Iroh stirred slowly, feeling hard ground under his back. Odd, he thought to himself. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep in my bed... Not yet opening his eyes, he began using his other senses to get a feel for the world around him. Hmm...the ground is somewhat hard, not much grass. There's not a single scent of soot in the air...or anything else I'm used to for that matter. A cooking fire nearby...and my favorite tea brewing? My fire... His eyes shot open as he felt his fire flowing through his body a great deal stronger than normal, though not as strong as it had been under the Comet. "What in blazes?"
"You noticed it too?" a familiar and yet unfamiliar voice spoke up with a giggle.
Confused, Iroh turned to the source of the voice. Sitting by a flame that burned without wood, Cadence was carefully pouring a pot of boiling water into two teacups...but she wasn't as he remembered her being when he fell asleep. The pony that had curled up to him the previous night was, at most, an adolescent. The one before him now was plainly an adult, her mane and tail both long and luxurious, her legs delicate but strong...and her horn was longer and wings bigger than before. "C...Cadence?" Iroh asked, confused. "You look...different from last night."
Cadence smiled softly up at Iroh as she handed him a cup of tea. "'Last night' was nearly thirty years ago."
The cup paused halfway to Iroh's lips. "One moment." He took a sip of the tea, enjoying the flavor and aroma, much stronger and somehow purer than he'd ever had it before. Noticing Cadence' mortar and pestle, he nodded, setting down the cup. "Wherever we are, the tea leaves are much more flavorful than home."
"This is home, Father," Cadence explained. "Well...mine anyway. This is the world I came from."
"I had a feeling it would be something like that," Iroh replied with a smile. "That's why I asked you to wait until after I'd drunk some tea before explaining. But I will take the full explanation now."
Cadence nodded. "After you died in bed of old age, surrounded by friends and family-"
"The best way to go," Iroh agreed.
Chuckling to herself, Cadence continued her story. "Well, after that, I entered the Spirit World, hoping to find you there, since all of my work in the physical world was complete...and I'd stopped aging around the time I reached physical maturity. I did find you there, but many spirits had gathered. Apparently, some sort of wager was involved regarding what I'd do when you died."
Iroh chuckled softly. "I'm not surprised that your life was of interest to the Spirit World."
Cadence smiled warmly. "Well, since I chose to stay with you rather than everyone else, I was shown the path to my world...and you were given a choice of permanent residency in the Spirit World as a Spirit of Wisdom, or giving up a portion of your life experiences in order to join me in my world." Leaning in, she nuzzled against her father. "I'm sure it's obvious what you chose."
"I wouldn't even need to think about it," Iroh replied, stroking her mane.
Nodding, Cadence went on. "Then the rules were explained to me. Your personal timeline would be turned back to the point of my choosing, to give you back a portion of your life to live in my world, which had a much stronger connection to the Spirit World due to its strong magical fields. So I was asked to choose what would be your last day in your world, before you joined me in mine." She lowered her gaze coquettishly. "I choose the day you always called perfect, which I never forgot."
Iroh smiled as he ruffled her mane. "A good choice, I assume," Iroh replied. "So...can you tell me of things that happened that I don't remember?"
Cadence grinned widely. "Well, Mai and Jin each gave Zuko children on the same day-"
Iroh burst into laughter. "Do they let the poor boy get any rest?"
"The children or their mothers?" Cadence asked playfully. "Jin's son was named Rokku, and Mai's daughter is named Azula, since she looks just like her...but seems to love everything she comes across."
Iroh nodded in understanding. "And my brother?"
"Takes obscurely perverse pleasure in the fact that his physical presence causes Aang emotional turmoil," Cadence replied. "Apparently, it played a number on Aang's conscience that he had dedicated himself to delivering the killing blow, even if he didn't have to, and that came up every time he and Uncle Ozai met." Cadence giggled again. "Perhaps that's why he spent so much time travelling...and why he and Katara had five kids."
Iroh chuckled, seeing where Cadence' focus was for the retelling. "So how many kids did Sokka and Suki have?" he asked, raising his tea to his lips.
"Nine."
A spray of flame erupted from Iroh's mouth, followed by a few coughs. "Seriously?"
Cadence nodded, covering her own mouth to stifle her giggles.
"And did Toph ever find someone special?" Iroh asked, deciding not to think about Sokka trying to keep nine kids in check.
"She never got married," Cadence replied. "But she did have two daughters. At my suggestion, she found some young men she liked to be their father figures, since she didn't bother keeping track of who their fathers were."
