Destiny's Calling

by Crimson_Moon

Destiny Has a Price...

Before they left for the mountain, Twilight Sparkle, Geralt, and Fluttershy had one more task before them- the meeting they had been summoned for in the first place. It was an emergency summit of all Nations of Equestria about the threat of new monsters plaguing the world, and their unknown origins. To say the council room was a madhouse was an understatement; Every creature was either shouting, gesturing, or overall being overtly obnoxious to the other, something Twilight was used to after almost a decade of ruling the nation. Banging her gavel, she called for order. "Please, calm yourselves! We all have the same problem!" She pleaded.

"Yeah, and what's that?" Dragonlord Ember defiantly asked. "Another problem you caused?" She scoffed. "We dragons remember more than most what you did 11 years ago. Fluttershy was always kind, and to be tortured like that-"

"ENOUGH!" Twilight spoke in the Royal Canterlot Voice. The room fell silent. Moving quickly, she continued explaining the situation. "I didn't call this meeting to be reminded of my past endeavors, but to discuss a solution to the growing problem for everyone, not just Ponies." Clearing her throat, she activated her horn and unlocked the meeting room doors. "With that said, I have called upon the best experts in the land when hunting monsters-" gesturing to a nearby guard, he nodded and opened the doors, revealing Geralt and Fluttershy.

Immediately, the room fell into chaos once more. "You call this a solution?!" Queen Novo of the Hippogriff/Hippocampus Alliance exclaimed. "Two creatures, one you already tortured and sent far away from civilization, are our answer to this problem?!" The room had scattered agreements.

Twilight banged her gavel again. "Order, please!"

"Let them speak." The ambassador of Griffonstone, Lord Gallus, spoke. "Good to see you again, Fluttershy." He smiled, and to his surprise, she smiled back. The rest of the room gasped, not even recognizing her.

"Thank you, and I am sorry for what I said to you days ago." She smiled. Clearing her throat, Fluttershy had the room. "Creatures of Equestria, I know you have no faith in Twilight Sparkle due to my... Past afflictions." She looked down for a moment, before continuing. "But please trust in her judgement of our skill when handling monsters." She gestured to Geralt to continue.

"What you're facing are honest to God monsters. They will gut you, tear you limb from limb, and murder you without remorse." He paused, bringing out a small diagram of a Werewolf for demonstration. Geralt was about to explain, but was interrupted once more.

"Why do Yaks have to listen to Witchey Man?! Yaks strong, we no need advice!" The Yak Ambassador exclaimed, smashing his hoof through his part of the table for emphasis. "We smash puny monsters! Yaks strong!"

An uproar started up again, but was once again silenced by the mallet. Once the room quieted down, Geralt continued. "Okay then, answer me this- can you smash your own unborn child, or break the bones of a loved one that came back from the dead?" The room fell silent, including the Yaks that were once confident in their ability to smash things. "Didn't think so. This isn't some problem your strength of magic can solve alone. It needs Witchers." Unrolling another parchment, Geralt flattened it on the table. It detailed a list of ingredients and a method all too familiar to two particular individuals within the room. "The event that's happening right now- it's happened where I came from too. It's called a Conjunction of the Spheres, and it's allowing creatures from other planes of existence to cross over."

"So... Your solution is to have us torture our own kind?" King Thorax questioned. "I've only had one such creature ask me to do that before, and she's currently embedded in stone."

"If you want to survive, then yes." Geralt stated, causing a wave of hushed discussions among the nations. "My kind did the same thing when it first started, and though the later part of my time in Temeria is fuzzy, last I remember, there were a lot less monsters roaming the streets."

The leaders of the nations began to look at the instructions for their own Trials of the Grasses.

One more group spoke up, Princess Flurry Heart and her mother Princess Cadence representing the Crystal Empire. "This solution, it doesn't have a set list of ingredients... What do we use?" She asked, contemplating the solution before her, her mother silently trembling in the back.

