The Pillars' Outing: Part 3
As the Pillars stepped inside the tunnel, the crystalline facets began to light up in different colors, one after the other. Then music started playing in time with the flashes. The instruments sounded futuristic to the six ponies, like the tunes they'd heard playing when they'd passed the music store in Canterlot.
“Welcome to my house! We don't have to go out!”
Somnambula, who was in the lead, turned a corner in the tunnel and gasped.
“What is it?” asked Star Swirl, craning his neck.
“It is the end of the tunnel!” she exclaimed.
“You've got to come see this!” added Flash Magnus, who was right behind Somnambula. “It looks like a fever dream!”
The singing ceased, but the melody continued.
“Why, thank you!” The voice was gritty and masculine, but nonetheless cheerful. “Come in, everypony! I don't get many visitors besides Fluttershy.”
Stygian rounded the bend in the tunnel. The exit was a few pony lengths ahead of him, and beyond the opening was a surreal landscape. Alien fish swam through a midnight blue sky swirled with purple energy. A chunk of land with one pink and one blue tree was suspended in the void. Another floating rock had a trickle of molten lava that Stygian hoped Rockhoof wouldn't notice.
And in an instant, the view was obstructed by a serpentine creature with a goat's head and mismatched limbs. Star Swirl's bells jingled as he walked up just behind Stygian.
“Chaos Lord,” said the older unicorn. “We meet at last.”
The draconequus waved his lion paw. “I prefer to be called the Chaos Unlord, but it never caught on.” He stepped aside and gestured toward the largest floating island, which had a house that appeared almost normal compared to its fantastic surroundings. “Well, come on, let's get better acquainted! I feel like I owe it to you, you know? If it weren't for all of you leaving the realm, I wouldn't have been able to take over Equestria the first time.”
Stygian frowned in thought as he stepped out of the cave and onto the rocky outcrop that ended in a sheer drop a few pony lengths ahead. “You were waiting for us to leave? Were you afraid of us?”
“Ha!” Discord forced a laugh. “Me, the spirit of chaos, afraid? What do you think?”
“I think you were waiting for a softer target,” said Flash. “It was easier for you to use your chaos magic on ponies without us to stop you,” he added, drawing Netitus.
“Of course you would think in tactical terms, Flash Magnus.” The chimera narrowed his eyes for a second before turning to stroll onto the rope bridge that connected the ledge to the island with the house. “But you're both right, in a sense. I sat back and watched you banish the Sirens to a world without magic, and I thought I'd better not trifle with you if there was a chance that you could do the same to me.”
“According to Twilight Sparkle, that other world is a low magic environment, but it's not entirely without magic,” said Star Swirl.
“That's comforting,” Discord said dryly before turning round to glance back at the Pillars. “Aren't you going to join me?” he asked, putting his hands on his narrow hips.
“I do not think that the bridge will hold my weight,” Rockhoof spoke up as he eyed the swaying wooden planks.
“Don't worry, Rockhoof, it's perfectly safe!” As Discord spoke, the entire bridge wobbled and then the planks dropped out from underneath him while emitting melodious chimes. Discord stayed aloft by flapping his asymmetrical wings. He shrugged, raising his arms with his palms facing up.
“Well, as safe as anything can be in this dimension. Here, let me do it the easy way.” He snapped his fingers and the seven friends – plus Discord – were instantly teleported onto the chunk of greenery where the house stood. Stygian didn't question how he and Meadowbrook had been teleported while wearing the brimstone charms. Even Meadowbrook's arts couldn't account for chaos magic.
Discord bent down and pulled on the bottom of his front door, and it rolled up like a modern window shade. “Make yourselves at home!” he said as he jumped inside.
“It's lovely!” said Mistmane. She sounded sincere, which surprised Stygian until he realized she was talking about a carnivorous plant that sat on a little table in the center of the living room.
“And so unique!” she added, reaching her front hoof toward the fly trap. It promptly bit her hoof, but it didn't seem to hurt the mare.
“Be nice!” Discord wagged his finger at the plant. “Or you won't get any flies for supper!”
“Hello, Discord!” said an armchair, wiggling from side to side.
“Hello, Chairy!” The draconequus reached over and patted the back of the chair before turning back to the Pillars. “Would you ponies care for a spot of tea and some finger sandwiches?”
