Harmony Theory

by Sharaloth

Chapter 38: Thunderous

Avenues of exploration opened up wherever I looked, but while some of them started off promising, all of them turned into an identical morass of confusion and contradiction. I found that each revelation I managed to eke out had ten more waiting just behind it. Each new line of inquiry branched off into a dozen others that had their own tributaries of questions, and so on and so on, forever. The flood of junk data seemed never-ending.

Indeed, it might be. The Elements seem to stymie investigation by design, and too many of my inquiries came to nothing. Or, rather, they gave a lot of extremely interesting data points that utterly failed to paint a greater picture. Just noise, in the end. Still, I persevered through years of growth and adventure, certain the truth was just around the corner. With the wealth of information I was gathering, surely something about the Elements’ true natures should have become clear.

Eventually, it did. But by then it was too late. And that clarity is still incomplete.

There are some things I now know. I know what they do. I know how they do it, to a degree. Even as I write this book, however, I am at a loss as to why they do what they do. All I have are suppositions, guesses and gut-feelings. Those are bad enough that I’m left wondering if the truth might be even worse. A thought that only scares me half as much as the idea that the reason I cannot find the answers is because I do not wish to know them.

-From the second section of Harmony Theory by Twilight Sparkle

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Thunderous

The world exploded around them, the walls, ceiling and floor of the hallway crumpling like wadded-up tinfoil. Layers of material peeled back one after another, plaster and tile giving way to wires and pipes which then folded back to reveal the concrete and steel bones of the building. Sparks from broken electrical circuits caught at the air, igniting it into hanging lines of fire that spiraled around in a twisting, pulsing vortex of heat and light. Ponies cried out, but the sounds were distorted, voices threaded together into a chorus that sang over the roar of the fire and the scream of tortured metal.

Spike observed all this happening as discrete images and impressions. It was simultaneous, and yet disjointed. An apocalypse coming in lazy waves, unhurried in its immediacy. With his own pounding heartbeat providing a rhythm to measure by, he realized that it wasn’t just the physical world that was being affected. Time itself was caught in the rampaging power of Generosity, seconds bunching up or stretching out like the fabric of a particularly frilly dress.

“Rarity!” he called out. He was curled around her, his face next to hers, and even so his bellow barely reached her ears.

“Help me,” she said, a whisper that rocked the building to its foundations. “I can’t stop it.”

Light bent and twisted, creating patches of impenetrable shadow where no obstruction existed. Frost spread in places, climbing walls in swooping ferns. In other places the paint browned and peeled as temperatures rose to oven-like levels. Screams and the clatter of running hooves echoed strangely as sound waves moved through the broken spaces, sometimes doubling on themselves or reversing direction.

Glass shattered everywhere. Spike looked through the fire and distortions to see the people running for the exits. The doors of those exits didn’t so much open as withdraw into the walls, absorbed by the buckling structure, leaving gaping holes as exits. She’s trying to save them, he realized. Even as he thought that, he saw that the panicked RIA employees were too disorganized to make good use of what she’d given them. “Rarity, focus on getting people out!”

“I can’t!” she wailed, her face buried in her hooves. “If I look at them… Oh, Spike, if I look at them I could kill them!”

Water burst out of the ruptured pipes and sprinkler system, some of it spilling through the broken walls in glittering cascades, some of it freezing into ice that flowed into radiating patterns, cracks adding depth and contrast to the shapes created. Smoke poured through the open wounds in the building, reaching every space as if eager to fill it. Ponies coughed and gagged as the smoke surrounded them.

“They’re choking!” Rarity cried out. Air thundered with hurricane force. It dispelled the smoke, but suddenly every breath felt like he was going to explode his lungs. Too much air, his ears popped painfully and even with his draconic constitution he felt instantly light-headed. Others without his strength passed out immediately.

“Oh, no!” Rarity said with a gasp. “No, no, no!”

“Rarity,” Spike said. “Stop! You have to stop!"

“I can fix this,” she said, though from her tone he couldn’t tell if she was responding to him or not. “I can fix it.”

The torrent of air reversed itself, and with Spike’s next breath it had become as thin as at the heights of his mountain lair. That was no good for the unconscious people either. Yet the dancing fires began to go out, fading away to nothing in moments.

“No! Don’t try to make things happen!” he wheezed out. “There’s… a balance! Not too much, not too little! Find that balance and let it happen!”

“I’ll try.”

Air once more rushed in, and this time it only equalized the pressure with the outside, not super-concentrating. Still, his ears popped again, and he could only imagine what the sudden and vast changes were doing to everyone else. Still, it was an improvement.

“Focus,” he said, tightening his grip on her. “Come on, Rarity, you can do this.”

“I can do this,” Rarity repeated, her voice clear and gaining in strength. The return of air also started the fires again, but this time the water flowed up walls and along exposed support beams to smother the renewed flames.

“Good, that’s good,” he said, giving her another little squeeze. “Now, the building. It’s full of, um, holes. Focus on shoring it up so it won’t collapse.” The building groaned as the steel and concrete within it was rearranged. It didn’t repair the damage, but it did ensure that the unconscious people inside wouldn’t have it fall on top of them. “Okay, now try to pull back from everything else. Let it all find its balance, okay? Don’t force anything, just let it all sort itself out.”

“Okay,” she said, and he could feel the change even as she said it. Sounds returned to normal first, then the bulging moments of time smoothed out once more into an orderly progression.

Everything seemed to fall still, but he knew that it couldn’t last. He wouldn’t waste this opportunity. “You’re doing real good, Rarity,” he said. “Now, I’m gonna take the Element off of you, okay? Can I do that?”

Her body went rigid. “I… don’t know, Spike. I think… maybe?”

He resisted the temptation to swear. He had to stay calm to help her stay calm. If either of them started losing it, who knew what kind of havoc would ensue. “I’m going to try, alright? Will you let me try?” There was a long moment when he thought she was going to refuse, but then with a tiny motion that was barely perceptible, she nodded. He reached behind her neck, for the place where he knew the necklace parted. There was no catch, nothing to indicate how it came off, but he’d worn it himself and knew it intimately. He touched it, and willed it to open. To his immense relief, it did. A moment later he had the Element in his claws, and Rarity practically melted in his grip, all the tension going out of her in a wave.

“Thank you, Spike,” she said, and then with a flutter of her eyelashes and a dramatic sigh, she fainted dead away.

***

“You’d think they’d be punctual,” Astrid said, bouncing up and down a bit. It was something she’d taken to doing, a restless little motion that was a vain attempt to help settle the weighted outfit Rarity had created for her. Star Fall was impressed with the engineering of the thing. The weight distribution was set so that Astrid had almost as much freedom of movement as she would naked, and the added bulk just enhanced her already formidable physique. She settled after a few bounces, giving the door an irritated look. “They’re meeting with royalty, after all.”

“It’s because they’re meeting with royalty that they aren’t punctual,” Star Fall said. “It’s meant to be a message. ‘You’re not important here’ they’re saying.” Astrid snorted. “Yeah, it’s rude, but it’s about what I expect from Republics Senators. Honestly, if it’s the worst thing they do this meeting, I’ll count myself incredibly lucky.”

“Fucking republicans. If you had a bank account with enough zeroes, I bet they’d be falling all over themselves to kiss your ass.”

Star Fall made a thoughtful noise at that. “Technically, I have the biggest bank account in the world.”

“Yeah, but it’s in gold, and they prefer silver,” Astrid pointed out, starting to bounce again.

“True,” Star Fall said, turning away from her friend so that she could resist the urge to start bouncing herself. Her mimicking of Rainbow Dash’s uncanny healing abilities had brought back her health and energy in record time, but that didn’t do much to speed along all the therapy she was going to need to learn how to walk with a prosthetic hoof. She’d been managing so far, but it felt wrong every step she took, and if she tried to walk without thinking she was more likely than not to trip and find herself face first on the ground. She’d tried hovering instead, but recent marathon flights notwithstanding, her wings were just not up to such sustained use. She could keep herself aloft for a while, but the longer it went the harder and more painful it became. Then it was back to clumsily staggering around.

It felt loose, was the problem. Even with the straps tight enough that she was risking cutting off blood flow to her stump, every move she made was accompanied by minute shifts in the way her truncated leg sat in the cup that attached it to the artificial hoof. The longer it went, the more it felt like the prosthetic was in the wrong place and she needed to re-set it. Hell, that could even be true. The hoof was a mass-produced kind that they gave to military vets who’d lost limbs. Functional, but made one-size-fits-all. Not something made specifically for her.

Regardless of whether it was real or imagined, watching Astrid dealing with her own prosthesis only made her acutely aware of her discomfort. It also gave her the utterly irrational but maddeningly insistent feeling that she should be copying the Griffin to see if it helped her own predicament. Giving in to that feeling would mean that the two of them would be bouncing like a pair of hyperactive fillies, and she just knew that would be the exact moment the Senators chose to show up.

As if to justify her fears, the door opened to admit Senator Alan Birchfield. He gave Star Fall a small smile and nodded to Astrid, who came to stiff alertness. He looked over his shoulder as he walked further into the room, smiling at a pair of well dressed people who followed him into the room. “Right this way,” he said to them, shutting the door as soon as they were inside. Star Fall studied the newcomers, calling to mind the political briefings Gamma had given her as they entered.

The first to follow Birchfield was a slim earth pony in a severe charcoal grey suit and a hard look in her eyes, the lines on her violet face showing her age and giving her a permanent scowling expression. Her sharp eyes scanned the room and its occupants, and her only reaction was an arched eyebrow for Birchfield, who smiled back with a politician’s amicability. This was Senator Graves, whose ominous name went along with a reputation as one of the premier hawks in the Senate. She’d spent her career pushing for the Republics to go to war with the Kingdom, and she was now key to Star Fall preventing that very outcome.

