Princess Celestia- 2nd of Plantation '15 EoH - Midnight (2 days at sea)
Just about everypony believes my sister and I split the days between us so we can get some sleep. While it’s true that even an Alicorn has to sleep sometimes, that’s never been the true reason behind our dividing the day's duties in half.
The next reason a pony will think of is simply ‘Well, it’s just fair.’. That is true, there are two of us, and it is fair to split the duties of the Kingdom evenly, but that is still not our reason.
Simply put, it’s not healthy to work all the time. Most everypony involved in business works every chance they can, seeking more for their families or themselves. While it’s understandable to desire more, greed being both a vice and a boon (for without greed, industry’s benefits would be greatly diminished), what us is having more if you sacrifice your time to get it?
I could work every day for a hundred years and earn myself a trillion bits by spending all of my free time working and managing my finances. I would have the money, but no time to use the money for it’s purpose. Wealth is useless if you have no time to use it for anything.
It’s the same with power. I rule over the day so that during the night I get the chance to do the things I enjoy. Barring an emergency, the night is my respite from the duties of my day.
A pony might imagine that even though this is the main reason for Equestria’s day Court/Night Court divide, that it's a failure because I have to sleep. That’s quite untrue. After all I did have to take over my sister’s duties for a thousand years.
I have a few tricks at my hoof tips to get a full rest out of a nice ninety minute power nap. Only Lulu and Twilight are aware of those tricks. I wish I hadn’t told Twilight about them, she’s never stopped insisting that I get a proper night’s sleep since.
I understand her quirks quite well, I am practically her mother after all. But still, I can’t help but feel that a wizardess of her caliber should understand that using a tiny fragment of your daily magic to replace most of the effects of a night of sleep is perfectly fine.
Fate forbid she learn why I prefer using that method. I do not want to hear complaints for a thousand years about my personal eating habits. Science is a wonderful thing, but so is equine agency. Not everything should be ‘optimized to run with true efficiency’.
Especially not midnight tea and cake.
In a world of complex problems that I must solve where no perfect solution exists, where there are monsters and terrors around each corner, and where even those with the best of intentions can accidentally bring disaster upon the world, everypony deserves a little slice of happiness.
Mine is a cup of tea and a slice of cake under the light of the moon while it is directly overhead.
Even before I worked out how to relegate sleep to a ninety minute segment of the morning, I would stay up until at least midnight for my little treat. Before Luna’s banishment my joy in this came from seeing her work in it’s full glory, during her banishment it became the moment when I could feel her presence and would give her my deepest apologies.
It had been a long road to a full recovery for Luna. It was remarkable that after a decade she had a group of friends and was truly happy. Just five years after her return she had still been so self loathing as to create that Tantibus creature. Twilight’s ability to change others for the better is truly remarkable.
I do like to think I helped as well. After Luna had returned I placed a second enchantment on my necklace to keep track of her emotional state. Not as a means to spy on her, in fact I had her do the same to me.
The Idea was each of us would know if the other was in distress and could then try and stop whatever disaster was occurring before it happened. That security measure had definitely helped Lulu feel safer. I like to think that was the last little bit she needed, but I know in my heart it was making proper friends.
I’m not disappointed, after all now, it was back to it had been before. After fifteen years of healing the guilt was all but gone and I could once again delight in the beauty of Luna’s work while enjoying the single best invention of intelligent creatures. Banana Cream Cake.
My current souse of cakes came from a young thestrill in the employ of Pony Joe’s. Her doughnuts were terrible, but that mare made the most lovely cakes ever. One of these days I had to get her and Pinkie to do a bake off. If only to watch the judges have to calculate things to the hundredth decimal.
Tonight’s cake looked a bit worse than usual. Not that I minded, presentation is not important to me. Though I did hope everything was alright with my favorite baker. I made a note to check in on her as I cut my fourty-nine-point-nine percent of cake.
What? A slice is defined as a piece of food cut from a larger portion. Fifty-point-one percent is a majority, therefore I cut a single slice.
Besides, a unicorn burns an incredible amount of calories with their spellcasting. I need enough cake to offset raising the sun so I am at full capacity in case of emergencies. The size of my portion of cake is therefore a matter of national security.
That’s my excuse, it’s held up for two thousand years, and I am sticking to it.
I had just stuck a fork into my slice when a wave of soul crippling terror exploded through the room! Luna was in danger! I had to act!
