20: A New Generation
A little filly, crowned with a red, steel, and dull yellow mane, crept silently through familiar crystal hallways. It was her home, a massive world of crystal that were gentle purples and pale blues. The tall oak doors stood ajar in the room she was facing. Indistinct angry shouting erupted from within, both familiar voices. The first, commanding and regal, the other husky and bold. The filly thanked her small size as she peeked inside with one eye through the crack.
Twilight Sparkle, back when she kept her mane and tail their original mundane look, was scolding an aging mare of fiery colors. The old mare, a unicorn that radiated power, was not cowed in the slightest. Instead she seemed to only grow ever angrier the more Twilight railed against her. The filly was too young to know what they were saying, but she trembled at the unbridled hostility.
The argument almost became coherent to the filly as the old mare challenging the regal alicorn seemed to deform slightly. Her fur darkened, her horn was wreathed in purplish black light. The filly shivered as horns grew along the unicorn’s spine, jutting out like poisonous barbs. Her teeth changed into sharp needles that cut into her own lips as she furiously yelled at Twilight. Yet instead of everything becoming hot, the filly felt a deep cold that cut to her soul. Her breath frosted as ice spread out from the unicorn.
If was like Twilight barely even notice the change at all. She kept up the shouting match with sad anger tinting her hard eyes, blurry with tears. The filly saw the danger clear as day, and barged into the room to warn her mother. But she was too slow. The ice that was dominating the room collapsed on Twilight in an instant. She was frozen solid, with the filly rooted to the floor in sheer terror as the demonic unicorn turned her baleful gaze upon her.
She spoke the first words the filly could finally understand. “Who are... Wait,” her already hostile tone growing even more chilling. “So mother dear popped out another one? Old habits die hard.” The demonic mare’s eyes zeroed in on the filly’s horn and wings. Dark magic wreathed her like an inferno. “You? You?! How could you possibly deserve that horn when I am repeatedly denied my birthright!?” Black magic collected at the mare’s horn. All the filly could do was sit there and soil herself in abject fear. “If I can’t be an alicorn, then neither shall you!” The mare aimed her horn straight at the filly and unleashed the maelstrom of necrotic magic. The filly screamed as the magic enveloped her.
Prism Flash carried that scream as she pushed herself out of the nightmare and into the waking world. Sweat was drenching almost every square inch of her suit. Prism was gulping air as her heart pounded in her ears. She trembled, shielding her head behind robotic hands and wings alike.
She bit back fearful tears and choking sobs as the real world finally started to register around her. Slowly, she dropped her wings and hands as she remembered where she was. She cast red rimmed eyes towards the bench she had been sleeping on inside the airbus transport that was still on its way back to the colony. Her shaky breathing was getting under control as she looked around the cabin. Every last one of the other ponies were fast asleep, although some of them tossed and turned with nightmares of their own. She didn’t bother climbing enough to look over the back of the bench to scout the rest of the occupants, hoping no one would see her in such a ragged state.
She sat back, her eyes gaze falling upon the empty black of the window across from her. What… what was that? The fleeting details of the nightmare started to fade. Was that really her? Sniffling, Prism pulled herself in tight, letting time and the steady drone of the engines calm her down.
It was close to one in the morning when Prism thought to look at the time. I only got two hours sleep. She checked her personal display for a flight path update. “Not even an hour from town. Not that I can sleep after that.”
With her nerves still raw, Prism just sat there, not having the energy to occupy herself. Every turn of her head brought the new foreign feeling of her bangs being obstructed by her horn, small though it was. Grateful for the distraction, she unfurling a hand. Prism gently probed the ivory spire with the tactile finger tips. A grim sense of justice crawled into her mind. That’s right you self-centered whore. I’m going to get what you never could. What you killed our world over in some stupid tantrum!
Spite filled her with determination and vindictiveness. I’m going to do everything I can to be a full alicorn so you can squirm in Tartarus.
“I know it is hard, Prism,” echoed one of Twilight’s lessons, “But we must learn forgiveness. Even Discord, for all his crimes, ultimately proved to be more or less a friend of Equestria.”
Prism shook her head to clear out her mother’s voice. Fire Shrine doesn’t deserve forgiveness.
Sighing deeply, Prism realized she wasn’t going back to sleep and opted to distract herself with something more useful than brooding. Prism caught her reflection in the window and noted how roughed up her mane looked.
Seeing it as good an excuse as any, Prism found some spare goggles, and used the camera mounted on it as an impromptu mirror. I can’t do much with my hair until I get a better picture of my upgraded forehead.
Using her personal set of goggles to keep her mane back, Prism made her small horn stand unobstructed. “I wonder if I should look into unicorn mane styles… If my face is going to be plastered all over the history books, I’d rather look moderately professional.” Whispering to herself, Prism pulled the goggle off and let her bangs to fall back over her horn. The ivory spire was visible only because she was looking for it. The horn was just long enough to part some hairs, but not enough to poke out. “Guh, why do you have to be so tiny baby small? Would it kill ya to at least get large enough to show off?”
Shaking her head to resettle her hair, Prism watched as her mane fell into a mess for her mechanical finger to comb back into order. The welcome distraction did its part well in making her forget both her nightmare and anger, for now. Her brushing left much to be desired however. Forget it. Maybe when it grows out a bit more I can actually do something with it. “Maybe it’s like a muscle and I just have to exercise to make it grow.”
For just about every other pegasus, they would have no clue on how to control a horn, but Prism grew up with a different education. Abandoning hair disaster for the moment, Prism shut off her ‘mirror’ and sat down in the nearby window seat so she could use the dark sea as a focus. Unlike mental healing meditation, Prism was experienced in controlling her magic during a crisis, so a little engine noise was hardly a bother.
Centering herself, Prism reached into her mana, and found the familiar mixed with the new. Her alicorn magic was as strong as ever, and her pegasus magic was just as plentiful. Now though, she found a touch of earth magic scattered throughout her body with a modest concentration in her hooves. But for the moment, her attention was the unicorn magic that swirled lazily in a complex mesh of mana channels between her horn and the carbuncle located in her chest. She couldn’t see the channels directly, but her mother’s training of channeling her alicorn magic gave her the sight to see the rest of her mana, and to know what type it was.
“Your magic obeys you much like a computer obeys its user. It will do what you tell it to, not always what you want it to.” This time, Prism was much more inclined to listen to her mother’s advice, which produced an amused snort from her. “Well, right now, how about I just settle for a shine spell. That just requires a little magic in the horn, right? Baby steps.”
