Chapter 97: FMP pt. 7 Return
Ranger
Chapter 97: FMP pt. 7 Return
By Wanderer D
"What exactly happened in there?" Bradford asked, once he had guided Sunset to an empty room and motioned for her to sit down.
"I… don't know," Sunset admitted, "I think she managed to somehow—through my blood magic and the gem—see a glimpse of what happened to her."
Bradford sat down too, a slightly haunted look in his face. "If a glimpse made her scream like you had ripped her eyes out, I can't imagine what facing the real thing would be like."
"It's... " Sunset sighed, "I think that she saw more than even I could. She rode the magic, the memories… what she saw, it went beyond a physical appearance, or obvious changes. It deeply disturbed her, beyond that."
Bradford sighed. "Do you want to give them some time and try again? You didn't seem to get much information."
"I wonder," Sunset sighed, then yawned. "I'm sorry, I-I wasn't tired until now and…"
"Sunset?" Bradford asked, curious, then a bit more worried, "Sunset?"
"I'mma be okay…" she mumbled, crossing her arms and resting her head on them. "Just five…"
She looked around, she was standing in a white emptiness. All around her was white, there was no shadow, no up or down.
"...minutes? Um… Bradford?" She turned, more than slightly spooked. "Central?" A pause. "Dad?"
She felt as if the world was spinning, or maybe she was, but without anything around her, the sensation was incredibly unpleasant to the point of not knowing whether she should feel sick and throw up or if it was all in her mind.
Slowly, the world around her formed into familiar walls, and curtains, a bed and carpet, and a familiar mare.
Celestia sat on her bed, staring down at her copy of the diary. Sunset recognized the signs: The day was over… Celestia had gotten through Day Court and her duties were complete for now.
Usually, she would be drinking tea, and reading a book, but this time, she wasn't. She kept her eyes on the diary, obviously expecting it to do something.
It didn't.
Sunset could see the frustration and anger in Celestia. Just as she knew the signs of post-Day-Court, she knew the signs of frustrated Celestia.
"Oh my, but you do seem despondent."
Sunset… knew that voice. And apparently so did Celestia.
The Princess closed her eyes tiredly. "Discord… this is really not the time."
'Discord? But he sounded just like Geist!'
"Au contraire, Celestia!" the disembodied voice countered, "this is the perfect time for a bit of… randomness."
Celestia let out a long sigh, then opened her eyes and glared up at the floating head of her erstwhile enemy. "Things are not ideal right now, Discord, and I wou—"
"Oh, I know!" The head fell, bouncing on her bed and rolling to a stop on the floor. "I heard that our dear Twilight is in another dimension! How exciting is that?!"
The head winked at Sunset, who simply blinked in return.
Celesta, however, glared at him. "Not exciting at all! She's in a war-torn world along with my daughter!"
Sunset grimaced. It was clear that Discord could see her, but Celestia couldn't.
"Your daughter? When did you get busy?" Discord asked, looking genuinely surprised.
Celestia's cheeks turned rosy red. "Adoptive daughter, her name is Sunset Shimmer." She shook her head and gave him a wary glance. "I don't suppose you have the power to bring them back safely?"
Discord materialized fully in the room, seating on the sofa and looking pensively at his claws. "I don't know Celestia, why would I ever want to do that?"
"Kindness?"
"Ohohoho, no. I don't think that would be quite enough for that." Discord wiggled his eyebrows.
Celestia looked down at the diary. "They're risking their lives every day there, Discord… Sunset is always on combat missions, and Twilight… she's…" Celestia trailed off, sniffling a little.
Discord shrugged and grabbed the diary. Before Celestia or Sunset could protest, he flipped the pages, and then tossed it back onto the bed.
"I hate to break it to you, Celestia, but Sunny!Two never said she was okay with being your daughter," he pointed out. "Now, I admit that I do horrible things to ponies for my own entertainment, but I am at least honest about it. What you want to do, is choose for Sunset what her life is to be."
He snorted.
"And your student is jealous."
"Wait," Sunset spoke up, "Jealous? Of who?" But neither of the two acknowledged her.
Celestia frowned, her self-pity seemingly forgotten. "Watch what you say, Discord. I only want what's best for my—for Sunset Shimmer and Twilight, and it's bad enough that my hooves are tied and I feel useless enough to even consider asking you for assistance."