"You use whatever you can. Witchers are creatures born of mutagens that counteract the effects of monsters. Where I come from, there were several variances of the formulas used to make us, and each had their own school to learn how to harness the powers imbued inside us." He sighed. "I don't mean for this to be an immediate solution. I propose to allow for a discussion among your peers and decide."

"...How long do we have to discuss?" Dragonlord Ember spoke up once more.

"Given it is a serious matter to think over, I suggest having your citizens vote for half a year, let them decide. Another half year to finish the construction of fortresses for Witchers to train at, if they elect to go through with it." The audience murmured to their colleagues and began to discuss the matter amongst their peers.

"Geralt, what you're asking is..." Twilight whispered to the Witcher while the crowd was distracted. "You know what happened. Do you really think they'll want to do what I took responsibility for all those years ago?"

"Hmm..." He looked over to the Pegasus beside him, who up until this moment had remained stoic. "What is your opinion, Fluttershy?"

The mare held a blank stare. "Fluttershy?" He asked again, shaking her slightly. That seemed to do the trick and she regained focused immediately.

"I...um, well, i-it's not something I'm sure I'd wish on anypony-" She glanced to Twilight, a look of understanding slowly creeping along the Alicorn's muzzle. "But there needs to be some sort of system to help cull the growing monster populations." She sighed. "There needs to be a solution, and Geralt knows more than most. He's lived through this exact scenario hundreds of years ago." She glanced to Twilight once more. "Plus, I think it would be a good idea for other creatures to know what I endured, no matter how cruel that sounds..."

Twilight remained silent for a moment, staring at her friend before sighing and banging the gavel one last time to regain the room's attention. "After your deliberations, what do the other sovereign nations think of the plan of action placed before us?"

The respective leaders of each nation spoke in turn:

The Yaks of Yakyakistan voted no and elected to rely on their natural strength, but would still respect the wishes of the other countries and would allow for any Witcher to cross their borders in pursuit of monsters.

Gallus of Griffonstone spoke up next, citing the extra need for Witchers in their respective provinces and agreed to hold a vote for Griffons when he arrived back in the country.

Dragonlord Ember had elected to deny the proposal and furthermore barred travel into the Dragon Lands from any and all Witchers without any explicit request from either herself or one of the many leaders of the various provinces littered throughout her kingdom.

King Thorax had gone in favor of the proposal, citing the various incidents they already had back at the Changeling Hive in regards to an invading species attacking and eating their young and freshly hatched.

Though Princess Cadence was against it at first, she Reluctantly agreed to the proposal after her daughter had listed the small list of unexplained incidents that lead to several hundred deaths in the Crystal Empire.

Concluding the session, Twilight spoke her verdict for the ponies of Equestria. "As the representative of all three pony tribes of Equestria, I will weigh my verdict and vote for the proposal to take effect." Her verdict caused a small burst of outrage, but she continued regardless. "Furthermore, I have an announcement to make:"

Twilight smiled down at Fluttershy before continuing. "This will be my last official act as Princess." She spoke, drawing gasps not only from the visiting officials, but her very own cabinet. "I will accept it as payment for subjecting my people to such a choice, as well as penance for the act I committed all those years ago. All powers of Princess will instead be transferred to the cabinet forthwith, each member taking on the respective responsibilities my title held." Ending on a high note, she smiled once more. "Furthermore, I will be stripping myself bare of the powers of an Alicorn and becoming a regular Unicorn. This concludes the meeting." She banged the gavel and exited the doors, the two Witchers following close behind.

---

Twilight met with her assistants and maids and wished all of them a fond farewell before she departed with Geralt and Fluttershy to Ponyville, then Kaer Blathan. For all her time spent in that Ivory prison, her caretakers were always kind no matter what ponies on the outside said. Waving one final goodbye to her assistant, Twilight Sparkle formally dismissed her at the train station, making a big show of it. To the unicorn mare, she wouldn't have it any other way.