Prism teased at her unicorn magic the same way she usually did to her alicorn mana, finding it far more pliable than she ever expected. So much so that she summoned a great deal unicorn magic along with a sizable chunk of alicorn mana as well. Geeze, this stuff flows like water. Maybe I’m just too used to the taffy-like alicorn mojo. The mana quickly flew up the channels as if it were begging to be released. Mana flooded her horn, far more than her small ivory could contain. Magic leaked out of her horn like a blinding light with some tangible motes of magic floating away. Prism freaked out and tried pulling her magic back in much the same way she used to pull her alicorn magic out of her wings. Experience in such control might have won through had a loud growl of pain had not drown out the drone of the engines.
Briefly thinking that came from her, Prism was weirded out just long enough for her magic to fizzle out of the immature horn, scorching the wall and setting the ends of her mane on fire. Before she could even register there was a fire on her head, the aircraft’s computer reacted instantly. A baseball sized drone detached from a front alcove and fired a wad of retardant foam, blanketing her head in cold white sudsy embarrassment.
The next thing Prism was aware of, was an outline of foam on the wall in the shape of her neck and head. She cast a baleful glare towards the zippy little drone, barely catching sight of it as it clicked back inside its alcove. “I hate you so much right now.”
Sighing in disgust, Prism took off her Pathfinder’s duster and used it to wipe the foam off her with moderate success. In doing so, she saw Alf in the back corner trying to wrap bloodied bandages across his wrists. His hands glowed in feeble orange light. She gasped at seeing the Blades of Severance lying on the ground in a growing pool of red blood. Dropping her foam soaked duster, Prism flew over the still sleeping soldiers to land next to the alien. “Alf, what happened!? Are you alright?”
The alien didn’t utter a word as he deftly wrapped his two lower wrists tight. Prism stood there in an uncomfortable silent, unsure if she could help without causing some cultural insult. She took the time to think about what she saw, grimacing at that the deep lacelrations and spreading pool of blood she was hovering above. “So you severed your bond to Rea.”
Giving only a nod in reply, Alf finished binding his four wounded wrists before speaking. “I had hoped to keep quiet during the ritual.” Another failure to compound the rest. “Severance is what you call capital punishment. Witnesses are an embarrassment.”
“I get the feeling Severance was broadcast empire wide,” Prism said with concern. “Should I just leave you alone then?”
“Attention everypony,” the intercom chirped as the pilot spoke in a tired voice. “We’ve just entered Elysium airspace, so keep your wings and legs inside until the ride comes to a full and complete stop.”
The brief interruption had given Alf the moment he needed to keep his voice from cracking. By the time Prism turned away from the intercom, Alf was holding the foot long nanite canister he pulled out from below his cot. Several lights blinked lazily as he rotated it in his grasp.
“Is that what I think it is, Alf?”
“… It is.” Alf shivered out of fear. Fear of a bleak future.
“You don’t have to do this, Alf. You already freed Rea and the others.” Prism risked placing a hoof on Alf’s shoulder, making him flinch back at the touch. “Sorry, sorry,” Prism waved trying to calm the brief scowl on the alien’s face. “But look, you can still get your spirit journey. Mom’d have no issue giving you some supplies.”
Alf deflated and slumped into a wall mounted chair. He kept the canister grasped in his bottom hands while wiping his brow with the upper left. “And what future truly awaits me? Whether I die in the wilds or do what you want and I stay in your city, I am still among The Severed. Only oblivion awaits me after death.” He looked down at the canister. “If Reproachful Instigation lied and this kills me, or I die ages from now, the end is the same.”
Prism’s heart ached at seeing her friend, at least she liked to think it was mutual friendship, in such an emotional wreck. Emotional or not, it took a lot to put a halt to the gears turning in Prism’s mind. “Tell me if I’m wrong, but are you thinking to become a pony in order to get into our afterlife?”
A sad yet hopeful frown crossed his face. “Is that presumptuous? You must have different rituals compared to the Dead Ones.”
Prism’s first thought was to claim ignorance, but if there was one thing Twilight Sparkle loved to do during Prism’s youth was giving historical bedtime stories. Remembering a few such tales, Prism lifted a hoof while speaking. “There have actually been a couple of old mare’s tales about a few griffins who became ponies and were presumably accepted into the Elysian Fields. But I’m not exactly a theologian here.”
“But your word has weight,” Alf all but insisted with hope in his eyes. “You are a goddess now, are you not? I only ask to be granted an afterlife. I will serve you in any way you require.” He pushed forward with fear tinged desperation coloring his words. “Anything you ask of me, just grant me this one boon, I implore you!”
Fully weirded out, Prism backed away in midair, trying to wave him off. “Woah, woah, calm down! I don’t want a servant. We – ah – we alicorns don’t work that way.” So long as you ignore that whole Nightmare Moon fiasco. “Look, if you really want in, just ask my mom. If anypony knows how to do this it’d be her.”
Alf hesitated as her logic reached him. He stepped back, turning away to think. “Yes. She is the elder, it would make sense she would have the final word and knowledge to make it work.” He turned back to Prism who was trying to inch away from the conversation. “I shall have to ask her at once.”
Prism tried to shake off the heebee jeebees that Alf's wild, manic eyes were giving her, but to little avail. “I know this is important to you, but mom just gave birth.” Just the thought of that made Prism doubly eager to see her new sister. “Could you wait a few days, at least?”
Alf finally realized how he was acting and retreated back to the first aid cabinet. “Yes, of course. I thank you for your consideration.”
The shuttle clattered against solid ground, jarring many of the sleeping soldiers awake. The doors yawned open to reveal several medical personal and decontamination showers waiting for them.
Prism stayed in the back and made sure to pull her bangs over her face. The act of hiding her horn proved successful as the medics focused on retrieving Cloud Buster and the earth ponies who would all need rejuvenation work on their forelegs. Aside from the two pilots, Prism ended up being the last to leave the aircraft, yawning behind a wing. Ugh, it’s late. The nursery’s probably closed to visitors so I can wait until tomorrow.
She eyed Alf making himself scarce after clearing decon with a single guard offering escort. Her sympathy went out to him. I hope mom can actually help him.
Roughly a half hour passed before Prism was released from decon to go home. There were several soldiers lingering in the wide and harshly lit corridor. The near total darkness from the windows outside, lit only by some minor exterior lights, stood in sharp contrast. Prism cantered away, idly watching some NCOs giving orders to the uninjured. Sleep was the only thing on her mind as she observed the sleeping colony, only really able to see the rows of houses from her angle, one of which was calling her with the promise of sleep, and the threat of a nightmare. She might have kept staring out into the black night until a familiar voice called out to her. Blinking some sleep out of her eyes, Prism saw Silver Belle's reflection galloping over. She turned around to give the bat stallion a weary yet happy expression.
“Prism! I heard what happened out there.” He skidded to a halt, bringing Prism to a stop as well. “Is it really true you fought an alien AI?”
