Randomness Of Fate
Took a little longer to get this finalized than I intended, but here is the conclusion to the tale of Tobias.
And for those that get curious but don't know the history, hit google after you finish reading. There is a lot more to know about the legends about the antagonist, which those that know the stories already will probably be tickled to see. There's depth to discover for the interested.
Thanks for reading this little three part story. 
Twilight was waiting on the steps with her friends, all of them looking worried as Luna’s sky chariot landed and the Princess of the Night wasted no time heading towards them with a dark look. The chariot took to the sky again after a moment.
As she ascended the steps, Twilight spoke up, “We’re all here, Luna. What’s going on? All your letter said was to gather the Elements together for an emergency while you were on your way from Canterlot. Is there about to be an attack? Another sealed evil that got free?”
Luna shook her head as she looked at the young Princess, “Nay, Twilight Sparkle. It is not an impending attack, but the danger of one that concerns me. Let us speak within the castle walls and I will tell you what gave me reason to assign two of my umbramancers to guard your friend, Mister Tobias Maxwell.”
Six ponies and one small dragon looked at Luna with widened eyes before multiple voices started trying to ask worried questions at the same time. A raised hoof from Luna silenced the incomprehensible flurry and she looked at Twilight.
Twilight frowned, taking advantage of the pause before Luna could say anything further, “You assigned elite guards to protect Tobias?! What happened? Has somepony tried to hurt him?! Maybe we shou--!”
A dark blue wingtip touched Twilight’s lips, silencing her before Luna spoke again, “Calm thyself. At present, he does not appear to be in immediate danger, as my guards now with him have not raised any alarm. It will be best if we speak inside while we await my guards to bring him here, now that I have arrived. I wish to keep this matter more secret, for I know not if the responsible party could be listening as yet.”
Twilight grimaced, wanting to ask a thousand questions as she saw Luna’s horn glow for a brief moment and detected a signal spell, but nodded before glancing at her friends, “Alright. We’ll talk inside. Let’s go, girls. Our throne room will probably be best. If we need to put up spell protections, they’ll be strongest there.”
The group made their way along crystalline hallways, still gleaming as bright as they day they had formed. Occasional decorations were dotted here and there from the past two years of adventures since the castle had appeared after Tirek’s defeat. Twilight still only had minimal staff working at her castle, preferring to do much of her own housekeeping when her schedule allowed. Most of her duties had remained light, when she was not off with her friends on another friendship mission or tackling a threat to Equestria.
Six ponies and one dragon moved to their crystal thrones that surrounded the table covered in an illusory map of Equestria as Luna looked on. Once they had all seated themselves, Twilight willed the table to retract into the floor, allowing Luna to step into the now open space. Both Twilight and Luna cast a few spells to ensure security as a precaution.
Luna faced Twilight after they finished, twitching her wings a bit, “I will waste no time. Last night, I found Mister Maxwell in a nightmare most severe and Dream-locked. To make matters worse, it appears it was intentionally induced. I suspect the preceding four nights he also was Dream-locked, but somehow managed to free himself. Possibly by sheer force of will.
“It was not until the strength of his nightmare last night that I was able to catch his dream after a year and a half of hunting. He had been shrouded from me during that time and I had not previously been able to reach him,” Luna saw Twilight’s look of growing alarm, well versed in dream studies as she was, “An as yet unknown being, bearing as yet unidentified strong magic with hallmarks of chaotic energies, has been playing with him in a manner most severe.”
Twilight and her friends stared in disbelief at Luna. There was a lot of things they had been expecting, but they were at a loss on how to react as she continued.
“I understand Mister Maxwell was to meet with you today and tell you a secret he has been withholding for some time now. Under other circumstances, I would prefer to let him be the one to tell you of such matters. Things being as they are, I do not know if time may be limited and do not wish to tarry as he is brought here from his residence,” Luna locked eyes with Twilight, her expression serious and leaving no suggestion of humor, “It would seem he is not of our world. Nor was he originally born a diamond dog.”
A long, loud gasp was heard from Pinkie Pie, her hooves on her cheeks as she drew out maximum drama over a couple seconds. Luna waited a moment, glancing at her, and once her moment was over Pinkie resettled herself and noted, “Ok, I’m done.”
Clearing her throat, Luna continued, “For reasons I do not yet know, this unknown being has been setting him in various places, often in difficult circumstances. And I do not mean relocated, but pulled from the realm of life, forced into a new body, and placed again. He has been used as naught but a plaything to a powerful being right under our very noses.
“While I surpass this unknown being in power and shall not allow them to take Mister Maxwell again, I know not what they are capable of just yet. Much to my surprise, Discord is also involved and quite interested in finding out the responsible party, though for his own reasons. He shall join us at some point when your friend arrives. He did not tell me where he was going when he departed halfway to Ponyville.”
Luna looked around at the Element Bearers, noting that all of them had taken her words as truth. Rainbow Dash and Applejack both looked angered, while Rarity and Fluttershy appeared worried. Pinkie Pie appeared to have a faint twitch in one eye and an odd-looking neutral expression. Twilight Sparkle had a similar look to the one Luna had seen on her sister earlier, though with less flickering flame present.
“Luna, what do we need to do to best help him?” Twilight said in a low, even tone, giving Luna a moment of intrigue as she noticed how much the younger alicorn had learned in controlling her emotions. In time, she suspected Celestia would have competition for having the best poker face.
“Discord shared with me a few things you and your friends will need to do as we go about setting your friend free. The most important of which is you must not leave his side or allow him to leave yours. Mister Maxwell is potentially under a form of compulsion to obey and serve any being of sufficient power, based upon what Discord has told me and what I observed in your friend’s dream, though neither of us shall be certain of specific effects until we can see him face to face,” Luna replied, pausing a moment before she continued.
“When we make contact with the being responsible, if he is under compulsion as we suspect, you must restrain Mister Maxwell. Most of this matter will be handled by Discord and myself, but there are strange rules in play. Even more unusual is that Discord is abiding by them, despite being unclear on the specifics of why. All you must focus upon is not allowing your friend to stand and escape you if he tries. If you allow Mister Maxwell away from you, it is unlikely we will ever see him again.”
Rainbow Dash growled, “Why the hay can’t we just beat up whoever’s been messing with Tobias? If you’re stronger, can’t we just pound them until they know not to mess with our friends?”
