A Gathering Storm
-*- Diamond Tiara/Cain/Strife-*-
“Diamond honey, Cain, time to wake up.”
I groaned, consciousness coming to all three of us as I shifted under the covers. “Five more minutes… had a rough night.” I managed to mumble out, though my heart wasn’t all that into it. Physically, our body felt refreshed and ready to go… but mentally…
“Bad dreams?” Silver Tongue asked as she stopped prodding me with a hoof and instead slid into the bed next to me, giving me a soft nuzzle no doubt in an effort to make us feel better.
Amazingly… it didn’t really work.
“Yu culd sey thaf.” I grumbled into the pillow and earning a slight push that removed my mouth from the pillow. “Gah… sorry, I won’t try talking pillow-speak again.”
Silver Tongue gave me an amused smile as she replied “Good. Now, do you want to talk about it? Holding it in will only make whatever’s troubling you worse.”
Before I could manage to say anything, Strife did something he hadn’t really done thus far. He took control of Diamond’s mouth, a fair bit of venom dripping from each word as he said “Gee, do I really need to share when it should be rather OBVIOUS what my dreams were?”
Strife must have really laid it on pretty thick, because Silver Tongue managed to scoot an inch or so away, looking somewhat hurt from the emotion she heard come out of her daughters lips. Seeing such, I quickly took the reigns back over, mentally smacking Strife upside the head as I apologized.
“Sorry Mrs. Silver Tongue… Strife is rather… testy right now.”
She took in a breath to compose herself, the smile returning, though I could tell it was somewhat forced. “I can understand… things could go any which way today, many of which could end badly for all three of you.”
I nodded my head at this, her words bulls-eyeing the gist of what our dreams had been. None of us had been fortunate enough to have a decent dream, despite the efforts of Princess Luna on at least several occasions
Thinking about those dreams also made me realize that going back to sleep, even if all I really did was lay in bed for a few minutes, was NOT something I wanted to do.
“Personally, if its all the same to you, I’d rather not talk about it. Sharing it won’t do any good… since its all outta my hooves. What happens…” I paused here, not exactly wanting to say the last bit. Silver Tongue seemed to get it though, gently rubbing my back with a hoof as she got up.
“Well, if you want some time alone for a bit, I’ll leave you be. Breakfast is being served though, so don’t take too long or you’ll miss out.”
“Kind of hard to be alone with these rocks for brains.” Strife said aloud again, Silver Tongue shaking her head and leaving me and Diamond to deal with Strife. Which we did, albeit in a rather tired and ‘mind your manners’ sort of approach.
It had been a really rough night.
With Silver Tongue out of the room though, we all descended into an uneasy silence… or in Strife’s case, sullen silence. The weight that we had gained the previous day from the first spell’s failure was now looming over us, and had only grown with the knowledge that by tomorrow, or even a day more, all three of us could be merged into a single entity… our individual existences coming to a rather abrupt end.
I don’t know about Diamond, and I couldn’t entirely speak for Strife at this point, but I at least wasn’t afraid of death per se. After all… all things died and faded in time, so fearing that eventual end was just silly.
Besides, technically speaking, none of us would be ‘dying’ if we just allowed it to occur. Our existence would simply… change.
But it was that unknown, that inability to know what would come after… that was what scared me. For all I knew, my consciousness could cease to exist, wiped from Diamond Tiara’s mind with only some scattered memories to be left behind. Or I could end up being a sort of inner voice, that only came out every so often and then went back to sleep in the confines of her mind…
“You know Cain, for someone who doesn’t want to think about it, you’re really doing a lot of thinking.” Strife commented aloud, shaking me out of my reverie… and making me realize that we had gotten out of bed and were heading for the main room of our quest quarters.
Apparently, Strife had been the hungriest of the three of us, though Diamond Tiara seemed to be in the same boat. I guess I was the only one lacking an appetite right now.
Not much talking was done between the five of us. Filthy Rich was busy going over some business papers, and Silver Tongue was trying to distract herself with a message one of the Royal Guards had brought in when we entered the room.
I was content to let Strife handle the all important function of keeping our shared bodies ‘engines’ chugging, though I had to yank control back when I realized he seemed intent on sending a glob of scrambled eggs flying off towards Filthy Rich. I left him to pout in a corner as I finished the plate, my motions almost mechanic in how automatic they were.
“Do either of you know when the Princesses will be ready to attempt the separation?” I asked when I finally finished eating, looking to Silver Tongue for an answer. Instead, Filthy was the one who answered.
“The Princesses said that sometime before noon they would send a member of the guard over to escort you to their throne room. I believe that’s where they are planning on performing the spell.”
“Yes. I believe they are making sure everything is ready and in place before commencing…”
-*-
Elsewhere…
“Luna, we really need to return you to normal.”
“But everypony thinks our new form is so adorable and huggable now! I haven't seen such affection from thine subjects since the day of our return!”
Celestia, now back to her full size thanks to the help of Cadence, Twilight, and Archmage Ley Line, smacked a hoof to her face as she stood in front of her sisters room. The three aforementioned ponies stood behind her, gazing on in equal amounts exasperation, bewilderment, and amusement.
