Choosing Fate

by Livi-Love

Chapter 7

Celestia’s guard fell for just a moment. The aura around her horn started to fade at the first signs of breaking within the smoky orb, only for its glow to intensify as the orb fractured further. No. Why would Show Screen’s prison fall apart now? All of Celestia’s attempts to break through failed. Magic. Brute force. Only few possessed power that rivaled hers.

She had the feeling Show Screen knew more than she let on. In her eyes stirred something far greater than Celestia initially imagined. Not just hunger for power, but something else. Something raw. They weren’t the eyes of someone following something they read in a book. They followed something else, a force more powerful than second-hand experience.

The orb, weak and cracked, was translucent. In its heart stood a lone figure- a pony with blue eyes Celestia recognised immediately. Holding out for an alternative was useless. Celestia declined her head. It could only mean one thing and it made her chest ache. Into her mind poured images of her sister, lost and afraid, prey waiting to be consumed by the monster of... of...

“I understand,” Celestia announced, voice hushed.

The pony didn’t answer, only ambling towards her. Nothing but space separated them now. Celestia noted that the pony kept Applebloom’s height. No. This was Applebloom, only not as well. Just like it had been with Nightmare Moon: beneath all the hate and anger had been her sister. It didn’t matter that Applebloom’s coat was as black as the night, that she had a horn and bat-like wings. Her mane remained pink-red, retaining its shape. And when she pointed her horn at the discarded cloth Celestia conjured earlier, it floated to her and tied around her mane in a bow.

“I understand who you are,” articulated Celestia.

“You do?” Applebloom sounded older, colder but her tone’s foundation bore a familiar childlike quality. She stopped walking, leaving a gap so neither could touch each other.

“Not completely,” admitted Celestia, “but I think I may have a good idea. I’m struggling to find a way to phrase what I have concluded; however, I know that the tree my father cut down meant something to you. You said he tainted its fruit when he cut it down- when he killed it, and that’s why what happened to my sister happened. Why this happened to Applebloom.”

Applebloom glowered, casting her gaze downwards.

“The tree was alive, but not like how other trees are,” said Celestia. “It thought. It felt. It trusted. You shared a connection, a special bond with it. And my father broke it.”

Celestia held out her hoof. Applebloom studied it, puzzled.

“I am deeply sorry for what my father did. If he was still with us, he would be too. Perhaps he is sorry right now, wherever he is.” She bowed her head and shook her hoof. “Please, if there is any way for me to help you... I will do so. Healing may take time, forgiveness may never come. But you must leave Applebloom out of this... it won’t help. It will bring nothing but more pain.”

Applebloom looked up, eyes gleaming. “I... I...” She turned her head away.

Celestia approached her until she stood directly in front of her. Still Applebloom didn’t look up, didn’t meet her eyes. Her body trembled and Celestia became conscious of just how much taller she was than the filly. It was something Celestia had become used to, but the height difference was now starker than ever. Despite whatever- whoever Applebloom mixed with, she kept her youth. Her innocence. Even if Celestia couldn’t see it under her new coat.

Celestia lowered her head, touching the tip of her horn against Applebloom’s. She felt it shake.

“Will you let me help you?” asked Celestia.

Applebloom looked up and smiled. Celestia smiled back.

Applebloom’s horn glowed. “No.”

Cyan light burst out of her horn, clutching Celestia and lifting her off the ground. Celestia gasped, scratching in vain at the aura encasing her. The magic spread to her front legs, bending them and clamping them to her front.

Nothing in Applebloom’s face gave away what she planned to do next. Her eyes flared with anger, much like they did after the orb melted away. Whatever lay ahead, Celestia knew she didn’t want to see it. She aimed her horn at Applebloom.

The light spread to her head, finally consuming all of her. Celestia concentrated but nothing left her horn. She gritted her teeth, sweating, but her horn remained useless. She remained useless, hanging in the air. Applebloom continued watching her... waiting? What good would waiting do? It wasn’t as though Celestia could do anything. With power like that, Applebloom’s potential to wreak havoc had no bounds. Did she have to be in close proximity for the spell to function? Did her magic fail if she wasn’t close by? Then why imprison her in the first place?