The second was a bulky Diamond Dog who walked entirely on his hind legs, presumably so as not to scuff the many rings he wore on his forepaws. His own suit was a crisp pinstriped blue, complete with a lighter blue pocket square and a platinum watch chain. His nose twitched wetly in his squashed-in pug face, and his eyes went to Astrid immediately. Astrid returned the look with professional equanimity, and after a moment he gave her a short nod and turned his gaze instead to Star Fall. This was Senator Cyrus Cartwright, one of the wealthiest –and thus most influential– non-ponies in the Republics.

Neither of them looked friendly, but they weren’t showing the signs of unreasoning hatred or fear, either. That boded well. Hatred and fear were never conducive to reasoned discussion, and their absence fed the hope burning in Star Fall’s chest.

“What have you brought us into, Alan?” Senator Graves asked, her tone as arch as her eyebrow. Star Fall didn’t buy the question for a second. She’d known what she was walking into.

“Something important,” he replied. “Maybe the most important thing in our lifetimes. Senator Graves, Senator Cartwright, may I present Her Royal Highness, Princess Fallen Star of the Solar Kingdom. Princess, my colleagues.”

Star Fall nodded. “Senators, thank you for meeting with me.”

“You and your personal murderer,” Senator Graves said.

“This is Astrid, my bodyguard,” Star Fall said, refusing to rise to the bait. “She is not here as a threat.”

Graves scoffed. “Of course she’s a threat. She has knives instead of hooves and she eats flesh. What else could she be?”

“Elle,” Senator Cartwright said in reproach. He held up one paw, showing the carefully manicured stubs of his own claws. “Please.” She had the good grace to look chagrined.

Star Fall watched the exchange, analyzing everything. Her mind sorted through the possibilities as she bent all of her Secret Service training to figuring out what these two Senators were up to. Was this part of an act? Had they planned it beforehand? Neither had been surprised to see Astrid, so it was reasonable to assume they had been fully briefed about who would be at this meeting, regardless of how they and Birchfield played it off. This exchange could have been rehearsed, designed to put them in opposing roles, Graves playing the antagonist while Cartwright took the friendly route, allowing them to play against and maneuver Star Fall towards an agenda they both shared. She would have to be on guard for more tactics like it. However, it could be a genuine moment, which in turn revealed facets of each Senator’s personality that she could use to predict and appeal to them.

Cartwright then turned to Star Fall. “Princess. You are a long way from home.” His voice was deep and rolling. Diamond Dogs didn’t think like ponies, a fact that often showed in their idiosyncratic speech patterns, but the Senator was either naturally able to mimic a pony’s way of talking or he’d spent some time in speech therapy. Regardless, he sounded exactly like she expected of an upper-class Republican elite. Which was worrisome, since it would be too easy to forget that he wasn’t your average Republican elite. She’d have to remember not to make assumptions with him. “I heard of the tragedy that occurred during your nuptials. My condolences for your loss.”

“Thank you, Senator. In truth it was a loss for the entire Kingdom.”

Graves snorted. “Yes. One mad king dead, very sad. Fortunately you’ve got the next tyrant all lined up to take the throne. And you, lucky little filly, managed to marry him just in time.”

Again, Star Fall refused to rise to the obvious bait. Graves was probing, pushing every emotional button she could think of, but if she truly were as belligerent as she wanted to appear she would be acting differently. Hell, she probably wouldn’t have come at all. No, this was a test, to see if Star Fall was going to be worth listening to. The real question she needed to answer was whether Cartwright was in on it or not. “Yes, we are lucky my father-in-law left clear instructions for the succession. The world faces dire peril. Now is not the time for a political crisis.”

If Graves was pricked by her return jab, she didn’t show it. Cartwright made a thoughtful hum and tapped one claw on his small chin. “When is the coronation? I would have thought you would all want it over and done with as quickly as possible.”

“I–” Star Fall tried not to pause here, but her mind went blank on what to say. She didn’t know why it hadn’t happened yet. A bevy of possibilities came to mind, but in her instant of hesitation she shoved them all away. She needed to be honest with these Senators. They had to trust her. That wasn’t to say, however, that she shouldn’t be choosing her words with incredible care. “I’m afraid my abrupt departure has left me out of the loop as far as that goes.”

“Until then the former Queen is in charge, yes?”

Graves interjected before Star Fall could answer. “She’s probably the one holding that coronation up. It’s good to be Queen, I bet it doesn’t sit well with her that she’s about to get replaced.”

It was a clumsy attack, but that only made Star Fall pay even closer attention to the older mare. Graves was a long-time political operator, if she wanted to insinuate that the Queen was holding on to power to keep it out of Star Fall’s hooves, there were subtler and more effective ways of going about it. For such a seasoned politician to take such an amateurish swipe said something. She kept a pleasant smile on her face as she contemplated it and answered both of them. “In the Kingdom, royalty can’t really be demoted, per se. As she was the Queen, she will remain a Queen, with all the privilege and power she is accustomed to. For the moment she is acting with the authority of the Crown, but upon his coronation my husband will assume those duties.”

“Or she won’t step down at all, and just continue to rule in her son’s name,” Graves said. There was a cruel smirk tugging at her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Those were busy searching Star Fall’s own face, looking for clues and tells.

“The rules that govern royal succession won’t allow that, I assure you,” Star Fall said with a disarming smile. “My mother-in-law will return to the role she’s been invaluable in for decades, as a close and trusted adviser to the Crown.”

“And just what might she be advising?” Graves asked, continuing to hammer at Star Fall’s poise. “Perhaps she’s even now advising all manner of things regarding his runaway wife. The wife whose own mother was revealed as the Gray Mare!”

And all at once, Star Fall understood. This was the crux of it. She still didn’t know what Cartwright’s angle was, but she saw into Graves’ heart, and there she saw fear. Not fear of Astrid or Star Fall or the Kingdom, but fear of the Destroyer. Fear of the juggernaut even now chewing through everything the Republics military could throw at it. This was good. This wasn’t a fear that made her stupid, but a fear that motivated her. A fear that had her looking for allies, looking for help. Star Fall might become an ally, but first she needed to find out if Star Fall could help, or if her connection to the force out to kill them all had rendered her powerless.

She was silent as all this flashed through her head, and all eyes in the room watched her expectantly as she formulated her answer. “Yes, Twinkle Shine, my mentor, my adopted mother, the closest adviser and friend to the royal family, is in truth Nightmare Umbra. She hid herself well. None knew of her true nature. Not myself, not the Queen, no one. All of us who knew her must live with that fact, must think carefully about all that she said and did, wondering if each kindness, if each wise word was instead some play by the Destroyer, manipulating us to her own goals.”

In fact, her talk with Spike had convinced her that most of that kindness and wisdom had been completely genuine. Oh, there had been manipulations, certainly, but considering Corona’s purpose and ultimate goal, her friendships were likely sincere. She didn’t need to explain that to the Senators, though, it would only confuse them at this point.

“I’ve known Queen Aqua Regia since I was a filly,” Star Fall continued. “She was always very kind to me, even from the start. As I grew, I found that she and I shared opinions on a wide range of topics, both political and personal. I learned recently that she has been working and advocating on my behalf since she first met me. She is my friend, a fact that I am extremely proud of. Because of this I know she is not speaking against me. Not to my husband, not to anyone.”

Star Fall looked around at the watching Senators, meeting the eyes of each one, holding Senator Graves’ gaze last. “If you need proof, simply look to the news coming out of the Kingdom. I’m certain the nobles are calling out for my blood. What has the Crown said? Have they denounced me? Declared a divorce? Have they called for my arrest and trial? Tell me, have any of these things happened?” She watched carefully. She was sure any such announcement would have gotten to her through Gamma, even with them being pseudo-prisoners of the state with the limited access to information that entailed. For even more confirmation, there was no denial in their eyes. “No,” she said with confidence. “They’ve done none of these things. Because I am still Regal Stature’s wife. I am still Princess Fallen Star, soon to be Queen, and I have the full confidence of the Crown.”

She stared at Graves, watching as the mare’s true question was answered. There was a shift, a subtle one, and a layer of tension evaporated from the room. Just like that, she and Graves were on the same side. There was still a ways to go in this negotiation, but her first hurdle was passed. Now she just needed to figure out what angle Cartwright was playing and they could get down to the true meat of the meeting.

Cartwright huffed out a small laugh. “Well said, well said.” He turned to Birchfield. “You’ve certainly been making some strange friends lately, Alan. I can’t say I ever saw you as the diplomatic type.”

“I’m not,” Birchfield replied. “I’m just an old soldier who knows when someone isn’t his enemy.”

Cartwright’s eyes swung back around to Star Fall. “Well!” He rubbed his paws together, the rings making clicking sounds with the motion. “Well, well, well. I’d love to keep the pleasantries and posturing going, but there is too much to do to waste time. Fallen Star– may I call you Fallen Star?”

“In both Solar and Lunar common speech my name is rendered as Star Fall, Senator,” she replied. “If you like, just Star will do.”

“Ah, good. And if we’re being familiar and dropping the titles, then in the interest of fairness, call me Cyrus.” She nodded in acknowledgment. “Star, you are here to beg for your country.” He held up a paw to forestall any protest. “I know, you wouldn’t put it that way, but it is true. The coming vote will determine whether our two nations finally go to war, and you are desperate to prevent that. The Kingdom cannot survive a war with the Republics. The cost will be great for us, yes, but the victory all but assured. You cannot match our technological superiority or our manufacturing base, to say nothing of sheer numbers. Thus, finally, you sue for peace. You have come here to negotiate terms, to offer us whatever you can to sway us. Thus, you beg.” He bared his teeth in a gesture that might have been a smile. “Am I wrong?”

Star Fall didn’t frown. Here was the second half of her test. “You are mostly correct, Cyrus, but you have one part of that wrong.”