“Luna so help me if you don’t come out of there I’m emptying the Royal Pantry of every last coffee bean we have.”
Silence fell upon them all, and after a moment, there was some muffled hoofsteps behind the door. Then it opened, and a sullen Luna stepped out, glaring up at her older sister who could only smile at the pout on her face.
“Cheater…”
-*-
“Alright then… is there anything I can read while I wait?” I asked, figuring maybe I could do something vaguely productive with my time.
“Sure, you can look over the Canterlot Times if you want, I went through it already.” Filthy Rich said, pointing to a stand nearby where a rather thick newspaper was currently sitting on.
I gave a soft thanks as I excused myself from the table, snatching it up with a hoof and throwing it on my back, heading back to our room and flopping myself on the bed as I look at the cover story.
CHANGELING INVASION HALTED! ROYAL GUARD CALLS FOR CALM!
Just the other day, we learned of a most disturbing event that nearly took place within the streets of our most magnificent city. The capital of Equestria, it’s crown jewel, was nearly invaded by a force of beings we have been told are called “Changelings”. These beings are shapechangers that can take pony form…
“Bla bla bla, we know that already!” Strife protested “Go and read the funny pages!”
I rolled my eyes, but thought ‘Fine’, flipping through pages until I was at the funny pages, which turned out to be quite boring, even dull.
“You know, I think if they had Pinkie working for them, you could actually dignify calling them the Funny pages.” I said after trying to find one that could get even a chuckle from any of us.
“No way, that mare is way too weird.” Diamond Tiara protested.
Strife quickly chimed in, “Weird or not, she’d probably do a crap ton better then these baboons… hmm, maybe they actually have baboons doing the comics. Would explain the shitty art for half of them too.”
“Hey now,” Diamond replied, our face shifting into a frown as she continued “I think some of the comics look rather well done. They just aren’t funny.”
As Strife and Diamond began arguing over the quality of the funny pages, I kind of just zoned out, using their conversation to drone out the worries and fears floating around my head. It was actually kind of helpful, as it was certainly more effective than just trying to ignore them.
Just as the two seemed ready to start shouting at each other (which would no doubt have seemed rather strange to anyone watching or listening in), the door opened and Silver Tongue poked her head into the room.
“Cain, Strife, Diamond honey… its time.”
The argument immediately came to an end, and I could feel them both tense up. Swallowing the fear I felt welling up, I took a moment to clear my mind as best as I could before nodding and saying “Alright… no use putting it off.”
Heading out the door, I saw one of the stone faced Royal Guards waiting for us. I felt a strong urge to try and make silly faces to see if I could get a rise out of him… and a moment later, was doing exactly that.
“Is that really necessary?” Filthy Rich asked as he watched us from the table. Seeing as I wasn’t getting any rise from the Guard, I stopped.
“Yeah. Had to try it at least once. Never got to do it with those stuffy British Guards, so I figured I’d try with this guy here.” I nodded to the Guard, gesturing a hoof to the door as I declared “Lead the way oh masked one.”
"As last wishes go, we could have gone for ice-cream first." Strife complained. "Seriously, this is the best you got?"
“It wasn’t really a last wish Strife. My last wish would be to see mom and sis again before...well, whatever happens happens.” I replied, which seemed to shut Strife up.
The walk to the throne room was silent, with both Diamond Tiara and Strife choosing to remain quiet as we were escorted to our destination. There wasn’t much to say at this point anyways...not yet anyways. We could say any possible final goodbyes or good lucks for when the spell was actually being performed.
“The Princesses are awaiting you within.” The guard said once we reached the doors, giving a stiff bow before turning and marching off.
“Well, once more into the breach.” I said as I pushed up against the doors...and promptly found that I couldn’t get it open any more than a smudge.
“Oh for crying out loud…” I growled, getting irritated as I tackled the thing, pushing with all my might and creating just enough room to squeeze through. After I dusted myself off, I looked ahead and saw the Princesses and the Mane Six sitting in a circle around a ritual circle of some sort. It reminded me vaguely of some that I’d seen Wiccans make, or just about any show or movie that involved magic.
“Good morning Cain, Diamond Tiara. I hope you had a good night’s rest.” Princess Celestia said as I walked over. I felt a grimace crossing my face, and before I could stop him, Strife said
“Its not just the two of them ya know sunbutt. And suuure, we had an excellent night. It was all fluffy bunnies and rainbows with butterflies filling the air.”
“Oh really? That sounds absolutely wonderful.” Fluttershy commented, drawing several looks from her friends. “W-What? I-I mean, it sounds w-wonderful to me…”
“I think he was being sarcastic Flutters.” Rainbow Dash said as she shook her head in amazement.
Celestia let out a little cough, bringing her attention back to more important matters, rather than idle chit-chat. “Cain, Strife, Diamond Tiara. We are ready to attempt the spell whenever you are ready.”
Strife rolled our eyes. “Its not like we have much choice. Its this, the Elements, or we get to find out what happens when we merge. Frankly, I think I’d prefer oblivion to being merged with these two dunderheads.”