That’s the first thing he asks? Guess Glitter Horn was able to keep her trap shut after all. Throwing on an exhausted wiry grin, Prism used a wing tip to pull enough of her mane out of the way so she could see him. “Yeah, that’s right. A real jerkwad too, but he’s dust now.”
“Well, glad to see you made it out of there in one piece. I don’t know how you can go out there and stick your muzzle in danger like that.”
Prism nodded her head forward and started heading off to her house with Silver quick to follow after her. “Are you kidding? The danger is part of the fun,” Prism laughed off with a bit of forced laughter. “Not that I seek it out or anything, or have had the best luck with it, but sometimes you can’t play it safe, you know?”
Not quite humming in agreement, Silver let the matter drop as something caught his eye. “Are you trying a new mane style?”
Acting as if she were showing her mane off by turning away, Prism managed to hide a stupid grin that cleaved her muzzle. It took some effort to keep from chuckling. “Maybe. Do you like it?”
To his credit, Silver scrutinized Prism with a thoughtful furrowed brow. “Honestly, I prefer the old one. I like being able to see your beautiful face.”
Caught off guard, Prism blushed through her grey fur, and gave the bat pony a searching eye. “If I didn’t know any better Mr. Belle, I’d think you were trying to butter me up for something.”
By now, the pair had made their way into the rover hub. At such a late hour, it was a ghost town, populated only by a single cleaning robot sweeping the tile floors.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Silver added a bit too hastily. “The new style is good and all, but I can’t see you being one to hide behind your hair.”
"Ha, a fair point." Prism bought some time by humming aloud. Being alone in the transport hub or not, all it would take was a single random pony wandering by to blow her reveal with Twilight. She headed over to the closest rover. “Well, I’m totally zonked. You wouldn’t mind fixing my hair on the way would you?”
Silver tilted his head at the unexpected request, yet was not dissuaded and kept pace with her. “You want me to fix it? The most I know about hair care is running a comb through and letting the mane fall where it wants.”
Prism climbed into the waiting vehicle, casting a brief gleeful eye at the hapless stallion. “I’m not looking for perfection here, I want to go to bed asap after all.”
Mares and their games, Silver sighed. “Alright, I’ll play along.” Realizing Prism had not defended her manestyle very hard, he felt emboldened in thinking it wasn't a trick question. Climbing into the adjacent seat, Prism programmed the destination to the rover.
As the vehicle pulled away from the hub, Prism fully faced Silver with her hair blanketing her face, masking her huge grin. “Alright, Casanova, work your magic.”
Fortunately for Silver, Prism’s usual style was not complicated, a simple toss to the left side and ruffle it up, so he unfolded a robotic hand and pulled the bangs off of Prism’s face to reveal a toothy grin and a small horn.
The late hour made Silver take a long moment for his brain to register its presence. “By Luna’s starry tail, you got a horn!” He focused on her amber eyes with a grin to match her own. “That’s amazing!”
Unable to control her excitement any longer, Prism pounced Silver into a tackling hug. She giggled madly while burying her muzzle into his neck. She roped him into a hug with both forelegs and draped her wings over him, wiggling all the while. “It’s actually happening!”
More than happy to join in, Silver hugged her back with equal abandon.
For Prism though, the hug with Silver was more than just excitement from the horn reveal, but all the tension of facing down an AI with the world taken hostage, the frantic escape, and the deeply unsettling images she had witnessed wreathed within the breaks in reality. Silver’s presence and affection provided some sorely needed catharsis that Prism had not been aware she needed until she started crying into his fur. Knotted tension and happiness bled out of her in equal measure.
Silver caught onto the change quick snap, especially when Prism’s wiggling shifted to tightly gripping him. Not sure how to comfort her best, Silver remained silent and held her tightly, running his hoof against the back of her neck. Slowly, Prism’s crying abated into sniffles long after the rover arrived at her house.
Eventually, Prism withdrew and rubbed the tears away with her fetlocks. “Can’t believe I just did that.” She sat back in her seat, trying to get herself under control.
Silver took a risk and rested a leathery wing on her withers. “You want to talk about it?”
Originally, Prism thought the only person she could cry in front of was her mother. She never revealed such hurt even to Praxia. “I – I tried to get some sleep a few hours ago, but… I had the worst nightmare I’ve ever had. It was all about my older sister.”
Silver had to think why now of all times did the nightmare shake Prism so harshly, only to remember the details he had read about the expedition. “Those visions… the ones the breaks in reality gave everypony. You saw Fire Shrine?” He made it a point to not say sister. “Both there and in your nightmare?”
Prism sniffed, still feeling emotionally raw. “She had such a demonic look about her, the same look from those visions. But I wasn’t born until the war though, so I don’t know why these nightmares keep going like I was actually there.”
He gave Prism a brief nuzzle. “Maybe your subconscious is just acting up from what you saw in there.”
Prism nodded, heaving a ragged sigh. “I guess so. Not like she reached into the future just to smite me a few times. All I know is that she hated mom for marrying father. ‘Why couldn’t you be more like Cadance and hold her father’s memory?’” Prism kicked the door with a flash of anger. “Hypocrite seemed to forget that she wouldn’t have been alive if mom wasn’t able to move on from stallion to stallion.”
Silver nodded in some measure of agreement. “Sounds like a plothole thing to ask of an ageless person.” The attempt at slight humor had no effect, much to Silver’s worry. “Are you afraid you’re going to have another nightmare? Without Princess Luna around…”
Prism slumped backwards, staring up at the vast night sky, idly wondering which one the night princess had claimed for herself. “Yeah. I never had nightmares before where she wasn’t around to break it apart until we landed here. I’ve had like twelve nightmares of FS since we arrived. I guess that’ll be just one more kick in the teeth to get used to out here.” I’ll have to meditate the night away. Assuming I can even calm myself enough to do so. Or stay awake to get that far.
A thought occurred to Silver. “Say. I’m no Luna, but all bat ponies have some degree of control over dreams. I’m almost always lucid in my dreams.” Prism cast a red rimmed eye at him. “Maybe by being close by I could act like a dream catcher. Perhaps?”
Slowly, a thin smile wormed its way on Prism’s face. She was far too tired and strung out for much of anything else. “You have a lot more brass than you give yourself credit for, Silver Belle. But if you think this is an invitation for hanky panky-“
He cut her off with a head shake. “I’ll have you know I can be an honorable gentlecolt. Just sleep.”
Prism let the weight of her raw nerves and fatigue take over, making her lean against the bat pony’s chest. “I’d like that very much.”
The following morning, Prism awoke to the silent alarm of window shades rolling up to reveal the morning sun. A gentle breeze teased her mane and warm legs wrapped around her chest from behind. Prism let off a content sigh as she thoroughly enjoyed Silver’s warm protective embrace. Whether it was a placebo effect or actual bat pony magic at work, Prism’s dreams had been pleasant that night.