“Oh?” he said obligingly. “What is that?”

“I’m not just here to beg for my country, Senator. I’m here to beg for yours as well.” There was a moment of silence as Cartwright’s smile vanished. “The Destroyer is on our doorstep. The time for fighting each other, if there ever was such a thing, is gone. Now is the time we either stand together, or die separately.”

He nodded. “Good words. Yes, good words, but–”

“They’re not just words,” Star Fall said, cutting him off. His eyes widened at her rudeness, but she ignored it, bulling ahead. “I know how to defeat her.” Each of the Senators stared at her with wide eyes, Birchfield’s mouth dropping open in surprise. “I know her weakness. But it’s a weakness neither of our nations can exploit on our own. We need each other, Senators. We need each other.”

Graves took a step towards her. “I suppose you won’t be telling us what this weakness is unless we accept your demands.”

Star Fall shook her head. “No. I’ll tell you, if you want. I’ll even provide my source for the information if you don’t believe it coming from me. I’m not using that as a bargaining chip. I’m using it as the reason to start bargaining. We can win. We can defeat her. We just need to work together to do it. What I’m interested in, Senators, is what it will take to make that happen.”

There was a moment of silence, and the three Senators exchanged a long look. Finally, they turned back to her. “There must be concessions,” Cartwright said.

“Of course,” Star Fall replied. “Just like there must be concessions from you.”

He didn’t look too happy about that statement, but didn’t challenge it directly. “The Kingdom must open its markets to the Republics.”

“The Kingdom is a controlled economy, Senator. If we open ourselves to Republican free-market capitalism that economy would collapse. Instead, we can allow Republican corporations to operate on our soil, so long as they obey the regulations and restrictions that a Solar company must follow.”

Cartwright’s face wrinkled into a scowl. “The costs would be...”

“High, yes. Much higher than you’re used to. Your corporations would be operating as private citizens, and thus allowed to run a profit, but even so profits from the Kingdom would be slim in comparison to what they are here. Still, I think you’ll find that there is a great hunger for Republics-made goods in the sunlands. That is only one side of this, though. The other, I think you’ll find much more to your liking: exports.” She saw the gleam in Cartwright’s eye at that. “You have technology, Senators, but we have magic. There are a plethora of enchanted items that could prove absurdly lucrative for any company savvy enough to bring them to Republics markets. Hell, I guarantee you that whoever kickstarts the television industry in the nightlands is bound for wealth beyond the dreams of avarice.”

“Surely you’d want Solar corporations to profit from such things,” Birchfield piped up.

Star Fall shook her head. “Companies in the Kingdom don’t work like they do here. A company in the sunlands exists for a purpose, and making money is incidental to that purpose. Sometimes it’s unnecessary or even unwanted. So long as they’re fulfilling their purpose, so long as that purpose is still needed, Solar companies don’t really have to worry about finances beyond reporting everything to the Treasury. A company like that coming into a place like the Republics would be just as unfair as the reverse. No, I think instead a Republican corporation partnering with a Solar company to bring sunland products to the Republics.”

“You’re giving away a lot,” Cartwright said, and she heard a note of suspicion in his voice.

“I’m giving away nothing,” she replied. “We must learn to get along, and one of the best ways for countries to get along is for them to trade with each other. I’m not coming up with this stuff off the top of my head, Senators. The Kingdom has agreements like this with several of the Zebra nations, and they work. They protect the Kingdom from exploitation by unregulated businesses, and protect our partners from being out-competed by Solar companies with no need to run a profit.”

Cartwright was frowning again. “This will be a hard sell. Solar regulations are stifling, and from what I understand your tax laws are set by local nobility, and can vary from one street corner to the next, driving up costs even more. Regardless of import potential, this is set up for a massive trade deficit in your favor.”

Despite his negative tone, Star Fall’s heart surged at his words. ‘A hard sell’, he said, which meant he was thinking of how to sell it. He wasn’t rejecting it out of hand. She took a calming breath, then decided it was time to play her trump card. “Yes, which is why I’m also willing to offer the Republics mining rights in the northern crystal deposits.”

There were gasps at that, one of which Star Fall was sure came from Astrid, though she refused to turn and look. She wouldn’t fault her friend for being surprised. The crystal mines were the primary source of the Kingdom’s wealth. All the enchanted products she had just talked about selling to the Republics were only possible because of those crystal resources. Giving the Republics rights to some of those resources would undercut Solar exports, and certainly go a long way to closing the gap in magical capabilities between the two countries.

Now the avaricious gleam was in the eyes of all three Senators. “What are the conditions on that?” Graves asked.

“Regulation and oversight,” Star Fall said. “The operations must meet Kingdom environmental and safety standards. Other than that, the Crown takes its cut and the rest go to the Republics to do with as you please. The rights are given to the Senate, and the Senate can contract out whatever company you like to do the actual mining and import. There could be a limit on tonnage extracted per year, but that can be hammered out in formal negotiation.”

“That,” Cartwright said slowly, his tongue darting out to lick his nose in a gesture she hoped was thoughtful and open, but didn’t know enough about Diamond Dog body language to say for sure, “is a generous offer. But it only addresses one side of what must be done.” Star Fall struggled to keep the frown from her face and the tremble from her limbs as her heart sped up. Gamma’s briefing had presented Cartwright as a consummate businessdog. Eminently reasonable so long as he could see the money in it. Her allowance of mining rights should have had him salivating over the prospect of a deal. Instead he appeared as someone who, while interested, had a more important agenda.

“I think this proposal will benefit both our nations quite nicely,” Star Fall said.

“While some of my colleagues might be willing to go along with it purely for the silver to be made, I am more concerned with the morality of any alliance.” Star Fall’s heart rate jumped up another notch. Morality? She had no idea where he was going. “Tell me, how are Dogs treated in the sunlands?”

“They are citizens, just as any pony. They obey the same laws and duties, and have the same rights and privileges.”

“Oh? Then they don’t need permission from the government to breed?”

Star Fall’s racing heart skipped a beat. “Just like here, they need the assistance of a unicorn to conceive.”

“And this assistance is provided at their request, yes?”

“No,” Star Fall admitted. “They apply for a permit. If the application is granted then, yes, they get all the assistance they need.”

“Are these permits always granted?”

“No.”

He nodded slowly at her terse answer. “And what of Griffins? The great warriors so integral to your Crown’s authority. Surely they have control over when they breed and who they mate with?” Star Fall didn’t answer, simply holding his gaze. “No. They don’t. No they don’t. Only ponies can choose for themselves when to have their children. And even then! Oh, even then those selfsame children may be sold into slavery!”

Star Fall didn’t flinch back as his voice rose to a sharp bark, but it was a near thing. Her wings wanted to flutter and her stump was sitting wrong in its cup and her mouth had gone dry but none of that could be allowed to show –not for one instant– if she was to walk out of this room with new allies in the Senate.

Cartwright wasn’t done. “You imagine nightlanders to be blinded by love of silver– Don’t bother denying it! You see our wealth, our drive for prosperity, and you imagine it is all we are. You come to us with tempting offers and promises of riches, as if that is all we care for. But you do not understand. I will not accept evil such as your Kingdom perpetrates. No, not even for all the silver in the world.” He huffed out a breath, visibly reining himself in. Star Fall waited, knowing there was more for him to say, knowing what he was going to ask her for. This felt rehearsed, but even so the emotion seemed real. If his anger was an act, he was performing masterfully, and she still couldn’t see the advantage for him in it. “I spoke of concessions earlier,” he continued in a more subdued voice. “I was not simply speaking of trade. We need your help against the Gray Mare. By the same token, you need ours. This is my price to support you: the abolition of all slavery in the Solar Kingdom.”

Star Fall waited to see if there was any more, but he had said his piece. She unfolded her wings, stretching them wide before settling them back in place, the gesture giving her time to think on a response. “I understand you better than you might think,” she said. “I’ve been back and forth from the Republics many times in secret. I’ve walked among your people, I’ve spoken with them and laughed with them. I know that a strong spirit of virtue resides in them, one that sees the indentured servants of the Kingdom as creatures to be pitied, to be outraged on behalf of. A similar spirit resides with us in the sunlands, and we feel the same pity and outrage when we look upon the homeless and the destitute that huddle alleys and shantytowns in your great cities. What you ask is similar to my demanding that you end poverty in the Republics.”

She held up her good hoof to forestall their defensive retorts. “Oh, I know how impossible that would be. I know that despite all the good words every politician mouths about it, the will to do what’s necessary is simply not there. The disruption to your economy would be vast and unpredictable, and the opposition from everyone who benefits from the current situation would effectively kill any effort to change it.

“So it is north of the Storm. There have been voices crying for the end of indenture since it was created. Those voices, incidentally, include the Queen’s. And mine. Yet the challenges are vast. The economic damage would be incredible. There would be revolts, both among the nobles who use indentured labor and among the commoners who would no longer have an easy means to escape debts. The social unrest would exacerbate the economic struggles, and who knows where that will end. Yes, it’s just as impossible to end indenture in the Kingdom as ending poverty in the Republics is. Save for one thing.”

They looked at her expectantly. Cartwright’s squashed face was set in a dark glower. Graves’ ears were perked up with interest. Birchfield, for some reason, looked abashed. She took a slow breath, drawing out the natural pause to something filled with tension. Both for the theatrics of it, and because it was a big step for her. “The difference here is that in the Kingdom we don’t have to negotiate with a thousand different factions to get things done. In the Kingdom the only will that matters is the will of the Crown. You want an end to indenture? Done.”

Cartwright’s eyes widened with a measure of surprise. “I want all the slaves freed, Princess. Your Griffins included.”

“Fuck that.” Heads turned to regard Astrid, who glared back.

