Waning Totality
“What do you mean she’s gone?!”
The roaring voice of Commander Hurricane could have given Celestia or Luna’s royal voice a run for it’s money, magic or not, as it shook the castle and practically deafened the captain marching down the halls and out the main gate beside him. Captain Ardent Sentry hurried along to keep pace with the stallion twice her age, trying not to shout but the effort was in vain due to how badly her ears were ringing.
“I had no means of following her except on wing and she got away from me!”
“She’s a giant white mare with a horn, wings, and a rainbow mane that moves under its own power; how could she blend into a crowd?!”
“She teleported out of the city limits and flew off!”
“And you didn’t fly after her?! Captain Sentry, she’s potentially the most powerful being on the continent, she’s a hormonal teenager, and she’s distressed to the point of being mentally unfit for anything! Look out there!”
Commander Hurricane bellowed, pointing out to the horizon and the distant mountains to the north Celestia was last seen flying towards.
“There are hundreds of thousands of ponies terrified of her out there! Some of which might be scared enough to try something really bold.”
“With respect sir, commander, sir. You’re the one who taught her to fly, you know what she’s capable of! Even if she was airborne and not using magic you know how few of us can keep pace with her! And if she’s so powerful why are you so scared she’ll get hurt?”
Commander Hurricane let a snarl seep out of his throat and he looked to the large mare with a glare that could bend steel. On instant Ardent Sentry was struck with such terror she went stiff as a board, as many would when they had the legendary old soldier bearing down on them.
“Do not mistake my worry, captain. I’m worried somepony will be stupid enough to try something after your mistak-”
Salvation soon came from the one pony in the continent who could speak up to the pegasus leader. Corporal Pansy Shy was still as cowardly as ever, being more a tactician than a leader or soldier, but the years had given her more guile with her commander’s sway. She poked a hoof up from behind Ardent Sentry and cleared her throat.
“Ehm, it’s true Commander. Captain Sentry here tried to keep pace with her but it wasn’t possible. She was one of the first hooves on the ground at the square and by then Princess Celestia had already vanished. The main reason she couldn’t try to pursue, if she even could keep pace considering her lack of speed talent, was that she was helping the other guards gather up the dazed and wounded from the shockwave attack. By the time they landed, Princess Celestia had already gotten so far away that she vanished soon after.”
Pansy and Sentry both gulped as Commander Hurricane visibly fumed with a reddening throat and twitching lip. Sucking in his breath, the dark blue stallion held it and counted down before releasing. Rolling his shoulders, Hurricane shrugged with much less edge in his tone as his demeanor shifted from enraged to stoically somber.
“My apologies for the outburst, Captain, Corporal. But we must find her, immediately. Starswirl is already breathing down my nape about this and I’m not a young stallion anymore.”
Captain Sentry sighed through her nose and absentmindedly nodded. Commander Hurricane was a legend amongst all three races and he still kept a fit, muscular build. But he was clearly past his prime at mid-late middle age, with more wrinkles on his face and graying on his mane and fur visible the more Ardent Sentry and Pansy looked at him. His anger spiralling down, Hurricane sounded more… tired, than anything else. It was a sobering thought and realization to see or hear someone so mighty being lowered by age and worry. One of these days if he kept pushing himself as hard as he used to he was going to regret it.
All the more reason to get Princess Celestia back as soon as possible.
Hurricane looked like he was pondering through some options in his head to give a new set of orders when the rapid fire clip-clop of rushed hoofsteps coming from the hall behind them and a frantic shout diverted his attention. A yellow-furred, curly orange-maned mare with white freckles the pegasus trio recognized as secretary Smart Cookie sprinted around a corner and rushed up to them.
“Commander Hurricane!”
Hurricane turned to face Smart Cookie, eyes glancing to the scroll she had curled up and tucked under her hat and spotting the council’s seal.
“I need good news Mrs. Cookie, got a situation on my hooves that isn’t getting any better.”
He grumbled, earning a negative response by Smart Cookie. Her ears flopped down and she lowered her neck, making her already fairly short stature even lower.
“Unfortunately none to be had. New findings just came in for the meeting, Starswirl is urgently requesting your presence in it.”
“I need more information than that. What is going on Mrs. Cookie? I’ve got a missing, emotionally distressed demigoddess on my hooves.”
She sighed, holding out the scroll to offer it up to Hurricane and bowing her head down. Smart Cookie’s tone became drowned in a deluge of grief and hesitance.
“It’s Timbucktu…. We have a witness reporting in from a frontier it had been flying over. We… We think there has been an attack.”
Commander Hurricane took the scroll and tore it open, frantically reading through the outlined list of information written upon it in obvious haste. Usually Hurricane would chastise the old wizard or some of the others on the council for frivolous mannerism or details, wanting them just to get to the point. For the first time he was regretting that desire. Starswirl didn’t even bother with formalities or etiquette, just cutting to the horrific truth. Hurricane’s face noticeably paled, jaw dropping agape as he quivered with a mix of grief, worry, and hatred. Starswirl’s last line spelled it all out to the climax.
-”Timbucktu ghost city. Changeling horde confirmed to be behind attack. No reports of survivors.”-
==============
Northern Frontier
==============
Unable or unwilling to fly much more, Princess Celestia stumbled along aimlessly through the forest like a wayward, heavy drunkard. Her steps were unsteady and wobbling, a side effect of the constant vertigo and weakness draining her. Mud and twigs marred her fur and clung to her mane, which was waving about noticeably frantic in four second spurts of rampant magic. Every four seconds the alicorn gasped, stumbled and fought to control her balance through the vertigo and deafening ringing in her ears. Every four seconds the spirals of her horn would violently ignite and she’d be forced to vent off the fluctuating magic before it could rip into her mind with a debilitating migraine.