I teleported, a slight change in the spell transporting my armor from it’s stand as well. I appeared with a blinding flash and a clap of thunder, armor materializing on me, wings flared, horn down in the most intimidating pose I could imagine.
Whatever foul thing dared hurt my sister would taste the full wrath of- of the dinner fork complete with cake bit I was brandishing instead of my sword. I dropped the fork and summoned my old longsword, hoping that my flashbang-like appearance concealed my error.
With my gleaming gold-plated blade leveled before me, I took stock of the situation. The room was unnatural dark, banks of fog swirled on the ground. Luna and Twilight were huddled on Luna's throne in a terrified ball, wide panic stricken eyes glued to… A sobbing albino earth pony mare?
That didn’t seem right.
I narrowed my eyes and focused on the mystery mare with my necklace. Perhaps it’s enchantments would strip the illusion from her and reveal her true nature. To my surprise, the spell simply displayed her name, kind, age, and current mood next to her in my vision.
To my even greater surprise was the actual information.
Name: Deus-Custos Dusk Vitae
Kind: Lesser Aramenellî
Age: Error! Integer too large!
Mood: Distraught
Clearly my solution to forgetting everypony’s name was malfunctioning. I’m powerful, but I am not a very good enchanter. I gave the amethyst in my necklace a tap with my hoof to reset the charm.
The words faded away, then flashed back into existence. Nope. Same information.
I was about to demand this master of illusion reveal themselves when the mare shifted and her cutiemark came into view. I might be horrible with names, but I never forget a cutiemark. I also have my ways of detecting changelings, and this was no changeling. That was a legitimate cutiemark.
I had seen that mark almost four and a half thousand years ago. So long ago, that I had been just a normal unicorn. I hadn’t even met Clover yet. So long ago that my now long dead and forgotten older brother had been the Crown Prince, my sister and I simply ‘The King’s other children’.
I had been exploring a crumbling temple, all but abandoned save for three dedicated priestesses. A longsword and a scythe, crossed before an hourglass. The mark had been carved into a monument depicting the family line of the old gods.
Ether this pony was exceptionally gifted in death, or was the third child of Faust and Anhur. Given the complete and total terror on Luna’s face… The second was more likely. Meaning the old religion was correct. A fact which would shock me more if Discord didn’t fit the bill for Chaos, and Tirek’s ability to eat magic wasn’t something the old religion said was a basic tool of demons.
If I remembered right, this was… Oh no… I cleared my throat, took a breath and begged, “If you are who I think you are, please, take me instead of whomever you are here for.”
The literal god turned a bit, a jet black eye looking at me for a moment before turning back to the floor. “I’m not here to hurt anymore… I just wanted to be honest. Prove my identity… Now they will never be comfortable around me! Ever.”
Ha! Clearly the gods didn’t know my little ponies! Ten minutes, tops.
“S-sister! Keep back!” Luna warned.
“I’m sorry.” Dusk moaned like a young mare who just realized how badly she screwed up.
Oh. Oh!
I sheathed my sword, folded my wings and slowly trotted over, stopping ten steps or so from everypony else. “There’s nothing to be afraid of here, Luna. Miss, er- I can call you Miss? I won't be struck by light-”
The pale mare shook her head, “No! No one has ever- no, wait… Okay, one person… But he called my dad Ma’am.”
I was a bit taken aback. I hadn’t expected causal language. That only confirmed my theory. “You’re young, aren't you? Young, alone, and afraid… I’m probably younger than you, but I think I can help. What’s wrong?”
Twilight frowned, her breath slowing somewhat, “Y-you're right! She is scared!”
There we were, ever logical Twilight. I knew she would work it out. The only question is what had happened here to scare her and Luna that badly?
“I… I’m here on business.” Dusk said. “Not that kind of business. I… I’m here to help you two. I wanted to… I don’t have any real friends. Only ponies who serve me with a smile hoping for a better deal… I wanted to start honestly. So I proved my identity. Showed them well… me. Not really me, what I am on the outside.” She said through sniffles. “But… forgot how mortals react to seeing death… thought it was less… horrifying.”
“I see…” I didn’t see, not exactly, but I got the basic idea.
I walked over to Luna as Twilight slowly un-terror-glomped herself to stand beside the throne with a frightened, but curious expression. Putting a hoof gently on Luna’s shoulder I pulled her head against my neck. “It’s okay sister. I’m here. She’s not going to hurt you.”
