Chapter 29
The group’s arrival in Ponyville kickstarted an immediate celebration when the populace saw the return of both the day and their sovereign. They even accepted the presence of Luna with little question, laughing and celebrating. Rainbow wondered how many of them actually made the connection that she was Nightmare Moon. Still, for now at least things looked bright.
Rarity and Applejack were soon swamped by their respective families, hugging and nuzzling, grateful to see them home safe. Fluttershy was surrounded by a small crowd of chipmunks, birds, squirrels and bunnies—including one white bunny who stomped his foot impatiently before Fluttershy swooped him up in a tight hug. Twilight stayed close to Shining Armor, as she had since his rescue.
But there was no more heartwarming sight than that of little Dinky Doo and Alula wiggling away from Big Macintosh and charging for Derpy and Cloud Kicker. “Mommy!” “Cloudy!” They squealed as they tackled-hugged them.
“Muffin!” Derpy wrapped her forelegs around her daughter as the two of them were knocked to the ground, the two of them nuzzling each other lovingly. Alula had her face buried in Cloud’s neck, hugging her tightly.
Rainbow Dash stood back and watched, not saying a word. She was going to give them some privacy when Dinky spotted her leaving. “R-Rainbow Dash!” She stopped short as her godfilly waved and sniffed back tears. “T-thank you!” Dinky hugged her mother even tighter. “You brought mommy back … thankyouthankyouthankyou!” Rainbow smiled, incapable of words. She had kept her promise to those two foals and that felt as grand as her sonic rainboom.
Speaking of which…
Looking up at the still early morning, Rainbow remembered she had one last promise to keep. She took to the skies over Ponyville, flying upwards as fast as she could. She was dimly aware of the stares her sudden flight was already garnering, but she didn’t focus on that. Unlike the desperate rescue she had pulled off just a little while earlier, this time Rainbow had the time to focus solely on her flying. Shutting out all other distractions, she felt the speed barrier pressing at her—and she pushed back twice as hard.
She heard the snap, then a much louder crack as she broke through. An explosion of light washed over her, spreading out in all directions and lighting up the sky with rainbows. From down below she heard the stunned gasps and expressions of awe. Somehow out of all the din, she was keenly able to pick out the sound of Dinky’s excited ‘Whoa!’
Wild cheers erupted with abandon from Ponyville, taking the sonic rainboom as a sign to throw themselves back into the partying spirit with renewed fervor. As soon as she landed, Rainbow found herself mobbed by all the foals in town, as well as several adults, in a clamor that was nearly as loud as the rainboom itself.
Rainbow saw down and began regaling the story of her and her friends’ adventure to the fillies and colts of Ponyville. Dinky sat in Derpy’s lap as the small herd of foals and adults hung on Rainbow’s every word of her dramatic retelling of the struggle against Nightmare Moon. Sitting front and center was Scootaloo, staring with wide-eyed amazement.
All of a sudden a pale filly in the front with a frizzy red mane and blocky glasses gasped. “Queen Thelestia!” she said through a lisp, the other foals exclaiming and pointing.
Rainbow turned her head to see Celestia standing over her, bowing her head to the children. “Hello my little ponies.” She smiled gently. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I need to borrow Rainbow Dash for a while but I’m sure she’ll be back to finish telling you about her amazing story later.”
Oohs and awws greeted her as the foals realized that the Queen was talking to them! They all nodded and waved, eager to have the Queen talk to them. It was only by promising to speak with them later that Celestia managed to extract herself and Rainbow Dash away.
Rainbow was content to simply follow Celestia to a quiet spoke behind the Golden Oaks Library. After ensuring the two were alone, Celestia gave her student a solemn glance. “I believe you and I have much to discuss.”
“No kidding.” Rainbow half-turned away from her teacher and mentor. “Where the hay do we even start? I mean, yeah it all turned out okay—but it almost didn’t. We won because my friends and I are that awesome, but come on! This was really the best plan you could come up with? You were just going to—to whatever yourself and that was going to be it?”
Closing her eyes sadly, Celestia sighed. “I see.” She sat down. “I understand. I know I put an incredible burden upon you. That you acquitted yourself beyond all expectations and performed better than I could have hoped doesn’t change that. I am so, so sorry.”
Rainbow Dash tried to keep her angry face plastered on but she couldn’t keep her breath from hitching. She closed her eyes trying to remember all the anger and rage she felt but it was no use. All she felt was tired and confused. She felt a weight on her back and when she opened her eyes, she saw Celestia had draped a wing over her.
“Oh Rainbow Dash…” Celestia nuzzled her. Neither said anything for a long time. They just sat by each other, enjoying the other’s presence. The only sound was Rainbow’s occasional sigh and some hushed words from Celestia. After a while, Rainbow lifted her head up to look Celestia in the eye. “Feeling better?” the Queen asked gently. At her nod, she stepped back.
Rainbow took a deep breath and started again. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew she was coming back at the Summer Sun Celebration? Even if you couldn’t tell me about the Elements and where they were since she could look into my dreams, you could’ve told me she was coming back so soon, dropped some hints about how important the ponies I was gonna meet were and stuff.”