"Oh really?" Discord asked, floating forward and getting in Celestia's face. "You think that you can tear her away from everything she's built; all the wonderful chaos she's been involved with—and she'll just… what? Thank you for it?"
Celestia opened her mouth to speak.
"Be happy?" Discord interrupted. "You think she won't go mad with Blood Magic? That she won't despair about her friends just like you are now despairing for her?"
Celestia closed her mouth, looking down, the stubborn frown still in her face. "Even if not here, she should be somewhere where she's happy."
Discord rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. A small, nebulous cloud of energy formed and in the middle, they could see who could only be Sunset in her human form, standing proud in battle armor in front of a large crowd of other bipedal beings.
All three watched and listened to her in silence, then the cloud faded away.
Celestia's eyes were tearful. "Oh, my Little Sun…"
Discord made gagging noises. "She just promised her dead friend to see him through the war," Discord pointed out, smirking at Celestia. "And you just want to take her away from it? How deliciously hypocritical and selfish."
"I just want them both safe, Discord!" Celestia snapped. "If you have the power to do it, why wouldn't I ask for your help? I'm trying to be supportive, but I'm stuck here and they are both there. I want them back because they'll be safe and happy here! All I can do is write letter after letter and pretend that I'm strong and fine! I'm tired of not being able to do anything! I love Sunset! And I miss my student! What's wrong with that?!"
"Nothing, I suppose," Discord shrugged. "But we're talking about a grown mare here who left to forge her own life."
"She was unfortunate enough to arrive at that horrible place," Celestia said, "I'm proud of what she has accomplished but… I'm sure that if she had arrived in a much more safe world, she would have been happier. Even now, she would be happier somewhere else."
Discord snorted once more. "Would you like to see what would happen?"
The image depicting the scene slowly faded away, and Sunset was stuck again in the whiteness.
"So, what do you think?"
She jumped and turned around, glaring at the chimeric creature across from her. "This was all what? A bet?"
"Heaven forbid!" Discord said, raising his lion paw to his chest. "Nonono. It was… a favor."
Sunset crossed her arms. "I somehow doubt that. A favor for who?"
"Why, Celestia, of course! And if you get some clues in the process, how can you complain?"
"Some warning would have been nice!"
"And spoil the surprise?" Discord cackled, then smirked. "Celly needed to see what would happen if you were taken away from your home just because she felt you'd be happier somewhere else. Guess what happened? You went straight back to the military after some random violence."
"Sunset?" a voice hesitantly asked.
Sunset stiffened, turning around slowly.
Celestia was there, in all her glory… looking scared. "Is it really you? I'm sorry, Sunset, I couldn't stop him… he plucked your consciousness before I could get a word in and made me watch the whole thing..." Celestia said, taking a deep breath, then smiling slightly, she approached Sunset, walking around and studying her. "So this is what you now look like, in person… it's different even from seeing it in those visions."
Sunset shuffled in place, unsure of what to do, so she glanced at Discord. "How did you do this?"
"Well, let's see…" Discord snapped his fingers and a purple crystal statue of Twilight appeared, and right next to it, one of Sunset, although for some reason she looked like a filly.
"Let's say," Discord started, "that the multiverse has several versions of all of us around it. Similar enough at times, but all different, even if in the end they're us." He summoned a giant hammer and crushed the Twilight statue into pieces. Each of the fragments flew into the air and into small bubbles, hovering in place, while a larger bubble surrounded the filly Sunset figurine.
"Now, if we grabbed Swee—Sunset here, and magically move her from one to the other as she is…" Filly Sunset was levitated and pushed out of the bubble, but the bubble popped. "...the universe can't really handle it."
"Right," Sunset said, giving him a slightly bemused look, "Except that the Law of Magical Duplication would prevent that, unless I was so integral to its existence tha—" her eyes widened.
Discord grinned. "Exactly, so, what do we do? Well, as young Starswirl once said to me when I was bored, we dilate time and space, and move the consciousness along…"
A ghostly form of the figurine separated from it and moved up to where the fragment was, just as another, similar ghostly figure was pushed into the first one.
"And we exchanged minds for a little bit..."
"Indeed," Discord said, looking at his claws with plenty of satisfaction. "Smart, huh?" He sighed, over dramatically. "Alas, even my magic can't rip you away completely from a world where your existence is currently so tightly tied to, and bring you to your non-mom against your will. But I figured she could see what would happen if we did just that regardless."
