Chapter 285 - The Unexpected Proxy
“As you may or may not know, the staff’s current condition is rather dubious at best. Damaged yes, but I’m sure Tirek is trying to squeeze all he can out of that thing. What that means is that his defenses are as low as they’re going to get, and I do so love kicking them when they’re down. However, he has an entire network of security cameras watching every corner of his castle. I’m aware some of you might not know what that is, but essentially, he can see anything and everything within the castle at any moment. Which, I admit, will make a sneak attack rather difficult.” Discord then looked over at Neighsay and pointed at him. “Say, are you willing to sacrif-er, I mean, create some sort of diversion to lure Tirek away?”
Neighsay just narrowed his eyes at Discord silently, then shook his head. “Allow me to take things more seriously by saying that security magic and artifacts will not be a problem. I can disable them with ease, a skill required when faculty is trying to hide something from you.”
“Oh, how adorable, you think you can disable technology.” Discord walked up to Neighsay and gave him a pat. “I needed some cheering up.”
“Stop that!” Neighsay shouted as he backed away. “And what’s this about technology? Are you telling me he has advanced technology ponies do not? Surely it is just magical constructs from the staff, which can be dealt with the same way.”
“I would say the same thing...” Chrysalis said as she looked over at Discord, becoming instantly annoyed with him. “So stop wasting time and tell us why that isn’t the case! Or I’ll do worse than say her name.” Chrysalis growled.
“Hm, tough crowd.” Discord said as he stretched his neck out nervously, letting out some steam. “Well, to put it simply, the staff runs off my chaos magic, and Twilight’s magic, which is harmonic in nature. Normally, with chaos magic, you can do whatever you wish and deal with the consequences as they come. But harmonic magic? Oh ho, now that’s the key. Harmonic magic works in a way to benefit those who have it. Pegasi with their cloud pushiness and flight, Earth ponies with their strength and… Not much else. Oh, but then we have the unicorns, whose spells and abilities match the talent and skill they have, and have no real repercussions other than what the spell represents. Alicorns having an eve greater version of this.”
“Your point?” Both Chrysalis and Neighsay said, both annoyed with his very basic lecture.
“Hmph, my point is the staff runs off a combination of both. Tirek can essentially cast any kind of spell he wishes without having to worry about the usual repercussions a chaos spell would invoke.” Discord stated.
“What?!” Starlight said in a panic. “Does he know that?! Please tell me he hasn’t figured that out yet!”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s been taking the time to learn. But relax, my dear, there are still drawbacks to this method of magic. Yes, he gains the ability to cast any spell at his leisure, he can even forge constructs and make them as real as you and I. But the drawback is that harmonic and chaos magic don’t properly mix, it’s too volatile. Therefore, the foundation of every spell, no matter how small, must have some semblance of logic and proper assembly. It’s why his precious mind spell only affects ponies. Yes, in truth, it bends their love and friendship, but he only has Twilight as a base. With only her way of friendship, as well as being a pony, being the only thing the spell is based off of, it can only affect ponies. Anyhoo, back on track on his whole surveillance nonsense. Yes, he’s discovered and is now using other dimension technology to bolster his defenses. In truth, this actually circumvents some of his magic usage from the staff, as he no doubt has created some sort of electric generator to power it all. So then, which one of you knows a spell to cause an electromagnetic pulse, hm? Would be very convenient for the task at hand.” Discord explained. Asking anyone who might have such a spell.
Oh no… So that’s how it was? Goddammit, maybe you should have kept your mouth shut about the whole ‘Deus Ex Machina’ thing. It actually got to him, it actually made him take precautions. You don’t think even Cozy would have thought of something like that, something about her seemed more direct and vicious, more so than Tirek, after they captured you.
“An electromagnetic pulse? Yeah, actually, that kind of spell would be easy to cast. Wow, I guess the staff isn’t as powerful as we thought.” Starlight said, feeling confident about the situation. “But won’t he notice that his generator is down?”
