Chapter 29: Seeds of History (Last Edited: 9/11/2022)
August 21, 2020 AD
Royal Canterlot Gardens
"What are you going to teach me first?" Jack asked, grinning eagerly. "Teleportation? Telekinesis? Telepathy? Or am I only able to do plant-based magic? Do you think I could make, like, a giant Venus flytrap?"
"Hold out your hands," Celestia requested.
"Ok," Jack said as he complied.
Celestia plucked an acorn from a tree and levitated it into Jack's open palms.
"What's this for?" Jack asked.
"I want you to focus your magic on the seed until it sprouts."
"Seriously?" Jack pouted. "Should have known it'd be something boring like this."
"I know it's not glamorous, but if you truly want to master your magic, it's essential that you learn more control," Celestia said firmly.
"Alright," Jack sighed, his hands glowing emerald as he focused on the seed.
The acorn shook violently until it exploded with an echoing pop. Jack dove for cover while Celestia put up a shield to avoid the nutty shrapnel.
"You’re using too much energy at once,” Celestia calmly explained. “Think of yourself as a pump and the seed as a balloon. If you put in too much air at once, the balloon will pop.”
Jack tried again, but this time nothing happened at all.
“Now you’re putting in too little energy,” Celestia said.
As the day passed by, Jack failed over and over again. By the time Celestia allowed him to turn in for the night, he had obliterated at least five hundred acorns.
Celestia’s Bed Chambers
The day had been exhausting for Celestia. Immediately after she dismissed Jack, she found herself being thrust into a surprise meeting with Filthy Rich. She should have expected it at this point. Filthy Rich was one of those entitled 3rd generation business ponies. His grandfather had done all the work making the business, earning the fortune, and earning the status, and he’d simply inherited it all. He’d never worked for anything in his life and, as a result, was relentless and even childish when it came to getting what he wanted. He’d sent no less than sixty petitions to Mayor Mare requesting that Ponyville’s public park be torn down to make room for a private school. When that didn’t work, he turned to the highest power in the land. She’d already received and rejected seventy-five petitions, and now the arrogant billionaire had chosen to beg directly. She’d said no, of course, but this didn’t stop her from cursing the decision to retain the right of the Diarchy to mediate land disputes.
“The class system has been a thorn in my side for far too long.” Celestia thought to herself as she settled in her bed. “Even so, with Blutknochen on the move again, is now really the time to focus on this? If Jack doesn’t learn to control his magic soon, he’ll be susceptible to unwanted influence. It was so much easier with Virginia she took to her magic like a duck to water. Jack’s far more like the others from Roanoke. They all succumbed to the chaos. Why didn’t she? What saved her?”
December 25, 1588
Northern Hayseed Swamps
Celestia was on her way to investigate the site of a strange explosion. Typically she would have had an E.U.P. Army scout unit report back to her, but the team sent to investigate had simply sent a note saying she needed to see this for herself.
This region's humidity was usually unbearable, but the winter months meant that the climate was at a comfortable 65 degrees. The mosquitoes would be sluggish if at all active at this temperature.
As she entered the coordinates the investigation team sent her, she spotted a circle-shaped scar on the landscape. Trees had been incinerated entirely, and nothing was left of the area except for black soot. “That’s clearly the blast site, so why are they sending me further south?” she wondered.
A few minutes later, she arrived at the site and greeted the squad leader responsible for the expedition. “Sergeant Bronze Hoof, what is the meaning of this?” she asked sternly.
“Ma’am, we investigated the explosion as you asked, but we’ve encountered an anomaly,” Bronze Hoof answered with a salute.
“Anomaly?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bronze Hoof nodded. “Corporal Sharp Blade, bring us the prisoner!” he called.
Sharp Blade nodded and disappeared into the swamp. He returned two minutes later with a pale blond-haired human boy, roughly nine years old, wearing a linen shirt, leather vest, linen pants, and leather shoes, all several sizes too large for him. He clearly hadn’t eaten a decent meal in a while, and his bones were outlined through every inch of visible skin.
“Human!” Celestia thought in alarm. Keeping a calm mask on her face, Celestia asked, “What’s your name, human?”
“Ananias Dare,” the boy answered.
“We found more than forty of these things,” Bronze Hoof said. “This one identified himself as their leader, so we took him hostage. Most of them were starving, so there wasn’t much resistance.” He nodded to Sharp Blade.