He grinned. "And it was glorious. The first thing you did was go John Wick on your counterpart's buddies. I guess they're lucky there were no pencils around."
"It wasn't my best moment," Sunset growled, "I had no warning! What did you expect?! To smile and just blindly accept a new reality? I don't even know those girls… other than Rainbow Dash, and all things considered, the word 'know' would be a stretch.
"And I have duties! Promises to fulfill! People that might die if I'm not there for them! Do you know how Sunset in that world defeated the Assassin, the Hunter and their sister?" she waved her arms in the air in frustration, "They sang a song!" She went pale. "Oh. Oh no. Don't tell me I have to sing to the Assassin."
"That still leaves the question… why?" Celestia said more soberly, letting Sunset ramble and turning to look at the draconequus. "Really, Discord? Why bother with all of this?"
Discord looked slightly uncomfortable. "I'll let you two talk." He then rolled up like a curtain, and blinked out of existence.
Sunset sat on nothing, arms around her knees. She had ran out of complaints eventually and after an awkward pause, simply took a seat. Across from her, sitting patiently—but not less regally—was Celestia.
"I really did not intend for Discord to cause this."
"But he did." Sunset looked down. "I don't want to sound ungrateful to your worry, Celestia, but I'm not your daughter."
Celestia didn't answer, simply closing her eyes and looking down.
"You know how much I wanted it… it wasn't meant to be," Sunset said, still not looking up, "I missed you. I still do… but that ship sailed too long ago."
"Is it really impossible?" Celestia's voice was soft. "I watched you in that other world… you seemed so happy that the other Sunset found a father… even so late in life. Is it really so hard?"
"Bradford is different."
"How?" It wasn't accusatory. And somehow, that hurt more to hear.
"He… both of them, in both worlds, saw my need to be recognized. That my ambition could be guided, not… quelled."
"I didn't want you to—"
"Have false expectations?" Sunset chuckled, "if you saw, you know… even in his world, I still reached too far. How else am I supposed to learn, Celestia? With gentle prevention? Never be hurt, never taste defeat or consequence?"
"There were plenty of consequences, Sunset… isn't that why you ran away?"
"I ran away because I just couldn't stand you being disappointed in me!" Sunset snapped, looking up at the princess. "Because, no matter what I did I wasn't good enough to be your daughter, or a princess or your chosen! Because at some point, you made your mind up about me, and I was never going to be good enough for anything! I didn't want pity! I wanted recognition from you! Who cares about other ponies adoring me? They were easy to impress! Memorize a spell that they couldn't! Remember an obscure fact! And then they would all praise me!"
She looked away. "Getting praise like that is easy when you're the Princess' apprentice. If I had been a normal unicorn at your school… maybe the teachers would have liked me, but I wouldn't have brown-nosers trying to gain my favor." She snorted. "But my achievements… my small accomplishments meant nothing to you."
"They did," Celestia said gently, "all you did, I cared for. All your dreams, I wanted to make true."
"You just fostered the ones that would send me away." Sunset sighed. "It took me some time to grow, Celestia, but when I did, I learned that you can't have everything you want, just because you want it. Maybe I had a chance…" She trailed off, smirking, then shook her head. "I never had a chance. Not back then, when I wanted it."
"You don't want it now?" Celestia asked, her voice a whisper.
Sunset bit her lip. The answer was tight in her chest. She struggled. She didn't want to say it. She had to shout 'no'.
"Yes." She she took a sharp, short breath. "Yes. Fuck it all. Yes, I want it. But I can't have it."
She heard the sound of feathers shuffling, and suddenly, gently, fur pressed against her cheek, a slight weight on her right shoulder. Celestia's voice came from there. "Why not?"
Slowly, hesitantly, she raised her arms, sliding them around both sides of Celestia's neck. Feathers brushed her skin, the fur felt soft and warm. Sunset wrapped her arms fully around the princess.
"I betrayed you. Any claim I could have is gone. I took a book of forbidden magic… I betrayed Equestria. I stole a magical artifact of ancient power and got a princess trapped away from her friends, family and home… I can never go back or I'll go mad. I gave my loyalty to another world…" she felt a sob rising, and fought it, managing to only snort, "why now? Why now?"
