughts vs. spoken words. Another powerful attribute of the spell is its ability to act as a lie detector." Princess Celestia said. Her eyes followed Twilight as the pony moved towards the door. "Remember to disseminate this information to the others as you see fit, Twilight. I believe that you will do the right thing and protect Equestria from this threat at all costs."
Twilight nodded to Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, and then illuminated her horn. She vanished in a flash of light.
*** *** ***
Applejack tapped a nervous hoof against the crystal floor of the castle in Ponyville. She sat in her chair, got up, and resumed her nervous tapping. The sound resonated in the quiet assembly room.
"Twi?" Applejack said, witnessing the bright flash of light. She wiped several beads of sweat from her brow. Her eyes followed Twilight. "Well?"
With her horn aglow, Twilight waved her hoof across Applejack's chest. With the purple hoof mark on Applejack's chest vanishing, Twilight brought both hooves to her face and pulled down. She sat in her chair, her eyes glancing at the cold floor.
"What happened?" Applejack said. Her hooves shook against the cold floor as she heard the tale being retold. She gazed at the map of Equestria on the table. "So, Princess Celestia knows."
"I wasn't crazy about doing things like this, but Princess Luna was right. It was a good idea for me to learn her spell." Twilight said. Soft hoof steps entered into her ears. Apple Bloom came from behind Applejack's seat and sat down near her sister. "Princess Celestia knows alot, and I don't know what to do. Her suspicions are already aroused," Twilight smiled Apple Bloom, "however, the good thing is Princess Celestia doesn't know everything. What concerns me is the fact both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are distrustful of Zecora."
Quiet hooves guided the filly towards Twilight. Apple Bloom looked at Applejack then toward Twilight. In a nervous tone she said, "Are you gonna turn me in, Twilight?"
Twilight maintained her gentle smile towards Apple Bloom. The filly levitated into the air and settled into her sister's lap.
"Until I met all of you, I believed in the quote I read from a book that stated 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,'" Twilight said. She shook her head before her friend could answer, "However, that idea, that philosophy is wrong. If any sane ruler were to follow it, they would know that notion will cause a cascade towards the point where the needs of the few will outweigh the needs of the many. My friends, the ponies in Ponyville, the inhabitants of Equestria, all of them are precious to me. I will forsake none of them."
Apple Bloom, Applejack, and Twilight stood up. Twilight motioned towards the two ponies.
The group proceeded down a crystal hallway. They stopped at a crystal door with the image of a potion flask embedded into it. Inside, alchemical formulas were written on pieces of parchment paper and chemicals swirled around in flasks while some glowed in plugged containers behind a glass case.
At a small table, Twilight donned a pair of goggles.
"With your permission Apple Bloom, I would like to know more about what happened to you. This is rather disgusting, but where is that bandage?" Twilight said.
"Seriously, Twi? Big Macintosh tossed that bandage into the garbage. It's been three weeks since that happened. It's already gone." Applejack said.
"Sorry. Princess Celestia says that dryads have a 'green liquid' that comes from their wounds. I need to run a test on it." Twilight said. She looked at Apple Bloom and received a firm headshake after levitating a syringe from a drawer. "Apple Bloom, please. I need to know. I promise that I will be as gentle as possible."
Applejack stood in front of her little sister. She raised a stern hoof and targeted Twilight with it. After a slight tug came to her tail, she lowered her hoof.
"Your Life. Your Choice. "Applejack sighed. She glared at Twilight who swore once more to be gentle.
"Just... just make it quick." Apple Bloom said. She extended a hoof. She yelped. After a nervous, sheepish grin, she flinched. "Yea, real gentle there Twilight."
Apple Bloom, Applejack, and Twilight gazed at the small liquid in the syringe. Apple Bloom came closer. The green liquid glowed in a brilliant, luminescent light. The powerful glow ceased when the filly backed away.
"There are no words to describe this." Twilight said.
"Twilight. I'm givin' ya one warnin' and one warnin only. My little sis' ain't some experiment. Hear me?!" Applejack slammed her hoof to the ground, the crystal floor beneath it cracking.
