• Published 8th Apr 2020
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Diplomacy through schooling - Evilhumour



Twilight’s home, and has a new mission in mind: forming a School of Friendship, where creatures of all species can learn the values of friendship and the cultural knowledge of nations around the world.

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Chapter Five

Chapter Five

It was just a few days later when a small herd of ponies (and one dragon) returned to Canterlot from Ponyville, while other sapients arrived from other parts of the world.

While many immediately went to work on wedding preparations, Pinkie and Applejack setting to work on the reception while Rarity had been working on Maxilla’s wedding dress since before Twilight’s return (and Luna’s as well), Luna herself was going over some reports that had been brought in. Celestia let out a sigh, shaking her head, as she stepped into the room.

“You know that you will be married in a few days, dear sister,” Celestia said, placing a wing over her sister’s side. “I know it is troublesome to see our ponies vanish without a trace, it is a fact that it sometimes happens.”

“Not at this rate it doesn’t,” Luna muttered. “Though given one of them in particular, I can’t help but wonder if that individual might be responsible.”

Celestia nodded slowly. “Neighsay’s reaction to Twilight’s school does concern me, but I can’t believe he would plot against us in such a manner,” she said. “He has always been a stern individual, but not a treacherous one.”

“You have still a lot to learn about the levels one would stoop to if they felt slighted by another,” Luna said with Celestia wincing but accepting her words. “Vengeance can arise from any action, no matter how petty it may be.” She sighed, shaking her head. “In any case, I will have my guards increase their patrol to see if they can drum up anything; I might need to do so mysel-”

“No you will not,” Celestia said. “Not tonight, in any case.” She placed her hoof on her sister’s side. “You are my little sister and I am throwing you the greatest bachelorette party imaginable.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “And Pinkie didn’t insist on being in charge of doing so?”

“Sisters’ privilege,” Celestia said. “She understands. Though Queen Metamorphia did offer her the job of handling Maxilla’s, which she quite happily accepted.”

“How were you planning on dividing up the attendees, with two separate parties?” Luna asked.

“Let’s just say that with what we’ve set up, switching between the two and mingling won’t be a problem,” Celestia told her with a wide grin that made Luna feel a sense of dread.

“Should I dare ask what Swift-Pad and Pharynx are doing?” she asked.

“They decided to share one party,” Celestia said. “And I know Spike is involved, though it helps that now he knows such an event is supposed to be held before the wedding.”

“No, he isn’t,” Thorax said, teleporting into the room. “I kinda have something planned for my big bro that really isn’t appropriate for him to see. Something that Velvet would skin my chitin off for a dozen times if I exposed Spike to it before he is old enough. Sorry for eavesdropping a bit but I had to tell you. Bye!”

With that, the Changeling teleported away while waving his hoof with Celestia and Luna giving each other a surprised look. “Well, that could only mean a few dozen things,” Celestia said a slow tone.

“That Thorax has been replaced by a poor actor?” Luna replied with a raised eyebrow.

“That and I need to step my game up,” Celestia said with a wide grin with Luna snorting and shaking her head in mirth.

“I suppose someone will have to watch over he and our flower fillies for the night then,” she said.

“Already covered,” Celestia said. “Stemma and her family were invited to the weddings and will be attending, but she volunteered to watch the young ones for the night before, including Ocellus, on the grounds that things were likely to get too wild for her tastes. Her husband Ommatidium will be attending your fiancé’s party though.”

“Well then,” Luna said, stepping away from her desk. “I suppose I should be preparing myself and be trusting my guards to do their duties.”

“That’s the idea,” Celestia said. “Come with me and let me show you how a thousand years has changed how one throws a bachelorette party.”

“I am suddenly afraid,” Luna muttered. “And this is from the mare who’s seen some of the more extreme clubs that have opened out there during her thousand years away.”

Celestia gave her a look, before leading her out of the room.


It was late in the night when Pharynx stopped and looked at the location where the drone next to him had led him and the rest of the party to. While Canterlot was the shining gem in Equestria, it had its own red light district that most nobles tended to ignore even existed.

