The Interview
In the winter, the peaks of the Frozen North were covered in deep blankets of snow and ice. No weather pegasi ever appeared to tame the raging winter storms. Flying in the Frozen North during winter was normally considered suicide. But one winter morning, the sky dawned clear and calm. A storm the night before had blanked the peaks with snow. And another storm was due tomorrow from over the pole. But for one day in winter, the sky was clear, and the winds were calm.
On that day, a griffon took a chance and flew from the capital of the Crystal Empire, up into the Frozen North, looking for dragon signs. They were not hard to find. Near the top of the tallest peak in the Yaket Range, a continuous wisp of smoke rose straight up into the calm air. But spotting the signs, and getting to them, was a different matter. The thin air was still brutally cold. And the altitude made each breath a labor, and each wingbeat a chore.
But the griffon was determined, and finally crash landed into the snow bank in front of a huge cave. The top and sides of the cave mouth were covered in ice, and the base of the cave was almost covered by snow. The thin wisp of smoke was rising out of the hole between the two. The griffon hopped and walked up the frozen snowbank to the mouth of the cave. She looked into the darkness, then cupped her wings around her beak and called out, “Hello, I come in peace and wish only to parly!”
A deep, annoyed voice replied, “Go away.” The voice echoed in the cave.
“I have come far,” the griffon said. “I request the right of hospitality.”
“A comedian,” the gruff voice said from the cave. “OK, you may enter. But do not abuse my hospitality, or the protections you claim will be forfeit.”
“Agreed”
“You probably don’t want to use a word that could be misinterpreted as ‘greed’ when speaking to a dragon,” the gruff voice said.
“I accept your terms?”
“Better. Get inside before you freeze your feathers off.”
The entrance of the cave was shadowed from the sunlight outside and was dark. But deeper in the cave, a small flickering light appeared.
“Follow the light, it’s warmer in here.”
There was more than enough room to stretch out her wings, so the griffon hopped over the snowbank and glided deeper into the cave. The flickering light was a candle, and the closer the griffon got to it, the warmer the cave became. And in the flickering light of the candle she saw the dragon: a long sinuous body, violet scales with horns of forest green. Wisps of smoke rose continuously from the dragon's nostrils.
“I’m Spike. But I think you know that. Who are you and why do you come to my cave?”
The griffon gulped. Spike could snap her in two with one bite. She didn’t think he would. But he could. “I’m Gwendolyn,” the griffon said. “You’ve been an eyewitness to history. I’d like to hear your tales and share them, so all creatures can know the truth of the past.”
“At least you’re not a pony,” Spike said.
Gwendolyn ignored the comment and pulled a recording device from her courier bag. “I’m going to record this, so I don’t miss anything. OK?”
“Whatever.”
“Thank you for speaking with me, Spike.” Gwendolyn pulled out her notes. “You mentioned ponies. I’d like to know about your relationships with ponies.”
“What do you want to know?”
“I understand your upbringing was unusual for a dragon.” Gwendolyn looked up from her notes. “Ponies were involved, yes?”
“I was hatched by a pony. I was raised by a pony. I was loved by a pony.”
“That was…”
“Sure was.” Spike blew a long cloud of smoke from his nostrils. “There were times growing up, I thought of myself more as a pony than a dragon.”
Gwendolyn stayed silent and nodded. It was often a good way to get a subject to say something interesting.
“I have a question for you, griffon. How is she remembered?”
“You mean…”
“Yea.”
Gwendolyn leaned back and rolled her eyes up, remembering. “The griffons call her The Great Architect; she was crucial in the rebuilding of Griffonstone. The diamond dogs call her The Mother of Civilization; her peace treaties integrated them into pony and griffon society. The zebras call her The Bridge To The Future; most zebra exports are based on the trade she first negotiated.”
“She was a pony.” Spike narrowed his gaze. “How do the ponies remember her?”
The griffon was quiet for a long time. “As a mad mare,” she whispered.
Spike pounded his claws on the cave floor. Pebbles rained from the ceiling. “She gave them their freedom! She gave them their future! She believed in them more than anypony else.”
“She took their utopia from them. They’re not ‘special’ anymore.” Gwendolyn shook her head slowly. “The ponies will never forgive her.”
“And I will never forgive the ponies for what they did.” Spike laid back down and curled his tail under his body.