The journey to Ponyville offered little in the way of conversation, especially when it came to the quietness the two Witchers exuded. "Fluttershy-" Twilight spoke up after they passed a tunnel in the mountain. Perking up, the Pegasus turned from the window and faced her. "I-" she paused, before sighing. "How are our friends? I haven't seen them since my... Coronation."

"Rarity married Blueblood. Did you know that?" Fluttershy spoke surprisingly without an air of annoyance like she had been whenever they interacted. Progress, she hoped.

"Yes, I was unable to attend the wedding. Royal duties." She sighed. "It wasn't long after that I was told about her fading eyesight. I feel awful that I wasn't there to comfort her."

"It happens." Fluttershy simply stated. "Unicorns go blind when overexerting themselves, and she certainly did with the amount of dress orders coming in."

Twilight was surprised at the level of coldness in her friend's tone. "You don't feel bad for her?" She cautiously questioned.

"Of course I do!" She snapped. "Why would you think- oh..." The mare sighed. "Geralt explained it would be... Difficult in expressing emotion at times. He is more severe and analytical than I am if you can believe it." She said. "Something to do with the latent magic already within me. The mutations couldn't fine tune the parts of my brain that express emotion. It makes me sort of Bipolar." She chuckled awkwardly.

"Mm." Twilight nodded in understanding. "And you, Geralt?" She turned to the Witcher still glancing out the window occasionally, whilst inspecting his sword for blemishes. "Was the castle to your liking, I hope?"

"I named it Kaer Blathan. Good fortress, but still needs work." He spoke while sharpening his blade. "Upper battlements need repairs and I'd like to stock up on additional arms and armor, especially since your ponies will more than likely boring in favor of the proposal I offered."

"Do you really think it'll be necessary to go that far?" She asked. "To make more Witchers? Right now, it isn't too bad..." She reasoned.

"The same thing was said by the rulers from my dimension too." He glared at her for a moment, before continuing. "They put it off, then one day found that entire villages were starting to disappear. That was when it became less of a problem and more of a crisis." He sharpened his blade once more, sparks flying off and reminding him of the fires outside a particular village long ago. "Conjunction of the Spheres was 300 years old by that time, but the problem only multiplied. This plane is lucky and already caked in magic. Might not need a whole lot of Witchers."

"Then why bother suggesting it in the first place?!" Twilight exclaimed.

Sighing, Geralt put away his silver sword and leaned forward. "Take a rock and throw it across a lake, what does it do?"

"Skip off the surface?" She curiously answered.

The Witcher shook his head. "It only bounces off a few times. Take that same rock and throw it hard into the water, now what do you get?"

Suddenly, Twilight understood. "Create a big enough splash to cause a few ripples." She gasped. "So you're saying magic only prolongs the inevitable?" He smiled, pointing at her reply.

"A Katakan could resist the most potent of magics while still draining you of every drop of blood you have." He gave as an example. "The best way to handle a virus is making antibodies to combat them."

The rest of the trip was met with silent contemplation from the three.

---

At the Ponyville station, there was a small crowd forming, most of them old residents that came back to properly welcome Fluttershy back, as well as another reason...

Geralt and Fluttershy were showered with roses from the flower trio and given small gift baskets as thanks for keeping her safe for over a decade. Twilight however, was treated with the boos and leers she came to know as routine since her coronation. Even her friends had gathered, but declined to say anything. As she reached the bottom step, the mare was pelted with several bits of food.

"How dare you show your face here!" One pony shouted.

"Go back to your Ivory tower! We've had enough trouble from you!" Another pony tossed a tomato, Twilight looking down and taking it to her mane. As she walked, the mare said nothing. She only continued to take the punishment she thought was well deserved. After several more boos and shouting, the crowd dispersed, leaving only her friends. Even Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were there. They stared on in silence, a few glaring at her.

"Anything you'd like to say too?" She looked up from the ground at the 4 ponies.

After a brief moment of silence, Applejack stepped forward. "Whatever it is you're about to say," Twilight sighed. "I deserve it-" she received a Stern slap in the muzzle from the farm pony.

