Tales From Day Court

by Blade Star

Chapter 17 - Loose Ends

Today, I stepped through the portal, and down into Tartarus for the final time. After this last visit, I would be able to revert back to my normal occupation. While Celestia had told me that I had done an exemplary job, she said that she had found somepony better suited. And while it felt like I was being fired, the solar alicorn assured me that I had done no wrong in my time there, and that I had performed my new duties admirably.

I was certain that she who must be obeyed would be more than happy at the news. I must admit, I didn’t exactly enjoy going down there to converse with the inmates. Still, I found myself feeling a little sad that I would never again walk those rocky paths between the cells, or get to make a fuss of Cerberus.

I asked Celestia, out of curiosity, just who it was she had found to replace me. I half expected it to be Discord; he was her first choice after all, and with him now having turned a corner regarding Tirek, he seemed to be in a much better position to serve as Tartarus’ warden. But no, Celestia told me it was not the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, nor was it Time Turner, or Starlight, or Twilight, or even Maud Pie. In fact, she was keeping very tight lipped about who it was. All she would tell me was that she was sure the place was now in good hooves, watched over by someone with ‘past experience’.

Anyway, I slowly made my way along the well-trod path. As ever, I came upon Tirek’s little cage first. And, as per usual, the centaur within began hurling insults at me and promises of terrible vengeance that had been uttered so often that they had lost all meaning.

I’d tolerated this idiot for several months now. And since it was my last day on the job, I decided to go and, for once, have a little chat. I decided that I ought to explain the finer points of life to the decrepit magic hog. I walked right over to his cell and stared at him. To my surprise, the centaur actually fell silent. I suppose he was curious, given that I had pretty much ignored and refused to engage him the entire time I was here.

“Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy?” I asked in a quiet voice. “Or are you gonna bite?” Tirek snarled at me.

“I have nothing to say to you, you miserable ape!” he howled.

“Inside voice, Tirek,” I chided, only making him angrier. “And if you’ve nothing to say, you certainly have a funny way of showing it.” He snorted at me.

“Fine. What do you want?” he asked, glaring daggers at me.

“I wanted to explain a few things to you, old man. I think life, the universe, and everything is a good starting point. What do you say? Would you care to know the nature of reality?” Now, Tirek looked at me, as if I were the madman. I continued.

“It’s my last day down here, you see,” I went on. “We haven’t talked that much, so I decided that I ought to let you in on a little secret. Something that not even Celestia knew until I told her.” That seemed to get his attention.

“What could you possibly know?” Tirek replied sneeringly. Unphased, I continued.

“Tell me, Tirek, what do you know about me? Where did I come from?” Tirek made no reply. “I’m actually not from Equestria, not even from this world. I came here from another world, another reality, perhaps even another universe.” Tirek now seemed marginally interested.

“In that world, there was a thing called ‘television’; sort of like those projectors ponies have to watch movies. And there was this show, about six mares, living in Ponyville, who wielded the Elements of Harmony.” Tirek was now leaning forward, curious. Even if he thought I was lying, it was still a decent tall tale.

“They used the Elements to defeat evil villains; Nightmare Moon, Discord, changelings, and so on. But the show soon needed a new villain, somepony our heroes could fight and defeat, an evil character whose sole purpose was to be evil and fall to the forces of good.” I paused. “That character, Tirek, was you.”

“You expect me to believe that nonsense?” the centaur asked incredulously. I nodded.

“It’s the truth, I assure you. I have no reason to lie to you. I just thought you should know. And I figured it would prevent you from writing humans off as ‘magicless apes’ so quickly.”

Reaching into my inside pocket on my jacket, I pulled out a few sheets of paper. Discord had acquired them for me. They weren’t from this world, or my own, but it was apparently a close approximation. They were initial design sketches. The character’s name was still Tirek, and he had a sidekick called Scorpan. Bones had told me that they were from something called ‘G1’. I passed the pages to Tirek.

“Here’s another version of you. You might even call this fellow your father. Writers and designers drew on this image and character to create you, as an evil despot who despises friendship and seeks nothing but destruction.”

I passed him a few more sketches. They slowly evolved from an odd, goat like creature, into the being that now stood before me.

“That is all you are Tirek, a caricature to be despised. You were created to frighten little children, nothing more.”

This seemed to finally get through to the stubborn fool. He backed away, looking deeply unsettled. Though I suppose anypony would after being told that their entire life up to this point was a work of fiction, created solely to amuse people. I leaned down, close to Tirek.