I could get used to this, she nickered inwardly. She took her time in waking up, unwilling to pull away from Silver Belle just yet. However, in the waking world she was no longer under his nocturnal protection, real or imagined. Unsettling memories of the vision flashed in her mind’s eye.
With as much care as she could manage, Prism pulled away from Silver and got out of bed. She walked over to a slightly worn foam mat and sat down facing the sun. Closing her eyes and practicing mana flow control, Prism meditated, allowing her alicorn magic to uproot any psychological damage cause by the visions before they could cause lasting harm.
Time lost all meaning to her during such meditations, as they ended only when her alicorn magic was done. Eventually though, it was a pleasant smell that brought her back to the waking world feeling refreshed. Her nose brought her attention down to a plate stacked high with pancakes topped with syrup and a note. The fresh smell and the fact that the syrup had yet to permeate the pancakes told her not much time had passed at all. The folded paper note had Silver’s signature on it. Prism nickered with a warm grin. “Wow, he is in try hard mode today.”
Prism got up and fetched her two hand braces off the nightstand then returned to pick up the note.
Hey, I couldn’t rouse you from whatever it is your doing, so I left you some breakfast when you wake up. I have to get to work, so I’ll catch you later. Considering you made your horn reveal a surprise, congrats again btw, I’ll keep my mouth shut until I see the news plastered everywhere. Shouldn’t take too long knowing you.
Prism laughed at herself and cast the note aside to eye the food hungrily. “Not long at all, that’s for sure.” I better hurry and see mom and my new sis!
Finding the fork and knife, Prism deftly carved up a bite and ate it with relish. Or at least that was until it exploded with the flavor of raw fish and soured tomatoes. Gagging, Prism spat out the horrid abomination of ‘food’, and tried to scrap her tongue with the handle of the fork. A moment later, Silver’s cackling voice broke from a nearby intercom. “Happy Pranksgiving!”
It took Prism a long moment to remember the date and another to actually realize that Silver Belle of all ponies was willing to pull a fast one on her. When she finished spitting out the vile food, a crooked grin cleaved her face. “Oh now I know he’s in try hard mode. I am so going to get you before the day’s done.” And after that I’m going to kiss him. With fish breath. Definitely with fish breath.
After finding a proper breakfast, and sweeping her house for any other pranks, Prism made best possible speed to the pediatric ward of the clinic. Which actually comprised over half of the clinic, but they still called it a ward. Prism made it to the clinic’s front desk only to find Praxia already talking with the receptionist. She cantered over right as the changeling hybrid ended her conversation with the staff member.
“Heyya bug girl, where’s mom?”
Praxia turned to see Prism approaching, and lifted a sardonic eyebrow. “Third floor, room thirty eight. What’s with the face covering mane style? You going La-van-guard on us?”
All Praxia could see from Prism was a wild grin as the soon-to-be alicorn smoothly transitioned to making her way to the elevator. “I have my reasons.”
“And here I thought you always wanted ponies to see your face,” Praxia replied as she joined in.
Prism remained tight-lipped all the way until they got into the elevator. “Today is an exception,” she answered cryptically.
However, Praxia was too intelligent and too familiar with Prism to even have to guess the reason for the hair change. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re trying to hide a horn.”
Prism reddened brightly because of the two nurses who had joined them in the elevator. She eyed Praxia with a seriously flat scowl, only to get a smug look from the changeling. “I suppose congratulations are in order. But if I can’t see it poking out of her mane, it must be quite small. Infantile I’d imagine.”
Prism waggled a wing at her tormentor. “Hey, Pranksgiving only allows pranks, not roasting.”
“I wasn’t aware I needed a holiday to roast you,” Praxia shot back with a smirk.
“Yea - well - I’ll have you know my horn’s still growing. Obviously.” Realizing she had confirmed Praxia’s theory, Prism stared at the two nurses. One was trying to keep from squealing out of excitement and had to stuff her mouth with a hoof. The other had caught on to Prism’s mood and was painfully trying to look like he hadn’t been paying attention. “Can you two keep a lid on it for at least an hour until I can surprise mom?”
The distracted one acted as if he was breaking attention away from his personal display. “Huh? What surprise?”
“That’s what I wanna hear.” Prism eyed the excited nursed who looked like she was going to rupture a blood vessel. Geeze, is a second alicorn really that big a deal? “Can you keep your partner contained?”
The elevator chimed for the third floor right as the calmer nurse roped his partner into a neck hold. “She’s just had too much coffee, and we’re expecting the entirety of the breeding initiative to come to a head over the next two weeks.”
The two mares exited the elevator with Praxia giving a respectful nod to the two medical personnel. “You have my sympathies. Good luck to you.”
“We only deliver them, not raise them.”
The elevator closed, prompting the mares to head to the room. “Hey, Praxia, aren’t you going to have like a gigaton of kids one day too?”
“That’s the master plan,” Praxia said with a touch of indignant anger. It was an emotion Prism was surprised to pick up on.
The dusty grey pegasus allowed a few ponies to slide past them while giving Praxia a perplexed look. “What happened to you? You usually sound so resigned when I bring that up, not angry.”
Praxia performed a short breathing exercise to control herself, and failed. “It’s that stupid griffin.”
“Gleaming Scythe?”
Praxia’s bile rose. “Yes, her. She’s just like all the movies depict of changelings: arrogant, dishonorable, and a pompous jerk.”
Prism noted a few ponies, both doctors and expectant mothers alike were within earshot. “I thought you’d know that movies like to blow stereotypes out of proportion.”
“Repeat a lie often enough, and it becomes the truth.” Praxia wanted to say nothing further and pushed ahead, all but galloping the rest of the way to Twilight’s room. Prism raced after her with both mares halting in the middle of the hallway to find Twilight Sparkle already walking towards them with Sawbones in tow.
Twilight paused in her conversation with the doctor when she noticed Praxia. “Ah, there you are. Thank you for taking care of the sewage problem for me.”
The gratitude was enough to brighten Praxia’s mood, not that she was willing to show it in front of the Director of Medicine and any passersby. “It was no problem, Sensei. I’m a little surprised you’re already on your hooves.”
Twilight’s smile grew when Prism skidded to a halt nearby, yet was tickled to see the odd hairstyle. “Well, as I’ve tried to tell the good doctor here, I’ve had a lot of… experience with giving birth, and despite my height, I still have normal sized foals.”
Sawbones took note that no one outside of the conversation was within earshot, so he took the opening to speak. “I have to say how surprised I am that your body has physically adapted to the whole process of bringing new life into the world. It’s kind of scary actually,” he muttered under his breath.
Bursting at the seams to get her secret out, Prism barreled through the conversation to glomp her mother into a crushing hug; the force of which made Twilight grunt from escaping air. “Momma, I got a crazy surprise for you.”