Celestia sighed. “Even though I knew she was returning, it was not an easy thing to prepare for. After I first told you of her eventual return, you threw yourself into your training harder than ever before. But as you discovered, Nightmare Moon could not be beaten through physical prowess.” She shook her head. “It was a gamble, telling you of her impending arrival. But I decided that to not tell you, to leave you completely uninformed, was unconscionable and unacceptable in addition to being a foolish risk.” She exhaled. “Despite what some ponies may think, being as old as I am helps me see things in the long run. It does not, however, make me some master chess player twenty steps ahead of all others, able to anticipate and manipulate ponies and events without fail while taking into account every possible detail and possibility. For as much as I know, there is still more that I do not. As a matter of fact, not even I knew who the other ponies to accompany you would be.”
“You didn’t?” Rainbow looked at her with surprise.
Celestia shook her head. “I expected that you would draw together the ponies you required yourself, as you did. Who they would be depended a lot on your own actions and choices.”
“Right…” Rainbow tilted her head. “And you couldn’t tell me I needed friendship instead of hitting to deal with Nightmare Moon, why exactly?”
“If I told you that the answer would lie in you making friends, that would taint have your perceptions,” Celestia replied. “Remember when I first tried regularly assigning you a book to read?”
Rainbow nodded slowly, grimacing. “Yeah, I hated it. It was such a chore to get through. It took you months to get me to read something else after that. If you hadn’t come across Daring Do...”
“Precisely. All too often, the easiest way to turn a pleasurable activity into something unpleasant is simply to mandate it.” Celestia quirked a brow at her. “As you’ve often demonstrated, it tends to provoke a stubborn resistance.”
“You mean like making me go to the Grand Galloping Gala?” Rainbow looked at her archly. “Or Blueblood’s birthday party? The welcome reception for the Prince of Yakistan? Except those sucked already, so forcing me to go...”
Celestia dipped her head. “Fair enough.” She paused for a moment and then shuddered. “The Gala…” She shook out her wings. “Beyond simple equine reactions to force, I did not tell you because I wanted you to befriend these ponies because you wished to be friends with them, not because you simply had need of them. If your motivation was corrupted, if you saw these ponies not as friends, but means to an end—even if subconsciously—the Elements might not have succeeded.”
She ran a hoof through Rainbow’s mane. “I fear I erred in how and when I told you about Nightmare Moon. You were so upset that you could not perform your sonic rainboom. I wished to buoy your spirits, motivate you with a challenge, which I knew you would respond to. However, you latched onto the idea that you were to be Equestria’s savior; you defined yourself by that purpose. I grew concerned that telling you that you couldn’t do it alone would be taken as an implicit criticism, a sign that I did not trust you or believe in you. Or worse, you would resent the inclusion of others rather than bond with them.”
Rainbow sighed, realizing that she had felt that way for a big part of their journey through the Everfree. “Okay, yeah, I see what you mean. Is that why you kept pushing me to be friends with all the Canterlot ponies my own age? So I’d figure it out that friendship was the answer? Or did you just figure if I could be friends with those plotheads, I could make friends with anypony?”
Celestia let out an amused snort. “That is not quite how I thought of it, but you’re not exactly wrong.” She hid her grin and resumed her usual bearing. “I expected that some of the friends you made at flight camp would serve you well, perhaps even become Element bearers as well, as Fluttershy did. But the key to the Elements of Harmony is just that: harmony. Balance between different individuals. Putting together a group of six ponies all like you would not have worked.”
“Six ponies just like me, huh?” Rainbow rubbed her muzzle. “That does sound cool … but I guess it’d be a case of too much awesomeness in one place, huh?”
Rainbow thought she saw Celestia’s eye twitch. “You could say that, yes.” Celestia shook her head as if trying to dispel a troublesome thought. “I am proud that you were ultimately able to befriend ponies with vastly different temperaments and interests. I feared that you would be too put off by your experiences in Canterlot to bond with ponies such as, for example, your friend Rarity. I am very glad to see you have proved me wrong.”
“Heh, yeah that was a bit of a surprise for me too.” Rainbow rubbed her neck. “I didn’t think a pony like that could be cool, but she doesn’t tear other ponies down just to make herself feel better and she actually works for what she wants to do, unlike Tiffany’s bunch. Rarity might be a bit stuck up and totally obsessed with fashion, but … yeah, I get her. I didn’t think I would. The same for Twilight and her egghead pursuits or Pinkie Pie’s … whatever you want to call that.”
“Some things defy simple definitions,” Celestia pronounced sagely. “Making friends was generally never a difficulty for you, but striking just the right balance … I foresaw that as being an issue.” She winced. “You had already made several strong friendships, ones I unwittingly undermined by taking you to Canterlot. That was my first mistake. After you accomplished your first sonic rainboom, I didn’t want you to be constantly surrounded by admirers who would feed your vanity. I thought bringing you with me to Canterlot, as I had done for my other students, would be the best option. But I forgot that what works for some students does not work for all. With your accomplishment written off in Cloudsdale and unable to be duplicated in Canterlot, the frustration drove you to distraction.” Celestia frowned. “That frustration and disconnection from your friends resulted in you throwing yourself into your training at the expense of other pursuits.”