Luna turned an understanding look on Rainbow Dash, “While I confess to having some similar sentiments, Discord warned me that doing so will not guarantee this will end for Mister Maxwell. He said that so long as we play along in the manner he has asked, he will ensure Mister Maxwell is covered under a ban he has placed on our world against other chaos beings. Strange as it may sound, this would put Mister Maxwell under Discord’s personal protection.”
Pinkie let out a faint grumble under her breath about some institute being a bunch of meanies again, which Luna dismissed with a flick of an ear as another of the random mare’s oddities. Luna had no intention of telling them all of Discord’s suspicions and guesses. What little she knew of some of those beings he mentioned she desired to know nothing further, and for them to remain as far from their world as they had been for countless ages. Strong as she and her sister were, some were powerful enough to cause them no end of grave trouble before they would be able to drive them off again. Enough trouble that Luna was thankful Discord was taking personal interest in the matter and as somewhat direct as he was in dealing with it himself. If it came down to an actual battle at such a level, he would be an invaluable ally. Only the three of them were capable of going between dimensions as would be necessary.
Her horn glimmered for a moment as she checked on her guards as they escorted their charge to Twilight’s castle. They signaled back to her that no threats appeared present and they were already approaching the castle steps.
“It appears my guards are just now reaching the castle with Mister Maxwell. Beyond restraining him if necessary, you need only be present for him. As you learn more about what he has endured, I am sure you will understand just how much he will need your friendship and support when we are done. Also, please remember not to use magic to restrain him, as that will not be permitted. Let us ensure Mister Maxwell need never worry about this ever again from this day forward,” Luna said as she held her head high, looking at each of the Elements in turn.
Not long after, the doors to the throne room of the Elements opened to a pair of armored Lunar unicorns on either side of Tobias, stoic and serious. Tobias was dressed in simple black slacks and brown button up shirt, his satchel over his shoulder with the strap across his chest. For his part, he looked tense and uncertain, but relief crossed his face when he saw Princess Luna and his friends waiting for him.
Fluttershy didn’t even blink before a few flaps of her wings carried her over to him and she began checking him over, as if looking for hidden injuries, “Oh dear, oh dear, are you alright, Tobias? Princess Luna told us you’ve been going through something terrible. We’re going to make sure those mystery meanies never get to take you again. Don’t you worry about a thing, Tobias. We’re not going to let anything happen to you from now on.”
Tobias blinked as she started hovering over him, her closeness forcing him to stop as she began poking him here and there, even smooshing his cheeks as she tried so hard to be comforting. While he thought it was endearing, it was also a little nerve wracking because he didn’t know much of what was going on, gentle hand paws catching her yellow hooves and trying to get her to ease up, “Fluttershy, calm down. I don’t know what’s happening. All I know is Princess Luna helped me with a nightmare and told me she sent some guards to protect me until we could meet face to face. What meanies? What’s going on?”
“Miss Fluttershy, please calm yourself. If this is to go well, I must be careful and gradual in what I reveal to Mister Maxwell, so that he may understand without suffering undue distress. It is going to be difficult enough for him already,” Luna said in a calm, yet stern tone.
Despite Luna chastising her, Fluttershy continued to hover closely over Tobias. After a moment, she did move around so he was free to walk again. When he was a respectful distance from Luna, he bent over in a bow and waited for her to respond, “I’m here as asked, Princess Luna.”
Luna nodded to him and beckoned him to rise, then glanced at her umbramancers, “Rolling Shadow. Star Cloak. Did you experience any sign of the hidden transgressor?”
The guard on Tobias’ left spoke up, “Mistress, there were some probes when our charge awoke, but by every indication the one doing the probing retreated after a few minutes. Our best estimate is upon finding no immediate openings they chose to remain hidden rather than attempt anything aggressive.”
Luna frowned, but nodded, “Very well. Thank you for watching over Mister Maxwell. I will handle the matter from here. Please stand guard by the door of this room until I have ensured this matter is settled. After the critical time has passed, you shall be released to your leisure for the remainder of the day and free to return to Canterlot at your own discretion. I am unsure when I shall be ready to depart and do not have need for you to remain longer. My chariot guards shall suffice as representative presence.”
Both guards saluted and stepped back out of the throne room of the Elements, closing the door behind themselves.
Turning to Tobias again, Luna saw his yellow pegasus attachment now on her hooves at his side, “I am going to scan you with my magic, Mister Maxwell. After that, we can work on ensuring this matter may be left as no more than an unpleasant memory to move on from.”
Tobias watched as Luna’s horn lit up with her blue aura as she eyed him. A similar aura covered his form as the girls looked on.
Luna blinked as she finished her scan and her horn dimmed again. Tilting her head a bit to one side, she made a face before speaking, “It appears our suspicions are confirmed. Mister Maxwell, I fear you have a strong form of compulsion upon you. Due to the nature of it, and the situation you are in, I cannot immediately dispel it.”
“I don’t understand, Princess Luna. Compulsion? Does that mean I’m forced to obey something? Can you tell me what’s going on?” Tobias replied, looking confused and nervous.
“It means exactly what you suspect. To properly explain the situation you are in, we require time. For now, I feel it best to ensure your safety first and explain after. I have already informed the Elements that you are not of our world, not originally born a diamond dog, and that you were taken from your former life against your will. I ask that you give me your trust right now and let me reveal things to you a little at a time, so you may deal with the full weight of your situation at a pace you can absorb it and not be overwhelmed. Over time, I will tell you everything, but for now you carry a great burden in your mind. I do not wish to overwhelm you by thrusting too much upon you all at once. May I ask you give me your trust for now?” Luna inquired with a steady look.
Frowning, Tobias looked even more uncertain, but nodded after a moment.
Luna waved a blue wing towards Fluttershy’s crystal throne, “As I suspect Miss Fluttershy is not going to depart your side for the time being, if both of you could please have a seat, I will explain what I can until Discord arrives.”
Nosing his arm to draw his attention, Fluttershy nudged Tobias with a wing towards her throne, “Please come sit with me, Tobias. I’ll be right here with you the whole time.”
Tobias just allowed himself to be led along, setting his satchel against the base of the throne and taking a seat on the floor right in front of the crystal throne, which caused Fluttershy to frown.
He spoke up before she could argue, “Fluttershy, it’s not my seat. This is strange enough for me right now. Please let me just sit on the floor and not have to debate whether or not to take your seat.”
Her look softened and she nodded, settling herself on her haunches at his side, a hoof touching his shoulder, “Alright, if that’s what you need right now. I’m going to sit next to you and be right here the whole time.”