“Oh?” Twilight gave her an expectant look.
Praxia on the other hand, knew exactly what Prism was going to do, and casually lit up her horn and channeled a spell unbeknownst to everyone around her.
Prism’s maw cleaving grin strained her face. “Yup!” She pulled back and flipped her head to toss her hair off her face. “Behold!!”
A moment passed in stunned silence, just as Prism expected.
“...Behold what?” Twilight said with genuine curiosity. “You’re zit free?”
Furrowing her brow, Prism saw the confusion from her mother and the impatience from Sawbones who had patients to tend to. “You can’t see something that wasn’t there before? Something pointy by chance?” The blank looks from her mother and physician made Prism reach up with a hand to feel around. Sure enough, her horn was still there. Mom could be making fun of me, but I can’t see Doc doing that.
Pranks were already on the brain after what Silver pulled, which made Prism turn around to see Praxia looking as professionally disinterested as ever, but her horn was aglow. An incriminating sign if ever there was one. “You, bug, stop it or I’ll get my zapper.”
“Stop what?” Praxia asked in bewilderment the only way a changeling could when they knew they were caught, and could still look innocent.
“Cut it out or you’re going on the List.” Carefully hiding a grin, Praxia’s spell cut out, thus allowing Prism to turn back around to reveal her horn. “Voila!”
A warm motherly smile crossed Twilight’s face as she bent down a little to see the horn more closely. “Ahhhhh… Fascinating growth spurt. This must be related to something you did or were exposed to. I want the whole story later, but for now I’m very happy for you, Little Wing, I knew you had it in you.”
Praxia weaved a spell so only Prism could hear her. “Yeah, now it just needs to come out of you.”
Prism tried and failed to swat the taunting hybrid with her tail while keeping her attention on Twilight. “At this rate, I’ll be a full alicorn by my next birthday.”
“Speaking of birthdays,” Sawbones commented with a carefully crafted tone of polite impatience. “I must congratulate you, Prism Flash, but as much as I would like to celebrate, I must show the Princess to the nursery so I can tend to my other patients.”
“Yes, of course!” Twilight exclaimed as she started cantering forward with Sawbones leading the way. “We’ll have to discuss mana throughput testing later. And just in case you were wondering, we’ll save the partying for when you fully ascend.” With a small portion her attention, Twilight texted a message towards Praxia. Glad to see you in the spirit of the holiday.
Praxia concealed a smirk at the accolades, and chased after her mentor.
If Prism were honest with herself, she felt disappointed Twilight wasn’t jumping with glee. Well, it’s not like she wasn’t expecting this from the day I was born. Plus I have a little sis to see. “Make it a blow out bash and you got a deal!”
“Deal!” Twilight answered with a motherly smile that was filled with pride. Pride that Prism drank in like it was air.
As everyone marched on to see the new foal, a blinking reminder on Prism’s display brought something to her attention. ~“Hey, Glitter Horn, I told mom about my new bling, so you can go full tabloid mode now. I want to see headlines in an hour.”~
The high pitched feminine squealing that barked back in her phone nearly forced Prism to toss the headphones off. She ended the call and had to rub her ears to ease the pain. “Crikey she can be annoying.”
The group did not have to travel far, due to the nursery being in a nearby parallel corridor. The first sign of it was both sides of this hallway were entirely composed of glass. There was already a collection of new fathers and the occasional sibling watching the new foals from afar. Praxia glanced over the lower edge of the glass to find there were rows upon rows of empty bassinets. Only a scant few were occupied, created more by the new mothers who didn’t exactly wait around for the breed initiative to be announced to begin with.
At last though, the group came upon a small gathering of ponies of all tribes huddled around a single pane of glass. A bat stallion among the onlookers realized who had arrived. “Everypony make way for the royal family!”
One by one, the gawkers took the hint and parted to allow Twilight and the others passage. Sawbones however, now that the family had arrived, excused himself to return to work. Prism jumped into a hover to get a better angle at the only foal nearby.
“There she is,” Twilight cooed with refreshed motherly joy. A tiny dark purple filly was nestled in her crib, bundled up in clean white cloth. The pattern of her mane stripes took after her mother, but the primary color was navy blue with a thin strip of a light red framed by lavender lines. Hanging on the placard of the bassinet was the filly’s name with a watermark of hills surrounding a mountain, the modern symbol of the earth tribe. The earth foal was sleeping soundly as a crystal nurse documented the vital signs on a nearby monitor. “I named her Spring Roll.”
“Spring Roll,” Prism parroted a she let the name roll on her tongue. “You weren’t hungry when you named her by chance were you?”
Passively feeding on the love in the room, Praxia tried to keep herself professional in front of so many onlookers while suppressing a touch of mirth. “That is a snack you tend to favor, Sensei.”
Twilight sweated a little bit under not only her daughter and student’s scrutiny, but that of the other ponies within earshot. She gulped and gave off halted nervous laughter. “Um… maaaybe?” Prism gave her a flat look. “Yeah, okay so maybe I was. Giving birth will do that to you.”
“You do realize that most parents think of names like, months ahead of time, right?” Prism eyeballed her mother. “Did you by chance leave the rest of my sisters’ names up to their dads?”
“Is that bad?” Twilight offered as she looked to Praxia to try and save her, but the changeling was just as curiously as the soon-to-be alicorn. “Okay, Okay, I’ve never been good at names.” Twilight could almost feel the storm brewing over her head. “All I can ever think about when it’s time to actually name the foal is food.”
Deciding she had embarrassed her mother enough, Prism decided mercy was called for. “Anyway, I’ve been wondering how exactly are you going to be able to raise Spring Roll? You’re like always busy right?”
A pale somber shadow crossed the regal alicorn’s visage. A bit of the joy, lost in everything but her voice. That at least, she kept strong and confident. “I will be taking an extended leave of partial duties for the first year. Once Spring is a yearling I can scale back up to normal from there.” Praxia and Prism both knew Twilight long enough to sense there was something she wasn’t telling them, but neither dared ask in front of others. “In the meantime, Praxia here will be operating the minutiae of my work.”
Where Praxia had the tact to wait until they had some privacy, Prism sorely did not. She texted her mother while everyone’s attention lingered on the infant. What’s wrong, mom? I thought you’d be thrilled to raise another kid, what with the wild success I’ve been and all that.
The humor fell flat on Twilight, making Prism worry she might have hit a nerve. Instead, Twilight replied with a text of her own. I suppose now is a good a time as any to tell you this, Little Wing. Cadence once impressed on me that an alicorn mother must take a very personal hoof in rearing a child through their early years. Including natural feeding.