Rainbow couldn’t argue that. “Yeah. I guess that’s why I got so bent out of shape when you tried to get me to do anything else like read Platrot or go to the opera … if it wasn’t helping me get closer to the rainboom or defeat Nightmare Moon, I didn’t get the point.” She lowered her head, thinking about how she’d let her circle of friends from flight camp just sort of drift away from her.
Celestia grimaced. “As her return drew nearer, I was worried that I had been too subtle and so tried all the harder to make sure you would follow the path I wanted. I tried to limit your training sessions, focus on being open to friendships from even the most unlikely of sources, and learn more things that could aid you as a leader, even if they weren’t immediately practical. But since I still decided not to tell you of impending return, I could not offer a satisfactory explanation and so … we argued.”
“M’sorry.” Rainbow mumbled. “I just … I wanted to show that I had done something that mattered, you know?”
“The fault was hardly all yours.” Celestia exhaled. “That was my second mistake. I never made it clear to you that as spectacular as your sonic rainboom was, that was never my sole reason for making you my student.”
“It wasn’t?”
Celestia shook her head. “No, although it certainly was impressive.” She extended a wing and let it rest on Rainbow’s back. “When I saw you, I saw a pony with incredible potential. You can both awe and inspire others, but that comes about because of your connection to others. I knew then that you could be the pony to bring together ponies capable of wielding the Elements of Harmony. You performed a legendary feat—all because you wished to defend a weaker flyer than yourself and refused to back down to those bullying her.”
Rainbow nodded. “Well, yeah, they were picking on Fluttershy!”
“Exactly.” Celestia smiled. “And last night, you did it again to save your friends. Do you see?”
To her own surprise, Rainbow did. “Yeah … when I was trying to do it again in Canterlot, it was because I wanted to shut up ponies like Tiffany and look awesome. I was just doing it for myself.”
Celestia rubbed her back. “Your greatest strength, the one that resonated with the Elements, is your ability to create a bond with others, be it through a performance that inspires them or standing up for them against a threat. You are never more yourself than when you’re with, and inspiring, others. But take that away, leave you alone to focus on yourself and not on your connections, and you are diminished.” She sighed. “I suppose that’s why it was so difficult for you here in Canterlot. I had taken you away from the friends you already had, thrust you into a new, unfamiliar environment with the more high-born ponies your age…” She gestured, apparently unwilling to make an unkind remark but unable to think of how else to phrase it. The Queen looked out over the hill. “I was so sure that Canterlot would be a more receptive second-home to you than it turned out in practice. I suppose in my confidence and love for my little ponies, I allowed myself to become blinded to the troubles you would face there.”
Rainbow grunted, not trusting herself to say something she’d no doubt have to apologize for. But Celestia spoke many of her thoughts for her. “You could not form connections with the scions of the elite nor did they particularly wish to form friendships with you, seeing you as either an obstacle to their own ambitions or a tool for social climbing. While you were not always beyond reproach, it’s clear that I had allowed Canterlot to become too … insular. Stifled. Too conscious of one’s social standing. Too used to looking down upon others from the mountain’s peak. Too many of them were more like the bullies you defended Fluttershy from, rather than ponies you could befriend.”
Rainbow nodded but was forced to admit, “Yeah, but I didn’t exactly try as hard as I could’ve either. After I got burned by a couple of them, I started challenging anypony who tried to get close to me. I wanted to weed out the snobs and the suck-ups, but I ended up just driving away everypony who even tried to get close to me. I didn’t really give any of the potentially honest ones a chance. I figured that since Derpy, Cloud, Fluttershy and Shining got me, then if those other ponies didn’t it was all on them, not me.”
“I am glad you are able to recognize that.” Celestia’s brow furrowed. “Still, the problem in Canterlot is … vexing. I have tried addressing it before and it has been improving over time. But far too slowly for my liking.” She sighed again. “I fear I contributed to their attitudes by making it my capital after the old castle was ruined, and by opening the School for Gifted Unicorns.” She massaged her muzzle. “Magic is a powerful, primal force in our world. The mastering of it leads to so much improvement in our lives that it’s become too common for ponies to think of it as the most important part of our world. And when unicorns can touch magic when pegasi and earth ponies cannot…” She shook her head. “It bred an arrogant equation in Canterlot between magic and importance. Contrary to popular belief, my proteges are not always unicorns. Even then, their magical abilities were not always what I was looking for when I chose them. If so, then your friend Twilight Sparkle would’ve been brought to my attention even sooner.” She whickered. “Though perhaps in that case it would have been best if I had taken a more personal involvement in her education. I try not to second guess the decisions of the school without just cause but it’s clear much could have been done better.”
Rainbow nodded fiercely, the idea of Twilight growing up thinking she was some kind of dangerous freak made her wings quiver. “Yeah … no kidding. Maybe you could, I dunno, give her some kind of personal correspondence course or something? She is pretty special.”