He gave her a somewhat tense smile, wondering what exactly had brought Luna down to Ponyville to meet with him personally after meeting him in a nightmare and telling him she was assigning guards to him for protection. Today was supposed to be relieving, and about opening up to his friends, not whatever it had been turning into. Looking around at those same friends now, he saw worry in their expressions.
Before any further discussion could take place, there was a sound like ripping paper as a set of gold-colored talons tore a glowing line in the air. Once it was a few feet long, the talons were joined by a tawny lion’s paw as they pushed the line open like the door on an elevator, complete with a ding, and Discord slipped into the room. A snap of his talons made the arbitrary doorway vanish once he was clear.
Discord turned to look at Tobias, a curious brow raising as he did, “You know that’s hardly the reaction I go for when I make an entrance. Or are you always that pale, puppy boy?”
Fluttershy was quick to set her wing around Tobias’ back and pulling him closer as he began shaking. All color had drained from his face as he sat in obvious terror, even his ears were flat against his head. He did not even blink as he kept his gaze locked on Discord. His only response to Fluttershy’s actions were leaning closer.
Luna scowled, placing herself between Tobias and Discord, she had expected this and placed a bit of magic into her speech, “Tobias, listen to me. You are safe here. While he may at times be a most annoying miscreant, Discord does not wish you harm. Take a few breaths and calm yourself. None of us shall allow you to be harmed in this. You are safe here.”
When Luna had interrupted his line of sight, Tobias blinked as he tried to do as he was told. Leaning further against Fluttershy and taking some steadying breaths, he was able to calm back down a fair bit. The hidden calming spell from Luna was helping him overcome something deep within.
His color returned, though he still trembled as he looked up at Luna, “Why d-did I get so terrified all of a sudden? I-I have never seen him myself, but I know enough about Discord to know he’s not going to hurt me.”
Luna gave him a gentle look, “I fear it is some of what lay buried within you, Mister Maxwell. Beings of power with a chaotic nature appear as extreme dangers to you that you must escape from. Discord is one of the most powerful chaos beings in existence, so your reaction is not unexpected. And you are right. He is not going to do you any harm. I doubt he would even intentionally offend you right now, if for no other reason than it would upset Miss Fluttershy, whose opinion he treasures greatly. Are you alright now?”
Tobias swallowed and took another breath before sitting up straight again, nodding, “I think so.”
“Very well. Unfortunately, I must ask you to allow him to look you over. Discord needs to see what has happened to you for himself in order for us to get you through this. If it helps, close your eyes and focus on Miss Fluttershy. I will not permit you to be harmed this day,” Luna told him, holding his gaze with her own.
Tobias nodded, though he did not close his eyes. He did put a hand paw around one of Fluttershy’s hooves as he took slow, calming breaths. He saw Luna move, but felt no more than minor panic now that he was aware and forced himself to stay calm while keeping an eye on Discord.
Discord hummed to himself, moving right next to Tobias as he studied the hapless mortal. He hovered beside him for a few seconds before lightly swatting the back of Tobias’ head with his lion paw hand, causing his target to sneeze and shoot out a glowing glob that he caught in his talon hand, then floated back to the middle of the area between the crystal thrones. He kept eyeing what looked like a tiny glowing glob of gooey magic as everypony stared at him, wondering what he would say.
Then Discord’s eyes widened in disbelief, “I don’t believe this! That newbie?! Tch, I am going to have a few words for him in a bit,” he turned his eyes to Tobias, “I don’t know what you did to get his attention in the first place, but I suppose I can tell you now that after we’re done here, you won’t be bothered by anyone of the chaotic variety again.”
Rainbow Dash looked confused, “What newbies? Are you part of a club or something?”
With a smile, Discord let the glob of gooey magic vanish in a poof and snapped his talons, causing a business card to appear in front of all those present in the room, “Oh just a little group I put together ages ago.”
Twilight took the card in hoof and looked at it, then looked at Discord with a flat expression, “You founded an organization for chaos beings and trickster gods called the Dimensional Institute of Chaos, Kleptomania, and Subversion? Messing with mortals for fun and profit? …seriously?”
His smile bigger, Discord chuckled as he made the cards start dancing cabaret in the air as they circled him, complete with brightly colored tiny paper skirts and kazoo music, “Well it wouldn’t make sense for me to found a rock appreciation club, now would it?”
Pinkie grinned, “Well that wouldn’t work! My sister Maud already made one!”
Luna broke in before things could escalate and worsen her growing exasperation, “Must I remind you we are here for reasons other than to discuss such nonsense… Discord, if you would please continue with the reason we are here?”
“I would have hoped you’d be less of a stick in the mud now that I know who did it. Not even half as problematic as I was expecting. Although I have to admit, this whole thing with hapless puppy boy here doesn’t seem to fit his style. Too extreme. I’ll ask him in a minute,” Discord replied, then directed his eyes to each of the girls other than Fluttershy, meaning there were five pairs of disembodied floating eyes hovering before each of the girls, “May as well get started. All of you should crowd around your friend. Like Luna said, don’t let him get away from you. I already agreed to make sure this is a permanent fix if you all play along, since I don’t like the rest playing in my neck of the woods. And remember, no using magic on him now.”
Looking a bit confused, Pinkie’s smirk aside, the girls and dragon all crowded around Tobias, giving him a pat on the back or catching his eye with a supportive smile. Luna stood a little off to the side, a stoic expression on her face that hid her mixed feelings over what Discord was about to do.
Once they were settled, Discord clapped his paws together with a broad smile, “Fantastic! Time to get this show on the toad!” A toad croaked a few times as it hopped from behind one crystal throne and behind another, “Now let me see here…”
Discord ran his talon hand through the air, creating another glowing doorway beside him on the other side of the circle of thrones, opening it and thrusting his talon hand through. He seemed to dig around for a few moments before grinning and pulling his arm back out.
What came with him was a large vibrantly colored brown and red spider held by the abdomen with legs drooping. It’s body looked to be over a foot in length before including the legs and seemed very unhappy to be there as it stared at Discord like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
After being put on the floor, the spider grumbled as he looked at Discord, “Aw crap.”
The gathered ponies stared in confusion. Fluttershy had a few spider friends, and she was tempted to go comfort the new arrival but not wanting to leave Tobias’ side. Both she and Twilight cast a glance at Tobias’ face, unnerved upon seeing he had gone completely blank. While Fluttershy was just confused, his utter lack of reaction set off a number of alarm bells in Twilight’s mind.