“Take Ananias and the rest of his group to Canterlot,” Celestia ordered. “I want him and the rest of his kind fed, sheltered, and fitted with clothing fitting of royal guests.”
“Y-yes, ma’am,” Bronze Hoof agreed, taken off guard by the order.
“Thank you, miss,” Ananias said. “’tis truly a Christmas miracle!” he sobbed joyfully.
January 2, 1589
Canterlot Castle: Dining Hall
The Humans had settled into Canterlot quite well, all things considered. Most of them had gained a healthy amount of weight, they had all washed up, and their clothes had been replaced with custom-made items from the royal tailor. Apparently, they were from a country called England and were part of a remote colony called Roanoke. Things hadn’t gone well as it would seem those initially in charge of the colony had fled back to the homeland, and supplies hadn’t arrived in over a year. The colonists had suffered famine, disease, and raids from a hostile tribe called the Croatan. This tribe was accused of cannibalism, rape, and murder, but Celestia had a feeling that these were largely exaggerations, if not outright falsehoods. One day there was a flash, and all the surviving colonists found themselves in the charred remains of a section of the Hay Seed Swamps their bodies having regressed to a third of their previous ages.
The residents of Canterlot had taken well to the new arrivals. They were suspicious initially, but all it took was Celestia vouching for the humans for most ponies to at least tolerate their presence.
She watched as the castle chefs set up a modest spread of food on the table in front of her. Today’s feast was of the utmost importance. Ananias would be bringing his wife and daughter to dine with her. She needed to make absolutely certain these humans would be on her side. If Blutknochen were to get his hooves on this many of them, it would be a disaster.
The grand doors to the dining hall swung open. “Master Dare and his family have arrived,” announced a servant.
Ananias walked inside dressed in a sharp suit. Beside him was a fair-skinned girl far younger than her husband at around the age of 6. She had blond hair and wore an elegant gown. In her arms, she held an infant less than a year old. These were only appearances, of course. All three of them were at least three times as old as they looked.
“Welcome, Mister Dare,” Celestia greeted. “I see you and your family are doing well.”
“Thank you for your kindness, Princess,” Ananias said with a mixture of a bow and a curtsey. “This is my wife, Eleanor.”
Eleanor mimicked her husband’s movements. “We are ever so grateful, your highness.”
“And this is our daughter, Virginia,” Ananias added as Elenore proudly held up her bundle of joy.
Once she had been formally introduced to Ananias’s family, she told him everything she knew about why he was here. She told them about Blutknochen, the Elements of Chaos, chaos magic, and the mysterious nature of their opponents’ goals.
“If you’d like to return to your world, I understand,” Celestia said. “I’ll be happy to find a way to send you back, but if you’d be willing, I’d very much appreciate your assistance.”
“We’d be honored to assist you,” said Ananias. “Governor White, Sir Raleigh, and Queen Elizabeth left my people and me to die. You’ve taken us in, fed us, and clothed us. It would be sinful not to return the favor.”
May 7, 1591
Canterlot Castle
Celestia watched in horror at the scene before her. Canterlot, the center of Equestrian society politically, culturally, and economically was on fire. The heat from the flames was so intense that it could be felt even from the safety of the castle’s highest towers. All this destruction, all this suffering… why now? “Who is responsible?” she wondered furiously.
“Princess Celestia!” called a lightly armed pegasus from above her.
“Admiral Fairweather, what’s going on?!!” Celestia asked.
“It’s the humans!” Fairweather shouted. “They’ve betrayed us!”
“What?!” Celestia asked in shock.
“We’ve been overwhelmed!” Fairweather shouted. “Please, you must stop them!”
Shouting could be heard from behind the door.
“I need to speak to Princess Celestia!”
“We’re not letting you anywhere near her traitor!”
“Please, I don’t have much time!”
Interested in the commotion, Celestia opened the door to investigate. “Elenore?” she asked.
Elenore Dare was struggling to get past Celestia’s personal guards as Virginia and an infant dragon clung to her side in abject terror, “Princess Celestia! Please!”
“Let her through,” Celestia commanded.
“Ma’am?” a guard questioned.
“Let her through,” Celestia repeated.
The guards hesitantly parted, allowing Elenore through.
“What’s happening?!!” Celestia asked sternly.