“I will look into that.” Celestia dipped her head to her. “There is more to this world than raw magical ability, though. Many ponies, including Nightmare Moon, could not or would not see why I chose a pony who could not perform magic. It is the bonds we share: the kind between friends, between family, between different kinds of ponies and the harmony that comes from them all that truly lies at the basis of our world. To focus on magic to the exclusion of all else is folly. Friendship can accomplish far more than sheer magical force. That’s what you excel at: bringing ponies together.”
Rainbow leaned forward. “Speaking of bringing different kinds of ponies together, what’s going to happen with the Seaponies, Twinkle-Eyed ponies and Bat ponies? We kinda owe them one.”
Celestia nodded. “Far more than that. It was so difficult in the early days of Equestria to strike a balance between the earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi that it was too easy for other kinds of ponies to become a mere afterthought. After Luna fell they began to distance themselves from the rest of Equestria. I begged them not to, but they were either too ashamed of their past support for Luna, too afraid of reprisal, or too loyal to her memory.”
Rainbow nodded. “I felt bad for the bat ponies. I mean, I get being loyal, but it has to be to something real, you know? The image they had of Nightmare Moon—it just wasn’t real.”
“Indeed.” Celestia smiled wanly. “But now hopefully me and Luna, together, can begin to make up for centuries of neglect and isolation. By restoring Luna, you did more than just give Equestria back one of her rulers. You also helped heal a breach among all of ponykind. Of all the feats you and your friends performed, that is not the least among them. Never forget even a single sundered friendship can have far-reaching consequences.”
“Right.” Rainbow frowned as another question occurred to her. “So, what’s the deal with Zecora?”
“Ah.” Celestia sat back with a smile. “Not all of her secrets are mine to tell, but I can tell you around a decade ago, I heard of a solitary zebra who had been passed through several lands and learning the lore and magic of many cultures and civilizations. Back in my and Luna’s day—oh dear, I’m afraid I’ve just dated myself!” She laughed. “Encounters with zebras were incredibly rare then. We didn’t even have real diplomatic relations. They seldom came to Equestria and my sister had her hooves full guarding the dreams of ponykind.” Rainbow gave her a funny look, one Celestia quickly caught. “Don’t misunderstand, she would do so for anyone in need, but ponies knew and trusted us in our roles. To do so for other beings without their permission was another matter.”
Rainbow held up her hooves. “I didn’t say anything!”
“Hmm.” Celestia gave her a sideways look. “I reached out to Zecora and offered to teach her Equestrian magic. Curiously, she already seemed to know what I was going to ask her to do. Very mysterious.” She said the last with an over-the-top wave of her hooves, making Rainbow snort. “As I expected, Nightmare Moon discounted zebras and other beings entirely, focused on me and Equestria. She likely never even thought of poking about in the dreams of a random zebra who was unknown outside of some silly gossip in a lone, remote town.” Her smile turned sly. “As any older sister will tell you, it is important to learn how to preserve their privacy from their nosey little sisters. I was able to keep Nightmare Moon from my own dreams, though I had no greater power over the realm of dreams.”
“So Nightmare Moon had no way of knowing who she was.” Rainbow blinked as something clicked in her head. “And that’s why she couldn’t feel the Elements in the old castle! Zecora must’ve hid them with some kinda non-pony magic Nightmare Moon wasn’t looking for.”
Celestia beamed, proud of her deduction. “Just so! I must admit, I can’t claim credit for her inspired choice to hide the Elements in my sister’s old room. Nightmare Moon would never have looked there in a thousand years.” She shook out her wings. “With Nightmare Moon watching your dreams, I had to be careful about the information I could leave behind for you. Zecora was one source. Another was a certain book I had Shining Armor deposit in the Ponyville library.” A book popped into existence with her magic. The cover proclaimed The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide. “I understand it even has glossy photos.” Celestia shrugged.
“Right.” Rainbow felt her eye twitch. “Go figure. So, what was that whole deal about you merging with the sun or whatever? I don’t know if you noticed, but it was all dark when you were gone anyway. You might as well have stayed around to help.”
Celestia’s face grew dour. “I had hoped that my efforts would achieve a stable, regular orbit for the sun and moon even after I was gone. While Nightmare Moon was able to force the moon to stay up, it did take her more concentration than it would have otherwise. I wouldn’t be surprised if that extra bit of distraction helped divert her focus away from you and your friends.” She softened her voice. “But I suppose it’d be more honest to admit that wasn’t my only reason. I—I did not trust in my own strength to face her again, fight her again. I did not know if I would be able to do what was necessary if I could not get through to her.” She closed her eyes. “I thought—I hoped—that removing myself would deprive her of her focus and force her to realize how empty revenge was. For her to experience the emptiness she would have felt had she actually bested me. I do not know if that helped you get through to her or not, but it scarcely matters. I am so sorry that my actions hurt you.”
“It’s okay.” Rainbow shifted about before asking. “What happens now? I mean, I did it: the sonic rainboom and stopping Nightmare Moon. You have Luna back. Does … does that mean that...?” She waved her hoof between the two of them. “It’s over?”