“What's a finger sandwich?” asked Meadowbrook.
“Silly me, I forgot you don't have fingers. Well, no matter, you don't actually need fingers to eat them.” He snapped his fingers, and a small tea trolley rolled up on squeaky wheels.
“'Ello, governor!” said the trolley. “Would you like a spot o' tea?”
“Does all of your furniture talk, Discord?” Somnambula grinned and picked up a dainty cucumber sandwich from the cart. “And where can I get some talking furniture?”
“I'm glad you approve, Namby. Can I call you Namby?” asked Discord, lowering his paw toward the trolley.
The pegasus mare nodded, stuffing the sandwich into her mouth.
“I have a feeling you and I are going to get along swimmingly, Namby.” His head changed into a fish's head before popping back to his version of normal. “I've just started replacing some of my old furniture. I like to keep things fresh, you know?” He made a fist and formed a mouth with his thumb, which gobbled up a sandwich and hiccuped. “I do have a talking wardrobe and other various stuff out back that I'm not using at the moment. If you can move it out, it's yours,” he added, airily waving his talons.
“Truly? Oh, thank you, Discord! Moving it should not be a problem.” Somnambula grabbed another sandwich.
Stygian raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to put a talking wardrobe in the old castle?”
“I am going to put it in my old home, if it is still standing and if nopony else has moved in,” answered Somnambula. “And if my good friends help me,” she added with a coy smile.
“Let's just see what this furniture looks like first before we agree to move it,” said Flash, taking a sandwich in his hoof.
The other Pillars began to eat the sandwiches while Discord poured them cups of steaming hot tea. Although the sandwiches looked identical, they were all different flavors – one tasted like strawberries and another tasted like spicy curry.
“So, tell me,” said Discord, taking a bite out of his teacup, “how is modern Equestria treating you?”
“It's treating us well, I guess,” said Flash, bravely struggling not to wince at the sound of crunching ceramic. “But I'm more concerned about how I'm going to treat it.”
“I see.” Discord's eyes glinted. For a second, Stygian saw the near-omnipotent being who could destroy them all with a snap of his fingers or drive them mad with a touch of his hand.
The draconequus caught the young unicorn's gaze and gave him a snaggle toothed grin as if he knew exactly what Stygian was thinking. “Yes, it is important to think about how you treat Equestria. Wouldn't you agree, Stygian?”
The room fell silent . . . Until the armchair spoke up.
“Awkward!” It sang.
“Oh, hush.” Discord snapped his fingers, making a blanket materialize and cover the piece of furniture. “Now, let's talk about the way we treat Equestria. Personally, I wouldn't mind if creatures spread a little darkness.”
Star Swirl lowered his eyebrows. “You are reformed, aren't you?”
“Reformation is an ever-changing state. You can't just flip on a switch and go from bad to good, can you?” As he spoke, Discord slid over to Stygian and slung his arm around his shoulders. “Come now, Stygian, isn't there a part of you that feels just a teeny bit of resentment?”
Stygian stiffened. “Well . . .”
“I mean, you went to all that trouble assembling a league of heroes, and as soon as Star Swirl joined, your new friends all started following his orders without consulting you. They didn't even thank you!” Discord smirked while Star Swirl shuffled his hooves. The other ponies stayed silent, waiting to hear Stygian's reply.
The burning darkness surged in the back of Stygian's mind before guilt quelled it. “I do feel that way, a little, but it hardly matters anymore. After what I did, I'm lucky just to be back in the Pillars' good graces.”
“Oh, I understand.” Discord lowered his voice and squeezed Stygian more tightly. “You feel guilty for betraying your friends and trying to plunge the world into darkness, and your friends feel guilty for letting you become so dark in the first place, and now things are uncomfortable between you.”
There was another moment of stunned silence. Discord raised his head and gazed at the other ponies. “None of you are willing to say it, but I'm not wrong, am I?”
“I will say it.” Somnambula surprised everyone by flying over and landing in front of Stygian. “Yes, I regret not seeing the signs of darkness in you, Stygian. And I regret giving up hope that you could still be my friend after the darkness took over.” Placing her hoof on Stygian's shoulder, she continued, “You are my friend. I'm sorry I forgot that.”
“I'm sorry too,” said Stygian.