For my first few daughters, I followed her advice to the letter. Blue Lagoon, Fruit Cocktail, Orchid Blossom, all turned out to be wonderful, if a bit difficult to handle at the best of times. However, later on, I tended to favor using foal sitters like how I was raised, and formula. It all-, Twilight ended the text then and there. “As much as I would love to stay,” Twilight suddenly announced to everyone, “I have some critical matters to tend to before Spring Roll is released into my care.”
Twilight’s eyes crossed the ceiling, watching through her personal display as a shuttle parked above the building and activated a teleport beacon. She addressed the ponies in the room more so than her daughter and student. “I wish all of you the best of luck with your new families. Rest assured that with your dedication, our civilization and people will continue to thrive.”
Powering her horn, Twilight teleported the three of them into the shuttle which quickly started flying to her house at a very sluggish pace. Only now did Twilight let her mask drop to reveal the lapse of melancholy.
Praxia glowered at Prism. Just what did you say to her? Her deep ire drew the attention of Prism who plopped down on a seat, and shrugged ignorantly at the changeling.
Twilight had used the brief pause wisely to center herself and at least allow her to keep an objective attitude. “Praxia. Do you feel up to the challenge of the next year and a half? I will of course be staying apprised of colonial matters and giving insight, but you’ll be in charge of the day to day.”
Squaring her shoulders and putting on air of confidence, Praxia gave a brisk nod. “Yes, Sensei. I like to think ponies understand my competence by now.”
With a curt nod, Twilight turned her attention to Prism. “Now while this is mostly for you, I want Praxia to hear it as well.” She paused to give her next statement added weight. “Our children can become nightmares.”
For a moment, neither younger mare really understood what Twilight meant after it being stated so bluntly. They could clearly see the pain behind Twilight’s slightly reddened eyes. After giving a blank blink, Praxia spoke up first. “You mean, Nightmare Moon nightmare?”
“That is my belief, yes.” Twilight waited until cold realization dawned on Prism’s face.
“But how?” Praxia asked with a furrowed brow. “Isn’t alicorn magic just a force multiplier until the pony starts unlocking other tribal magic?”
Twilight wished she could fall easily into lecture mode, but her mood was ruined by some of the context her instruction came from. “Alicorn magic originates from the astral plane, not from within like traditional magic. Mana exhaustion can still happen, but more due to the body becoming too strained to draw more power from the plane.”
Prism had received a more broad education on alicorn magic than Praxia had, thus allowing her to put more of the pieces together. “Wait. Normal magic is highly malleable, but there’s certain rigidity to alicorn magic. Like why you and I can never be male, even through spells. Nor can we have any sons or grandsons.”
“That’s part of it, yes,” Twilight replied with a bit of a prideful smile. “I didn’t want to make this common knowledge, but the area around the astral plane from which we draw our magic does not operate under the laws we’re familiar with, and is greatly affected by our personality and emotions. Prolonged negativity is what eventually caused Princess Luna to be consumed by Nightmare Moon. I had thought such a fall was impossible for anypony but a full alicorn, but Fire Shrine proved me very wrong.”
“So what does this have to do with my new sister?”
“Well, for one, I want to minimize any chance that Spring Roll can suffer a poor upbringing.” Twilight averted her gaze to a window, seeing shades of past regrets. “I have admitted to not always being the best mother, and Fire Shrine was far and above my greatest failure.” Twilight’s mood brightened ever so slightly when she glanced at Prism. “I nearly swore off having any future children like Celestia and Luna have. Had you not come along when you did, and proven yourself to be such an honorable mare…”
If not a total braggart and attention hog, Praxia mused with mild irritation.
Ordinarily, such praise would have puffed up Prism’s chest, but the confession brought her up short as it told her something she had suspected for most of her life. So I wasn’t planned after all. Probably for the best. “Well hey, if this whole seeding project’s taught me anything, is that you gotta take the hits and keep on kicking.” An almost sadistic smirk plastered her face. “If anything, I just wish I could see that harlot’s face when she realized that not only have we survived her armageddon plan, but I get to be an alicorn when she didn't.”
“You’d have to visit Tartarus for that,” Praxia clarified. “And last I checked, they only give one-way tickets there.”
“Prism,” Twilight called out to break the two young mares from the upcoming bickering session. “While your duties will have you outside the colony more often than not, can I count on you to be a role model for Spring?”
The mention of being gone so often struck a chord with Prism. Dad was gone a lot because of the war. I could be the role model he never got a chance to be! Yeees. I can be the soldier to look up to. On the front lines of making sure we survive this world! Giving her mother a stern and utterly serious half grin, Prism nodded strongly. “You better believe it.”
“Good to hear. Now!” Twilight called to shift both the mood and topic. “As I said, I have some last minute changes to the house to make, now that I know Spring’s tribe. Praxia, I’ll finalize the daily checklist for the coming week, but I’ll expect you to come up with your own overall.”
“As you wish, Sensei.”
“Alright then, now if there’s nothing else-” Twilight started charging her horn for a teleport when Prism’s face lit up with urgency.
“Wait, hold up!” Twilight’s spell sputtered out and she looked at Prism expectantly. “It’s Alf. He took a syringe or something full of nanites that the AI programed to supposedly turn him into a pony.”
Twilight was completely unfazed, only giving Prism a mild hum. “In case you forgot, dear, I was paying attention to the whole situation, I know of the nanites.” When Twilight didn’t immediately say she was going to take them away or destroy them, Prism wiggled her forelegs at her expecting some kind of response. “I’ve ordered his quarters’ floor and walls to be mana-charged and the air filters reinforced to keep any nanobots from escaping, but ultimately what Alf wants to do with himself is up to him.”
“But - b - oh come on, that’s a cop out!”
Praxia cleared her throat. “I have to agree with the princess on this one.” Sensing the sardonic sarcasm coloring Prism’s aura before the pegasus could utter a word, Praxia jabbed a hoof at her. “And not just because I’m a brownnoser, okay!” Prism groaned and sat back, allowing Praxia a moment to recover from the embarrassment of admitting that in front of Twilight. “Think about it for a second. As far as both he and we know, Alf is the last of his kind. He went on the expedition for the sole purpose of, in his own words, damning himself to oblivion when he eventually dies. I say we let him turn if he wants.” Elysia knows I’d love to have those nanites.
Seeing that she wasn’t going to convince anyone, Prism sulked in her corner. “Fine, whatever.” She eyed her mother with a scrunched frown. “Then you better be ready. Alf has it in his head that you can ensure his entry into the pony afterlife once he turns.”
“I can’t do anything like that,” Twilight stated worriedly. “A soul’s destination is based on their lives, there’s no judge being that makes rulings over that.”
“Yeah well, good luck convincing Alf of that.”