"Which did she choose?" Iroh asked curiously.
"Haru and Jet," Cadence explained with a smile. "The girls seem rather attached to them."
"Anyone else have children I need to know about?" Iroh asked teasingly.
Cadence put her hooves to her lips to stifle another wave of giggles.
"What?" Iroh asked. "I can take it."
Cadence burst into laughter. "Kuei and Ty Lee!" she shrieked, falling onto her back.
"...you are serious?" Iroh finally managed to ask as he smirked. "How did that happen?"
"At a party to celebrate the founding of the Central Kingdom, the culmination of the Peace Movement," Cadence explained. "They both got drunk, and Bosco put them in bed together after they conked out as a prank. Kuei insisted on doing 'the honorable thing', and by the time Bosco came clean they'd become genuinely attached to each other."
Iroh couldn't hold it in any longer. A deep belly laugh echoed across the dusty lands that surrounded them and into the few nearby clumps of trees. "Did you scold Bosco for encroaching on your territory?" he gasped out between laughs.
"Nope!" Cadence giggled. "I apprenticed him!"
They continued to share their laughter for quite some time. It stopped suddenly as Cadence tensed up. "Cadence, what-"
Spinning, Cadence slammed her hooves to the ground. Massive crystal formations shot up out of the ground between the pair and the nearest clump of trees. Lightning lanced from her horn to dance between the crystals even as her wings flung daggers of ice. Rearing back, she spun one hoof in the air to create a vacuum disc which she hurled forward. It sheared through the crystal formations and the trees beyond as it arced upwards into the air before dissipating.
"...Cadence?" Iroh asked worriedly.
"I...felt something malevolent in that direction," Cadence explained.
"Do you not think that perhaps you overdid it?" Iroh suggested.
"This is the world I come from," Cadence countered. "Which, according to Wan Shi Tong's books, means that my capabilities are an adaption to this world. Meaning it's likely anything malevolent is something I'm adapted to combat."
Iroh thought about that for a time. Something malevolent that required Cadence's level of power to combat... "Next time don't hold back," he instructed, having noticed from how she had held herself that she hadn't struck with her full force.
In what was left of the clump of trees, the Queen of the Changelings slowly backed away from what she'd just witnessed. After careful thought, she decided that maybe this wedding wasn't the one to try and conquer during. Another royal wedding was sure to come up eventually. After all, she'd had reports of how the blue princess looked at that red stud. He'd be much easier to impersonate accurately. After all, he barely spoke!
"Your Highness!"
Cadence and Iroh both blinked, turning to the sound of that voice. Several white pony stallions in gold armor came charging up. Some had horns, some had wings, and some had neither. They all came to a halt a few feet away from Cadence before bowing. The one in the lead spoke up. "Are you alright, Your Highness?"
Cadence blinked. Highness? she thought, confused. Deciding to run with it, she nodded. "Other than a little disoriented, I'm fine," she explained. "Can you...refresh my memory a bit? What brought us out here?"
The obvious guardspony nodded. "We stopped here on our way back from a diplomatic meeting with the Zebras," he explained. "You detected a massive magical imbalance in this region, and instructed us to wait while you investigated. When we detected you unleashing high levels of defensive magic, we came to your aid."
Cadence nodded, memories of those events returning as she was told of them. Noticing the stares directed Iroh's way, she decided to introduce him. "This is my father, Iroh."
Most of the guards nodded, though the one in the lead blinked. "Forgive me, Your Highness, but it was my understanding your father was...dead."
"He got better," Cadence replied firmly, much to Iroh's amusement. The guard acquiesced. "Now, we should probably be getting back."
"Agreed," the guard replied. "Captain Shining Armor is likely eager to see you."
Cadence gasped as more memories returned. "Oh yes! We really should hurry!" Quickly cleaning up the campsite, she grabbed Iroh by his wrist in her magic and began towing him along, following the guards to where her zeppelin awaited them. "Father, there's so much to tell you! You see..."
As the large vehicle lifted from the ground, Iroh smiled indulgently as he listened to his daughter remember her old life, keeping note of all the things he would need to know...and making a mental note to take the measure of this Captain.
Now it's Iroh's turn to be a part of Cadence's life in her home world.
Love love love love love it! You continue to make awesome chapter mate!
So much win.
Can you do Sunset Shimmer next???
Iroh meeting Shining.... This I got to see
not finished story yet?
I am interested in seeing how you will continue this in Equestria then.
She does.
Come again?
Equestria?
Agreed.
Indeed.
No.
So the opposite of the sociopathic Azula that we all know.
