Epilogue: Chaos and Harmony
After careful review of Twilight's life and achievements, Celestia had gone down her 'Friendship Checklist' to see what lessons Twilight still actually needed to learn...and with Iroh's help, had determined only one last lesson she felt she still needed to pass on to her before taking the next step. Laying that groundwork for the next step, she contacted Twilight regarding one more mission she had for her.
She then sent several of her guards to the statue garden. She hoped this would work as well as she hoped.
Twilight stared up at the statue before her, surrounded by her friends, remembering her last encounter with the entity so entombed. "Princess Celestia...are you sure about this?" she asked worriedly. "I mean...it's Discord we're talking about here! The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony..." Her defensiveness and worry drained out of her as she heard her own words, to be replaced with curiosity.
"I'm well aware of the problems you had with him in the past, Twilight," Celestia replied softly. "However, I feel that if you all work together, you can find the good in him and reform him. However, I feel that in this case, you should follow Fluttershy's lead. I believe her best suited to reaching him, with all of your assistance."
"Yeah...I suppose," Twilight murmured, not quite hearing the voices of her friends around her as they expressed their own views on the matter. She rubbed her chin with her hoof, her mind plainly elsewhere.
Celestia stared down at her student, somewhat concerned for her distracted state. She had expected a great many possible reactions, but not this. "I have cast a spell on the Elements so he can't steal them from you," she continued, opening the chest to distribute them. Despite the glee of the others, Twilight seemed to barely notice the tiara on her head, only nodding distractedly and mumbling 'Yes, Princess'. Celestia frowned at that. "...Luna wishes to know when you might be free to go out on the town for a night of drunken debauchery," she offered, trying to get a reaction out of Twilight.
"I think Thursday's open," Twilight muttered, plainly not having heard what was said.
Celestia sighed as Rainbow laughed. "And you've become so lost in your thoughts you aren't even listening," she murmured, trying to decide whether to be pleased Twilight could act this way around her or feel disrespected by it.
"Excuse me everypony," Twilight suddenly spoke up, "but there's someone I need to ask something of before we get started." With that, she pulled a small glowing stone out of her saddlebags and vanished.
Celestia groaned, putting one hoof to her forehead. "Why did Cadence have to introduce them in his Library?" she muttered, before turning to head back to Canterlot, hoping she hadn't made a terrible mistake.
After a time, Twilight reappeared, looking somehow heartbroken. "Let's...let's let him out," she stammered out.
"Twi? You okay?" Applejack asked worriedly as everyone stared at her.
"No," Twilight replied. "But we need to do this."
"O...okay..." Rainbow muttered, moving into position.
"Where'd you go, anyway?" Pinkie asked curiously. "Huh? Huh?"
"Before judging someone, one should walk a mile in their shoes," Twilight murmured. "It's an old saying. I...had to talk to someone who knew Discord's foot size..."
While Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy all looked confused, Pinkie nodded in understanding. "So what's his size, huh? Six? 12? 274?"
"...one," Twilight replied.
As everyone else continued to look confused, Pinkie's jaw dropped. "Oh...oh wow..." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "No wonder he didn't know to provide whipped cream with the chocolate milk."
"Uhh...?" Spike began, totally confused.
Follwoing Twilight's lead, the others turned the power of their Elements to freeing Discord. As the statue shattered, Discord fell on his back laughing. "I can't believe you actually said that, Twilight!" he gasped out. "Really, free Thursday for dru-"
He was cut off as Twilight and Pinkie both glomped onto him, holding him close in a comforting embrace.
"Umm...while hugs do help show good feeling, I'm not sure if that's how we should start..." Fluttershy began. "But if it works, that's okay..."
Discord blinked, staring down at Twilight and Pinkie. "Twilight, you're leaking on me," he chided, pointing to the tears pouring from her eyes. "I don't think I like it."
"...I'm sorry..." she whispered back.
Discord blinked. "Well, I suppose if you move your face-"
"For judging you just for being chaos," Twilight continued. "Just like...the other spirits did..."
Discord stared at her as the other ponies glanced back and forth in confusion. "...uh..."
"I asked Wan Shi Tong about you," Twilight explained, causing Spike to let out an 'Ah!' of understanding.