Folding his arms, Discord scowled down at the new arrival, “Going to tell me why you decided to risk making me upset, Iktomi? You haven’t even been a member for that many centuries yet.”
This seemed to make the spider named Iktomi bristle, “You know I don’t do this crap, Discord! Did you even look very hard at Toy? I was just making use of Toy on Earth for playing tricks and teaching indirect lessons to other humans until Nyarlathotep caught wind of me successfully getting a permitted tool and decided he could do more entertaining things with Toy. Mica and I only just got that jerk to play with something else and I’ve been trying to undo some of the mess he made of Toy so I can take him back to Earth.”
Iktomi grumbled, “Besides that, you know how bored we’ve been getting over there. Was much more fun before The Others demanded we all step back and let humans go mostly untouched for a couple millennia. I’d been hoping to get Toy back in order enough to avoid this.”
Discord gave an exasperated sigh and scrubbed his face, “Seems I’ll have to have a few words with Yoggy about controlling his boys again… You know I’m still not happy with you, Iktomi. Since when did anyone in our group avoid tattling?”
“Look, I’ll just take Toy and be done with this. Gimme Gimme rules or the Make Me set?” Iktomi grumbled.
Discord grinned as he stood up straighter and folded his arms again, “You have to use No Happy Touchy.”
Iktomi gave him a scowl but didn’t argue, instead turning to Tobias and the six mares and one dragon crowded around him, growling as he spoke, “Let’s get going, Toy. I guess I just have to fix you in The Between first. Stand up and come here.”
The girls were shocked as Tobias slowly started to rise. Fluttershy and Applejack were the first to pull him back down.
“Tobias, why the hay are ya listenin’ ta that varmint?!” Applejack said with alarm as she felt her friend starting to put a little strength into his movement and despite both her and Fluttershy holding on, he began to rise again.
Iktomi growled again, stamping his first pair of legs, “I said get up, Toy. Come here so we can leave.”
Rarity, Spike, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash added themselves to the effort and tried to hold him down, pushing Tobias back down again even as he made no visible reaction to their efforts.
“Talk to us, darling. I know you want nothing to do with this ruffian!” Rarity said, her worry escalating with her elevation.
“Fight it, Tobias! What the hay are you listening to him for?!” Rainbow Dash added, garnering no reaction as she tried to pull him down even as Tobias continued to rise.
Giving a snarl, Iktomi was louder, “Toy, get up and come here!”
Twilight swallowed as she kept running mental estimates and calculations. Even as she moved in front of Tobias, he continued to rise. She realized her own body weight wasn’t going to be enough to hold him down against his muscle mass. Her eyes misted as she tried to think how to counter this somehow. His own passion for exercise was working against him.
If Twilight could use her magic she could stop him with ease, but that was not allowed. She had a moment to wonder if Discord would actually let Tobias be taken if they failed, though she knew Luna wouldn’t. Yet even if they used magic to spare him, Tobias would be at risk of being stolen at any time. How long could they truly keep up a vigil before they slipped at the wrong time and he was taken away?
“Get over here, Toy!” Iktomi called again.
Just as she watched Tobias manage to stand despite the weight of her friends trying to restrain him, she thought about his compulsion. Luna said he was compelled to obey beings of power, but did not say a specific being.
For a brief moment, Twilight closed her eyes and hoped her only idea worked. And if not, she’d be ready to fight for her friend without missing a beat.
It was rare they ever needed it, and apart from occasional tense moments, they had only put it to use once since defeating Tirek. When the ancient necromancer Grogar had managed to return.
Now she called on that same power, in hopes it made her register with Tobias’ compulsion. A momentary bubble of energy passing over her as she let her inner power come to the fore as a rainbow of colors spread across her hooves, feathers, mane and tail. The gift of power from the Tree of Harmony was their last resort at times, and now she called on it again.
Tobias had managed one short step when she opened her eyes, standing in his path as she looked up at his blank expression and unseeing eyes, saying a single word to him that carried every bit of her feelings in the moment, both a command and a heartfelt plea, and how she felt about the thought of losing him like this…
“Stop.”
A tense few moments passed and Twilight noticed Tobias had relaxed into a standing position only.
Iktomi made a sharp growl, “I said get over here, Toy!”
They all tensed as Tobias made a slow move forward, but before he could do anything, Twilight spoke again, “Tobias, stop. Sit down.”
Twilight almost cheered as Tobias began to sit down, the tension waning considerably as the rest of them helped him back to the floor. They stayed tight around him, but their hold made a slight transition to more of a group hug than just clinging to him for dear life.
Even as Iktomi tried again and Tobias tensed, Twilight countered further as she struggled to keep her voice from shaking with relief, “Tobias, stay. You will listen only to me. I want you to stay where you are and not move. Close your eyes and hug your friends. W-we want you to stay.”
As Tobias did as she commanded him and another attempt by Iktomi had no effect, Discord started to chuckle, looking down at Iktomi, “Well I think that’s settled. You lose, noob.”
Turning a sour look to Discord, Iktomi harrumphed, “Ugh… Fine… May as well tell me what my punishment is now.”
With another chuckle, glancing at the girls squeezing Tobias before eyeing Iktomi again, “I think I’ll make you sit between Cthulu and Slaanesh at the next several meetings.”
That made Iktomi blink and his eyes widen with alarm, waving his front pair of legs frantically as he took a step back, “What?! You know what those two are like! That’s like getting caught in the middle of a damned live action yaoi tentacle hentai! And you know how they get about shapeshifters! Can’t you pick something else?!”
Discord just gave a haughty sniff, “You should have tattled then. It’s not my fault you weren’t acting appropriately. Still, you’re lucky I thought this was hilarious or I’d have made it more than just the meetings. Don’t feel too bad. Mica knew and didn’t say anything either, so he’s gonna have to pay up too. Off you go, lanky legs!”
With a casual flick of a hand, Discord sent Inktomi sailing through the still open dimensional doorway with a yelp, eight legs flailing, the doorway vanishing a moment later. The game he wanted was over now, knowing exactly what he was doing the whole time and just wanting to have some fun because he could.
Turning back to the painfully precious pony pile prodigiously pressing their pathetic puppy partner poignantly, Discord sighed to himself. All things considered, even if he’d never admit it out loud, he was glad he could help his friends help one of their other friends. Perhaps in the future, he could talk with Tobias a little, see if there really was more to the unlucky traveller than the daily routine he’d kept to so rigidly in an effort to hide himself. Mortals had surprised him before, after all, and he was genuinely happy to call the girls and the royal sisters his friends.