Applebloom closed her eyes and her horn sucked the aura in. Celestia yelped as the entirety of her body prickled before exploding. She dropped, collapsing onto the ground. Standing proved easier said than done, her body heavy as she shakily stood up. Her eyes narrowed at Applebloom’s smug expression. Another wave of nausea swept over Celestia and she almost gave into it. But she couldn’t. Within her was strength Applebloom couldn’t remove.

“That’ll be all,” Applebloom announced airily, strutting past Celestia. Celestia turned and tried to follow but her legs gave way. She stumbled, just keeping her balance. “I have an entire land of ponies waiting for me.”

“What,” Celestia hissed, “do you plan on doing? Your vendetta is against my family, not them. Don’t you dare harm any of my subjects! Or I’ll...”

“I never said I was going to,” Applebloom replied, halting by the entrance of the tunnel. Celestia blinked. “Besides, it’s not like you’re in any condition to stop me. No, I have my eyes set on something far more important.”

“Which is what?”

Applebloom turned, about to say something. Instead, she shut her mouth and regarded the princess with a smirk. How the mighty had fallen. Once brave and powerful, Celestia was a ghost of her former self- what she had been just minutes ago. Her wings trembled but Celestia struggled to move them any further. Her horn could only summon a frail spark.

Celestia knew the thoughts that passed through Applebloom’s mind. What the princess’ heart wanted to do, what she needed to do, contradicted with what she was able to do. She was no longer a threat.

Applebloom’s eyelids drooped. “You’ll see,” she said and with that she departed from the ground, soaring upwards. Celestia’s attention trailed after her, face darkening with each beat of Applebloom’s wings. Watching this pained her but what else could she do? With no horn, deadweight wings... she failed.

But the princess would be damned if it ended this way, her wallowing in regret and shame while the world she loved crumbled. The fire in her rekindled.

Face poised upwards, Applebloom sailed through the air until she reached a height she deemed satisfactory. Celestia clenched her teeth and gathered enough strength to fly after her. As soon as she passed the top of the walls barricading the garden, the surrounding light vanished. The stars and moon twinkled while the distant glitter of the castle played in the corner of her eye. Nausea racked through Celestia’s body and she clumsily landed on the top of the wall. What happened to her? Nightmare Moon never weakened her like this.

Applebloom’s wings flapped and she hung in front of the moon, a silhouette. Her eyes pierced Celestia’s, waking her from her spell of dizziness. Applebloom raised her front hooves.

The moon shifted rapidly and the sun soon replaced it.

Laughter filled the air as Applebloom flew away. Reality whipped Celestia. She widened her eyes. “How did she-?” She looked down.

Her cutie mark was gone.

Celestia didn’t allow horror time to settle in her stomach and build its way up. Directing her horn towards the Sun, she found it stayed firmly in place. Just as she expected. She leaped off the wall and galloped towards the watch tower. Her sister didn’t need to spend the night there but chose to, and Celestia knew that was where she’d find her.

It was a habit Luna kept from before her banishment. Luna always prefered to be in the watch tower at night but now the occupation held more meaning to her. Until many weeks had passed after her return, she often dozed off by the time the sun rose. Now she could stay awake long enough to greet her sister, who checked up on her and told her when she could rest. Keeping guard wasn’t necessary as guards populated the area, but Celestia knew it mattered to Luna. Luna needed to make sure no dark forces returned to Canterlot... forces like Nightmare Moon.

And it was a habit that hadn’t died yet.

“Sister! Luna!” Celestia gasped. The drop from the wall to ground level took its toll on her body and she nearly tripped over. Her hooves dug into the ground and she panted, focusing on regulating her breathing.

No. Celestia didn’t have the time to sit around until she felt comfortable enough to continue. Canterlot- Equestria needed her.

Luna’s dark form stood out against the pale sky. The watch tower was situated on the other side of the castle but the abrupt change to morning gave a clear indication that things weren’t right. Celestia looked her in the eye, dropping her head as Luna joined her on the ground.