Celestia shook her head. “Rainbow Dash, you will be my student for as long as you wish to be. You are not and never have been a replacement for my sister, or a mere tool for me to use and then set aside.” She let her wing rest on Rainbow’s back. “You are important to me, not for the things you do, but because of who you are.”
As much as she tried to hide it, a relieved shudder went through Rainbow’s wings. “Oh. Cool, cool. That’s good.” She leaned into Celestia’s touch. “So I guess my destiny isn’t fulfilled or whatever?”
“Destiny is a nebulous proposition,” Celestia said slowly. “But at the very least I can say that it is not a task to be fulfilled and then your destiny is ‘over.’ You give new life and meaning to your destiny for as long as you live, by your choices and actions; it is not some task assigned to you by the universe to fulfill. I believe that defeating Nightmare Moon and rescuing Luna was part of your destiny—but only part. What comes next, as always, is up to you.”
Rainbow was silent for a long time. “I—geeze, I don’t even know what to say, except…”
“Except you don’t want to go back to Canterlot,” Celestia finished softly.
Hearing it out loud hit Rainbow like a shot to the gut. “Yeah.” She sighed heavily. “I mean, I don’t want to leave Canterlot and I really don’t want to leave you … but I don’t want to leave Ponyville either and my friends and—gah! This is frustrating.” She rubbed her forehead, trying to ward off a pending headache. “I think you and Luna need some time to—to reconnect or whatever. I think it’d be easier if I wasn’t there, so you wouldn’t have to split your time between her and me, you know? She needs to be the most important pony in your life right now.” Rainbow shuffled her hooves. “But even if Luna wasn’t a factor, the truth is Ponyville just feels like a better fit for me. I’m sorry, I know that makes me sound ungrateful but—”
Celestia smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m not upset or disappointed. Far from it.”
“You’re not?” Rainbow regarded her skeptically.
“Absolutely.” Celestia brushed her wing over Rainbow’s back. “You’ve grown more in the few days you’ve spent in Ponyville than you have in the last few months with me in Canterlot. Even with the pressure surrounding Nightmare Moon’s return gone, I think Ponyville will suit you better. You do best learning at your own pace and I think you’d grow even more without having somepony standing over your shoulder or trying to lead you around by the nose to the ‘right’ answer.”
She couldn’t argue with that. “But how can I be your student if I’m not even there? Plus—” she didn’t want to say it, but she didn’t want to think of the snobbish Canterlot ponies thinking she’d given up or admitted they were right.
As too often seemed to be the case, Celestia could see right through her. “We can always correspond and I promise I will always make time to visit Ponyville. As for any other concerns...” She tossed her head. “I will make it quite clear to any—shall we say, interested parties—that you are still my student.” She quirked her brow. “You have performed exemplary feats and I will not brook them being disparaged.”
Rainbow thought about it, then shook her head. “You know what? You don’t even have to bother with that, because I’m not going to. If they still think that way about me, then they’re not worth it and I’m not gonna waste any more time worrying about what they think. I’m only gonna care about the opinions of ponies who matter to me—you, my friends, myself. They’re the ones whose opinion really matters, right?”
“That is true wisdom.” Celestia beamed as she stroked her mane. “I am so very proud of you.”
Rainbow felt a warm flush run through her. “Hey, I am pretty awesome.”
“Indeed.” Celestia let out an exaggerated sigh. “It is a pity you won’t be coming back to Canterlot though. I had the route of your victory parade all planned out and everything. I even had the Wonderbolts on standby for a flyover.”
Rainbow coughed. “Well, let’s not be too hasty or anything—” She stopped herself, staring warily at Celestia. “Are you being serious or are you just messing with me?”
“What do you think?” The enigmatic queen smirked.
“Suddenly I’m not at all regretting my decision to stay,” Rainbow muttered.
Celestia chuckled and patted her hoof. “I’ll take pity on you. I was mostly teasing but I am planning on a parade. It’s necessary for ponies to be reintroduced to Luna as their second queen, even if she insists on remaining a princess for now. That also means recognizing you for what you accomplished.”
“Oh—oh wow, that’s really cool…” Rainbow squirmed, then let out a sigh. “But my friends should be up there too. It wasn’t just me out there. If it was—I would’ve lost.” She squared her shoulders. “I’ll do it, but only if all of them are okay with being there too. I don’t know if Fluttershy or Twilight will be onboard for that. But unless all of them are going to be there together, with me, then I’m going to have to say no.”
Celestia nodded approvingly. “Truly, you have grown so much since the Long Night began. You need not worry, I would not think of overlooking your friends. What you did, what you all did, is worthy of recognition. Not to exalt you or feed one’s ego, but to inspire others through your example.”
Rainbow nodded. After a lull, she remembered something else she needed to wrap up. “So, Fancy Pants invited me to the Wonderbolt Derby. I was thinking that I can visit Canterlot when that comes around, stop by and see you, see the Derby and … maybe try to leave things on a better note with Tiffany and her bunch?”
“I think that sounds like a splendid idea.” Celestia patted her shoulder, only to stop and regard her curiously. “What’s that in your mane?”