A mare named Screwball too, though he didn’t tell anyone about their adventures. He once again found himself wondering why her smile made him so much happier than anyone else’s. Or why that one doctor of hers that knew of the visits once commented to him that she was always calmer afterward. Some things never seemed to make sense, but such was chaos, even with his mastery of it.
Already knowing about the drawing habit from looking over his shoulder while invisible, a frequent habit he did with almost everypony that gave him some level of entertainment, Discord mused over maybe setting up fun scenes for Tobias to draw could be a fun idea later. Photos of chaos always absorbed a little of what they captured, leading said photos to morph over time. Drawings were the only way to capture great chaos moments in a way that could stay put. While he did enjoy his self-transforming decorations in his house, he had to have drawings of him with his friends, as even his own presence distorted photos. It was one of the few things about chaos he didn’t like, and yet couldn’t prevent.
Luna turned her eyes to Discord with a frown, needing him to confirm with finality, “Is it at last ended for him?”
Hovering closer, Discord pulled off his lips with one hand, holding them close to her and whispered in Luna’s ear so the others wouldn’t hear as they enjoyed their victory, “Yes. I agreed no tricks about it and you let me have my fun. Short of one of them outright defying me and incurring my actual wrath, they will never touch him again. Also, his enchantment is rather straightforward, despite the chaotic tangles. You won’t have to worry about any hidden tricks when you lift most of them away, other than what’s holding his mind together…”
Pausing a moment, genuine emotion came into his voice, “…will my guilt from helping Tirek ever go away, Lulu?”
She gave him a sad smile of understanding, her own voice low, “No more than my own will, for allowing jealousy to consume me as it did. All we can do is move forward, and ensure we continue to do better. You have done much good today, even if your love of such games is distasteful to me. You have learned much since then. That is why I began to and continue to call you my friend in the time since. Care to help me bring some strange dreams to a few ponies in need of them tonight to celebrate a job well done?”
Discord put his lips back on and smirked, relishing the feeling he had in the moment and seeing Luna giving him that little smirk, “I’d like that. I know I should avoid him for at least a few months to avoid slowing his recovery, so I’ll go let Tia know how it went. I’ll see you at the castle later.”
She gave him a faint nudge of her wing before he snapped his talons and vanished.
Luna approached the ongoing pony pile that was starting to relax, her horn glowing for a moment as she dismissed her umbramancers outside the door and speaking when she stopped beside the pile around Tobias, “While the threat of Mister Maxwell being taken has now passed, I must still attend the enchantments placed upon him.”
Giving one more squeeze to Tobias, they all backed off of him but stayed close, wearing relieved smiles. For his part, Tobias was still tense, but appeared relieved as well.
“Mister Maxwell, I am afraid I can only remove most of what has been cast upon you at this time. As we move forward and you are able to heal further, I will be able to remove more. The compulsion and the magically induced fears shall be lifted for now. I shall need to speak to you privately on a few things before I depart, but that can wait for the moment. Now be still…,” Luna said in a gentle voice, her horn starting to glow.
It did not take long for Luna to peel off layer upon layer of chaotic energies wrapped around his mind. Were it not for the need to leave certain things in place so the release did not shock his sanity, it would have been only a few seconds of effort. There was little she could do about healing his mind from the strain, knowing it was something he would have to work on for himself.
Once her task was done and her horn ceased to channel magic, she gave him a warm smile, “I can do no more for you right now. You may not notice much difference at this time, but you shall no longer lose your will when a being of power gives you a command. There is still much to tell you, and a question I must ask you later, but for now I do believe you have some things to discuss with your friends…?”
Tobias gave her a grateful look and a small nod of respect from his sitting position, “Thank you, Princess Luna,” he said before reaching for the satchel not far away as he started to look both happier and mournful at the same time, “Uh, girls, I… I know I should have come to you with this a long time ago. Like Princess Luna told you, I wasn’t born a Diamond Dog and I’m not from this place, this world. I was born as something called a human. On a world called Earth. You don’t have anything like us here…well, I suppose I don’t quite count as one myself anymore either. I can’t show you any photos, obviously, but I can show you something kind of close…”
Opening his satchel, Tobias pulled out the stack of drawings of his family and memories of Earth. He started passing the drawings around, “I’ve been keeping it a secret, but I know how to draw pretty well. These are all drawings of stuff I wanted to remember from Earth. Friends and family, places I remember, memories I wanted to preserve…”
Tobias felt himself relax as his friends looked at his most treasured possessions with care and wonder. He had a moment of worry they still might have not believed him, but he didn’t see any signs of that now.
Watching from closeby, Luna just kept smiling as she watched Tobias explain drawing after drawing to his friends. Knowing the things she had seen in his mind she was not taken by surprise as the Element Bearers were, though she still found herself fascinated by the imagery he had created of his former world. She had to clench her jaw to restrain her coo when his explanation of his once broken body caused Fluttershy to give him a teary-eyed hug. Luna refused to acknowledge any signs of misting in her own eyes, simply needing some extra blinks against dust in the room.
After he had shown them all the images of his life on Earth and his own self-portraits, he lifted another stack of drawings from his satchel as Twilight neatly stacked the previous sets beside his satchel to put away when ready, Tobias’ voice growing a bit bashful as his cheeks gained some extra color, “The rest of the drawings I’ve done are about my time since I ended up in Equestria, moments I wanted to always remember and ponies that left an impression on me. These first ones are the first day I met each of you. I, uh, hope you girls like the way I drew you…”
He passed each of them their respective drawings, feeling more nervous as he watched their reactions.
“Huh,” Rainbow Dash commented with a smirk, looking at an image of herself wearing a cocky smirk and a challenge in her eyes, “You made me look pretty cool.”
“Ah look like a regular show pony, standing among the apple trees like this, sugarcube,” Applejack added with a pleased look.
“Heehee! I remember making that particular ‘new friend’ gasp I made when I found you walking down the street!” Pinkie wore a wide grin.
“Tobias, darling, you are quite talented at life drawing. I could not be certain before, not knowing what such things on your Earth look like for myself, but I can tell quite easily now. You made me look quite magnifique, even if it was the moment I screamed upon first seeing you,” Rarity commented as she gave him a sly little smile.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Tobias blushed a little brighter with a sheepish look.