"Oh, that stuffed shirtless!" Discord grumbled, rolling his eyes. "The less I hear about him, the better. If he wasn't so stuffy-"
"Then the other spirits might have been more tolerant of your chaotic nature, and you wouldn't have been ostracized from the only other entities in existence during your formative years that would live for more than the relative blink of an eye?" Twilight clarified.
This brought gasps from everyone listening. Moments later, Fluttershy was glomped onto Discord, stroking his head. "Oh...you poor dear..."
Spike glomped onto Discord's leg. "I...I feel your pain, bro..." he murmured, sobbing.
Discord could only stare, stunned, as Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity joined the spontaneous group hug. "I absolutely do not need this!" Discord complained as the hugs got tighter and more comforting. "This is not filling a void in my heart that certainly doesn't exist in the first place!" He struggled as the hugs got tighter. "Hey, I still need to breathe, you know!" As this brought giggles instead of tighter hugs, he considered that progress.
Wan Shi Tong was surprised, somewhat unpleasantly so, when Twilight once more returned to his Library, this time with all her friends in tow. While he knew all of them from his time in another form in Twilight's world, there was one in particular he did not like seeing. "Twilight," he scolded, "I thought I made my feelings plain regarding that spirit and my library."
"You did," Twilight replied. "But Celestia asked us to reform him, and once we were able to get through to him-"
"I still dispute that!" Discord interrupted, leading to Twilight blowing a raspberry at him, which he returned in kind.
"-I thought the best way to really help him would be to resolve the longstanding conflict between you two," Twilight concluded as though she hadn't interrupted her own words to stick her tongue out. "After all, if the two of you can get along, then he's certainly reformed, wouldn't you say?"
Wan Shi Tong scowled. "And why should I believe he's capable of restraining himself long enough to not earn my ire by disorganizing my library for fun?" he demanded.
"Well, first is because Twilight convinced him to reorganize the card catalog to match if he does that again!" Pinkie offered. "And second, maybe he just needs a flower of his own?" She gave Wan Shi Tong a huge smile.
Wan Shi Tong glowered at Pinkie. "I don't know if I should be more irritated that you used knowledge you should not possibly have to make that point, or that it is a valid one." He sighed. "Very well. If each of you brought a contribution to my collection to prove your dedication to knowledge for knowledge's sake, I suppose I can hear you out as far as Discord is concerned."
"Did I mention you're my favorite?" Discord whispered to Pinkie, who giggled in response.
Rarity was the first to step up, offering a catalog of all her original fashion creations.
"Hmm...quite intriguing designs," Wan Shi Tong murmured as he accepted it. "Certainly unique as far as my collection is concerned."
Fluttershy timidly offered a collection of stories of the lives of her animal friends.
"Quite the dedicated caretaker you are," Wan Shi Tong murmured in response, gently taking the book.
Applejack stepped up with a large book. "This here's a history o' Ponyville from the day Granny Smith and her folks founded it until today, written in her own hoof."
"A personal account of such length should be quite the unique addition to my collection," Wan Shi Tong replied. He then turned to Pinkie and Rainbow.
Pinkie grinned as she handed over a book that appeared to be in the process of writing itself. Curious, Wan Shi Tong opened to the last page with writing on it, his eyes trailing down to the last line as he read about himself reading about himself reading-
He snapped the book shut, glowering at Pinkie, who was in the midst of exchanging a hoof bump with Discord. "Hilarious," he stated bluntly, adding the book to his collection. He then turned to Rainbow Dash.
Grinning smugly, she handed over a book titled 'Tricktionary'. "Done every last one of them!" she proclaimed smugly.
Wan Shi Tong sighed as he took the book. "I suppose every heroic group has to have its Sokka," he mumbled under his breath, making Discord cackle. "And what about you?" he asked, turning on the Spirit of Chaos.
Reaching under his lion paw with his eagle talon, Discord pulled out an ancient tome wrapped in a bow with an "I'm sorry!" note attached. "I...found the one that went missing," he explained.
Wan Shi Tong stared at Discord for a time...and smiled. "Apology accepted," he stated firmly, taking the book. He then pulled out another book. "Twilight, Celestia left this with me, to give to you next time you came here after reforming Discord. It's Starswirl's last spell journal."