“That’s rather uncalled for Strife. I think you’d actually do much better with their influence.” Rarity declared, giving us a look that rankled even me, as it seemed to smack of smugness and superiority. “After all, from what Twilight has told us, you’re already an improvement from that beast who was torturing Miss Tiara.”
Of course, if it rankled me, then it had to have angered Strife, who turned and gave Rarity a very sweet… very dangerous looking smile. “My dear, if you truly think that’s torture, you have no idea of what I am capable of.”
“Enough!” Luna shouted, stopping things before they could get out of hand, which with Strife was very likely. “Strife, I know your darker desires are there, but it is in your interest to control them. Do so.”
Strife grumbled, but let me retake control as I said “I think its best we go ahead and get this over with.”
As the Mane Six backed away, Celestia and the other Princesses taking up positions around me, I closed my eyes and worked on making myself as calm as possible. As it would turn out though, Strife didn’t intend to let me do so.
"Dammit, we missed the chance to get autographs of the mane six. We really should have gotten some!"
“Autographs?” I whispered softly, deciding to keep this conversation to myself. “Why the heck would you want their autographs?”
"Are you saying you don't want them?"
"No… I’d certainly like to have some. What I’m wondering is why you want them, and why you are thinking about that right now?"
"Well, for starters, I’m sure we could get some cash for them. Or bits I suppose, since they probably don’t have paper money here.” I had to facepalm here when I heard this, ignoring the soft chanting of the Princesses as their horns began to glow.
I rolled my eyes as I muttered “Really? That’s your reasoning? It can’t be that simple.”
“Of course it isn't asshole!!!” Strife shouted, making both me and Diamond Tiara wince. “Do you really think I’m looking forward this? Even if it works...I’ll probably still be stuck with you, and I’ll have to deal with the fact that I’ll never be free to be myself! And if it doesn’t work...then we’ll BOTH probably end up a part of Tiara butt.”
The air around us began to spark and quiver, swirls of light forming and spinning about as the channeled magic grew stronger. If I’d been paying more attention, I might have been nervous, worried even.
“Strife, you being free to be yourself would be a bad thing. You’re why I call myself chaotic neutral all the time! You’re not just the part of me that has darker thoughts, that has been forced to deal with and face some of the bad times in my life… you’re also the part of me that would do whatever he wanted to if he could get away with it!”
I think Strife might have tried to respond then, but all three of us became incapable of speech as the spell was finally cast...and the most agonizing pain began to tear at each of our minds.
Describing it is...difficult. The best I can think of would be to say that everything down to the atomic level felt like something was trying to pull it apart. The universe itself seemed to be seeking to destroy us, the only way it would be satisfied was with our eradication.
It certainly felt like that anyways.
I, or I suppose we, must have been screaming our lungs out, because soon enough the pain subsided, our body collapsing to the floor in a heap of sweat, fur, and a bit of blood which happened to be draining out from our head.
The Princesses instantly rushed over, casting healing magic as a certain cyan colored Pegasus decided to state the obvious. “Uh, I don’t think it worked Princess Celestia.”
“Nah, REALLY? Because I thought that it was FUCKING BRILLIANT!!” I and Strife shouted together as DT tried to recover on her own. The anger I felt left me blind to such though as I sought a release for the pain.
“Cain, you need to calm down…” Twilight tried to say, but when I turned my gaze to her she withered and took a hesitant step back.
“NO, what I NEED right now is something to hit, rend, smash, and otherwise break into tons of little pieces.” I growled out, indeed looking for something like that to vent on.
Rarity chose that moment to speak up. “I’d say you should take such feelings out on the one truly responsible for your predicament, but as Celestia has said, it wouldn’t do any good.”
Actually, at the moment, beating up and whaling on Discord's statue sounded pretty good, but Celestia shook her head and said “There is no need to encourage him. Luna, I believe some of your night guard are up right now still, correct? Stormy Shadow tends to stay up late to practice her fighting does he not?”
Luna hummed in thought, quickly catching onto her sisters line of thought as she replied “Yes he does. Its his way of winding down.”
“Good. Once Cain has recovered a bit more, why don’t you take him to the training yard. Perhaps Stormy can help him relieve himself of this anger.” Celestia said, leaning down to try and nuzzle me, but at the moment I wasn’t in the mood for such. She simply gave me a sad smile as she said “I am sorry that it did not work…”
Both Strife and I might have protested, neither of us being all that happy to have experienced such a sensation as that we had just felt, but Diamond took charge as she stammered out “T-That’ll do I guess…”
As we turned to follow Luna out of the room, I spent most of my energy trying to get over the pain… but eventually I noticed that while Strife and I were fuming (well, Strife was actually boiling, but I wasn’t particularly concerned about that at the time), Diamond Tiara seemed to be dealing with it rather well.
And this only served to fan my frustrations.
‘Aren't you mad too?’ I asked her as we walked silently through the halls. ‘I know it wasn’t just us feeling that pain, I heard your screams as much as I heard Strife’s and my own.’ I didn’t understand why she seemed to be taking this in stride, while Strife and I wanted to beat something into a bloody pulp.