“Sister, what is wrong? Why did you lower the moon and raise the sun so prematurely? The night still has many hours remaining and-” Luna faltered out, forehead creasing. “Something is wrong.”

“I need you to listen carefully,” Celestia muttered, glancing behind her. True to her word, Applebloom had gone to greet Equestria. What else could she be doing? Celestia’s stomach churned at the thought of Equestria being in the hooves of a being able to remove cutie marks, even those belonging to royalty... but it was a blessing. She needed Luna fully functioning.

Luna nodded, masking her face with no emotion. The change in her since she returned was remarkable. It was hard to believe that she arrived back smaller and fragile, mane and coat pallid. Now she stood taller, though not as tall as Celestia, dark sapphire with a shimmering cobalt mane. She was strong. Able. Able to leave Celestia’s protective hold.

“Applejack’s sister took a bite from an apple from the Tree of Enlightenment. It gave her the ability to take away cutie marks,” stated Celestia.

Luna’s gaze flickered towards her sister’s flank. She did a doubletake. “Egad! Sister, thy cutie mark!”

“I know,” said Celestia, bitter. “She slipped away from me and plans on targeting our subjects. I need you to alert the Royal Guard while I gather the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.” She stumbled away and would have fallen face down if Luna hadn’t caught her.

“My sister... ‘Tia, thou...” Luna grimaced. “You are exhausted. Whatever Applejack’s sister did to you did more than remove your cutie mark. You alert the Royal Guard. I will depart for Ponyville and gather the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The Elements are in Canterlot Tower, are they not?”

“Yes, but I don’t know if we can take this big a risk... what if your cutie mark is taken? Who will maintain day and night then? I should go, I have nothing to lose.” Celestia backed away, wincing.

“There will be no one to do anything if we do not hurry,” Luna countered. “The journey would do you little good. You need rest. I will be fine, ‘Tia. Alert the Royal Guard and I will depart for Ponyville.”

Celestia laughed at her authoritative tone before inhaling sharply. The world spun and Luna had to catch her again.

Luna gave a wan smile. “Can I trust you to do this, ‘Tia? Or do I need to walk you there?”

“I’m fine,” insisted Celestia. She knew she lied and so did Luna, but what else could they do? Luna nodded before flying off. Celestia let herself stare after her before heading towards the castle.

***

“Spike, a letter!”

Spike, lounging in his basket with his hands behind his head, yelped and sat up. Twilight’s voice originated from the ground floor. Mumbling, he grabbed the blanket twisted around his body and lifted it to one side. Cramming it against the very edge of his bed, he stepped out and dragged himself to the stairs. As he descended them, Twilight’s hoofsteps grew louder.

As soon as he reached the bottom, Twilight turned to him. A quill and a piece of parchment floated over. He stopped stretching his arms and held out his hands to catch them.

“Spike, we don’t have time for naps!” said Twilight. “I need to send a letter to Princess Celestia urgently!”

“Nap? I wasn’t napping!” Spike huffed. “I, uh, was just... resting my eyes! All the reading and dusting made my eyes ache. And besides,” he yawned, “it’s getting late.”

“That’s just it,” said Twilight, jogging over to the window. Light spread throughout the room, rendering the lit candle sitting on the desk below the window useless. “It’s late yet outside you could mistake it for morning. I was reading when the sun rose... at nine o’clock at night!”

Spike wandered over to Twilight’s desk, which she must have moved after he had retired to his basket. Stacked on it were a dozen books. Trust Twilight to stock herself with enough literature to keep her up all night. He never understood why she did that. He couldn’t count the number of occasions he discovered her fast asleep, head against a book-made-pillow. It was one of the only times when he felt like the parent, exchanging her book for something softer and draping a blanket over her. Holding the parchment and quill under one arm, he reached over with the other and pinched the flame of the candle, extinguishing it.

The tomes on the desk caught his eye. Spike picked up the book on top of the pile, curious to know what tonight’s theme was. “‘The Unabridged Biography of the Great and Powerful Trixie’?”

Twilight used her magic to snatch it out of his hand. “Spike, stop snooping! This is important!”