"Applejack, Apple Bloom is your sister. I give you my most sincerest promise that I will not experiment on her. She won't be treated like some piece of data." Twilight said. She looked behind Applejack and raised an eyebrow, "In fact, I could use some help to run some tests. You willing to give me a helping hoof, Apple Bloom?"
Applejack watched the two work near the table. Apple Bloom smiled at Twilight, the filly soon donning her own goggles. Applejack's eyes grew heavier with the two ponies talking about formulas, concentrations, ratios, and other "fancy" speak. Apple Bloom examined each sample, and then gave Twilight a clipboard with data on it.
Day turned to night with Applejack sleeping in the corner, however, she leapt up. Her eyes widened at the scream entering her ears. She bolted towards her little sister.
"Bloom! You alright?" Applejack said.
Small claw-like roots came from Apple Bloom's hoof. She backed away from Twilight, shielding her from the roots.
"What's going on?" Applejack said.
"Here," Twilight said, giving Apple Bloom a planted tree in a pot. The tendrils wrapped around the tree; it turned brown before withering away. "Princess Celestia was right."
The small tendrils rescinded back into Apple Bloom's hoof.
"Twilight. You promised not to experiment on her." Applejack stared down Twilight.
"It's alright Applejack. Seriously, it just happened. Twilight hasn't tested anything on me." Apple Bloom said.
Twilight's ears lowered as she faced Apple Bloom, "Actually, that was a test. I needed to know. It's the only one. I promise."
"Twilight..." Apple Bloom said.
Applejack scooped up Apple Bloom. She carried her sister towards the meeting room. Twilight galloped after the two.
"I am so, so sorry. Please, believe me when I say I didn't do anything else." Twilight said.
"We're out of here." Applejack said. Apple Bloom leapt off her back and onto the floor, facing the two ponies. Applejack glared at Twilight, Granny was right. You're a princess after all. You'll report my little sis to Princess Celestia, but not before ya treat her like some darn infernal rat in a maze."
"No." Apple Bloom said.
"Don't you 'no,' me little sis." Applejack said.
"This is mah life. Ah'm scared, but Ah have got to know what's goin' on. We can't do that if all of us prance about like a bunch of scaredy foals." Apple Bloom said.
Applejack's sigh echoed throughout the castle. She stepped in front of Apple Bloom. Twilight backed away on shaky hooves, her head hung towards the ground.
"Bloom. You're not mare. Not yet. As my little sis, I intend to protect ya, even if it means protecting you from yourself." Applejack said. She scooped up Apple Bloom and placed the filly on her back. "We're going home."
Twilight's ears remained low. She faced her departing friend, "Applejack, what do you want to do about the others? What about Princess Celestia? If she finds out --"
"You're a princess, Twilight. Figure it out!" Applejack slammed the door shut behind her, taking Apple Bloom home.
Twilight's lower lip quivered. She sat at her place near the table. Her watery eyes gravitated toward the tree roots above the room's magical table. Several tears crawled down Twilight's cheeks before they hit the cold stone floor of her castle. Through her teary eyes, she glanced at her sides then her horn.
"Some princess of friendship I am." Twilight said as she buried her head into her hooves. She wiped away her tears. In the end, her heavy eyes lost the battle and closed after she curled into a ball in her chair. "What do I do? I don't... want to lose... any pony...."
Stats
Page generated in 0.018 seconds
Total duration
624 users online
824,673 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
There's a few things that bothered me in this chapter, mainly Zecora coming from nowhere to the Princess meeting and your characterzation of Celestia.
Zecora is simple enough: it feels too random and doesn't make sense from what I've seen in the show.
About Celestia, I can easily accept rumors on her being so against Dryads beause those are rumors; but her really being that way I can't believe: Nightmare Moon had to be stopped because she wanted to bring eternal night, not because she had powers comparable to Celestia; Discord had to be stopped because he was bringing a world of chaos, not because what he is (otherwise he wouldn't have been given the chance to be redeemed). Sombra had to be stopped from his slaving of the Crystal Empire and Tired was going to cause an apocalypse because of him preventing any pony from using magic, the same magic that keeps their world running. What's so bad for her to make consider a dryad a danger that should be stopped just because it exists?