Twilight hummed inquisitively. “Well. Alf is a reasonable person. I’m sure he’ll realize we ponies share a balance where we control some things, and let nature control others. I mean, who’s he really going to argue? Somepony who has probably not even cracked a book open about our mythology or me?”
Humored chuckling bubbled out of Prism with a mischievous smirk. “See, now you just invoked Marefy’s Law. So… good luck with that.”
“I will, thank you,” Twilight bit back, starting to get annoyed by Prism’s sass.
“I might have to agree with Prism on this one, Sensei,” Praxia hazard with a sheepish faux grin to try and placate the dower face of her teacher. “The report from the decontamination team stated Alf had four deep self-inflicted wounds on his wrists to quote: sever the bond between mortal and god.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Prism started with no small amount of mockery. “Let’s not forget that his culture typically liked to make those rituals so public that it was broadcast empire wide. So yeah, totally reasonable expectations there.”
Twilight’s mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to figure out what to say. “Oh dear.” Her ears flattened. “Umm. I will simply have to keep a close eye on this matter then. In the meantime, while I’m busy, I want one of you to put those daggers in a vault. We alicorns can’t be permanently cut off from the astral plane, but it does make us highly vulnerable. Hopefully we can research a way to protect ourselves from such weapons. After that, Prism, why don’t you go down to the xenology lab and see what the science corps makes of the spherical artifact you brought back.”
“Why don’t we just ask Alf before he erases himself?” Prism grumbled with an ornery scowl.
“It would take away the mystery of course,” Praxia offered, hoping she guessed Twilight’s reason. “I took the liberty of showing it to Alf earlier this morning and he didn’t say it was dangerous.” Praxia’s ego inflated in preparation for the incoming praise. “Not only that, but I had him record what the sphere’s purpose was in secret, never hurts to be prepared. Once we’ve had a chance to investigate it, we can see if we were right.”
“Perfect, well done.” Twilight clapped her hooves, willfully pushing what Alf might do to the back of her mind. “I do love a good mystery.”
Later that day, Twilight Sparkle was humming a light tune to herself as she worked in the baby’s room of her house. Like all the other prefab houses, it had room for four bedrooms, but each individual room was actually quite compact. With Spring Roll’s tribe now known, Twilight had spent the last few hours guiding a floating painter drone. It crafted rolling hills with little farms, old fashioned factories, a few libraries, and plenty of trees. Crowning the wall next to the crib was a photo realistic recreation of her old crystal castle. Like she did with all her children, Twilight had the cutie marks of her first circle of friends framing the castle. Each mark had a background color that accented each one.
Over the centuries, Twilight’s meditations had erased any sense of loss over her many, many friends’ passing, but she still liked to memorialize them in small ways. Thank you, all of you. I hope you found happiness in Elysia, or in whatever reincarnation you found yourselves in.
A warm smile crossed her face as she gazed at one cutie mark in particular. “I have a sneaking suspicion as to where you ended up.”
Leaving the robot to quick dry and vent the paint fumes, Twilight set about arranging the toys and furniture to exacting measurements that took fifteen pages of math and a burnt out calculator to complete. Yet she only managed to get the furniture and half the toys arranged before the doorbell chimed.
A camera feed appeared in her personal display to reveal Sawbones in his doctor’s coat with a baby carrier in his magic. He was standing in a magical isolation bubble between the outer airlock and the rover. “They’re here! Voyager, permit entry.”
Twilight raced downstairs and out the front door to witness the doctor cycle through the dome’s airlock.
Gliding over the short lawn, Twilight met the unicorn at the halfway point. “Ah, Princess, I believe this is yours. One very healthy filly. That'll be twenty bits plus tax.”
Giggling at the joke, Twilight gave him a little kiss on the nose. “Thank you, doctor. But you didn’t have to carry Spring here personally.”
He waggled a hoof as he unclipped his nametag and stuffed it into a coat pocket. “Ahh, but you see, now that I have delivered her to you, I am officially off the clock, my darling mare.”
The moment Twilight took the carrier; she quickly popped the sealed cover to find Spring Roll curled up and fast asleep. Twilight’s brief cooing came to a crashing halt when she saw the child had a horn that had definitely not been there this morning. For a brief moment, Twilight feared she had been brought the wrong child were it not for Spring’s fur and hair color matching from this morning. Stranger still, gentle movement underneath the blanket and behind the filly instantly made Twilight think of wings. Her mouth hung open in utter surprise. “D-doctor. Am I hallucinating, or is Spring an alicorn?”
“An alicorn?” Sawbones scoffed, drawing Twilight’s eyes up to him. “I’d hang up my medical license if I missed that little detail. He peered into the carrier briefly before looking back up at Twilight. “Looks like a normal earth filly to me.”
Looking back down, Twilight just barely caught the horn go blurry for a moment, a tell-tale sign of it being a hologram. A deep unamused scowl marred her lips as she carefully unwrapped the blanket to find a small hoof massager was responsible for the supposed wing movement. “You, sir, are a clown.”
Giving off a deep belly laugh, Sawbones wiped a tear from his eyes. Even Twilight lost her soured look for one of begrudging amusement. “Well you know what they say, laughter is the best medicine. Happy Pranksgiving.”
“And here I almost thought Spring Roll was pulling a Flurry Heart on me.” Twilight removed the massager from the basket and rewrapped Spring Roll who had slept through the boisterous laughter. “I have to say, Sawbones, I never took you for a prankster.”
“Normally, no,” he said with dying laughter. “But given what I’ve heard about you, I thought you’d appreciate it on today of all days. Praxia’s little joke inspired me.”
“Well, I’m glad. Wouldn’t want life to get boring now would I?” Twilight sat down on the comfy grass so she could lift the foal up so she could hold it in her forelegs. Spring wiggled at the disruption, briefly crying before falling back asleep. As she cradled the newborn, Twilight could still remember the faces of all her daughters in those same first days of life. She wondered how Spring’s life would be shaped growing up on a new world. Never having seen the places of old, her old castle, Canterlot, Cloudsdale, all likely long buried in ice. The Windigos would have been proud. Twilight forcibly banished the thought before it could sully her mood.
Sawbones sat down on the next to Twilight and gave her the warm smile she had been missing all day. “I must say, you look absolutely stunning today.”
It was a compliment Twilight had heard countless times over from her many husbands, and she was eternally grateful that meditation made such compliments as impactful as the first time. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Sawbones. I know Spring’s going to be a hoof-full when she wakes up to nurse, but would you care to join me for tea?”
The doctor chuckled at the warning. “My dear, you of all ponies should know I first specialized in pediatrics. I can handle anything a foal can throw at me.”
“Have you actually had children before?” Twilight inquired with a good dose of neutrality in case it was a touchy subject.