Luna was gone and with the stress at both Starswirl endangering himself against the Sirens, Night Shroud’s unintentional antagonism, and remorse at accidentally harming the latter so suddenly she could only pray she hadn’t seriously harmed the stallion; Celestia was in both mental and physical agony. This was life now. Being a useless drain upon her family figures as they tried to care for her, a symbol of fear to a growing number of ponies, a physical threat to everything around her without her balance around. She could tell herself it wasn’t her fault. The founders cared for her because they loved her, Night Shroud and his group were just afraid due to a misunderstanding, and these magical shockwaves that tore out of her were due to circumstances beyond her control.
That didn’t mean she had been oblivious to said shockwaves carving a path of knocked-over trees, hurled dirt and gravel, and flattened shrubs that left little to wonder which way she’d taken through the forest. Pained tears running down her eyes, Celestia forced herself to stop and bear through another uncontrollable outburst, forcing all her willpower to keep the blast contained as much as possible. Managing to hold it in for several agonizing seconds, the alicorn directed the pressure upwards and launched it into the clear space above her. The blastwave of condensed magic and moving air crashed like thunder and blew a hole in the clouds far above the forest. The fantastic boom sent dozens of animals running for cover or more effectively, running as far away as they could from the alicorn. Celestia whimpered and sniffled her clogged nose, croaking an apology to a flock of songbirds she’d sent flying away for their lives. Unable to speak through a muted throat, she could only tilt her head down as she sobbed and hope somehow fate would hear her apology.
-I’m so-ory… I’m so-so ackg!... Sorry…-
Celestia looked behind her at the path of destruction she unwillingly wrought. Seeing the snapped trees, crushed shrubs, and craters carved into the ground gave her harrowing thoughts of what might have happened had she remained in a populated area. Ruining a forest with nopony or sapients in it might have been preferable to demolishing mainstreet Canterlot, but it was still a hated choice for the alicorn due to all the needless devastation. She’d just have to find somewhere even more remote, more solitary. The northern range was full of mountains. Celestia held her breath to keep from crying again as she looked up and saw the distant peaks.
-Y-Yes… I’ll just go there. I’ll fly… t-eleport… crawl, whatever I have to do. I’ll go up to the highest spot I can find and just stay there!-
Wiping her flooded eyes, the alicorn limped towards the spire of rock visible through the blown-down trees. Logic would beg to ask her what she was supposed to do for food or water when up there, or that she’d go mad from isolation if she did find a way to live. But at this point she was too far gone to care. The words of one of Starswirl’s teachings reverberated through her psyche.
-”You look like a pony but you’re not, not entirely at least. You’ll never be just like them.”-
Had she not been in emotional freefall or rock bottom, she might have remembered the follow up words; about how as an alicorn she embodied an ideal the races established when they came together to form Equestria, how she had the potential for greatness, and how her long lifespan would be a benefit to all those around her. Celestia tripped on her shaking hooves, falling into a muddy creek that covered her in chilled water and wet dirt. Looking as miserable as she felt, the alicorn slowly got back her footing and continued on while briefly stealing a glance at her own reflection in the waters below.
She was supposed to be seen as an ideal for all. Horn of a unicorn, wings of a pegasus, strength of an earth pony. Big, tall, radiant, and warm as a rising sun. A protector who’d live for generations upon generations alongside her sister in honor of their adoptive family. But deep inside, amidst all her turmoil and grief, Celestia felt a cold rage begin to fester and snuff out the warmth. She wasn’t a pony, she was an unaging creature that looked like one. Her height, her power, all exaggerations of what was the norm to create an unnatural beast.
Those poor souls who tried to raise her, they were duped into taking her in by whatever force or entity that birthed her. For all she knew they were part of some plot against the ponies that was still in action because she certainly would have damaged Canterlot more than Discord ever could have had she stayed!
Celestia beheld the crying, dirtied, abomination; one cursed to live for centuries alone. No sister, no parents, doomed to see any lovers or children, if she could even have any, grow old and die while she stayed static. Starswirl, Clover, Cookie, Platinum, all of them had been so wrong.
Being an alicorn wasn’t an idealized pony brought to life. It was doomed desire by something pretending to be one.
Celestia’s expression sneered, her lips curling into a snarl that was equal parts agony and hatred. Parts of her were furious at herself, parts of her furious at whatever equivalent to parents she had, furious at the ponies themselves; and other parts were beginning to understand why her dear Luna had changed so much. A change that was beginning to be very tempting…
Spent from the constant magic use and physical exertion, Celestia collapsed just after managing to pull herself out of the stream and onto the bank.
Unconscious, she didn’t see a subtle glow begin to move through the forest. Numerous plants began to regrow as the presence walked by and many animals previously scared off by Celestia’s unintentional rampage looked out from their hiding places in silent awe. A calm returned to the wilds as a glowing mass of pure light approached the fallen alicorn. Her time here was agonizingly short. They were far from the Everfree and her presence wouldn’t last long.
But she had to be here, at least for this.
=====================
Celestia cleaned of grime, muck, and twigs, laid against a large mass that lay beside her with the alicorn’s head propped up against a soft shoulder. Still twitching in her sleep from the same ever present nightmares that rained down upon her like the beams of the hovering moon that bore the mark of a dark alicorn, Celestia finally found rest when a voice as quiet as a falling leaf whispered something to her.
Time run out, Princess Celestia would briefly awaken from her slumber in a different state. Still exhausted and only half awake, the world seemed different. The agony in her head seemed gone as well the pressure born from her out-of-control magic. Parts of her still hurt and fractured, but not falling to pieces anymore. Mouth slightly agape, she reached up and touched at her horn to confirm it was there. Alone in the wilderness as she sat up in a half delirious state, she quietly took a moment to look around before gazing up at the moon hovering high above with unsure feelings.
She’d been having a nightmare, that much was certain based off fuzzy memory and logic of what she’d been having for the past weeks; but beyond that there was the slight nagging feeling that there was something else. She observed the forest around herself and it was obvious some things had shifted. The plants were grown back and flickers of eyeshine indicated some animals observing her from a close proximity. A flock of small birds chirped as they rested in a shrub to her right, tilting their heads at the sitting alicorn curiously, whereas she last remembered driving them away. And of course she was clean again, no longer feeling the aching muscles and migraines that accompanied overuse of magic. But there was something else less tangible, almost like a faint whisper in the wind which she looked to but saw nor smelled nothing. Her rage was hushed. The abyss she almost fell into, the same one that had swallowed up Luna… something had yanked her away from it.