“Astrid,” Star Fall said, though any admonishment in her tone was a faint thing.

“No, Fall. This shitheel thinks we’re oppressed or some bullcrap. We’re not. We chose to serve the Crown, we fought to get where we are. You wanna stop a bunch of losers from selling themselves off instead of facing the consequences of their actions? Fine. You wanna force the nobles to pay more attention to their vassals, stop treating them like free labor? Great, anything that ruins their day is fine by me. You wanna piss on eight hundred years of Griffin pride? No. Fuck that.”

“I was going to say, Astrid, that if he wants us to ‘free’ the Griffins, then he’s going to have to do the same for the Changelings.” Star Fall looked over to Cartwright, who shifted uncomfortably.

“The Changelings aren’t slaves,” he said.

“No, they made a deal with the Republics. Service in exchange for protection and assistance breeding. An almost identical deal to what the Griffins and the Kingdom has, in fact.”

“I meant that the Changelings are paid for their work.”

“The Griffins speak with the voice of the Crown. They don’t need money.”

“Don’t want it, either,” Astrid added.

“It doesn’t matter,” Star Fall said, waving a wing in front of her as if to dispel the tension between her and the Senators. “I know that ‘freeing’ the Changelings is something you don’t have any power to do. Not without years of committees and referendums and backroom dealings. Whereas I could have the Griffins released from their oaths with a few words to my husband. I won’t,” she quickly added before Astrid could chime in again. “Because to do so would be saying to them that they are not wanted or not needed, when they are very much both. You’ll have to be content with the end of indentured servitude. Is that enough, Senator? Will that overcome your moral objections to working together against a threat that will annihilate us both if we don’t?”

His face scrunched up, pride and bruised ego warring with his rational mind. Star Fall’s heart was still pounding away, and her list of distracting ailments only grew as she felt the tingle of an incipient cough begin to ravage her throat. There was no way she was breaking her staredown with Cartwright, though.

Finally his tongue darted out to lick his nose, and with a grunt he ducked his head in a nod. “Yes. That will be a start. I’d also like breeding assistance to Dogs to be automatic, no applications that could be denied.”

“Is such assistance automatic here?” Star Fall asked, knowing the answer.

“It is given to any Dog who…” he scowled, unable to meet her eyes any more.

“Any Dog who can pay for it,” Star Fall finished for him. “It seems, then, that breeding permits are denied in the nightlands, too. Be assured, Senator, that when such requests are refused, it is for a good reason, and not at the whim of some bureaucrat with a rubber stamp. We aren’t without our faults in the sunlands, but we have our laws and our courts, and any such arbitrariness would soon find itself under the scrutiny of the Crown.”

“Fine.” The reply was curt, but Star Fall thought that was more from embarrassment than from anger at her for refusing him. “Alright. Alan is clearly on your side, and I know that Senator Graves was convinced by your little speech about the Gray Mare. I accept that I won’t get everything I want out of you, so I’ll take what I can get and we can get down to the real business. You agree to end slavery, I’ll work to keep us from declaring war on you.”

“Agreed. Thank you, Senator,” Star Fall said.

“Thank Luna’s bright moon that’s done with,” Graves said, taking a step closer to Cartwright, as if closing ranks with him. “Honestly, Cyrus, this isn’t a business deal, all of our lives are at stake.”

He shrugged at her. “What better time to negotiate good terms?”

“Preferably after the world-ending threat has been dealt with,” Birchfield said, wiping sweat from his brow as he too stepped in line with his fellow Senators. “Now, Star, you said you knew how to defeat Nightmare Umbra. If we’re going to sell this to the rest of the Senate, we’ll need some details.”

Star Fall let out a slow breath. It wasn’t quite time to relax yet, but the hardest part was done. She’d gained more allies, and they would prepare the ground for her. Hopefully by the time she addressed the full Senate, they would already be on-board and it would just be a matter of making the deals struck here in this tiny, bare room public.

“First, we need her out of the way at the Stile Islands. Her ghouls are tough, but not terribly intelligent or creative in their tactics. It’ll be hard going, but our two armies can grind them down eventually. The problem is her. She doesn’t even need her army to take on both of ours. As long as she is present her victory is inevitable. Fortunately, I’ve learned some things about her recently, and I have a way to get her to leave. Something she won’t be able to resist…”

***

It had been a long way to go to get to the desert. There was plenty of empty space in the Republics suitable for what they wanted to do, but the place they were going was specifically set aside for testing weapons. Hundreds of square kilometers of desolate wasteland, fenced off and kept from the public eye. They would be far from anyone who could be hurt by whatever happened, and free to do their work in perfect secrecy.

Calumn had been to places like it before, though not this one in particular. Changelings did all sorts of training, after all, and most of it couldn’t leak to the general populace without starting up all the old paranoias. He’d actually enjoyed those times, and had many fond memories of being out in the wilderness under a desert sky so wide you could fall right into it, the stars brighter and clearer than could be imagined in a city. If their situation wasn’t so rushed, he’d be looking forward to sharing some of that experience with Trail Blazer.

As it was, he was hoping they wouldn’t get the chance. Cash was getting ahead of them with every hour. The need to move was a pressing weight that followed him no matter what form he took. Even what they were doing, as important as it was, felt like a distraction from what had to be their primary focus. Find Max Cash and put a permanent stop to him.

Maybe, along the way, he could make up for being the one that let Cash go.

The trip had been a nonstop rush of chatter from Pinkie and Blaze. He couldn’t remember how they had gotten started anymore, but no line of conversation ever seemed to come to an end. Each new sentence was a potential breaking point where a topic would be abandoned for whatever tangent had come up. Those tangents led to more, and more, until Calumn was sure that neither pony actually knew what it was they were discussing any more, defaulting to merely spewing a call-and-response stream of consciousness, only to be taken aback a moment later when one of them somehow tied their current thought back into a point they had been making a dozen topic shifts ago.

The most notable part of the journey happened while Pinkie and Blaze had been in the middle of an in depth investigation into their mutual experience of… something or other. He really hadn’t been paying attention by that point.

“I spy with my little eye, something that begins with… Pancakes!”

“Breakfast?”

“No thanks! I had a big one this morning. Did you know that the hospital serves food all the time?”

“I thought it was the angry lady behind the counter that did that.”

“She didn’t like it when I asked for gummy worms on my mashed potatoes.”

“What? But that’s the best part! They make little mashed gummy tunnels and you can peck at them and pretend you’re a bird with a really healthy pancreas.”

“I know! So I had to get some myself!”

“From the vending machine?”

“From the vending machine.”

“Oh no.”

“So when I pressed the button.”

“Oh Goddesses, no!”

“It got stuck!”

“Tragedy! What did you do?”

“I had to squeeze myself in there to get them, of course.”

“Well, that’s only logical. But wait, did you bring your mashed potatoes in too?”

“Hehe, well, I kinda didn’t think about that. So I was stuck in there for half an hour while people screamed and found a guy with a key to open it. And my potatoes were cold. Also in the garbage because I had just left them there and somebody thought they were abandoned. Poor, sad, orphan potatoes.”

“That’s rough. At least you had gummy worms.”

“Yup, want some?”

“Do I ever!”

Pinkie produced a package of candy from nowhere Calumn could define and after letting Blaze grab a few she had passed them around to the soldiers and spies in the van with her. Having been given strict instructions to accept anything she offered them, they each took a rainbow-colored gummy and began chewing on it. None of them looked happy about it, and Calumn’s emotional senses were awash with a grinding mixture of confusion, annoyance and pounding anxiety. This hadn’t been the first time she’d done something bizarre and maybe physically impossible on the ride, and every time it caught them off guard.

Calumn wasn’t so worried. He could feel her emotions blazing like the summer sun, and as mercurial as she was she didn’t want anything more than to see others happy. Which is why he suddenly started paying attention when those emotions shifted sharply towards alarm.

“What is it?” he asked, coming instantly alert.

“Uh-oh,” Pinkie said. She twitched. Her entire body rapidly going through a series of contortions that looked like they would be painful happening all at once like that. She popped back to her normal shape, with a sound like a spring in a radio-play, and turned to stare to the north. “Oh, no. Rarity.”

It was then that Calumn noticed that her eyes were glowing. “Pinkie, can you tell me what’s happening?”

“Rarity’s in trouble,” Pinkie said. Her voice was distant, like she was half asleep. “She’s trying too hard. She keeps pushing things too hard. Fluttershy should be helping her, but… but she’s not.”

“Fluttershy? Are they together?” Had Cash gone after Rarity? Would he be coming for Pinkie Pie next?

“No,” Pinkie said, but then seemed to reconsider. “Yes? Maybe? It feels like… like we’re all kind of together. Only not. I think I’m the only one who noticed because no one else is helping Rarity.”

“Can you help her?”

Pinkie frowned. “Maybe… Mayyyybe. I think I can turn down the juice…”

“Sir,” one of the soldiers called out, catching Calumn’s attention as Pinkie narrowed her eyes at something only she could see far in the north. “Lead car is radioing. The object is radiating light and magic. The unicorn watching it is, uh, incapacitated so we can’t get a good reading on how much magic it’s emitting. They’re requesting permission to stop and get to a safe distance.”

“Denied,” Calumn said. “Pinkie, are you going to blow us up?”

“What? No, don’t be silly.” She paused, pursing her lips in thought. “Well, I mean, probably not.” He gave her a stern look and she raised her hooves in surrender. “Kidding! Kidding! It’s ok, Rarity’s almost got a handle on it. Spike’s helping her, I think. It’s almost done.”

Calumn turned back to the soldier at the radio. “Tell them that it should go back to normal in a moment. Continue on.”

