436 - Together Again
The knocking cut off as abruptly as it had begun. But before the echoes of the quick, casual rapping had even started to fade, the voice of an irritated filly could be heard from the other side of it. “What is wrong with you?! You find a huge set of double doors standing upright in the middle of nowhere and your first instinct is to knock on them?!”
“Well yeah,” giggled a familiar voice. “It’d be rude to just stroll right in, silly. Besides, what if whoever’s on the other side is getting ready to throw us a surprise party? We’d need to let them know we’re here so they can all get ready and hide and turn out the lights and then when we walk in they can all yell ‘surprise’ and shower us with confetti from their party cannons!”
“I think you’re the only one with one of those,” came the amused voice of another filly.
“Alpha horse or beta horse please make crazy horse stop talking.” Unlike the others, this voice was male, having an oddly squeaky pitch to it. “Is making hard for Gneech to check magic door for traps.”
A third filly’s voice answered. “I don’t think anybody would trap something like this, Gneech. It’s too unusual for anyone not to be suspicious.”
“I’m the leader, I’ll be the judge of that!” snapped the first voice testily.
“Ooh! Ooh! What if we’re supposed to throw a surprise party for whoever comes through here?! Quick! We need cake! And streamers! And balloons! And more cake! And-”
That was all Twilight needed to hear. A single flap of her wings was all it took to send her rocketing toward the double doors at the end of the room. Her horn lit up before she was even halfway there, a matching glow surrounding the handle on each door, turning them and yanking as hard as she could, pulling the doors open to reveal…
“PINKIE!”
Tears filling her eyes, Twilight yelled out her friend’s name as the pink pony came into view. Although the mare in question was outfitted in a mishmash of equipment – wearing a gaudy green tabard which didn’t fully conceal the chain shirt poking out around the collar, as well as a pair of puffy pantaloons around her hind legs, slippers on all four hooves, an amulet around her neck, and a headband across her forehead, to say nothing of the collection of luggage on her back – there was no mistaking the mare that she’d spent weeks searching for. Barely registering the other figures around gathered around her, Twilight barreled into her target at full speed, sending luggage flying as the two of them went tumbling end over end, Pinkie’s companions scattering with yelps of alarm. They finally came to a stop several feet back, with Pinkie flat on her back and Twilight on top of her, fighting back sobs as she hugged her long-sought friend.
“Twilight?!” gaped Pinkie, her eyes widening almost to the size of dinner plates before a huge grin split her face, beginning to tear up as well. “Oh my gosh! This is the best surprise party EVER!” She looked ready to say more, but didn’t have a chance as Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy all suddenly threw themselves at her, joining Twilight in burying her beneath a mound of warm hugs and cries of joy.
“Princess Twilight?!”
The happy reunion was interrupted by the incredulous voice of a nearby filly, currently staring at the pile of ponies in shock. Sniffling, Twilight nodded as she slowly extricated herself from her friends. Although the filly in question was someone she’d only interacted with a few times, and was also outfitted appropriately for Everglow – wearing a button-down blouse over a chain shirt just like Pinkie’s, a skirt over her lower half, and most notably, a single-headed axe slung over one shoulder – the jeweled headpiece atop her mane would have been a dead giveaway even if she hadn’t recognized her. “Diamond Tiara! You’re alright! So that means…”
“You found us!” Silver Spoon’s voice was the only thing that made her identifiable, being completely covered from head to hoof in her full plate armor. The sight almost made Twilight giggle, the filly looking absolutely adorable as she raised a mailed hoof and lifted her visor, revealing a pair of bespectacled eyes that were currently blinking back tears. “Thank Luminace, you found us!”
“Beta horse know winged horse?” The question came from the creature peeking out from behind Silver Spoon. Although its face was shrouded by the hooded cloak it was wrapped in, enough of it was visible to see that it bore a vague resemblance to Spike, being a reptile that walked on two legs. But that was where the similarities ended. Almost three feet tall, this creature was thin to the point of being gaunt, with a snout that was a mottled dark green, matching the color of the gangly pair of legs that could be seen below the hem of its cloak. Peering at Twilight with beady yellow eyes, it made no move to come out from behind Silver Spoon. “Is friend?”
“She’s definitely a friend, Gneech.”
The certainty in the voice made Twilight blink, turning to the last member of Pinkie’s group. The filly grinning at her had a vibrant blue coat, with her mane and tail being a slightly darker shade of the same color. Unlike the others she wore neither armor nor clothes, being clad in just a cloak, a belt around her middle, and a ring around her right foreleg, allowing for her cutie mark – a cage whose bars had been broken – to be easily seen. More notable than that, however, was the prominent bulge in her lower abdomen, making it clear that despite looking no older than Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, she would soon become a mother.