Gwendolyn was quiet again. She didn’t want Spike to be agitated. Ensuring the clarity of mind of the interviewee was essential when recording a true history. Not getting eaten was also a consideration.
Spike broke the silence. “The other princesses abandon her, you know.”
“In what way?” Gwendolyn asked.
“She got so famous. More famous than all of them in the end. She saved Equestria I don’t know how many times, with and without her friends. She became such a celebrity that the other princesses had her do their public jobs more and more often. Presiding over Day Court. Opening the Assembly. Raising the Sun at the Summer Sun Celebration or the Moon on Nightmare Night. Triggering the Crystal Heart on Empire Day. Each time it was an honor. Each time she was happy to do it. But she became ‘The Princess of Friendship’ in the minds of everypony. And the others took the opportunity to fade back, out of public view. And now there aren’t any princesses at all. Just a figurehead king with no power.”
Spike blew a long cloud of smoke. Gwendolyn resisted the urge to cough.
“She loved to work. To learn. To achieve and prove herself. She craved their approval. I think the other princesses took advantage of that. Took advantage of her. None of them wanted to rule, you know.”
Gwendolyn decided to switch tactics. “You said she gave ponies their future. Could you tell me about that?”
“Is that your recorder?”
“Yes,” Gwendolyn nodded.
“Made in Equestria?”
“They make the best gear I know of.”
Spike waved a claw over the top of the recording device and triggered a mild spell. The outer shell of the recorder dissolved into translucency. Inside were six purple crystals in a star pattern, and five small white crystal stars around them. “A Sparkle Array. The basis of all magi-tech.”
“They don’t call it that anymore in Equestria.”
“They wouldn’t.” Spike spat a small flame, that splashed off a far cave wall. “Changing the name doesn’t change the fact that every advanced device has at least one of those crystal arrays in it. And she invented the array. She figured out how to make them in quantity. And she figured out half the modern uses for them.”
“You’re saying she invented the future.”
“Yup.” The dragon waved his claw again, and the recorder returned to normal.
Gwendolyn looked at her notes, then back up at Spike. “Did you just mean the array, or is there more than that?”
“Did you ever ride one of the high speed trains in Equestria?”
“On my trip here. One hour from Manehatten to the capital of the Crystal Empire, via Canterlot. Very convenient.”
“She invented the magic that runs them, then had them built during the war. Did you ever go through the giant Canterlot portal to the Dragon Eyrie?”
Gwendolyn got a far away look in her eyes. “Yes. The Eyrie is magnificent.”
“She invented the magic for those too, and had all the big portals built.”
“During the war?” Gwendolyn prodded.
“Yea. Before she was princess, Equestria was in conflict on and off with the diamond dogs, the changelings, and even the griffons. Manticores were monsters you only saw in the Everfree Forest. Many ponies treated minotaurs and thestrals as strange outsiders. And there were no relations at all with the sea ponies. Barely any with the zebras. And by the time she was done…”
“They were all strong allies of Equestria.”
“Not just allies.” Spike shook his great head. “Friends.” Now he nodded. “Friends will do more for you than allies will.”
Gwendolyn thought of all the different kinds of beings that made her life richer. Would she know them all if the Princess hadn’t worked her friendship magic? “And the dragons?”
Spike leaned back on his haunches and huffed. “That’s a point. But what about now?”
“Pony - dragon relations are better now than before the war. Maybe better than in recorded history.” Gwendolyn shook her head. “But she was long gone by then.”
“Unless all the changes she caused, like the portal from Canterlot to the Eyrie, helped make better relations possible.”
“Do you think that’s why she built it?” Gwendolyn sounded unconvinced.
“Yea. She wanted to be friends with everyone. So she wanted Equestria to be friends with everyone.”
“But what about the war…” Gwendolyn accused.
Spike looked away. “I’ll never know if the war happened and she couldn’t stop it, or if…”
“If she provoked it.” This was where Gwendolyn had been heading all along. She was all ears.
Spike buried his head in his claws and fidgeted nervously. “Yea. She was an amazing chess player. Always thought more moves ahead than anypony but her mentor. When she turned her attention towards politics and finally figured out how to deal with other ponies…”
“You are saying that the Princess of Friendship could have provoked the Pony Dragon War?” Gwendolyn shook her head in disbelief.