"That's for lying to us!" She slapped her again. "And that's for Fluttershy!" Turning, Applejack stormed off back to the farm. Holding her cheek, the Alicorn watched her friend go and reached out for her, but quickly changed her mind. Applejack still accepted her friendship deep down, she knew it.

Applejack probably held her tongue to hold onto that, she thought. Sighing once more, she looked to the remainder of her friends. "Anyone else?"

This time, Pinkie stepped forth and walked to Fluttershy first. "I missed you!" She hugged the Pegasus, tearing up. "When you have time, I need to know how many bad jokes Geralt tortured you with!" She and Fluttershy both giggled. Turning to Twilight however, her smile turned into a frown. "At first, I thought everypony was playing a huge prank on me, saying you did that to Fluttershy." She glared. "The one thing I know how to do best is make somepony smile, but what you did-" she sighed. "What you did hurt, Twilight. I won't lie." Pinkie spoke, causing Twilight to look down in shame again.

"However," Lifting her head up, the pink mare continued. "I know you did it to save Fluttershy, and I'm glad. I'll... Catch up with you later at Sugarcube Corner, if you're still here. A jitter in my spine tells me you're gonna leave soon!" Smiling, she bounded away like she always had.

Dash was next. From the looks of it, she was trying hard not to cry in front of everypony. "Loyalty means everything to me, Twilight. Pinkie hit it on the nose when she said it hurt. I took it hard, hearing about 'Shy." She sighed, wiping away some tears. "I drank myself almost to death, thinking somepony as smart as you would go through with something like that. Been two years sober now, though." She dryly chuckled before continuing. "I just wanted to say, I don't blame you anymore. I still got your back, and I'll try to talk to Applejack and convince her you didn't have a choice. She took it almost as hard as me, so no promises." Zooming off, that left only Rarity.

Being escorted by her husband, she lifted her hoof to embrace Twilight's muzzle. "I would blame you for many things, Twilight Sparkle, but I know more than most about Generosity." She smiled. "You didn't tell the world what you did as penance for your sin, but to save Fluttershy from ridicule, am I correct?" The purple mare nodded, Rarity feeling it with her hoof. "Mm. My husband Blueblood thought as much, why do you think he still stuck with you all these years?" She giggled, before yawning. "Oh goodness me, it must be time for my medication!" Sweetie Belle pulled her along, heading back to her house. "We must catch up some other time, darling!"

For all it was worth, she was glad to see her friends one last time before leaving. For Twilight Sparkle held a secret about the ritual they were about to perform:

It was lethal to Alicorns.

Author's Note:

Epic castle fight in the next chapter, and possibly a sun demon coming to beat up Geralt ;)

This concludes the Canterlot Castle Arc. Hope y'all enjoyed it! Leave some comments on what you think so far :)

Comments

[Failsafe99]

I am happy. The rest of the six, bar Applejack, thought the same thing I did when I first heard what Twilight did. Some took a bit more time to think it than others, but they still reached that point in the end, and thats fine. They finally realised Twilight just wanted her friend to live, and then told Equestria what she did so that Fluttershy wouldnt be called a monster. Thank you for this chapter. Also, that end is concerning.

[Kembrius]

10093910
becos all of them come from slavic and germain

[Rotkiv Steelmug]

For all it was worth, she was glad to see her friends one last time before leaving. For Twilight Sparkle held a secret about the ritual they were about to perform:

It was lethal to Alicorns.

Somehow I got the feeling this is somehow going to be relevant for when Daybreaker attacks.

[Alot Master]

"Go back to your Ivory tower! We've had enough trouble from you!" Another pony tossed a tomato, Twilight looking down and taking it to her mane. As she walked, the mare said nothing. She only continued to take the punishment she thought was well deserved. After several more boos and shouting, the crowd dispersed, leaving only her friends. Even Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were there. They stared on in silence, a few glaring at her.

oh fuck all of you. She did nothing wrong. Yes, she put a friend of hers in a lot of pain to save their fucking life you imbeciles.