'We knew this could happen. I am glad we didn't have ice-cream before this, or I would be throwing up.’ She replied, quickly reverting her focus on what was in front of her as she nearly collided with Princess Luna. ‘Besides, Strife's torture was worse than this.’
That’s right, Strife had tortured her for who knew how long in that mindscape. And she had shown amazing resilience in recovering from it so quickly. Maybe it was just Earth pony stubbornness, or perhaps she had figured out that dwelling on it wouldn’t do her any good.
The change in topics had switched the focus of my ire. Now I was angry with myself at not having tried to step forward earlier… I could have kept Diamond Tiara from having to deal with those memories…
“Think she would be like this right now if I hadn’t?” I heard Strife mutter as we made another turn. I could see out into what looked like a training yard where members of both Celestia and Luna’s guards were busy training for future threats.
Celestia was probably thinking that having me go out there, interact with this Stormy Shadow in some fashion, would help to vent the destructive impulses I had been close to showing off in the throne room.
Now though, I felt too tired to be all that angry… our eyes felt rather heavy, and a good nap suddenly sounded like a very good idea… so much so that we just tripped over our own feet and collapsed to the floor, darkness quickly taking us.
-*-
I found myself back in the mindscape, the room looking like an Ursa Major had decided to go on a rampage. Diamond Tiara was on the couch, hugging Strife who seemed to be… crying? Why was Strife crying? Then I thumped myself upon the head, recalling the failure of the spell, that we were now both relying on the EoH to save us…
And most importantly, that Strife was where I sent the feelings I had no desire to deal with at the time, be it anger, stress, sadness...
Guilt…
Guilt was one of the things rather prominent in my mind now, when I took a moment to think about it. Everything that was happening now in this manner was because of my own actions… and inaction.
I felt guilty about fighting with ponies, insulting them, especially those that did not really deserve it. I knew this was Diamond’s guilt, but I felt it all the same, especially when I thought about how I could have just been honest from the start, instead of hiding what was going on. I had usurped the life of another sentient being, who no matter how much harm had done to to the CMC, it was still a mere child. One who had her own pain to deal with… and was now sharing in mine.
Shame…
I was starting to enjoy being in Diamond Tiara's body, and a part of me was really growing attached to the idea of being a child again, of getting to experience what it was like to be a girl, even if it was in the form of a magical candy colored equine...
Shame was not something I was fond of. It was something I rarely felt, but when I did feel it it bugged me to no end. Why was liking these things shameful? Why was I still using the standards of my own world when I wasn’t even in it anymore?
Fear…
What I was truly afraid of, was that Discord had not lied, that I had been really created by him, that I…
That I wasn't real.
Or rather, that I wasn’t actually someone who had existed in another world. That all my memories, and everything else about me… were mere creations by him.
Sure, it didn’t make sense for such to be true. I mean, Discord may be the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony… but surely he couldn’t create an entire lifetimes worth of memories… could he? He also wasn’t supposed to make any sense, so by that extension…
Ugh, I could feel my head hurting from the loop that was beginning to form from that thought. I shook my head, trying my best not to think about such things. Instead, I thought about Diamond Tiara, and the strange relationship that had been forming in the last days...
She had forgiven me for using her body and pretending to be her, forgiven Strife for the torture he had inflicted upon her, and the strangest thing of all was that she saw us as friends.
How crazy was that? How could the queen of brats be so kind, especially after all we had done? Okay, she hadn’t exactly been kind immediately… but how was she so willing to forgive either of us?
Diamond Tiara didn’t seem to care about the possibility that we might not be ‘real’ people. In fact, it seemed like she wanted to help us as much as the others did… not just so we wouldn’t perish, or merge into her and perhaps destroy her in the process. She also seemed to have a desire to atone for her own actions towards everypony...
A young filly who I would have expected to be angry, to hate me and Strife’s very presence within her body, and messing with her life… she considered me… and even Strife of all people… her friends.
Not only her, but also Twilight Sparkle! She hadn’t even gotten to know who I really was, yet she had refused Discord's twisted game and chose to save both Diamond Tiara and myself. Maybe that action didn’t seem like much because its what one EXPECTED of the Element of Magic…
But, expected or not, she had helped me. We weren't close friends, and we didn’t really knew each other... but I would be the biggest idiot in all of ponydom to forget what she did for me.
And Princess Luna… why did I feel as if I owed her something too? She hadn’t talked much with me, mostly with Diamond Tiara. And yet I felt indebted to her. Why?
Then, out of nowhere, or so it seemed since I had become so absorbed in my own thoughts, I felt Diamond Tiara, and surprisingly Strife, hugging me. Without really thinking about it, I found myself returning the hug, drawing strength from their presence as if a heavy weight had been pulled off my shoulders...
Ah horseapples! How stupid could I be?
I had let myself get so worried about my problems that I forgot where I was, a magical land called Equestria, a place where friendship was very important, and possessing a power in of itself that could bring down beings as powerful as Discord. A place where friendship literally was magic. Where one did not always need magical trinkets like the Elements to defeat evil, like it had happened in the first Hearth's Warming Eve.
