Harmonics

by ezra09

Epilogue Part 2: Scootaloo's Choice

Animals screeched and howled, ran and hid, scratched and dug and fought. For centuries, no creature had dared stake a claim on this section of the forest, but that had all changed in an instant.

A creature appeared in the clearing before the ancient building, one even more foreign to the stretch of forest surrounding it than all the others. The draconequus simply observed for a time, noting the rustling leaves, the tracks of predator and prey alike. Time had begun to move again in the clearing.

He walked up the stone steps, noting the condition of the building itself. The walls were like new, only now beginning to wear the sun and wind and rain that fell on them. He leaned in and gave the door a quick lick, smacking his lips a few times thoughtfully. Satisfied, he snapped his talons and the world around him shifted. He stood in a forest, far to the west of Equestria. Sitting before him, looking up at the night sky was a pink unicorn.

“Rosalia,” he said in greeting.

“I still don’t want to talk to you, Discord,” she answered, not looking at him. Ignoring her words, he crossed the space between them and sat next to her, joining her. It was a clear, cloudless night, perfect for looking up at the stars. Or the moon.

“Oh, was that happening tonight?” Discord said, seeing that the moon was clear, the dark silhouette that had marked it for ten years now had vanished.

Rosalia sighed. “If I answer, will you leave me be?”

“Maybe.”

“Yes, that’s happening tonight. I suggest you don’t go anywhere near them. I’m sure Nocturne's and Chrysalis’s discussion of my sisters' betrayal will be... intense.”

“Fine, I guess I can wait until morning to start catching up with her.” They fell silent for a few minutes before Discord finally asked, “You never told her, did you?”

"Tell who what?”

“Tell Nocturne. Libiris has been unsealed. I assume you knew.”

Rose turned toward him for the first time. “How did you know about that?”

“Oh, please. As much as I do so love our little chats, I have other friends. Scootaloo told me all about it.”

Rose’s lips drew back into a snarl at the sound of the pony’s name.

“Oh, right, touchy subject,” Discord said, not bothering to sound sorry. He waited long enough for her to compose herself. “So, you haven’t told her, have you?”

“No.”

“Well, why not? I’d think you of all changelings, sorry, you of all ponies would care about that.”

Rose Thorn turned to answer him, face emotionless, voice level. “When I exert myself, I get sore,” she said. “If I truly push myself, the soreness can even extend into the next day.”

“Oh, how awful,” Discord said.

“When I stay awake for too long, I find myself beginning to tire. If I go more than a few hours without food, I grow hungry. Do you understand what I’m saying.”

“I do,” Discord answered without his usual glee.

“At first, I thought the Elements of Harmony had stripped me of my ability to shapeshift and left me stuck in this form, but that’s not true. The elements changed me. They altered me on a level no changeling could ever hope to achieve. I’m not a changeling queen. I am in every way possible, a pony. Already I can feel it happening. I’m getting older. Some day, relatively soon, I’m going to die.

“So tell me, Discord. Why should I care if everyone else dies too?”

“Well, I suppose I can understand, but I would think somepony whose life expectancy has already been shortened would want to hold onto as much of it as she has left. Sure, it’s not a millennia, but another sixty years is better than another six months.”

“Hardly,” Rose said. “Besides, even if I told her, there’s nothing we can do about it. You have your friend to thank for that.” She shook her head. “You and Nocturne being freed at the same time. The Archive too, if he survived. It’s not just a coincidence.

“There’s more,” she continued. “Celestia and Luna. The unicorn that fought Nocturne. Children compared to the others, but I have no doubt they will find themselves mixed up in this. Perhaps Twilight would have too, if she’d had more time to grow.”

“Hmm, yes. I have to admit, even I didn’t see that twist coming,” Discord said. “Our little alicorns, all grown up.”

“We played our trick,” Rosalia continued, ignoring his remark. “We bought our time, and now a thousand years of interest has come due. The War of the Eternals will return.”

Another moment of silence passed between them.

“You’re turning into a buzzkill in your old age,” Discord said.

*****

Celestia entered her personal tent. She’d finished with the morning petitioners, and had just enough time to put water on for tea before her next meeting. To her surprise, her quarters weren’t empty. Sitting on her cushion was a middle aged unicorn. He had a gray coat and a dark mane streaked with white.