A minute later Pinkie’s eyes had stopped glowing and she had informed them that everything was A-OK. Except it wasn’t, not completely. He could feel the worry in her, and the fact that she had lapsed into a thoughtful silence for nearly half an hour spoke volumes. Eventually she had recovered, leading the whole van in a sing-along that had turned out surprisingly well considering the gruff, taciturn group that she had to work with.

The testing ground consisted of a series of interconnected concrete and steel bunkers buried under miles of empty wasteland. The base was sparsely populated, with only a skeleton crew there to keep the place operational. The contingent they had brought with them in three vans easily tripled the population.

As night had already fallen when they’d arrived, they were given cramped rooms to sleep in, a meal of military rations –that Pinkie still managed to play with before devouring by sticking out her tongue a full three feet, dropping the food on it, then rolling it all up and swallowing it down in a display that sent at least one unprepared technician into a panic attack– and a reminder that testing would start bright and early the next day.

Calumn slept that night, but only fitfully. The testing plan Star Fall had come up with was not difficult. Not really. But it was predicated on assumptions that Calumn didn’t particularly share: that the Elements could be used by Calumn and the others that had gone to face Cash in the jungle, that they wouldn’t blow up in their faces like it had for Pinkie when she put on Laughter, and that they could be used in the fight against Cash. As far as Calumn was concerned, the Elements were too dangerous even for them. Power corrupts. He was trained both on how to exploit that fact and how not to fall into the trap himself. Yet his training had already failed him once in the face of the Elements, and he feared it would fail again. Add to that the possibility of ‘Inversion’. What if giving them this power just created more monsters?

There was no answer to that question. Not yet. He could only hope that the reborn heroes were a good precedent. They had borne the Elements for years and had apparently remained good and just ponies to the end. Power corrupts, but the Elements seemed to break all the other rules, why not that one as well?

It was perhaps because of his own inner turmoil that he was acutely aware of the lack of the same from Blaze as he stood with his friend in the rising heat of the morning outside one of the squat bunkers that poked up out of the ground only far enough to allow a narrow viewing window out into the desert. Five hundred meters away a technician had just placed the case that housed the Element of Laughter into the testing zone and was now trotting back toward them. Once he was here it would be Blaze’s turn to head out, open the case, and see if he could access the powers of the Element.

Pinkie stood a short distance away, giving them a moment of privacy. She had a part to play in this: Star Fall’s instructions were clear that both she and Blaze were to be monitored throughout the testing process, even though she was not supposed to get any closer than this to the Element itself.

“Blaze,” Calumn said, looking at his friend and wondering if he was sensing things correctly. “How… how are you doing?”

“Just fine, buddy. A little dry-mouthed. And eyed. And eared. And, well, dry-everythinged. Which might also explain the urge to wet myself everytime I think about putting on the big blue necklace.”

“Blaze…”

Trail Blazer looked at him, grinning. “Buddy?”

“I can tell what you’re feeling.”

“Oh. Right.” He looked away again, his smile still in place. “Is that, like, a permanent thing, now? Like, we’re good enough friends that you can tell what I’m feeling even from across the country? Or the world? ‘Cause, um, if so then that one time I swear I was just having a really good lunch. Like, really good. And all those other times too. Yup. Really good lunches. I mean, who says you can’t have lunch at eleven o’clock at night. It’s noon somewhere, right?”

“Why have you turned them off?”

He paused. A flash of guilt. “Um…”

“Your feelings, Blaze. It’s taken me a while to notice the absence, but you’ve shut them down.”

“Not all of them. Just, you know, the ones that care that Charisma is dead.”

Calumn closed his eyes for a moment. “I thought that was it.” He took a deep breath, not sure that he wanted to dive into this now, but also not sure if he would ever want to. “Can you tell me why?”

Blaze laughed. “Lots of reasons. I mean, I could start with how bad the whole thing was to begin with, you know? It was not a safe, sane and consensual relationship. Also, she killed a lot of people and that kinda makes it really inappropriate to feel sad about her being gone. And… and she told me…”

Calumn reached out and pulled Blaze into a hug. “Keep smiling. I know. It’s gotta come out sometime.”

Blaze sighed. “Maybe after we save the world, huh? I’ll rent a hotel room, buy all the ice cream and tissues I can carry, then bawl it out over a weekend.”

Calumn squeezed tighter. It wouldn’t be that simple. Grief never was. “I’ll help you, Blaze. However I can.”

Blaze squeezed back. “Well, there’s something that might help right now...”

“This is not going to be an excuse to turn me into a filly again, Blaze.”

“But it’s so adorable!”

“No.”

“I bet Pinkie would love it.”

“Not in front of the soldiers.”

Blaze pulled back, smile in full force. “I’ll be fine, buddy. I’m not good at fighting or planning or spy stuff or any of that other stuff that makes you and everyone else so awesome, but I’ve got a lock on being me. Nobody does it better. And if I know me, and I do, then I can tell you with super-complete hundred and twenty percent certainty that I’ll be fine.”

Calumn quirked an eyebrow. “Hundred and twenty percent, huh?”

“I borrowed twenty percent from Dash. She can have it back when she stops being brainwashed and evil.”

“I’ll tell her you said that.”

“Uh…”

The technician reached them at this point, ending their banter. “We’re all set up,” he said. “The case is unlocked, mister Trail Blazer, all you have to do is open it.”

“Cool,” Blaze said with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

“Pinkie, now comes your part,” Calumn said, turning to the ancient hero.

“Oh! Right! Shoot, where’s the script?” She waved her hooves about herself. Then, despite not wearing any clothing, somehow managed to pull a folded piece of paper out of what very much looked like a pocket that formed out of her skin as she shoved her hoof into it and vanished once the hoof was withdrawn. The technician made a strangled sound and then turned and quickly walked away. Blaze and Calumn merely watched with casual interest, having seen much stranger feats in the past few weeks from the pony.

“Ahem!” Pinkie said loudly, unfolding the paper and giving it a close look. “‘I, Pinkamena Diane Pie, being of sound mind and body.’ Hmm.” She reached up and squeezed her mane between her hooves, which made a squeaking noise like a child’s toy. “Yup! That’s a sound alright! ‘Do hereby declare that I am passing bearership of the Element of Laughter to Trail Blazer, to act as my proxy in all things Element-related, effective immediately.’” She looked around expectantly, but only the dry wind moved. “Well, that was disappointing. I expected way more.”

“We were told it wouldn’t be flashy,” Calumn said. “Blaze, you’re up. Pinkie, you’re with me.” Blaze gave them a nod, then started off towards the Element. Pinkie saluted smartly, then somersaulted down the steps and into the bunker. Calumn watched Blaze go for a moment, then followed Pinkie.

Inside, technicians were already busying themselves over Pinkie Pie, attaching electrodes and sensor pads to her. A bank of machines sat behind her, humming with power and flashing sequences of tiny light bulbs that Pinkie was smiling at gleefully as she was hooked up to the device.

“Yay, blinky lights! Blinky light science is the best science!”

Calumn walked over to the observation window. It was low to the ground, but the whole area was so flat he could see a long way even so. He watched Blaze trot up to where the Element of Laughter had been left. Once he was close, Calumn picked up the radio microphone set by the window and switched on the transmitter.

“Everything set out there?”

Blaze poked at the accompanying radio out at the testing ground for a few moments before he found the right switch. “Yuppers. One radio, one big gray case of doom, and one very nervous Trail Blazer. It’s got all the makings of a great party.”

Calumn turned to the technicians. “Are we set up in here?”

“She’s set up and we’re getting clear if, ah, a little strange readings.”

“Strange is to be expected. Pinkie, are you ready?” She gave him a grin and a sloppy salute. “Good. Blaze, it’s time. You are clear to begin the first phase of experiments with the Element of Laughter.”

“Ooh, ominous,” Blaze said. Then he gingerly opened the case and took the necklace from inside. It glinted in the bright sun, the blue of its gem clearly visible, like a beacon. Blaze made a sound that could have been a sigh or a prayer, but didn’t come through the radio well enough to tell. Then he slipped the necklace around his neck in one quick, jerky motion, his forelimbs flailing after he had it in place as if to ward off some phantom danger. After a long moment of nothing happening his panic ebbed and he looked down at himself, patting here and there as if to make sure that he was really unhurt. “Uh, ok,” he said through the radio. “I am not blown up. So, I guess, step one is a success?”

“Try using it.”

“Okay. Um. How?”

This was something Star Fall’s instructions hadn’t covered in much detail. “I don’t know. Just… try to do something Pinkie-like, I guess.”

“Yeah, okay! Pinkie-like… Pinkie-like…” He spun around in a circle a few times, and then started hopping. He circled the test ground a couple times before coming to a stop. “Oh, wow, is that ever tiring. Hey, buddy, is it working?”

“Do you feel anything?” Calumn asked, his eyes focused on his friend, seeking any sign that something might be going wrong.

“A little thirsty,” Blaze replied. He turned towards them, and the sun once more caught the gem that hung around his neck. “No explody world-bending superpowers, though.”

“The reaction was instantaneous with Pinkie Pie,” Calumn said. “Star Fall’s notes say you’ve got to work at it, though. Maybe do something else. Concentrate on using it, maybe? Try to do something concrete.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know… blow something up, maybe?”

“Uh, buddy, I’m not exactly the blowing-things-up kind of guy, you know?”

“Right. Of course not.” Calumn shook his head, looking over to where Pinkie was still staring at the flashing lights of the machines, the gaggle of technicians quietly watching every readout. “Any ideas?”

“We could get some blue frosting and I could make Laughter-cupcakes for everyone!” Pinkie helpfully supplied.

“Okay, that’s a no.” He looked back through the binoculars, where Blaze was making weird gestures. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to use my super-awesome Element powers to throw a fireball!” Blaze replied.

“Why are you… are you pretending to do martial arts?”

“Magical martial arts!”

“Why would you think… look, just stop that, alright? You look like you’re drunk when you rear up like that.”