“I saw the end of everything…” Luna whispered. “Every star, the sun itself, every world cold and lifeless… I saw my own grave…”
“It’s okay. She’s not here for you.” I comforted.
Twilight took a few timid steps forward. “So- I um… How exactly do you… you know… Exist? I mean, no offense, the universe is explainable without well… a creator.”
“We didn’t make it.” Dusk muttered. “Why does everyone assume we made it? We’re it’s children. Just like you. Only with more… Oh forget it you wouldn’t understand.”
I couldn’t help a small giggle at that. “Try her.”
“I’m not just a historian.” Twilight informed, her face was slowly taking on her trademarked ‘I must understand this’ expression.
That’s my student! Afraid of death for a few seconds, then asking it questions.
“We’re six dimensional energy based life forms. You are three dimensional matter based lifeforms. We are both the product of the universe's workings. It’s just we are from it’s first cycle, and you are from it’s thirty first. So we’ve been around for, well, time. Also you know, we can do things you can’t.” Dusk said in a tired tone, wiping a tear from one eye.
Twilight’s ears perked, completing her ‘science time’ expression. “Then the Nellis-Lighttrot Hypothesis is correct! How many spacial dimensions are there?”
A quill and parchment appeared in a flash of magic at Twilight's side, ready for note-taking. Ah Twilight, still the same filly I started teaching twenty years ago. You're wasted on Flash... Even if you are cute together.
“Wait… you’re not scared of me?” Dusk asked, looking up curiously.
“Well, no, not now! It makes perfect sense that an equine brain would panic trying to comprehend a six dimensional object in three dimensional space, and you said you’re not going to hurt anypony. So, about the number of spacial-”
“Fourteen.” Dusk said smiling for a brief moment. “I um… I’ll talk more later. But I sort of kinda am here on business.”
“But! But! Science!” Twilight protested, shaking the parchment she had summoned. “Ponykind hasn’t seen anything like you for five thousand years! Now you just show up out of nowhere for whatever reason, and I’m not going to wait-”
“I am here to make friends because I am… I’m the outcast. Well, if you discount Discord. But he discount’s himself so… Look, I mean literally after I do one thing here. But it’s private, for them. Twenty minutes tops.”
Twilight’s ears drooped back in embarrassment, “Oh! Sorry…” A heartbeat later her curious expression came back. “Do you mean about twenty minutes or exactly-”
Dusk slapped a hoof to her forehead. “Okay, how about this. I can’t be in the same place at the same time, but I can be in the same time in different places. The radius is about four kilometers. You teleport home, and when I’m done here I’ll go back in time to your house thirty seconds from now. Okay?”
“Can you actually do that? Or are you just trying to get rid of me like Applejack during Apple bucking season?” Twilight asked, while jotting notes.
“Yes. I can do that. It’s just time, not making Republicans agree with Democrats.” Dusk said with an eye roll.
Luna, Twilight, and I gave her a deadpan stare.
She sighed, stood up and shook her head, “Time Turner would have gotten that… Just go home, I’ll be there.”
“Okay. But I’m coming back if you’re not!” Twilight informed seriously before teleporting away.
I decided to count off a few seconds. After ten I gave Dusk a little impressed nod. “So, you really can travel through time.”
“Yes. It’s… Look, you can push an object and it moves. It’s just like that for us. We can’t change our own actions though. So I can’t just go back and not… uh…” Dusk shuffled her hooves nervously against the floor. Then grit her teeth, “No bad Dusk! That would just make it worse…”
Luna stirred against my shoulder, gently pushing herself out of my grip. She turned to look Dusk in her eyes and demanded, “Why would you do that? Why show me? A being of your wisdom could have found a better way to prove themselves!”
Dusk’s ears drooped, her tail tucked down under herself, her eyes even shrank, just like somepony who had been yelled at by somepony they had a crush o- Oh!
Oh dear.
This could end very very badly.
“I… I… Look, I’m old, but… In pony years…” Dusk babbled in embarrassment.
I quickly turned to look at Luna. I could see it in her eyes, she saw it too. The surprise which stamped itself on her face was more than enough to show she also picked up on the fact that this person liked her.
“I’d be about thirty two… So you know, adult plus a year.” Dusk finished.
“H-How can you be… however many years old as you told Twilight, but only be barely an adult!?” Luna demanded incredulously.