“There was this stallion,” Elenore explained. “Big, red, and muscular with a pocket watch cutie mark. He cast a spell on us, and everyone went insane!”
“And why wasn’t this unicorn’s spell effective on you?” Celestia asked.
“He wasn’t a unicorn,” Eleanor replied. “He was an earth pony.” Clinching her forehead tightly, she added. “And I was affected… thousands of voices in my head… telling me to destroy Canterlot… not sure how long I can resist. Please take Virginia and Razer!”
Celestia nodded to Fairweather, who ushered Virginia and Razer to the tower room, Virginia letting out a series of ear-splitting cries upon separation from her mother. No sooner were the children clear of the hall than could a booming crash be heard from the lower staircase, as an army of humans led by the red earth pony pushed their way to the top.
“Privyet, Celestia,” the red stallion introduced in Russian. “Menya zovut Obmanshchik.”
The guards formed a line between Obmanshchik and Celestia as Eleanor fell to the floor in agony.
“Join us, Eleanor,” said Ananias from the crowd of humans. His eyes flashed sapphire as two energy orbs of the same color materialized in his palms.
“Ananias, please,” Eleanor begged.
“If you won’t obey, then you are of no use,” Obmanshchik sighed. “Kill her,” he ordered Ananias.
Ananias hesitated. “I…. can’t.”
“I see…” Obmanshchik muttered as his eyes blackened.
The other humans began charging their magic.
“If you won’t do what I ask, then the other humans will,” Obmanshchik said, shaking his head.
The mob of humans launched a tidal wave of chaos magic at the guards and Eleanor. Bolts of lightning, torrents of pressurized water, streams of flame, gusts of wind and snow, volleys of stone, metal, and wood. Celestia moved to intervene, but it was already too late.
The hallway exploded into a cloud of dust that obscured everything. When the dust cleared, Celestia let out a sigh of relief. Neither the guards nor Eleanor had been harmed.
That relief turned to sorrow when she realized what had happened. Ananias lay on the ground in front of the guards, limp, mangled, and soaked to the bone.
When the other humans launched their attack, he broke free from Obmanshchik’s spell and used his power, the Chaos of the Ocean, to set up a barrier between them and his wife. The barrier did its job, but in his haste, he failed to protect himself.
As Eleanor stared at her husband’s body, she could feel the last of her resistance fading as the darkness in her heart grew. Now, Obmanshchik had complete control over her.
“YOU’VE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE!!!” Celestia roared in the royal Canterlot voice.
Before she could act, the hallway was overcome with an eerie chill. “Ich think nicht, meine dear Celestia.”
“Blutknochen!” Celestia gasped. “I should have known!”
“As much as ich would enjoy catching up, ich have other matters to attend to,” Blutknochen said with a smirk. “It’s time to go!” he ordered to Obmanshchik and the humans.
Obmanshchik and the humans gathered around Blutknochen. Having completely submitted her will, Eleanor followed as Celestia tried in vain to snap her out of it.
“Eleanor! Think of Virginia!”
“Auf wiedersehen, Celestia,” Blutknochen said before teleporting himself, Obmanshchik, and all the humans around him far away.
Celestia stared silently at the destroyed tower hall. All was lost. Blutknochen had the humans. Whatever his plans were, he had all the chaos magic he needed.
“Ma’am!?” asked Fairweather.
“What can we do?” Celestia asked herself.
“What are your orders, ma’am?” Fairweather asked. “Should I send out a pursuit unit?”
“How can we stop a group if we don’t even know what they’re trying to do?”
“What should we do with the human foal?”
“Virginia!” Celestia realized. “I need to make sure the Dares’ daughter is taken care of first. Then I can figure out what to do about Blutknochen.” Clearing her throat, Celestia gave Fairweather his orders. “Take Virginia and Razer to the Lunar bedroom. Then contact the other captains. I want the entire E.U.P on full alert!”
“Yes, ma’am!” Fairweather agreed with a salute.
As Fairweather and the guards rushed to obey her orders, Celestia solemnly trotted to Ananias’ body. He was an adult, of course, practically elderly when one considers the conditions he lived under in Roanoke. Still, what she saw before her was the body of a child. Carefully she used her magic to shut his lifeless eyes. The least she could do was give him a dignified burial. As she levitated his corpse onto her back, she heard a thud from behind her.