“All is forgiven.” Somnambula wrapped her forelegs and wings around him. “You do not have to apologize again.”
Stygian returned the embrace. “And you don't have to apologize again either,” he said with a smile.
“You mustn't be too hard on yourself, Somnambula,” Mistmane spoke up.
While she'd never been the most talkative member of their group, she'd been quiet since coming to Discord's dimension, even for her. She might have been overwhelmed by the chaos, but it was more likely that she had stood back and read the situation before deciding how to react.
“I knew better than anypony that good ponies can make bad decisions,” she added, walking toward Stygian and Somnambula. “I sacrificed my beauty to change Sable Spirit's heart and inspire her to be the good pony I knew she was deep down in her heart.” She gazed down sorrowfully at Stygian. “And yet I could not see how to do the same for you, my friend.”
Stygian's eyes widened a bit, and then he frowned. “What else could you have sacrificed?”
“Her magic?” suggested Discord.
Mistmane's mouth fell open in astonishment; then she frowned in thought. “If it would have helped the situation, then yes, I would have given you my magic, Stygian. Perhaps you wouldn't have felt like you had to copy our magic behind our backs.”
It took Stygian a moment to find the words to say. “Mistmane, I . . . That's very generous, but I don't think it would have worked. I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. I thought that if I gained power for myself, I would earn your respect, like Rockhoof did with the Mighty Helm.” He peered at Rockhoof, who blinked in surprise.
“Lad, it was only when I stopped trying to impress the Mighty Helm that I gained my strength,” said the giant of a pony. “I was only thinking of saving my village.”
Stygian dipped his head. “I realize that now.” Then he noticed that there was a piece of paper stuck to his chest.
Discord reached down and plucked it off. “There, aren't you glad you got that off your chest?” He crumpled it up and threw it in a trash can that suddenly materialized. “I know how all of you feel,” he added, sounding strangely proud of himself. “I also have one regret in my life.”
“You do?” asked Rockhoof.
“Only one?” asked Flash at the same time.
“Yes,” replied Discord. “I, too, betrayed a friend to gain power, after that friend had been nothing but kind to me. I thought I had found a new friend who could give me more freedom than the ponies did. But it turned out he was just using me to steal power for himself. After he showed his true colors, I knew how badly I had hurt Fluttershy. I mean, my friends,” he corrected himself. “But we've put that behind us, and now our friendship is stronger than ever.” He grinned. “So you see, I understand what you've been through! A year ago I wouldn't have been able to say that with a straight face, but I've come a long way since then!”
“I'm happy for you, cher,” Meadowbrook said with a sincere smile.
“Ah! You called me Cher. I'm flattered!” The black hair on the back of his head grew long and straight, framing his face.
This display was met with blank stares.
“It seems referential humor is lost on you.” Discord whipped the long hair off his head and tossed it over his shoulder. “No matter. If everypony is finished with tea and confessions, let's go out back and have a look at my old junk.” He rubbed his hands together.
“I am ready to look at the things you are willing to give away!” Somnambula's wings quivered with excitement.
“I'm curious about what the spirit of chaos has collected over the millenia,” commented Star Swirl. “Lead the way, Discord.”
“I'll do more than that!” Discord stretched out both arms and grabbed onto one corner of the room – which seemed impossible since there were no gaps or handholds that Stygian could see. Discord tugged on the corner and swept away the entire wall, and then the living room was gone, and they were all standing outside the house. In front of them was a collection of furniture and other knick knacks that had been shoved together. The ponies gasped, Rockhoof loudest of all.
“You have an active volcano!” He pointed his shovel at the mound sitting on top of a desk that was pouring out smoke and lava.
“Actually, I have several,” said Discord. “This one isn't as hot as it once was, so I set it out here with the rest of the things I want to get rid of.”
Rockhoof gaped at Discord. “You want the volcano to be hotter!?”
Folding his arms, Discord countered, “What's the point of having a miniature volcano if it cools off? Eventually it'll just be a miniature mountain, which isn't nearly as much fun.”
“Volcanoes are not fun! It is dangerous to have them too close to your home!”
“You probably just think that because you've never toasted marshmallows and carrots over hot lava,” said Discord, tilting up his head.
Flash flew over to Discord and hovered so that their faces were close. “Actually, Rocky has post-volcanic stress,” he said in a confidential tone.