“If she somehow thought war was inevitable or the outcome could be the best for everypony.” Spike seemed resigned to this line of questioning. “Yae, she could.“
“You make her sound like a mad mare.” Gwendolyn clenched and unclenched her claws. The thought of someone provoking a war made her angry.
“But if she had to have a war, what kind would it be?” Spike leaned forward again and was firm in his reply. “A metaphorical war in the heavens for the ownership of the sun and the moon, fought by useless nobles on all sides. With no real deaths. No cities destroyed, or fields burnt. One that cemented strong alliances with friends. With lots of bits spent on things that made everypony’s life richer when the war was over. And ultimately, with the sun and the moon moving on their own for the first time since Discord broke the heavens? The only real losers being the nobles on both sides.”
“Leading to the fall of the pony and dragon royal lines. Now ponies and dragons are friends. And Equestria elects our leaders.” Gwendolyn was shocked. “That’s the outcome she thought would be the best for everyone?”
“Maybe.” Spike laid back down and curled up. “I never asked her. She never told me.” Spike closed his eyes and blew smoke out his nostrils. “I think that her plan needed somepony that everyone could blame for all the changes. She wasn’t willing to force that role on anypony else, so she took it on herself.”
Gwendolyn sat back on her own haunches. She flipped through her notes while she tried to think of how to respond to that. “You make it sound like we all just live in a world of her devising.”
“Sometimes I feel that way. I miss her.” Spike relaxed into a sleeping position. He didn’t look at Gwendolyn. “From what you say, the world is doing OK. Better than it was when I was growing up. That’s great for you and everyone else. I just can’t live in it. I can’t live in a world that treats her as the villain. So I’m going back to sleep. Maybe it will be different when I wake up.” Spike waved a claw. “You can find your own way out.”
“Thank you Spike. Sleep well.” Gwendolyn turned off her recorder and packed it up. She took wing out of the cave and into the cold air of the Crystal Mountains. Going back to civilization was easier, it is less work to glide down than to climb up.
All the way to the Crystal Empire, Gwendolyn thought about what Spike had said, and wrestled with what to do with the information. Was it her job to reform the image of Equestria’s greatest villain?
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This looks cool, you should make a sequel.
nice work a bit rushed in some places, but nice all the same.
I can't see Twilight being that much a of chess master, but I do find the idea intriguing.
Fair point about Twilight not being a chess master in the series, but between her brains and Celestia's example she could grow into the role. I tried to cover that in the story with the line: “Yea. She was an amazing chess player. Always thought more moves ahead than anypony but her mentor. When she turned her attention towards politics and finally figured out how to deal with other ponies…”
I enjoy the idea but... it seems like everything is Twilight's responsibility. I think it would've appreciated it more if she was just... regularly brilliant, rather than "this person invented almost everything in the world worth having." Or possibly has some kind of lynchpin that makes her so important, and everything flowing from it.
But I really like the concept of "Twilight opened the world of friendship (and the powerful world-saving/changing magic it confers) to the other races, and the ponies, used to feeling like they were the center of the world, hate her for it."
6867220 Sounds like Twilight channeled her inner Lelouch and made her own Zero Requiem.
6865813 I'm in agreement.
You know I like this, and even if I usually don't get into a story with OCs I will ready a sequel to this even if it is all exclusively OCs. I do hope you might plan for one in the near future.
This feels too much like an overglorification of Twilight. I hesitate to call it a Sueification, but literally making Twilight the foundation of future society, praised by pretty much everyone except the designated "bad guys," having her solve pretty much every problem ever, the "United Species of Equestria" drivel...
Yeah, I'm saying it. You made her a Sue. The same mare who once brainwashed an entire town and is incapable of reacting quickly to a bouncing disco ball is suddenly a paragon of rulership and friendship, where every other pony is vilified. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
And of course she's martyed in the end. This falls under a certain archetype of story that just piles on "tragedy" on top of "tragedy" until you feel like the universe has something against them.
Thanks for all the thoughtful feedback.
Lobo Argost & Xaldon Ajide, I had not heard of Lelouch and Zero Requiem before, but I looked it up online and the parallels are obvious. Is it any good?