Pharynx stared at his brother before looking back at the front of the building, hearing and feeling the normal sounds and emotions that would happen in such a place. “You, of all changelings, planned this?” he asked again, wondering how or when his brother would have been replaced.

“Is it really that hard to believe I did this?” Thorax said, rolling his eyes.

“Big little bro, this is coming from the supposedly same changeling who was always too shy to do anything to get noticed and who I had to force to meet other changelings, so yes, I find it very hard to believe my brother would get -” Pharynx was cut off when the drone across of him leaned over and whispered into his ear. His eyes went wide before he nodded his head. “Okay, first off, I believe you now and secondly, King or not, if you ever bring that up again, I will peel you out of your shell.”

Thorax smirked. “And now you won’t underestimate me.” He slid an arm around his brother and led him inside. “You really need to stop doing that; I’ve spent over a year learning from the Princesses and Queens about politics and being cleverer than I had been. I’ve even learned about being more assertive.”

“And yet, you still haven’t found someone to have your eggs with,” Pharynx snarked with Thorax grinning.

“Funny you should say that,” Thorax said as the two stepped in, with Pharynx’s eyes going even wider. “Finding someling who was interested in me for me wasn’t easy… but it’s happened.”

Pharynx slowly turned to him, looking just as dumbstruck as Thorax had been almost a year ago. And though the younger changeling didn’t realize it, he had almost the exact thought that Pharynx did back then.

My kingdom for a camera!


It had been a very interesting and exciting night, though as much as Spike had asked what exactly happened, everyone had told him he was too young to be told just yet.

“We’ll tell you a few years after you’ve Molted,” Shining Armor promised as the two sat down on the benches near the front. “When you’re eighteen.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Spike told him as he stood up and watched more people begin to enter the Grand Hall, where Cadance’s wedding had once been held and now another would take place. “It seems the entire city is here.”

“Well except for the guards, of course,” Shining said, nudging his nephew. “After the last wedding disaster, all of the guards are on high alert for anything that might try to cause trouble. Even Chrysalis’s cell is under tight guard, just to be safe.”

“How is she even doing?” Spike asked, thinking about her for the first time in over a year.

“Well, I don’t know if you’d heard, but the other Queens trapped her in the form of a donkey and Sealed her, so she can’t use magic of any kind anymore,” Shining said. “Then they put her in one of our best cells for the rest of her life, with round-the-clock security - even without Tartarus having been sealed off somehow, they didn’t want to let her out of our sight. Based on their reports… she’s spent most of her time just being cranky.”

Spike blinked at that, frowning. “As much as I should feel bad for someone to be treated like that, I know she does deserve what she is getting so I don’t feel that bad for her. Is that right?” he asked Shining.

Shining winced, trying to think how to best answer this question. “While she is a criminal, that you feel bad for her is good,” he said at last. “Empathy, the ability to understand what another feels, is the heart of civilization. Someone who lacks it won’t care what pain they do.” He sighed. “Life always involves some suffering, and there are times when painful things must be done for life to continue - like taking enemy lives in a war against someone who’d destroy everything we held dear. But cruelty - causing needless suffering, especially for the fun of it - is a sickness, and that’s a lot of what Chrysalis did, on top of her greed. She isn’t suffering in her cell though, or being tortured. We just leave her alone, except to bring food or reading material so she doesn’t get bored.”

Spike nodded his head, satisfied with Shining sighing in relief before turning his back to the podium where the grooms and best men were standing and waiting. Pharynx had chosen to wear the dress version of his military uniform, just as Shining Armor himself had during his own wedding, while Swift-Pad wore his official ambassadorial outfit, a rare sight.

The trio of flower fillies, acting on behalf of both brides, soon entered, scattering petals as Luna and then Maxilla followed them. The two looked radiant in their gowns, and soon approached the podium, standing next to their grooms.