“Well, we don't die. And we count our age in the bang-freeze cycles of three dimensional space… I mean… Diamond Dogs are emotionally and physically mature at twelve. It just takes us a lot longer is all. So we can be very experienced, but not really all that wise for it... “ She cleared her throat softly. “I uh… I’m sorry for… I didn’t… Um…”
Well that settled it. Deities were just people. Death was flustered over bucking up meeting her crush.
I was about to interject and save the poor mare from what was one of the worst ‘god kill me now!’ moments I had ever seen somepony go through when suddenly Dusk conjured and held out a small black and dark blue rosebush, in a Luna themed pot.
“I’m-sorry-please-don’t-hate-me-have-plant!” She blurted in a mild panic.
Luna took the potted plant and used it to block her face from Dusk’s view as she bit back a laugh. “I can’t believe I was afraid of her!” she whispered softly to me.
I coughed to try and cover up the whisper and quickly asked, “You uh, said you had business?”
“Yes!” Dusk said beaming me a grateful look. “Would you girls like to see your parents again? Cuz mom said I could let you see your parents again.”
“What!?” Luna and I asked in unison.
“Oh… Well…” Dusk cleared her throat and put on a more business-appropriate face. “I can’t bring them back to life, that’s not possible. The spell that petrified them is… Well we have rules. But I can let their souls walk freely around their bodies! So you could talk to them and stuff. As long as you were near their ‘statues’ in your garden at least.”
“That would be wonderful!” I exclaimed, mind buzzing at the thought of telling my father everything Luna and I had accomplished since Discord-
“Hold on a moment!” Luna objected, “If you have rules, and Discord is one of you, why was he allowed to rule over us with an Iron hoof? His rule is the reason they were petrified to begin with!”
“He’s the second oldest of us. Also he’s Chaos, that makes him more powerful than most of us. So you know, unlike a mortal he could kill us if he wanted.” Dusk explained, timidly tapping her hooves together. “He gets to do what he wants. I’m… I’m sorry.”
“Ah. I see.” Luna said apologetically.
“I’m not responsible for death. My brother is. I just sheppard and protect souls really… I can let people live longer though.” Dusk admitted. “But right now what’s important is that I can allow your parents to haunt their remains as ghosts. They’ve been between living and dead, so I can let them stay here. If they had passed on… It’s pretty much one way.”
“Would they be in pain?” I asked, “And would it be better to send them on?”
She shook her head, “They wouldn’t be in pain. Though they might be distressed by not being able to interact with objects. As for moving on, they can’t. Petrified isn’t dead. They have been there trapped and unconscious the whole time.”
“Oh.” Luna said, setting the plant down in front of her. “W-well… Would they be able to rest when they wanted?”
Dusk nodded.
“Then please, free them.” I asked.
“I will, but I have a rule with these things, and I can’t break it. I’m not a mortal. I’m not able to break rules that govern my own existence.” Dusk explained slowly. “We need to make some kind of deal, each of us must exchange something of equal value to the other.”
“I will not sacrifice anypony!” Luna said firmly.
“Oh no!” Dusk objected instantly, “Nonono! I just need a favor!”
Luna and I exchanged a look. We both would enjoy seeing our mother again, but anything a god would call a favor… The price might be too steep.
“I need you to move the bulk of your military to the Zebrican border, about three kilometers into the badlands directly north of the fertile crescent. They should be geared for battle.” She elaborated.
“Why?” Luna asked. “That would likely provoke a war with Zebraca. Even to return my parents to some form of life… I will not risk a war without reason.”
I nodded in agreement. “The price is too high.”
Dusk nodded, and to my surprise conjured a piece of paper and a pencil, and made the pencil write as she spoke. “I understand. Trust me, I will talk to the Zebracans. It will be fine. This is simply a show of faith thing. My mother wants to get involved in mortal affairs again, at least a little bit. She’s not doing this herself because well, brokering deals with mortals for souls is my bit, also I really wanted to say hi to your cu-eep!” Dusk’s ears perked upright in alarm as she quickly changed topic, “I mean, I admire the way both of you protect ponies… I modeled how I care for people in the afterlife off it.”
The paper floated over into my view. I took it in my magic and quickly read it over.
I’m breaking a rule of my people to protect yours. I’m writing this in case they are listening. I'd feel them watching, they are not, but they could be listening without me knowing.