“What’s what?” Rainbow fished around her mane and pulled out an envelope. “The hay?” She ripped it open and scanned its contents. “It’s an invitation to Welcome to Ponyville to Stay party by Pinkie Pie?” She blinked. “How’d she even know? I only just told you!” Rainbow shook her head. “Ponyville is just—its … I don’t know how to say it.”
Celestia raised a delicate eyebrow. “Twenty percent cooler?”
Rainbow let out a startled snort of laughter. “What? How do you even put a number on it like that? You’re so weird.”
“As I’m sure you will agree, normalcy can be dull.” Celestia smiled.
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Well ... it was a better explanation than cannon, and Trinary is confined to working within the story cannon plotted, but it's still a piss poor excuse for why Celestia didn't train her proteges for their actual mission and why she risked the lives of the entire world on a beyond wild gamble that should never have had even a faint hope of succeeding.
10158675
Which sadly is consistent with canon.
Also, it bothers me when Celestia says Pegasus and Earth Ponies cannot access Magic. If anything, they cannot spellcast. Being able to fly to supersonic speed, standing on clouds or making soil produce far more food than otherwise would be possible are feats of magic. Same with Cutie Marks.
10158721 Those are all innate magic, though, so maybe Celestia was using "magic" as a blanket term for spellcasting?
Oh that's cute.
Well, that's a start.
I like this. I REALLY like this.
Huh, that's, actually fair.
Probably.
And there you have it.
Boy you ain't kidding.
Of course.
There you have it.
Destiny is, tricky. Sometimes nebulous, other times set in stone.
And if anyone questions her, she can simply remind them that it's thanks to her that Equestria has thrived for a thousand years without Luna. Without her, many of them wouldn't even be around.
That's the spirit!
Plus, with how fast you are, Ponyville to Canterlot can't be a long trip.
It's Pinkie Pie, don't question it.
REALLY good work on this story throughout (considering we're into the epilogue chapters now, of which we still probably have some left). The action, exchanges and characterizations throughout the adventure portion of this story were quite well done and the exchanges, characterizations and future story set-ups here continue to be great. I LOVED the "happy tears/hugs" reunions and yeah, the explanations and admissions/apologies from both Celestia AND Rainbow were beautiful stuff.
I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Rainbow will probably end up becoming an alicorn shortly after the fight with Discord (which will be AFTER the fights with Sombra AND Chrysalis), most likely due to Rainbow performing the ULTIMATE act of Loyalty (not JUST sacrificing herself to save her friends, but fighting her way back to the land of the living to continue helping those very same friends). This, of course, would be a Mythology Gag to some of Lauren Faust's original plans for the series (with the exception that they were intended for Twilight rather than Rainbow). As I said, though, this is just an extremely wild guess and is just as likely to be wrong as right.
And, of course, kind of have to wonder about THIS universe's versions of the other major villains (Starlight Glimmer before she reformed, Tirek, Cozy Glow [obviously Rainbow wouldn't think of the "Friendship School" stuff, so Cozy would HAVE TO be EVEN MORE subtle and patient in order to gain the resources needed for any major schemes], the Storm King, etc.). But that's what the future stories are for anyway.
I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this, at any rate.
10158959
Curious: what exactly are you referring to when you say Faust's original plans?
10158721
10158722
This was a creative choice on my part for Dashverse.
Most fanfics assert that all three breeds of ponies (btw, just a pet peeve but I -hate- the use of the word "tribe" to describe earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi. It just sounds ... off) posses magic but they just channel it differently: earth ponies channel it through their hooves to help grow plants, pegasi channel it through their wings to fly and manipulate weather and unicorns channel it through their horns to do spells and such.
It's a valid interpretation and it is backed up by the show, most notably with TIrek draining magic from all three pony-types in the Season 4 finale (but is contradicted a bit by the Season 8 finale which just shows magic being taken from and returned to unicorns and also maybe Pinkie Pie).
Part of me does like this answer as I'm a bit of an egalitarian and I like a balance between the three types of ponies, like having them all be magic. But there are a few things about it that bug me. I just find it more interesting to operate on the basis that cloud walking, weather manipulation and the ability of ponies to fly is just part of the natural "physics" (heavy use of quotation marks) of this world rather than falling under the category of magic (we also see species without magic being able to fly and walk on clouds, like griffons, so why should these abilities be linked to magic for pegasi?).
Also, if all ponies posses magic, then why didn't Celestia ever take on pegasi or earth ponies to teach them how to better make use of their abilities? Maybe they can't cast spells, but help develop their talents more? Plus, if alicorns are a gestalt of all three kinds of ponies, shouldn't they be able to do something along these lines? But we never see Luna or Celestia do anything really impressive with any 'pegasi' or 'earth pony' abilities. The show is all about direct magic and unicorns: Twilight, Trixie, Tempest, Moondancer, Sunset, Sunburst, Starlight, Starswirl, etc.