Fluttershy hummed to herself, kind of bemused that Tobias’ first memory of her was her giving him The Stare when she was dragging him to her cottage upon finding him injured on the path near her cottage. She didn’t know how he did it, but he gave her such a look of authority and yet still full of gentleness somehow. Blushing a little herself, her eyes danced as she said a thank you with her eyes upon meeting his, not quite trusting herself to speak with how flattered it made her feel to see herself presented in such a way.
“Tobias…,” Twilight began, looking at the drawing from when Tobias had asked her where the local library was, the delighted expression and smile she’d worn that appeared to light up the world, her eyes slowly filling with happy tears, “You…you made me look so beautiful in this…”
“I…I only drew what I saw, Twilight,” he replied, his blush quite strong now, “It-it’s got some mistakes that I made. S-some of the other drawings I’ve done of you came out better…”
Twilight put a hoof over her mouth for a moment, sniffled once, then had to move straight in to hug him tight around the neck as she nuzzled his cheek, her voice a little choked, “I think it’s perfect…”
More drawings and explanations went around as Tobias showed them many of the memories he had captured. Fluttershy had her own teary hug and nuzzle upon seeing one of her outside her cottage, smiling towards the viewer, from the first time Tobias had come to repair something at her cottage. Rarity laughed at the one marking the first time she’d yelled at a rich snob thinking Tobias was for sale at a fashion show, remembering the day and still feeling pleased with herself. Rainbow Dash gave Tobias a devious grin and joked there would be extra payback next time, having seen the image of herself with an astonished look from the one time Tobias had managed to beat her in a sparring match. Spike thought the one of him belching fire made him look pretty impressive.
Eventually the drawings were all seen and explained, leading Luna to break in as they all decided to head to the park for a picnic lunch, which Luna had to decline joining, “As I still need to speak privately with Mister Maxwell, please go on ahead and I will send him along to join you when we are finished speaking.”
Some quick hugs went around and the girls departed with only a few words, since they would see Tobias again in a short while.
Once they were alone in the throne room of the Elements, Luna turned her eyes to Tobias with a contemplative look, “Mister Maxwell, I desired to speak with you privately as there are a few more things you should know about yourself. I felt it would be best to let you decide what to share in your own time, rather than inform you of them with the Element Bearers present. I can give you more thorough details another day, but for now it will not take long to explain.
“The most important part you should be aware of at this time is the fact you absorbed some of the chaos magic that was cast upon you. How much exactly, I am not yet sure as a great deal of what you have gained control of is wrapped around your missing memories. As I promised, I will tell you everything eventually, but all you have endured is vast. As you heal yourself from your long ordeal, I will slowly tell you more. For the time being, though it brings you discomfort, I would like you to meditate for an hour each day upon your last day on Earth that seems so strange to you. Most of the knowledge I need to withhold is actually contained within that place in your mind, needing only steady effort over time to recover.”
Luna gave a soft sigh as she looked at Tobias as he listened intently, uncertain how he would take the next part, “In addition to absorbing some chaos magic, the manner in which you have been manipulated also led you to absorb a great deal of life energy. Recovering your lost memories will take more than a century if you follow my advice, but that will be naught but a fraction of time to you. While I am uncertain if you are truly ageless at this point or not, you have enough essence within you that you shall live at least a few thousand years. And as you need less of your latent chaos energies to protect your mind and contain your memories, you shall eventually gain some minor magical abilities. I expect the one that will mean the most to you is the capacity to change your own form as you wish, which is something I cannot do for you outside of dreams as a direct result of that very chaos magic holding your mind together within you.”
She watched Tobias rub his left forearm as he looked down, breathing a little heavier as he absorbed her words. Luna knew it was a lot to take in, and certain parts were touching his hidden inner limits he was not quite aware of within himself just yet. Her estimate of his present strength of self was correct however, watching as Tobias took a calming breath and raised his eyes to hers again.
Tobias looked a little strained, but nodded, “I don’t completely understand all that, but thank you for telling me, Princess Luna. I will make sure I meditate daily from now on.”
With a faint smile, Luna gave him a nod, “That is good to hear. Now I have a question for you, as I mentioned earlier. In your dream, you offered yourself in service to me if I could help you. With the compulsion and other influences removed, are you still willing to extend the offer?”
He blinked once before responding earnestly, conviction in his eyes, “Without hesitation, Princess Luna. If for no other reason than because you’ve helped me so much already. Though I confess that I hope you won't ask me to move away from Ponyville to Canterlot, or anything like that.”
Luna gave a soft chuckle, her smile gaining a teasing hint, “No, nothing of the sort is necessary for what I have in mind, although there shall be visits to Canterlot on a semi-regular basis involved with you becoming my personal student.”
Tobias had to blink again and looked a little confused, “You want me to be your student?”
“I wish to take you on as my student because you have absorbed a certain amount of magic that you shall need to learn how to control over time. I can teach you how to make use of it, and later, when you have healed sufficiently, Discord can instruct you a bit as well as he is the most skilled with chaos magic itself. I will require you to come to Canterlot for a few days soon and I will explain all this shall entail. While I demand excellence, I am not demanding if you give me honest effort. We can discuss it later. Do you accept?” Luna said.
“I… This is more than I deserve, but yes. I accept, Princess Luna. I’m honored,” Tobias replied with a bit of wonder.
Luna grinned, “Huzzah! It shall be a most enjoyable apprenticeship as I instruct you. I shall send a messenger with appropriate details for you tomorrow. For now, you need not worry of it,” then she sighed, her grin fading into a small somber smile, “I also have a request if you will hear it.”
Unsure what else she could say, Tobias nodded and remained respectfully silent.
Casting her eyes to the crystal thrones of the Elements, Luna spoke in a more subdued tone borne of a long life and all that came with it, “I expect it would have happened regardless, but both I and my sister wish you to continue being close friends with the Element Bearers. It is not publically known, but the Tree of Harmony gave them more than great power when they defeated Tirek. It also made them ageless, perhaps even properly immortal, though the mysteries of their powers are an ongoing study. The Element Bearers are already fully aware of this.”
Luna turned her eyes back to Tobias, a faint shine in her eyes that spoke to being familiar with loss and acceptance, “When my sister and I first confronted the reality of our timeless lives, that all others we knew would age and die, ourselves frozen in time in a way, the anguish it brought us nearly caused us to abandon Equestria. For a time, all we wanted was isolation so we would never suffer such loss again. We felt we had only each other to rely on in the end, no matter how long a mortal being might live. Even a dragon we were friends with in those early days has long since passed into memory. Her wisdom, and acting like a sort of second mother to us for a few centuries helped. She was part of the reason we managed to make peace with an endless life.