Celestia's wings wrapped around Sunset, gently, but firmly. "Because ancient alicorn mares can be stupid too," she whispered, "and not recognize things when they should have. Sometimes… they can be too stubborn to realize that they love somepony enough to let go of their old fears and heartache."
"I have a quasi-dad, you know?" Sunset sniffled.
"We'll have shared custody." Celestia shifted and nuzzled Sunset. "I'm proud of you. So proud. I'll make sure Discord minds his own business."
"I guess… we can give it a try." Sunset released a deep breath, sinking into Celestia's embrace. "Thanks… mom."
o.0.o End Chapter 97 o.0.o
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So, Celestia is Sunset's mom, and Bradford is Sunset's dad. Now Bradford and Celestia just need to get together and we'll have a happy little family!
;u;
I am going to be more than a little upset if Sunny doesn't get some wings by the end of this story.
Deus Ex Discord. Heartfelt confessions just dont come across the same through the pages of a diary i guess.
8937543
ohhh, alicorn sunset laying waste to the elders, now there's a thought.
This paragraph is the climax of Sunset-Celestia adoption conflict plot. How Celestia handle Sunset before is highly upsetting. This paragraph flashed all that previous chapter of unintentional callousness to the forefront. But, It's good to let go the rage of Celestia to appreciate Sunset's bittersweet moment of familial warm.
This paragraph makes the moment more bitter because Sunset still can't go back home for fear of turning feral. A bittersweet indeed.
Pic of this scene.
after this chapter I need to took a pill for diabeetus, because this exploded my counter for cuteness!! thanks!
He was going to say Sweetie Belle, was he? From the Sweetie Chronicles, right?
Is what Discord said going to have a huge impact on the Fragment series?!
" If you have the power to do it
1. Just an extra spacing here.
Guess we know what caused this scene to unfold. The Double D's (Wanderer and John).
8937679 Fixed! Thanks!
8937579
Yet. We've already been told that it's not impossible to overcome bloodmagic and Luna is working on it. Sunset also has Twilight in her corner and we know what she and the elements are capable of.
Also let's not forget Sunny One and her letters, they've already changed things from cannon and we don't know what else they could change or what future roles people such as Giest (local Discord) and Vahlen could still play in Sunny Two's developement.
Aw, I was hoping that Sunset had moved on. That's not explored often enough.
soooo..... for some reason I feel like it would have been stronger without Sunset capitulating so easily on the mom thing... but it was cute, and a nice way to wrap up this arc.
A big part of me wants Sunset to prove Aria wrong, and have her save Aria and Sonata... I think there is more there about Adagio... that being said, this story hasn't shied away from killing some of the Mane 5, so she could just be super dead I guess.
Also... I think that Sunset's only shot of ending up back in Equestria is after beating the aliens and figuring out a way to immunize herself from the blood magic side effects. My mind says this can only be done with her gaining alicornhood in the middle of burning herself up by using the crown to throw magic in the middle of all the ethereals to force a psy-magic reaction with strong parallels to the original Sunset's sacrifice? just saying...
I wonder if Sunset picked up that the singing was incidental to them ACCESSING the element of harmony magic on the human side?
Well, things make sense now. I love when a Discord Ex Machina is well executed, and this one was interesting. Specially how it ended with Sunset accepting her will, even knowing that she can't have it anymore. With her willing and wanting, with the possible future of going back to a family.
And, let's be honest here, the possibility of little snek foals. If there's some place that would allow for her and Angel to multiply it would be equestria and love fueled magic. Cadence would find them cute as fuck.
On that note, how would an equestrified viper look like?
Hnnggghhh! To cute! All the diabetes! Aggghh!
How dare you, hand shaking your own stories
I haven't read that one in a long while but are we to expect an emergency call from Applebloom about Sweetie Bell talking gibberish about magic?
And after that I still think about dr. Vahlen and her still undrawn (?) pictures.
Eh, this arc is... okay, I guess. But it somehow feels like it's filler despite being important to the plot. I think you could have found a better way to resolve the various conflicts that doesn't rely on Discord ex Machina, or this whole universe-hopping thing. While I respect you for your "Sweetie Belle Fragments" or whatever (I could never get into it) I think you relied too heavily on that work or drew too much inspiration with the alternate universes/multiverse and all. It's a bit of a letdown in an otherwise great story. It's... kind of lazy.
8937756
Aria mentioned how they put a part of themselves into their Gems. I think that's why she said to kill the Chosen but keep the Gems. That's how Sunset saves them, at least a bit of them.