“I actually could use a drink,” he said. “Of the get-you-drunk kind, I mean. Not just the quench-your-thirst kind. Though that’s probably not a good idea right now, even if I am thirsty, which I am, because alcohol dehydrates you and I’m out in a desert and it’s really sunny out here and kinda dry, but, you know that’s the whole desert thing again, which I guess it’s hot, but it’s a dry heat, which is supposed to be better than a wet heat, but, and this is where they get you, there’s such a thing as too much dry, which, okay, any fish could tell you, except they can’t talk or anything, so it’s hard for them to tell you anything, and I think that the first thing they’d say isn’t ‘did you know there’s such a thing as too much dry?’ Instead I think it would go more like: ‘aaaah! I’m out of water! I’m dying! Why did you do this? What’s wrong with you?’ and, okay, dick move from the fish’s perspective, sure, but I’ve got some philosophical questions that need answering vis-a-vis the point at where dry becomes too much dry. I guess it’s all a matter of perspective, right? I mean, in the jungle it was all sweat and bugs and terrible super-powered battles to the death and I was never thinking ‘gee, I wonder if this is too much wet?’ Though, I think too much wet is pretty much the definition of drowning, but at the time I wasn’t in any danger of drowning, except in my own blood, which is a kind of constant danger that I have some good experience with so it didn’t really occur to me at the time, but seems like it probably should have. I mean, on the way here I was wondering, and I thought to myself: ‘self, what else is like a jungle,’ and I thought back to myself ‘why are you asking this question? You aren’t heading to a jungle, you’re going to a desert.’ to which I replied ‘oh yeah, thanks,” and then I said: ‘no problem, and, hey, what are deserts like anyway?’ which led to a whole discussion about rainfall averages and an expected prevalence of tumbleweeds and cactusses. Um, cactusees. Cacti? Anyway, there’s not too many weird-looking prickly plants around here and not a single tumbleweed, which is, honestly, a lot disappointing. I know I can’t get everything I want, but would it really be so hard to have just one come rolling through here while I do this? You know, because nothing else is happening and if movies have taught me anything, and they've basically been my primary teacher since that incident in second grade so I’d say they have, then it’s that tumbleweeds are irresistibly attracted to places where nothing is happening at the moment, but a lot is anticipated to happen soon, which kind of describes this situation here pretty darn well. Though, I guess, if one did come by I might have to be in a gunfight, and I have never successfully fired a pistol. I mean, I have fired one, I get the basics of it, but I keep getting hung up on the whole ‘aim and bite trigger at the same time’ bit. I keep trying but I get confused and then I turn to ask the instructor for help but I forgot to take the trigger out and sometimes when you talk your mouth closes and, well, I’m not allowed back to that shooting range anymore. Or to own a firearm in Leo city. Which is fine because I’m usually not in Leo city, but I guess that was my point.”

“Your point is that you’re not usually in Leo city?”

“Yeah, because there’s this really good bar there, and I could really use a drink.”

Even with all the tension, Blaze still found a way to be Blaze. Calumn couldn’t help it, he let out a small but genuine laugh.

Blue light exploded from the desert. Ponies shouted in surprise and fear as the entire bunker rattled from a shockwave that had the ground bucking beneath their hooves. Calumn dropped to the floor, trying to keep his balance and blink away the spots from his eyes. “Report!” he shouted out.

“The readings are going crazy!” one of the technicians replied. “This can’t be right! The power readings are magnitudes greater than–” He was cut off as the machine began to spark and spit arcs of electricity and jets of fire. Pinkie let out a surprised squeak and scurried away from the haywire device.

“Blaze, can you hear me!” Calumn called into the radio. There wasn’t even static to reply, it had gone completely dead. Light was still pouring in through the narrow slit of a window. Calumn raised himself into that brilliance, squinting as he tried to locate his friend. “Blaze! Shut it down!” How was he even supposed to do that? “Think unfunny thoughts!” Might as well ask a boulder to dance. “Come on, Blaze… I believe in you… You can do it…”

“Aww, thanks buddy.” The light was gone in an instant, leaving behind a desert bleached to waves of blue and white, and a crater where the test ground had been. Blaze was nowhere in sight. But then again, the voice hadn’t come from outside, or from the radio. Calumn spun around and found Blaze standing right behind him, the Element of Laughter glowing at his chest and a big, happy grin on his face. “I believe in you too.”

They stared at each other for a long moment. “Did you just teleport in here?”

Blaze looked around at his surroundings, as if noticing them for the first time. Then gave a helpless little shrug. “I guess?”

“Oh.”

They both turned to see Pinkie Pie staring at them. More importantly, staring at the Element. “Aw, crud,” Blaze said. “I wasn’t supposed to let this get anywhere near her, was I?”

“No, it’s okay,” Pinkie said, taking a half-step closer, then stopping, a look of wide-eyed wonder on her face.

“What do you mean, Pinkie?” Calumn asked, ready to throw himself in the way if she lunged for Blaze, but knowing it would very likely be a meaningless gesture. “Why is it okay?”

“It’s not there,” Pinkie said, her face stretching with a huge grin. “I… I don’t have the irresistible urge to put on a necklace! I am totally fine with my bare neck!” Pinkie gasped, her mouth opening comically wide as she pointed her hoof at Blaze. “You! You did the thing!”

“I did the thing?” Blaze stared at her in wide-eyed confusion.

“You did the thing!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing in irrepressible excitement.

“I did the thing!” Blaze shouted back, starting to bounce in counterpoint to her.

“You did the thing!”

“I did the thing!”

“Whoo!” The two of them started dancing around each other, limbs flailing, sounds of elation filling the bunker.

Calumn watched as they cartwheeled all around the terrified technicians. Their antics only increased with each passing moment, and soon they seemed to be everywhere, disappearing from one spot only to pop out someplace they should not have been able to physically get to. Their excitement was infectious, though, and soon everyone in the room was giggling and snorting instead of cowering and screaming. That laughter only egged the two on, seeming to give even their inexhaustible energy a boost.

“Well,” Calumn said, watching all of this with a smile of his own. “This was clearly a mistake.”

***

“I don’t understand it,” Rarity said. “Or… maybe I do. It was a sense of… I can’t even find the words to describe it! It was like when I’m in the zone, my muse singing and the ideas just burning through my brain, my every thought realized with style and elegance. Except I was utterly terrified and out of control. It was exhilarating, Spike. Utterly, completely exhilarating.”

Spike nodded. “I’ve got an idea what that must be like.”

They were in the hospital. Again. This time neither of them was injured, but everyone who had been at the RIA building was getting checked out. Many had burst eardrums, or were suffering from other problems brought on by the sudden shifts in air pressure. Others were burned or had hurt themselves in escaping. No one seemed seriously hurt, fortunately.

“I think… I think I felt Pinkie there with me, just for a moment,” Rarity continued. “I was so focused on, well, on stopping that I wasn’t paying much attention to anything else. But I’m sure I felt her there. And the other girls too, but more distantly. As if I was looking at them but Pinkie was the only one looking back, if that makes any sense.”

“I don’t know, Rarity,” Spike said, watching as she paced back and forth in the small examination room they’d been put in. He’d had to insist to keep them together, which had meant scaring some poor nurse, but Rarity had been practically manic since waking from her faint and he wasn’t willing to leave her alone like that. “It makes about as much sense as anything else.”

“Yes! Exactly! Why send us the Element at all? It makes no sense! There were other things in that package, Spike. I saw them. We have to find them! What if there’s a clue in there? What if one of the girls found a way to get out of Cash’s control and are trying to contact us! You talked to the agents, is Straff here? Or Gamma? We need to find out what else was in the package!”

“It’s okay,” Spike said, reaching out to stop Rarity’s frantic pacing with a touch. This was the fourth time she’d circled back around to this thought in between rants about the bland hospital decor and deep analyses of the differences she’d seen between Kingdom and Republic fashions. “If there’s anything to find, they will.”

“Spike,” she said. There was a wordless pleading in her eyes. He wanted to help her, but he didn’t know what she needed. He doubted she knew either. “Spike, I feel fantastic.” She nuzzled against his claw, and he could feel the tension thrumming in her body with every breath. “I’ve never felt this good before. I shouldn’t feel this good now, not after I nearly… Oh, Spike, you’re sure everypony’s okay?”

“Yes. Some were hurt, but not too badly.”

“Oh, thank goodness. And the building? You said it wasn’t destroyed, but…”

“It’s still standing. It’s not much of a building anymore, though. More like a work of art.” It had certainly seemed like it as he’d carried Rarity’s unconscious form outside during the panicked aftermath of the Element’s power. The walls folded in on themselves like the lace of a frilly dress. Water still flowed up in some places, only to spill down in glittering waterfalls across exposed concrete and steel structure twisted into incredible designs. It was beautiful. And terrifying.

“Oh, they can’t be happy with that.”

“They aren’t,” he said. “But they’re blaming Cash, not you.”

Rarity’s tone turned worried again, frantic and pleading. “Did we always have this kind of power, Spike? Was it always there and we just… didn’t notice?”

He thought carefully about how to answer that. “We noticed,” he said. “You just don’t remember.”

“Why don’t I remember?”

That was a question he could only shrug helplessly at. She worried at her lip for a moment and then started pacing again. He watched her, waiting for the next tangent to catch her attention. This time, though, her nervous energy seemed to bleed away slowly with each trip back and forth across the room until she finally came to a stop. She stared into nothing, eyes unfocused and pupils contracted to pinpricks.

“I saw the shape of us, Spike,” she said. “I don’t know if the others can as well, but I… we each have our roles. The places where we fit. I could see those places as if… like it was a dress I was making. No. Not like that at all. But in a way, exactly like that.” She shook her head. “I’m not making any sense, am I?”