Ozai is a troll. SO MUCH WIN!
Oh I can see where this is going.
I knew it!
Huh.
Interesting.
I don't even.
I see.
Well there goes whatever that was.
Smart.
He got better.
Oh yeah, her hubby.
OMG OMG OMG ! So much awesome!
7039804 That would be awesome.
Iroh meetin his son-in-law.....
Oh yes, I want to see this!
Urk, I think I left my stomach in the last chapter due to the speed of this transition.
7039875
I reconsidered, giving the planned outcome of that would have clashed rather heavily with the eventual crossover-crossover.
7039909
Celestia's going to be raised by Captain Picard.
And I don't know who's going to be next.
Which day was that?
7039916
The one from the previous chapter.
And so the end is near
Do you know what would be awesome, if this becomes a little silly thing with Iroh hanging around Cadences life.
A PWNY-verse... in reverse!
nice very nice
7039919 Will Azula be back? I don't know why, but I ship Azula and Chrysalis.
I even got their shipping names ready!
Azularysalis!
&
Chrysazula!
Wow~! Did not expect that!
Is it wrong that the pony's reintegration is my favorite part? Especially during Tirek's return, that's always fun.
I am looking forward to the next chapter! So much potential!
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
Good chapter... if a little sudden. Chrysalis having an "oh buck I almost fought that?" moment was funny.
7039867 seconded...
7039913 What are you plans on that one? Because I'm so looking forward to that one. Any chances to have Q interact with Discord? Or the mane 6? I can't help but imagine their reaction about a whole people with Discord-like power.
... It is here where you lay down your title as one of the better crossover artists of this site. What Cadence says from here on out will represent this story as a whole. Every creative choice you've made, every development you've struggled to achieve, every single breath a background character has taken... comes to this decisive moment. May F14m3rz have mercy on you- I can't even type it with a straight face.
Huh, so he was so confused he had two extra kids?
Huh, so what happened with Yue?... You never did clarify what happened with the Northern Water Tribe. You were too busy focusing on hundreds of pointless deaths that prevented an epic tie- moving on.
Not necessarily... Toph remembered ONE of their names.
You know... I can see it.
... Well well well, what do we have here, Mr. I-don't-use-the-comics-as-canon... then again, you briefly mentioned The Promise, so that must mean SOMETHING.
So yeah... this was OK... things happened, stuff occurred, and a whole lotta thingamabobs transpired. You left the future open-ended so us readers could interpret what happens, and many laughs were had at our heroes' sex lives. Of course, you never answered the most important question: *Puts on Dante Basco impression... and fails epically* Where... is his mother?...
Anyways, you did good with what you had. See ya.
7039913
Here's an idea: Cheese Sandwich raised by Stanley "The Mask" Ipkiss (movie and/or cartoon preferably).
That or the Genie from Aladdin. It'd be fitting that a stallion with Pinkie Pie-esque abilities by raised by a comedic reality warper (that or Discord can be raised by one of those two if you haven't already done a story about him)
7039890 Speaking of Chrysalis, is there any chance Cadence will meet her now? Judging from Chrysalis' statement, the Royal Wedding hasn't happened yet but with how this whole time displaced thing happens in your stories, it's possible it happened already for Cadence memorywise but upon returning home she returned at a point in time before the wedding was announced. If so she'll know who she is and with her experiences in the Avatar world might be able to knock some sense into Chrysalis about invasions altogether. It'd be neat before the story ends to see her befriending the Queen and helping her with the starvation issue that led to the invasion in the first place, preventing a future one and gaining Equestria a new ally.
Hmm... not the best "Parental Figure brought to Equestria" chapter you've written (so far), but still pretty good. Just... kinda out of the blue for me I think, though I suppose there wasn't much else that could've been done for the story in the world of Avatar.
Question: Do you have any plans for a Legend of Korra story? Because if so I'd be going into that blind and I must admit those are the ones I've enjoyed the most.
I guess we can say that Iroh was... Spirited Away. I feel Ghibli just thinking about what will happen with him now. At least we knew Ty Lee's relationship was brought to bear*. Looks like Chryssy this time got shocked and cold hooves. I guess it was crystal clear that Cadence has a dangerous air around her that could slice like a hot knife through butter.
*Changed the joke since I forgot but just remembered I already used the Bearly pun before this.
7040055
The bit with Chrysalis was to establish that Cadence' displacement occurred before the wedding...specifically, just before Chrysalis had arranged to kidnap and replace Cadence.
