Chapter 2: Nostalgic Simplicity
Navi laughed gleefully as she twisted in place on the ground as Sweetie Belle tickled her mercilessly.
Like Rarity, Sweetie Belle had taken a shine to Navi the instant she had laid eyes on the younger filly. Whereas Rarity liked to pour affection on the former bug, Sweetie just really liked to play with her, though Sweetie's other friends needed a little prodding to accept the presence of a filly much younger than them. Applebloom and Scootaloo had felt like the presence of what was essentially a toddler to their group would force their usual activities to “dumb down” as a result to accommodate her. When that proved to not be the case and Navi was ready for everything and anything the Cutiemark Crusaders got up to on a daily basis, they readily accepted her.
Navi leapt onto her hooves with a giggle as Sweetie Belle stopped her tickling.
“Follow me, Navi!” Sweetie shouted as she went off on a trot. “I want to show you someone!”
The little viral filly quickly caught up to Sweetie Belle and matched pace, very much eager to meet a potential new friend.
The two fillies started trotting through town - that is, the much expanded town. Many of the new buildings had retained the straw and thatch theme common to so many of Ponyville's homes. But buildings leading towards both the train yard and the weather factories were made of much sturdier brick and mortar. Thanks to the two new and rather immensely important industries in town, Ponyville had been undergoing a population boom that had scarcely slowed down. Indeed, Ponyville's population boom was likely going to pick up again due to the recent opening of the international hospital, if only due to ponies sensing opportunity and opening a lot of hotels and inns. Yes, Ponyville's small town life style was a thing of the past and although many original inhabitants argued this was purely a bad thing, one had to admit it made things livelier on a purely mundane level.
As she followed Sweetie Belle, Navi couldn't help but overhear a number of conversations with her powerful senses.
“... Applied for work in the Enclave Embassy, waiting for a message back if they want me or not.”
“Isn't the embassy the old royal palace? Don't the princesses technically own that?”
“Apparently not...”
“...Thought the newer, bigger weather factory was supposed to make things better?”
“Yeah, tell me about it. Lately the weather has either been late or the wrong thing entirely...”
“... Going to go see your friend again, Tuney?”
“Yup.”
“I just can't possibly imagine how somepony like you could like a dog like him?!”
“I dunno...”
“... Time Turner, what's this about?”
“I know it's not exactly the most romantic of way of doing this, but hearing about the wedding inspired me.”
“OHMIGOSH!”
“I take it that's a yes...”
After walking across town, Navi found herself being led to one home among many in the traditional style. Sweetie Belle knocked on the door and after a few moments, an earth pony mare answered. She had a brown mane and had it done up in a manner much like Applejack's along with a light tan coat and a cutiemark of a heart and a baby bottle.
“Oh, Sweetie Belle!” the mare said with a smile. “Come to visit Button again? Oh, and who is this?”
“Yeah!” Sweetie nodded before pointing at Navi. “And this is Navi! I brought her along to introduce her to Button!”
“Hi~” Navi greeted happily with a wide grin and a hop.
“Oh. Nice to meet you, Navi,” the mare said and stepped aside. “It's so nice to see Button making new friends.”
“Come on, Navi!” Sweetie Belle said excitedly as she quickly walked into the home. “I really want to show you something.”
“Coming!” Navi said and quickly followed after Sweetie Belle.
“Uh, no running in the house, dears!” Button's mom called after them.
“Sorry!” Sweetie and Navi replied and slowed down.
“Over here, this is Button's room,” Sweetie Belle said as she pointed at a door and opened it. They were met with the sight of a colt's bedroom and the colt himself sitting in the center of the room playing on a game system that was a self contained console and TV screen.
“HI BUTTON!” Sweetie shouted happily as she quickly rushed over to his side.
Completely focused on his game, Button Mash jumped in startlement and a moment later a death noise straight out of a retro video game sounded from the gamebox.
“NOOOOOO!” Button Mash cried out melodramatically. “I nearly beat my high score! Sweetie Belle, why!?!”
“You say that every time I do that, Button!” Sweetie retorted with a grin before waving to Navi. “I wanted to introduce you to a special someone!”
“... I don't play with babies,” Button Mash replied after giving Navi a once over and then folding his forelimbs and turning his head away.
“This reminds me of my games, but... not as good,” Navi said as she peered into the gamebox screen, having not heard what Button said.
“HEY! It's great and challen- you've got games?” Button began in indignation before abruptly changing his tune. “What kind?”
“Oh loads!” Navi answered cheerfully. “Mama got me and Uncle Spike hundreds of games from the other world.”
“Other world... you got alien games!?” Button Mash said with wide, amazed eyes.
“Yeahuh.” Navi nodded her head.
“See? I knew you'd like her!” Sweetie Belle said with a self satisfied tone.
ALPHA
“So it's been like this since you first started experimenting with it?” Emerald asked.
“Yes, ma'am.” Moon Dancer nodded.
Emerald sighed as she waved her hand through the still active mirror portal. Both she and Moon Dancer were in the vault containing said portal. Moon Dancer had inquired about what the activation times for the mirror were and mentioned it was currently on and wanted to make sure she knew when it was next active. Of course, as soon as she heard this Emerald had been shocked and a little alarmed since the portal was supposed to be closed for a month.
“Alright, I'm going to fortify the vault and set up some monitoring equipment,” Emerald said and stepped back from the mirror with another sigh. “We'll monitor the mirror for a month, but I get the feeling it won't turn off the entire time.”
“Do you think you broke something when you forced it open?” Moon Dancer asked curiously. “It's possible the mirror is rather sensitive to such things.”
“I think it's very likely.” Emerald nodded with a frown. “For now, having some Warhounds guard the mirror will work. I'll get to setting up some defenses of my own design very soon, but we shouldn't get any visitors in the meantime.”
“Are... are they all like you?” Moon Dancer asked, looking up at Emerald with wide, wondering eyes.
“What, like someone who could fight gods and win?” Emerald replied lightly, turning to face Moon Dancer. “No... but a couple thousand of them have the potential for it.”
Moon Dancer's eyes filled with awe as she silently mouthed the word 'thousands'.
Emerald in turn got a wondering look to her eyes as she stared down at Moon Dancer before shaking her head. Turning about, she quickly began conjuring up some electronic and runic array parts before rapidly assembling a simple monitoring system for the mirror portal.
“Alright, I've got this set up to contact me the instant something appears,” Emerald said as she placed a camera on a tripod before the mirror. “Could you tell an Alpha to get some guards set up here for me?”
“Yes, ma'am.” Moon Dancer nodded before bringing out a clipboard. “I'll tell someone on the way to my next project.”
“Good. I've got projects of my own to get to work on as well,” Emerald said before giving a short wave and teleporting.
An instant later found Emerald in the caverns she had grown the titans in. There were hundreds of pods taking up the space. They were not all the size of the pods that had housed the titans, but a bit bigger than the ones that held the raptors. This was going to be yet another new race of creatures Emerald was creating.
'Drawing on previous experience with making new life, this should only take a fraction of the time it took to make the others,' Emerald thought as she closed her eyes and drew on her viral senses to take stock on the growth of the new beings. 'I've also decided to go a step further and purposefully designed a race that is truly intelligent.'
The virus was confident in her skills nowadays regarding new lifeforms, but she would be lying if she said some part of her didn't view giving the beings true intelligence as dangerous, as potentially some point in the future they could betray her. But another part of her, one that was flourishing and growing in recent years, viewed this feeling as a product of older, more brutal times and it was ultimately a foolish fear to have.
'It's not like I'm giving my creations reasons to resent me,' Emerald thought with crossed arms. 'I don't treat them like they were just emotionless weapons, tools to be used until broken and tossed aside. They know the purpose for which they live, sure, but there is more to life than “work”.'