“Oh.” Discord's eyes widened. “So Rockhoof feels the same way about volcanoes as I do about being turned to stone. Well, since neither of us want to look at the volcano, perhaps you could get rid of it for me with that shovel of yours.” Discord made a digging motion with his arms.
Rockhoof drew his shovel and then hesitated, staring at the volcano.
“Go on, Rockhoof!” Somnambula clapped her hooves. “Let's see how far you can throw it!”
Rockhoof peered up at the busy sky, looking like he was measuring some distance in his head. Then, nodding to himself, he gripped his shovel in his teeth and wedged it underneath the volcano's base. His neck muscles tensed as he flung the volcano into the air. The ponies and Discord watched it soar upward until it seemed like a tiny dot, and then it disappeared with a spark of light and a faint ting sound.
“That takes care of that,” said Discord. “Now, what do you think of my wardrobe, Namby? Do you want it?”
The pegasus mare's excitement faded. “You said it talked,” she said in a disappointed tone.
“It does! At least, it did last time I checked.” Discord's expression became stern as he shook the bookshelf. “Wake up, you hunk of junk!”
“Five more minutes,” the wardrobe murmured in a sleepy tone. “Flippin' son of a biscuit.”
Somnambula breathed in sharply. “It uses colorful language! I'll take it!”
“Up yours, you crazy dame,” muttered the wardrobe.
Discord sighed. “This is why I took it out of the house. I can't have Fluttershy hear that when she comes over to visit.”
“But Fluttershy is not a crazy dame,” said Somnambula.
“Of course she isn't, but the wardrobe just wants to lash out at everypony.” Then he leaned over and stage-whispered, “If you want really colorful language, I have an old hat rack that may interest you.”
The pegasus grinned. “I am most interested, you old son of a biscuit!”
“I'll have you know I was raised by a muffin,” said Discord.
The Pillars spent some time picking through Discord's castoffs. Stygian was amazed to find an item he wanted to keep – a quill that wrote on any surface, even when wet. Stygian couldn't think why Discord wanted to pitch it. Somnambula was the only one who coveted any furniture, although Star Swirl did pry two crystal globes from the clawed arms of a sofa. Meanwhile, Mistmane rescued a tiny ornamental tree that had been tossed out on its crown.
Stygian wasn't sure how long they spent combing through Discord's odds and ends. Every time he thought they were getting to the bottom of the clutter, more treasures would be unearthed. Eventually, Somnambula selected the wardrobe, the hat rack that spewed colored words that hung in the air, a lamp modeled in Discord's likeness, and a torn tapestry that depicted hippopotami in constant motion.
“The only thing that will be difficult to move is the wardrobe.” Somnambula hovered in front of the wooden piece of furniture. “Even if my friends help me, I do not know if it will fit inside my old bedroom, if my old home is still standing.”
“I'm sure there's room for it in our old castle, like Stygian said earlier,” said Mistmane.
“Excellent!” The pegasus placed her hooves on the wardrobe. “We will take the wardrobe to the old castle and I will move the rest to my hometown.”
“As a perfect host, I will take you straight to your castle,” said Discord. He snapped his fingers, and a glowing portal opened in midair, showing the old castle door through it.
Star Swirl raised his eyebrows before clearing his throat. “Much as I'd like to return to the castle, I told Celestia and Luna that we would say goodbye to them before we left Canterlot.” He lit his horn, preparing a teleportation spell. “Mistmane, would you assist me?”
“Don't trouble yourselves. In my dimension, your magic won't work the way you expect.” Discord snapped his fingers once more, and the portal closed and reopened to show the doorway of the royal palace in Canterlot. There was muffled shouting and noises of battle magic coming from the portal.
Discord quickly became uncomfortable, which didn't escape Flash's notice.
“What's wrong?” asked the Royal Legionnaire.
“Wait just a moment.” Discord spread his wings wide and put his entire body up to the portal as if trying to block it – and indeed, Stygian glimpsed very little around the draconequus. “It looks like Celestia and Luna are busy. Yes, very busy. I think you should just go straight to the Castle of the Two Sisters – or the Six Pillars, as it were – and mail them a letter.” Discord snapped his fingers, closing the portal again.
“Too busy to say goodbye?” asked Mistmane, her brow furrowed.