“Remember this, Tirek, whenever you think of me, or my species. You are nothing but a work of fiction. You exist, because we allow it. And you will end, because we demand it.”

Tirek was now deeply frightened, as any rational being would be upon being told that they were a fictional character, and their every action up to this point had been controlled by an omniscient and omnipotent creator. Of course, it wasn’t really true. While the show was identical to what happened in this reality, the two were not linked. At worst it was a cosmic coincidence; think of the ‘infinite number of monkeys on typewriters’ idea. Tirek probably did appear in the show according to Bones, even acting the same way as he did here. But nonetheless, we all had free will.

But Tirek didn’t need to know that. I left him sitting in the middle of his cage, staring off into space, contemplating the futility of his own existence.

---

Leaving the centaur to his existential crisis, I headed off towards Sombra’s cell. It had been a clever plan of his; to escape without escaping. It had even caught the approval of the typically unflappable Princess Luna. As soon as we had realised the true nature of Sombra’s little plan, Celestia took action. He had lost the few ‘privileges’ that he had in Tartarus, and apparently now enjoyed accommodation almost identical to that of Tirek, courtesy of Tartatus’ new management.

Walking down the familiar stone corridor, I emerged into Sombra’s cell and took my usual seat. I didn’t speak to him, or treat him to the usual pleasantries we normally exchanged. With an air of overwhelming confidence, I sat down in my chair and crossed one leg over the other. This time, I had the upper hand, I had the advantage. I allowed myself a small smile.

“Your cell looks bigger with no books in it,” I commented.

Indeed, Sombra had had his magic completely cut off; he was now unable to create any more illusions. That meant no more library, no more private study, no more throne room, just his cell’s true appearance, which was no different than the rest of Tartarus.

He’d also been stripped of his royal attire as well. His crown was nowhere to be seen, nor was his armour. Even his fine robes had been taken from him, and the stallion now sat on the floor of his cell, his blank flank, for he had no cutie mark despite his age, exposed for all to see.

Still, he maintained some quiet dignity. He was lying on his stomach, with his forelegs splayed out in front of him, one crossed over the other. His lion like mane was still in excellent condition too, and he remained an intimidating character. He was very much like a lion really, or some other predator. Even stripped of his material things, the dark king radiated an aura of power, particularly from those malignant red eyes.

But having known him, I now knew I had little to fear from him.

“Really?” Sombra replied quietly, his tone controlled, but still with an acidic aftertaste. “I hadn’t noticed.”

He paused, fixing his eyes on me. Tilting his head back, he sniffed at the air. Smirking for a moment, he quickly returned his gaze to me.

“And I see you have still yet to find a better aftershave,” he remarked dryly, attempting to parry my own insult. Since I no longer needed him, I decided to indulge him.

“Yeah, I keep getting it for Hearth’s Warming,” I replied. Sombra’s head tilted a little to one side.

“Hearth’s Warming? Ah, yes. Did you get my card?” I’ll admit that that actually did spook me. He had the courtesy to sign the card simply as ‘S’, but the attached letter, and the flowing handwriting, left no doubt as to who the sender was.

“I did, thank you,” I answered. Sombra nodded in approval and looked off into the distance.

“It was so nice of the Royal Guard to forward that to you. They wouldn’t give me your home address.” That was because none of them knew anything other than my P.O Box in Ponyville, with good reason. Undoubtedly, he tried more than a few dirty tricks to extract information from the guards that occasionally visited him.

I decided to confront the matter at hand.

“It was a brilliant scheme, if you don’t mind me saying, Sombra,” I offered.

“No, no, not at all,” the dark unicorn replied, smiling in a way similar to his mocking tone.

“Believe it or not, it took a Timelord to work out what it was you had been planning. It was clever; simply waiting for reality to change around you. When Starlight changed the past, you went from a captured prisoner, all but stripped of his powers, to a reborn tyrant, fighting a bloody war in northern Equestria.”

“Time Twister’s Temporal Alternation Blocker was by far the hardest part,” Sombra declared. “And it was nonetheless disorientating, even without my memories being affected. I had to move quickly to learn my new place in time and the new position of my empire. The mind control helmets were inspired; I amazed even myself.”

“But then the timeline was restored,” I continued. Sombra scowled at that. “And you found yourself back in your old cell once more.” Sombra’s glare now became strong enough that I worried that he would melt the bars between us.

“Yes. And if I had known you would check me for time travel magic, I would have used a mage wash too!”