I honestly don't like my kind much. We’re kinda jerks. I do like ponies though, and want to help you. I set a trap for Chrysalis and her Swarm. If you put your army there, you will save three lives, acquire a very important magical artifact, and be in position to repel the Swarm. When my father sees the battle, and notices Chrysalis has become more powerful than a mortal should be, he will order me to destroy her, and I can then remove this threat to your kingdom without being destroyed for insubordination.
The Swarm will follow my three helpers wherever they go. If you would rather not fight, I can have them get to safety elsewhere.
I quickly passed the note to Luna. Luna set the note down and nodded slowly, “Well, I suppose that seems reasonable.”
“Yes, quite reasonable.” I added.
For five years now Luna and I had been trying to get the Sovereign's Guild to arrange a united Strike Force to deal with Chrysalis before she returned to attempt to destroy our kingdom again. Thus far the Griffons had blocked every attempt by voting no, such an action requires a unanimous vote…
“We will move our soldiers immediately, unless you wish us to also move the guard?” Luna asked in that sly, commandery tone of hers.
Dusk blinked in confusion, “There’s a difference?”
“Yes,” Luna explained, “We have the EUP Brigade, which is our proper military, and then the Guard, which is a military reserve that doubles as a police force.”
“Ah… No need to move the Guard then. No reason to invite lawlessness. So, we have a deal?” Dusk asked.
Luna and I nodded. “We do.”
“Then upon your troops arriving, your parents ghosts will be living within the center of your garden. They may walk twenty meters in any direction, they can see and hear, but not touch. Oh and if you have any magic which can put a soul into a body, you know, try it. But you didn't hear that from me…” Dusk said, giving Luna a wink.
It was meant to be a sly wink, that much was obvious. Also obvious was the fact that it morphed into a flirtatious wink half way through.
“Er-,” Luna said squirming in her seat, “Suppose we need to talk to you again? Is there any way we can reach you?”
Dusk nodded twice, “Yes! Hold on.” After a second a pair of colorless gemstones appeared, simply floating in the air within the reach of our magic. “Just give one of these a spark of magic and it will work like a scrying crystal, but two way.”
“Thank you.” I said taking them gemstone from the air.
“ANd thank you! Feel free to say hi anytime! I’ll make the time to talk, or maybe go do things, you know. If you want to.” Dusk said taking a step backwards, “But I need to go. Deal’s made. I don't want to get in trouble for staying too long. Goodbye”
She vanished. No flash, no sound. Just gone.
Luna let out a held breath and grabbed my by the shoulders, “A deity has a crush on me! What do I do!?”
“Give her a chance.” I said hopefully.
“W-why?” Luna asked, face scrunching in confusion, “There are so many ways-”
“Luna! We both saw today that gods are clearly just people with incredible powers!” I scolded, “Besides, I can’t remember anyone being attracted to you for the last hundred years.”
“I was in the moon for the last hundred years!” Luna protested, giving me a fake pouting look.
“Yes. Where nopony was around to crush.” I teased, only for my ears to droop. “I’m sorry that was mean.”
“It’s fine Sister. The sooner we can joke about it, the sooner it is completely behind us.” Luna comforted sincerely.
“My point is, well… I’ve outlived four lovers, and as I remember you outlived two. You have an opportunity to be with somepony who will live as long as you will.” I informed, truly happy for her chance.
“You’re right, I didn’t think of that… I suppose I should at least try one date. We might work out. Besides! How many mares can say they had a date with Death?” Luna asked with a laugh.
My eyes widened. “Luna, I beg you, make a date for next Tuesday at three pm.”
“During the Equestrian Council meeting?” she asked raising an eyebrow.
“I NEED to see everypony’s face when you jump up and announce, ‘Bah! Enough of your squabbling, I have a date with death!’ Then run out the door, only to come back later having been on an actual date.” I said, not quite holding back the giggles.
Luna grinned, “Yes! I will do this for you, my sister!”
We shared a quick laugh. Half happy, half nervous. While the night was happy as we would be able to say hello to your parents again, it was also sad. The Swarm was a real threat, and with a god on our side, or at least Luna’s side, there was no better time to confront that threat. But war… Well, war never changes.
If she goes on that date, comes back late, and then they send the army to the Zebrician border, well, at that point it's gonna be hard to convince ponies that they aren't going to war.
6661189 Dusk's not good at planning
6661750 XD I love you.
Should be I'd
Love Twilights rapid rationalization of seeing her own mortality.