And at this moment, I was relearning that, Diamond Tiara, and even Strife, giving me the strength to face what was ahead of us. I wasn’t alone...we were all in this together.
I then felt something poking me lightly in the ear, which made me look at the source, a horn placed upon Strifes head. Strife was back to being a unicorn… going by a gut feeling, I looked myself over and saw wings. I frowned, wondering for a moment why we weren’t all Earth Ponies like Diamond Tiara.
Come to think about it, me being a Pegasus made an odd sort of sense. My impulsiveness, the way I acted before thinking… or at least without doing a lot of thinking, it was a trait some pegasi seemed to share.
And Strife… well she… he… whatever, had a big ego, and was full of himself, but the positive way to see it, was that Strife was full of confidence. Unicorns needed to believe in themselves and what they were doing, or their magic would fail and go wrong. And DT… well… I just said she had the typical Earth pony stubbornness, didn't I? It showed itself in her previously determined desire to not become a victim again like she had once before, by turning into a bully herself to ensure she was never as low as she had been.
Sadly, had Strife and I not been dropped into her life, that same stubbornness would have insured she remained stuck in her ways, even if there were hints Silver Spoon didn’t seem all that willing to continue such a path. But now it could be put to a good purpose… and I got the strange feeling that it already had been.
A brief memory flashed through my eyes, of an office where a dark Princess and two fillies stood against a horde of shapeless shadows, a mass of fear stalking towards them as they stood defiant against them.
And that wasn't all, I also saw… myself? No, it was DT, having a long talk with Princess Luna.
I finally understood why I felt like I owned Luna something. Princess Luna had helped Diamond Tiara face her anger against us, which had helped DT face her own fears. Through her efforts, we had come together, forging bonds of friendship. I recalled the Woona doll, and wondered if that had been part of Luna's efforts as well.
I wondered if the reason I was able to realize all this was because we were merging together. That thought bugged me somewhat, but I quickly decided it didn’t matter how I figured all this out. The important thing was that I remembered that I was NOT alone. …
Dammit, I am not crying! These are manly tears!
After a few minutes of this, I was pulled back into the conscious world, Luna looking rather concerned as she asked "Cain? Strife? Diamond Tiara? Are you alright?"
Our body was still rather sore, but our spirit was doing better so I waved her off. "Y-Yeah Princess...just had to sort a few things out. Come on, let's go meet this Stormy Shadow guy, I still got some frustrations to vent."
Luna nodded, accepting my response as she turned and resumed leading us through the halls. I was looking forward to meeting this soldier, and having a chance to vent, something I hadn't really done since Twilight found out what was going on, or when I ran away from the CMC and the Silver Spoon. Sure, I'd already sort of had a moment in our head...but this would help make things easier when the final attempt came.
And as we stepped out into the training yard, my eyes and ears taking in the sights and sounds of Ponies being whipped into proper members of the royal guard, I found myself wondering just what the others were up too...
-*-Cutie Mark Crusaders (And Silver Spoon too)-*-
“Are you two sure this is a good idea?”
Apple Bloom peered out the window as she watched the countryside pass by, enjoying the sound of the train clacking down the rails. She could see the edge of Canterlots many towers drawing closer as they rounded the great mountain the Capital of Equestria had been built upon.
“No, not really Scootaloo… but Ah know that the four of us should be there to support Diamond Tiara and Mister Cane.”
“I don’t think that’s how his name is pronounced…” Sweetie Belle murmured as she took a sip of some lemon soda, her stomach still feeling a tad upset from the breakfast she had hastily made for herself that morning.
“I just wish they had brought me with them… I should have gone with them!” Silver Spoon muttered, nearly shouting the last bit, only to be shushed by someone sitting on the opposite side of the train car.
Prying her eyes away from the window, she shook her head as she said “Ah don’t know why they didn’t bring us along. Maybe they thought we’d just get in the way.”
“Ah come on, that can’t be it.” Scootaloo said, even as Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes and interjected
“Of course it can’t. There’s no reason at all that they wouldn’t be worried about us getting in the way or causing trouble.”
"Are we really that bad?" Applebloom asked as she pulled her eyes away from the window to look at the others.
"You three always end in trouble, and tree zap seems to love you girls." Silver Spoon said. "But I think there was also the fact that… if things go wrong for Diamond and Cain… they might not want us to be there to see it.” Silver was silent for a moment, before adding “If, if it happens that is."
"Wrong? But The princesses and Twilight Sparkle are on the case!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “And Twilight is Princess Celestia’s personal student, she helped save Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon, and even sealed Discord away. How could they fail?"
For a moment, no one answered. After all, recognizing that a happy ending wasn’t always what happened was one of the blessings of being a child.
When the silence became too much for Silver Spoon, she spoke up. “Things don't always go well Sweetie Belle. Remember how Princess Luna used to be Nightmare Moon? And Princess Celestia had no choice but to seal her away for a thousand years on the moon?"
Apple Bloom didn’t like where that was going. “Now hold on a minute! Are ya’ll saying they’re gonna have to seal Diamond Tiara and Cain in the moon for a thousand years?”