One by one, Celestia and Tegmina spoke the lines for Luna and Pharynx, before stepping aside to allow Queen Metamorphia and Packleader Storm-Fast to speak for Maxilla and Swift-Pad. Finally, when both couples had spoken their vows, exchanged their rings and kissed deeply, the officiators gave them all fond smiles, before speaking to the room.

“And now, ladies and gentlebeings, may we present, Princess Luna and Prince Pharynx of Equestria and the Eldest Hive…” Celestia and Tegmina announced.

“And Maxilla and Swift-Pad, of the Metamorphia hive, and of Strong-Defend and High-Leap Packs,” Metamorphia and Storm-Fast said.

The room erupted with cheers.


The reception quickly followed, and everyone gathered in the hall set up for it.

In one corner, an off-white unicorn stallion with a reddish mane and a record and music note Cutie Mark manned the DJ tables, switching between more traditional wedding music and the modern style which Luna had much preferred as the mood required it, while all around, beings of every species danced, ate or chatted.

“Some party, huh?” Vinyl commented as she, Octavia and Scolopidia danced to one particular song together, the trio not even bothering to hide that they were all together. Not that they had since Scolopidia had made it official, over the screams of some of the more conservative elders in her hive. They had been silenced by the rest of her hive who were happy to see their Queen happy and in love, and even the few who’d thought she’d had a thing for Rarity instead had all voiced their support.

“You betcha!” Pinkie said as she danced nearby. “Kinda surprised you’re not doing it though.”

Vinyl shrugged. “Hey, I got the last royal wedding, only fair that big bro got this one.”

“I didn’t know you had a big brother,” Twilight commented from her own spot, managing to speak loudly enough to be heard despite the distance. Most of the crowd had learned to give her a wide berth when she started dancing, even Moondancer, who’d just shook her head and muttered “That’s my girl” when she saw Twilight’s more excitable moves, with Trixie nodding her head in agreement as the two danced as friends.

“Yeah, he actually went to school with yours,” Vinyl told her. “LP took me to this big pep rally at Canterlot Academy where Shiny and his friends put on a whole big display and musical number, and that’s when I got my Cutie Mark - I decided I wanted to be able to do music that was as spectacular as theirs.”

“Really!” Shining Armor looked surprised as he and Cadance danced by. “I didn’t know that… Long Play told me he couldn’t make it, but that you wanted to be the one to do the music at my wedding reception, so I said yes - he didn’t say just why though.”

“Now you know,” Vinyl told him before she and her partners danced off.

“I need to go talk to him later; maybe catch up with him and the other guys,” Shining said with Cadance kissing his cheek.

“That’s a good idea but don’t plan anything to happen in about ten months, Shiny,” she said before a servant appeared by her side with Shining’s eyes going wide at her implications. “Yes?”

“Sorry to interrupt but Princess Luna is asking for a small selected gathering for a miniature party before reconvening with the rest of the group,” the servant said. “Your wife and sister are both needed.”

Shining Armor nodded. “See you later,” he told them, excitement in his voice. “And are you serious about-”

Cadance leaned in for a quick kiss to muffle the shhh before Twilight and her left.


The two had soon found seats in the designated room, while Luna set up sound-scrambling spells around its borders, until she was satisfied. Then she went to the head of the room and paced a bit, before stopping and looking out at them. Finally, she began speaking. "Fillies, gentlecolts... Discord."

The draconequus tipped his previously nonexistent hat to her.

"Tonight has been... quite frankly, the best night of my life so far." She smiled, before turning serious again. "But now, we come to matters that are long overdue.

"All but two of us here are Powers." She gestured to Pharynx, and to Sonata, who was sitting quietly next to Aria, both of them smiling happily. "Even fewer of us here know what that means. Since certain ponies - cough*Celestia*cough - have not yet properly explained such to those who need to know."