Twilight gasped in surprise. "Really?" she squealed excitedly.
"There's even an unfinished spell in the back," Wan Shi Tong explained. "It has several evocative elements, so don't read it aloud unless you're ready to cast. Also, it has something to do with the Elements of Harmony."
"Then it's a good thing we have them with us, isn't it darling?" Rarity gushed, stroking her necklace.
"I'll have my Knowledge Seekers prepare a spot for you to study," Wan Shi Tong stated as a few of the spirit vixens approached. "In the meantime...I suppose it wouldn't hurt anything if Discord and I...caught up."
"Just like that?" Discord asked, surprised as the ponies followed the foxes. "You really think it'll be that easy to bury eons of enmity?"
"We have common ground now," Wan Shi Tong replied, staring after the ponies as they raced off. "We share friends...whom we must both one day watch whither and fade, taken by Time."
Discord stared after the group. "I...suppose you have a point..."
Discord and Wan Shi Tong sat in silence, sharing a pot of tea and Sokka's joke book, when there was an explosion in the distance. "What was that?" Discord demanded, stunned. "And why does it feel like fan rage?"
"That came from where Twilight and the others are!" Wan Shi Tong gasped out, racing forward, Discord close behind them.
As they arrived, they were blinded by returning light. As the light faded, both were able to clearly see Twilight and the others...but there were far more horns and wings than there should have been.
Discord stared at this, then burst into laughter. Wan Shi Tong turned and walked back into the library. "Nope!" he stated firmly as he grabbed Pinkie's submission. "Who this insanity!" Flipping to the last page, he took a quill and added
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I'm not sure whether to be happy that there's no more suspense, or sad that it's done...
1313 likes.
Also, WHAT.
As it should have been.
A fitting end to this grand tale. Thank you for your work. I look forward to your next grand idea.
Yep, you did.
Me like. I've always thought that more than one of the girls was suited to being an alicorn.
This'll knock Starbutt off her hooves fer sure
lol
Really......
They're all alicons now. Happy?
I laughed too much at that line.
PPPPPPPPLLLLLLEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSE MAKE AN ACTUAL SEQUAL TO THIS ONE I WANT MORE AVATAR MLP CROSSOVER
Ha ha ha Pinkie. Trollolololololololo.
This story was really good. Though I think the ending kind of took to long and it slow down for a while at the last few chapters.
But overall bravo to you!
7104993 1313 I know right?
What the Journey's over? Hmm sad to see this done. Pacing was a little weird with the equestria arc, but overall a good job!
Wan Shi Tong's reaction in a nutshell.
replygif.net/i/221.gif
The ending was hilarious!
This is Wan
Are you implying that Twilight isn't the only one to become an alicorn? That's awesome and hilarious!
Well then... that was a thing... What else is there left there to say?
I actually had to re-read that last line a few times. As is, I'm still in the process of laughing myself horse...and yes, that was deliberate, I am a terrible person!
That said, DAMN IT WAN, THAT IS AN EXCELLENT JOKE BUT A POOR WAY TO TRULY END THIS TALE!! That said, if it IS the end, I can live with that. Excellent stuff, especially concerning Discord, and DAMN did I not see it coming. Overall, I am pleased with this fic in many ways...and if by some miracle we get more, than I'm breaking out MY party cannon and making a hell of a ruckus!!
Thanks again and best of luck!
Clever.
In the words of Strong Bad: IT'S OVER!!!
This was another great work, Tats. Glad to have been along for the ride... although I feel there may have been a slightly off thing to your conclusion. I don't know why?
i feel sad that its done but hoping for a squeal since i loved it
OH, MY LUNGS ARE COLD! I can't solidly laugh without gasping because of you!
B-but what happened to the Celestiroh subplot
7105035 They all became alicorns.
If they are all alicorns, I like. If not? Meh, I don't care. Came into the fandom after that, so never really knew why people were pissed at it. So, Discord, if you're reading the comments, of what I've seen, only a few are not happy with what just happened.
On another note-definitely one of my favorite stories, right up with Batmare, TTTT(guess what that's an acronym for), and Slaughter without Laughter. Can't wait to see who you do next, Tatsurou.