“All right, all right! Geez,” he huffed. Twilight narrowed her eyes. Spike coughed, walking over to the writing easel on the other side of the room to the door. He spread out the parchment and rested the tip of the quill onto it. “I’m ready.”

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, starting to pace. “I noticed that the sun rose far earlier than it should... No. That sounds like I’m telling her off. Let me start again.”

Spike scratched it out.

“Dear Princess Celestia, I couldn’t help but see, as I was doing some late night reading, that morning came surprisingly early. Wait, that doesn’t sound right either.”

Spike scratched it out.

“Dear Princess Celestia, usually the sun doesn’t come out at this time and its unexpected arrival has troubled me. That sounds too condescending. What about ‘I am not sure whether you noticed but it’s far too early for the Sun to rise’? Definitely not!”

Spike rolled his eyes and propped his elbow on the easel, resting the side of his head on his hand.

“Dear Princess Celestia, your decision to raise the sun has caused great confusion and I am unable to understand why you did this. No... don’t put that.” She cleared her throat, not noticing that Spike hadn’t moved. “Somepony raised the sun; I am not saying it was you, but I am informing you of this in case you didn’t notice. No, I can’t say that! Argh! Okay. Dear Princess Celestia, the Sun has risen at a different time as usual and I am unable to figure out why. I am not claiming anything or reaching any hasty conclusions, but this is something I can’t help but notice. There is a near-impossible chance that you did not intend this but I, as your loyal student, feel it is my duty to eliminate this small probability of inadvertence- no, that makes her sound careless. Get rid of it.”

Spike, who started writing out what she dictated partway through her second sentence, groaned before scratching it out.

“You know what, Spike?” Twilight stopped walking. “I think Celestia did this on purpose. Sending a letter to her may make it seem like I don’t trust her judgment, and that wouldn’t be good. Perhaps I shouldn’t send a letter after all.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Spike, rolling up the parchment and walking towards the stairs. “G’night!”

“... But what if that’s the test?” Twilight said. Spike lowered his foot. Twilight began to pace again. “To see whether I mindlessly ignore what happened or whether I check if this abnormality was premeditated. Maybe she wants to see how I deal with this situation?”

“Twilight, you’re overthinking things.”

“Right, because there is sure to be no consequences as Princess Celestia clearly meant to raise the sun and I shouldn’t question her motives because she knows what she’s doing.” Twilight turned to Spike, eyes wide, shoving her face into his. Spike let out a strangled cry. “Or what if there is something wrong? Maybe she didn’t mean this to happen. Okay, Twilight, calm down.” She rested a hoof onto her forehead. “Let’s use the Arousal: Cost – Reward Model.”

Spike removed the books from Twilight’s desk and placed them on the floor. He sat on them.

“Princess Celestia has not replaced the sun with the moon. I cannot leave the situation. She deserves my aid as she has helped me countless times. Costs of doing something can be embarrassment but not helping can leave shame. Benefits would be helping to restore order, praise and a lack of guilt. But if I do nothing and nothing happens, the benefit is avoiding shame. Now to weigh it all up.”

The library door slammed open and Princess Luna strode in, mane billowing behind her. It didn’t sparkle as much as it usually did, but Spike guessed that its radiance depended on whether the sun or moon was out. Twilight jumped, gawking at the new arrival. Spike slipped off the books and bowed, hiding his surprise. He raised his head a smidgen, peeking. Yep. It really was Princess Luna, crystallic shoes and all.

“Wait! Sister informed me about this.” Luna backed out of the building, gently closing the door. Spike and Twilight exchanged bewildered expressions, only breaking eye contact at the sound of knocking.

Twilight answered the door, stepping aside to let Luna in. She marched past Twilight, straightening her back to look as tall as possible. There was something on it.

“I thank you, Twilight Sparkle, and apologise for my uncivilised entrance a moment ago. There are many customs that have arisen in modern times I have not yet learned. Even now, I slip into the dialect of a time long ago if I do not consider each syllable.”

Luna tilted her body to the side. A dark blue chest fell off her back and onto the wooden floor. Twilight recognised it instantly, eyeing its golden edges. Spike walked over, mouth drooling at the various jewels decorating the container.

