Reflections

by RQK

31 - Absolution

The throne room was quiet. A long time passed before any of the occupants moved.

Crystal Faire’s entire body ached. Parts of her felt stiff and, for the first time in a long while, she was partly afraid to move them. In all the times before, she could feel energies swirling about her body. Those energies were those she had appropriated and subsequently strengthened over the many years. Now she couldn’t feel any of them. It felt like a part of herself had gone missing.

For a few fleeting moments, she wondered if she even had any strength left over to just stand up. She wondered if her body would comply if she tried.

She groaned and lifted her head as some figures appeared in the doorway. Spike stood at the front of the pack. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy stood behind him. Hairs and scales stood on end as they quickly glanced around the room.

Starlight Glimmer, still panting for breath, waved up at them. The six arrivals regarded her and visibly loosened up before exchanging relieved smiles. And then they regarded Chrysalis across the way and their smiles faded.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the three ponies still on the Map.

Twilight Sparkle, meanwhile, smiled. She then glanced down and levitated the small, metal sphere up to her face. She hopped off the Map and examined it the object closely, watching for any lingering energies. She then turned to face Crystal again.

And Crystal nodded in response which prompted Twilight to don a wide grin. Starlight and Chrysalis also grinned but to lesser degrees. And Sunset Shimmer, still on the floor, pumped a hoof into the air.

A few sniffles rose up and everypony turned. Cadance, who still lay on the Map, shook like a leaf in the wind. She was very faded already but she visibly faded even more with every second that passed.

A few drops of water splashed on the table directly underneath Cadance’s muzzle. “Crystal…” she croaked.

Crystal sucked in a breath. “M… mother?”

Cadance climbed to her hooves whilst choking on her sobs. “I don’t… understand.” She finally looked up, revealing the water that clouded her eyes and ran down her face. “Why…?”

Everyone else in the room frowned.

Crystal focused every bit of her willpower on making her legs move. She bent them in and found some footing and then lifted herself off the table’s surface.

“Why would you choose to be here? Why would you choose this?” Cadance sobbed.

Crystal frowned. The words that she wanted didn’t come immediately to her. She gazed at Cadance for long moments as she inwardly searched for what she wanted to say. She turned toward Twilight, Starlight, Sunset, and Chrysalis, and continued to think all the while. “Because this is where they are,” Crystal eventually wheezed in kind.

Cadance’s eyes went wide and she considered the other four as well.

Crystal glued her eyes to the table because, at the moment, she couldn’t bear to see Cadance’s wet face. “I spent so long… when you travel from timeline to timeline like I did… You see the same ponies over and over and over again and they never see you twice. They lost all meaning to me and… I gave up on trying to mean anything to them.

“But they…” Crystal said as she looked at her companions again, “they’ve been with me through all of this. We’ve all been together every step of the way. They’ve taught me so much over these past few weeks; they’ve taught me things about myself that I could never have imagined.” Crystal chuckled. “They’ve given me reasons to smile, and they’ve given me reasons to hope… And they’ve come to be ponies whom I can depend on and trust…”

She turned to Twilight, in particular, and smiled. “I know that there are no other ponies like them. They mean something to me. And, I think, I mean something to them too.”

Twilight blushed and smiled in return.

Sunset rolled over and stood up before trotting toward the table. Starlight similarly hopped to her hooves and gravitated to Twilight.

Cadance sniffled and then reached up to wipe some tears from her eyes. Her sobs turned to mere whimpers.

Crystal sheepishly kicked the table as she tried to find her next words. “Through them, I’ve realized that I don’t have to be alone anymore. I don’t have to do everything all by myself anymore. I don’t have to be afraid. And through them...” She trailed off as her eyes ran over the others. “Through them, I’ve realized something else. They’ve… given me back the one thing that I’ve been missing in my life. They’ve given me back that which I really needed… that thing you wanted me to go out and find, and the one thing I was so utterly incomplete without. They’ve given me friendship.”