That was a good ending!
Are you sure you're not secretly Bumi in disguise, because that's the sort of ending a mad genius like him would come up with.
7105035 this happened 2.bp.blogspot.com/-K_wEA_3VkKE/UvA8pJ7gVUI/AAAAAAAAARk/AfSPmpvpTnc/s1600/alicorn_mane_6_by_tallest_ariva-d65d23g.png
.... that was a great ending point.
If there was a sequal could it be during Korra?
Season 4! Season 4! Season 4!!!
7105185
I approve and shall not fan-rage over this! Because it put a smile on my face!
Only Tatsu can make these kinds of endings work so well
Discord has very nice claw/paw writing.
I laughed more than I probably should have at the end. *Pokes side and cringes* Yep. Laughed too much.
And so ends yet another Tatsurou Displaced story. This one... hmm. Gimme a minute to figure out how I want to do this.
Right... Okay, I think I have it.
I would be remiss to not point out the fact that inserting Cadence into the A:TLA universe caused cascading changes. The most blatant and obvious change is the fact that the war ended far sooner than it did in Canon. The less obvious change, but the greatest in my opinion, is Prince Zuko. He became a better person much sooner than in Canon, leading to a variety of differences. His crew was genuinely loyal to him, not just his position. His diplomacy skills were sharper, leading to many violent encounters from Canon being handled peacefully, and his ability to choose the many over the few had developed sooner, leading to a quicker realization that Aang was too important to the world to try and lock him away.
From the very beginning, Heart of the Dragon General had a slightly somber note to it. It began with the anniversary of the death of Iroh's son, and the main plot ended on the death of a redeemed Azula, and then the after-story began with Iroh's death, though admittedly Iroh's death was both temporary and off camera, so to speak. The story itself seems to be centered on the lesson that all actions have consequences, and they won't always be ones we like.
It's a good lesson, but one I imagine not many ponies learn. With Cadence learning this lesson, she is far more of a realist than most characters in the show. This has a spotlight shown on it in the chapter Lessons Taught and Learned, when Cadence sees a problem and subverts Celestia unknowingly in acting to protect the crystal ponies.
And then there's Azula. Not gonna lie, I was hoping to see her burn, and I got that, but the way it was done... you are a very skilled harpist when it comes to heartstrings. That took the wind right out of my sails and made me feel sorry for Azula.It was a further enforcement of the consequences lesson.
There were, of course, the occasional mistakes, which were either too minor for anyone to really care about, or edited out promptly upon having it pointed out.
Finally, there's the after-story. How an Iroh-raised Cadence affected Equestria. Chrysalis was flat-out preempted through a show of force, Cadence and Luna bond over bad decisions, Twilight gained access to the equivalent of the Akashic Record, there's a hint of Iroh/Celestia (You are an unrepentant tease!), Cadence saves the Crystal Empire and makes one of Celestia's plans go belly up, and finally we get a different look at how Discord descended into madness. That one was a new one to me. I don't think I've ever seen a backstory for Discord like that.
8.5/10
A very good story, overall. There were mistakes, but like I said, they were either too minor for anyone to care about or you were prompt in fixing them if they were pointed out. The only real problems I have are ones of personal preference, like how I wish you'd gone a little more into this apparent Iroh/Celestia thing.
A job well done.
loved pinkie's thing
Fan rage haha
7105154 I think that plot sunk with lunaroh
or tats has plans
Wait, this story is over? Already? Well, look on the bright side, now you don't have to hear me complain about it after today. On that note... *cracks everything* Let's do this.
... I am so lost right now.
Oh, right, "spirits", you're branching mythos, here... yeah, I still don't get the joke, though.
Not quite sure how that is, considering he's younger than Twilight at this point, and hasn't really experienced the pain of loss, but whatever. It's like if my friend's mom died and I said "Yeah, I know how you feel, I lost my great-grandmother myself," when I only met her twice in my lifetime.
Alright, this joke I DO get. Good on you.
Pish posh, you have not even BEGUN to feel the true power of my wrath. As uninteresting, contrived, more dependent on the Word of God than an alcoholic with his rum, and preachy as this story it is for about half of it, it still has its good moments. In fact, if the Avatar franchise as a whole didn't exist, I daresay I would actually recommend this story to people.