I also don't care much for how pegasi and earth ponies got a bit pigeon-holed. Celestia revealed there were schools for them in the Season 8 premiere ... but pegasi school was basically all about the weather while earth ponies were taught agricultural stuff. At least with magic, unicorns can take that in different directions, makes it seem like they have a lot more options open to them, while earth pony and pegasi schools sounded more vocational in nature.
I love Equestria as a harmonious society, but from a story-telling perspective there's more possibilities raised if there are some potential sources of tension, like envy between the three main pony types. Imagine a young Apple Bloom complaining to Applejack one day how unfair it is that Sweetie Belle gets to learn magic and Scootaloo can (maybe, hopefully, one day?) fly but earth ponies got nothing and aren't special. I'm tempted to have it be part of the lore that earth ponies insist there -is- a kind of magic they have that lets them be such great farmers, but all attempts to prove it have been really inconclusive, at best, and it's really just something they tell themselves when they have generations of farming know-how under their belt.
Cutie marks are probably magical in nature and that's the same, but otherwise, no, earth ponies and pegasi in Dashverse do not have magic. What abilities they have are either physical in nature (having wings to fly) or come from generations of familiarity and knowledge (weather working, farming and construction, animal care, etc.)
But beyond all that, there's another reason why I did that, and it's also a big part of why I drastically changed how the Elements of Harmony worked in the new version (besides not wanting the instant-magic-reform cliche). It can be summed up by two phrases: "The Magic of Friendship" and "Friendship is Magic." While the latter is in the series' title, I actually prefer the former. The series is, or should have been, about how powerful, wondrous and magical friendship is. How just being friends and forming connections to others can do so many amazing things just by BEING friends. But the show took "friendship is magic" a touch too literally and made it come off like friendship was important just because it was the power source for their rainbow lasers. I wanted to emphasize the Friendship over the Magic.
10159097
So, making unicorns OP for the sake of social drama? Well, is your choice as a writer.
Still, if the other races are aware of the unfair advantage of unicorns, why haven't they done research to harness magic artificially just like we do with electricity?
10159108
I think the Shadowbolts, specially Derpy and Shining Armor, have every damn reason to be salty. Just think in how the average human would have reacted on their horseshoes.
10159108
... they got mind-raped by Nightmare Moon and you don't like them still being 'salty' about it?
I got nothing, here.
10159136
It's not a question of being 'OP,' they aren't any more powerful here than they are in the show. Quite frankly, aside from the Tirek stuff in the S4 finale, there's very little in the show where the supposed innate magic of pegasi or earth ponies has ever come into play. If it hadn't come up there, would you even suspect that they were supposed to have magic? Aside from that one finale, which is itself contradicted by another, later finale, I can't see anything that this changes.
No. *bap* BAD Celestia. *bap* NO meme necromancy for you! *bap*
Alright. *grabs the rolled-up newspaper from Sunset* My turn now.
10159254
"Meme necromancy." Nice. I've got to remember that term.
I don't have much to say other than this was a really nice chapter and conversation between Celestia and Dash. :)
So...how did Celestia un-merge herself from the sun? That didn't seem like a reversible process.
10159097 Huh, interesting. I wonder if it will have an impact on future stories (Tierk, or whoever, only going after unicorns, etc.).
10159072
I meant that I recall reading or hearing somewhere that Faust originally planned to have Twilight ascend from defeating Discord. Of course, that same source also mentioned that Discord was originally planned to be the main villain of the SERIES finale rather than the second season opener.
10159161
Like I said, I'm big on the "Easily Forgiven" mindset the show took. And why didn't Dash pull the "be the better pony" thing on them? In situations like that, you SHOULD be the better individual.
10159108
Yes, but Equestria in canon has shown itself to be FAR more forgiving in canon than we are.
10159097
That reminds me of an idea I once had for a comedy-ish story where AJ tries to teach Twilight to connect to her Earth Pony magic and...nothing happens. Twilight freaks out, so Spike gets ahead of it and writes a letter to Celestia before the panic attack gets too big. Celestia reluctantly admits there IS no such thing as Earth Pony magic, and at the beginning of time the Earth Ponies were late when Faust was handing out gifts to all the races so she fed them some BS because she'd run out. Celestia had maintained the lie for generations to keep society from collapsing from Earth Ponies realizing that, in a very real sense, they ARE inferior to the other two tribes. Twilight decides to tell the truth, an angry AJ leads a rebellion, and is quickly put in her place by bad weather and some spells.
10162577
That sound more like a tragedy than a comedy.
10165575
How so?
10165784
Because:
Also badly damaging the structural integrity of some of the buildings in Ponyville, but eh, it was worth it for a show.
"Well, my original plan was actually to not tell you anything at all."
"..."
"Oh by the way now's probably a good time to mention that I'm hoping to turn you into an alicorn at some point in the next year."
Dash: "Why not just, like, check and see who got their cutie mark on that day?"
Celestia: "I did. Do you have any idea how far away a Sonic Rainboom can be seen from? And how impressive an enlightening it can be? I identified over six thousand foals who got their cutie mark."
Dash: "...whoah."
Celestia: "Seriously there was a statistically significant spike in ponies earning their marks about ten years back."