“If the staff is barely usable, then that may not be an issue. Yes, if what you say is true, then it is just a matter of disabling this ‘generator’ and sneaking inside. He would have no idea about our approach, nor would he suspect that we’re the ones who disabled his generator in the first place. I’m not worried about the filly at that point, our main priority should be taking down Tirek before he has a chance to take our magic.” Neighsay said.
“Is it really that simple?” Sandbar said, speaking up. “Like, wouldn’t his castle have other defenses we’d have to worry about?”
“There’s a possibility that if there is, then they are also using the generator. He can’t be using magic, lest he risks the staff becoming too unstable.” Tempest remarked.
“So, what?” Gallus asked. “That’s it? If we’re just gonna pummel the guy, then what’s with the whole prophecy thing?”
“...Insurance.” You say, piping up.
“Insurance?” Grubber asked, confused. “What does that mean? If we don’t gotta risk you guys, then what is there to insure?”
“Unfortunately, Anon is correct. Although our main target is the staff, we mustn't forget that filly friend Tirek has made. All of this started because of her, and if she’s that capable of manipulating the situation, then she might have something prepared for all of us… She may even have a surprise for Tirek.” Chrysalis stated.
“Betrayal? No, at this point, I doubt that. If the staff is still in a critical state, then there is no strategic advantage to betraying Tirek quite yet.” Tempest said as she pondered on the situation. “We’ll have to be aware of her as we take Tirek down. No hesitation just because she’s a filly.”
“I see, then the plan is actually quite simple. I covertly disable this security system, we sneak inside and catch Tirek off guard, take the staff, and disable Cozy Glow without being taken in by any trick she might have. Hrn, this might be even more simple than I realize. Then I have to agree with the hedgehog, why risk the students if only the few of us are enough?” Neighsay asked.
“Because… I don't want anycreature to miss the show.” Said a voice, coming out from the window.
What?!
You all looked towards the window near the wall as something red was glowing outside of it. It suddenly crashed through the window and rushed towards the center of your circle. What the, it was a drone? There was an air of confusion and horror all of a sudden, as you recognized the voice coming out of the drone. More importantly, Starlight looked the most shocked, with an ‘oh no’ silently escaping her lips.
“What in the name of Celestia is this thing?!” Neighsay said in shock.
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at the drone. “Tirek…”
The drone began to light up, and a red light shone above as a hologram of Tirek appeared. He looked rather disheveled, tired even, yet still as arrogant as ever. “Chrysalis, how good to see you again. And Discord, I just want to tell you how grand it is to have your favorite friend scrubbing my throne room with a toothbrush.”
Discord literally lit aflame in anger as his claws and talons sharpened on their own. “How dare you!” He said in a dark and threatening tone. "If you harm on-" But Tirek interrupted him with a dismissive wave.
“Yes yes, well, we do have some to thank for such a dare…” Tirek let out a soft chuckle as he turned his attention to you. “Hello, outworlder. I’d say I’m surprised to see you survived. But seeing you here? Well, it appears you were telling the truth after all.”
You tensed at those words. The truth? The truth about what? “W-what do you mean by that?” The hell?
Tirek’s eyes became more crazed as he pointed towards you. “Deus Ex Machina! That is how you survived. Do you realize how much research I’ve been attempting to find on this? I’ve been up all night, searching, reading. All to guarantee my success. But I knew that Equestria itself didn’t have the answers. No, I knew I had to delve further once I found the drone you see before you within my castle. This drone, it isn't something Equestria would have, and so I used it to delve into so many more secrets.”
Starlight sank as her ears folded back. That’s when you realized that this drone had to have been built by her, she was the only one interested in human technology in such a way to replicate it.
“Ahh, so it was you who gave me my epiphany. This is why ponies should bow before me, they don’t know how to put away their toys, otherwise one could use a simple spell to trace it back to its owner.” Tirek said with a mad laugh. Tirek, dammit. Was he even able to use the drone to trace Starlight's magical signature all the way back to the manor itself?
“Shut up! So what, you found us, who cares? Why don’t you actually come down here so we can see how tough you really are!” Smolder said, standing up as she smashed her fist into her hand.