“The Elements of Harmony...” murmured Twilight. She looked up. “But... why? And why are you here?”

Luna sighed. “Twilight Sparkle, I bring terrible news. My sister sent me here to deliver these to you. Great danger has befallen onto Our home and We fear time is of the essence. A tragedy took place within the castle grounds, sure to spread to the remainder of Equestria with great speed. This occurrence requires the use of the Elements of Harmony. There is no time to dawdle, no time to waste. For every second is precious and We beseech thee-”

“What happened?” asked Spike loudly.

“Right.” Luna breathed in and out. She gazed at them sadly. “My sister and I felt a disturbance in the status quo and its source has just come to light. A young filly, Applejack’s sister, consumed an evil apple and it transformed her into a monster!”

“A monster?” repeated Twilight. “What do you mean ‘a monster’?”

“A monster much like I was once,” Luna explained, eyes dulling. “She encompasses the power to remove cutie marks and she stole my sister’s. My sister is unwell and I took it upon myself to alert you. The Royal Guard has gone after Applejack’s sister to try and divert her attention. She was headed for Ponyville and she will be sure to arrive very soon... most likely to target you and your friends! That is why we must hurry. Gather your friends! Quickly! We have no time to lose!”

“Right,” said Twilight, running to the door. Her face seemed almost vacant as her mind sifted through the information she had just received. “Princess, you stay here with Spike. It’s important you remain unharmed.”

“No!” Spike caught up and grabbed Twilight’s tail. She lurched away, falling over. “You need to be safe too. You're the element of magic, remember?”

“I know I am, but what does that have to do with-?” Twilight looked at her cutie mark before standing up. “Right! I possess the element of magic.”

“And if you lose your cutie mark,” said Spike, “that might take away your element! I mean, yours are the same thing... kind of.”

“He is correct,” said Luna. “It would be dangerous for you to go.”

Twilight groaned. “Point taken. That leaves you, Spike. I need you to get the others and bring them here. You don’t have a cutie mark so you should be fine.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Spike promised. He ran to the door and lingered there, allowing himself another look at them.
Luna stared at him with a frown. He could guess what she was thinking. A small, mulberry purple dragon who lacked the ferociousness of the creatures she typically encountered, venturing outside to perform royal orders. Twilight forced herself to smile. He found it easy to differentiate her expression from her actual mood in a way only family could.

“I’ll be back real soon, I promise,” he assured them. “You’ll be okay, won’t you?”

“The Royal Guard and Canterlot will delay Applejack’s sister and leave you hopefully enough time,” answered Luna.

“You’ll be okay, Spike, right?” said Twilight fearfully.

Spike grinned. “Duh! I’m your number one assistant.” Her smile became more genuine. ”And besides, I don’t have a cutie mark, remember? What could she do to me?”

As the door slammed shut behind him, Twilight whispered, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Comments

[Periphery]

Heh, I've had a tab open for like two weeks with EqD's listing for this story. I never seem to get around to reading the Google Docs ones, though, so now that it's here maybe I'll finally actually read it.

[Dromicosuchus]

Oh my wocks and hoop soons*, it's been an age since I checked up on this story; glad to see you've kept up with it! I'm afraid I've not read the whole thing yet (I read chapter 1 waaay back when it was first posted on EqD, but after that I'm afraid I rather let things slide, and now I've just read chapter 7 without reading any of the bits in between. 'Myes. What can I say, someone in the EqD comments mentioned Nightmare Bloom, and my interest was piqued), so I've not much to note, other than that I love some of the little background details you tossed in here; Luna's social awkwardness and Spike's oddly parental moment were both quite nice. More comprehensive impressions, however, shall be shortly forthcoming once I've made my way through the rest of your story. I've enjoyed what I've read so far; hopefully this gets more attention from the discerning brony public at large!