“Hence, we find ourselves here. Once again, you have nothing to offer me. I see no reason that my visits should continue.” I was about to get up and leave, when I was startled by another voice.

“True, my advisor,” Celestia said, as she strode into the cell. “However, I myself may make one or two trips down here from time to time.”

The two of us fell into a stunned silence.

In the entire time I had been keeping an eye on things here in Tartarus, Celestia had joined me on only two occasions. And each time, she had refused to go anywhere near Sombra’s cell. I didn’t know for sure why, but judging by the look on her face whenever she had glanced at the tunnel that led down that way, I had guessed that there some history between the alicorn and the mad king. Celestia walked past me and stood toe to toe with Sombra. For the first time ever, I saw him at an utter loss. A few moments later though, he recovered. Looking her in the eye, he smiled at the alicorn.

“Celestia,” he said, eventually. The snow white alicorn smiled and bowed her head slightly.

“Sombra.” Another long pause, I moved out toward the edge of the room, though I didn’t leave.

“It’s been a long time,” he went on, his red eyes fixated on her own magenta ones. “Did you miss me?” Celestia frowned.

“Not particularly,” she replied. “How are you taking to your new living arrangements?” Sombra snarled at that. A moment later though, his expression switched.

“Oh come now, Tia. Surely you’re pinning for me after all this time? Not even a little fantasy?” Celestia scowled.

“Hey, watch your mouth!” I snapped at him. Celestia raised a hoof for me to stop.

“You are not him, Sombra. You barely even look like him. Never mind your personality,” she replied.

I could see now why Celestia had not come with me to visit Sombra before. His reactions were radically different, he was trying to get under Celestia’s skin the whole time. His comments threw me though. Initially, I assumed it was just one of his usual tricks, trying to shock Celestia and provoke a reaction. Unlike myself, Celestia could see just as far ahead in the great game as Sombra could. They were like two chess players of equal skill.

However, I later learned that there was a vague shred of truth to Sombra’s words. Sombra and Celestia were indeed once upon a time, lovers. It was not this Sombra though.

You see, Celestia had, several months before we arrived in Equestria, begun experimenting with Starswirl’s mirror portal magic. Essentially, it created gateways, in the form of mirrors, between various realities. One had led to a mirror version of Equestria, where everything was the exact opposite. Celestia and Luna were the evil villains, whilst Sombra was the benevolent king of Equestria, with some of the ponies we would recognise as villains helping him maintain harmony.

Celestia had had a relationship with this version of Sombra, repeatedly visiting his own reality. However, repeated use of the mirror portal made it grow unstable and before long, the two realities began to merge, with possibly disastrous consequences. To save Celestia, Sombra used a spell to absorb the dark magic of the mirror Celestia and Luna. This stopped the realities merging, but also made him into the Sombra I knew here. He might as well have been killed.

The loss had hurt Celestia badly, and Sombra had been more than willing to use it to his advantage. She visited him only once before asking me to keep an eye on Tartarus. In that visit, he attempted to fool her into believing that he was actually a part of the good Sombra she knew, given that, it terms of realities, both were now one and the same. Celestia didn’t fall for it, but that didn’t stop Sombra from trying.

“I wouldn’t say that, my dear. We share the same form, the same voice, the same mind. Is there really that much if a difference?” Celestia now expertly took control of the conversation.

“I think I’ve indulged you long enough, Sombra,” she declared. “And I’m afraid I’ve no interest in your foalhood crush.” That got Sombra to turn scarlet and bear his fangs.

“The stallion I cared for had no interest in petty games or feeble attempts at manipulation. He had gained his position on merit and trust, not by force and mind control spells. He was wise, learned, and noble. You were never anything like him, Sombra. You are just what you always have been; a shadow, a shade, a poor reflection, and nothing more.”

And with that, Sombra snapped.

With no magic to call upon, and no real weapons to hoof, he grabbed what he could. Taking a few pebbles in his hoof, he hurled them towards the two of us. Celestia easily caught the crude projectiles in her golden magic. In a remarkable display of power, she compressed the rock with such force that it was turned into a diamond. Both Sombra and I were speechless.

“Sombra,” Celestia said softly, when he had finally calmed down. “You were once a threat to me, my sister, and my ponies. That is no longer the case; with no magic, you can harm nopony. However, you still have my pity.” Sombra growled at her like an animal, seething at his inability to strike back at the alicorn. “I feel sorry for you.”