“All in due time, my dear.” Tirek said as he stared at Chrysalis. “You’re needed, Chrysalis. You will be the final ingredient to my spell.”
“The final ingredient? Tirek, you truly have lost your mind. You are aware that all you have done is make your fall that much more excruciating, right? I don’t even care what you want me for, because it isn’t happening.” Chrysalis said before she began snickering. “Did you bring this little toy to try to scare us? Look at you, Tirek, you haven’t drained any magic in awhile. Your staff, it’s still broken, isn’t it? What’s to stop us from marching in there right now and turning you to dust?”
“As I said, Deus Ex Machina. Don’t you see, the outworlder is right there!” Tirek said as he pointed at you.
Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at him, unamused. “Yes, and? I’m aware he’s a roach you can’t kill.”
“And you’re also aware of how every one of us has lost in our conquests, all in the same way. You, Discord, and I each had come seconds away from total victory, only for it to be snatched away at the last second by something impossible. Or, so I thought. This drone, it gave me ideas, it made me wonder if you're truly invested in this ‘human’ technology, then why can’t I? I shifted my studies by what I could still summon with the staff, and look what happened to drop down into my hands.” Tirek held up a… Oh no, is that an MLP DVD? Good god, no, no no no.
Chrysalis still was undeterred. “And what is that supposed to prove? That dimension theory is correct?”
“What even is that?! Some sort of odd tome? What is even going on? What is this thing before us? How is Tirek communicating through it? Why is everypony talking nonsense?!” Neighsay was beyond confused.
But you weren’t. Tirek was losing his mind over it all this time. He didn’t want to lose, he didn’t want it snatched away from him again. This meant more than just victory to him. He was out to prove something. He wanted everyone to know what a truly terrible king he’d become, how much of an unstoppable genius he could be.
“Oh, even better. It’s a change in perspective, the ability to see how everything came to be from an outside lens. That’s how you came to understand how things work, isn’t it… Anon? You saw Equestria through these special discs, and that’s how you were able to fit in so well. How you could change fate to your favor. Yes, and that foolishness that led to the filly being able to do the same thing. Well, now I have that power.” Tirek said with a cackle. “Don’t you all realize? I control everything now, I know how this world works, and you all will soon bow before me.”
Tirek was both right and wrong about his findings. Learning how the script works is possible, but you can’t change the meta. Right? There’s no way. You never expected him to watch the show, not in this way. That’s why he’s losing his mind, it must be eating away at him. He watched everything he could, he probably used a spell to get through it all in one night, and he couldn’t handle what it contained. Seeing how everything always works out, no matter what. Not just with the villain plans, but in general. He must have felt it was all just fate that couldn’t be changed, not until now anyway.
“You’re wrong, there’s more to it than that. Life isn’t a television show, Tirek.” You say to him, confident that there really was more to it than that.
“A bit too late to be hypocritical, isn’t it? Either way, you’re all invited to my castle when you awaken. And only the ones in this room. My defenses will stay in place to insure that. This request, I’d suggest you not turn it down. If even one of you decides to stay here, then I will destroy everypony in town, instantly, through their hearts. I wouldn’t bother with your little plan either, I’ll be using the last magic I’m willing to muster to set up a few trials for you, as well as making my generator immune to an electromagnetic pulse. But don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll breeze right through them.” Tirek said with an evil chuckle before looking at Chrysalis with a cruel smirk. “In fact, I’m counting on it. See you all very soon.” Tirek said as the hologram disappeared and the drone fell to the ground.
“...He expects us to succeed?” Neighsay slowly looked over at you, furrowing his brow in suspicion. “Outworlder, so the rumors are more than true. So, when did you plan to explain your full story to us, Anon? He mentioned something about ‘human’. What does that mean?”
“We already knew.” Tempest said plainly.
“What?! Everycreature?!” Neighsay said in utter shock.
Ocellus nodded. “M-mhmm, some of us before some others. It’s, um, complicated.”
