Up to Fate

by Onomonopia

New Year

"MOMMY!"

Not even Nabu's magic could protect Pinkie from the yellow torpedo that tackled her, dropping the mare instantly. As Pinkie lay on the ground and fought to get oxygen into her lungs, Lil' Cheese squeezed his mother tight.

"Let her go, Lil' Cheese. I think you're squeezing the life out of her," Cheese Sandwich said. Cheese walked over to Pinkie and held out a hoof to her, which she took. He held her hoof as he stared into her eyes, before pulling his wife into a tight hug. "I was worried. Both of us were. You were gone for so long..."

"Stuff...happened," Pinkie muttered. "I'll explain in a moment."

"You're back safe. That's all I care about" He then looked up at Tirek and narrowed his eyes. "Knowing you Pinkie, there is a very good reason that Tirek is here and not erased from existence. However, I have no idea what that reason could possibly be."

"Tirek's on our side. Or at least, he's against the Maestro," Pinkie replied. "Maestro is the one responsible for...everything. This world, the reality that isn't supposed to be, messing with the worlds magic...all of it. He's the puppetmaster controlling the puppet."

"I am no puppet," Tirek grunted. "And I would like it to be known that the only reason any of us still exist is because I was able to convince the Maestro to create a new reality. You're welcome."

Cheese gave his wife a look. "It's true. Despite all he's done...we owe our lives and this chance to save our reality to Tirek," Pinkie said. "So try to get along with him. He's going to be fighting with us."

"Fighting with us?" Cheese asked. "Wait, did you not beat Maestro? How is that-?"

"Hey...where's Star-Swirl?" Lil' Cheese asked. Pinkie's face fell in response and Cheese frowned, knowing what Pinkie's reaction meant.

"Hey, Lil' Cheese? Listen to me," Pinkie began. "What happened in the castle was...it..."

"Star-Swirl is dead," Tirek said. All eyes looked at him. Lil' Cheese in disbelief. Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich with rage. "He died saving Pinkie. Buying us time. The only reason any of us still exist is because of him. Waste time mourning his death if you must, but I would rather spend that time preparing. To answer the stallions question, Pinkie and Nabu failed. Maestro defeated the both of them. We barely made it out alive."

"How is that possible?" Cheese asked Pinkie. He pulled his son into a hug, comforting Lil' Cheese who was still trying to process Star-Swirl's death. "Nabu's power...was so far beyond..."

"Yeah, now Nabu knows how we felt," Pinkie replied.

'It was more than that I was outmatched. The Maestro's power, it...it does not add up,' Nabu spoke in their minds. 'His magic...does not follow any rules of any power source that I know of. It is like it allows him to do whatever he wants, so long as it makes things...different. To...shatter reality, as it were.'

"So how are you supposed to fight that?" Lil' Cheese asked. Pinkie looked down at her son to him staring up at her with tear stained eyes."If Maestro could beat a being as strong as Nabu...then how can you win?" Pinkie didn't have an answer.

'Do not despair. I was caught off guard the last time we fought. I did not unleash all of my infinite bag of tricks,' Nabu replied. 'For while destructive power is important, when dealing with a wizard such as myself, the more spells and tricks the stronger one is. And I have more than enough spells to deal with this pretend god. We shall prevail.'

Lil' Cheese smiled at Nabu's response and he wiped his eyes on his forearm. Lil' Cheese hugged his mothers leg. Pinkie patted her son on the head with a smile, but internally her thoughts did not match her smile. 'I thought that you said we stood little chance against the Maestro. Why sing a different tune?'

'If we prevail, his faith in you will be absolute. If we fail, we will all cease to be. Why make his potential last days on this world terrifying?'

'That's kind. For you, at least.'

"So when are you going to face this Maestro again?" Cheese asked. "How long do we even have? If he's more powerful than Nabu, then he could end everything at any moment, right? How long do we have?"

"We do not know. But what we do know is that the Maestro likes things to be interesting. So...we have a bit of time. Until he gets bored, I'd wager," Tirek answered. "A day. Maybe a little longer. Impossible to tell. But I wouldn't risk it any further than that."

"Of course you wouldn't. After all, it's not your life on the line," Cheese snarled at the centaur. Tirek looked down at the pony and raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie will be the one fighting Maestro. The one risking everything to bring him down. So a day is fine for somepony who-"

"I will be going with her," Tirek revealed. Cheese looked at Tirek in complete surprise. "If this is to be the end, then I want it to be known that I went out fighting with everything that I had. I may be hated by all of you, and I do not doubt that I deserve it, but until it is pried from my dead hands, I am still king of this world. And I will fight for it as a king would."

"Huh, is this a real change of heart or are you trying to earn up brownie points for the creator when you meet her?" Cheese Sandwich asked.

"Can't it be both?" Tirek smirked in reply.

"So tomorrow? That's how long I have till we face him again?" Pinkie asked. All eyes turned towards her, eyes filled with understanding and sympathy.

"If I had to wager, yes. I'm sorry."

'What Tirek says is most likely true. Gods do not wait. Not long. Maestro will not give us much time,' Nabu confirmed. Pinkie stared down at the sand for a moment, her mind lost. Then she looked towards her friends and family with a smile.

"Then let's make it a night to remember."

†

Pinkie sat on the beach, staring at the surf. The moon was shining bright overhead, giving light to the entire world. The sea shimmered, the surf washed along the shore, and, for a moment, all felt peaceful in the world. Cheese sat next to her, staring out at the sea as well, while Lil' Cheese was fast asleep and leaning against his mother. They had played games, sang songs and partied like there was no tomorrow. And there might not be.