Indeed, the raptors and titans didn't just patrol and guard the Enclave and then train in their free time. More than a few Warhounds had bonded with raptors much in the same way human soldiers bonded with their own wardogs, and many a raptor now shared living spaces with Warhounds in their homes. The titans for their part seemed to be profoundly affected by their earth channeling knowledge. A good many seemed to be content with sitting still in their free time, becoming much like a great boulder. Emerald recognized it as a form of meditation in earth channeling meant to grow one's connection to the earth; it also did wonders on calming one's nerves and shoring up mental health or even trying to fall asleep on the spot. That wasn't all they did, of course. A good many titans had taken to wandering into the forest and creating little, odd shapes out of channeled rock. Sovereign seemed to like them as more than one stonehenge looking setup was carefully overgrown with moss and plant life.
'I definitely don't mistreat them,' Emerald thought and found herself smiling. 'If for whatever reason one of these betrays me, then at least I know it's not my fault.'
Emerald oversaw the growth of the new beings for half an hour before feeling satisfied that things were going well, and left. This time she didn't use her usual mode of travel and walked there, feeling like she hadn't walked the streets of the Hub for a while.
The first thing Emerald noticed about the Hub was that her presence was easily “noted” by the dogs on the street. She was given a lot of respect and she expected that, but along with that a number of young dogs seemed to be going a step above that, bowing in her presence and referring to her as “Dea Princeps”. Emerald tried to not be really annoyed with this treatment and in turn tried not to feel angry with Fenrir. She appreciated his unfaltering loyalty, but found his faith in her to be a double edged sword.
'Just smile and wave,' Emerald thought to herself and did just that to another young couple. 'Smile and wave and go on your way.'
Emerald picked up her pace through the newly constructed districts of the Hub, not enjoying the walk nearly as much as she hoped. She was about to simply cut her losses and teleport to her location when she started catching the sound of a loud argument.
“FOOD is NOT a luxury!” boomed an outraged voice.
“Will you just listen to me?!” came a snapped reply. “I'm not talking about your basic meats and stews!!! There is a lot more variety out there than you city folk rabble are used to! Expensive variety!”
“City folk?! RABBLE?!?”
Emerald rounded a corner to see some excitement going on in a plaza. There was a fairly large mixed crowd of dogs, simple vests denoting the original inhabitants and much more complex arrays of clothing signifying the immigrants. With this crowd was a fairly small group of dogs, clearly Alphas. Again the clothes showed the origin, but the Alphas from outside the Enclave were rather noticeably richer in attire. Clearly what was going on was another loud debate on the integration process which, while bumpy, was proceeding well.
“FINE!!!” bellowed the richly dressed Alpha in irritation, throwing up his paws. “I shall show you that certain kinds of foods can be a luxury! I have with me a number of herbs and spices to season my meats. I shall treat you to supper and show you, ONCE AND FOR ALL, the point I am trying to make!”
“Well... go on then!” the Enclave Alpha motioned for the other to lead the way, losing a lot of anger at the prospect of food. “Show away.”
Watching the two Alphas walk away and the crowd start to disperse made Emerald glad things were going smoothly enough with the integration of the independents. If heated debates turned to actual fighting, that would have just been another irritating thing to add to her plate of already irritating things to deal with when it came to politics.
It was thoughts of politics that brought Emerald to a sudden halt in the middle of the street and close her eyes. She had been hard at work practically non-stop ever since she had come back home. The times she had made for friends and family always ended up backing her schedule up further. And frankly, her own importance in wider world politics meant that people only really grumbled about being stood up and just went back in line to see her, so she wasn't making the list any shorter with her breaks either.
It was realizing that last fact that had Emerald abruptly decide she deserved a day off and turned on her heel to walk in the opposite direction.
BETA
'Not here either,' Belvedere thought with a huff as he briefly looked over a vast and somewhat cluttered magical lab, its only current inhabitant one Moon Dancer. 'Where could she be?'
Belvedere wanted to discuss expanding their trade route and the things they got their meat fruit for with Emerald. If an economy was to be implemented without adding a price to basic necessities, they would need plenty of things that were purely luxuries for the dogs to spend coin on. He viewed it as important enough to get her counsel on instead of attempting to handle himself, but she was being difficult to locate. It wasn't exactly rare to have a hard time finding Emerald, but most of the time he could figure out where to find her quickly.
'Emerald had a full schedule today,' Belvedere thought as he strode from the lab. 'She should have been at one of these locations... hmm.'
Belvedere continued on his way. He started radioing dogs to get back to him should anyone see Emerald. Surprisingly, he got a call back really quickly. Surprising, because of where Emerald was. Belvedere quickly made his way to the new districts of the Hub and then headed towards one of the many daycares.
He quickly arrived and entered the front doors of the daycare into the lobby with an old bulldog manning the desk.
“Hello, Belvedere,” said the old bulldog matron, someone he recognized as one of the many old females who had gone out of their way to help raise the pups.
“Hello Old Nan,” Belvedere greeted with curt nod. “She is here, correct?”
“She is, but from the look of things she isn't up to anymore work today, dear,” Old Nan said with a point deeper into the building.
“Hm?” Belvedere raised a brow and stepped forward.
The second in command of the Enclave leaned slightly around the corner and was met with the sight of Emerald in her full formal wear, simply lying against a wall with a small horde of young pups playing around her and even on top of her. For a moment she looked like she was completely at peace and napping, but a second later her voice sounded out.
“Belvedere, you needed something?” Emerald asked with her eyes still closed.
“...” Belvedere considered his next words for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I can handle it.”
“Great...” Emerald said softly.
Belvedere turned on his heel and walked away, already drawing plans to get a few of his fellow Alphas together to go over handling international trade among themselves. Behind him, Emerald sat up straighter and a group of pups gathered around her with a tiny little female pomeranian taking a greatly desired spot on her lap.
“Tell us a story!” they asked Emerald, happily barking and yipping.
“A story?” Emerald said, finally opening her eyes and looking over them all. “Well, what do you say?”
“Pleeeeeease!” they chorused.
“Alright, I'll tell you a story,” Emerald said and got a cheer from her audience. “Now... I'll tell you a story of two holidays in my world called Halloween and Christmas. A story specifically of a man who only ever celebrated one and then found out about the other. A story of the Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington...”
GAMMA
A little under two hours later found Emerald floating along a fast flowing river.
She was wearing a modest black wetsuit that cut off at her thighs and biceps and had her hair tied back in a braid save for her bangs. She was simply floating on her back watching clouds slowly move past as she moved along the river.
'I wonder how this whole controlling the weather thing started?' Emerald thought absently. 'This world had a prehistoric era much like Earth did, so it wasn't always like this. Was it as simple as pegasi discovering they had the ability one day and started experimenting with it? Or was the weather left alone until some group in the forgotten past decided it had to be controlled? In either case, the ponies are much more willing to put up with and allow for bad weather. If humans were controlling the weather, I'm not sure we'd ever allow anything more than shade and light rain in inhabited areas. Well, at least they do stop really bad weather from forming, like tornadoes and hurricanes.'
Emerald folded her arms behind her head as she let her thoughts wander. Alongside the river, cliff walls started to rise and in the distance crashing water resounded.
'Speaking of controlling nature, how did the same thing happen with animals?' Emerald hummed. 'I mean, they aren't near half as stupid as Earth animals and can understand speech and can truly communicate with one another in their own way, so I guess it just happened naturally after the ponies started controlling the weather. After all, a number of animal species do depend on the changing cycles of weather as part of their own life cycle. I can really imagine the birds getting pissed off at the pegasi if winter came around too often.'
Emerald suddenly flipped over and dived down under the surface of the water. She started swimming through the river at incredible speeds, yet left little to no wake in her passage. Ahead of Emerald was the hydroelectric dam constructed by the Diamond Dogs, still running strongly. As she neared the dam she dove deeper before suddenly shooting up and out of the water, soaring over the entirety of the dam itself. Emerald glided for a moment, her arms held out like wings and her eyes closed with an expression of total relaxation, then she pulled her arms to her side and dived down towards the water like a bullet. When Emerald impacted the water she barely made a splash, and a moment later she bobbed up to the surface with her arms folded behind her head again exactly like before.
'What am I thinking, exactly?' Emerald thought as she started cloud gazing again. 'Just letting my thoughts wander? Hmm... I wonder if Twilight has finished her bracelet yet? I got mine done in an hour, but I also have a ton of advantages on my side. Oh! I'm just so impatient and admittedly a tad giddy to see what she's made. I'm just glad we both kept our heads on straight and remembered the engagement “ring” is just a temporary thing meant to look pretty and show your status, otherwise we probably would have gone all out on making them... I hope she likes what I made, even if it's only temporary.'