She thought she heard a wind chime. For the briefest moment she remembered an after-curfew chat with Luna in a time that seemed so long ago. Her sister made an audacious claim, one the then filly-aged Celestia had scoffed at. She claimed she remembered a voice before the ponies found them. A voice that softly rung like a chime. Celestia’s face quivered and her long since silenced throat opened as she formed a single word. The first word she’d spoken since the eclipsed day following her sister’s banishment, muttered with a mix of disbelief and questioning before the urgency of rest overtook her again.
“... Mother?”
Celestia’s tired eyes beheld the world around her, trying to catch a glimpse of someone she previously thought impossible, before exhaustion forced them shut again.
=================
Later that same night
=================
A series of echoing crashes crisscrossed the night as multiple small sonic booms went off above the massive cloud formation. A half-dozen pegasi, many sporting body armor, slowed themselves down to a hover as they closed in on Timbucktu. Or more correctly, the still-smoking husk of it. Commander Hurricane’s breath was labored for more reasons than the exertion from the flight, for when the pegasi landed the newer members weren’t alone in expressing shocked gasps at what was before them.
Timbucktu was a jewel city turned into a ghost town. Numerous buildings were still smoking, be it from changeling fire or overturned lanterns and torches. The streets were littered with broken weapons, torn cloths, overturned vendor stalls, and spoiling goods. The once-grand commons hall where Hurricane and Orion would converse and debate so much with each other and their subordinates lay smoking as little more than broken pillars, torn tapestries, and a shattered ceiling covered in magic burns. And there was something else, shriveled up and littering the streets and clouds that stole the breath of any whom saw it. History wouldn’t remember Timbucktu’s legendary fall in a mixture of myth and truth due to forgotten details, it would be so because nopony present wanted the full cost of the attack in those details to be known so vividly.
A tattered flag showing the city’s gleaming emblem was torn away from its bent pole, twirling in the wind before hitting the ground and rolling in front of the pegasi.
Steeling himself with mythical levels of nerve, Commander Hurricane barked his orders while he lowered the lance mounted to his side armor to a battle-ready position, just in case some of the growing shadows in the ruins decided to jump out at them.
“Search for survivors. If you find something do not keep it to yourself.”
“Yes, Commander!”
Several minutes later and the pegasi had fanned out, combing the streets and buildings while keeping mind to stay in visual range of each other. With it being plainly obvious it was an attack, and changelings at that by the looks of things due to some older members recognizing the green fire scorch marks and trademark dive bombing patterns from the troubling times years ago, they weren’t going to risk trying to investigate a darkened building or cranny out of eye and earshot of a comrade. It was common for raiders to leave a few behind for looting as well as the chance of a hysterical survivor lashing out on mistake.
Lifting an overturned vendor stand back up to its foundations, Ardent Sentry had to fall back on her training not to emote when her hoof brushed up against something dry, shriveled, and light. She stoically closed her eyes and shook her head, using her hoof to nudge a loose teddy bear back to its owner. Still keeping her nerve, the captain wasn’t able to stop a saddened sigh as she crouched down and closed a pair of jewel-like, paled eyes. Taking a brief moment to bow her head in a nod, she moved on to the next setting. Stepping up before a half-caved in house, Ardent Sentry brought up a torch and after striking a few sparks from the blunts of her wingblades, relit it and held it to the front of the pitch black interior. What looked like it had once been an opening leading to the second story, no doubt for the homeowners to fly up through to access a bedroom, had been crushed downwards and spewed out chunks of broken roof and warped cloud. The telltale scorched circle of magic that still bore green embers in a few spots easily allowed her to imagine what happened when multiple armed changelings smashed through the roof as a rain of fireballs and surprised those inside.
“He-llo? This is Commander Hurricane’s flight team! If there’s anypony in here, sound off!”
Her voice echoed through the derelict house, but received no response. She was about to head inside to investigate, setting the torch down beside the entrance, when the voice of Commander Hurricane caught her attention.
“Captain Sentry!”
"Commander?"
Ardent Sentry turned and saluted to Hurricane, who was standing at the front of the grand commons hall.
“Get over here and bring that torch! Private, you and Sergeant Firefly take over searching the house!”
Ardent Sentry did as told, picking up the torch and flying over to land next to Commander Hurricane. Taking the torch, he impaled it upon his lance to make an improvised, mobile light post before motioning for the captain to follow. Hovering over a fallen pillar, they surveyed the interior damage under the flickering firelight and moonbeams reflecting off the polished marble. The interior of the hall was just as damaged as the exterior. The only noise that permeated the premises was the hiss of passing wind coming through the compromised roof or walls and the distant echoes of the soldiers outside calling out in vain for any survivors. With the place looking the way it did, one could be forgiven for thinking they were hearing the ghosts of the fallen.
Much of the structure was heavily damaged. Dents and cracks smashed into the walls, collapsed ceilings, and overturned tables, shattered vases, and everything else not attached to the floor now scattered across it. Silent all the way through as they walked and hovered hall to hall, Ardent Sentry finally broke the quiet.
“Commander. With respect, why aren’t we searching for any survivors in here?”
Commander Hurricane didn’t break stride, hovering over a fallen pillar and entering the core chamber. Despite his professional voice, one could see his ears and shoulders lowering slightly as he spoke.
“There are none. Not in here. I’ve checked with the Private…”
Ardent Sentry pursed her lips, glancing over at what lay across the floor in the hall’s wide, circular inner chamber where the council was held. A dozen or so pony sized forms wrapped in whatever large amounts of cloth were on hoof; flags, carpets, and sheets. Due to the dead until proper arrangements could be made. Morbid, but still astute, she perked her head up to where Commander Hurricane was walking towards.
“Then what are we doing here, Commander?”
“Investigating. This is the heart of the city, some things that need a second look.”