RadicalDishonesty & Westbrook87, I see your points about the 'Sueification' of Twilight in this story. When I look at my other stories, I can see I have a weakness for that. In my defense, I don't assume that Spike is an unbiased narrator, or that he has all the information. He is likely to spin the story to make Twilight look good. And anygriffon willing to risk a winter storm in the Crystal Mountains to talk to him may also have an agenda. But as Spike and Gwendolyn are all the reader has to go on, you both have reasonable points.
If I ever do a sequel, I might have Gwendolyn interview someone who is not quite so reflexively pro-Twilight. I think it would be best if it was a canon character. Suggestions?
I would adore a sequel!
6870926 Who else be living this long to do so? But at the same time, many of her changes could've caused problems, rapid industrialization and quickly forced change would cause many problems, I mean can you imagine the problems for the Apples traditions if rapid industrialization comes about ? The destruction of the noble lines seemed rather petty to force a change as well considering there's still a (useless) king line, along with an expansion on this "War in heaven" that apparently had no problems or anything because she somehow planned it 100%
While I don't imagine Spike looking 100% at the picture, I highly doubt Twilight had everything as a perfect Utopia when the people afterwords are certainly aren't calling it one.
6870926 Well if age wasn't the issue then I would say that Trixie would be an okay first but after a bit of thought I might have to say that if you could find a cannon Changeling that we can say went to isolation like Spike in this story and that Changeling will tell Gwendolyn what Chrysalis thought about Twilight because of the Hivemind
6870926
If I may be so bold, I'd say Discord.
Neat! Short, but neat. On one hand, I think it's really bare bones, but on the other hand it gives just enough information for it to whet the appetite without overstaying its welcome. Overall, I enjoyed it. Nice work!
History may be written by the victors, but the truth is found a hundred years by archaeologists after the victors are dead.
The truth will out, as the old farts in rocking chairs say. *rocks in his rocker* GET OFF MAH LAWN!!
6867683 Twilight = Al Gore and created the Internet.
Make a sequel and make it a novel about that interview changing things in Equestria, making opinions change. That would be awesome. But thumbs up and favorite for you! Great job, I liked it!
this was very good and I could actually see Twilight doing this. though I suspect everything didn't go a smoothly as Spike tells it and I see Twilight having many mental break downs that Spike either wasn't there for or chose not to revel.
Either way I see this a very great piece of work.
Both seems to be important.
Good story!
Just one small typo:
This was a very interesting story with a fascinating concept behind it. However, I can't help thinking some of the story's potential was wasted. You could have done so much more with the story. I would recommend a full story with flash-backs to guide the reader through Twilight's eventual fall from grace. That would have been epic. Never the less, it was an intriguing story.
6870926 If a sequel is written, it will certainly need to involve someone doing more groundwork. Even if Spike is completely accurate, what he said isn't enough detail for whatever Gwendolyn had in mind. Speaking of which, what was that, exactly? Did she want the truth to know, or the truth to tell? Her question at the end seems a bit confused if not cowardly for a journalist. I suppose if she dug up more dirt than she was expecting then it would be understandable, but on the other hand she is already familiar with the conflicting opinions mentioned.
As for additional canon characters being interviewed, no specific timeline is given but longevity does seem to limit the field. The various Princesses are obvious possibilities, and Discord was mentioned. Even Chrysalis could potentially still be around. But on the other hand, surely the ponies aren't completely monolithic. There may be a town or two that she saved often enough or dramatically enough that the hometown hero aura still survives, or one that erected so many statues that they couldn't be bothered to tear them all down.
Thank you to everyone who has read, commented, faved, and liked/disliked this story. I am very grateful. It has received over twice as much attention as anything else I have posted at Fimfiction. I almost didn’t post it, because I wanted a stronger ending. But the dialogue spoke to me, so I posted it. If I like the sound of the voices so much, perhaps I should do a reading of it.
Zyrah & Starsword, I appreciate the interest in a much longer story. I agree that the idea has legs, but I’m not sure I have the endurance. The longest piece I’ve posted here is only 27K words, and I’m not sure I could even do something that long again. The productivity of many of the authors on this site amaze me!
Wroth, as the story is written, it’s clear that a long time has past since the show, but not exactly how long. A sequel could include an older version of canon characters, perhaps with an explanation as to why they lived to their ripe old age. Or it could be set far enough in the future that all of the characters with normal life spans have passed. Which would be more dramatic?