6034441
Perhaps the Everfree Forest itself is a result of the Dryads magic? A land untamable because of magic that can cancel out regular pony magic centuries after the death of the caster would be a pretty terrifying thing. Like, an anti-Alicorn or something.
>> DouglasTrotter
Oh, and I noticed a few errors. Please forgive as I nitpick.
--Actually, I think I'll message you with the bulk, and just leave some of the more interesting things here.
Cadance, Celestia, Luna, Shining, Twilight and Zecora. That's 6 Ponies. Are they playing musical chairs?
Can't take her own medicine, eh?
Though you may want to expand on her reaction a bit, Maybe describe the pie filling that oozes off of her face as she sits there, irked, maybe a bit dumbfounded, but not really surprised at the gag. As it is, it just feels kinda... flat.
Bit confused on this part. Did Celestia just teleport into the room or something?
6034441
Zecora's appearance at the meeting helps to fill a bit of a void gap between the Sprout and Disclosure chapters. It didn't feel right to just have Celestia know everything that occurred in the Ever Free Forest because of some mystical object.
As for Princess Celestia... who's to say the motherly mare doesn't have more secrets she keeps close to herself. I like to lace chapters with information/material that I can reference, expand upon, and use in later chapters. Trust me, all of it will come to light as to why she despises dryads and views them as a threat. I feel this story deserves more than a simple 6 to 8 chapters to round things out.
6035310
Thanks for the message and PM. I wholeheartedly appreciate the nitpicking since it helps me pick up the things that were missed, and it allows me to grow as a writer.
6035693 You mean I have to wait at least to double your chapter count to see if you bother to justify yourself on Celestia being out-of-character? I'm out.
*downvotes, removes from tracked stories* A pity, I like the premise.
6035722
Huh? I'm a little confused. Perhaps I didn't word that sentence correctly, you may have misinterpreted it, or both.
"I feel this story deserves more than a simple 6 to 8 chapters to round things out."
What I'm trying to say is that I want to finish the story itself with more chapters than what I'm used to doing, which is around 7 chapters for my longer stories. I do apologize if you were lead to believe I would wait till 20 chapters down the road to reveal Celestia's motives for hating dryads. Trust me, I am a fellow reader of stories and watcher of anime, shows, etc..., and I absolutely loathe it when writer's and people behind that particular media drag things out. It hurts the overall material, and this ultimately causes readers to lose interest in what could otherwise be a brilliant piece of literature.
Now, though I have said that, I also understand my responsibilities as a writer to tell a compelling story and parse things out to pull the reader further into the story.
To sum things up: No, I won't drag out the material behind Princess Celestia. As a writer, I don't like to do that. What I will do is parse things out so it can culminate into a greater chapter.
6036158 My whole argument is based on the idea of Celestia haring dryads just beause they are dryads is OOC of her, otherwise she wouldn't have tried to have Discord reformed. I'm not claiming she's perfect, either. I'm not claiming she's perfect either: the TV show makes a great work to make her fallible.
My thoughts on Celestia were simple: rumors about Celestia being OOC? a bit bothersome but I can accept them because it's the source of conflict in your story, rumors can be mistaken and corrected, and apologies can be told and accepted once the rumors were clarified. Now you've confirmed the rumors and honesrly I can't be bothered to invest myself emotionally in your story for how lont it may take to you to justify Celestia's actions.
Of course, worst cases are you writing an ouright bad explanation or you simply not getting to write an explanation at all (real life can happen to all of us).
Probably it's because I'm having some deja vu[1] but I have very difficult time believing I'm going to be satisfied with your explanation when/if you upload it.
[1] A highly updating story which had a great premise but failed on OOCness because the author couldn''t care to think on the protagonist's motivations. Then I made the mistake of investing myself in the story regardless, continuing to read it: then came me metaphorically beating the chapters up via revieews to make the author correct him not having an idea of where to go with the story, making a rewrite where nothing ever went even remotely wrong, changing the 'verse only to show the protagonists be seen better, and creating exectatives yet never realizing them and outright boring to read, feeling myself dying a little with every new chapter.