She looked out at them again. "Put simply, in the beginning, there was only a churning turmoil. At the heart, where all things became one, the Creators appeared. From Themselves, the first Powers came into being. Time started to spin. Space began to expand. And then other Powers, all in pairs save for one, began to form, each set helping to shape a world. That world became the Prime, the first world in Existence. Others came from ripples of its movement and the decisions of those who live there, dividing endlessly into other worlds within their own separate universes, until our own world was born. Each of these alternate versions of Equus has its own differences; many are similar, yet none identical. Each world would be claimed by two of the Creators - Order and Chaos, said to be the Eldest of the Creators, before the other Creators joined them in Their work to seed existence into creation, with each Power answering to one or the other of the first two before They stepped back in the aftermath of the alicorn-draconequus war.” She paused, that moment was still hard for her to think of, emotionally and metaphysically as it existed out of normal time.

She saw the pained look on her sister’s face and finally, she began to speak again. “Both Chaos and Order could also choose a prime Champion to enforce their desires on a world after designing the Rules which we all follow and obey; the Champions usually do this by keeping others who answered to their Creator’s call to this grand Purpose we all answered to in line, as Discord has shown to be for Chaos and Celestia for Order, though neither are as extreme as other cases in the multiverse have shown themselves to be, either actively or potentially."

The draconequus nodded, unusually quiet, thinking of Other versions of him who had lost all sense and fallen deep into Chaos’s embrace, or Order’s, as at least one he knew of had.

"In time," Luna continued, "True mortal souls of those worlds would offer themselves up to a Purpose in order to become a Power, taking a mantle that had existed but been unoccupied for reasons; either that the Creator has chosen to see another take their Place or a Power has been allowed to pass on their mantle.

"Each Power has a Purpose, Role and Duties in this world, and as I have said, all but one come in pairs. Time and Space were two of the earliest, if not the earliest in each world’s birth, followed by Death and Life, and then the Judge - the only Power without an Opposite. Many others have since come into being, including but by no means limited to Harmony and Disharmony, with their six sub-Powers each; Love and Hatred, the four Seasons, the four Forces of Nature - Water, Earth, Fire and Air; Day and Night, Dreams... and Nightmares."

Celestia looked down at that Title, the bad memories associated rising high in her mind.

Luna now looked solemn. "For this world, the mantle of the Nightmare was once held by a mare named Umbrea. She was leader of the shadow pony sect - creatures who began as dark magic that developed sapience - and the "mother" of King Sombra, after making herself over into one of them. Long ago, when I was at my lowest point, having fallen prey to bitterness and jealousy over how Celly was so loved by our citizens, who offered adulations to the day and yet shunned my night..." She shook her head. "I had long since become the Lady of Night, when I earned my Cutie Mark for lowering the moon after the last of the unicorns previously charged with that task had burnt out their magic; my sister became Lady of Day for raising the sun shortly afterward.

"Since then, I had been granted the mantle of Dreams, protecting ponies and any others who invited me in from their nightmares, helping them work through their problems in their sleep and aiding with their mental health. Then I met Umbrea, whose Power as Nightmares was my Opposite during those dark times. She was charged with creating bad dreams, finding those who were planning wicked deeds and scaring them back onto a righteous path of goodness. It was her that suggested to me that if we could merge our Powers, Dreams and Nightmares into one, it would grant me status above my sister. I believed her, and agreed to let her into me. And at that moment... the monster you knew as Nightmare Moon was born, though we did not take that form physically until Umbrea refused to lower the moon and openly challenged my sister."

Celestia gasped as it hit her. "You mean... that wasn't you? That was her all along?"

Luna nodded. "Why do you think she held back? Because I was resisting from within, even when I had my warhammer commissioned by the wolves of old. I loved you, Celly, even then and I still do now. You're my sister, for the Creators' sake. When I agreed to let her in, I didn't know she planned to kill you. Nor did I learn until later that with Day left inactive until Life began handling the sun themselves or could find a new soul to take up that Power, she intended to use my body to succeed where Sombra had once refused to cooperate with her, having instead stolen much of her magic for himself instead when he had overthrown the old ruler of the Crystal Empire, so he could face us on an even level in terms of raw magical might. He thought he could seal her away with the Empire; he was wrong, for her spirit was able to escape and find me.” She shook her head. “Once she’d taken over my body, Umbrea intended to release her fellow Umbrum from beneath where the Crystal Empire once stood by using my power as an alicorn and our combined Powers to bring it back and use her sect to take over all Equestria, and likely the rest of Equus after that. By channeling Harmony as you did and binding us within the moon, you saved the world, all without knowing it, even though it had cost you dearly to do so."