Alright, I'll admit, the fact you thought I would care that everyone's an alicorn is pretty funny. Now then, time to actually review this thing.
This is much better than your Melody of the Future story. While it does take a departure from the source material, which in turn makes it hard to take the story seriously, you still made it clear that the characters still had to TRY to get their "happy ending". While the only characters that were really explored were the Fiery Bunch, it was still somewhat interesting. The fact you didn't at least try to come up with an explanation as to what happened to Ursa is wholly worrisome, but you at least tried to make a good story, right?... However, my major issue is that you didn't try hard enough. Coming up with your own material is a noble tribute to the fanfiction community. For those like HISHE. it brings many to facepalm, exclaiming "Why didn't they think to do that in the original?!" Also for those like HISHE, it brings people to say "Wow, this is comedy gold!" However, like some of HISHE's work, I myself can't help but say "... There's a lot more you could do, here."
Don't get me wrong, you are a fairly decent writer. However, I must stress something of grave importance: Other authors upload works with larger amounts of time in between for a reason... and it's not simply because they have lives or a slower writing process. Sometimes, there is a need to outline works so you can figure out how to get as much of a handle on them as possible. After all, how often, per week, would you say that you responded to someone who asked why a thing occurred the way it did when it wasn't outright stated or implied within the narrative? My advice would be to have someone who you highly trust (who knows the source material in a greater or equal capacity) to consistently ask of "Is there anything I'm forgetting? Should I elaborate more on a subject or downplay it?" For a greater effect, perhaps it could be someone you don't always agree with, in a manner akin to checks and balances, so that when you do release a chapter, it looks from two angles rather than one. After all, what is a story without conflict?... And before you ask, no, I am not suggesting myself. I have enough on my plate as it is with college and editing for this other guy, so you'll have to find someone else if you ever decide giving that a shot. The point to get out of this, however, is that creating a story where Word of God isn't something that is necessary to understand certain plot developments would be an advantageous stratagem to pursue.
All in all, I'd have to give this story... maybe a 6.7/10? Although I was a bit surprised that an unused alt!script of mine
was somewhat used to give Cadence a sense of "Yeah... I done goofed," but in a way... it doesn't seem like the story affects much to begin with. Yes, there are certain characters who underwent certain developments, but some seemed almost unnecessary (Let's all be honest, Toph is awesome the way she is). The OCs, while seeming to hold some level of intrigue, only seem to serve the purpose of facilitating the flow of the story rather than tying in an interest through themselves and the narrative at large. Many plot points that were skipped brings a sense of hollowness to the story as well (sure, you might SAY that bloodbending chick will die of overusing her powers, but what of her prisoners? And what about Toph's parents? And Ursa? What happened to Combustion Man? Is the Fire Nation a Unitary, Confederate, or Federal government, and if the latter, what happened to the towns Team Avatar saved? What happened to Ursa? Insert Passing-Reader's-Unanswered-Questions here). Plus, pretending that krakens exist just so Cadence can feel bad about what she did isn't doing you any favors either (between a one-off made up thing that jumps the shark, and timely poetic justice, I will choose the latter every time).
So yeah, I wish you luck in your future endeavors. See ya.
7105310 everyone wants to play some heart strings ya know?
Great now all the mane 6 are alicorns. I bet Celestia was not prepared for that!
I liked that ending.
Now for the important question - what's going to replace this in the update schedule?
Wow.
So was the "I'm sorry!" Not attached to it or was there an I'm sorry note attached?
Who, as in an owl who? Oh wow, I just imagined wan shi tong having the voice of john hurt like he did in Merlin as the dragon.
That was an awesome story dude! Its sad to see it be over, but that ending makes it all good. You didn't elaborate on it because it's not the mane six's story. And I absolutely llllooooovvveee!! the way you had pinkie give him a copy of "heart of the dragon general" as it was being written.
Now, as for your blog post, I would love to see updates for the flower blooms twice. I have voted in the poll.
Thanks tat, you're a great author.
7105083 This! I must beg for this! Please!
I'm not raging, I'm laughing. Alicorn 6.
I guess you can say they were a little... horny?