“What are they doing?” asked Stygian.
“And why don't you want us to see?” asked Flash, narrowing his eyes.
Discord ignored Flash's question and answered Stygian's question only. “Oh, you know, just doing their duties as rulers of Equestria. Dealing with foreign relations, national security, that sort of thing.”
“Did you say national security?” Flash frowned. “How could you tell?”
“There were quite a few Storm Yetis with arms, in more ways than one,” answered Discord.
Star Swirl's eyes widened. “Open the portal, Discord. They may need our help!”
“No, they don't!” Discord spread his arms. “All of us have spent many years out of commission and not once did Celestia think of freeing us so we could help them!”
Silence fell as Discord's words sank in.
“That ain't fair, Discord,” Meadowbrook spoke up, walking toward him. “She didn't know you could be reformed, and she didn't even know where we had gone.”
“That's not the point. The point is that Celestia didn't need our help! Equestria hardly had any conflicts until Nightmare Moon returned, and by then she had your successors to deal with them.”
“But Equestria has been attacked multiple times from that moment until we returned,” said Flash. “If we had been around to help, maybe the villains would have been defeated more quickly. Maybe we could have reduced casualties.”
Discord burst into laughter. “You think there were casualties? The only casualty that I'm aware of is King Sombra!”
Stygian arched his eyebrows. “Nopony else was hurt when King Sombra returned?”
“Not when Sombra returned, not when Nightmare Moon returned, not even when I returned!” Discord held his paw to his chest. “Unless you count emotional scarring, but I try to avoid even that. After all, if you break your toys, you can't play with them.”
Flash folded his forelegs. “It would have helped to know this information during my discussion with Celestia.”
“Look on the bright side, Flash,” said Rockhoof. “Maybe you will not have to rebuild the military after all.”
“This makes me wonder,” said Star Swirl, putting his hoof to his chin, “how long we have been here. I have not heard so much as a whisper about Yetis since we returned to the realm.”
“It's hard to say,” answered Discord. “Time flows differently here.” A wall calendar appeared in his claws. The dates slid off the paper and landed on the ground. Shrugging, Discord threw the calendar to the side.
“Could we have been here for days?” asked Mistmane.
“It seemed like just a few hours.” Meadowbrook shook her head in disbelief.
“We should return to Canterlot,” Star Swirl said firmly, “if only to see how Celestia and Luna are fairing.”
“I agree.” Flash readied his shield in his hoof. “Even if they don't need our help, it doesn't hurt to ask.”
“If we're gonna leave, we oughta do it soon.” said Meadowbrook before giving Discord a sweet smile as only she could. “Merci beaucoup mon ami, for your hospitality. I've had a wonderful afternoon, or however long it's been.”
Discord blinked. “Why, thank you, dear Meadowbrook.”
“We'll return here after we make sure everything is all right in Canterlot,” added Somnambula. “I'll leave my things here and come back for them. It will be easy now that we know how to get here. Oh!” Her eyes lit up. “We should show the students where the secret entrance is at the school!”
“Ah-ah!” Discord held up his finger. “I want the foals to figure it out themselves! That's half the fun.”
“You are right, Discord. Your secret is safe with me!”
Star Swirl met Discord's eyes. “Will you open the portal now, please?”
Sighing, Discord replied, “If you insist on checking in on the princesses, I won't stop you.” He made the portal reappear. “But don't expect me to go with you. If they want my help, they'll have to ask for it.”
Stygian peered through the opening. Night had fallen, although since day and night were controlled by magic, this was not a good indicator of how much time had passed. There was a faint rhythmic sound, but other than that, the throne room was quiet.
“Either it's the end of the world, or everypony's asleep,” Discord commented wryly.
“We'll find out soon enough,” said Star Swirl. He stepped up to the portal and glanced at the others over his shoulder before leaping through. The other ponies swiftly followed him. Stygian gazed around, nearly blind in the darkness, before he remembered that he could illuminate his horn. He did so, as lights from Star Swirl and Mistmane joined his. Scorch marks and scratches were visible on the marble floor, and black rubble littered the surface.
“What happened here?” asked Flash.
“I do not see any blood,” commented Rockhoof, swiveling his head to scan the throne room. “Come,” said Star Swirl, pivoting to face the doorway. “The music is coming from outside.”