“...Anon” Starlight stood up, and looked the fallen drone over. “So what did he mean? Why would he want us to succeed? If he’s going to use all that magic on his castle, and he expects us to reach him, then how does he expect to beat us? You know, don’t you?”
You did. “I think I do. He watched the show, so he saw that in the end, things always work out for Twilight. If I’m right, he thinks he can affect Deus Ex Machina by tipping things in our favor until the last possible moment. He thinks fate will favor him and pull out a win at the last possible moment.”
“Will somecreature make some sense around here!” Neighsay shouted angrily. “First those tomes, then this Deus Ex Machina madness! Have I gone insane? Is that what this is? Because none of you are making sense!”
“Because Tirek isn’t making any sense.” Chrysalis said as she walked over to her shattered window, looking out into the forest. “Something is wrong with him, he’s unhinged. I’ve seen what he’s seen as well, but I know that isn’t how it works. The staff is broken, after all. Perhaps it has been affecting his-DISCORD! WILL YOU KNOCK IT OFF! YOU’RE BURNING THROUGH MY CARPET!”
Discord was still standing there, angry, lit aflame. A bucket appeared above him as water dropped onto his body, extinguishing the flames. He let out a sigh of relief as he brushed the ash off his body. “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. Perhaps that is what is going on with Tirek. He can’t possibly believe fate would be in his favor just because he’s losing.” Discord then looked over at you, and then clapped. “Bravo, Anon. A delayed act of chaos, perhaps I won’t punish you after all.”
Chrysalis groaned as she began to lift the glass from her carpet and throw it out the window with her magic. “Next time, Discord, use that empty head of yours and actually contribute to the plan. Otherwise I’ll just transform into Flutt-” But before Chrysalis could finish, Discord exploded, getting chunks of himself on her face as she turned around. “Shy… I’m not even angry.”
“So, if Yona understand. If Tirek let Yona and friends get to him, then Tirek loses because Tirek has no power to stop Yona and friends?” Yona asked.
“Sounds like it to me.” Gallus said with a shrug. “I don’t even understand half of what’s going on. But if he’s gonna let us beat him, then whatever, I am not complaining.”
“Huh, but what does he want Chrysalis for? He said he needed to add another ingredient.” Starlight said, pondering on his words.
“Oh, I already got that figured out.” Grubber said as he stood up proudly.
“You do?” You asked. What, did he really figure that out so fast?
“Please explain, Grubber.” Tempest said.
“Certainly. So it’s like this. Imagine a plain old slice of cake. Sure, you’d eat it, but it doesn’t really appeal to anyone. Now what about a cake with gems? Now dragons are gonna gobble it up. Add some fish? Hey, I’m sure griffons would love some of that cake. But what does a changeling queen add? Well, I’ll tell ya.” Grubber stood even more proudly, crossing his arms. “Ya see, it’s like this. She is literally the entire bakery. A changeling queen can change into basically anything, entrance anyone, manipulate love however she wants. So, if his spell only affects ponies, it’d only make sense to add a changeling queen to attract everyone under the sun. It’s that simple.”
“So it doesn’t matter then. We’re all attacking tomorrow, regardless of that information. So, does anycreature have any strategies they want to discuss?” Chrysalis asked as she looked around.
“There’s nothing more to discuss, we only need time to get ready. Tirek is setting the stage for us, so we’ll need all the rest we can get if we’re going to be ready to take him down. There’s enough of us to overwhelm him, so I’m not worried about that.” Tempest explained.
“But you are worried about that dumb filly, right, Tempest?” Grubber asked.
Tempest nodded. “Yes. If she got Tirek this far, then it’s possible there is more to this than meets the eye. We will all need to be vigilant. Absolutely no hesitation, the priority is taking the staff. Once we have that, then the filly will be powerless, and Tirek isn’t strong enough to take us all on by himself.”
“...And you all honestly think he was telling the truth about letting us conquer his castle? All of you have been talking nonsense since that machine burst in here. I demand a proper explanation!” Neighsay said, stomping his hoof down.