How long have you been waiting to make that 'date' joke?
why should Republicans agree with Democrats. the Democrat party has RUINED the country!?
This was not a good joke by any stretch. It's better to leave OUR politics out.
And Question. If Discord is responsible for their parents condition why can't he reverse it? He's already proven to break the rules.
6661845 It's supposed to be a bad joke.
As for why he can't, because he's not directly responsible. He docent feel obligated to fix a problem created at someone else's hooves. He might be persuaded to try, but well... He's Chaos, even if he's for the moment friendly, he isn't predictable.
6661841 Thanks I'll fix it. The joke has been in the works for 4 months 8 days and 3 hours.
6661862 just have Fluttershy go all cute and adorable. NO ONE can resist that.
6661877 True, but would Celestia think of that? I mean... she's not a tactical genius and we are talking about weaponized cute.
6661883 the ponies never get how effective that is. They need a visit from Selene (Human turned Nightmare Moon).
6661895 They would learn it immanently if they ever went to war with the Mushineko, an alien species of quadrapeds who when threatened have their long fur stand on end in a terrified panic reaction that basically makes them go from sleek feline to flufflepuff...
6661916 the origins of Fluffle Puff revealed.
Fallout reference for the win
I see a fallout reference in that last line, someling been playing fallout 4 I see.
Good chapter as all ways, I'd say its safe to assume that there will be a battle seen of epic proportions in the works! I will look forward to it!
6661916 Oh? Are your Mushineko and other stuff from that setting going to be making an appearance, Meeps?
I love that you actually had Celestia read the situation quickly and accurately here. 'That can't be....my enchantment must be flummoxed...' -looks at Luna- 'Then again....'
The interactions here are very enjoyable, especially Twilight going SCIENCE TIME!!!! and the royal sisters realizing that Dusk is crushing on Luna. Dusk is just awkward adorable throughout this chapter. She's painfully nervous and out of sorts, and it just works so very well. And while Dusk may not be very good at planning, that doesn't mean that the sisters' own planning ability won't partially shore up any shortcomings. She did just basically bring them in to the greater majority of her plan.
About the only thing that she didn't disclose are who her three bait-refugees are and what it is that they're carrying that has Chrysalis in a tizzy...which is really not something that we want getting out. That book is exceedingly dangerous in the wrong hooves/talons/claws/paws.
6663316
Eh, probably not. Twould be redundant. Especially since that setting is pretty much this one without copywriten materials. Get me?
Or hands/tentacles/actuators/TK/ooze....
6663695 Well, yes I know. =p You've shown me most of your documentation for that neat setting. I didn't expect to be seeing it, but you're the one that mentioned the Mushineko.
I know I have said this before, but I simply love Dusk. She's quirky and eccentric and awkward and silly all rolled up in to one package that represents Death in a way I haven't seen before. Whatever it is you are doing with her, don't stop because it's working awesomely
And yay, I was right about her wanting to coerce the sisters to use Equestria's military. Though this isn't how I was imagining it - I was thinking ships and stuff, but placing the army in position to intercept Chrysalis forces and lure her right in with the book? That's actually not a bad idea! Minus jittery Zebras across the border, but at least Dusk has thought of that.
How are Equestria's relations with the Zebras, anyway? I figure Celestia herself could make the call and clue the Zebra rulers in about the plan in order to preemptively deter any ruffled feathers. I imagine the Zebras don't like the changelings any better than the Equestrians do and would be all too happy to pretend they don't see no army across the border. Does this mean we are in for an epic fight in the near future?
Speaking of Celestia, that enchantment that displays pony names and stuff to her is priceless I bet Celestia's immaculate memory is something like a legend by now where she seems to remember the names of all her little ponies - I wonder what the reactions would be if everyone found out she actually doesn't bother and simply cheats via magic (Which is what makes her smart! )
Though silly Celestia, you don't bribe Death with silly things like "take me instead". Clearly alcohol (and drugs? hookers?) of great potency is the way to go! Even death keeps up with the times and wants material things instead of silly sacrifices!