For a moment Twilight could only stare at the unknown filly, torn between being shocked that such a little girl was pregnant and the unexpected feeling of familiarity that suddenly swept over her. She was certain, absolutely certain, that she’d seen this girl before, but she couldn’t remember where, too overcome with having finally been reunited with her missing friend for her brain to readily supply her with the relevant facts. “You’re…”
The filly giggled at her baffled expression. “You and your friends freed me, and my mother, from the gem gnolls, remember? After that, you brought us back to Yi Sheng, and then to Viljatown, where you asked the clerics at the Temple of Luminace to look after us.”
“Blue!” The name came to Twilight’s lips unbidden, suddenly recalling the circumstances where she’d met the smaller pony. It also made the girl’s pregnancy a little less shocking; Blue, Twilight recalled, was a member of a peculiar tribe of ponies that didn’t seem to age, spending their entire lives looking like they were children regardless of how old they actually were.
“That’s right!” Laughing happily, the filly reared up and clapped her forelegs together in delight before falling back onto all fours, trotting over to Twilight and giving her a quick hug before letting go, almost bouncing with excitement. “I’m so glad you’re here! I’ve been wanting to tell you everything I’ve learned since you set us free! Like that big torch in the sky?” She pointed upward. “That’s called the sun!”
“Yes, it…” Twilight’s delight at the unexpected reunion was wiped away by confusion as she glanced upward, realizing that the sun was plainly visible in the sky. But…that wasn’t right. The conference room was right behind them, and doorway she’d just gone through led to a hallway, not the outdoors.
Blinking, she glanced around, belatedly taking in that the hallway was nowhere to be seen. Instead she was standing in an open field, a warm breeze carrying the scent of grass and wildflowers as it washed over her. But that wasn’t right either; Canterlot was situated on top of a mountain, the only one around for hundreds of miles. Except there were several mountains visible in the distance now, and a village that had none of the familiar landmarks of Ponyville could be seen some ways away as well.
Fighting down a sense of panic at the thought that she’d been whisked away from Equestria again, Twilight whirled around to look back the way she came. Thankfully, the doorway she’d passed through was still there, and through the entranceway she could see back into the conference room, where everypony else was looking through with a mixture of shock and relief, with several individuals – including Zecora, Line Byline, Soft Mane, and Cadance – walking right up to the entranceway cautiously. Only Spike came through, however, rushing up to Twilight’s side without hesitation. “Whoa! Is this…Everglow?” he whispered.
“I think it must be,” replied Twilight in a hushed tone. “How else could everypony we’ve been looking for be here?”
Not noticing the whispered conversation, Blue kept going, looking around as she eagerly rattled off everything she’d learned. “And that big thing that’s blue like me that the sun’s in is called the sky! It even changes colors when the sun moves, and gets all dark like a cave when it disappears! Isn’t that amazing?! And this green stuff we’re walking on is called grass, and it’s a plant, but there are other kinds of plants that are green too! And-”
“That’s all mighty interestin’, sugarcube,” cut in Applejack, looking around in confusion now that the group hug had ended. “And I’m right pleased to see that everyone’s alright-”
“You should be, considering it’s your fault we were sent here in the first place!” Diamond Tiara stomped a hoof, giving Applejack a glare so fierce it made the orange mare step back in fright. “Do you have any idea what we’ve gone through because of you?!”
“Aw, c’mon!” Bouncing back to her hooves, Pinkie casually tousled Diamond Tiara’s mane, making the filly scowl harder and bat Pinkie’s hoof away as it knocked her headpiece askew. But Pinkie’s enthusiasm wasn’t diminished in the slightest. “We’ve had all sorts of fun adventures!”
She turned her attention back to Twilight and the others then, bouncing in place. “I know you sent us notes saying we needed to get to Viljatown in a hurry because some big bad guy was doing big bad things and you needed our help, but we kept running into other people on the way there who needed our help too! Like when we ran into these two fillies who were close as sisters and made a magic pact to be together forever and when one of their families was going to move away and take her with them they both got so sad that it made their entire forest sick! Ooh! Or when we helped put the ghost of a pirate-queen to rest since she was actually a really nice pony who felt super-guilty about an accident she'd caused when she was alive! Ooh! Ooh! Or a little while ago when this baker asked us to help gather ingredients to make the tastiest dessert ever for a baking competition, and we ended up going to a cloud village where this group called the fluffalo live! They’re like the buffalo we have on Equestria except they’re all fluffy like sheep and they have wings and they make the most delicious-est milk that makes even more delicious whipped cream! We got to try some after we got back to the baker’s place and were attacked by a candy monster-”
“Which you ate,” snickered Silver Spoon.
“Yup! And it was delicious! Oh I wish we’d been attacked by more of them!” Licking her lips, Pinkie’s eyes took on a dreamy look before she shook her head, continuing. “And then we were going to keep going to Viljatown but we saw these freaky-looking double doors standing up in the middle of a field all by themselves and so we went to investigate and guess what?! It was you guys!”