I reflexively lean toward the later, because it gives me more options to write characters I love. The situation could be like the creation of the film ‘Gosford Park’, which the director made at the time because he knew the generation that lived through that era were expected to pass on soon, and with them any chance of getting first person feedback that would lend reality to his work. Gwendolyn is digging into fact, not fiction, but she may be investigating the last days of the Kingdom of Equestria now, because a few years hence many of the people who lived through those events will have died of old age.
Dimensional Librarian, Killerokie, and FinalFan, I love the suggestions for who to interview. Several of them I hadn’t thought of previously: Discord, Chrysalis, even an wizened and retired Trixie. I am sure they would all have a much different take than Spike.
FinalFan, I agree that Gwendolyn needs to do more groundwork before she reports on anything. Spike’s word is intriguing, but certainly not definitive. And Gwendolyn is conflicted about what she should do next at the end of the story.
Alondro, agreed that we need scholars of all stripes to help us find the truth!
A question, would it be better to do a sequel as a separate story, or say that this story should have been longer and add it here? I don’t know what the custom is about re-opening a completed story. Not committing myself to anything, just wondering about the customs here.
Thanks again!
This was really good and you should consider doing something more with it, We have one dragons view on history but it is of his mother/sister/whatever you want to call them so he might side with her. if you want to contine it maybe you should haev hin interview others that knew her. Like maybe her friends if there still alive quite a bit of tiem seams to have passed Discord is prety much immortal so hes still kicking, Just a thought eather way I just want you to know I enjoyed the story.
6870926 If you want a canon character, and you want the story set in the far future, then you choices are reduced to those who can time travel.
Ergo, I suggest either Time Turner, or Starlight Glimmer.
This was a very interesting read. Loved it so so much and I hope you will expand on this in the future. There is so much potential in this and even for a grown up Spike to do something
Twilight would have got along well with Lelouch.
I agree with Spike; I hate stories where the good guys don't get the credit they deserve or are hated. Dragon Ball Z's Hercule? I have fantasies of killing that guy. FF Tactics Ramza "the Heretic" was a great character, and his best friend stole all his glory. Screw you Delita; I hope you died of that stab wound.
Humility.
6871798
6870926
There's your answer for whom Gwen can interview with a different outlook: The scion of a now-destroyed noble line, whose family gave everything in an ideological conflict that Twilight instigated and who were rewarded for their efforts with seeing their legacy destroyed—in their view, sacrificed as pawns.
You could even make it a descendant of Blueblood's. Maybe she or he even believes it was also payback for a slight done to one of Twilight Sparkle's friends at an important event back when they were all alive.
Though Blueblood or his children might also work as the aforemtioned useless king... Incidentally, what happened to Shining Armor's and Cadance's child? The future prince/princess of the Crystal Empire? Were they ousted as well?
6883855 The thing is, none of the heroes in DBZ wanted the glory and infact preferred Hercule to have it all instead, it tends to be why Hercule is trying to shove money on them so they'll at the very least enjoy some sort of lifestyle to themselves.
Plus, Hercule is a hero in the end considering he was the one who talked down Majin Buu and was the catalyst that helped provide humanity to provide the final Spirit Bomb to hit against Kid buu.
6885530
More like I hate early Hercule when he was bad mouthing the Z fighters, and his befriending Buu, while a good thing, was originally just a scam anyway which reduces the heroics of it. Plus, had Hercule not brain-washed the entire world and gave credit where credit was due, he wouldn't have been needed to help with the spirit bomb; people would have known Goku as a hero and done what he asked.
And yeah, I know the Z fighters didn't want the fame and a lot of other characters in these sort of stories are always noble about. Ramza didn't care, and Lelouch wanted to be the villain for his plan. It still doesn't change the fact that it urks me. In the case of Hercule, he was doing evil purposely, lying and dragging real heroes through the dirt for his own selfish desires. He became a womanizing bully who, even when redeemed, is still an asshole.
Amazing!
Damn, deep plot ideas.
A little rushed, but man you have some great ideas in here. If you ever decide to make more stories in this universe I'd be first in line to read it. Solid work.
You can has review!
10259086
Thank you very much for posting this. The reading was amazing and made me smile all day!
10260031
Yeah ^^’ one of these days I’ll get it through that poodle and nurse to share themselves |-(
But happy to see you smile