“Apple Bloom, that’s a bit of a stretch.” Scootaloo said, rubbing a hoof on her head as she added “And I don’t think that’s what Silver Spoon meant. I think she was saying that things don’t always end with smiles and rainbooms.”
“Close enough, yes.” Silver Spoon said as the train whistle blew, the conductor informing everyone that they would be arriving at Canterlot station shortly… and that everyone should remain calm as they passed through the detection field.
“Detection field? What the hay is that?”
Sweetie Belle and Scoots looked rather confused as well, but Silver Spoon was more uncertain. She’d heard of such in a story book Diamond had gotten from her mother while she was abroad. They were used to dispel illusions… which meant the Princesses thought someone was trying to get into Canterlot that they didn’t want coming in.
As they passed the field, all the fillies felt a tingle as it touched them. Scootaloo looked around, as if expecting something else to happen, but nothing else happened.
"Ahhh, I wanted something to happen, like finding out a disguised thief or something!"
A moment later, they heard the door at the end of the car opening, and the sounds of someone struggling. A quick look down the aisle showed two guard ponies frogmarching...what at first glance looked like a black unicorn with blue eyes, but upon closer inspection turned out to be some sort of pony-insect hybrid.
“What the…” Scootaloo asked as the guards pushed the struggling creature down the aisle, the thing chittering in its own language and sounding like it was rather unhappy about this development.
"Was that… a Changeling?" Sweetie Belle asked, which drew the confused look of the others. “I think it was in one of Twilight’s books about rare creatures, it had a drawing that looked like that."
"So, what's a changeling?" Applebloom asked with interest.
"It’s a shape changing insect like creature that feeds on love. It pretends to be one of your loved ones and then sucks love right out of you."
"That's it?" Silver spoon asked, as if expecting more.
"Well, it was a quick guide, mostly I read the book because of the drawings. Supposedly they have a Queen and they act as a swarm of… of… insects? I can't remember any more.” Sweetie Belle shrugged as she finished, watching as the creature was taken into the next car.
"Oh, that was kind of disappointing, don't you think girls?"
That got a good jump out of all four fillies, especially when it seemed that no one else in the car had heard it. "Who said that?" Applebloom asked, shaking a bit as she realized she had recognized that voice. It can’t be… th-the Princess took care of him!
Unfortunately… "Guahahahah, yes my little ponies, guess who’s back ahahahaha!" A bright flash of light filled the center of the car, and when they could see again, they were staring into the face of the twisted chimera himself.
“H-How is this possible?" Silver Spoon asked as she tried to back away from him, only resulting in bumping her back against her seat.
This got a chuckle from the Lord of Chaos. “My dear, when you embody chaos itself, anything and everything is possible.” He took that moment to snatch up a neighboring ponies mane, chewing upon it as if it were cotton candy.
"What do you want?" Sweetie Belle asked, knowing that he had to have a reason for being here.
"Oh, I want many things…” He replied, chewing thoughtfully on his snack. “Mostly I want to get free of this stupid stone prison so I can have some real fun.”
Finishing his treat, he licked up the remains off his talons, then gave the four a dark smirk as he declared “But, since I only have some of my powers… I have to make do. Now, look into my eyes little fillies!"
Suddenly, Discord’s eyes started to swirl and rotate like a hypnotic disk, and they could all feel their gazes being drawn to the spinning pools.
"Don't look!" Scootaloo cried out, closing her eyes as the other fillies attempted to do the same. But Discord wasn’t having any of that, and simply used his magic to force them to look.
And then… the his twisted thoughts began to sink inside their heads, poisoning their minds and leaving them blind to their true feelings.
Diamond Tiara and Mister Cain are jerks. They lied to us! They tricked us!
Diamond Tiara is always mean because we don't have cutie marks!
Diamond Tiara isn’t gonna change! She’ll still treat you as nothing more than a convenient side kick! You’ve always meant nothing to her.
Cain let Diamond Tiara suffer for his own comfort… he doesn’t deserve to be saved!
More and more, the twisted images and emotions flooded into them, the four fillies soon gaining a faded color to their coats.
"Oh, that won't do, I already did that trick before! Mmm… I know! You girls need a new paint job!" Discord then pulled a brush out of nowhere and painted the fillies to make them look their usual colors.
When the images finally drew down to a trickle, and then simply stopped, they rubbed their heads, looking around the car to see if Discord had anything else planned for them.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
“Ugh… hey girls, what are we doing in Canterlot again?” Scootaloo asked, her head throbbing from what she had just experienced.
“S-Something to do with Queen Meanie Pants I think…” Sweetie Belle said after a moment, though she didn’t sound too sure about it. Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon however…
“Hey yeah! We came to give Diamond a piece of our mind!” Apple Bloom said, thumping her hoof against the seat for emphasis.
“Not just her, but this Cain guy. They’re both jerks, and they need to learn just how we feel about them!” Silver Spoon declared.
"Uh… but… isn't that a tad mean?" Sweetie Belle murmured aloud, unsure of herself as she tried to think back to before Discord popped in… but doing so made her head hurt.