”The Element Bearers will always have each other now, but they are much softer hearted than my sister and I were when the time came for us to face our existence. They battle as needed, but they are not tempered by war. The transition is going to be very hard on them. Even Spike will eventually grow old and meet the end of his days. A friend outside of their circle that they will not lose to time will be a boon for them they do not yet realize. And though you have no family in this world, you shall lose friends of your own in due time. I believe it will help all of you a great deal to have each other to lean upon. As much as we would like to be otherwise, my sister and I cannot be quite as close with all of you as your rulers.”
Tobias stared at her for a long moment before looking down and closing his eyes, taking time to consider what she said and what it meant before looking up again, giving her a slow respectful bow at the waist, his right arm across his middle, speaking when he straightened, “Princess Luna, I will always be their friend and help them whenever possible. I don’t quite understand all that properly yet, but I can understand the concept behind it. If for no other reason than all the times they have helped me already, I’ll be there for them.”
With a gentle smile, Luna nodded and turned towards the door, nudging Tobias to walk with her, “That is most everything I wished to speak with you on… Oh, there was one other point,” her smile then turned sly, “Several months from now, should you finish most of your healing and feel the urge to pursue romance, please know you have my encouragement. I do recall seeing particular signs of interest while visiting your dream, after all. I believe it was yellow, with a chance of lavender, yes? Perhaps both would even share you?”
She had to fight the urge to burst out laughing as Tobias froze in place, ears going back with his face ablaze as he spluttered, unable to respond for a second, “Uh… That’s… I’m not… I haven’t…”
Allowing herself a small chuckle, Luna opened the doors with her magic, “Just something to think about for later… Now come along, my student. You have a picnic with your friends to attend, and a new life to begin.”
Tobias began to sense Luna was going to tease him a lot while teaching him. After a moment to consider the thought, he decided he could learn to appreciate it. For now he got himself moving again, somehow feeling a depth of calmness he couldn’t recall having in years. She was right, about everything she just said, but they were things to consider later.
A picnic with those he treasured and a new start in life were waiting for him out there.
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That was a great ending.
I for one would like to see more of Tobias's life with Luna and the Element Bearers. I don't know if it will happen, but I can hope.
D'aaaawwwwwww!
I was caught off guard when the instigator was nabbed and dragged into the light; just a noob spider? Really? I was fully expecting a knock-down drag-out fight instead of that chaos wannabe getting pwned by Discord and Twilight.
Guess one could almost say, "and they lived happily ever after" if what Luna mentioned turns out to be true.
6534995 Google his name.
I'd like to sing sequel but it feels nice leaving it at this. So sequel or not, I'm content.
Would still like a few chapters of the future though.
SEQUAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6534995
I wouldn't say he got trounced by Twilight (which is almost odd for Iktomi, who gets his ass handed to him regularly). There was a battle; it was not a battle in the physical sense, but a battle of wills is a battle nonetheless.
Anyway, those familiar with Native American deities and mythological figures would know that these events are appropriate for Iktomi. For those not familiar, this is a wonderful learning opportunity, and should totally look him up.
However, for those too lazy to do their own research, you can read this spoiler for the bare-bones basics you need to know about Iktomi:
Iktomi is a shapeshifting trickster deity who is the patron spirit of trickery, wisdom, foolishness, art, and invention. While he is credited with inspiring many artists and inventors in Native American folklore, he is also known to be wily and troublesome, and should not be crossed if it can be helped. While he often comes up with elaborate plots to get what he wants, he often loses his prize as quickly as he got it by his own foolishness.
6535067
6535092
It's a nice thought, but I have absolutely no intention of making a sequel. I have too much else to work on with my main effort, second story, and a new one-shot, not including any new ideas that come to me in the future.
This story was planned to be only a few chapters, with the intention of leaving it to readers to imagine the possibilities of where life might take Tobias.
And for no particular reason, I think an underlying factor in this story's popularity comes from my general perspective of having Equestria being coincidental to events, however central as the location, rather than focusing on it. Kind of a 'Tobias just happened to wind up there, but could have been anywhere' sort of approach. I'm probably expressing the notion poorly, but hopefully this conveys the gist of my thoughts. /ramble
Worth the wait!!!
I have a question about that part about Spike. If he will eventually pass away during the passage of time, why did the tree create a thrown for him? I expect the tree to send him on friendship missions too.
6535277 The tree gave him a throne but didn't give him any additional power. He has the lifespan of a dragon. In my mind, that means thousands of years. Add in that nopony quite understands what the Tree of Harmony did to the girls or why it created the castle, and it's one of life's mysteries that doesn't really have an answer. Perhaps his natural longevity suffices. The throne might vanish when his scaly backside won't even fit in the throne room as he grows.
Outside of that, quite frankly I have no idea!
That chapter felt rushed. Its was good, but rushed.
Overall, good story.
..as their ruler? Why does that matter?! After all they did??? Just..
[IMHO] I can't put into words how much facepalm-inducing this sentence is, on so many levels. Tried to. So i'll go with this for simplicity
Why why why would you say that to the very few ones that will be with you FOREVER and EVER. Using "authority" as an excuse (of all the other excuses she could have said).. just, wow. That's super cold.
6535491 *shrug* Your opinion is yours to have.
Too short for the drama and story intended. It reads more like a summary than a full-length story.
D.I.C.K.S
I chuckled
Pretty good ending. Sucks that you have no plans for a sequel, but that's alright.
6535359 Well, it could also keep him at a manageable size.
6535555 To an extent, that is a little on purpose.
In part, it was to keep things a little more mysterious and leave readers to come up with their own ideas about things. In part, within the context, they felt pressed for time and thought there was a need to hurry (regardless of Discord's games).
Beyond that, I needed it to end so I can walk away. Considering the volume of stuff I needed to account for, I could probably have done better, but certainly could have done worse. Despite learning a lot from doing this story, I will be glad to let it rest and stop nagging at me to finish so I can refocus more on my other stuff.
AWWW! IT'S OVER!? Oh well, still nicely done.
Ah, but, my good fellow, we all know that Papa Nurgle is the best god. After all, Khorne is a bloodthirsty lunatic, Slaanesh is a drugged-up nymphomanic, and Tzeentch is a plotting nerd. Nurgle is the oldest, and therefore, the best, Chaos god there is.
Ah, but in this instance, I needed the whore.