8937832
hey if nothing else, I imagine it'd make for a few Chapters of Sweetie Belle in quick succession, since Wanderer wouldn't need to work with another author.
8937578
That's if Twilight doesn't beat her to that particular punch.
You think your slick? I see what you did there!
Also, when is poor Chronicles Sweetie gonna get a break and get a calm, death and dismemberment free universe to explore? Pink Eyes, The Immortal Game, Backwards Through The Mirror, Mente Mentaria, now Horizons?... she’s been having a rough trip. Poor girls gonna snap soon if she hasn’t already.
Ooooor... Bradford could always take a trip to Equestria after this war is over. You never know what may happen.
Shut up. Celestiacord may be my primary, but I can still enjoy a crack ship every once in a while.
Just like everyone else, I SAW THAT!
Cute as it can be! I see they would make a good family.
So are you not gonna be talking with Celestia about you and Angel having cute snek foals?
So it was Celestia after all! Discord merely provided the rope, once again...
One day they'll learn to choose their words carefully around the god of chaos...
Vahlen is going to be so pissed...
Oh, so it was Discord doing all of the time. Should have known better.
At least it gave her more closer with her mother.
Celestia,
This talk was far overdue. For all his scheming and tricks and everything, it does often seem that, in the long run, Discord has his own bizarre way of trying to do right by the world.
8937979
I disagree. Strongly.
Like it or not: Discord exists. And with a problem of that magnitude I find it highly unlikely that Celestia wouldn't ask him for help. There are way too many fics out there that conveniently forget that Discord exists and that he has OP powers for the sake of actually having a plot. Or they throw in a giant rock with anti-magic to explain away his not solving the problem by snapping his claws/paw/tail.
This chapter gave us a good explanation why Discord isn't just doing his thing and leave the humans to fight for themself. (Not that they couldn't.) Yet we get an interesting arc that gives us a lot of character development for multiple people. Celestia, Sunset, probably Twilight, possibly Bradford. And we got some fan service in form of hinting towards a more canon EQG, other fics like Stardust and The Sweetie Chronicals, and older XCOM games.
I do have to agree with you on something though, it kinda does feel like a filler arc for some reason. At least it is a well done one in my opinion.
8937979 Eh, it was more of a nod, than an actual 'crossover' with it. Kind of like Discord making a John Wick reference, or one of the soldiers in XCOM being named Matt Harris (from Stardust). It was thrown in for fun—not as source material of any sort. The multiverse is not a new invention, nor limited to TSC.
8937988 8937664 8937832 Just for fun
8938377 If anything, I would imagine it feels like filler because the rewards/results are not readily immediate... it has a mini-ending of sorts for another arc (Celestia/Sunset's relationship) but other than shenanigans, the benefits are not obvious. Unfortunately, they won't be until later in the story where they become relevant, and then the value of them will be more obvious. But, for what it's worth, I can definitely see why it would feel that way.
Hah!
Well, that explains the reason for the side trip to another universe, Discord being helpful.
Applejack's nose was sacrifice for a greater purpose.
Maybe!
TFW you will never be embraced in a warm, motherly, feathery hug by Celestia.
I really do need to catch up on the Sweetie Chronicles...
In any case, an excellent explanation for what the crap just happened, with a net positive for Sunset. Though I do hope someone explains what the crap just happened to the other Sunset, especially if she wakes up in the X-COM base.
"Dad? What's going on?"
"You decided it was Take Your Daughter to Work Day."
Granted, she'll know about it regardless, but that'll be especially awkward.
Still, our primary Sunset has permission to kill and some emotional closure. I just hope she remembers that bit about Twilight's jealousy. Bookhorse likely still isn't in a good place mentally.
camo.derpicdn.net/55a92263b88243e92189732bd2d67979a6ff8b68?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.ifcdn.com%2Fimages%2F61a35557041a96ab5e5fcb29dfbde08599120902d87d844200630e02b1e3498a_1.jpg
Poor de Lancie. He'll be Discord from now forever
8938395
Term multiverse was coined by Heinlein, right? And what he did? Just gathered heroes of his separate universes to fight together.
8938584
8938377
Problem is while Discord freely warps reality around him, there's no evidence that he can do the same to alternate universes. There's the IDW comic where an alternate!Discord is a hero and it doesn't affect main timeline Discord in the later IDW comics.