Again, this seemed to anger Sombra. Having seen how ineffective projectiles were against the alicorn princess, Sombra now resorted to hurling himself at the bars. He shouted, swore, called Celestia and her sister horrible names, and promised that he would kill them the next chance he got. Celestia was unamused and took her leave without giving Sombra so much as a backward glance. I however, stayed where I was, watching the frenzied stallion. As Celestia walked out, he fell silent, his sides heaving from the exertion. I decided to goad him one last time before I left.

“Sombra,” I called out smugly. The dark unicorn looked up, rage clear on his face. There was only one thing I could say at this juncture. Leaning down and looking him in the eye, I smiled; I was going to enjoy this.

“Long live the king.”

He didn’t respond, and merely glared daggers at me. Cracking a smile at my vanquished foe, I followed Celestia back out into Tartarus. His raging soon started up again.

---

The two of us headed back out into Tartarus proper, with Celestia leading the way. Even outside the entrance to his cell, we could still hear Sombra’s howling madness. It had shocked me, to say the least. All this time, I had dealt with a pony that, while twisted and evil almost beyond measure, was still civilised, calm, and ordered. But in one short meeting, Celestia had managed to coax him into revealing his true colours. He was as mad as Tirek, if not more so.

“I can see why you didn’t join me when I visited Sombra, your highness,” I said, turning to Celestia. The alicorn nodded.

“He despises me, and my sister. No matter his control, if you do not acknowledge him, and fear him, he quickly loses his temper. He needs that fear to validate himself. By ignoring it, and instead pitying him, I caused him to show his true self. I certainly doubt either of us will be calling on him again.” I let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad to hear that, your highness. Sombra, caged or not, he’s the only being down here that ever truly frightened me. He’s very human in a way. He doesn’t have the restraint most ponies have, or even most humans.”

“A psychopath,” Celestia summarised. “It is a shame. He has, even now, such talent in magic, both practice and theory. Once upon a time he may have been a good stallion.” Celestia fell silent; her look once again became wistful and nostalgic.

I let her remark hang in the air. That particular issue was private to Celestia, and even as her friend, it was not something I would go poking my nose in.

A few moments later, we came upon the open portal, guarded by Cerberus. Ol’ Fluffy leaned down to be made a fuss of. He seems to like both me and Celestia. According to Fluttershy, he felt very bad about not being able to release them when they were wrongfully imprisoned here, and does all he can to make up for it.

Stepping back through the portal, we emerged back into my office. With a quick flick of her horn, Celestia sealed the portal behind us.

“There,” she said happily, glad I think to be back in her kingdom. “Now, I had best return to Day Court, my advisor. Is it a busy day for you as well?” I raised a hand and made the so-so motion.

“Sort of,” I replied. “The Chief of Police in Manehatten wired me this morning. They picked up Marelone without trouble. He should be in an interview room within the hour. Other than that though, I should be available to advise you, as ever.” Celestia smiled.

“Then I shall leave you to deal with Mr. Marelone, my advisor. Good day.”

“Good day, your highness,” I replied.

With that, she departed.

As the princess left, I heard her greet Buttercup in the corridor. A moment later, he appeared in my doorway. The earth pony guard was standing there in his usual armour and greeted me.

“We have Marelone waiting for you downstairs, sir,” he reported. By ‘downstairs’, he meant the castle dungeons, which boasted cells and several interview rooms. I nodded in understanding.

“Good,” I replied, sounding a little disinterested. “Make sure he stays under guard.”

“Yes, sir,” Buttercup replied. He then stepped back a little from the door to allow me to follow him. “Er, coming, sir?” I shook my head.

“In a little while, Buttercup,” I said, sitting down in my chair again. The guard tilted his head to emphasise his confusion. It did seem a bit of an odd reaction from me after all.

“Sir?”

“I want to let him sweat for a little while. And remind him who has the upper hoof here. Let him stew for another hour, then come and find me.” Buttercup nodded and then departed.

I meanwhile took a chance to catch a breath and fished out a copy of a Shadow Spade story; I think it was ‘The Mareltase Falcon’. Marelone wasn’t going anywhere, and I needed to brush up on my interrogation technique.

---

After I had made Marelone wait another hour for me, I headed on down to the dungeons. It’s a bit of a mix down there really. One the one hand, you have Victorian era prison cells that are about as comfortable as a debtors prison, but you also have comparatively modern interview rooms, complete with low level lighting, metal chairs and table, and one way mirrors to allow ponies to watch from outside.