Emerald continued to float along the river, mind filled with mundane marital concerns. Eventually the ravine cliff walls gave way to trees and overgrown river banks. Emerald paid this little mind, content to let her mind wander to whatever random thought that appeared. That lasted up till something popped out of the water next to her. She turned her head and was met with the sight of the hippocampus she had only ever seen before.
“H-hello?” the hippocampus said with a wave of one of her watery, shell covered forelimbs.
“Hi,” Emerald greeted back. “I don't think we've ever properly met.”
“Yes... I am Tranquility,” the hippocampus said. “The spirit of this river.”
“Emerald Gleaner,” Emerald replied. “I hope the dam hasn't affected you negatively.”
“No it has not,” Tranquility answered and then added with a shy look. “I... I had always wanted to have a waterfall... and I'm glad you made sure any fish caught in it were fine.”
“Glad to know you are happy,” Emerald said. “So you live in the river? How long have you been here?”
“It is hard to say... I do not register the passage of time with the same ease those of flesh and blood do,” Tranquility replied and floated closer to Emerald. “Age and rot does not have the same meaning to me as they do to them, thus I have not needed to measure my age or how long it has been since I have entered this world.”
“Hmm... was the forest here when you came to this river? Was Sovereign here?” Emerald asked and got a nod. “I wager you are a few thousand years old at least. Why do you speak the way you do, then? I've met someone who had basically not been a part of society for a thousand years and she had an odd way of speaking in comparison to everyone else.”
“I speak not to your ears, but your very being,” Tranquility answered, holding a watery hoof over her chest. “You hear me the way you do because it's the speech you understand most.”
“Hmm... I know of the concept from elsewhere,” Emerald said thoughtfully. “So you do not know how long you've been here?”
“I know I claimed this river as my home back before,” Tranquility answered.
“Before what?”
“Before the world was... deafened... quieted... when it felt alive and true,” The water spirit said and ripples went through her form. From the expression on her face, it was an act of discomfort.
Emerald frowned in thought and was about to speak when another voice interrupted.
“I see you are currently not busy.”
The virus turned her head to look over at the shore and saw Sovereign in his typical wolf form, laying down with his paws folded over one another and his head up and alert. Tranquility floated over to the shore near him and Emerald could feel her energies filling the water around her. The water Emerald floated in stilled and she was gently pushed towards the shore as well.
“Hello Sovereign,” Emerald greeted with a small wave. “I decided to take some time off for myself. I've been way too busy this last week or so... and to be completely honest, probably all of last year as well.”
“You speak truly, your essence has been feeling harried as of late,” Sovereign replied with a nod. “As I understand it, such things for prolonged states of time are not healthy.”
“Tranquility told me spirits don't really notice the passage of time since they do not understand aging the same way as I do,” Emerald said and then asked. “Is that the same for you? I mean, you are made of plant life and seem represent the whole of the Everfree, and plants do age and die.”
“While it is true that plants do make up my physical form and resonate with my essence, it is more that...” Sovereign paused and seemed to struggle to find words before huffing and grumbling.
“May I?” Tranquility asked and got a reluctant nod from Sovereign. “While Spirits do tend to represent the place they they have claimed as home physically, there is far more to this than simple physical comparison. For I, the river represents adaptability, for what does a river do when faced with an obstacle? Does it keep moving forward heedless of no further progress to be made? No, it finds itself a new path, no matter what. For Sovereign, the forest represents more than just its trees and plants. It represents its freedom via its wild growth. It represents its strength via remaining true despite all those that would enforce cold order. It represents its truth by never hiding what it is; a forest, wild and eternally free.”
“But there is yet more to it than concepts one can relate with a location or element,” Tranquility continued. “Just like how no two mortals can truly be alike, so too can two spirits be completely different despite sharing the same element. For me, the river represents adaptability, but for another spirit it could represent power or even freedom. Ultimately, how a spirit's connection with their element develops depends greatly on how they feel to interpret it.”
“Hmm...” Emerald hummed for a moment as she took this in before turning to Sovereign. “You spoke of the cycle before. You meant the untended wild passage of seasons. I imagine if you are more aware of time, then it would be in the passing of seasons, of cycles, but...”
“I do not recall any time before my awakening,” Sovereign stated, laying his head down upon his paws.
“Even now? After being awake for several years?” Emerald asked curiously. “No remembered memories or knowledge?”
“No,” Sovereign stated confidently but paused. “...I have impressions, however.”
“Of what?”
“I have a feeling of being... aged... of existing and expecting time and time again, sameness...” Sovereign said haltingly, as if struggling to bringing words to his thoughts. “And then... and then... SACRILEGE... such strong SEETHING HATE... DEFIANCE! EVEN IN THE FACE CERTAIN DOOM, especially in the face of certain doom... and BETRAYAL, such horrible treachery... and then... silence... eons of silence...”
“This is all that I recall of the time before I had awakened,” Sovereign said in the ensuing silence and closed his glowing eyes with a sigh.
“... Do you know anything more?” Emerald asked Tranquility after a moment. “Or did whatever happen to Sovereign happen to you too as well?”
“No, I had never been put to sleep.” Tranquility shook her head. “But I, along with all others who live in this forest, were disconnected from the other spirits. Indeed, our situation was not uncommon for the majority of spirits with physical forms. Perhaps whatever had caused the silence was helped in part by our inclination to being aloof and solitary.”
“So you don't really know anything about the world at that time beyond this river?” Emerald clarified.
“The only reason the specific point in time stands out to me at all is the silence that overtook the world,” Tranquility said and looked frightened as she recalled the memories. “It was so horrible. Normally I'd feel the voices and energies of my fellows resonate from afar. But then... nothing. I called out, shouting my loudest but the only voices I heard were those in this forest. And then I heard Sovereign start roaring in rage and I ran away in terror and hid away in the darkest point. When I came back out, Sovereign wouldn't answer my calls as well and I grew terrified still that it would happen to me too.”
“But it never did,” Tranquility finished with great relief. “The forest remained the same. After my initial panic, I was able to tell Sovereign was still here, so deep in slumber there seemed no hope of waking him up again.”
“I just realized you call him Sovereign, too,” Emerald said with a wondering look. “Was that really his name back then as well?”
“Does it matter what he was called before?” Tranquility asked curiously. “He is Sovereign now until he decides it is something else.”
“I guess not.” Emerald shrugged and then watched as Tranquility floated closer to Sovereign’s apparently sleeping form. She rested her head on a flat rock near him before going to sleep as well. Seeing this, Emerald felt a strong desire to sleep as well. Normally, she slept very rarely when away from Twilight, as even now her dreams tended to be unpleasant when away from her. But the virus couldn't help but feel so at home right now, so welcome and at peace.
With only a moment's hesitation, Emerald closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep... and opened them to find herself somewhere else.
She was no longer in the river but she was still floating, only in midair here. She was in a place that was much like a very heavily overgrown forest at first glance, with thick tree trunks, roots, bushes and canopy everywhere she looked. But Emerald took in more details and instantly knew in her heart that wherever she was, was most certainly not reality as she knew it. She was in a kind of chamber made entirely of thick tree trunks and roots, the gaps between the wood filled with a thick canopy with intense sunlight shining through between the leaves. The sunlight shined through from everywhere, even the “floor” and the “ceiling” along with the “walls”.
Emerald took in more details. All around her she saw large knots form on several tree trunks before they opened like eyelids, revealing green beacons of light. Suddenly, something darted into view. It was a ball of water leaving behind a fading wake through midair. The ball of water darted over to her, stopping in front of her face and seemingly staring at her with glowing blue eyes. Somehow, Emerald instinctively knew the eyes in the tree and the ball of water were Sovereign and Tranquility.
Tranquility flew a circle around Emerald excitedly before darting away. A wall of trunks and leaves parts before the water spirit's passage, revealing a long passage with the same kind of walls. Eyes closed around Emerald and opened ahead of Tranquility in the passage.