8938923 On the other hand, there's no indication he can't, after all his own "home" is in another dimension in the show itself. I just see it as a will to actually make an effort. Does it benefit him in some way? Then he'll do it. Discord, like Celestia and Luna's power level, like Tirek's inconsistent growth and power output vs randomly generated energy from six regular ponies that just happen to be friends... like Sunset's spontaneous absorption of magic (and in turn, balancing Sci!Twi) is a deliciously random plot device that can be used effectively (or not) to tell a story or address a point... in the end, it boils down to whether the author makes it believable to the reader. (Or not)
Hrglthrp my heart....when I go on....clear my browser history......bleh*ded*
Loving this series! Thank you for writing it!
8939062
The two are not the same. You are the one giving him a new power he has not demonstrated to this day. A separate chaos dimension is a completely different thing than actual alternate worlds.
That is not a Deus ex Machina, because they have been building up to the Rainbow Power since the Plundervine episode at the start of Season 4. And it was power that came from the mysterious box that was dropped by the Tree of Harmony, the origin of the Elements and that has already been shown to be a magical artefact of incredible power.
Not a Deus ex Machina either. Rainbow Rocks and Friendship Games have also been building up to this moment. It's the moment when Sunset finally moves on from the shadow of her former self, and is the one to defeat Midnight Sparkle, who is a reflection of what she was. And even then Twilight had absorbed more magic than Sunset and was winning their brief fight until Sunset started using words. "
On that we can agree. And I don't think you pulled it off very well. Maybe if you had foreshadowed Discord in some way during the moments we see Celestia, his reveal would be more acceptable. But there wasn't, which makes his appearance and subsequent resolving of the plot come off flat.
The resolution with Celestia kind of hurts Sunset's development too because it makes her too wishy-washy. She had already said that she doesn't want to see Celestia as a mom, but then she suddenly does? Before this, she doesn't seem to have any second thoughts that I am aware of.
8939815 (Edited the response on Discord because I think I had missed your point.) I see your point about the suddenness of it. I'm not treating it in my mind as a Deus Ex, because of the "grand-scheme" in my head, which of course doesn't change the fact that the introduction was sudden. I thought I had mentioned Discord before, but I might have not, which is on me. Hopefully, the progression of the story will make things balance out if I am in error.
As for Sunset... I feel like she's had this wish for a long time, and that it's a lot easier for her to say no when she's not in front of her and dealing with this.
She wanted to get past it, but she's not perfect, nor completely resolute in many things. She's a young adult trying to deal with a ton of stress, loss, nostalgia and sudden encounters with people she thought she had left behind. She left angry, and she regrets that, it's been a clear thing all through. When she's emotionally charged, after being thrown into a world where she had family, where she had seen at least the good things in alt!Sunset's life... it put things a bit harder for her, and then being comforted by Celestia was a big game-changer that can't happen in a diary. She still can't go back, and she knows that Blood Magic will do to her, so it's a bitter-sweet victory if it can be considered that.
Sunset needs different things emotionally than other characters in the story, and that is part of her progress.
8937543
Archon king armor?
Well. That explained things.
It's good to see Sunset and Sunbutt make nice.
Discord calling anyone a selfish hypocrite is pretty hilarious. Deciding someone's life for them is wrong? He decided the Apples would act like dogs. He decided the Bearers would become assholes. He's honest when he messes with people? He tricked them into doubting themselves... except Fluttershy where he rage quit and just used his powers because he's trash. But even if we assume he now knows better and wouldn't do thay stuff and is thus qualified to comment on when others fall into similar habits... We'd be wrong. He's done little since beyond mess up at best, outright betray at worst. Him lecturing anyone is just funny.
Almost as funny as the way even good writers continue to confuse him with Q. He's shown, again and again, that he doesn't have the emotional maturity to mentor anyone, and yet here we are.
But then again, of course Sunny gets into the act here too. Let's all lecture Celestia on how awful she is, it's apparently the whole point of this arc.
...
I didn't comment on this yesterday because I wanted to wait and see if it annoyed me less the next day, resulting in a less negative comment. Believe it or not, it did. Still, it was quite the letdown for an ending after such an interesting and random lead in. I don't know what it could have been going for, but the old 'Discord as the wise genie teaching us the dangers of our wishes' was obviously well outside my hopes. Ah well.