Twilight glanced over to Starlight as she came to a stop next to her and the two exchanged warm grins.

Spike, who still stood in the doorway with the others, crossed his arms and nodded.

Crystal munched on her next words for several moments and then met Cadance’s eyes. “I suppose what I’m trying to say… is that I chose to be here because they are my friends. And they… they make me happy.”

Sunset hung a foreleg around Chrysalis’ withers. Chrysalis’ expression remained unchanged and the only reaction she had was a quick buzzing of her butterfly-like wings; she did not shy away but she didn’t lean into Sunset either.

The five standing in the doorway with Spike exchanged some light-hearted chuckles and all wrapped their forelegs around each other.

Cadance, who now looked almost entirely see-through, blinked. The only sounds that she made now were the occasional sniffle. She stared at Crystal for an eternity. Her flickering eyes told of thoughts that could only be guessed at.

“Crystal…” she tentatively croaked. She continued staring into Crystal’s eyes all the while. And then she sighed through her nose and let her features soften. “All I’ve ever wanted for you was for you to be happy.”

Crystal swallowed but said nothing.

Cadance stepped forward until she met Crystal in the center of the table. She then reached up and stroked Crystal’s cheek and finally cracked a smile. “And… if you’re happy... then I’m happy.”

Crystal couldn’t stop her own tears from falling as she reached up and caressed her mother’s hoof. And she leaned forward and eventually walked the rest of the distance and the two pulled each other into a tight embrace.

Chrysalis blinked and stared into the distance. Her muzzle contemplatively twitched.

Rarity procured a handkerchief and wiped some residue from her eyes. Pinkie Pie had a smile as wide as her face. Applejack, meanwhile, watched Cadance closely and silently adjusted her stetson.

Crystal wanted to remain there forever. But even as she remained in the embrace, she could see clearly that Cadance was fading fast. It could have only been a few seconds more at the most. Crystal closed her eyes again and forgot all about it, content to lose herself in that moment alone. She could feel Cadance’s warmth and she felt warm in return.

Crystal was smiling. And while she couldn’t see it and didn’t try to see it, she could tell that Cadance was smiling too.

The warmth disappeared and so did any sensation that she was wrapping her hooves around anything. Her forelegs drew closer in like she was grabbing thin air. The few gasps that she heard convinced her of what had just happened.

She opened her eyes and looked at the spot where Cadance had just been standing and saw nothing. The tears continued to fall but now they had a slight bitterness to them and she sniffled. Crystal sighed and instead held her head high.

The entire throne room remained deathly silent for many long moments. And then some, starting with Sunset and Starlight, bowed their heads.

Twilight gave the small, metal sphere in her magic to Starlight and trotted up to the Map. “Crystal?”

Crystal continued staring toward the heavens for a while longer and then wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and stepped off the Map. She cracked a smile. “Don’t worry about me, Twilight. I will be okay.”

Twilight smiled back and then turned her attention to the spot where Cadance had once been and sighed.

Crystal trotted toward the doors. “Spike, company… thank you. I appreciate you defending the Heart for us.”

Rainbow Dash smirked and puffed her chest out. “You bet. It was easy as pie!”

“There were a few of them baddies that came on in here. We got that magic outta them and all, but…” Applejack paused as a frown spread across her muzzle. “Uh, are they gunna fade out just like that there Cadance did?”

“Unfortunately,” Crystal replied with a solemn nod. “There isn’t anything that can be done about that, I am afraid. Don’t worry, I will take care of them.”

Fluttershy hung her head. “That’s too bad… Those poor ponies.”

“Well, it sounds like you all saved the day either way,” Spike said with a grin. “I still don’t know what you did, but... heh.”

Twilight giggled and gave him a hug. “Sorry, I know I promised you a big pile of gems when we got back.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay, Twilight.”