Though speaking of death, that scene where Luna was recounting how she saw the end of all things when looking upon Dusk's true form was pretty epic. A nice reminder amidst Celestia's amusing narrative that they are dealing with the real deal no matter how silly Dusk is acting. And damn, Luna saw her own grave? That's kinda sad, means that something eventually ends up killing her and it won't be the heat death of the universe :/
And leave it to Twilight to be the first one to brush all the silly death matters aside (Though I wonder if she even saw her own death? Twilight being Twilight I wouldn't be surprised if she somehow manages to ascend even further and become a true goddess of magic or some such and eventually joins Dusk in joint silliness across cycles ) for the opportunity to go all SCIENCE! on Dusk. Screw being afraid of death, there are questions to be answered! And she set up an appointment even "No time to chat, I have a meeting with death!" - says Twilight before rushing off. I bet that would go over well
And ooh, Celestia's and Luna's parents will be able to "posses" objects once they are released as ghosts? Makes me wonder if Celestia will prepare suitable artificial bodies for them to inhabit. An A.L.I.C.O.R.N. perhaps ?
Best part of the chapter? Celestia brandishing her cake on a fork like some sort of a weapon
6664172
I'm glad you like her. It took me a long time to work out her character. 3 weeks to be exact. As for what I did... Comparative Religions is an AWESOME class to take in College if you haven't yet.
Cut Dusk a little credit. She's the daughter of Creativity and Conflict, so you know her dad's a war buff. You pick things up.
They are actualy firm allies. They have a Nordic Union thing going on where citizens of ether contry can work or live in ether nation without border stops and the like. Moving the militarily to the bordor would still make them nervous, because well, Equestria very rarly deploys its actual militarily (Guard units are typically dispatched, the military is for big problems.) However if Celestia informs the CHiefs she has intell on the Swarm, they will likely send their own reserve forces to help.
I think you might be a bit supprised when ou get to Zebrica... As for an epic fight. Yes.
I can't take full credit for it, my girlfriend came up with that idea, and it was too good to not use. How many names has Tia had to remember in her 4.5k years? I'd want a Facescroll HUD too.
If Dusk had been there on business, she wouldn't have even assumed Tia meant "kill me instead" her first sentence would have been, "Sure, I guess you're cute enough." Dusk hasen't asked for sacrifices since she was bribed in 2011 CE with a copy of Gundum Wing. It was an "Oh shit! This is why you mortals like this stuff!" moment.
Luna's wording was vague, I mean to imply that she saw herself as the last living being in a dead universe, with every star long since dust, and that was her time. In short, this https://youtu.be/uF1Q56YAo0Q?t=1m28s
That, detective, is the right question. After all, Faust did the same thing, and then simply time hopped to year 0 to fill her role int he universe.
Poor confused Flash... XD
YAY! Someone liked my joke!
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Those were 3 weeks well spent in that case, I'd say it's paying off very well
True, though she also comes across as somewhat of a clumsy clutz at times who simply likes to wing it :P
Sounds like something Princess Sunbutt should get on ASAP. The Gryphons might have been disrupting the world council thing, but that doesn't stop Celestia and the Zebras from organizing something more local if the Swarm helpfully blunders into their ranks ;)
I'm looking towards both of those things! Visiting new lands through the eyes of characters who have never been there, Marco Polo style, is something I have always enjoyed! And who doesn't like a big fight :P
Damn, it's almosta shame that didn't happen - Celestia's brain would have probably ground to a halt if Dusk responded like that trying to process wtf is going on
She must have led a terribly boring and dull existence before discovering all the worldly pleasures ... I wonder if that's why Life is a stuck up bastard.
Ouch, that's definitely depressing in ways a simple death isn't ...
Now we MUST have a scene with Twilight having teleported back and Flash asking her where she was been, and her only squeeing something about having a chat with death and scheduling an appointment later and how she must prepare before dashing off to gather supplies or stuff, leaving a thoroughly unnerved Flash behind making all sorts of wrong assumptions
Bum Bumm, Bummmm~
I knew you couldn't avoid making that one. Along with a crap ton of other references to things...
6664291 Hey I've dumped 98 hours of my life into 4 alone thus far. It's gonna bleed through a bit.
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Right, because in people under the age of 44, accidents are the leading cause of death in humans as of this year. See what I did there?
Well, you know, (or maybe you don't) but your brain (or at least mine) kinda goes like this while taking to a crush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYHkbOugcD0 Hence, that didn't even register.
Dusk learns as much from mortals as she has ever shown them. The others generaly see mortals as... hamsters, playthings, resources. She's the only one to realy think of them as people. But to be fair, that is like a human calling bacteria people, so you know, you can at least understand the ethics there.