"Applejack always say Ah don't have to let bullies push me around, this might be mean, but we have to make it clear to those two that we aren't pushovers!" Applebloom shouted, drawing a few shushes from other ponies in the car.
Before anypony else could say anything, they felt the train slowing down, the whistle announcing that they were arriving at their destination. “All off for the Royal City of Canterlot!” The conductor shouted as Ponies started to slide out of their seats and make their way towards the exit.
Apple Bloom was the first to hop out of her seat. “Come on girls, we’ve got a score to settle.”
Sweetie Belle was the only one who didn’t let out an excited ‘Yeah!’ as they stepped onto the platform, glancing up towards the Royal Palace where, no doubt, Diamond Tiara and Cain were currently residing as the Princesses tried to help them.
Unbeknownst to the four of them, as they began the trek towards the castle, a lone statue in the Royal Hedge Maze gained a few small cracks...and dark laughter drifted off upon the winds.
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"Thou" means "You". (See reference for details)
Also, the "thou" form of "to be" is "art". ("Thou art")
You really should add "Dark" tag here. Really. And maybe "Tragedy" too.
Also, they're ponies, they have hooves. Why didn't they buck Discord in jaw? "Head's up, jerk, no hypnosis!"
Ugh, I'm starting to dislike this story more and more...
5527019
Blarg. Fixed to make it be better sounding.
5527221
Tragedy is definitively a no. Dark...is a maybe. I don't know if I'd quite consider this to be dark or not.
5527403
Err, do you mean the bit in the story description referring to co-authors, or the actual Author Note, which I prefer to have at the top of the chapter?
5527410 5527441
As I have told others, the darker half thing was something I'd had planned from the beginning. My original co-author absolutely loathed the idea, even when I explained my reasoning for such a presence.
I would first like to say that, it may be cliché to you, but to me it is not. Most of the HiE stories I have read have not actually had such an element in them. The most common elements I've actually seen in HiE stories is the Human preferring Equestria to Earth, and not being all that concerned about getting back.
Perhaps it is simply a case that I haven't read as many HiE stories as you have, though I have plenty of them in my read later and favorites list.
I would like to comment that I find it surprising though that your only noticing this now. Strife's been in the story for a few chapters, and some time has passed since he was introduced.
And to respond to 5527650 as well
I am sorry that you are getting turned off from the story, but the way things are going are the way I've wanted things to go from the very beginning. If you dislike the story, then please, by all means, don't read it. No one is forcing you to stay and read this, and frankly I'd prefer that if you just don't like it anymore to just not comment, and instead downvote it. I have frankly found that a bunch of downvotes are more likely to sway a reader rather than comments themselves.
Probably just a sign you preferred things when HoneyHoneyHoney was around. Yay me.
....somethings not right here...isn't Cain the one narrating?
5528204
Sorry, I should have been more clear, I don't dislike the story, yet, I dislike your interpretation of Discord in the story, which made the ending feel a bit... bleh, corny, grainy... something.
Other than that the story is grammatically excellent, the plot is exciting to a degree and the characters/world seem logical(enough, were talking about magical ponies after all ;P), I wouldn't downvote it even when I did start to dislike the whole story or the characters, or the fic in general.
5529306
Yes, it should said Strife, thats the problem with posting the chapter without the pre-readers reading it first.
And guys, we have Discord as a villain, even if Strife was not around, things where gonna turn dark eventually. Do you guys remember how Discord is like, right? Even after he "Reformed" he went and became best pals with Tirek. here he has not been reformed, and the heroes have defeated many of his efforts, but Discord is not stupid. What he did to the CMC is not different than what he did with Fluttershy, simply put, he got tired of playing. And since he did the whole Discording thing before, he changed things to ensure both Cain and Diamond Tiara will get hurt, even with Cain's knowledge of the show.
5528742
Not really.
The authors note is something that goes either above, or below the chapter to let readers know about anything relevant.
The Co-Author section that was previously at the top of the description was NOT an authors note. It was a list of people who had helped with the story. An authors note would have been me saying "Hey folks, this is my first long term pony fanfic, I hope you all enjoy it!"
So, if you were referring to an co author section in the description, then firstly, its not bullshit, and secondly, its been moved, so I hope your oh so happy about it.
If your referring to the actual Authors Note, then its staying at the top of the chapter in that grey shaded box thing it appears in, and I'm NOT moving it.
5529306
damnit, I thought I'd fixed that one!
5531256
Its not over first of all, lol.
As for Discord being an evil villain, if that is the problem, I honestly prefer him as such. I'm certainly not taking him as far as some people do, but I prefer him to being a villainous big bad to...well, being a sort of nerfed friend of the Mane Six. He stops being the awesome Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony that so many of us fell in love with and becomes...well, to be honest he becomes Genie. And while Genie is cool, being voiced by who he was, I don't think Discord should be a genie character.
5531981
That's the thing, I don't watch the show and I don't like him either way.
I like him as a stone statue in the garden or like that in that one fic that I now have to dig up to show you.
P.S - Never said that it was over, didn't overly imply it either. Like I thought up just now: "Don't read the invisible text between the lines that don't exist." :D
5533305
Define both. Your post calling the 'bullshit' in the description is the first comment I can seem to find from you, and I don't consider your
all that illuminating.