“Seems like changelings though, right?”
Hurricane didn’t turn his back, instead gazing upon various tapestries and maps on the wall that were illuminated by the torch.
“Captain, you see any action against those things?”
“Some, Commander. I was just a private when Chrysalis attacked the fringes but I was in Canterlot trying to protect the refugees from Tirek the whole time. A few incursions did occur, just not helmed by Chrysalis. I petitioned to join the front lines but you always rejected them, Sir.”
Ardent gulped, hoping she didn't say anything offending to her superior. Commander Hurricane, either opting not to focus on the topic in itself or having more important things to worry with; ignored it.
“You ever seen a swarm attack?”
“No. I only saw their actions in the frontier after the fact, when they were keeping the gryphons or Saddle Arabians from helping when all the other chaos hit.”
“Well, you’re looking at a fresh attack now…. Fly up and straighten this one out.”
Hurricane grunted, motioning with his head to a large wall tapestry he was standing before. The binding for the top corners had come undone, bending the map over onto itself. Ardent Sentry nodded and got airborne, hovering over and doing so. The tapestry flattened back out, revealing itself to be a massive air current chart overlaying a sketched map of Equestria.
“Orion and I had this made when the resettlement started with dozens of scouting teams. He thought it be a good idea to see where was best to set up a new weather factory as well as easiest trade routes merchants could take to ride the currents.”
Ardent Sentry let her eyes survey the map, which had obviously gone through some revisions over the years due to the faded writing scrawled on it that had been erased and written over. Tracing Commander Hurricane’s vision of focus, she could see he was looking at the illustration of where Timbucktu was and following a particularly strong current leading away from it.
“What are you doing, Commander?”
“It’s obvious a massive changeling horde attacked here. And given what’s behind me, I know who was leading them personally.”
Commander Hurricane tilted his head back and Ardent Sentry looked. Illuminated by a large hole in the ceiling that looked like something on the inside smashed out of it, she could see a single large burn mark in the floor with tendrils radiating out of it. On instinct a bite of cold clawed its way down her spine. Scorch marks from magic blasts weren’t something remotely new to her tonight, but the scale of this one was easily four or five times the size of the others and it all radiated out from a single center point. Meaning it had all come from one source in one instant.
“Chrysalis…”
Captain Ardent Sentry muttered with a hushed breath, earning a shrug and nod from Commander Hurricane.
“Suspected it before, but that confirms it. That mark was probably from when she made herself known after disguising her way in here. Drained the room to husks, smashed out through the ceiling, opened the floodgates. It was her M.O. according to reports from the gryphons when she’d raze outer settlements or ambush groups that tried to come and help against Discord or Tirek.”
“H-How did she survive the war? Didn’t anypony try to track her down?”
“You said you were in Canterlot the whole time so you wouldn’t know. But pretty much everypony and whoever came to help us did. One can track changelings about as easily as somepony can catch smoke with their bare hooves. If they wanted to make themselves scarce, they could do so in an instant. Starswirl speculates somehow Chrysalis can talk to them all and command them with just magic, no speech or proximity required.”
“Like some sort of… mental… hive?”
“Not quite, but however she gave the command she could do it without needing to chat or be near the swarm to do it. They could spread out over a hundred kilometers and still keep coordinated. I envy that ability sometimes, but point is it made trying to track them impossible. Chrysalis could tell them all to fly in fifteen different directions and then meet up at one exact tree in the middle of nowhere.”
“So.. if that’s what we’re up against, how do we find them now? We can’t let-”
Ardent Sentry paused for a moment, glancing at the swaddled forms on the far side of the room with an ever present reminder of why they were pony shaped plaguing her mind.
“-this happen again.”
She muttered, earning a growl by Commander Hurricane as he lifted up a broken weapon the old soldier recognized as King Orion’s spear. Orion wasn’t much of a soldier, but it was evident he died fighting; an honor his friend intended to see to.
“It won’t, not on my watch. I'm not putting this lance down until it's over... Our mistake before was trying to track the changelings. Instead of trying to trace them when they are trying to hide, we needed to be ready for when they would strike next. Catch them in the act and end it once and for all.”
Ardent Sentry stole her breath and steeled her resolve at Hurricane’s gruff bravado. She narrowed her brow and tensed up in anticipation, visibly brimming to go into action at the drop of a horseshoe as Hurricane stabbed the spear point into a spot on the map multiple charted currents flew towards like arrows to a coordinate.
“Chrysalis will take the easy route if she thinks she can attack unopposed, following the strong currents. Timbucktu was right above multiple currents when it was attacked so she’ll go to the place multiple currents lead to next to make the flight easier. Changelings can’t go sonic like we can, so it’s all but assured she’ll go here.”
“And where’s that?”
Commander Hurricane traced a hoof under the inscription, the name of one of the first cities established in the western frontier all too visible in the torch light.
“Trot.”
=================
Princess Celestia’s eyes finally snapped open and she gasped through her nose to clear them of stale air. Every single one of her joints popped as she rose up. The world around her took time to stop spinning. Exactly how many hours had passed was unknown, but it being the first real sleep she’d had in weeks it felt like she’d awoken from a coma. A myriad of creatures which had gathered around her shifted calmly into motion, some watching her from the foliage while others whom had come to rest alongside her casually lumbered off to go about their business. At first when she saw them Celestia’s first instinct was to quickly spread her wings in a likely vain attempt to fly away before she accidentally sent out another magic blast. Except as she was about to try, and likely fail, to orient herself for lift off; a realization dawned upon the alicorn.
Celestia reached up and touched at her horn with a shaking hoof, almost in disbelief that the agonizing migraines and magical force seemed gone. She could still feel it, all that power, but it was likely the dam holding back the tidal wave had been restored. Her magic was her own again. Standing up straight, the alicorn tested her muscles and limbs to make sure she was still in good working order; finally having enough clarity of mind to care. She still looked like a wreck, but rest had re-energized her body so at least she wasn’t of the sense she was going to keel over at the next step she took.