Fundamentally, both Rarity and Rainbow Dash are showmares. It's one of the reasons why I usually view Trixie as a combination of Rarity and Rainbow Dash's personalities.
As a brief aside, while there is plenty of talk from Rainbow about how generous Rarity is or how kind Fluttershy is, there's never actually a moment where each pony names the Element they've earned, unless I missed it. Like, they just have the Elements, and we get internal narration as to why, but nopony says aloud that they've got Honesty or Laughter or whatnot.
Trixie's ear twitched.
10682582
HA! Okay, yeah, her Sonic Rainboom probably did spark at more than just six cutie marks.
Yeah, I was NOT a fan of the implication in "Celestial Advice" (man I didn't like that episode at ALL) that Celestia knew who the other five Bearers would be and seemingly set up the situation for Twilight to meet them all. I'm much more of a proponent of free will. I can kinda-sorta get behind destiny/fate/prophecy stuff in fiction if it's kept vague enough--but I still want the characters to be the one's making the choice. Events are not happening totally independently or separately of the characters' wants and actions.
You're right, I forgot to explicitly have the six Elements be listed by name--but I kinda also like the idea, as part of what was sketched out above, that the Mane Six chose what the six Elements would be based on the values they thought were most important. Going off the Pillars, we know the Elements are immutable constants. So I guess there's room for change there?
Heading off the “But can she still do the rainboom or was it just a one-time thing?” question at the pass.
But she almost… didn’t?
…Fair, I guess?
It's a clever explanation. Sort of like how Voldemort doesn’t take the time to understand love, and love’s what defeats him in the end.
Over-the-top.
This coming from Celestia? Didn’t she sing a whole ballad about destiny that one time? 🤔
This chapter… I don’t know. I haven't got a lot to say about it. It's 100% exposition, which isn't actually a problem since it's tying up loose ends at the twilight of the story. It's fine, I guess.
But I do think the remaster misses out on something compared to the original.
This is a complex issue. I don't think Rainbow's reasons for being upset at Celestia in the original R&R were justified. All in all, I think her temper tantrum was a little cringe-inducing. But I do think the moment of reconciliation that came after that fight was really good. It's so good, I can remember the chapter title almost ten years later without even looking at it: The Princess and the Derp. The final sentence of that chapter is still seared into my memory, even after all this time: "In the darkest recesses of the night, love and hope burned bright."
It was really good. Really good. Like... literally the best stuff in the entire Dashverse good. The best stuff in the entire Dashverse. Let me say that again. The best stuff in the entire Dashverse.
But it's missing here.
I know why you took it out, but... Gosh, I wish there were some way it could've been kept. It was wonderful. I'll never forget Celestia's conversation with Derpy in that chapter. Derpy opening Celestia's eyes to the fact that she's basically Rainbow Dash's mother; Celestia relaying that conversation to Rainbow Dash, and the two of them embracing each other as mother and daughter. When I think about Rainbooms and Royalty, that's the moment I think about.
10777196
Thanks so much man! One more to go!
Sigh. I'd like to be flattered by your praise of the original, but It makes me squirm since once again, it was a case of me lifting something more-or-less straight from another source. In this case, that line came from the Blue Lantern Corps Oath from DC comics.
In fearful day, in raging night,
With strong hearts full, our souls ignite,
When all seems lost in the War of Light,
Look to the stars-- For hope burns bright!
Of course that wasn't the whole scene but I still fidget a bit. Ugh, I did that SO much back in the day...
Anywho, yeah, this is what I think of as a Dumbledore scene. I wanted to strike the right note for Celestia in my stories since the series tended to do her a real disservice. Or at the very least, I didn't like how she came off or some of the implications they had with her.
The flashback scene in "Celestial Advice" had Celestia looking at the ReMane Five together and left us with the implication being that she knew these would be the other Element bearers and set it up so Twilight would have to interact with them on the Summer Sun Celebration. Because screw free will and making choices, your destiny is scripted for you Twilight! I HATE that cliche.
Beyond that is just the problem of the Celestia's role in the series. The S4 finale set up that she had visions (only mentioned there) of the future. Setting up something like that makes it harder to justify all the times she was taken unawares or by surprise, which was a lot. S9 tried to answer that and her non-involvement in the two-parters by claiming that it was all a test for Twilight which was .... very unsatisfying and problematic. So, she sat on her plot and risked the lives of others just so she could 'test' Twilight? But if she really WAS that all-knowing as to be sure there wouldn't be any chance of Twilight and her friends failing, then her being unaware of Discord's scheme really makes it look like she dropped the ball, to say nothing of her ridiculous and embarrassing instant defeat by Cozy Glow.
I'm not super fond of the trope of having characters so brilliant they can set-up these convoluted schemes that hinge on knowing what every single person will do at every single moment. Not only is that ridiculous, it also makes their defeat a bit harder to buy if they're legitimately that brilliant. And if you can't tell if the character is being exceptionally dumb by constantly failing and being neutralized, or is being exceptionally clever in playing a role that makes it impossible to distinguish if they're a genius or a moron ... I consider that very unsatisfying. Maybe some writers can pull stuff like that off, but the series sure didn't.