Turning around, she found Ananias’ gun had fallen out of his pocket. It was a curious contraption. Once loaded and primed, Ananias simply had to aim at a target and pull a trigger turning a wheel within the weapon that, through friction, would ignite an explosive powder launching a metal ball at a deadly velocity. They were quite expensive, and Ananias had received it as a gift from his father-in-law, John White, who was the governor of Roanoke before he abandoned the colony and his people.
Teleporting the weapon to her room, Celestia carried Ananias down the ruined staircase.
August 24, 1602
Frozen North
It had been eleven years since the Attack on Canterlot. Despite having obtained dozens of humans, there was no indication that Blutknochen had achieved his goals, whatever they may be. In fact, he, the humans, and the Elements of Chaos seemed to have vanished off the face of Equus. The Royal Court had been talking about demobilizing the E.U.P. The business class ponies were citing a decrease in profits stemming from military interference in trade. Most of the representatives were of the opinion that if Blutknochen were going to attack again, he would have done so by now. Celestia knew better. Whatever plan Blutknochen needed chaos magic for had failed, but Blutknochen was no quitter. He’d stay in the shadows until he figured out what went wrong and when he found out, he’d try again.
Virginia had grown a lot in that time. She was technically 15, but, biologically speaking, she was only 14. She’d lived a comfortable life, and Celestia had treated her like her own daughter. A fact that had not gone unnoticed by Equestria's citizens who mockingly called her Princess Dare. It was well known that the humans were involved in the Burning of Canterlot, so she wasn’t well-received by most ponies, although most kept it to themselves out of respect for Celestia.
While the other ponies looked at Virginia with scorn, Celestia saw her as Equestria’s last hope. Whatever Blutknochen was trying to do, Celestia was convinced that Virginia would be vital in stopping it. As such, Celestia deemed now the time to train her to control her magic, the Chaos of Blizzards.
Virginia had only activated her magic three times before now. When she was seven, she lost her balance on one of the castle stairways and created a snowbank to break her fall. The second time, when she was thirteen, she’d gotten lost in the Canterlot slums and was attacked by a group of thugs looking to get a ransom. She’d left her attackers frozen like popsicles. Finally, a week prior, Celestia taught her how to activate her powers without chaos mode.
“Can’t we do this somewhere warmer?” complained a small wingless red dragon.
“That would defeat the purpose, Razer,” Celestia replied. “If Virginia is to learn how to control her magic, we need a proper environment.”
“Ok, but why do I have to be here?”
“You want to help Virginia, don’t you?”
“Of course!” Razer exclaimed. “Mistress Dare is my best friend!”
“Good, then let’s go see how she’s doing,” said Celestia.
The two walked into a thicket of spruce trees where Celestia had instructed Virginia to prevent a snowball from melting in her hand. They arrived to find Virginia holding a fully frozen snowball in her palm.
“I did it, mom!” Virginia cheered. “It took me three tries, but I did it!”
“Already?” Celestia asked. “How on Equus did you figure it out so quickly?”
“It was hard at first, but then I thought about everything you’ve done for me, and I could just do it,” Virginia explained.
August 22, 2020
Celestia’s Bed Chambers
Celestia woke at six in the morning, and she’d had about ten minutes before it was time to raise the Sun. While she had been having trouble figuring out how to help Jack with his magic, her dreams had given her an idea.
She rose from her bed and began her morning routine. Soon she was ready for the day and stepped into the hall where she found Luna waiting for her.
“Greetings, sister,” said Luna. “I trust thine dreams were of use?”
“I believe so,” Celestia answered. “If I’m right, I should be able to help Mr. Jager control his magic.”
“Glorius news!” Luna exclaimed. “Come, sister, let us begin the day!”
The two sisters stepped outside and charged their horns. As Luna’s Moon sank beneath the horizon, Celestia’s Sun rose in its place.
Royal Canterlot Gardens
Jack’s training session began three hours after sunrise. He had been frustrated by the lack of progress in the previous day's session, but he was still determined to improve.
Telikenetically dropping an acorn in Jack’s open palms, Celestia said, “I want you to picture the happiest memory you can think of.”
“Happy?” Jack asked.
“Yes,” Celestia confirmed with a nod.
Taking in a deep breath, Jack said, “ok.”
Celestia watched as Jack closed his eyes and focused on the acorn. Before long, it began to sprout.
