The Persistence of Destiny

by Cold Bolt

A Crescendo of Charity

"No, seriously," said Starlight. "How do you recognize an enchantment like that without mana sensitivity?"

The party trotted along under moonlight once more. If not for the threat of eternal night literally hanging over them, Starlight would have been content to stare at the sky for hours; true to her name, she usually found the sight of the stars twinkling peacefully to be quite soothing. Under the circumstances, she fought to suppress a bitter sigh instead, preferring conversation to take her mind off things.

"Oh, exposure mainly," the Doctor mused. "It takes practice to notice the subtle variations between natural sensations and those magically induced, you see. The fight-or-flight response is a tricky one on both sides of the equation, but it surprises me little to see the likes of Nightmare Moon capable of such a feat."

Starlight stared at him. "So you've seen enough enchantments that you can recognize them from feel alone? That's really impressive."

The Doctor chuckled. "I was quite the adventurer in my youth! I could tell tales of my exploits for hours if we had the luxury of them."

Starlight blinked. "What do you mean, 'in your youth'? You can't be that old."

"That's another long story, I'm afraid," he admitted, glancing back at the hourglass on his flank. "Suffice it for the time being to say that you likely haven't guessed what I got this for!"

Starlight opened her mouth, then closed it without speaking. She hadn't spared the matter any thought before, but now she was intensely curious. What did his cutie mark mean?

She lost the opportunity to ponder the matter when her ears picked up the sound of rushing water. Before long, the six of them stood on the bank of a raging river at least a dozen meters wide.

Starlight blinked, staring at it for a few seconds. Why did it seem so familiar?

Sunset tilted her head. "Huh. Well, this shouldn't be too hard to deal with."

Rainbow gave Derpy a pat on the shoulder. "Ready for a workout, girl?"

"I... I guess so," said Derpy, sliding out of her saddlebags. "It doesn't look super far or anything, so it should be fine!"

Dropping her bracers and flexing her forelegs, Rainbow looked over the four grounded ponies. "Okay, who wants to go first?"

"Reckon I'll give it a go," said Applejack.

"Same," added Sunset as she turned to Starlight. "Think you can keep an eye on us just in case?"

Starlight gingerly rubbed her horn. "I'm still kind of burned out after that teleport..."

Sunset winced sympathetically. "We should be fine, anyway. It's not far."

With that, Rainbow hooked all four legs around Applejack's barrel, and Derpy did the same with Sunset. While it looked a little silly, they were far more concerned with getting across quickly.

"Okay. And a one, and a two, and... lift!"

Starlight watched as the two pegasi flapped hard; though Rainbow was visibly the stronger flier, the two made it into the air with relative ease. It was then that she thought she saw movement under the water, and her heart skipped a beat.

Suddenly, Starlight realized why the river was familiar to her.

A dark shape was growing, rising up from the river bed just as four ponies hovered over it.

"Stop, come back!" Starlight waved her forelegs frantically. "Look out! There's something in the - "

Her warning came too late.

A long, serpentine tail lashed out of the water, four ponies screaming in alarm as it coiled around them in a blink. The other end of the creature surfaced beside its prize, its eyes flashing from beneath a strangely well-kept orange mane as it gazed down its moustached purple snout at them.

"We-he-hell, look what we have here," declared the creature in a silky voice as he looked over his captives. "It's not often I see ponies this deep in the forest. You're a rare catch indeed!"

"Let us go, you big ugly jerk!" snarled Rainbow.

The serpent gasped, raising a hand to its forehead. "Oh! Well, I never!"

Power began charging in Sunset's horn. "Let's see how you like a taste of - " Her sentence and her spell both ceased as the air was squeezed from her lungs.

"Ah-ah, can't have that now," scolded the serpent.

Sunset fumed from within her scaly prison even as she gasped for breath. "Just once... will somebody... let me get a freaking shot off?!"

From the sidelines, Starlight readied a spell in Sunset's place... but dropped it almost immediately. Grimacing, she raised a hoof to her horn. "Ow ow ow... come on, you useless...!"

"It's been ever so long since I've caught myself any ponies," said the serpent. "And what a lively bunch! Good timing, too; I've been feeling rather peckish of late..."

Five faces paled. The sixth breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, you're hungry?" In spite of her predicament, Derpy smiled. "Well why didn't you say so? I've got tons of muffins in my saddlebag! You're welcome to have one if you let us go."

The serpent laughed. "You think a single measly muffin will sate my hunger? My, how amusing you are!"

Derpy bit her lip and giggled nervously. "Um, well... I guess you can have them all then! It's okay, don't worry; I'm not all that hungry right now anyway..."

The serpent snorted at them. "You continue to miss the point, possibly deliberately." He raised a comically undersized hand to his chin, looking thoughtful. "I'm thinking something pony-sized ought to satisfy me."

Derpy shivered as she and her friends squirmed uselessly in the serpent's grasp.

"But I'm feeling especially nice today," he continued. "I'll let you make the decision amongst yourselves. I only plan to eat one of you, and the rest can pass freely."

"No deal!" snarled Applejack. "Let us go!"