“We all are,” Rarity seconded.

Pinkie Pie zipped up to Twilight. “Soooooooooo, do we get to throw a ‘storytime’ party?”

After a moment’s consideration, Twilight nodded. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, Pinkie. It’s… probably time that I told everypony else about my secret.”

Pinkie Pie’s mouth opened and shut again and then she made an “Oooooo,” sound. “Going all out. I see… I’ve got just what you need, Twilight!”

Twilight took a deep breath and used her hoof to pushed it back out. “Just… let me handle the guest list, okay?”

Pinkie Pie saluted.

“In the meantime,” Crystal said, “I hope that you all wouldn’t mind terribly on giving us a few moments, hmmmm?”

Spike nodded and broke away from Twilight. “Sure thing. We’ll be downstairs if you need us.”

Pinkie Pie bounced after the others as they left, practically singing over her shoulder, “I hope you’re ready for the most super-duper ‘storytime’ slash ‘I’m telling you my life-changing secret’ party ever!”

Twilight giggled. “Looking forward to it, Pinkie.”

And then the six of them were gone. The five of them were now alone.

“Soooo…” Chrysalis said as she pushed Sunset off her, “did we do it?”

Crystal turned to face them and nodded. “It would… appear so. We did it,” she said with a subdued tone. “We’ve saved the multiverse.”

After a few moments, Starlight groaned and rubbed the various bruises that covered her body. Sunset examined her own battered body, met gazes with Starlight, and then the two giggled.

Twilight let out an exhausted sigh and wiped her forehead clear of some dirt and sweat.

Chrysalis cracked a small grin and slowly nodded. She turned her head, whipping some hair out of her face, and then examined everypony else.

After a long, nosey sigh, Crystal silently trotted over to the Map again. She stared at the spot where Cadance had just been for a few moments and then she finally took a seat on Twilight’s throne. She continued staring at the spot for long moments.

The others approached the Map as well and looked at the spot too. Starlight placed the little ball of metal back onto the table where everypony could see it.

Crystal buried her face in her hooves and let out a long and drawn out sigh.

Sunset frowned. “So, uh, now what?”

* * *

The five floated within a yellowish magic bubble as it floated in space, each staring into the black void. A debris field seemingly stretched to infinity in all directions around them, illuminated by a glowing sphere in the far distance; it could have been the sun or some other star. They could, however, see the field steadily dissolving. Several bits and pieces, ranging from translucent to transparent, faded out at differing speeds.

“This all should disappear eventually, although the damage to this timeline has already been done,” Crystal said, motioning to the debris.

“Plus the few other hundred timelines we used,” Sunset mused.

Crystal sighed. “It all had to go somewhere. But, again, these were all unfixable timelines anyhow.”

Chrysalis also stared into space, craned her neck to observe some of the passing debris—she watched as the bits of a stone pillar sailed by and bounced off the head of some pony statue—and then sighed and shook her head. “I suppose there will be much to clean up.”

“Perhaps,” Crystal said. “I do find some solace in the prospect that the number of timeline sets that we actually ended up losing, especially with our optimizations, was likely in the tens of millions—not very large in the grand scheme of things.”

“You counted?” Sunset asked.

“I estimated. Just because the number of timeline sets that I’ve helped over the years looked to be the same size.” Crystal smiled. “I suppose things even out in this case.”

“Still, yeesh. That’s a lot. I mean, a lot,” Sunset said.

“It will likely take me some time to sort through everything and so on and so forth,” Crystal replied. She sighed and cracked some joints all over her body. “But that will come later.”

After a few moments of silence, Starlight lit her horn and levitated herself forward so that she could turn and face Crystal. “So… what happened out there? Between you and your mom, I mean?”

Chrysalis snorted. “I too wonder about this. Explain.”

Sunset groaned and messaged a spot on her side. “Yeah, you two took your time out there, that’s for sure.”