Emerald followed after Sovereign and Tranquility, floating quickly into the passage with trunks filling the space back up behind her. Tranquility led Emerald along through a vast maze of passages and tunnels, all the while Sovereign closed and opened eyes along their passing. Eventually, Emerald found herself at the intended destination.
With one last parting of roots and canopy, a vast, beautiful grotto revealed itself. A large crack in the rock ceiling allowed sunlight to pour through onto crystal clear hot springs. The hot springs were collected in natural bowls formed in rocks and flowed down into lower springs as they were gradually filled from small falls darting the rock walls of the grotto. Eventually the water seemed to drain down a point somewhere in the center that was currently dominated by an incredibly large mangrove tree with supporting roots so thickly grown it was near impossible to see through. There were several, much smaller mangroves darting the hot springs, but strangely their canopies appeared to be on fire with no harm to the leaves or the trees themselves.
Tranquility darted ahead into the grotto as Emerald floated in, taking in the sight of supernatural beauty. She could not help but be captivated by the sight; something about this place resonated within her. She felt safe and at home here, away from judgmental stares and demanding voices in this place of peace and acceptance.
The water spirit started flying little circles around the mangrove as two pairs of Sovereign's eyes took a commanding spot upon the front of the tree's trunk. Suddenly, small boulders Emerald thought were simply rocks rose into the air from the hot spring beds, trailing dust behind them. Balls of fire rose from the burning canopies, leaving embers in their wake. Out of the wisps of steam coming from the hot springs came balls of wind that were like little spherical hurricanes, leaving cyclones in their wake. And finally more balls of water like Tranquility arose from the hot springs. The many other balls joined Tranquility in circling the great tree. Clearly they were all spirits like Tranquility and there were dozens of them.
Leading the way, Tranquility darted over towards Emerald, all the many other spirit balls following behind her. Tranquility slowed and started making lazy little circles above Emerald's head and all the other spirit balls started surrounding Emerald. The virus looked around herself, taking in all the little forms of the spirits surrounding her, staring at her with wide, glowing, curious eyes.
Suddenly a ball of wind darted at her, poking her in the neck. Emerald reached up instinctively and it quickly darted around her and poked her again in her hip. This time Emerald swiped at the ball with an open hand, attempting to grab it when it darted away and started flying in wide, erratic circles around her. Emerald felt an echo of childlike laughter echo within her.
With no further hesitation, Emerald flew rapidly after the ball of wind and it took off, radiating excitement and glee. Despite the strangeness of her situation, Emerald found floating here to come naturally to her and she quickly started closing in on the ball of wind despite it darting through the air like a crazed fly. A moment later she lashed out with both hands and managed to catch the ball of wind. She felt another burst of happy laughter resonate within her before looking down at her hands to see the little ball of wind looking up at her excitedly.
Suddenly Emerald felt something impact her back and she looked over to see a cloud of spirit balls behind her like a small, chaotic swarm of insects. A fire spirits poked at her shoulder before speeding off like a shooting star. Feeling the joy and the desire to play resonate within her from all the spirits surrounding her, Emerald didn't hesitate to chase after the spirit.
All the while, Sovereign watched on as the one being he had come to know as a friend played with the younger spirits. He felt a sense of calm and relaxation at the sight and slowly closed his eyes as he eased into slumber.
DELTA
“So how do you like Equestria compared to your home, Taleena?” Sunset Shimmer asked.
“I have not been in this land before, so it has been proving quite the... experience,” Taleena answered with a smile.
Currently, Sunset Shimmer was walking the palace alongside the Eldeer ambassador, Taleena. The deer had taken it upon herself to give Sunset a bit of tutoring in the ways of politics since the mare had seemed more than a little lost during the “luncheon” yesterday. Sunset Shimmer had been incredibly grateful for something constructive to do and to get her mind off things. She had not even minded the fact that Taleena hadn't really gotten to the teaching yet.
'I hadn't tagged her for the, let's hang out, type,' Sunset Shimmer thought, glancing at the deer out of the corner of her eyes as they entered the “public” wing of the royal library. 'She just seems so majestic and graceful... although she is plenty nice. Maybe she just likes the more common kind of spending time together?'
“What is life like back home?” Sunset asked.
“Iyandan is a grand and ancient city,” Taleena replied readily with an almost wistful tone. “It is shielded from all but the most refined senses by the ancient sorceries of our people since time immemorial. Indeed, the Iyandan and its fellow hidden cities were bustling cities even in the time of the three separate pony tribes. Its history is a grand and decorated tapestry of events, even recordings of the neighboring lands, bereft of all bias and true to reality.”
“Wow, it must be amazing to live in a city so old,” Sunset said with clear wonder.
“Indeed it is,” Taleena responded with a smile readily. “To walk the streets of Iyandan is to walk in the shadow of buildings that could easily be ten thousand years old.”
“It's quite amazing how all Eldeer say the exact same things no matter their city of origin,” a voice broke in suddenly.
Sunset and Taleena turned to see a middle aged griffin sitting in a corner in an armchair at a small table with a small pile of books on it. The griffin had golden eyes, white head feathers and a dark brown coat. He was wearing a doublet that, while rich looking, was rather restrained in the wealth it implied its wearer had and also had a symbol of a crossed hammer and chisel across the left breast. Finally, he had a pair of spectacles sitting on his beak with silver frames.
“Excuse me?!” Taleena said quickly, sounding distinctly affronted. “I do not believe I invited you into our conversation, let alone asked for such an insulting opinion of my people to be aired!”
“Apologies, I did not mean to insult you,” the griffin said with an easy smile, putting aside an open book. “I was merely remarking upon the curious fact that all Eldeer seem to say the same things, regardless of origin.”
Taleena pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in response. Sunset Shimmer, however, found herself curious of what the griffin was reading. Glancing over the stack of books he had gathered, she found them all about ancient tales, myths, legends and folklore.
“Are you a visiting dignitary?” Sunset asked suddenly, gaining the griffin's attentions.
“Why, yes.” The griffin nodded and held out an arm and flared out a wing before giving a bow of his head. “Sten of Clan Murare on official business, currently enjoying a bit of free time.”
“Really?” Sunset asked, stepping closer. “I didn't expect to see a politician interested in these kind of books.”
“Ah, I consider myself to be an amateur mythologist,” Sten answered, smiling as Taleena started looking rather displeased with Sunset's shift of attention. “Half the fun of being a visiting dignitary is studying the local tales. Particularly stories regarding origin.”
“Oh?” Sunset said curiously.
“Yes, every culture I've been to has an origin story regarding their people's creation,” Sten explained. “My own people have one regarding a great lion and a thunderbird. The thunderbird ruled a vast mountain and in the surrounding plains roamed a great lion. The two couldn't abide the presence of the other and came to blows often. But no matter how hard they struck one another, neither would falter. They battled for days and days on end, wounding each other but never seriously and always retreating at the end of the day to rest and recover. So intense were these confrontations that it sundered the great mountain and scattered it into numerous smaller ones over the great plains, and so great were their daily wounds that their blood gathered and intermingled in ponds and lakes. Eventually they ended their fighting and were never seen again. Many believe that the two realized their constant battles had destroyed the things they were fighting over.”
“Let me guess... the griffins came out of the blood?” Sunset asked.
“Yes.” Sten nodded. “Stories say our people emerged from the blood and found shelter among the newly made mountain ranges formed by the destructive battles of the two great beasts. Now... every culture has an origin tale like this one, unique in how it goes... except for ponies for some reason.”
“Actually, I think we do...” Sunset remarked in thought. “I believe Celestia told me it once...”
“The tale of the Mother and the Father,” Sten said with a nod. “I know of it, but the story doesn't mention what being they made, only that they made one. Every people has a tale specifically about how their people were created, save for the ponies. And speaking of the Mother and Father... it is a tale common to all peoples.”
“It is?” Sunset asked in surprise.
“Oh yes. True, it's a bit different in each culture, but ultimately the story is the same,” Sten explained. “Two creators, combining talents and knowledge to create something that was only a shadow of their own glory, and then finding themselves unable to come close to their creation lest they destroy it. Strange how everyone seems to have that story in some form... and what of the Eldeer, Warlock Taleena? Do they have such a story as well?”