This was a nice and entertaining read. Well done.^^b
This actually makes a huge deal of sense. The Tree of Harmony would most likely not waste it's resources on something like a castle which requires 6 entities to utilize completely when only one of them would be ageless. It would most likely make the others ageless as well.
The one part I wouldn't fully agree with is the part of Spike not becoming ageless as well, after all, he got his own throne. Based on it's size, it looks like it doesn't think Spike will grow. Meaning either he to became ageless, or that he will be able to change his size at will. In this situation, it would make far more sense if he to became ageless.
6536847 Being a baby forever would suck. At least let him grow to teenager size, albeit with more muscles. See his dreams in A Dog & Pony Show for details.
6536858 We don't have enough information to discuss this... All we can do is theorize.
I definitely enjoyed the story quite a bit hopefully there will be a sequel.
Eh, I really don't know about this. With this chapter, this story has really made flip-flopping in tone the only thing that's really consistent about it. That was, on the whole, just anticlimactic and seemed to set everything up for too perfect a happy ending, all things considered. I don't find it particularly satisfying, to be honest.
6537241 I have no intentions of a sequel. This has been a great learning experience, but I have to move on.
6537296 *shrug* We're all free to view things as we will.
6537345
I suppose after the second chapter, I was just expecting a bit more to come from this. In a way, this feels like nothing even actually happened in it at all.
6537345 oh well no biggie but if it ever does happen I'll definitely read it.
Overall I liked this story very much.
Discord being a BAMF isn't something I see enough of. Good story.
Quite an enjoyable read.
6538077 You know...it's still a very weird feeling whenever I hear something I wrote was enjoyed by an author of a story that I eagerly follow myself. Glad you enjoyed it.
6538182 know what you mean, I still get giddy when I see comments from madmax, or that one review I got from a mod. I was giddy for a bit after that.
Hmm. I'd call this story good-ish. I certainly enjoyed it. But it was a touch Mary-Sueish, and wordier than it needed to be. I often found myself skipping over paragraphs because you were relentlessy describing things in boringly redundant detail. It would read much better if a thousand or so words were cut from each chapter.
This was a great read, but I have to ask, is there any chance for a sequel? While most everything is resolved by now, what with Discord helping to find that spider guy and undo the chaos magic, I'd like to hear about his recovery. Any possibility of that story happening?
6540525 Perhaps, but it's nowhere near Tolkein or King drudgery descriptions. Either way, I'm an amateur writer slowly teaching himself through blunt force experience. This story was a fun idea that wouldn't leave me alone, that might have been just the first chapter alone, but then it took off and I had to finish the rest of the intended story. I will note though, in regards to some Mary Sue-ism being present, that Tobias was in a situation he was kind of forced to be friends with everypony and stay out of conflict, conscious of it or not. In context, I feel it's warranted. In a more general, broader sense...I actually have given no shits about creating a Mary Sue character. I simply don't worry about it. Every person alive has some rather unique assembly of traits and experiences buried within them. Where some seem perfect socialites, there might be a deep and hidden fear of ever being alone, and that's just one example.
I appreciate your feedback and am glad you enjoyed the read.
6540935 Sorry, no sequel intentions. Things are set up to leave readers to wonder of all the various possibilities. Whether the expected lifetime of the average, or the timelessness they will be sharing.
Could I do a sequel? Of course, once given some time to come up with what the heck else I could do to Tobias. Fiction has no limits (not even the sky!) if you let yourself explore. The story is simply at the point I wanted it to reach. It's a slice of life with someone coming out of a long nightmare they didn't even really know they were in. I already have an adventure epic going in my main effort, which will be one of those million word plus stories by the time I'm done. Not to mention a when-I-feel-like-it romance & comedy that is probably never going to truly end, with how open I've left it. And that's to say nothing of a one-shot I'll probably have to write soon-ish about a unicorn running a butcher shop (lot more plans for that tip of the iceberg than you might expect).
It doesn't help my brain any that every time I write a new story, I end up creating a wholly separate alternate verse. The butcher shop story will add a fourth. It hurts my brain.
6541834 Well that's to be expected, I suppose. I still enjoyed it though, and you're a pretty good writer.
6546020 Not bad for someone bumbling about and beating themselves with blunt experience and no prior training, anyway.
6547079 I credit those that helped me with feedback and suggestions during the editing process as much as anything else. The story wouldn't be as good as it became without their help, and from things presented in the comments. Glad you enjoyed it.
Although I still can't fathom how a there was something of a debate about the merits of vegetarian living in the comments of the first chapter.
All I can say is: The internet is weird.
A very satisfying end. I liked the escalation with the organization of chaos beings, and ultimately how it was resolved through friendship. Nice.
I like how you incorporated the girls and Luna at end of the chaos battle. For once friendship was not cheesy.
Definitely a good ending.
Any chance of getting a side stories Story, focusing on slice of life or something?
6566661 Glad you enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, due to my already loaded plate with my main effort and occasional extra ideas, the stuff in this story is now left to a reader's imagination to consider. Yes, I could go a thousand ways with everything that took place or got hinted. I simply have no plans to do so.
6535241 But we want a sequel
Oh well, maybe you'll change your mind someday
6570720 I doubt it. For all the things involved, it would probably need to be an adventure tale. I already have an adventuring epic in process with my main effort, so that is simply not going to happen. Slice of life is covered by another of mine that I will intermittently update once in a while as ideas strike me, but might have long breaks in between. And all that does not include the random side stuff that comes to mind, such as Not A Dog was.
I simply have too much else going already for me to even consider a sequel of any form to this story, which is also intentionally left open for imagining what could have happened before and after. Not A Dog is a sort of snapshot of time when Tobias was finally set free from a long ordeal and gains a truly promising future.
Honestly, I'm not even letting myself think about a sequel. That already happened with my first one-shot. It started nagging in my brain until I crumpled under the weight of all the different ideas that came to mind that wouldn't fit in my adventure epic.
6535359 I have the same head canon in regards to the Tree of harmony making them all immortal.
Would explain why Megan's answer to the question regarding Twilight's Immortality was that she would not out live her friends, rather than just straight up saying that she is mortal.
This story... I can't even... At first I thought it was another human story, and then the second chapter brought with it some new insight that I wasn't sure I was liking, and then the third chapter brought everything to a close in a beautiful way. You sir, have earned my like
(40k Fanboying Intensifies)
...
{Horrified Shudder of Vivid Imagery}
Seriously though, I always geek out when 40k is even peripherally mentioned in pony fiction.
Loved this story. Seriously.