“It’s okay,” he reached out to touch her reassuringly. “Just say whatever you feel like. I’ll listen.”

She frowned as she continued, the words coming in short, halting bursts. “We all have a purpose. Something to do. The Elements are like… It’s like a dress. Like making a dress. Do you remember? When you were still a baby Dragon you watched me create the finest of dresses. Oh, it was just a few weeks ago for me and so long ago for you!”

“I remember,” he said. “I loved watching you work. It was as magical as anything Twilight ever did.”

She smiled at him. “It was, wasn’t it?” Her expression sobered as she fought her way back to the point she was struggling to get out. “Using the Elements is like making a dress, I think. We each have our part in making it work. If I had to put names to the roles… well, then, Applejack is the needle, and Rainbow Dash is the thread. Pinkie is… she would be the fabric. Fluttershy is the design, the pattern to follow. I’m the seamstress, putting everything in its place. I think… That’s all wrong. Completely wrong. But it might be the closest I can get to it. It’s… I know it, Spike, I can close my eyes and see it all again in perfect clarity. But every time I try to put words to it, it comes out all wrong.”

She stamped her hoof and made a high-pitched sound of frustration. He sympathized. “It’s okay, Rarity. The fact that you’ve discovered anything at all about the Elements is kind of really good. I don’t know how yet, but this might be important to finding a way to rescue Fluttershy, Dash and Applejack.”

“You really think so?”

“I really do.”

She sighed, closing her eyes and tossing her mane to make the curls bounce against her side. “Thank you, Spike.”

“You’re welcome. And, hey, you didn’t mention Twilight in any of that. Where does she fit in?”

“Twilight? Oh, Twilight is the customer, of course. The client. When we make the dress, we make it for her.”

“Oh.” There had been no hesitation in her voice then. None of the uncertainty that had come before. “Wow.”

“Yes, it’s all so terribly mysterious, isn’t it?” She sighed again, then leaned against him. “What do we do now, Spike?”

“Well… Star Fall is counting on us. We need to keep going. Tartarus.”

“Oh, joy. I had nearly forgotten about that.”

“I can go alone, if you–”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Spike!” she cut him off. “I admit I was not looking forward to the journey, but after what just happened I think it might be a welcome break from all the drama. Not that I’m not fond of drama, of course, but, well, I did just destroy a government building. I feel it might be a good idea to make myself scarce for a time, and a quest to the depths of Tartarus sounds like a wonderful excuse not to be available for questioning.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Absolutely.”

“What about the Element of Generosity? Are you feeling like you want to… um…”

“Find it and put it on again?”

“Yeah.”

She shook her head. “The compulsion to wear it vanished once you’d taken it off of me. Just like it did for Pinkie with Laughter. I’m certain that it will be safe from me.”

“That’s good. Because they want me to wear it.”

Rarity’s eyebrows shot up. “Do they?”

He nodded. “I’m a Proxy Bearer. The only one with previous experience, even. If I can get it to work, and you don’t go crazy around it, well, that’s only a good thing. It means that we can get the Elements away from the others and still be able to use them against Cash.”

“Oh, won’t that make this trip much more interesting. We leave in the morning, I assume?”

“At first light.”

She sighed dramatically at that. “No time for beauty sleep, then. Not that I think I’ll be sleeping at all, given how energized I feel. Ah, well. I shall make do. Let’s find me a sewing machine and some cloth. I have but one night to create an outfit worthy of hell itself! Care to assist me, my not-so-little Spikey-wikey?”

He chuckled at that. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Rarity.”

***

Rainbow Dash was losing her mind. That was the conclusion that Applejack came to as she watched her friend –former friend– trudge along ahead of her through the screaming wind and pounding rain of the storm. Dash was talking to herself, the words lost to the gale but her mouth clearly moving in heated argument. Her eyes darted about from place to place, never settling, barely even blinking as the rain pelted her. The bags under those wide eyes spoke of sleepless nights and heavy worries. Applejack knew her own features would show just as much fatigue, but she at least wasn’t talking to anyone that wasn’t there.

She looked past Dash, squinting to see Fluttershy walking side-by-side with Max Cash. The snake had somehow gotten to her. She’d warned her friend to stay away from him, to ignore anything he said and treat him like Applejack was treating Dash: nopony worth talking to. Of course, Fluttershy had gone and made friends with him anyway. Applejack should have expected it – No, she had expected it. Of course she had. It was easy enough to see coming.

Now they were finally getting out of this waterlogged city, finally moving towards whatever insane goal Cash had in mind. She’d thought about resisting, about staying in her room and refusing to come out, like she had for days. She knew that she’d just get dragged along anyway, courtesy of the traitor Rainbow Dash. Even so, an act of defiance, even if only symbolic, would have made it clear that she was never going to cooperate with him. She’d come along quietly because it would have been petty and childish to do otherwise and she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of getting her to behave like a filly. She’d cooperate until she found her chance to escape.

Lights pierced the gloom ahead of them. The docks were a maze of slick pathways cutting through roiling waters, boats lining each side of the wooden platforms. They bobbed in their berths like the heads of ponies at the hoppingest hootenanny she’d ever been to, synced to the rapid beat of the unending storm. Their destination was at the end of one of the docks, a heavy fishing trawler with a half dozen rough-looking equines scrambling about its deck.

Cash paused a hundred feet out from the boat, motioning the rest of them close. Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to notice, though she came to a halt when Cash did. Applejack brushed past her, shouldering her aside with a touch more force than was necessary. The contact seemed to bring Dash out of her stupor for a moment, and she locked eyes with Applejack as she went past. There was a plea in Dash’s gaze, a cry for understanding, for forgiveness. What was happening hurt her more than it hurt the rest of them, and Applejack was her best friend. She may have done wrong, but in the end the truth was…

The truth was…

If all the truth does is make your heart ache…

The truth was Rainbow Dash was a no-good traitor who didn’t deserve a kind word. Applejack turned away from her with an angry jerk of her head, stomping up to where Cash and Fluttershy waited.

“There’s our ride out!” Cash said, grinning in a way that reminded Applejack of the times when a young Applebloom had done something naughty and thought she’d gotten away with it. “Now, I’m not too fond of rough seas, so I was hoping we could do something about that.”

“This storm ain’t fixin’ to blow itself out anytime soon,” Applejack said. “It looks like those clouds are tryin’ to drown everythin’.”

“It’s not their fault,” Fluttershy spoke up. “They’re just doing what they’re told.” There was something not right with the way she was looking at Applejack, something that poked the part of her brain that had been on high alert ever since Dash had turned on them. If she was seeing something like that with Fluttershy, then what could it mean? But… no. Fluttershy was just looking at her with the same innocence as always. Poor dear was clearly out of her comfort zone and needed some reassurance. That was all Applejack was seeing.

“Well, I’d like them to be told to do something else then,” Cash said. “Think you could ask them nicely?”

Fluttershy ducked her head, hiding behind a wet lock of mane. “Oh, I don’t know if I can do that. I… I could try, but I don’t think it would work.”

“Well, shoot. How about the rainbow wonder? I bet she could clear this up in ten seconds flat, what do you think?”

Applejack looked over to where Dash was clearly not paying any attention to what they were saying. “I think Dash ain’t up to much these days. Serves her right for turnin’ against us.”

“Are you still on about that?” Cash asked, shaking his head. “Boy, you are stubborn. It’s been weeks, Applejack, let it go.”

“Ain’t takin’ friendship advice from murdering scumbags.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine, it’ll be a group effort. I’ll get Rainbow Dash helping, and you two make sure the crew don’t mutiny on us.”

Fluttershy just nodded meekly, but Applejack squared her jaw. “Why in tarnation do you think we’ll be helpin’ you?”

He smirked at her. “I don’t know, why are you helping me?”

She didn’t answer that. She couldn’t answer that. She didn’t need to answer that. That’s right, it was self-explanatory. She wasn’t helping him, she was helping her friends. Friend. “Come on, Fluttershy,” she said, turning away from Cash and trotting towards the boat. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we get out of this darn mess.”

Fluttershy looked towards Dash, and there was a flash of something in her expression, a kind of dark glee that didn’t belong on the shy mare’s face. It was gone in an instant, though, and Applejack knew she hadn’t really seen it. Of course she hadn’t. Her loving, timid friend would never enjoy seeing Dash fall apart. Never.

“So you’re the passengers that just have to get to the sunlands,” a sailor, possibly the captain of the ship, called to them as soon as they were close enough to hear. He stood at the top of the gangplank, giving them an appraising stare from under the wide brim of a rain-hat. “Well, I gotta warn you, it isn’t looking like we’ll be going anywhere.”

“I thought you were bought and paid for,” Applejack said, coming up on deck.

“Your boss has bought my boat and bought some risk, but he hasn’t bought my suicide, and that’s what going out in this weather is. I told him this. He insisted I get her prepared to sail, and I did that, but unless the Gray Mare decides to have mercy on us for once we’re stuck.”

“Alright, that’s bein’ taken care of,” Applejack said.

The captain frowned at that. “What do you mean?”

“I mean it ain’t a problem. The weather’s not gonna bother us. It’ll be smooth sailin’ the whole way, just you watch.”

“Smooth sailing,” the captain repeated, his eyes unfocusing for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah, the weather’s not going to be a problem. We can cast off as soon as you want.”

“Thank you kindly,” Applejack said with a tip of her hat. “Are we gonna have a cabin or somethin’ to stay in, or are we gonna be on deck with the rest of you? I don’t mind bein’ put to work –would prefer it, actually– but Fluttershy here’s more delicate and I wouldn’t trust the other two to know a sheepshank from a bowline.”

“You know your knots?”

“I tie my own lassoes. I ain’t a sailor, but some of my cousins are, and they’d show me a few things every reunion.”