Sunset looked back at the deer to see her with a highly irritated expression before it rapidly disappeared to be replaced with indifference.
“The Eldeer have many such tales,” Taleena replied haughtily.
“Records of other cultures' histories, as you said,” Sten said, tone much like that of a teacher correcting a young student. “But what of your people's tales?”
“...” There was a flash of intense aggravation before Taleena sighed and replied hesitantly. “Yes, the tale of the Mother and Father is told among my people too. Our records show even long before the founding of Equestria or many other kingdoms of the world. It was an old tale...”
“NOW, I do believe I promised to teach you about politics, did I not?” Taleena said pointedly to Sunset before turning away and walking off deeper into the library. “Follow me, a library is a perfect place to hold a lesson.”
“Ah, thank you for the talk, it was very interesting,” Sunset Shimmer said to the griffin before quickly trotting off after Taleena.
“The pleasure was mine...” Sten said as he returned to his book. “Try to slip the leash before it gets too tight.”
Sunset paused in place for a moment and blinked, wondering what he could possibly have meant by that. But she saw that Taleena wasn't slowing her pace in the slightest and quickly trotted after her.
EPSILON
Emerald appeared with a flash on the street of her home in Ponyville. She was wearing her casual clothes again in her human form and making her way for the front door of her home.
“I'm home!” Emerald announced as she entered, a relaxed smile plastered on her face.
There was a rapid patter of hooves and Navi came dashing into view.
“Mama!” Navi cried out happily, jumping at Emerald and shifting form mid leap, becoming human as well and wrapping her arms around Emerald's neck. “I missed you! You're always away!”
“I'm sorry, cuddle bug,” Emerald said as she held Navi close. “I've just been so busy lately. I'm going to be better about it from now on, though.”
“Yay~” Navi cheered happily before dropping down onto the floor. “I've got friends over, Mama!”
“Sweetie and the others again?” Emerald said as she allowed herself to be led by the hand down the hall.
“Sweetie Belle is here, but she introduced me to another colt named Button Mash,” Navi explained. “He likes to play video games, too, and wanted to try my games when I told him about them.”
“Oh?” Emerald said and looked up as she was led into the living room. Sweetie Belle and the colt Navi mentioned were on the couch. Emerald half expected Navi to have introduced Button and Sweetie to something along the lines of Gears of War or Halo, but the two little ponies were playing the multiplayer mode of Banjo-Tooie.
“Still having fun, guys?” Navi asked as she stepped right behind the couch.
“Sweetie won't stop playing as the Jinjo!” Button complained as he visibly struggled to play against the filly.
“Serves you right for being big and ugly Grunty,” Sweetie replied with small raspberry.
“Navi, come here for second,” Emerald commanded and Navi quickly complied. “You know not to play certain kinds of games with them, right?”
“Yes, Mama.” Navi nodded. “Spike said anything rated E should be fine for ponies and that I should bring anything rated T to you or him first, and that anything rated M isn't allowed.”
“Good girl,” Emerald said and got a bright smile from Navi. Emerald then thought about what Navi said earlier, about how she was always busy and she missed her. “So how long are your friends going to be staying?”
“Button and Sweetie are staying for supper,” Navi answered. “But Sweetie is sleeping over.”
“Hmmm... how about you and me do something together for a short while,” Emerald suggested with a smile. “It'll only take a couple minutes, but should be really fun.”
“OKAY!” Navi said eagerly before turning back to her friends. “See you two. I'll be back in a little bit!”
“See ya,” Button said distractedly, practically sweating with the effort he was putting in.
“See you, Navi!” Sweetie Belle waved. “Have fun!”
“Come here,” Emerald said and dropped down onto one knee, Navi quickly darted into Emerald's embrace and a second later they disappeared with a flash. An instant later found both Emerald and Navi up at the furthest possible height of the sky in the nebulous border between atmosphere and the void.
Navi gave a laugh that was barely heard in the scant atmosphere even with Emerald's ears as she rolled through space. But if the intent was just to mess around in zero gravity, Emerald would have teleported even further out. In fact, because they didn't have any momentum going at all, the planet was quickly pulling them directly back. Within a minute of Navi and Emerald simply tumbling about in space, wind started to whip about them.
The little virus laughed much more audibly as she started making massive circles around Ponyville miles below. Emerald flew in close and grabbed Navi by the waist before making aileron rolls, spinning the little girl around her rapidly.
“Do you know how to fly without wings?” Emerald asked Navi as the wind whistled past.
“No,” Navi answered but looked eagerly at Emerald.
“Okay,” Emerald said and turned the little girl around before pulling her close. “Close your eyes and concentrate on the flow of my magic.”
Emerald's descent slowed rapidly as she started channeling magic to fly. She continued to fall, but was just flying downwards in lazy circles. Held in her mother's arms, Navi closed her eyes and stretched out with her senses as she was taught. She felt Emerald's magic and how it was moving out of her body, the way it precisely projected force out at several angles. More importantly, she felt how Emerald was controlling her own weight, actively lessening and increasing the effect on different areas of her body. She then set to work on reproducing the effect herself.
The virus continued to drift downwards with a growing smile as she felt Navi make rapid progress with every passing moment. A few minutes later, when they started to approach cloud level, Navi was now reproducing Emerald's wingless flight crudely. Emerald released Navi from her embrace and held her arms out like wings, keeping hold of one of Navi's hands and holding her out at her side. The two glided through the air like two birds flying nearly wingtip to wingtip for another two minutes before Emerald let go of her fully.
Instantly Navi's flight path became wobbly and she came close to flapping her arms. Emerald remained a few feet away, gliding on her back, arms folded over her stomach as she watched Navi rapidly master flight with a proud smile.
It wasn't long before Emerald was leading Navi to land down onto their home street, the little virus with far smoother flight path compared to just a few minutes ago. As soon as they landed, Navi gave a gleeful cheer and leaped onto Emerald's back.
“I love you Mama!” Navi said happily and gave Emerald a kiss on the cheek.
“Love you too, cuddle bug,” Emerald smiled and reached back to pat Navi's head. She carried Navi back into the house where they were instantly met with Sweetie Belle.
“You're back!” Sweetie said. “Did you two have fun?”
“Look, Sweetie!” Navi exclaimed and floated off of Emerald's back. “Mama taught me how to fly~”
“Oh wow that's so cool!” Sweetie Belle said with twinkling eyes. “I wish I could fly...”
“There is a way for normal unicorns to learn how to fly,” Emerald said. “But it would be quite a few years before you are ready to learn magic like that.”
“Awww...”
Emerald watched Navi float into the living room followed closely by Sweetie Belle. She walked over into the doorway to see that Button Mash had even paused the game to stare at Navi flying around. Emerald suddenly felt like doing a bit of baking, serve up some deserts for everyone to enjoy after supper. She turned to head for the kitchen and paused, recalling a promise she had made to her mother's grave a short while ago.
“Hey Navi,” Emerald called out and instantly got the little virus' attention. “I'm going to go bake some desserts for supper. You feeling up to learning how to bake the way your grandmother taught me?”
“Yes!” Navi exclaimed excitedly and lighted down before darting for Emerald.
Emerald smiled happily down at the little girl and led the way to the kitchen.
“Now, most people like to use a pre-made mix when baking something,” Emerald said they entered the kitchen. She reached out with her magic and gathered a number of ingredients and baking utensils. “Your grandmother always made her own mixes and invented her own special recipes, I'm going to teach you one of them.”
“What is it?” Navi asked and started floating up into the air in order to easily see the counter top.
“It's a cupcake recipe,” Emerald explained as she got out some basic ingredients to start mixing. “Here, you do the mixing and I'll direct you how to make the cupcake mix.”
Emerald and Navi then started making the mix in earnest. The little virus was floating in midair using the mixer and listening intently to Emerald explaining each ingredient's effect on the mix. They had an absolutely grand time making the mix and then pouring it into cups in a pan. The entire time, Emerald felt wonderful and like she completely understood how her own mother felt when she was teaching her all those years ago.