“Well…” Crystal began, “we did go after Miasmus. And Mother… she did have him, just like I thought she would. But there was a conversation that we had to have first.”

“Yeah?” Starlight asked. “What about?”

Crystal remained silent for a moment and then opened her mouth to speak.

“Oh, you know how it is,” Twilight piped up. “They just had some catching up to do, and they had some things to sort out. That’s all.”

Chrysalis considered Twilight and frowned. “Very well. Is there anything in particular that we should know about?”

Twilight met Crystal’s eyes and smiled. “No,” she said simply.

And Crystal smiled back.

Twilight turned to the rest of them and sucked in a breath. “Nevertheless, we could all talk more about everything that happened at the party tomorrow. I think it would be a good chance for us to wind down and maybe, you know, debrief a little.”

The others, one by one, nodded in agreement.

Twilight nodded and then turned. “And Crystal?”

“Hmmm?” Crystal replied.

Twilight paused and took one glance at that luminescent light source that sat some immeasurable and unreachable distance away. “There’s… something else that I think we should all do.”

Crystal lit her horn and levitated herself forward so that she could take Twilight’s hooves in her own. “I know what you’re about to say, Twilight. And I was thinking the same thing…”

* * *

Twilight’s hooves sunk a little into the damp dirt underneath her hooves. Darkened clouds overhead sprinkled them just enough for it to be wet without it being overbearing.

The clearing itself bore no traces that anything had ever been there. The space underneath the pavilion was completely vacant; the fire pit in its center remained unlit and would likely remain that way for a long while.

Twilight and the others looked at the large, slab-like stone that stuck out of the dirt in silence. A few charcoal-colored unponies stood among them.

Adamantine stood over the slab, eying the parts where it sunk into the ground closely, and then nodded.

“If anypony else wishes to speak a few words,” Adamantine said, “perhaps now would be the most opportune chance.”

Twilight shook her head. “I already spoke my piece. Crystal?”

Crystal cleared her throat and stepped forward. “Princess Celestia… you couldn’t have been here for more than a few days. Perhaps it was a happy accident that brought you to us. Perhaps then it was tragic circumstances that eventually took you away.”

The stone slab didn’t reply.

“Your presence was a burst of light. Truly, it was. You… you were part of some of our lives for such a short time, but you touched all of us in some way or another. I myself…” Crystal paused and pursed her lips together and thought. “I can’t imagine how I could ever forget you.”

Some eyes flip-flopped between Crystal and the stone slab in front of them, but as Crystal’s voice faded out, they settled on the latter.

Crystal drew some circles in the dirt and then sighed. “Either way, thank you.”

Chrysalis scowled and also cleared her throat. “I never would have thought that I would have ever tolerated your presence.” She paused and, based on how her throat bobbed up and down, tried to stomach her next words. “…Let alone mourn for you. How dare you…”

Most others kept their eyes on the stone. Starlight, meanwhile, afforded Chrysalis a glance. Her expression remained unchanged.

“But, then again, everything that I’ve gone through—and who would have ever thought that would include sitting down and breaking bread with you?—it has changed my perspective on a great many levels. I have a lot to think and rethink about.” Chrysalis snorted. “I still don’t know if I like it.”

She then took a moment to examine her body which still looked sleek and whole and she hummed. She sighed and turned her gaze back toward the stone. “But we’ll see.”

After a few more moments of silence, during which Chrysalis took a few steps back, Adamantine nodded. She met gazes with Crystal and Crystal nodded in return and stepped back as well.

“Very well,” Adamantine said. “If there are no more things to say, then I will take this moment to do the engraving. Please stand back.”

They all backed away from the stone, giving Adamantine enough room to trot forward and then turn to face it. Adamantine’s horn lit up and she shot a highly concentrated beam of reddish energies at it, knocking off streams of dust and small pebbles.