Celestia sat back, clearly still stunned.

"At any rate," Luna continued, "A thousand years passed. Umbrea and I were freed from within the moon by a natural time limit on our imprisonment. It seems that across the multiverse, there is an archetype - a constant across all, or nearly all, different dimensions; whether the Creators intended it to be so or not is beyond me, but still it has come to exist. That archetype is the banished pony, who is imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years before the stars aid in our escape and return us to those who have cast us away. Rightly so, in my case, and most if not all of my Others. Per that, Umbrea and I were freed and descended to Equestria, where Twilight Sparkle and her friends were able to take up their places as Harmony's chosen ones, to become the Ladies of Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and Magic. And with their newfound abilities, they cleansed me and Umbrea's soul was forced from my body, allowing Death to catch her at last and take her to face the Judge. But when she left, she left something behind."

Twilight let out a gasp of her own, drawing eyes to her. "The mantle of the Nightmare!" she said. "You still have it!"

Luna nodded. "I have been its guardian, the new Lady of Nightmares as the Power saw no need to return to Death to be given to another, though I admit I... have had rare need to use it, in all those whose minds I have touched since my return. I have been looking for another soul who could bring themselves to take on its Duties, fulfill the Role it was made for and not be corrupted or fall to its lures. I have found one, and I have offered it to them. And they have accepted."

"Luna... why didn't you tell me this?" Celestia asked softly, having finally found her voice. "All this time, I thought Nightmare Moon was a part of you, enhanced by the Nightmare on its own, and I regretted my part in seeing its rise. But if she originated from outside…"

"In part, you are correct but if I had told you the complete truth, would you have listened?" Luna asked. "To you, the Nightmare was just another monster, spawned by my envy of you that drew another Power to it. Would you have believed it was another pony entirely, if I had tried to tell you?"

Celestia lowered her head. "Probably not," she admitted.

"Then you understand why I have not said anything of it until now. Though I am not absolving myself for my contributions to Nightmare Moon's creation, I did have a part in her birth," Luna turned back to the rest of the room. "At any rate, as said, I have found a soul to take up the post. Prince Pharynx!" She looked at him. "Do you so swear to take up the Role and Duties of this Power, to carry out its Purpose, with all that entails; to understand what these Role, Duties and Purpose mean in their entirety, and to work side by side with your Opposite, the Lady of Dreams?"

"I so swear," Pharynx said, bowing his head towards his wife.

"Then by the rights granted to me as the current caretaker of this mantle..." Luna began to glow, as an energy streamed from her body, forming a glowing sphere and passing into his body, infusing his very being with its magic and all that it was.

When the glowing faded, Pharynx didn't look any different. But he shone anew, and he smiled. "Thank you for the faith and trust you have placed in my, my wife," he said. "I won't disappoint you."

Smiling, Luna turned to the rest of the room. "Allow me to present, for the very first time... my husband and partner, Prince Pharynx - the Lord of Nightmares, bearer of the mantle of bad dreams... and now as immortal as I myself am!"

The room was filled with cheers.

At her last words, even as she cheered, Celestia was doing her best to hide her tears of happiness.

So that's what you meant when you said you were prepared for this, she thought. You'd already told him about this, and asked him, hadn't you?

Wiping away a tear that would not stay hidden, she smiled. Oh, my little sister... I am so proud of you.

From his own spot, Discord nodded approvingly. “And so a Power passes to a new soul by its current holder’s choice, rather than through their misdeeds requiring it to be given to a new one,” he said. “That is how they were meant to be passed on.”

“Indeed Discord,” Death said, appearing next to the draconequus, causing him to sputter in surprise. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not here for anyone, or because anyone has done anything wrong,” he said, chuckling as he managed to surprise Discord. “Luna’s actions caught my attention because she has done exceptionally well in her Duties as caretaker of an extra Power this night, and I fully approve.” He gave Discord a look. “I also approve of your own choices in the matters of Self-Centeredness and Hatred, by the way.”