“I was wondering when you would show up,” Celestia said. She turned, horn glowing lightly as she began setting up her teapot.

The grey unicorn chuckled silently. “Yeah? Took me a while to put myself back together this time. That’s not what I’m here about though.”

“Of course not,” Celestia said, finishing with the tea pot and crossing the tent to sit. “One would think the pleasure of my company is enough of a reason to visit.”

The grey unicorn chuckled again.

“It’s good to see you again, Al.”

“You too, princess,” he said. “Not going by that name anymore, though. Best to leave Al A Kazam to rest.”

“Then what will it be this century?”

“Abe,” he answered simply. “Anyway, I wanted to give you a warning. Something’s happening out there. I’m not sure what, but all kinds of artifacts and ruins are lightin’ up across Equestria.”

Celestia frowned. “I had hoped we’d have some time to rest.”

“Sorry.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I ain’t gonna do anything. I’m retired. For real this time. But you should keep your eyes open.”

Celestia nodded. “Well, that’s ominous, but I will do so. Now then.” Celestia turned to look at the clock on her desk. “I’m expecting Scootaloo in a minute. Would you care to stay for tea?”

“Nah, I best be going. I’ve got a beach I need to get back to. Take care, princess.”

“You too,” she paused, trying to recall the name he’d given, “Abe?”

He nodded. “It’s short for Abra K—” Princess Celestia’s pained groan cut him off. He gave one last silent chuckle and turned to leave the tent.

“What the?” One of the guards outside said. “Where did you— Intruder!”

“Keep up the good work,” he said. There was a flash of light followed by confused mutterings, and the tent flap was thrown open. “Princess Celestia?”

“Everything is fine,” she said, fighting a smile. “Please, return to your post.”

The guard did so, hesitant, and several minutes later the tent flap opened again.

“Send her in,” Celestia said before the guard could ask. He nodded, stepped back, and Scootaloo entered the tent. One wing was still bandaged, though Celestia had heard the bandages would be removed for the last time later today. Under the other wing, Scootaloo carried a small, plain wooden box. “Good afternoon, Scootaloo.”

“Princess,” Scootaloo said in greeting, leaning forward into a respectful bow.

“Please, stand,” Celestia said. “This needn’t be a formal meeting.” Scootaloo straightened. “Would you care for some tea?”

“Okay,” Scootaloo answered, crossing the tent and sitting on one of the seats next to Princess Celestia’s cushion. She set the box onto the table.

Celestia smiled as her horn glowed, lifting the teapot and cups. Such a long way she’s come, she thought. Less than a year ago, she was terrified to be in the same room as me.

She poured the water and placed the cups onto the table, then levitated the sugar dish to the table. Scootaloo began spooning sugar into her tea.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Celestia asked.

“Well,” Scootaloo said, hesitating. Her first show of nerves since entering the tent. “Do you remember our conversation a few weeks ago? When you first saved me from Lirian? You told me about how you got your cutie mark.”

“I remember.”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

“I see,” Celestia said. She took a sip of her own tea, then stirred in a little more sugar. “Have you reached any conclusions?”

“I think so,” Scootaloo said.

“And?”

“Well, I don’t want to seem arrogant or anything, but when I think about it, Sweetie Belle, Spike, and Apple Bloom wouldn’t have known Thistleroot or Mimic without me. We wielded the Elements of Harmony together, but we wouldn’t have been able to if I hadn’t become friends with everypony first.”

“That’s true,” Celestia said.

“And back when I first got my cutie mark, I was trying to help Discord because he was my friend.”

“Is that what you think your cutie mark is supposed to mean, then?” Celestia asked.

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Scootaloo said. “Cutie marks can mean a lot of things. I think you were right when you said I got it because of what I did that night, just like how you got yours. But it doesn’t have to only mean that I used the Element of Betrayal. I nearly lost my friends, but I did it to help another friend. Now I have Discord, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. I even have Thistleroot and Mimic, and I know I won’t betray them or anything.

“You told me that you got your cutie mark because you raised the sun. I don’t think anypony could really say that your mark is supposed to mean anything else, but to you it’s more about caring about ponies, and guiding them.”