It took time for her memory to catch up to her physicality. In an instant she turned around and scanned the forest with her eyes and ears, wanting so desperately to catch a glimpse of whoever or whatever she’d sensed and heard previously. But before she could entertain notions of possibly finding someone she’d previously written off as her sister’s projected dreams, memory of what happened before stopped her in her tracks.
The remorse is what she remembered first, then the grieving, the rage; and then the confusion.
She was not a pony, not a mortal. A mortal lived their life in their allotted time. They set a goal during said time. They built their legacy in progeny and action. And then they passed. In a way, while captained by a sapient mind, it wasn’t that different from the natural processes of all living things to carry out life and leave their mark on the following generation.
But she wasn’t something natural. Regardless of if she actually had parents or not, she was a fiction brought to an unnatural life. She had a lifespan far beyond those around her, so was she to live like them despite her end not being as forthcoming? She was something that would live many centuries before growing old, if she ever did that at all. Death might only come for her if she were killed. Did that mean her capacity for a legacy or goal should be different than those fragile beings that called themselves her compatriots? Did that mean that as something different she should have a different morality or view of time; or were such concepts even a factor to her?
What was the use of being raised to emulate the best ponykind had to offer if she wasn’t ever going to be a part of it?
Celestia regarded the sky high above, seeing a moon on the verge of sinking over the horizon still emblazoned with the image of a dark alicorn.
Her sister, the one being whom Celestia was like. She had been raised by the same lot that raised her, had gone through the same struggles she had, been held to the same ideals of a race not their own like Celestia had. Through peaceful times and times of struggle. Wielding elements of harmony… and then being struck down by them. If Luna was the closest thing Celestia had to her own being, did that mean she was fated to take the same path?
-Perhaps… if I’m not like them… Maybe, maybe what Luna wanted was natural to her and… and to me.-
The thought had such prominence Celestia didn’t know whether it was a terrifying dread or a stroke of enlightenment.
-If I’m stronger, if I’m… better. Maybe, I’m supposed to have absolute control. Force things to fix themselves… If they fear me..-
Celestia felt her breath grow heavier at the memory of both Night Shroud and his crowd as well as the hidden fears she saw on almost every pony who might have thought they looked at her wrong. The first group were at least vocal with their fear, surely it then seemed that the latter’s pampering and willingness to “help” her was just an act out of fear of retaliation. More confused than she thought she was, so much that she overlooked the love of those whom loved her, Celestia’s lips began to turn downwards into a frown.
-They all fear me… No matter what I’ve done, they’re terrified because I’m different and they know that. If that is how they all are, maybe that is what is natural for me.-
Celestia steeped in a myriad of emotions for a time before a looming shadow cast itself across her face and shielded it from the lights of the night. Gazing upwards at the obstruction with her confusion still stenciled across her face, Celestia beheld the bottom of a massive cloud complex. Standing by and watching the clouds go by as she recognized it as a settlement of some kind, she couldn’t help but have her own internal debating shift to her cutiemark. For a pony a cutiemark tended to be symbolic of their lot and purpose in life through their talent. Hers was a sun, earned when she managed to almost effortlessly raise it when teams of unicorns and Starswirl himself toiled to budge it. Starswirl said that in addition to her adeptness at moving it, the mark and its twin with Luna represented that the two were meant to be above and help watch over ponykind; just like how the sun soars above them in the day and the moon hovers over the world at night. All these years and she’d never questioned it….
-To be above them, what does that mean? That I am a guardian to what I’m not?... Or that I should even care about what’s below me?-
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TARB!!! IT GOT FEATURED!!!!! XD
8094772
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
8056991
Well now you get it in your replies. Part 2's up!
8094794 XD
I'm surprised on How Celestia's thoughts went dark with Rage and Grief, progressing to confusion about her role.
Somehow her thoughts in the last part of the chapter had me thinking further of the similarities/differences between her and Ghidorah(yes I'll admit, i have a bias for Ghidorahs, sue me) and how she contemplates that maybe she's supposed to stand above others with fear and absolute control, just like Ghidorah who's aptly named King of Terror.
I am seeing so many similarities between Celestia and the Clark Kent from Man of Steel, with Starswirl as Jor-El.
I'm liking Commander Hurricane. Kinda reminds me of a nicer version of Quatritch from Avatar for some reason.
Pre-read:
Alright... When your name is "Commander Hurricane" you don't have any choice but to be a badass. This is one figure I think deserves a bit more time in the spotlight in official material.
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The chapter begins with Commander Hurricane being rather upset about Celestia going missing after the events of last episode, which naturally poses some worrying possibilities. And also involves what seems like Flash Sentry's ancient ancestor, who has the misfortune of failing to catch Celestia when she fled.
Thankfully for her, the former Private, now Corporal Pansy, who's last name implies she's Fluttershy's ancestor. Fitting.
Glad Hurricane is willing to accept that he may have jumped the gun a bit, and does show his now advancing age. Given the large number of cataclysms that have happened, hard to blame him in all honesty, that much stress might cause premature aging even if he wasn't dealing with actual again. After all, unlike Celestia he's not immortal.
However, today is decidedly not a good day, as news of Chrysalis's attack reaches them. I do wonder if anyone is aware of the fact all Grogar's students were in fact part of the same group or just think they're separate threats.
And Hurricane, given the importance of Timbucktu in multiple ways, reacts naturally to its complete destruction by the Changelings.
Hurricane is not the only one having a bad day, as Celestia is possibly having a worse one. On top of the previous situations, she's now dealing with her magic being even MORE out of control than her emotional state already made it. Poor Celestia...
She's in such a depressed state, she can't think of what she IS (namely basically Pony Superman: the ideal to be strived for and inspired by) and only what she's not (a pony). In her mind at least, she's like Bagan, Harmony, and Grogar (though only the last of those names may be known to her in any way, if any of them): an entity that simply looks like one. Which is both logical for her to believe in her current mindset...and decidedly heartrending.
However, someone pays a visit, someone who can't remain long but wants to provide some comfort she can in the situation. Most likely Harmony. Who heals her and comforts her.