“And now isn’t the time for it. You want to know what we’re talking about? About the ‘tomes’? Anon? Well, save it for when we defeat Tirek and Cozy Glow. We’ve wasted too much time, and we all need our rest. Or do you just want to argue into the morning?” Chrysalis said, giving Neighsay a sharp and demanding look.
Neighsay fell silent for a moment. He looked down, then gave Chrysalis a nasty look before he turned towards the door. “...I expect a full explanation when this is all over. Every last detail.” Was the last thing he said before walking out.
“Come on, Grubber.” Tempest said as she walked ahead, then stopped for a moment to look at everyone. “And goodnight… Don’t be scared about tomorrow, I’ll make sure we all make it out.”
“Heh, and just to let you guys know. When Tempest says something, it’s always a promise.” Grubber said with a wink as he followed Tempest out.
“Come on, guys.” Sandbar said with a yawn. “We need to get some sleep too. Just like Tempest said, we can’t let ourselves worry. We got this!”
“Yona know Sandbar right. There many of us and one of him, it be alright.” Yona said with a cheer, a small blush appearing on sandbar’s face as everyone followed him out of the room. Ocellus stopping momentarily to look at Chrysalis once, then hurry her step to keep up with the group.
Starlight walks over to the drone, and sighs. “I really hope this actually turned out to be a good thing. I really don’t want to be the reason we all lose.”
“Hey, Starlight. Don’t even worry about it. Tirek lost his mind. If he wants to give us the win, then let him. I didn’t want to do a big adventure thing anyway, nice and simple.” You look at her with a grin, your eyepatched face still looking somewhat cute enough to calm some of her soul.
“I hope so. Well, I better take this with me, maybe I can do something with it tomorrow.” Starlight said as she walked out, looking back at you one more time with a “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Starlight. Hmmm, I guess I should be hitting the hay too. I bet Diamond wouldn’t mind me snuggling up with her right now.” You said out loud.
“You’ll do no such thing. You’re staying here tonight.” Chrysalis said as she began to prepare her bed.
You suddenly blushed hard. “W-what?! I-in here, with you?! E-erm.”
Chrysalis groaned at you, yet… You almost thought you saw a smile. “Well, I can see that part of you isn’t broken. No, we’re not doing that, you idiot. You can’t be having any distractions or reasons to stay awake. Little Sister can learn you survived after we all return from crushing those fools.”
O-oh, I guess that makes sense. You wiggle your little butt for a jump, and hop up at the end of Chrysalis’s bed, spinning around before making yourself comfortable at the end of her bed.
“Ugh, up here, not down there.” Chrysalis said as she prepared a pillow for you next to her.
“W-what? You’re letting me sleep next to you?” You asked, surprised.
“Will you just shut up? I know you sleep better being next to somepony. I need you well rested, I know how you oversleep.” Chrysalis said as she laid on her side, away from your pillow.
And you did, you stayed silent as you held your excitement. You walked up to the pillow and got onto your back, daring to shimmy a bit until you felt your side touching Chrysalis’s back. No reaction. You tried pressing yourself a little harder, and that's when she said something. “Are you done?”
“Yeah… Hey, Chrysalis. Are you scared? You know, about tomorrow?” You asked her.
“Less questions, more sleeping.” Chrysalis said with a soft growl.
“R-right… Erm, goodnight, Big Sis.” You said as you closed your eyes.
There was a long pause, very long. But you could swear you heard her whisper those words. “Goodnight”. You swear she tried to hold it back.
Either way, you know you heard it, and you knew you could sleep with a smile on your face.
Hopefully tomorrow, won’t be your last.
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Man gone bonkers from looking at how the universe `works`...seems about right but also worrying as crazy folk are pretty hard to deal with.
do
It is scary, that Tirek now has now that knowledge. He has been shown to be the most logically thinking villain yet. At least on the surface. I still don't know if Cozy is faking a personality in front of him or not. It's a shame he has gone the crazy route as well. It isn't surprising, given the way he thinks, but I really liked how he was before. Now, he is going to blend in with the rest of the villains that have gone crazy, be it chaos magic or knowledge of the Deus ex.