University of South Carolina: Koger Center for the Arts
June 1, 2017
Jack proudly stood in line garbed in the traditional cap and gown of graduation. Having transferred to an online school, he’d, unfortunately, lost out on attending the same ceremony as any of his friends. Nevertheless, this was an important milestone, and nothing could ruin it.
“Jackson Delano Jager Jr.,” called the school director.
With a prideful grin, Jack stepped onto the stage to retrieve his diploma. After a firm handshake, the director handed him his diploma, and he was on his way. This was it, the first day of the rest of his life. He could be whatever he wanted now. A scientist, perhaps? Maybe a doctor or a teacher. A park ranger, an archeologist, a historian, even an astronaut! Nothing seemed out of his reach as he gazed at the document cementing his departure from secondary education.
Jack’s pride turned to horror as a pitch-black mist blanketed the scene.
Royal Canterlot Gardens
Present
Celestia watched in satisfaction as the acorn in Jack’s palm sprouted.
“It would seem my theory was correct,” Celestia thought.
Unfortunately, Celestia was too quick to congratulate herself, and the sapling in Jack’s hand began to wither and die.
Jack’s House
August 4, 2017
Jack’s mom had been adamant about sending him off to college with a bang and insisted on holding a party with all the Circle of Bros, nearby relatives, members of their church, and even a few of his old teachers that lived nearby. Mark, of course, had opted to barricade himself in his room rather than celebrate his brother’s graduation and was nowhere to be seen. The kitchen table was covered in a banquet of Jack’s favorite foods, his favorite songs played on the surround sound, and the living room had been filled with balloons.
“I remember when Jack was only three, he used to have me play this song over and over again on the way to preschool,” Jack’s mother said.
“Mom!” Jack complained.
Jack buried his face in his hands as the song began to play. “She’s so embarrassing!”
“At least she’ll talk to you.”
Jack turned to see Bryce standing behind him with Chase and Shawn. “Hey, guys!”
“Heard you’re going to coastal,” Bryce said. “It’s a party school, you know.”
“Yeah, man,” Jack confirmed. “What school are you going to?”
“I wanted to go to Trident, but I can’t afford it,” Bryce sighed.
“Why don’t you just ask your parents?” Jack asked.
Bryce raised an eyebrow and looked at Jack as if to say, ‘seriously?’.
Jack smacked his face with a loud pop. “I’m so sorry, Bryce! That was a dumb question!”
“It’s fine, Jack,” Bryce said. “I’ve found a job at Boeing. If they accept my application, I’ll make fifteen dollars an hour.”
“That’s… great,” Jack replied. “What about you, Chase? Still planning on coming to Coastal?”
“Yep, I’ll be right behind you, buddy,” Chase nodded. “One more year at Ashley Ridge, and then we can be roomies!”
“Nice!” Jack said. “And you’ll be going to Clemson next year, right, Shawn?”
“That’s right, you're lookin' at the next, Elon Musk,” Shawn said smugly.
"Honestly I still don't get why you're settling for Clemson," Jack sighed. "With your grades, you could get into MIT easily."
"Clemson's always been my dream school," Shawn chuckled. “I do feel a little bad, though.”
“Why?” Jack asked.
“It’s just that with you going all the way to Myrtle Beach and us staying here, I’m worried you might have…” Shawn paused, fishing for words.
“Might have what?” Jack asked
Shawn sighed. “You know how you are, man. You have us here in Summerville, but who will you hang out with at Coastal?”
“Oh,” Jack said with a frown. Weakly smiling, he said, “I’ll be fine, you guys may not be there to hang out, but Yuri and those jerks won’t be there to bother me either.”
“About, Yuri…” Shawn started with a nervous chuckle.
“You’re going out, right?” Jack asked emotionlessly.
“How did you?...” Shawn asked.
“I told him,” Bryce interrupted. “It wasn’t right for you to keep it from him, dude.”
“Oh…” Shawn said. “Well, um… You’re ok with that, right?” he asked Jack.
“Of course,” Jack said, masking his lie with an awkward smile.
Royal Canterlot Gardens
Present
Jack opened his eyes to see the dead sapling in his palms.
“What did you picture?” Celestia asked.
“My graduation,” Jack answered. “It was one of the happiest moments I could think of.”
“It looked like you had figured it out,” Celestia said. “What went wrong?”