This event not only gives her some much needed rest and clarity, but reminds her of something Luna'd told her: that before they'd been found she'd heard a voice that sounded very similar to this one. One that may have belonged to their mother, which is the first word she says in a very long time.
Unfortunately, before she can see her potential mother, she falls asleep again. That is if Harmony is still hanging around, given her restrictions.
Meanwhile, Hurricane finds the ruins of Timbucktu, and its decidedly not pretty. At all. Also, interesting is 'troubling times' mentioned where the Changelings became known, wonder if that was when Grogar was still on the war path.
This whole scene has a disturbing quality to it. The devastation Chrysalis is capable of shows that kaiju she may not be, she and her horde are quite capable of similar loss of life if they're not stopped.
Hurricane and Sentry elaborate on the situations that happened in the past: the Changelings launched fringe attacks during the attacks of Grogar's other students, even if she mostly remained uninvolved. Again, this shows Chrysalis' intelligence: while unwilling to expose herself, she still distracted and indirectly aided her fellow students in their attacks.
And he soon confirms that Grogar's student of Lust headed this herself, and reveals Chrysalis, similar to Legion, has a powerful link and control over her hive, to the point she doesn't even need to speak to coordinate them. Frightening, given her MO.
Hurricane finds Orion's spear and takes it up, swearing to stop what befell his friend from befalling any one else, and decides they must be prepared for the next fight.
Showing he's not commander for nothing, Hurricane pieces together where Chrysalis will strike next: Trot.
Unfortunately, while Celestia is physically better to a degree, but that doesn't deal with weeks of psychological trauma and she begins to wonder if she should say Then Let Me Be Evil, like her sister had. Starswirl told her she was above others, but only now does she question what that meant.
Overall, continues to be shocking and painful, but it's SUPPOSED to be. Chrysalis killed real ponies, slaughtered an entire city. And it's not sugarcoated, it happened, and all they can do is maybe one day stop it. And Celestia's been through heck, and recovering is going to take time.
Good work.
It would seem Celestia is at a crossroad. Shall she be a guardian or a tyrant? A protector or a dictator? Shall she be loved, or feared?
Yes, I know, for this to be a part of The Bridge cannon, we know the answers, but taken alone, as a "what if" story, then this could be the beginning of something terrible.
To paraphrase Olivander, she could go on to do great things. Terrible, yes, but still, great things....
"Can a God in a world of mortals be welcomed and accepted?
Or.....is it better to be feared than loved?
Is the distance between a God and their children so distant?
Or can such a Bridge be mended?"
This is an excellent chapter Tarb, and I applaud you for delving into the whole "God Living among mortals" take with Celestia. This is a journey that's going to be difficult for her to live amongst the Ponies, without her turning into a life of Apathy. It's very much akin to the journey of Superman. I look forward to much more.
This chapter:
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Your comparisons aren't that far off. I'd say it's less I based them off those examples and more I was following similar archetypes. After all they do fit. A wise old mentor who tries to guide someone who has great power and looks like her peers but will never be the same as them, Starswirl and Tia; and an aging warrior who's prime is behind him but he still keeps trucking along until the job is done with Hurricane.
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Good catch and writing you two, it was very much the intent. While yes this is a world that more or less follows the same exact MLP canon as the show, so we know how Celestia turned out in the end; the point here was to show she wasn't always in that line of thinking. She got confused, had stray thoughts of doing things very differently, didn't quite know where she was supposed to fit into the world; and maybe even got tempted down darker paths. Show!Celestia has always been at the end of her hero's journey, so we never saw Point A, B, and C to see how she got to Point D.
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That good or bad? I never actually seen 300 (not my thing, though I can respect it)
Definetly like the way your going into Celestia's mind in this chapter, especially seeing all manner of thoughts go through her head.
Merciful Emperor.... I really feel bad for Celestia... but I pray that she doesn't go down the path that Luna recently took....
Finally.
Well, it wasn't that I didn't care to offer any proper comments on this chapter, it's just that I wasn't particularly motivate to. And that's not to speak of the quality of the chapter, merely the happenstance of thoughts provoked.
This chapter stuck me as being tonally, a lot like a Bridge chapter. Of course, that is technically true, and is the case for very obvious reasons. What I mean by that, is that I recall the 1st chapter as being fresh, something different in both tone and theme than the other components of the Amalgam'verse. There was also the factor that this was your interpretation of how Celestia handled Luna's banishment, and the concurrent events, which has been done a thousand different ways by a thousand different authors. It's not that I don't your version failed to be consistent and compelling, as it took off from an earlier scene where you depicted the immediate moments after Nightmare Moon was defeated, and Celestia is pleading to Starswirl to help her bring Luna back. That, I thought was one of the most powerful moments you've given us in your entire headcanon. It's probably my favorite.
I suppose I mean to say that there was only so much of Celestia moping around that I could take, and... I'd say there was a lot of that narrative of inner turmoil that we've already gotten humpback whale-tranquilizer sized dosages of in Bridge chapters. It was all certainly well written, but I guess for me, it was more of something I'd already had my fill of.
It's something I don't like to dwell on, or drag on for too long, because I always felt like it bogged down the story and mired the reader in narrative exposition that doesn't move the plot along. It's good to do, but I think, in measured releases. It's done finely here, in this story, but there's just been so much of it already over the years.
I was glad that you interspersed the chapter with the co-plot of Ardent Sentry and Commander Hurricane, this plot, also different from anything else we're getting in The Bridge is also just the thing that's up my alley. This sort of hero fellowship to the cusp of war theme is a favorite of mine.
Fun Fact: As a kid, I was always creating stories with my toys. Example: a bunch of my animal-themed Hot Wheels cars were part of a pack, who set themselves on the road to great journeys far and wide. The nomadic tales of a family of characters banded together by the travails of their never-ending ride. In this pack's story, occurred instance of romance, conflict external & internal, exploration, defeat, and pain. But it was the overarching story of "We are this bonded group, and we will go out and face these obstacles and conflicts together, consequences come what may." that was the compelling over-tale being told.