“T-thank you,” Discord said, bowing his head nervously.

“You really do need to relax, Discy,” Death said as he lifted a glass to his lips, giving his fellow Power a grin. “It’s a wedding and I am not even mad that you boasted you have power over me. Just don’t do it again, understood?”

Discord nodded his head quickly before running off to join the rest of the party, too scared to use his magic.

“I never said I had full power over you or your fellow Apocalypses, just some pull if something major happens,” he muttered to himself as he went. “Chaos alone has full power, I can just tell them if I realize that something’s wrong and offer my opinion. Hence, ‘some pull’.”

Truth, Death’s silent voice echoed in his head, causing him to shiver.

Back in the room he had just left, unaware that another Power had been present, Celestia was embracing her sister. “I only wish I could have known sooner, Luna,” she said. “I would never have rejected you for carrying an extra mantle.”

Luna hugged her back. “I know that now, but still, I had my fears,” she said. “At any rate, the Power has moved on.” She smiled at her husband, who returned her gaze with his own happy smirk.

In her own spot, Rarity raised a hoof. “I, for one, appreciate you finally explaining what these Powers you called us are,” she said. “I know you were busy when you first mentioned them, but… well, I would have liked a bit more of an explanation.”

“When was this?” Twilight asked.

“While you were away,” Applejack explained. “After Chrysalis showed herself for what she really was. Turns out she used to be Rarity’s Opposite, until Discord took it from her after she abused it for too long and made someone else into Self-Centeredness.”

“She was what‽” Twilight stared at them in surprise. “How… why did nobody tell me that she was a Power?”

“We wanted to tell you in person, and things have been a little… busy, since then,” Cadance explained. “I didn’t know until she admitted it to our faces, right before we got your news about the Storm King and Equestria got all preoccupied preparing for him. She thought she’d get off by telling us, but it just sealed her fate, since she’d attacked other Powers, some more than once, without informing them who she was first.”

“That’s when Discord took her status away and found a new host,” Celestia said. “And Twilight… I deeply regret not telling you about any of this sooner.”

Twilight went over and hugged her. “It’s okay,” she said. “The Alpha told me why you wouldn’t have explained about any of it before, and I’ve found out more on my own from some of the other Powers I met on my journey.”

“You’ve met others?” Cadance asked.

Twilight nodded. “Fire and Water. They were both willing to explain a few things. Including how only another Power, like me, could have entered Mount Aris and then Seaquestria with all the defenses that Queen Novo put up after Tempest went there when she was still serving the Storm King. Spike isn’t one, but he could get in because he was under my protection.”

“That explains so much,” Pharynx muttered.

Twilight nodded. “Also, there’s something more you should know. The Storm King wasn’t a Power himself, but his staff was able to steal other Powers from their hosts, along with normal magic. He tried it on me, and he intended to do it to the rest of you when he came here. I stopped him though, and I’m working on figuring out how to destroy that gem that he could use to do it with - my using it to remove the petrification magic from Tempest was one thing, but its main purpose makes it too dangerous to keep intact.”

Several sets of eyes widened, before Luna nodded approvingly. “Then things were more serious than I thought,” she said. “Thank you for telling us.”

“You’re welcome.”


The reception continued on into the night, the resident alicorns and their fellows returning to take part again, and it was very late before Twilight met with Discord again, having seen the happy couples off on their respective honeymoons.

“You wanted to talk to me?” she asked.

Discord nodded. “Part of my abilities include detecting magical imbalances,” he said. “These last few months, there’s been some odd ones going on in a small settlement.” He popped up a map, showing her the spot. “As I said, nothing life-threatening, but still worrisome. You and your friends should check it out, as soon as possible.”

Twilight nodded. “We will,” she said. “And thank you.”

Discord nodded, and teleported out, leaving Twilight to wonder what was happening now.