And I'm still bouncing ideas around on what to have happen later.
7040062
Don't like Legend of Korra.
7040031 i like how you think my friend!!
MOAR
please?
7040064 I see well if it happened before the kidnapping plot then that's good. It only means if Cadence meets Chrysalis now it'll be on different terms like in the way heroes and villains after hanging out for a day without fighting point out if the circumstances were different and in another time, place or universe, they could've been friends instead of enemies. Clean slate and all that. I do hope she does run into her at some point, it could be a neat idea to see them working together as friends to save the changelings from extinction by starvation. Possibly even start a peace treaty after the last invasion Chrysalis pulled 1000 years ago.
Another idea if you're interested could involve Sombra and the Crystal Empire. Since we know he's an umbrum and that his journal is somewhere in the Empire mostly likely in his study, (cause what ruler doesn't have one?) If Cadence happens to stumble across it during the 1st attack on the Empire in modern times, she could use that as leverage to get him to surrender and resolve things peacefully like with Ozai seeing how he wasn't killed. Offering love and friendship to the one guy in MLP that needs it the most given his tragic backstory. Could set up a small arc to fix Sombra's greatest mistake and revive Amore so things in the Empire are back in track....Probably fix the Crystal Heart too since it's the main reason Sombra turned evil due to what it did to him annually.
Do let me know if you'd like to discuss ideas, cause I could help if you'd want.
Looks like we got one chapter left. These seem to always end with Tirek (I haven't read all of them) so I'm curious about how that will work out.
squee I love that ship!
7040031 I already know what his plans are for Discord. Madness, madness everywhere.
Blue princess and red stallion.
Well the "hardly ever speeks" part makes it clear the stallion is Big Mac, but is the blue princess Luna? Or is this a reference to the comics or something? I no read the comics
7039913
I can see it now. Picard's canon capture by the Borg is followed by the Borg discovering what it's like to be inside a star.
"GIVE MY FATHER BACK NOW!"
That LunaMac, though Also, Chryssy made the right decision to bow out
I applaud you for the meaningful timeskip, since there wasn't much to expand upon in The Last Airbender from the finale aside from the many tidbits of lore.
DAT ENDING THO!!
I ALMOST feel sorry for Shining Armor. Almost.
Poor Chrysalis: "Holy hay I just wanted to borrow a cup of love!"
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
7040256
Or, as a different take, Picard meets Celestia AFTER the Borg, and she helps him heal from the trauma.
I'm going on a bit of a tangent here, but I just don't want the Borg Arc to be solved easily and quickly: it plays a big part in Picard's character development, and permanently shapes his interactions with the Borg from then on out.
To remove or gloss over his assimilation and the effects of it would be, to me, not a good idea.
Don't get me wrong, though: I'm perfectly fine with her chunking the Borg into the sun and giving them Hell after they free Picard.
(Also, I'd imagine that Q being involved was basically a prerequisite.)
The family reunion's gonna need more chairs. Especially since Spike has three grandfathers, one grandmother, two greataunts, three uncles, one aunt, two moms and a manchild of a brother. Don't get me started on the extended family or even what they're gonna eat.
This is the first Tatsurou story i have seen the end of.
Time to finish reading the rest.
7040833
...It's not over yet.
I won't lie when I saw I got really confuzzled whe this chapter started, and I thought I missed a few chapters.
But eh, guess this is a time skip? Or Iroh is having one funky dream.
NIce job.
Any chance this fic will extend till season six starts given the spoilers for how it will it start? Iroh's reaction to that ought to be interesting...
OH MY GOD TATSUROU!!! YOU MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD THAT YOU GAVE ME A COUGHING FIT!! You are so great, you have won the "best comedic timing in literature" award for 2016 for that Monty python reference.
Great chapter, I'm happy that they're back in equestria, but it also means the end is nearing.
7039850
He's not married yet. So, soon to be son in law.
7040848
I mean that in the sense that I've never read up to the point with a character return to to Equestria to actually be back in their home world.
the closest I ever got was Trixie when she trixied Earth via the moon to become President and Applejack when she hosted the Spardan tournament. At both points I kind of had to turn away in preemptive awkward disgust as i fully expected the narrative to sink into the depths of cringe, under the assumption you had written yourself into a corner!
I will go back now and power through to the end, as I have always been extremely curious just how you manage the teleportation and re-adaptation back into Equestria, as I have always been afraid to read your stories for fear of encountering cringey wish-fulfillment horse-shoed-in character interactions, but this story has helped me get over that fear to persue the concepts in the rest of your stories!