His plan is interesting. However, I see flaws in it. He has the ability- or rather claims -to kill every pony under the spell at a whim. I see it both as a blessing and a curse for him. On the one hoof, he can dangle this carrot in front of them, making sure no one acts out of line, but it also shifts the dynamic of power for him. Something he is trying to get rid of, so the universe sees him like an underdog.
I'd suggest him to kill those ponies now. Kill even the mane 6. That power would be taken from him, exchanged for a massive morale hit for the rescue party. Now the universe favors him. The party doesn't get any benefits in terms of power. They just don't have to care about the rescuing part, but get a massive massive despair club to the face.
Or, other option. That Tirek plays the time game, waiting for the staff to regenerate. Threatening to kill ponies if our group makes a move. He'd demand they stay in his sight or he'd be killing ponies slowly one by one. If they do attack, then he kills them all, and we are back to the first scenario with the massive morale hit.
Tirek threw some exposition about himself. Wrong move on his part, but maybe it's ingrained in MLP villains to do so, especially when he's gone crazy. I'm surprised he didn't use the fact Anon was essentially spying on their universe more. Though, he might not have enough knowledge on the human world and how much everyone in the party knows about that fact. He wouldn't want to throw a hit that was parried before he even threw it, so he exposed just enough information, in case it stirrs up discord within them.
He mentioned trials and Chrysalis being a key element. I thought he wanted to have her, force her, to go through the 'good changeling' transformation. Each trial bringing her closer and closer. Chrysalis would resist. And in that moment of their biggest weakness he would strike. But he wouldn't expect Chrysalis to go willingly through it, with an excuse of doing it in spite, where in reality, she wanted to do it for a while. She is keeping that power move in her sleeve.
Back to reality. Tirek just dropped big news on us and abandoned the drone on the ground, right? Did no one think that he still might be listening on them through it?
As I said earlier, Tirek is following the steps of other villains to the crazy town. It is not getting old yet, but I can see it on the horizon. You can't keep throwing the 'crazy' de-buff on every villain, Crazed. It is good that this is the last of the serious encounters. Any more and it'd get stale. The same applies to the Deus ex. Jimmy was scary with it, Cozy had that as a power over Tirek in their duo. But now that he knows it too, that niche is getting crowded.
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To be fair, the Storm King was in sound mind when facing Anon. He was mostly scared beyond reason and wanted to book it out of Equestria when he ran into Anon for the last time. It was Cozy who was with him when he was still memory mended with Jimmy.
Jimmy was always insane
Sombrero was also of sound mind, he was just out of his element.
Cozy is cunning, but not crazy.
Tirek hasn't gone so crazy as to be like Jimmy, he's just seen what essentially made his life seem like it was destined to fail. Chrysalis had much more time to understand and adjust, meanwhile Tirek is realizing how bullshit everything is. He will not lose his mind like Jimmy did.
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It definitely would be absolutely maddening to learn the world you wish to make literally cannot exist, at the very least, not for long, because the very laws of the reality you're in don't allow it. I've said it before, but it also makes the struggles of the forces of good feel less serious too, to the villain and not just the audience to clarify, like I imagine a villain could go, "Oh, they have defeated me" and at least pretend like their efforts are what put them down, that there was a struggle to stop them.
In this case thought? Its no longer good vs evil, but evil vs the universe, and the universe has a full hand at all times.
Its unfair and insane, even more so than actual villains. conceptually speaking, its interesting, as for story speaking, its entertaining to see a villain try and tackle the concept.
Missing comma before ‘yes’. (?)
Uppercase ‘n’ should be lowercase.
even
I will come back for the rest tomorrow.
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Part 2:
Second uppercase ‘h’ should be lowercase. (?)
Missing comma after ‘Anon’. (?)
I may have placed this part out of order.
Missing question mark. (?)
Missing comma after ‘otherwise’.
Replace the first comma with a period. (?)
Missing comma after ‘Otherwise’.
The period should be a comma.
Third lowercase ‘s’ should be uppercase.
Missing quotation marks. (?)
I may be wrong about some of the above.
lol