Ashhh... darn. I've deviated from the mane plot too much here... Otherwise I would. I needed to get this exposision out of the way to avoid a Deus Ex Mechina ending :/
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Sooo ... ironically, Life needs to get a life :P
Hmm, wouldn't at least Faust see them as more than playthngs as well? If I understood the implication correctly that she used to be a mortal who managed to ascend, wouldn't she have some consideration for her former 'kind' ?
Oh, another question - if the gods think of mortals as bacteria in terms of importance, why are there even laws against messing with them and such? The stuff that prevents Dusk from simply offing Chrysalis anyway?
Nuuu *flails around wildly* Such an opportunity for shameless death jokes and misunderstandings :/
Oh, by the way - why would Applejack be trying to get rid of Twilight during Applebuck season? Twilight did just fine harvesting like the whole orchard at once during the early days of the show - or is exactly that the reason, because of pride? :P
Accidental existential horror is the best way to confess to your crush.
See, I knew Dusk just needed to pull Celestia in. Now, that's not to say that she would have reacted better to the full unveiling, but they likely wouldn't have gotten to that point with Celestia's
scouternecklace on hand.Interesting that Celestia had some older brother, I wonder what the full story there is.
Oooo, neat.
Nice.
Yeah, this is continuing to be fairly risky. I suppose the gamble here is that she's trusting Celestia and Luna to not spill the beans she just revealed in that note. Probably a decent bet since she also revealed she's doing it at a risk to herself and we can probably trust Celestia and Luna to be themselves and not intentionally or unintentionally betray her.
Hah!
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A little yes, but it's been a long long time.
Because the higher up is using them for a specific purpose and if you fuck up a data point so help you god^2.
"... AJ... Let me come down and help, I'll TK everything done in five minutes and we can go tot he Hay Burger."
"Gosh Durnit, Twi! Somethings just gotta be done right!"
"... Fine... Be all inefficient..."
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So do I, I havent planned it out yet
At least she wasn't all "I'm sorry for upsetting you, have a selection of desiccated plant carcasses as a token of my apologies."
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Aaah, tradition - the best excuse for not having to think of better way to do things. Or for not having to think in general. Never found much use for it, personally
And then AJ turns around to assign tasks to Big Mac and Applebloom who are just staring at her in bemused fashion, turns to face the orchard once more ... and sees the trees completely devoid of apples, all stacked in bushels neat-like, while a two-striped purple tail disappears around the barn's corner and quickly hoofs it towards Ponyville proper ... with AJ giving chase and shouting profanities
6667595 Yeah that's about right. Nether Twilight or I understand tradition. Well, no, Twilight dose. Because she gets appletress being a part of apple farming. Me? I'd generically modify the trees into shrubs where each was tiny, but able to grow one apple a year and integrate them into an autonomous hydroponics facility with robotic harvesting systems. That way I just go into a room and pick up a plastic wrapped apple whenever I like from the stockpile.
Then again, that's a ton of work when we see in universe magic can create objects. I'd probably just learn a spell to bamph food into existence.
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6678843 You are the ONLY person to get that critical hit joke. Have plant!
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6678896 yay!
petrified
Fallout reference spotted, and the prank, hilarious!
In Manehatten episodes, we see police officers in regular uniforms. So i'll assume not all guard wears that garish armor.
i.imgur.com/BCws3A4.gif
7270678 indeed, Milord Bread
Yes. Yes to everything here.
I really love this exchange simply because it shows Celestia and Luna, two comparatively ancient ponies, being sisters. Honestly, I can never get enough of this, and it's such a joy to find it here.
So what exactly does dusk's name mean and why are the Gods called Aramenelli?
So who's the last living child of Faust and Anhur?
Why?
So who's the first?
Wisdom indeed, Princess.
Deep wisdom.
And this is why I love Twilight so much. Well captured, Meep.
Well, you can't see into other universes, Celly. There's loads of folks with crushes on your lil Lulu.
Heck, there might even be one or two who feel that way about you, filly!
BWAHAHAHA!
If folks keep writing versions of you with a sense of humor like that, I might even become one of them.
9846224 I'm glad you like my Twilight :3
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no, this is correct. They were scared stiff
That was so sudden I broke out laughing. Bless the heart of the people who try, sometimes even meeting in the middle is hard enough.
I’d love to see the looks on the noble’s faces when Luna comes back from her date with Death.
Also, obligatory Fallout reference is obligatory.