“Can’t say I have. Medical school and my practice during the war made finding a special somepony more difficult than I care to admit. I was so busy during the entry exams, interviews, and dissertations to secure my position on Seed One that I neglected such pursuits beyond single dates.” He paused, seeing the deep empathy and understanding on Twilight’s face. “But I’ve always wanted a few foals of my own.”
Twilight nuzzled his mane, enjoying Sawbones' company. Although Twilight liked to think she was close to Sawbones based on their relationship alone, there was a nagging logical voice ever at the edge of her awareness. Spring Roll’s going to need a father. “Well, maybe in a year or two you’ll get your chance.”
Meanwhile, Alf was standing in front of a large screen that wrapped around him, easily the size of a ping pong table. It was crammed with translated text and illustrations of every story or text he could find of pony spirituality. Twilight had been absolutely thorough to include every scrap of history and literature into the colony’s database. Coupled with the immensely powerful search engine, Alf found multiple texts he felt he needed. While he was not a researcher by trade, his time in the resistance taught him a thing or two about reading between the lines. A shame his version of reading between the lines didn’t exactly translate to an entirely alien culture, not that he realized this fallacy.
The thing he sought after was simple really, to see if becoming a pony would be enough to partake in their afterlife. Even if I do find evidence to that possibility, I need to do more. While I have been severed from the pantheon, my soul is still bound by the laws and dogma of old. There must be some way to bridge the two together to allow my crossing.
As the hours fled on by, Alf was becoming both perplexed and gravely annoyed by how little he found. This is maddening. Except for one, these alicorns all came from normal mortal ponies. He briefly remembered Prism’s situation and begrudgingly saw the merit in the current text author’s wording. As mundane as their origins might be, they used to have cults worshiping She Who Brings The Day, and The Nightwatcher. History showed him that came to an abrupt end after the so called Nightmare Moon rebellion. I see. So the practice of open worship was harshly abolished and deemed immoral after that was determined to be a related cause. So that rules out worshiping an alicorn for entry.
Seeing he was getting nowhere with any bit of history before that time, he turned his focus to the later years after open wars with the griffins, minotaurs, and a few other species came to a close. He found a short tale that peaked his interest. A minotaur general named Dagger Horn. He betrayed his master in favor of joining the Celestial Army. Fearing his gods’ wrath, he beseeched Celestia for sanctuary. So she devised a way to turn him into a pony, and blessed him with a Mark of Destiny. A much better name than that modern ‘cutie mark’ they use.
Alf found his window. A means to integrate fully into pony society. All he needed now was to bridge that with leaving his own. Becoming a pony is the obvious step, but that can’t happen first.
Alf recalled a number of ceremonies and rituals of his now dead religion. One in particular stood out to him. “The ritual combat of Celthalish. It is the only law that can be bent into this purpose. So my only option is to challenge her. May she forgive me for this.” Prism’s earlier request for him to wait a few days was completely forgotten.
With time running against him the longer his soul remained unbound to a higher power, Alf quickly had Voyageur open a call to Twilight. The mare in question materialized as she was wiping some lunch off her face with a napkin while laying on a couch. She was keeping the camera focused on her face so she wouldn’t show the alien she was nursing Spring Roll. “Alf. Um-” She paused her greetings at seeing his slightly manic and fatigued face. “Is something wrong?”
The alien had genuflected towards her the moment Twilight’s face appeared. It was only when she finished her question that he ended the gesture. “Oh Guiding Light of Ponies, this humble being begs of you a favor to which I can never repay.”
Prism’s earlier warning caused alarm bells to ring in her head. She did her best to suppress a bit of nervous sweating. “I see. Well, let me hear it, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“I have decided to use the nanites the One with the Shroud gave me. To become one of your people.”
Perhaps this wouldn’t be as bad as Prism predicted. With a regal yet sad smile, Twilight nodded. “While my people have suffered much in getting here, we still have the prospect of a future which yours does not. I would be more than happy to have you join us fully.”
“Your kindness is beyond words, She of Purple Radiance.” He bowed to her again, giving Twilight a brief moment to frown at the flowery praise. “However, there is the other half of the favor of which I have no choice but to ask.” He gave her tense and utterly serious look. “In order to accept your invitation, I must challenge you to ritual combat.”
There comes a time in every alicorn’s diplomatic life that she is thrown for such a complete loop that she loses all sense of tact. Twilight just blinked at him for a long moment. “Tell me this is a prank.”
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Alf Alf Alf... he's going to be a toughie that's for sure. Granted, a large portion of this story is now about his adjustment to Ponies and possibly his foolhardy quest towards a post-life existence. Somehow, I don't doubt that it's going to be problematic in the future.
Nice chapter once more.
I wonder what are the terms of this ritual combat. This is going to be interesting! Will Alf catch up from the 1-0 of their first meeting?
through
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This chapter's ending was perfect ^_^. How he just sprung that on her all of the sudden was funny as heck ^_^.
Alf.....well, if Twilight does end up agreeing, it should be an interesting fight to say the least. However at the very least, I can't imagine her accepting immediately since she just gave birth and does probably want some time with her new foal. Spring Roll....cute name, but Twilight being hungry while giving birth and so naming her kids after food (I saw that one daughter named Fruit Cocktail) is hilarious.
*removes the unnecessary interruption*
Well, now Alf is creating his own mix of Equestrian orthodoxy and his own. That is bound to go well.
Off topic, the pony gang here doesn't know what happened on Equestria after they left beyond the message the griffins brought from Celestia. This makes me wonder how communications work for them. My understanding of earth tech is that massages could be beamed after the ship and stored, giving years to decades of updates before background signals and radiation outside their solar system broke down communication. Maybe they use entirely magical methods that don't work over long distances? Thoughts?
I don't think the "of" is supposed to be there.
Missing a period after "done".
Alf is certainly interesting in this chapter...
So long until Princess Pancake is born?
WHhoo-oo?!
And where? 
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Maybe the magi-tek propulsion system interferes with communication? Of course, when the planet is dying, who has time to setup interstellar communication equipment anyway? I think all their resources went into getting as many as they could out of there.
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I have a suspicion RD ended up as Prism. Could be wrong, but that's my guess.
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I feel that a portal could have been managed. Though it probably wouldn't fit this story very well. Discord has created quite a few to other places, but he would be hax and this story wouldn't have a premise. However, there is that portal mirror—which goes to a parallel universe might I add—and that was created by ponies, plus they do have teleportation. I'm thinking these ponies could probably manage to build a bifrost type gate since they have magic and tech. Would be pretty interesting.
Didn't Rea promised him, that the Gates will remain opened for him even after he severs himself? If it was so, then the whole plot with Alf in this chapter would be illogical.
I found the dialog, where Rea clearly states that.
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Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I almost forgot to address this in the next chapter.
It's not small, it's compact.
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Blackjack says hi lol.
Is spring to pinkie as prisim to is to rainbow?