“I’m glad you took what I told you that night to heart,” Celestia said. “You really do understand, then. Tell me, what did you choose as your cutie mark’s meaning?”

“Well, about that. I got the idea after we went back to Night’s End. When I used the Element of Magic. I’m not a unicorn or anything, but it’s not that kind of magic, right?” Scootaloo shifted uneasily and then pushed the box to the center of the table. “This is kind of silly, but I thought it was the best way to explain it. Rarity helped me make it.”

Celestia tilted her head, curious. Her horn glowed and the lid of the box lifted. Inside, nestled in a dark satin cloth, were a pair of multicolored gemstones cut into the shape of Scootaloo’s cutie mark. Two halves of the heart that represented the fire of friendship, split by a jagged crack.

Celestia didn’t understand until Scootaloo reached out and took one of them. Attached to the top was a thin golden chain. Celestia picked up the other to find an identical chain.

“I was afraid of you for a long time,” Scootaloo said. “I always wondered why you hadn’t really punished me, and I was afraid you’d change your mind. Even after you saved me, and I realized you weren’t going to just banish me one day, you were still intimidating.”

Scootaloo held up the half of the heart she was holding. “You’ve been a princess and a mentor, but after everything you’ve done for me, there’s something else I want to think of you as.”

Celestia smiled. She turned the gemstone in her hoof, admiring the way the candlelight gleamed over its many facets. She pushed it against the gem Scootaloo was holding. The two halves of the necklaces fit together perfectly.

“I would be honored to be your friend, Scootaloo.”

Comments

[ezra09]

And there you have it. Six years it took to finish this story. Sorry about the wait, everyone, and thank you everyone who stuck with it till the end. It's nice to be able to enjoy writing again, and I hope to keep doing so.

As a side note, this last scene between Scootaloo and Celestia was one of the first I wrote when I got back to writing this story. I've been sitting on this for months, and man is it good to finally let it free into the world.

[the other sans]

but I would think somepony who’s life expectancy has already been

1. Whose.

[lazyreader19]

9014201
Aaaaahhhhhh

This was well worth the wait! *Claps*

Though boy oh boy, "war of the eternals". That's quite a heavy sounding development on the horizon....

Until next time, thanks for the story.

[TheWhisperInYourHead]

yeah.. Yeah, YEAH!
will read again in the foreseeable future.
Also next book when?

[Lanigiro]

Oh dear, no wonder the Librarian couldn’t access so much of the data. He isn’t the owner of the stacks.

[Bloody_Tofu]

Awww. What a sweet way to wrap this up.

Thank you for these amazing stories.

[Forestfire34720]

Celestia smiled. She turned the gemstone in her hoof, admiring the way the candlelight gleamed over its many faucets. She pushed it against the gem Scootaloo was holding. The two halves of the necklaces fit together perfectly.

Do you mean to say “facets,” not “faucets”?

9014201
You know, a lot of authors seem to write the epilogue first, or at least part of the epilogue, then they write the rest of the story.

War of the Eternals... sounds ominous.

Anyway, can’t wait for the next one! Question: Do you have more stories planned after Overgrowth (assuming that’s the title for it)?

[Taco Belle]

Holy shit this finished!? I gotta catch up! :D

[ezra09]

9014828

I don't have more stories planned for after, but I do have thoughts for side stories.

[Frankie2]

The War of the Eternals will return.

We're getting another story?

“I would be honored to be your friend, Scootaloo.”

That ending was cute.

So, we bid adieu to this story. This has been a real treat.

[lazyreader19]

9011969
Overgrowth? Makes me think of this guy.
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/dpwikia/images/f/f8/S03e06_Undergrowth_showing_off_Plant_Sam.png/revision/latest?cb=20160403213616

Also I see what you mean now after seeing the epilogue. Dang, I'm looking forward to what comes next!

[star1wars3]

This was some good Scootaloo times man

[Starlight Nova]

So I take it Discord isn't going to get reformed this time around?

[Teraunce]

You get a 9.5/10 because you somehow surpassed the first one in excellence. You wrote an insanely good page turner that kept me up hours longer than I intended.

[TheGreatEater]

Does this have a sequel?

Also that was a really good and fitting ending. Kind of sad that we were too busy to finish it up until today.