However, much to my delight, there were two things those interview rooms didn’t have; cameras and microphones. In Britain, at the time I left, you were interviewed by two officers when you were nicked, and it was all recorded and taped to ensure no intimidation occurred. But back in the good old days, all that had to be done was the suspect had to sign the officers’ report at the end, confirming it was true. As long as they could still use their hand, you were fine. Unsurprisingly, quite a few criminals, particularly ones with weaker cases, experienced unfortunate accidents. Some of them would fall pretty hard, and bang their head about five or six times, or break their hand in the door.

Of course, I wasn’t about to do that. But it might help for Marelone to believe that I had that option open to me. After all, I’d previously shown him that I knew how to play the game. As a matter of fact, I was going to use a similar tactic to the one I had used with the cabbie.

I opened the door and walked into the interview room, telling the two guards to wait outside. I then closed it behind me and turned the latch, locking it tight.

“How do, Marelone?” I greeted cheerfully. The earth pony glared back at me, but didn’t reply. His suit, as well as his mane, was ruffled from being manhandled up here, and he no longer looked like a respected Mafioso. “Sorry to keep you waiting, but things have been rather busy down here recently.” Marelone snorted.

“Your pet gorillas out there still haven’t told me what I’m being charged with,” he replied. “If you want to hold me, I’m fairly certain you have to charge me with something.” I nodded.

“Very true,” I said. “And on that note; Bugsy Marelone, I’m arresting you on suspicion of conspiracy to kidnap. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?” Marelone bristled at that.

“Yes.” I smiled.

“Good. Do you want your brief here? Or would you rather we just have a chat between ourselves?” Marelone leaned back and formed his two front hooves into a steeple.

“Let’s talk. Just yous and me,” he replied, his Manehatten accent becoming more pronounced.

Opening my briefcase, I fished out the small, old fashioned tape recorder and spooled it up. Playing it back revealed a recording of the conversation between Marelone and me, asking him to help capture Starlight. He went decidedly pale when he heard it.

“Now,” I said, after I had stopped the tape. “I can easily explain away our little arrangement as a sting operation. Nopony will believe you anyway. You however, are on tape, agreeing to help kidnap somepony. I doubt I could find a judge in all of Equestria that won’t send you down the river. And when they do, I’ll be sure to tell The Commission how cooperative you were with my investigation. How long do you think you’ll last on Whickers?” ‘Whickers’ was Whickers Island, just off the coast, an infamous prison for Equestria’s criminals.

Marelone saw how the land lay. Either he could go to prison and before long be bumped off by The Commission, or…

“Is there a deal to made here?” he enquired resignedly. I smiled and leaned back in my seat.

“That there is, old son,” I replied. “And a very simple one at that. I will let you out of here, drop the charges against you, and overlook your criminal past. In exchange, you will work for me.” I leaned forward on the table and explained. “I want to bring down The Commission; not just the ponies involved, but the whole organisation. I intend to gather enough evidence to charge The Commission itself with racketeering, smuggling, and anything else I can dig up. I intend to send every last one of you down the river.” Marelone tilted his head to one side.

“And suppose I simply go back to Manehatten and tell my boss all this?” I smiled.

“Then I’ll have you picked up just like I did this morning. And I’ll make the indictment official. You’ll rot on Whickers Island for the rest of your days.” Marelone however, seemed unruffled. So, I chose to play my last card, hoping that he didn’t call my bluff.

I laid a polaroid photo on the table. It was a picture of a young auburn coated mare, with a cute little filly following at her heels.

“Well, if you aren’t up for it,” I said darkly. “I suppose I could always talk to this pretty young thing. Though I couldn’t be held responsible for what The Commission might do if she was seen talking to the Manehatten Police.” I wouldn’t really of course. If Marelone called my bluff, that would have been it. I would never dream of putting anypony in harm’s way, least of all a mare and her foal.

Still, the tactics worked. Marelone’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks as he looked at the photo. A moment later, he looked up at me, murder in his eyes.

“You son of a Diamond Dog!” he seethed. “Fine, I’ll help you.” I leaned back again and let myself relax.

“Good. Glad we could come to an understanding,” I replied cheerfully. I passed him a business card. “Leave any messages you have for me here. It’s a P.O Box on West 59th Street. I want names, places, dates, and amounts. Then, when things go down, you and your family get to slip away, start a new life. Deal?” I extended a hand across the table. After a few moments of consideration, Marelone responded.

“Deal,” he replied, taking my hand. With that, the stallion broke his omerta; his code of silence. If I remember correctly, this made him a ‘pentito’; his soul would now burn in hell for breaking his word. I had a stallion on the inside.