“Thinking about graduation brought up another memory,” Jack answered. “A bad one.”
“I see,” Celestia said, placing a hoof under her chin thoughtfully. “Is there something else you can think of?”
“I think so,” Jack answered, closing his eyes again.
Beaufort, South Carolina
March 9, 2020
It was the start of Spring Break. Jack had driven down to his parent's new house in Beaufort as soon as he’d finished his last assignment, only stopping briefly in Summerville to visit Chase’s parents. He pulled into the driveway with a smile on his face. He had terrific news to share with his family.
Stepping out of the CR-V, he took a look at the house. It was a single-story home on stilts. The plastic sidings around the wall were painted blue, and a wooden staircase led up to a deck where the front door could be seen.
Jack rushed up the steps and rapidly tapped on the door until it opened.
“Welcome home, Jack!” Mrs. Jager exclaimed, hugging him as he walked in.
“Glad to be back,” Jack said, looking to the table where his father was answering emails, and Mark was reading 12 Rules For Life by Jordan Peterson.
“I have something to show you!” he exclaimed, gleefully pulling a folder from his backpack.
His mother gasped as Jack pulled out a certificate with the words Phi Alpha Theta in bold print at the top.
“Is that?...” she asked.
“I got accepted into an honor society!” Jack beamed.
“That’s wonderful, honey!” his mother congratulated.
“Awesome, Jack!” his Dad called from the table. Nudging the Mark, he added, “You see how successful your brother is? If you start applying yourself and get those grades up, you might get into an honor society too someday.”
Slamming his book onto the table, Mark pushed his chair aside and stormed off to his room, his footsteps so hard they shook the entire house.
Royal Canterlot Gardens
Present
Jack stared at the dried-up sapling in his hand and sighed. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to do this, Celestia.”
“You shouldn’t give up so easily, Jack,” Celestia said. “Nopony masters magic control immediately. You’re really doing quite well. What makes you think you can’t do it?”
“I’m sure Luna’s told you about my dream problem,” Jack said.
“She mentioned you were prone to nightmares when you first got here,” Celestia answered. “But she says they’ve become less common as of late.”
“Before I came here, I made a lot of mistakes,” Jack said, dipping his head in shame. “Mistakes that hurt other people. Ruined their lives in some cases. Until recently, they plagued my dreams, and I’ve only been able to stop them by not thinking about it.” Clinching his fist and holding back a flood of tears, he said, “For every good memory I have from before I got here, there’s another connected memory of someone I’ve hurt.”
“I see,” Celestia said thoughtfully. “What about something more recent?”
“More recent?” Jack asked.
“If your memories before coming here cause you pain, why not try some of your memories in Equestria?” Celestia asked. “I know you want to go home, but surely you must have some good memories here.”
“I… I guess I can try,” Jack said, closing his eyes as Celestia passed him another acorn.
A few seconds went by, and the acorn began to sprout.
Jack’s Mind
The scene before, Jack was one he often looked at fondly. It was Diamond Tiara’s cute-ceañera, and he, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell sat around a table in Sugar Cube Corner. They were about to form the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
In the back of his head, he heard a voice saying, “You’ll never be able to go home!”
The world faded to black, and a giant version of Morte’s head popped into view, “You will fulfill Blutknochen’s goals, umano!”
Several more figures emerged from the darkness.
“You don’t belong here, ape!” Diamond Tiara sneered as Silver Spoon giggled behind her.
“What gives you the right to interfere in our affairs?” Filthy Rich asked.
“The Princess is wrong to put her faith in you!” Three Arrows shouted.
As he was about to collapse on his knees, Jack felt a hand on his soldier. Turning around, he saw his emerald counterpart.
“None of that is true, you know,” Emerald Jack said. “You made mistakes before you came here—a lot of them, but since you’ve come to Equestria, you’ve done nothing but help people. I won’t tell you to forgive yourself for what happened to Bryce, Chase, or any of them. These are wounds only time will heal. Still, I won’t stand here, and you tare yourself apart over nonsense.” Pointing behind him, he said, “look at all the good you’ve done since you got here!”
Eleven figures popped up where he was pointing.
“Ya stood up fer me when nopony else would,” Apple Bloom said.
“You helped me talk to my idol!” exclaimed Scootaloo.
“You saved me and Scootloo from the parasprites,” said Sweetie Belle.