[Wings of Chaos]

moar

[Sciamancer]

I was expecting this story to be nice and simple, slice-of-life story that most MLP:FiM episodes are. Now it looks to be turning into an epic battle struggle. This is disappointing. I feel deceived and tricked. Pretty much everything after the introduction of Innocence seems very rushed and a lot of it seems too forced. I'm going to continue following this in hopes of it getting better, but now I want a story that's basically the first few chapters of this but without all the ultimate evil catastrophe stuff, just a prank that goes awry. For some reason I was expecting more "slice-of-life, prank goes a bit further than expected and Apple Bloom & CMC learn a lesson about how nothing is set in stone and how forcing yourself to get a cutie mark is a bad idea, except CMC as usual ignores the lesson."

Meh. I'm sure some people will like it, but I've already read a bunch of "epic evil story catastophe" fics which are, no offense, just better written. It seems Chapter 7 ends on a major turning point, though. For all I know you could turn it into a damn-good "epic evil-fighting quest" fic.

[Livi-Love]

938559

Yeah, I just noticed the paragraphs thing. I went back to fix chapter 2 but it just messed up again as soon as I saved the editing. Apologies for that. I'll try and fix it again.

The first few chapters were written a while ago (the first -six- chapters were written months ago), admittedly when I wasn't as good a writer as now. And it being a while ago, it was published on EqD BEFORE Season 2 which is why it says Halloween. I changed that though.

Could you give me some examples of awkwardly worded sentences so I can fix them?

I might rewrite the first few chapters when I have the time. I re-edited them, but it seems I haven't done enough. As for Innocence's rushed/forced introduction and thereafter, I'm not sure if later information on her/it will make it any better but I doubt it will. Which bits are off? What do you think would make it seem less forced?

Applebloom's CMC cape is at the farm, which she didn't want to go back to juuuuust yet. :)

I apologise that this isn't the Slice of Life you were expecting, but the picture and 'One thing for certain is that answering this will send Equestria into chaos' in the description kind of said otherwise. Or maybe you didn't want to spoiler yourself, hehe. I can't really apologise for tricking or deceiving you though. And I don't want to promise that this will be a 'good "epic evil-fighting quest' fic.' One, I might say too much and two, what I might say might still not live up to your expectations.

I must admit that I did play with the idea of the fic just being what you said, but for my first pony fic, I wanted to explore more of the characters and get a grip on some longer storytelling.

I hope I cleared things up. Your feedback is very useful but would be more useful with some examples. Maybe over the messaging system here? I understand if you're too busy though.

[Sciamancer]

943632

Honestly I don't know why I expected it to be Slice of Life. The tags suggested otherwise. I thought the "plunge Equestria into chaos" thing was hyperbole/dramatic flair, but it was quite literal xD really my bad. The first few chapters just gave no hint to the action to come, which I think would have been good for most readers who actually understood the tags/description. Failure on my part

As for awkward sentences, here are two examples. "These strangers took in their surroundings with judgemental eyes and an upturned nose." "an upturned nose?" Do they share a nose? This sentence also tripped me up a bit: "The ever present peace cracked at their voices, which were whiny and high-pitched due to them continuously receiving whatever they wanted whenever they wanted." I would have rearranged it or at the very least reworded it. Maybe something like "Their voices, whiny and high-pitched, shattered the ever-present peace." Perhaps include the "whatever they wanted whenever they wanted" bit in another sentence, or word it in some amazing way I haven't thought of. As it stands, you have worded it so that the voices themselves receive whatever they want whenever they want.

I think part of the reason I thought it would be like how I thought it would be is because the concept would make an amazing ACTUAL MLP:FiM episode, at least in my opinion. I had begun to feel that it was one of those fics that would work as an ordinary episode and then it was shattered by all this... well, stuff that works in a fic but would never happen in real episodes. Probably something that doesn't happen for most. Sorry if my comment earlier seemed harsh. I think I was just in a bad mood for unrelated reasons.

[Livi-Love]

943788

No, no! I don't think you were harsh. I was only curious. Thank you for the examples. I'll get to them as soon as I can. That's the problem with hiatuses... writing styles can change and improve over that amount of time. Like, I've learned that less can say more which is probably why the first few chapters seem a bit off. I suspect if I was to rewrite the whole thing, it would flow better.

What you said would make a good episode! I think I'll go for a slice of life kind of story after this. Short and sweet.