Also, there was the ever-evolving arch-story among my toys, of the good ones against the bad ones. All toys, of every franchise and type I had at my disposal were a part of this story, and carried on for years. The good faction was led by Godzilla (of course), while the evil faction was led by any one of a few prominent villains of my choosing. In this story, were those who were moral guideposts, and some who stood in the grey, and even a few who switched sides once or twice. But the overarching story, was "There is a battle going on, and you will have to participate on one side or the other."
The type of story unfolding in this side-venture, is one that I call: "The Oncoming Darkness". Sure this applies to the Bridge proper as well, but in ET, it's much more clearly defined in the shorter breadth of the tale. This type of theme revolves around a conflict that the character and readers know is on the horizon, and that everything between now and the first punch is leading up to this battle with an evil force that will destroy our protagonist if they are not victorious. Celestia, and to slightly lesser degrees, Hurricane and Sentry, are the heroes who must prevail or else the realm will be doomed. We know this battle is coming, and so do the characters, the only question is will our heroes be able to prepare themselves in time to win? Of course, we know who emerges the victor between Celestia and Chrysalis, as we saw in FIENDship is magic, so we know how this ends. What Tarb is doing, is giving us his version, giving us his vision of this story of how heroes muster to defeat the Oncoming Darkness.
Celestia must overcome the inner conflict that threatens to destroy her from within, in order to face the external threat that will destroy her from without. She apparently gets a bit of diving intervention, to allow her stave off the temptation to go into the dark places where nightmares dwell.
For all the subverting of tropes that Tarb likes to do, the theme and devices he employs here in ET, are pretty much straight out of Classical mythology, and even a little Biblical. If one is familiar with the work of Joseph Campbell you will recall the concept of stories hitting on certain timeless notes. Here Celestia faces grief/fear, temptation, divine intervention/favor of the gods, and we may presume, overcoming the enemy. Eclipse Times strikes me as a very classic story.
The plot about the Pony soldiers rallying the forces to face the ravenous hordes of the Changelings, is where this story will ultimately climax, for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, we are compelled by the characters who are in danger, the same way we know the Avengers will triumph over Ultron, and aliens, and Thanos, in however manner and condition they accomplish it. This is because we like to see our heroes win, we like to see our team conquer, we like the happy endings. We know Celestia will vanquish the evil Chrysalis because that is the timeless tale we've told ourselves since we first used fire to vanquish darkness.
This chapter has actually given me thought to sort out my own cities and locations for my Wander-verse, like, where ancient cities were and what major events occurred there. Because a sweeping wave of Changeling attacks are part of my HC as well, though not in the same manner as Tarb's, wherein they overthrew several city-states before Celestial intervention. Don't worry Tarb, I'm not hacking your gimmick. My own HC about the Changelings themselves is different, wherein Chrysalis is the only reproductive agent, and once supplied with enough love juice
, can spawn a new multitude of eggs. This incorporates her drive to have all the love funneled to her as we saw in the season 6 closer, and why all the larvae crawl to her. This is how she grows the swarm, but must go into hiatus for extended periods of time before resurfacing, and starting the process all over again.
Since I haven't gone through the whole chapter again for this commentary, I'll conclude on the last bits of Celestia's self-questioning.
Celestia does not understand herself. She's had no guidance from anypony who understands what she is and what her role in society is. For reasons unclear at this time, Harmony is unable to be the one at her side. Perhaps this is deliberate, perhaps not. In this, she is much like a Greek god who looks upon his rape-children to watch them grow, and occasionally throw a magic weapon their way. In any case, since Harmony is a god (whether she is the only god is unknown) she has the vision for her daughter that Celestia strives to understand. Celestia's wantings are legitimate: "Who am I? What is my purpose? What is my relation to the rest of ponykind? What does my presence mean?" are sorta-like the questions that many of us have. Only, in the magical land of Equestria, these questions are less metaphysical and more practical.
She knows she's destined to rule Equestria, but that's not quite a justification for her. I think what's beginning to dawn on her, is the "Heavy is the Crown" concept. Where she not only does not understand her relation to normal ponies, but that they seem to have more control of their lives and destinies than she does. So as she begs to understand what she means, and deal with the fact that her life is already ordered for her, she must do it without the only pony who could possibly sympathize with her.
It is also an old trope that immortality comes at a cost. We saw in the LoTR movies that Arwen will have to go on to watch as her beloved Aragon grows old and dies. The X-Files episode where the man who photographed death is doomed to live until he captures him again, cannot remember the name of his long-departed wife. Mr. Victor Frieze, who is confined to an existence of bitter cold and longs only for the touch of Nora's warm hand once again ("oh yes, I'd kill for that."). Of course, these are characters with redeeming qualities, not like immortal villains who remain morally and tonally static.
So what is the price Celestia will have to pay? Or was Luna her sacrifice? Was there any point in her 1,000 year solo reign that she thought that the severance of her kindred was the karmic cost to be able to rule Ponykind from her vantage of impartial wisdom and benevolence?
We'll see.
Part 3 of "Mane-iac: Shadow of Vengeance" is being churned out presently. Hopefully FiMFic approves of it sometime this century, so you all who don't have FanFiction accounts can like it, follow it, and leave plenty of comments.
The Magnificent Machine is surprisingly pleased with this chapter. You will not be destroyed with finger missiles and belly lasers.
.........
Today.
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You're reviews are always direly appreciated my friend, and I had no problem waiting
I heavily encourage anyone reading this to check out Heatseeker's stuff as I myself endorse it for a reason. It's good! Get reading folks!
Am sorry if this chapter wasn't quite as nice to your fancy as the last one. It's mostly due to progression shift. The first chapter opened up with Tia at rock bottom but then had a backwards time skip. This is the filling of the blank between the first scene and the backwards skip, showing how she got to the first so it's bound to be dour and filled with turmoil. Basically I wanted to show a big contrast between Celestia and Luna in the long term at this particular point in their lives. They both weren't adults just yet, but were pressured to act like them. And due to a myriad of factors ranging from slight difference maturity to just basic personality, Luna got all her buttons pushed in all the wrong ways and fell to her own out of control power and sense of being above the normal ponies. Here, Celestia is almost about to tumble off that slope just like her sister. We know she won't and we'll see why, but the point was to yank Celestia out of her comfort zone big-time and do what the show never did for her, show why she was qualified to get as much power and trust as she did in the modern era.