They watched in silence as Adamantine worked. Her carving left smooth and curvy lines, where even the grooves and depths were meticulously shaped. Each letter took several seconds at a time and there would be quite a few letters.

Twilight shuffled over to Crystal. “Crystal, thanks for doing this. It means a lot to me.”

Crystal nodded. “You’re welcome, Twilight. I was happy to do it.” She paused and momentarily watched the inscribing. “I meant everything that I said. About you, and about her…”

Twilight sighed and watched the process for herself. “I have to ask. Will you do something for your mom?”

“Yes. But… I’ll do something for her that’s appropriate.” Crystal grinned. “And that’s… something that I’ll have to figure out on my own if that’s alright.”

Twilight giggled and then scooted into Crystal before wrapping her forelegs around her. “Of course. Maybe that’s what’s best. I know you’ll come up with something fitting for her, because… you’re a good friend.”

Crystal bent down and wrapped her hooves around Twilight as well. “And you too, Twilight. Thank you for showing me a better way.”

Sunset giggled and trotted over to them. “I know I’m glad that I met you too,” she said. “That was one heck of an adventure. Thanks for bringing me along.”

Starlight, who stood on the opposite side, nodded. “You said it. I’m glad I got to be a part of all of this.”

Twilight and Crystal glanced up and then parted just enough for them to approach and, when they did, the four huddled together in a tight hug, sharing some giggles and laughs between each other.

Adamantine, who still blasted letters into the stone, smiled.

Chrysalis, meanwhile, watched with a raised eyebrow and contemplatively hummed to herself.

Twilight looked up. The other three did as well. Their eyes fell on Chrysalis and then they exchanged some mischievous grins.

Chrysalis’ frown only grew a little deeper. “I would much rather you didn’t touch me.”

Twilight lit her horn and the others followed suit. Four sets of magic coalesced into a multicolored cloud that wrapped itself around Chrysalis.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and donned a frown of mild annoyance. She, however, did not struggle in the slightest, even as they pulled her in. Her expression remained unchanged even as they made space for her and wrapped hooves around her.

And then there were five ponies, all joined together through soft giggles and nuzzles. And they were for a long time.

The magic faded from Adamantine’s horn and she stood up to examine the work. The text was neat and tidy and just the way it needed to be. She then turned to face them, a smile still on her muzzle, and nodded. She watched the embrace in silence, and it wasn’t until Crystal opened her eyes to look up at her that she finally said, “It is done.”

The hug loosened up just enough that they could each turn to see the results for themselves.

Chrysalis stumbled out, shuddered, wiped some bits of dust off her front, and then also turned to look at the stone.

A hole in the clouds above allowed a single sunbeam to pass through and strike the ground. Said sunbeam fell on the slab of stone; the text now inscribed on its face glistened in the light.

In memory of
Celestia. Princess,
mentor, friend.

They stared at the tombstone in silence for the longest time. Adamantine herself drifted over to their side and joined them in their gaze. The collection of unponies that collectively stood behind them read the inscription and then bowed their heads. Adamantine bowed her head too.

And while Crystal Faire, Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer, and Chrysalis continued considering the stone in silence, Twilight Sparkle followed the sunbeam with her eyes to the point where it pierced the heavens. Surely, she thought, they were being watched.

And Twilight smiled.

Comments

[Snorlaxkid]

Well that's that I gue-

*story is still marked as incomplete*

...Oh dear...

[EchoWing]

This has been a fantastic ride. I'm glad that there's still a little bit to go, though.

[Sound Wave]

Now comes the drama... How will this other Celestia and Sparkle family handle the news??

[Razzy]

Well, that was depressing.

Ah, Chryssie as the sarcastic grump, perfect.

Now let's see how the others react.

[KingChaos]

Goodbye Celestia...again...

[Csquared08]

Well, there's that. A bit more wrapping up to do, I suppose.

[NeoNymph]

This is quite a journey. This is in my top 10 (if not top 5) stories I've read.