I am rather literal when it comes to some of these things. Again, by my definition, what you were speaking of was not an Authors note. It was the list of Co-Authors and helpers of the fanfic. Not an authors note. An authors note is the words in the little grey box sitting at the top of chapters.
So no, from my perspective, you were not AT ALL clear.
5532232
Ah, you were referring to the ending of the chapter there.
Also, if that's the case, why did you start reading? Discord was tagged as being a major character in this story, so he was going to be involved in ways other than being a garden gnome at some point.
5535608
I start reading stories by they're description and what kind of comments they have acquired so far, not by what characters are in them.
It has been said to not judge a book by its cover or in this case, description - however, when there are grammatical errors or 'war' mentioned there, I usually skip them, yours had neither and was more than mildly interesting(yes, that's a compliment =3), so I decided to read it, so far(minus this D'cord part), I don't regret my choice.
Damn, Cain went nuclear!
Surely this completely new spell that takes a totally different approach will work. exact same spell dialed up to 11 Oh dear, it didn't work!
Discord is playing dirty, but on the other hand he keeps signing his own death warrant. All that balled up frustration and rage that Cain, Diamond and Shadow the Hedgehog are fighting to deal with, and suddenly there's a convenient foe before you in the form of three familiar fillies acting completely insane? Exchanging black eyes never felt so cathartic. It might be enough chaos to bust him out again which would be bad, but afterward? A fight like that will bring them even closer together than just some lame awkward apologies and sympathy would. It's not a petty fight for dominance over who has to be the stupid one. It's a fight on both sides for justice, answers, and closure. And Discord helped by forcing all the unresolved anger the CMC held right to the surface.
Oh also calling it: this is going to end with Discord defeated by the merged entity of Diamond Tiara, Cain and Strife: Princess Tiara
5551612
Well, he actually did the same spell but added something extra. By using the magic paint, the CMC don't look discorded, and he actually let them act enough like themselves that Cain and Tiara will probably think they are saying hurtful things on their own.
5570344
No, I meant the spell that Celestia and Luna used to try to separate Diamond and the others. I wanted to express the opinion that it wasn't adequately described to the point I could tell the difference between it and the last one they tried. But, my memory is pretty weird so they might have been quite different after all.
5576245
The last time they used the elements, so is not the same spell. And they actually mentioned a spell they DID NOT end using because it was too dangerous.
This has been a delightful story to read so far! I'm usually a lurker, but, y'know, sometimes I like showing my thumbs up just to let the author know that readers like me are enjoying the story and are looking forward to the updates.
5576245
5579417
They have not used the Elements yet, so I wanted to clear that up.
The first spell was more of an exorcism spell. It was trying to treat Cain and Strife like unwelcome spirits/demons that have taken up residence inside Diamond Tiara. Sorry if it wasn't all that clear.
5607886
It's fine. You see a horn coming out of my head? I'm clueless where magic is concerned!
5609503 technically, if you had a horn, calling you a "unicorn" is correct, as unicorn doesn't mean a horse.
Somewhere out there, there is a unicorn ferret. His name is Steeve.
5610224
maybe that's why my head is stuck in this shoe...
5618365 indeed.
I have the perfect thing to add to the scene when Cain is trying to make the guard crack a smile. Just watch this video and you'll know what I mean.
All you need to do is add in the phrase, "Reeeeeed Robin" "Yum!"
Cain or Strife respectively saying the Red Robin part then the guard saying yum!
Well... that was interesting. And of COURSE Discord pulled a little ol' hypnosis on the CMC and Silver Spoon. Because Discord. Would be hilarious if when Cain, Strife, and DT merged (if they completely merge), and they merge around the time Discord breaks free... they became... the Dovahkiin! Because why not...
Discord: *does his normal shenanigans and stuff*
DT/Cain/Strife: FUS RO DAH!!!!!
Darn it, there's me being obsessed with Skyrim again. Anyw-
Insaadomkro: What kind of pathetic villain is Discord? I'd have his jugular torn out in... 10 seconds flat. Couldn't resist that one, Rocky Runner. Though in actuality, I'd have him torn between realities so quickly and spread out enough that it would take a REAL god to put him back together... maybe many. All, of course, before making sure he suffers terribly. Can't let him off that easy, can I. I will find him. I will end him. And he can't do shit to stop me.
Me: O... k... calm down there, pal. First serve your sentence, then go tear Discord into a million pieces, alright?
Insaadomkro: I'll tear him into more than a million pieces. Hypnosis is just low, Discord. Me, I make sure that it is sowed into my enemy's mind that no matter how high their IQ is, I'll still triumph.
Me: Because that worked oh so well for you last time.
Insaadomkro: Hey, those guys that arrested me hail from an alien race nearly as old as your own bloody universe. Even I know my limits, Rocky Runner. And a tip of advice: don't piss off a race of aliens that can travel between dimensions in the blink of an eye. Just don't. Discord, how have the Nicurians not impaled you yet?
this song is perfect for this story