Sadly that means dragging one through the mud for juuuust a smidge longer to iron all this stuff out before we see how she hit rock bottom and climbed back up to stand as the sun.
Another thing we didn't get much of in the show, despite hints conflict and war did happen in the past. And something I picked to show here to help give some variety to Tia's fumble-fest. Plus the dynamic is a tried but true one, an aging veteran paired off with a competent but still much younger and greener warrior. One has already achieved greatness, but it's a question of will they finally put their sword down in retirement or will their age catch up to them in a violent manner. The other has already started on the path to greatness, but they have not been truly tested like their older compatriot has; will they live up to it and if so, how?
I to indulged in these epics of the toy and my respect for doing the same. The travel group of bonded heroes is a classic means f story telling and a damn effective one for it to pop up everywhere from Classical age Western mythology, practically prehistoric tales in the heart of Africa, epic poems in India, and folk tales of heroes from everywhere from Japan to the Appalachians.
I would say more, but you hit it right on the head with that one and I couldn't say more without parroting it. I wanted to do several things with this story. Show Celestia's near-fall and then rise, the struggle of the other heroes contemporary to her; and show why Equestria is in a relatively golden age in the present. I couldn't think of a better time to use than immediately after NMM given there were so few assets on hand and arguably one of the most dangerous monsters Equestria ever encountered running wild.
The classical analogy is pretty close. I can definitely see it and did use it, albeit indirectly. The sort of storytelling here was inspired by the book, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. While it has a cutesy title, this novel is very much a Medieval fairy tale told in a modern book or its very faithful movie adaptation. In it some of the truly classic fantasy tropes that appear in both Medieval stories and those from earlier times appeared often, and that was something I intentionally emulated even if we know in the end it's going to have a happy ending.
No worries friend, I don't fret over these sort of things and if I help give thought to another creative writer, I'm a happy trowe! Definitely a unique HC for the changelings though, can't recall seeing that before.
Remember what I said about Tia being flung out of her comfort zone? This is how I intended to do it and I'm very pleased you picked up on it. I always was kinda worried with this chapter I was being either too on-the-nose or too vague. Tia's away from her support network and facing some extremely heavy questions, devoid of being able to talk to the one entity in the world like herself. She doesn't even really know what she is and what she is supposed to be like. Those are questions and statements of identity she needs to solve for herself to see what she truly thinks is important not because someone told her too, but because of what she determines is right.
After all if your immortal and far stronger than those you're told to consider your peers, does that mean you're subject to the same rules? Be those rules societal like morals or rules of biology like precreation to create a replacement if you're not in danger of dying.
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Another great review from a great source. Man you, Heatseeker, Metroid, and at least half a dozen others; how oh how did I managed to entertain so many creative writers?
Quite. Was a last minute addition but I thought of it in a moment of "Oh what the hell, why not?"
Stress can slow one down quicker and age them fast. I'd peg Hurricane as around middle to late middle aged, just not graying significantly yet. Had he not kept up a regiment of exercise and muscle building, he probably would look much older. But age comes wisdom and he thankfully has tack to be aware of how much of a mess the situation is for everypony and not take it out on Sentry.
Sometimes I honestly wonder how a modern Equestrian like Twilight Sparkle might react to seeing the typical paragon of light and beauty brought so low and out of control. I can't imagine it not be a humbling sight seeing Celestia so out of control she doesn't even know what's the truth anymore.
Visit from momma Harmony confirmed, though sadly she couldn't stay long. Dividing up your power so much and then having a big chunk of it away from you can do that sort of thing if you travel long distance.
Lemme put it like this. Remember how Bagan going on a rampage for one day resulted in a mass extinction event and then thousands of years of ice ages and further extinctions? Its attack was so extreme that when looked at in the modern day, it could only be seen as a mass extinction event because it seemed impossible something that destructive could possibly exist. Mythological gods are often just forces of nature personified to be more easily comprehensible. Bagan was the other way around, a god mistaken for a force of nature because it wasn't comprehensible otherwise. Grogar's on the same level.
Always saw Chrysalis as quite vain. While physical combat wasn't something Sombra thought to do much, thinking it beneath him, Chrysalis seemed to see combat in general as beneath her until after she lost all her allies. After all she's the leader, why should she need dirty her hooves if it's unneeded given she can coordinate the swarm and she can clearly demonstrate she'd curbstomp the average settlement if she decided to actually attack; as we see here with Timbucktu given Orion himself wasn't an idiot nor especially weak.
Hint hint, this isn't the first nor last time we've seen/will see that spear and lance Orion and Hurricane owned.
Glad to know you liked it! Because I'm a touch pressed for time and lazy, I'll refer you to my response to Heatseeker below given I commented on this exact scene very extensively there. I hope to continue to entertain as The Eclipse Times begins to take a tonal upswing! Thanks a ton for the review GW!
Good work.
8111757 Reviewing your's and Faith's stuff is frequently on my mind to get around to, even if it takes a while.
And thanks for the plug bud, always helps.
Hey man, even bands I love have songs that I skip over. I'll not judge a single chapter in a story too harshly.
I don't go too much into what happened to Celestia post-NMM in my HC, chalking it up to a "and the rest is history" type thing. But, I do of course think it's a compelling tale to tell of how she dealt with the effects.
I don't know about you, but I totally ditched the whole "Moon dream-critters" gimmick from the comics.
Really impactful chapter, Tarb. Celestia's inner monologue was both gripping and incredibly interesting. It really pulls at my heartstrings to see Tia go through all this pain and torment and I can't wait to see her pull through this. The scene at the city was bleak and I also can't wait to see Chrysalis and her changelings get their comeuppance.
Excellent chapter.