By the time they had placed the pans into the oven to bake, Spike was already moving around them and making supper. The two of them practically spent the entire bake time of the cupcakes sitting before the oven with Emerald explaining to Navi everything to look for when baking something. When the cupcakes were all done, they decided to leave icing each one as a group event.
“Hey everyone!” Emerald said as she and Navi left the kitchen and entered the dining room. “We just finished baking the cupcakes so once we are done with supper we can all go and put icing on them all together.”
“That sounds wonderful, Emerald.” Twilight smiled from her seat at the table as Sweetie and Button cheered from their own. “I'm sure it'll be so much fun to put icing on our own cupcakes.”
“Yep, but until then...” Emerald said as she shifted form back into a pony and Navi did the same. “Everyone dig in. Spike is a great cook and did awesome despite us using some the kitchen.”
With that, Emerald and Navi took their own seats and began to eat along with the others.
ZETA
The next morning found Emerald pacing with some nervousness in the library in her human form.
Twilight had revealed that morning upon waking up that she had finished making Emerald's engagement ring and was ready to exchange hers. The virus naturally knew that whatever she made, Twilight would love it because she would know Emerald wouldn't do something like this halfhearted. Still, Emerald wanted Twilight to love her engagement ring not just because Emerald made but because it was actually something she thought was beautiful. Of course, Emerald also had to constantly remind herself that the engagement rings were temporary until they exchanged their wedding rings, which meant they also had to make another pair of amazing rings each other would wear for the rest of their lives.
'I have no heartbeat, yet I still hear it pounding in my ear,' Emerald thought with a somewhat strained smile. 'Oh god, I hope she loves it.'
Emerald turned when she heard the door open and saw a nervous looking Twilight enter the room. She had a small box in the air beside her head. She walked over to Emerald and they stood facing each other for a moment in silence.
“S-so... Emerald, I've been working on this for a while...” Twilight said anxiously as she floated the box over to Emerald. “I really hope you like it.”
Twilight opened the box and revealed what lay within. It was a large bracelet made of several silver bands chained together. Upon the front was a stylized design of a bucket and over it were several small emerald gems. Altogether, it made a wonderful recreation of her cutiemark. Overall, Emerald got the feeling almost of armor, like a small bracer with a bejeweled crest. She found she liked the idea of an engagement “ring” like that.
“It's fantastic!” Emerald said, having teleported the bracelet onto her wrist. “And now it's my turn...”
Emerald concentrated, and in a flash of light a bracelet appeared in her hand. Much like her own bracelet, it was made of silver, but that's where the similarities ended. The bracelet's body was that of several branches constantly entwining around one another before gathering together in a kind of knot. In the heart of this knot were several amethysts arranged just so to resemble Twilight's cutiemark. Emerald knew Twilight really did miss the old treehouse a lot at times and hoped she would both see the tribute to it and like it.
“Oh...” Twilight said quietly and slowly took the bracelet from Emerald to stare down at it. “The design... remember when we first met? Well of course you do, that was the first few days I stayed in that tree.”
“I know,” Emerald said and came down onto a knee next to Twilight to hold her. “...Sorry about blowing it up.”
Twilight elbowed Emerald for ruining the mood before laughing.
The reason why Emerald and Twilight were having bracelets instead of rings was simply for convenience. Emerald didn't like the idea of constantly destroying and remaking her ring every time she shifted form so a bracelet was just easier to wear in both form. The same explanation applied to Twilight as well, who had become interested in magical shape shifting to access her human form in Equestria.
Emerald shifted to her pony form and, after admiring her bracelet a moment longer, turned to face Twilight.
“I love you, Twilight Sparkle,” Emerald said softly, her face nearing close to Twilight's.
“I love you, Emerald Gleaner.” Twilight smiled, closing the distance as well.
Just as they were about to kiss, there was suddenly a firm knocking at the door. Emerald sighed, the moment firmly ruined, and Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance. The virus was turning away to go answer it when a pair of hooves firmly grasped her head and pulled on her. An instant later, Twilight was deeply kissing Emerald for near half a minute before letting her go.
“Now you can answer the door,” Twilight said slyly with a self satisfied smile.
“Yes ma'am.” Emerald grinned widely before trotting to said door.
“Hello?” Emerald said as she opened the door and blinked her eyes at who was standing there. It was clearly Zecora, but she was dressed drastically different. She was wearing a kind of white and red toga-like dress made of fine silks. It hugged close to her body and didn't go far past her hind legs. On both her fore and hind legs were glimmering gold bangles. Her neck rings were different as well in that some had gems in them or had gems hanging off on crests. On her head sat a circlet, at the center of which was a carved jade figure in the form of a circle of leaves and on both sides of it were red rubies. Finally, sitting over her clothes was a wildly expansive yet hardy looking set of saddlebags. “Zecora? You're looking all dressed up.”
“Yes, these are my old clothes,” Zecora said casually. “May I come in?”
“Uhh... sure,” Emerald said, blinking at the obvious lack of rhyming.
“I hope I am not interrupting anything, but I must confess I am here on a very grave matter,” Zecora said as she entered.
“Oh, right... well things were going a bit too smoothly I suppose.” Emerald sighed and closed the door behind Zecora. “If you call everyone trying to get you stuck in political mire, smooth.”
“I apologize,” Zecora said somberly. “I admit I have yet to repay the favor for ensuring that my move into the town was as smooth as possible.”
“That's alright,” Emerald said and walked for the library. “Come on, I think this is something you'd want Twilight to be involved in as well.”
“Who was it, Emerald?” Twilight asked as Emerald entered the library followed closely by Zecora. “Zecora?”
“Greetings, Twilight Sparkle.” Zecora nodded and gave a small smile at the sight of Twilight's bracelet, now understanding the significance of Emerald's own. “I see you were in the midst of enjoying your engagement. I apologize for intruding into your happiness.”
“It's quite... alright,” Twilight assured, blinking at the lack of rhyming. “You are a friend after all.”
“It is that fact that makes me all the more remorseful for the burden I am about to share with you,” Zecora said solemnly.
“You did say it was a grave matter,” Emerald commented with a resigned look. “Well... we're listening.”
“Yes... my tale begins several years ago. I was serving as the Official Mystic to the Prime Minister of Zebrica,” Zecora began. “I was their expert in all things magical and potions. That is, until one day the Prime Minister starting becoming... erratic.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“He would seem incredibly disorientated at times and say things he normally wouldn't - disturbing things,” Zecora said. “We had thought he had taken ill with something. I made him a potion personally and the rest of the cabinet arranged for him to get some rest. This was the exact wrong thing to do.”
“Let me guess,” Emerald said with a bland look. “He was now evil and had evil powers and used those powers to usurp power behind the scene while everyone thought he was getting bed rest.”
“That is exactly what happened.” Zecora nodded. “Those dark powers he now possessed allowed him to ensnare the minds of others. He had gone to the soldiers of Zebrica and warped their minds to his will. On the day he was to return to service, he called forth his army of thralls and took the nation in a single night. There was nothing any of us could do. Those few of us who could attempted to escape, but I was the only one.”
“Zecora, that is horrible,” Twilight gasped. “But why didn't you say anything?”
“I was ashamed,” Zecora answered, expression a mask of guilt. “It was my duty to be the foremost expert to not only be sought for answers, but to defend my homeland against insidious dark forces. But I failed to even see an illness for what it truly was. I went into self exile and took the vow of balance, after which I eventually arrived in a small town in a country far, far away from my own. But now I can no longer keep up this exile. The longer I wallow in self pity, the longer my people suffer.”
“And this is the part where you ask me for help,” Emerald stated expectedly.
“Yes. If I were to return to attempt to right things myself, failure would all but certain.” Zecora nodded. “I plead for your help. Please, help me save my people.”
“Of course we'll help!” Twilight said immediately and then looked back at a completely unamused Emerald and raised a brow. “Right, Emerald?”
“Sure...” Emerald already had a feeling like things were going to be much more complicated than they appeared to be.
“Thank you...” Zecora said gratefully, but looked to Emerald. “But Emerald, I wish for your help with as little violence for my people as possible. The only one at fault for this evil is the darkness possessing the Prime Minister, no one else. The last thing I wish is for the day of the wedding massacre to be repeated on a nationwide scale.”