“That is music?” asked Rockhoof, twitching his ears.
“I could see it growing on me,” commented Flash.
Using his magic, Star Swirl pushed open the double doors. The Pillars trotted down the hallway until they reached the main entrance to the castle, as the beat grew louder. Star Swirl opened the second pair doors, and the friends beheld a celebration. Lights were projected onto a stage on the far end of the lawn where a pegasus with a yak-inspired hairstyle was performing, while ponies and Yetis swayed to the rhythm between the castle and the platform.
One of the ponies darted out of the crowd and galloped up to them – Stygian quickly recognized her poofy mane and tail.
“You made it!” squealed Pinkie Pie. “I didn't think you got my invitation!” She hugged Somnambula before turning to the others, flashing a winning smile.
“What invitation?” asked Somnambula. “And what is going on here?”
“That's what I'd like to know. Are the yetis just here for a party?” Flash scratched his head.
“No, they crashed our party in a major way, but most of them are good now so we let them stick around! It's a long story.”
“I love stories!” Rockhoof smiled. “Tell us all about it.”
“Well, it all started when my friends and I were getting ready for the Festival of Friendship . . .”
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I saw one author use the term "raiju" for the storm beasts.
9632876
Raiju would translate to thunder beast so it kind of fits.
Well OK why no pillars or Discord in the movie, Discord being trollish and keeping the pillars busy, guess that works. The Gameloft game gave a good explanation for Trixie, Starlight and the CMC. They where busy fighting one of the Storm King's Yeti generals in Ponyville, with over the top musical number of course!
I'm not sure where it was posted, but I do believe one of the people that worked on the movie did actually say they were the pony world's yetis.
Interesting explanation for where Discord and the Pillars were during the movie. Fits with the show canon for Discord where he really only helps out when he feels like it, and even then has a very roundabout way of doing so.
As for the Pillars, and similarly Starlight, I personally grew a headcanon from Twilight's spell being deflected by a storm guard's shield that the Storm King's army was equipped to counter magic. They were led by a unicorn after all, and were attacking a kingdom that relies heavily on magic. So minimizing that advantage would just be pragmatic, and would result in a lot of powerful magic users being rendered ineffective.
Well, that explains where the Pillars were during the movie.
Missing spaces.
9632876
In this case, I think that "storm creatures" is used to refer to the Storm King's minions -- "storm" in this case comes from their association with the Storm King rather than association with actual storms. Given that the mythological raijū was explicitly linked with lightning and storms, and that its depictions don't really look much like the movie's bipedal pseudo-yetis -- it was usually an electrogenic four-legged mammalian creature or living ball lightning -- it doesn't strike me as the best name for the Storm King's soldiers.
Can't say I'll ever like Discord. He's done way too many rotten things to be completely clean.
finally a shorter name than Somnambula
9632876
9632903
According to the MLP wiki page on the Storm Creatures, their original four-legged design was based on raiju, but the final design is closer to the yeti.
9632939
That would fit nicely with my headcanon about the hippogriffs having little magic of their own besides flight magic, but being expert magical engineers. This would make them the ideal creatures for Celestia to ask for aid - who better to figure out how to use the Storm Yetis' crystal-bombs against them?
9633120
Fixed, thanks. Looks like I had a coding problem.
9633484
Yeah, her given name is as difficult to say as it is to type.
9633643
I think the crystal bombs were explained to be rare magical artifacts he'd stolen from another kingdom he'd conquered in one of the comics, and if a supposed deleted scene is to be believed Celestia was going to send for their help because the hippogryphs had a more powerful military than Equestria.
Though her not knowing they'd already been conquered was an interesting, if likely unintentional, detail I thought that lined up nicely with how little Equestrians seemed to know of the outside world in the early seasons.
The idea of them being skilled magical engineers is actually pretty interesting though, and I could see being a very useful skill to have with their ability to transform.
I see what you did there... clever. Very clever. It also appears that we have arrived at the same conclusion for Somnambula's nickname.
The interactions between Discord and Stygian were beautifully written, and Discord's general chaos was emulated well. Each one of the Pillars has unique character moments without any overpowering the other or feeling forced. Overall, well worth the wait.
9633834
I'm glad you liked it! I feel like Star Swirl, Meadowbrook, and Flash were sidelined despite my best efforts, but I felt like it would have dragged out the chapter too long if I gave them each a scene as momentous as Stygian's. But hopefully the balance feels good enough.