The serpent raised the squirming ponies to his eye level, fixing a cold glare upon them. "I wouldn't recommend that. I have no qualms about eating all four of you if need be, even if it'll give me a tummyache later on. Ponies are too tasty to pass up, you see."

A desperate second attempt at magic left Starlight gasping for breath and clutching her head.

"Miss Glimmer, stop!" The Doctor put a foreleg over her shoulders. "Your horn hasn't healed yet. You're as like as not to pass out if you keep that up!"

"I have... to save them..." she panted. "Can't... can't let him..."

There had to be an answer. There had to be! She couldn't bear the thought of getting other ponies eaten because of her own mistake. Her heart skipped a beat as the answer came to her - there was no other way.

"...me. P-please... eat - eat me."

Until another made the decision for her.

"Please," Derpy begged, trembling. "Just... just eat me and let them go!"

"No!" The Doctor made to dash forward reflexively, stumbling as he stopped himself from tumbling into the river. "Derpy, don't do this!"

"I... I promised." Derpy's voice was barely audible over the rushing water. "I p-promised you guys could - could count on me. I have to do this, for Ponyville... for - for Equestria...!"

"June bug, this ain't what I meant," pleaded Applejack. "I didn't mean you oughtta go and throw your life away."

"But - but you also said we... we might not all m-make it back," said Derpy.

Applejack winced and said nothing.

"I'm no-nopony special," Derpy continued. "I'm not a... a warrior, or an inventor, or a t-time traveler. All I do is... deliver mail and - and bake muffins. You guys are - are the ones who need to find the Elements." She swallowed, choking back a sob. "...Not me."

Before the others could offer any more objections, the serpent's grip slackened just enough that he could pluck Derpy in one scaly claw. He flung the rest of the ponies back onto solid ground beside Starlight and the Doctor, where they tumbled roughly to a halt.

"In all my years, I have never seen a creature so eager to be eaten," said the serpent, holding Derpy tightly. "Sure this is what you want, then?"

Derpy squeezed her eyes shut as tears streamed down her face. "A-as... long as you p-promise my - my friends will be safe...!"

The serpent licked his lips. "As you wish~"

Shaking like a leaf, Derpy sobbed as she waited for the end.

And waited.

...and waited.

"No."

The sound of the serpent's voice caused Derpy to slowly open her eyes, one at a time.

"No," he repeated, staring straight at the pony in his claw. "I... I won't do it. You can't make me!"

Derpy blinked. "H... huh...?"

The serpent clutched his head with his other claw as though struck by a terrible headache. "I won't eat this cute, selfless little pony! You can't make me!"

With that, he tilted his head back and let out an anguished wail. The sound of shattering glass rang out, and fragments of something ethereal flew out of his skull and vanished. His claw fell open, causing Derpy to tumble free and plummet toward the river... only to be swept up in Rainbow's forelegs inches above the raging water.

The next thing she knew, Derpy was surrounded by ponies all nuzzling her reassuringly as she fought to steady her ragged breaths and calm her pounding heart.

The serpent wept openly, covering his eyes with his claws. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me! I haven't eaten a pony in two hundred years now. I promised her I would never do it again..."

Starlight had a hunch she knew who he was talking about.

"Please," begged the serpent. "I'll do anything if you'll just forgive me...!"

This was more of Nightmare Moon's work; that much was obvious. Starlight opened her mouth to speak, but for the second time, another beat her to it.

"I forgive you," said Derpy in a small voice.

Five ponies and a serpent stared at her.

"You know what you did was wrong, you apologized, and... and you're trying to make amends," she explained as she wiped her face on her foreleg. "So... of course I forgive you."

The serpent took a deep breath. "You're too gracious by half, I mean it..." He took a bow. "So what can I do for you? Just give the word!"

Seeing the rest of the party's hesitation, Starlight cleared her throat. "We're trying to get to the Castle of the Two Sisters, deep in the forest."

"Oh! Well, you're most of the way there already," said the serpent, pointing at something behind him. "It's just down this path, you see! But the bridge washed away long ago... and that gives me an idea!"

With a quick twist that made his back pop noisily, the serpent stretched his body across the river, connecting the two banks.

"Oh, that's perfect!" Starlight smiled, motioning toward the others. "Come on, let's go!"

After taking a moment to gather their things, the ponies marched single file over the serpent's spine, making the river crossing with ease.

As soon as they were all safely across, the serpent straightened up once more. "If you're ever in the area again and need any help, all you have to do is ask."

"Of course." Derpy waved at him. "We have to go now, so we'll see you later!"

"Do stay safe!" The serpent waved as the ponies trotted away down the path.

Comments

[titanhades70]

Another great chapter. This story always brightens my day.

[Sun Sage]

Quite a bit darker, this rendition of history. Wonder why that is...
Regrettably, I've reached the point where I'll be waiting for an answer. See ya next go round!

[Venlinelle]

Starlight blinked. "What do you mean, 'in your youth'? You can't be that old."

I adore how every writer in this fandom just treats Doctor Hooves and the Doctor as the same character.