“Right...” Emerald said, face hoofing with a small groan. “Well, we might as well get to planning, then. This is likely going to take a bit of work to set up something before we can even begin to get started on it.”
Emerald pulled out a chair at the table and motioned for them to do the same, already feeling like no matter how well they would plan out their attack, things would go wrong in the end. Didn't mean she wasn't going to do everything she could to ensure it wouldn't.
Zecora and Twilight joined her at the table and Emerald got to work questioning Zecora about her nation.
-TBC-
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This chapter was quiet all the way through to the end with the possible exception of the last scene, so why is it that if the tension was any more wracking it could dislocate a joint?
I AM loving this fanfic.
I mean you are The ones that really make The stories so great that you should earn an awarded for your work.
I swear Navi is like Cirno, all of the adorableness but she's smarter, cleverer but has yet to declare "She's the strongest"
Interesting, talk of origin stories and a fabled "Abandoned child" made by two powerful beings. It might even lead to how the world was rendered silent.
Sunset, you need to get out, get out now.
So it seems a bit of last chapter's comments have been discussing is now bleeding into the story. What can be done for propagating and stimulating a budding economy, it seems the native and early immigrants are somewhat slow in accepting shifts to identifying and tagging a price to, what is luxury and what is basic. An argument was already springing up when an Independent was hustling a sale of food that was seasoned and spiced, than the simple meat stock and vegetable stew. We'll see how things develop from here, hopefully, specialty luxury goods trade can be the Independent villages' niche.
And now we get some context to that mysterious bit of exposition way back when Emerald first visited the League headquarters. And if Emerald foolishly undergoes this operation behind the league's back, this could potentially lead to what might be the spark of a multi-front war. Goes in quiet, gets caught, the scandal would mar any attempts there after to even convince anyone to the plight of the Zebra, sad pandas for all. This needs to be done loud, the league made aware, use an amassing of military forces and mounting tensions as a feint, deep strike within the enemy's base and BOOM, victory. Everyone gets a pat on the back, Enclave gets some brownie points for blowing the whistle and some of the Zebra' neighboring countries might even thank the Enclave from preventing disaster.
All that could ruin that, is if no one believes her. fuck
They're the pointy knifey eared bastards in deer from.
EDIT: IT'S A TRAP SUNSET! GET WHILE YOU CAN!
Also if the Eldeer try their manipulation shit on Emerald they are probably are going to get a response they're not going to like. If they try force Emerald (like how Mercer did) she would probally kill them due to her past under Mercer's control.
8392584
At least we haven't seen any Dark Eldeer, a snooty bigot is one thing, a snooty bigot that gets off on another's suffering?
Yeah, no
8392586
Does make me wonder if Emerald gonna make the 40K connection and come to that conclusion.
It would be hilarious.
Woohoo! Another update!
Awww!! Navi is adorable!!!
Hmm... I'm starting to get a feeling about that rampaging fire spirit. While I'm certain the nuke did it no favors, I'm starting to get the feeling it's pissed off about something else from far in the past...
And you know what? I get the feeling the Eldeer are responsible for that. They seem awfully obsessed about how the world must work and operate their way, and nothing else is acceptable. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point in the distant past they are the ones that suppressed or killed all the elementals and made nature not operate naturally.
In fact, I do feel it's necessary to sign all reviews in the following manner. So as Cato the Elder once said about Carthage: "The Eldeer must be destroyed."
Goddamn Eldar clones... i bet my bottom bit that they are the reason for what happened in Zebrica
And what this warlock Taleena is doing, seems so very suspicious to me. If this all is heading where i think it might be....
Well, i guess i'll have to prepare for a small scale exterminatus happening in the near future that is going to be directed at these "Eldeer"
Sods law, the second my head touches a pillow the chapter gets released.
Loved the bit with the spirits and the creation myths, It’s the little touches like that which make a world feel alive.
The bit with the chef dog got me thinking. If he does make his point then things like recipes and other craft and trade secrets could wind up being the basis for the Enclaves economy, with them being closely guarded secrets that are passed down from parent to child. In which case Emerald might have to keep an eye on that since it invites things like arranged marriages, and other feudalism-esc social structures as well as the usual form of predatory business practices.
Also- If Emerald really is worried about other evolved or humans showing up through the portal it may be prudent to stick the thing in a bunker on the moon. Or maybe make it so the building on earth side collapses since the portal was located on one of the higher floors.
Also, also is it even possible for Emeralds creations too betray her? All previous ones seemed to be genetically hardwired to be obedient to her? At any rate I'm really looking forward to seeing what this new race will be.
Wow... You made me want to punch Taleena in the snot by basically railing her up... Good job, it's really hard to see someone being able to pull a trick like that in writing.
Emerald, this is literally what the Elements of Harmony are for; quit thinking like a unicorn and USE THEM!
Eldeer seem very suspicious to me, possibly sinister. Yeah, Sunset's probably gonna get brainwashed.
8393473
I think you forget that Emerald really doesn't trust the Elements right now.
Where you see one man, I C4!
In all seriousness, I recall the weather (and the trapped spirits becoming free), I read the bit about a potential spirit possessing the Zebrican Prime Minister, who through a coup (which may be connected to the first), I remember the ones who slew Tirek prematurely (which Prophet Celestia and her sister completely spaced on informing Emerald about, now that she's returned, and may be connected to the second), and I noticed the Eldeer representative being a suspicious cunt, sowing discord among the ambassadors and politicians (and attempting it with Sunset Shimmer, and might be indirectly related to the first and third, via the second).
Basically, this is all shaping up to be a giant clusterfuck of a beautiful conspiracy.
Hail Hydra.
8393726
When you get to hell. Tell them Penwood sent you, then apologize on my behalf for the inconvenience.
I'm seriously interested in the past of the spirits, who could of betrayed sovereign? I feel like maybe one of the pony's ancestor could be the culprit. However the amount power needed to mass silence them would be a lot. I wonder what kind of powerful ancient could of done that? What will Emerald do once she finds out the envirement, weather, and animals where subjugated,potentially through magic?
8400440
My guesses?
Sovereign is/was the "Father" mentioned in the legends and King/Lord of the Spirits. Harmony was the "Mother," his partner/wife and equal. She then betrayed Sovereign and all he stood for (the cycle, change, etc. Aka; the "nature is neither cruel nor kind" mindset.) and usurped power. She then crippled and/or sealed Sovereign and the other spirits in order to impose her own "better" way (stagnancy, peace, order, and Harmony. Aka; the "nurturing Mother-Earth" mindset)
As for ponykind's involvement, I doubt that as: Pre-Unification ponies were about as far from "harmonious" as you can be. The Eldeer on the other hand...
It would also explain the Eldeer's antipathy towards the ponies. Harmony seems to favor them now, so the Eldeer are jealous Mama's only paying attention to/favours their (relatively) new baby sibling.
Also explains why Sovereign and the Everfree still exist. As her equal and (presumably) opposite she couldn't destroy him, only seal him for a time and damage his memories and power so that when he woke he wouldn't even know he was betrayed, let alone who betrayed him.
8393473
Ignoring own semi-omniscient knowledge (which is; Harmony is a raging cunt of a bitch-whore, basically pony-world Hitler, and/or (possibly?) well-intentioned Satan.) Emerald was stoned by them a while back, plus she's been being fed hints for ages that something is wrong with the world, specifically that there is too much Order or Harmony in it.
8402146
Nice theory, the mother must be quite the idiot if she were the one to do that. On the the other hand why would this origin story have any relation with the spirits mystery? Although I don't really think the origin story has much if anything to do with this mystery. I prefer the ponies to be the guilty ones, I'm weird like that.
I have binge read this whole series from the begining to now and it was AWESOME!!!!!
Cant wait to see what else your amazing mind will cook up next.
I must admit, I'm intrigued by the prospect of Moondancer getting infected. Part of me hopes that it happens with some degree of fanfare, if only to cultivate the idea of there being a reason for said promotion's exclusivity. Though Moondancer flat out refusing could be interesting to, if only because it'd be simultaneously amusing and disappointing.
Wow! Happy/sad to be all caught up in this series.