---

I left Marelone downstairs and headed back up to my office in good spirits. Today had been a case of ‘two birds, one stone’ as they say. I’d been able to close the book on Sombra, and see him get his metaphorical arse kicked by Celestia. And now, I’d just set in motion my plan to, hopefully, tear down the blight of organised crime in Equestria. Not bad for my first year.

Things did seem to be settling down in general now. Starlight was no longer a problem, and seemed to be doing okay in Ponyville, though I fear she has a long road to understanding friendship. Sombra had once again been bested by Celestia. Tirek was contentedly rotting in jail. Troubleshoes had been exonerated. Rainbow hasn’t made any further attempts to hold off the various seasons. Everything just seems to be settling down into idyllic tranquillity.

My son, at this point, would point out that that is usually when the ground gives way from under you. But the way I see it, with the map even going quiet, we all might as well enjoy this quiet spell while it lasts.

Heading back into my office, I grabbed what few files I needed to take home, drew the blinds, turned off the lights and locked up for the night. I briefly stopped by the throne room, where Celestia was just stepping down, having officially closed court for the day.

“Right, I’m just about to head off,” I said as I walked into the throne room. I try and make a point of saying goodbye to Celestia at the end of the day.

“I could say the same myself, my advisor,” Celestia replied as she dismissed the guards from the court. Stepping down off the dais, she walked over to me and gestured for me to continue on.

“Before you leave though,” she went on. “I was just about to lower the sun for the day. My sister is in her tower preparing to raise the moon, but I could do with some company. I don’t suppose you’d mind staying for a few more minutes?” I shook my head.

“No, of course I don’t mind, Tia,” I replied. “And hey, it would be interesting just to see you do your thing. Land of magical talking ponies or not, your party trick still makes my jaw drop.” Celestia chuckled at the complement.

The two of us headed up to Celestia’s own chambers. While Luna had her own tower, Celestia maintained her own suite somewhat closer to throne room. After all, the younger princess needed a vantage point for when she was examining the night sky and fine tuning her moon’s position.

Heading inside, Celestia opened the double doors which led out onto the balcony. Being on the western side of the castle, you could see both parts of Canterlot, as well as the valley below, and, of course, the setting sun.

I stood a little way off to Celestia’s left, giving her room to work. Looking across the expanse, I could just about make out Princess Luna, standing on the balcony of her own tower.

With the sun now just barely floating above the horizon, Celestia reared up onto her hind legs, her hooves pounded through the air out of reflex. Lighting up her horn in its usual golden aura, she began to move the vast nuclear reactor. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I can’t say I believe in God, and Celestia herself is certainly not a deity, but there was still something awe inspiring about the power she wielded.

In a single fluid motion, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the sky turned to twilight. Celestia returned to all four hooves and slowly deactivated her magical hold. Across the way, I saw Luna’s horn glow a light blue, and in the same fashion, albeit in reverse, the moon smartly rose above the horizon and began to make its way up into the sky.

I was speechless, really, I was. I’d seen Celestia raise the sun last year at the Summer Sun Celebration. But…to be so close…you could feel the magic in the air. It was just incredible.

I stayed a few minutes more with Celestia, as the stars began to phase into view. I of course, thanked her for letting me see the spectacle and wished her a good night. I then took my leave and headed for the train station. Home for tea.

Author's Note:

Proofread by EnderHooves.

Well, that's the last proper chapter. Everything is pretty much tied up in a neat little ribbon. Also, just so you know, while this chapter does make references to the 'Reflections' arc of the IDW comics, the others aren't canon to this story. I just thought it was an interesting take on Sombra.

All that's left now is the epilogue.

And the other two stories, of course.

Comments

[BrianPony]

Bravo! Well done sir.

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Dang dude, awesome work!

[harts fire]

totally spectacle just a awesome chapter.

[BenRG]

"Why, Marelone? Because you're criminal scum and you must have been demented to think that I felt anything for you but contempt. Your hired thugs were just tools I needed to flush out a threat that was so far above your little consortium of cutpurses and back-alley goons that it isn't even funny. That's all dealt with now, though and now I get to do what I wanted to do from the start: Destroy you and your entire diseased culture of crime and 'honour' crashing down around your ears."

"There are precisely two ways this ends, Bugsy Marelone: First, that you spend the rest of your life as a different pony under Witness Protection or, second, you spend the rest of your life in jail alongside the stallions whose freedom you forfeited when you made the mistake of trusting me. When I walk out of this door in precisely sixty seconds' time, you will get the second option. You now have fifty seconds. Use them well."