“It certainly was.” Rarity’s agreement came with a bright smile, looking back at the open doorway. “I have to say, for once Discord has positively outdone himself.”
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it,” announced Discord smugly, even as he split right down the middle, his two halves separating a few inches before he literally pulled himself together.
Still in the conference room, Princess Celestia raised a brow. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” grinned Discord, “that any third-rate wizard can manage to manage to figure out how to visit another dimension, but it takes a Lord of Chaos to open up a permanent portal to one, and without needing to wait thirty moons for it to open either!”
Several sets of eyes widened at that. “Permanent?” chorused Cadance, Shining Armor, Celestia, Luna, and several other ponies.
“Indeed!” Discord chuckled, making no effort to hide how pleased with himself he was. “Think about it. No more having to go on these adventures because someone accidentally sends themselves and their friends to that other world and can’t figure out how to get back! Now you just have to make your way back to wherever that field on the other side is and presto! You’re home! And you don’t even have to click your hooves three times,” he added, as a pair of ruby slippers appeared on his mismatched feet.
“But…right here in the castle?” murmured Luna uneasily.
Rolling his eyes, Discord huffed. “Oh honestly, if you’re worried about it disrupting hoof traffic here in the palace you don’t need to be. Both sides of the doorway on that world are connected to both sides of this one. If you really need to get back to that hallway outside this conference room you can just go into that field, walk around to the other side of the door there and go through, and you’ll be in the hall. No muss no fuss.”
“Just thinking about how that works hurts my brain,” murmured Grass Patch.
“The important thing,” continued Discord, “is that I held up my end of the bargain and then some, all without any complications or misadventures or side effects. You’re welcome.”
Naturally, that was when everything went wrong.
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You absolute cad.
Still that was...surprisingly heartwarming a scene.
I also love that they have a Kobold with them (it is a Kobold right?) I love those guys. They're definitely my favorite DnD creature. I hope we get more of him because kobolds are hilarious.
Discord has outdone himself
A happy reunion now
But the ending surely hints
That all shall wear a frown.
Discord opened up a double sided portal Inside the castle? But, it isnt inside a Castle at the other end? Which I suspect Pinkie and company were about to be met by the local monster bandit gang for a bit of trade dispute?
Luna is on night Mares turf, and Celestia gets to meet the local extremely annoyed Solar Deity due to Discords disruption?
What CommandoDude said.
Still, if Discord could open a permanent gateway between Equestria and the Everglow then what does his failure to fully restore Luna say about the power behind the curse Lex placed on her? Still, I find it funny at Discord referring to Starswirl, the most powerful spellcaster of his era as a third-rate wizard and yet, he had failed to break a curse by Lex, who was by Equestria's standards, a third-rate wizard in the past.
Then there's Blue...her excitement at telling Twilight about everything she's learned and experienced ever since she and her people were rescued was heartwarming and yet so sad at the same time.
which can mean different things depending on who you ask
hum is this a five score reference, i hope??
10037121 That might have been a bit dastardly of me to end on such a blatant cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist.
But yes, the long-awaited reunion of Twilight with Pinkie and the others was indeed touching. Now that they're finally reunited, they're sure to be unstoppable...right?
As for Gneech, he is indeed a kobold, which Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon picked up back during their own adventure. He's apparently still following them around, though he's apparently realized that Silver Spoon is the "beta horse," something he didn't call her before. And of course, even he's able to realize that Pinkie is the crazy one.
10037404 I'm not sure what to say without giving anything away...hey, that rhymes! I can write poems too!
10037893 I won't say you're thinking along the wrong track, but, well...things are apparently about to happen.
10038103 We know from Make New Friends But Keep Discord (season five, episode seven) that Discord can open portals between dimensions, and that he apparently lives in a different dimension anyway. So making one permanent doesn't seem like too much of a stretch for him. But it does give a hint as to just how much power Lex sank into the curse that he put on Luna.
That said, Blue's excitement over learning basic facts was indeed meant to be adorable and yet sad at the same time. There's no real way to tell just how old she is, other than the fact that she's able to have children herself, since her nature as a short-leg keeps her looking prepubescent all her life, but when you consider how much of her life she spent in the bottom of a mine literally slaving away, she's a tragic figure no matter how you look at her, even if she would say otherwise.
By the by, there were a few subtle shout-outs in this chapter that no one seems to have picked up on. Those adventures that Pinkie said they went on? Those were references to three licensed Ponyfinder adventures, specifically The Lonely Pony, Ghost of the Pirate Queen, and The Sweetest Secret. She and the rest of her party have been busy! Perhaps they've even gained a level or two?
10038610 Well, that was the name of the kobold in question from Tarnished Silver and Clouded Diamonds, so that's what it is here.
10039230 Nope, just Equestria Girls.
10039962
its a referenct to a video
sorry