“As great as Twilight and the others are, I’ve always wanted another guy to hang out with,” said Spike.
“You saved my life,” said Twilight.
“You taught me that assuming the worst of strangers is uncool!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
“Ya’ve been a real help fixin’ up the barn,” said Applejack.
“You saved my career,” said Rarity.
“You were the only one who listened to me during the parasprite attack,” said Pinkie. “Even though you didn’t believe me, that’s more than my other friends.”
“I know you still don't see me as a mother,” said Fluttershy, "but it means so much to me that you let me see you as a son."
“You’ve provided us with the foundations for a more just and fair society,” said Celestia.
“Don’t you see?” Emerald Jack asked. “You’ve suppressed your ego to the point where you can’t even imagine someone having a favorable opinion of you. I’ve only been able to contact you as a conscience before now, but surely you can see what I’m showing you, what I’ve seen all along. These new friends of yours have nothing but positive thoughts of you. You understand that, right?”
Jack nodded, his face dripping with joyful tears as he felt his eyes open.
Royal Canterlot Gardens
The first thing Jack saw brought a prideful grin to his face. There in his palms was a healthy oak sapling.
“Well done, Jack,” Celestia congratulated with a warm smile.
Stats
Page generated in 0.042 seconds
Total duration
1,081 users online
1,487,118 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
10753128
hes only bound by the equestrian laws, he doesnt have to do whatever celestia asks, only follow the laws. im pretty sure not even celesta is the kind of ruler to make up a law that says: "do whatever the princess says" (even if its murder)
ps: im focusing on th part that says
10752958
I'm not saying that the US isn't the most powerful.
I'm saying that they're not the UNDISPUTED most powerful.
10753261
That would depend on who we are counting as disputing I guess. There's a difference between some rando at a bar and an academic who's well-read on a subject. I can find plenty of people who think the world is flat, but does that mean globe-Earth is disputed?
10753181
Ah, I see. That wasn't so much meant to be a dictatorial "I'm in charge so everyone must obey me" statement as it was a "you are an alien and need help getting home, but I'm not sure if you pose a threat or how the citizens will react to you, so you'll need to do as I ask" statement.
10753272
The fact that people say it's flat DOES mean it's disputed.
Whether or not anyone gives any credence to the matter is irrelevant to the situation of it being disputed.
10753284
lol
10753290
Technically you're right, but if we used language like that, it would make the word undisputed meaningless. For instance, the Panthers lost Superbowl 50. I'd say this is undisputed, but if we go by your technicality, it is in fact disputed because there are probably a couple of butthurt Panthers fans who claim that the Broncos paid off Cam Newton, so that Peyton Manning could win his last game before retirement.
10753359
I understand what you're trying to say, but I'm largely trying to tell you to keep your bias out of what is supposed to be a professional Think Tank scenario.
I could just as easily claim that my country is part of the most powerful celloctive countries in the world. After all, America is comparatively small in power when compared to all nations of the British Commonwealth.
As for that last example... your American football makes no sense to me, just as much as I would expect the Aussie Rules football and Rugby League makes no sense to you.
10753403
I'd hardly say I'm biased in America's favor. It's not biased to state the fact that America is the most powerful. If I were to say America is the freest nation or the most moral nation, I would be showing bias (and also saying something I don't believe.)
Also collectively the Commonwealth Nations have a GDP of 10,923,071 million compared to the US's GDP
20,936,600 million. Although to be fair I believe the Commonwealth data is from 2016 when the US GDP was 18,745,100 million.
You don't really have to understand American football to understand my example. You just have to use Google to see that the Broncos did indeed win the game. I'm not that familiar with the rules of the game myself. I know about that particular Superbowl because I got really into football one year, was a Panthers fan, and I myself was convinced that Superbowl 50 was rigged until I grew up a little and realized how ridiculous I was being.
JACK THE NUT OBLITERATOR LMAOOO
WITH HIS NATURE POWERS HE EXPLODES NUTS
NUT
NUT
NUT
10795166
I like that rhyme a lot better. History rhyming with shortly is just too much of a stretch. It was funny though with the unintentional breaking of the 4th wall
10795880
Indeed it was. Feel free to point out any other flaws you notice. I keep a list of edits to make when I have time.
By the way, is this your second read through? I think I’ve seen you comment on later chapters.