Tirek sat off by himself, in the shadows and far from the shore. Pinkie could sense how scared the centaur was, but he was a master of not showing any emotion aside from annoyance. He hadn't participated in any games, singing or drinking. But for a moment, when Pinkie knew he was certain nopony was looking at him, there had been the faintest trace of a smile on his face. He wasn't all bad.

And then there was the helm, resting in front of Pinkie and aimed out at the sea. In the moonlight the normally gold helm was silver and it looked almost...tranquil. Nabu hadn't spoken much at the party and now he was completely silent. Pinkie figured he was going over every possibility for what was to come, but she wished he would confide in her a bit more. She had gotten used to his voice in her head.

"Tomorrow, huh?" Cheese finally asked. Pinkie leaned in him a bit more, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Tomorrow," she confirmed.

"Think you can win?"

"Don't know. First time didn't go so well. But we have to try. We'll find a way."

"Not exactly the most comforting words."

"Best I can do."

"Any plan on how to beat him?"

"Go nuts? Confuse him maybe? I don't know, he seems pretty darn powerful. Like, stupid powerful."

"I see...you scared?" Cheese finally asked.

"Of course. Especially since we've already lost to him once," Pinkie whispered. Then she gazed down at her son, who was sleeping peacefully. "But I've got to win. For Lil' Cheese. To give him a world of smiles and happiness. To give him a world worth living in."

"I think he would like that. It's better than this one," Cheese said.

"Yeah...do you think I can win?" Pinkie dared to ask.

"Hmm. On one hoof, your foe has unbeatable power, has crushed one of the most powerful beings I've ever met and seems like a lunatic. On the other hoof, you've always been one to make the most out of a terrible situation. So yeah, I think...I know you can win," Cheese Sandwich replied. "Because you're Pinkamina Diane Pie. And you always find a way to prevail. You're stubborn like that."

"I thought you were supposed to be making me feel better," Pinkie teased in reply. "So I'm stubborn, huh? Well you try dealing with a foal, a god that talks in your mind and having the fate of the world in your hooves. You'd have to be stubborn or crazy to make it through that."

"Luckily for all of us, that fits you to a T," Cheese teased back. The two nuzzled each other before Lil' Cheese let out a loud snore, getting both parents to giggle before Cheese stood up. "I should probably get him to bed. Me as well. And you should get some sleep also. Tomorrow is...well..."

"Yeah. I will," Pinkie said. Cheese Sandwich walked over to Lil' Cheese and picked him up, placing the sleeping foal on his back.

"And Pinkie?" Pinkie turned and stared up at her husband, who was smiling softly at her. "No matter what happens tomorrow...know that I love you. Both of us do. And we're both proud of you. Win or lose...you're still our hero. Our beacon of light. My source of laughter."

"Thanks...I love you both too," Pinkie replied. Cheese blew a kiss to her before walking towards the beach hut, leaving Pinkie alone on the beach with the helm. "I feel a little better now. He always knew how to make me feel better."

'So he does have some worth,' Nabu said.

"Don't be like that, he's the greatest husband in the universe," Pinkie replied.

'I will take your word for it...I know that this has not been the best experience for you. I know that I made you dive into the deep end of magic without any warning or real training. Had I known the caliber of foe that we would be up against, I would has contacted you sooner. I would have given you much more time to train and improve yourself in the arcane ways. Should we succeed tomorrow, it will be because of you. Should we fail, it is on me.'

"Hey, come on now. we're partners. Win or lose, we both share the blame," Pinkie corrected. She smiled at the helm and gently patted it. "And now I'm really worried. If you're being nice than it's a clear sign of the end times."

'You are right. I am being too soft on you. How about offensive spells? Have you gotten any better at those?' Nabu asked.

"Well...no," Pinkie sheepishly said. "You know that I don't like to hurt others."

'Even a being such as the Maestro? One who will stop at nothing to erase your world? Your entirely reality?'

"...even him."

'You are an odd one, Pinkie. Even now I still don't get you,' Nabu said. 'But perhaps that is why I was drawn to you. Now go get some sleep. Tomorrow...you know.'

"I do," Pinkie said as she stood up. She stretched out her legs and shook the sand out of her tail, before a smile crossed her face. "Oh look, it's technically tomorrow. You know what that means?"

'That you should be asleep?'

"That means, if what Tirek said is true, it's the new years! Which also means..." Pinkie then reached into her mane and pulled out a cupcake, which she set down atop the helm. "That it's when you were first created. Happy birthday, Nabu."

Pinkie then yawned and walked towards the hut, waving one last time at Nabu as she did so. Nabu didn't say anything in reply. Once Pinkie was gone, he levitated the cupcake down in front of his helm, examining it with...something welling up inside of him.

'My birthday...I've never even thought about it before,' Nabu thought. He then examined the flavor of the cupcake. 'Hmm. Vanilla and chocolate swirl. A mix of chaos and order. Something I would never agree to. And yet...I have the feeling that I would enjoy this flavor if I were to try it.'

'Sadly...I have no mouth.'

Comments

[Fluffy-Boi]

The final battle approaches

[FleetlordAvatar]

'Sadly...I have no mouth.'

The disadvantages of immortality as a talking helmet.

[Norwegian boy]

I hope they kick Maestro ass.

[marcelojj]

10317877
People says Nabu has no humour.

I strongly disagree.

[Warrior Kitten]

'It was more than that I was outmatched. The Maestro's power, it...it does not add up,' Nabu spoke in their minds. 'His magic...does not follow any rules of any power source that I know of. It is like it allows him to do whatever he wants, so long as it makes things...different. To...shatter reality, as it were.'

Pff, well guess that answers that question. But that still begs the question; if his power is to shatter reality, how would he fare against a power meant to keep it together? Not counting Nabu here as he seems to still follow the bounds of reality.