Yay! Loved it
Nice to see you finally finished this. As for suggestions. I recall the comics had Stygian meet his descendant. Wonder how that would play out in your stories. Or have Star Swirl meet the new Changeling Kingdom since he indirectly created them on the Fiendship is Magic series.
9633894
so this is a good story
but it feels like it got cut short
like
that ending doesn't feel much like an ending
and there were so many unused plot threads that got set up
9636173
I get that. But this story was always intended to be episodic, and honestly, even though I had a burst of inspiration again, I kind of just wanted to be done with this story after what happened with my file. But like I said, I may revisit the Pillars in the future.
Oh goodness, he would channel Pee-Wee's Playhouse.
Heh. I never thought of Songbird Serenade as sporting a yakish manestyle, but it does fit.
In any case, very nice bow on top of the story. Thank you for it.
9636736
I was wondering if anyone would catch the Peewee's Playhouse reference. Glad you liked the ending.
9632939
To be honest, I feel that having anti-magic shields means that you neutralized the magic users completely isn’t exactly true. Telekinesis can bypass their armor because the projectiles are non-magical.
Imagine you are facing an army that boasts the best magic immunity gear possible. Then as an arch magi your solution to that is to drop a few dozen meteors on them or just collapse/flip the ground they are standing on. Problem solved. The issue is that most spells learnt by the average unicorn are direct magic so the advantage is still there. Is just the more advanced casters like Twilight who can just literally flip the entire plaza upside down spontaneously forgetting their spells list just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
There is more to magic than just spamming Magic Arrow after all.
9642457
Well it doesn’t seem to be a combat expert. I mean when she was battling Tyrik all she was doing was firing magic missile repeatedly. She’s a scholar not a warrior
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Yeah but even as a scholar wouldn't the idea of using telekinesis to hurl or indirectly manipulate huge objects still come to mind? You would think while escaping she would rack her brains about how to fend of the Storm Guard the next time they meet now that she knows about their anti-magic gear.
It's shown that she can levitate an Ursa Minor as a unicorn so power isn't an issue. You would think for all of her knowledge she just had to use magic indirectly on them instead.
Twilight's spell list being nerfed in the movie is considered one of the lesser acknowledged pet peeves with how she got too simplified for the first-timers. Not even her spell arsenal in the first episodes were that small. (see: teleportation)
In the fight with Tirek, she is too angry to think straight (blowing up her house has that effect) so it's understandable why.
In the liberation of Canterlot, even Rarity was able to beat them with AJ's lasso and some ribbons.
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So Stormbreaker then?
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Then again Twila got backed into a corner by garblue during the gauntlet of fire she doesn’t seem to think straight when she is in life or death situations I know equestrians allies weren’t written into the movie script but I am sure given time the Jackson or dragons would have done a counterattack to storm King eventually one can hope
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Ok, you got me at the “not thinking straight in life or death situation part”.
There is a possible second reason during the gauntlet of fire. It’s that since this is the dragon’s version of an election, them fighting back may count as outside interference.
I really enjoyed reading this story. Gave a lot of insight into the different Pillars and also their outing had plenty of delightful references.
It was just a very nice read.
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Thank you! Glad you liked it.
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Cool.
I reread it and...
Warning, swearing and cussing ahead. This being a Conker's Bad Fur Day.
https://youtu.be/-dfKhArJt9A
https://youtu.be/tEdk2jZ0Fdc
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I haven't watched the episodes with the Pillars in a while, but I'm almost positive they said "Pillars of Light."
France is considered to be a developed nation. The developmental stage of a nation is determined by a number of factors including, but not limited to, economic prosperity, life expectancy, income equality, and quality of life.
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The Wonderbolts threw RD's best friends off a cliff, invited her to hang with them at the grand galloping gala only to give her the cold shoulder the whole time, the Wonderbolts threw RD in a trashcan and laughed at her pain then punished her for not enjoying it, the Wonderbolts wanted to punish her because their leader Spitfire abandoned them again, the Wonderbolts sat back and watched RD's parents try to kill them and their audience, and the Wonderbolts abandoned their own second in command. How can you ever say the Wonderbolts are not thugs.
I'm going to Disney World!