Very enjoyable binge reading over the last week.
Idr if there is a reason why Zecora isn't rhyming or not.
8420334 The rhyming seems to be what she meant by taking 'the vow of balance' as part of her self imposed exile, and since she is stopping her exile she stops rhyming.
I'm going to throw out a wild guess and say it's because whatever bad mojo is affecting the Zebra has gotten to her and this whole situation is one big trap. That, or writing dialogue that rhymes is a pain in the ass. In which case I still kind of suspect it's a trap.
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Nah it's fine, sometimes this site doesn't even notify that someone sent a reply
And true, while they can try to compete with Emerald's product due to their current level of magical "science" to transmute a similar if not superior version, Emerald's biological and nano-molecular manipulation skills can dish out even better products, if not newer ones, like say, a fruit(s) that bring new flavors that one would only get from a combination of ingredients, trees that create chemicals and store them in sturdy fruit-like growths, like oil or others that require whole production lines/facilities to manufacture/refine.
The League, has, and will likely always be, an herbivore run organization. While it technically is a gathering of nations, another perspective is to see it as a social nexus to show the carnivore races that are party members, that the herbivores are running the show. Besides the Griffons, who have maintained a large population from hunting the abundant mega-fauna of their lands, they are still a minority in terms to the whole global community, the other carnivore races are comparatively smaller or politically/financially weaker due to steep trading pacts with the herbivore countries.
We can assume that with Emerald's emergence and the introduction of her abundant and cheaper meat, such dynamics of centuries if millennia long exploitations, had been cast aside overnight. The economies that were built around the gains of unfair trade will start hitting the herbivore countries, seeing as the primary point of these trades were unfair exchange rates of resources such as metals, precious stones and exotic agriculture for a set tonnage of food (meat). Trade for such paltry amounts are gone, and with generations of taking advantage of the carnivore races, they cannot help but see that they need that status quo restored if not close to it. Mind you, they cannot hope to match Emerald in any way but as an organization that had never factored an existence such as her emerging and offsetting their dominance, they can only fall back on what they know and have always done. Sanctions, regulations and fines, such things would've been the death of a carnivore race's economy but Emerald's Enclave is too self-sufficient but since she had accepted herself as a member of the League, they'll hope that she'd have some give since she's supposed play by their game. She won't, yes, but they don't know that till they try and that's when tension will skyrocket into stupid and desperate territory. The last thing they need is for her to take all of the carnivores and create her own league, which she's capable of due to Earth tech allowing the creation of near instantaneous communication, meaning they don't need a central hub like the Kraken Base, they can all chime in and talk through a secure network without ever leaving their countries.
8422536 Speaking of the site not notifying, I didn’t get one for this reply.
The thing to remember about the league of nations is that the population of each of Its member nations (even the herbivores) could comfortably fit inside individual cities on earth, some cities could even fit the population of every league nation together and the planet the league sits on is 2.1 times larger than earth with the majority of it still unexplored. They’re less a ‘global community’ than they are a meeting ground for an isolated group of merchants whose representative kingdoms use as a neutral platform to discuss politics for the sake of convenience. Emerald herself has also noted, more than once, that neither she nor the Enclave needs the league at all (the league only know about her because of the incident at the wedding) and if the league does indeed know what she is capable of then they would know that engaging in military action against her would be playing Emeralds game on her terms. Celestia has also demonstrated that the sanctions the griffins laid against her in response to Gilda and their soldiers deaths were hurting her nation, that combined with Emerald’s public relationship (soon to be marriage) to a member of the Equestrian royal family makes me conclude that if anyone will be targeted with sanctions it would be Equestria.
It would be a very risky move, especially if they do know what Emerald is capable of in retaliation. But if the Eldeer (and their Eldar-esc self-assured ego) are at the head of this interest I could easily imagine them getting it in their heads to burry Equestria in sanctions as a means of coercing Emerald into submitting to the leagues rules. And if they learn Emerald's test of an 'alien' wepon is responsible for the release of the fire jin that’s been destroying cat towns , or if this romp into zebra territory goes bad (or is a trap) then it could give them all the excuse they need to petition for those sanctions. Hell the fact she is creating 'alien' weapons like the nuke could be all the excuse they need.
8422894 Yeah, see? This site can be weird, even with these recent updates
Which then brings us to the mirror, as its existence is practically a miniature version of that in "Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri " and will bring with it, all the problems that it entails. The difference, immediately outside is the territory of biologically enhanced and hyper intelligent apex predators. As long as Emerald plays her cards right and if she's even willing to, she could open up trade with Earth in exchange for helping them understand the phenomena of magic she accidentally bestowed upon them.
Sure, there would be safety concerns but if she does something like place the mirror into a spaceport at a great distance from the planet, and a whole smattering of magical and technological counter-measures, then even if the Earth tries to invade, the best they can do is stare out into space and await Emerald's retaliation. If trade is possible and at sufficient amounts, then it could prove to stem the economical bleedout that Equestria is suffering, as well as bring a new outlet for business of domestic products trade. There's a lot of risk but I can see Emerald succeeding, even with the tenacious dickery that others dish out.
We also cannot rule out the viability of offworld colonization and terraforming that Emerald's bio-arcane-tech is capable of doing, that in itself will further their economical growth and removes the question of land disputes, give those seeking work to do colonist work or space mining. Moon colony, mayhaps?
8422963 Trying to open trade relations with earth may be a bit awkward after Emerald Nuked Liberty Island with magic. But perhaps the portal will prove to be a problem without it directly involving the humans or the other evolved, like if magic start bleeding through the portal to earth. Nature abhors a vacuum and it would probobly be bad news for both worlds.
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They've already got that problem with that giant crystal formation cycling its own storm to then convert any of its lightning into magic. At the constant rate of magic being pumped out, it'll match or surpass how much was ever released during those events of the EQG movies. Worst case scenario, something happens to Twi-Dopple to have her get a Midnight incident, opening portals in a bought of crazy, that and a whole slew of problems. A singer trio that had siren-esque powers, some edgelord on the internet getting shadow powers, a guy who hungers for other's magic, a jet pilot magically going mach speed in a prismatic explosion, a very enthusiastic geologist who can punch through solid rock.
Besides the evolved, the earlier magicians will most likely face a lot of problems, problems that might even force them to seek asylum at Manhatten. That building is still a ruin but someone's gonna eventually set up shop there.
8423467 Human magic uses may be the least of earth’s worries.
There’s also the potential affect the magic could have on the weather, the creation of beings like windigoes, or the possibility that animals of earth will gain sapience like those on Equis.
8424249 Basically, more magic shenanigans
Well. A new book. I haven't even finished the last one yet. I've been away for a bit. (Blame RWBY fanfiction. I actually started writing one myself.) Well. Uh I'm back here now I guess. I'm gonna read through from the beginning again. For what the 7th time now? 8th? These stories are always good no matter how many times I go through them. Anyway by the time I make it back to this book the hype train will be firmly back on track to flying off the rails. And I just want to thank you for creating such a magnificent series that I love.
Thank you.
-beast5200 (wait...)
-Fluttershade5200
(My bad. Uh I kinda developed that habit on my year long Fanfic/net bender. And forgot my username here is different. Oops.)
8431124
Welcome back!
Three weeks late and ready to party! Woo!
*Reads chapter*
All done! ...Dang, what do I do now?
Other me: wait.
Me: but I don't waaaaaaaanaaaaaaaaaa!!!!
Other me: Read something else.
Me: okay!
*snort* Well that's a bilingual bonus. Figured he was a mason from the hammer and chisel, but his and his clan's name are hilarious.
Hey, Legionary, there's something I've been meaning to ask since I started reading this book series. I know it's probably been asked before, but the story was too captivating to spend the time reading a lot of comments.
Why did you name the protagonist Osäker?
It's not like it's a common swedish surname, or at least I've never met or heard of someone with a name reminiscent of it. Granted, some of the old noble names are that weird. Like "Natt och Dag".
Edit:
Well, since they seem to a less competent version of the Eldar from Warhammer 40,000 that is to be expected.
But yeah, they're really getting on my nerves too.
So before Fate decided to be a douch then
she isn't