“Well, this is a modern trawler, so there’s not as much call for a fair hoof with a rope as there was in the old days. And since we’re not going to be catching any fish on this trip there isn’t much to do, really. I guess there’s always busywork I could get you to do, if you like. As for a cabin, I can set you all up in the mess if you like.”

Applejack looked to Fluttershy, who shrugged. “That’ll do.”

The captain led them into the ship’s interior. It was cramped, with barely enough room in the hallways for two ponies to squeeze past each other. Still, when they got to the mess it was more spacious than Applejack had thought it would be. The kitchen was tight but well ordered, with a clear place for everything and enough supplies to feed the crew for a while. There were two tables that could be folded down into the floor to make space, and a bunch of folding chairs latched to the walls that could be fitted into slots in the floor to hold them in place in rough seas. It was all very pleasantly utilitarian, and while it lacked the warmth of a good home kitchen and dining room, it was at least clean.

“This’ll do nicely,” Applejack said. “How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Depends on how…” he trailed off, once more getting a distant look, as if he was struggling to remember something. He shook his head a moment later. “It’ll be smooth sailing, so I don’t think more than four hours to get you to the other side of the Storm. The real problem will be sneaking by the navy. They’ve got their hooves full with the Gray Mare, though, so we’ll be fine.”

“You ain’t worried about Umbra?”

“Why would the Destroyer care about a fishing boat?” the captain asked with a laugh. “She’s busy gearing up to end the world. We’re nothing to her.”

“Aren’t you afraid?” The question came from Fluttershy, who was standing at a window and looking out at the storm. “She’s going to kill you all. Doesn’t that scare you?”

The captain sighed. “It does. It surely does, miss. But if ponies like me stopped their lives because something scared us, well, nothing would ever get done.”

“You got that right,” Applejack said with a proud nod. “And don’t you worry none about Umbra. She won’t get her way.”

“She… she won’t get her way,” the captain repeated, and a tension she hadn’t noticed before drained out of him. “I should… I’ll go and make sure mister Cash knows where to find you. Once we’re under way I’ll find something for you to do, miss…”

“Applejack.”

“Miss Applejack. The rest of your friends can relax here and enjoy the trip. There’s no need to worry. It’ll be smooth sailing.” He turned and walked out, clipping his shoulder on the door as he went, but he didn’t seem to notice.

Applejack walked up to stand beside Fluttershy, who was still staring out at the rain. “Are you afraid, Fluttershy?”

She didn’t speak for a long moment, and when she did it wasn’t an answer. “Does he really not need to worry? About Nightmare Umbra?”

Applejack’s ears laid flat as she thought about it. “She ain’t the kind to go quietly. She’s more ornery than a shook up box of wasps and strong enough to take it out on everyone. Even if she does get stopped, I think she’ll take a bite out of the world. Maybe this boat, maybe the captain, they’ll be in that bite. Maybe not. It’s reason enough to worry, but it ain’t nice to tell a body that. Tell him not to worry and he might believe it, even just a little. That could be enough to keep him goin’ when everythin’ else is gone.”

“So you lied to him.” There was no accusation in her tone, merely a statement of fact.

Still, it stung. “Eyup. That I did.”

Fluttershy turned to look at her, a wide smile on her face. “That was very kind of you, Applejack. Thank you.”

There, that looked like her friend again. “Aw, shucks, Fluttershy. I was just doin’ what you would have done.” Fluttershy giggled a bit at that, and Applejack joined in with a small chuckle. “Though, you didn’t answer my question. There’s more dangerous things than Umbra we’re dealing with. Tell me the truth, are you afraid?”

Fluttershy’s smile faded away, and she looked back out the window where they could see Rainbow Dash leaving a prismatic trail as she flew into the storm. “Of course I’m afraid. I’m so afraid I feel like I’ll just curl up screaming at any moment. But I’m trusting that you and Dash and our other friends are going to get us out of this. That together we can do anything. I just hold on to that thought and I can make it through.”

“I surely hope we can,” Applejack said, pulling the other mare into a hug. “I just don’t see how.”

“You will,” Fluttershy said, leaning into the hug and draping a wing over Applejack’s back in return. “I believe in you.”

They stayed like that until Cash found them, immediately launching into compliments about how they’d handled the captain. Words that Applejack ignored, responding to questions only with grunts or monosyllables. She hoped her glare would keep him back. Hoped her own racing heart didn’t give her away.

She couldn’t believe it. It made no sense. But it was the truth.

If all the truth does is make your heart ache, sometimes a lie is easier to take.

The thought burned through her, offering an escape, a release from the revelation. Yet it couldn’t compete with the shock of what she now knew. Besides, it was a lie that started this, adding more lies would just compound the problem. She forced the tantalizing thought away, focusing instead on the cold, unrelenting truth.

Fluttershy had lied. That in itself wasn’t anything special, as Applejack had just said sometimes a lie is a kindness. No, it was the specific lie she’d told that had made the bottom drop out of Applejack’s stomach. ‘Of course I’m afraid’, she’d said, and somehow Applejack had instantly known the size of the lie she’d just been told.

It wasn’t just that Fluttershy wasn’t afraid of Umbra, or of Cash. She could be brave and fearless when facing down bullies and Applejack could see her standing up to those two in a heartbeat. No, it was that she wasn’t afraid at all. Of anything. The mare who literally jumped at her own shadow could now cheerfully stare death in the face.

Seeing the one lie opened her to the rest of the truth. It wasn’t just Fluttershy who wasn’t herself, it was all of them. Dash was losing her mind, and Applejack… something was wrong with her. She couldn’t put her hoof on what it was, but she knew it was there.

The ship pulled away from the dock as Rainbow Dash opened a path through the raging wind and rain. Soon enough Applejack left the mess to help with the shipboard chores. Through it all she maintained her usual friendly demeanor, talking and laughing with the other sailors who were amazed at Dash’s power to change the weather. She couldn’t stop herself from throwing a few insults at her traitorous friend, but for the most part didn’t make too much of a fuss about it. She looked to all the world perfectly normal, while deep inside she was trembling, asking herself one question over and over again:

What was happening to them?

***

Gemini City was aptly named. Its history was one of two competing cities that had grown so large that they had merged into one sprawling metropolis with two distinct characters. The rivalry was alive and well even after over a century of amalgamation, with the citizens still identifying themselves as ‘east Gemini’ or ‘west Gemini’ if asked where they were from. West Gemini was a center of innovation in the Republics, boasting more technical colleges and universities than any other Republic. East Gemini was an industrial hub, with a reputation for being perpetually clouded over with the smoke from its factories. Thus the population skewed heavily blue collar in the east and white collar in the west. It made for quite a bit of friction between both halves of the city.

One thing they could all agree on, however, was that the Senate Chamber in the center of the city, where the two halves met, was an eyesore. It was bad enough that they had removed a good chunk of beautiful parkland to build it, but due to its size and central placement, it was visible from practically anywhere you went. It was annoyingly ubiquitous. It was inescapable.

‘And,’ Star Fall thought, looking out the window of the luxury car that was taking her there, ‘it’s also incredibly ugly.’

As something designed to house the entirety of the Republics Senate, someone had gotten the genius idea to build it with architectural styles from all the different Republics. The result was an awkward kludge with no unifying aesthetic and little regard for sense. Leonine buttresses held up Capricorn balconies right next to a Virgin Arch that had no purpose but as a placeholder between the balcony and the Cancerian relief. Oh, there were certainly parts of it that if taken on their own were beautiful enough, but the overall effect was a designed-by-committee nightmare.

Star Fall amused herself by identifying all the different elements that she could. She was by no means a student of Republican architecture, but the Professor had ensured that she’d learned enough to be conversant, and the Senate Chamber was tailor made for such shallow understanding. It wasn’t a useful way to pass the time, but it kept her from thinking too hard about what she was planning to do in this place.

“You ready for this?” Astrid asked from the seat beside her.

“How long are you going to keep asking me that?”

“Until it’s done, obviously.”

Star Fall smirked. “Obviously.”

There was a squawk from the radio. Their driver answered it, and a garbled voice said something Star Fall couldn’t quite make out. Astrid’s eyes narrowed, however, and the two other RIA agents in the car with them visibly tensed. The driver and the agents shared some quiet words. Star Fall looked to Astrid, who gave a slight shake of her head. With that reassurance, she relaxed and waited to be brought into the loop.

Finally, one of the agents turned to her. “We have a situation. I’m sorry, Princess, but we will need to bring you in by an alternate route.”

“What sort of situation?” Star Fall asked.

“There’s a protest blocking the secured lot. They’ve already stopped two Senator’s cars and the police aren’t having much luck breaking them up.”

“A what?” Astrid sounded incredulous. “A protest? A bunch of punks with signs and nowhere better to be is giving you guys grief?”

“They’re a little more involved in the nightlands than what you might be used to,” the other agent said. “Freedom of assembly is a guaranteed right in the Republics constitution, and our citizens aren’t shy about taking advantage of that. These things happen every Senate meeting, but with current events being what they are…”

“They’re frightened,” Star Fall said. “And they don’t think their government is taking it as seriously as they should. Believe it or not, the same thing happens in the Kingdom. People are people no matter what side of the Storm they’re on.”

“Sure. On our side they don’t block roads or stop the people who are trying to fix this shit from doing their jobs, though.” Astrid’s open contempt earned her a hard look from Star Fall, and she quickly shut her beak.

“Whatever alternate arrangements need to be made, I’m sure it will be fine,” Star Fall told the agents.

“Thank you, Princess. We’re bringing you around to the front doors.”

“The front?” Astrid said, feathers rising in alarm. “Won’t that be worse?”

“It’s mostly media there. They might be a little intense, but they won’t block your way inside.”

Star Fall held up a hoof to forestall any more complaints from Astrid. “It will be fine,” she said again, making sure her tone was one of finality.

They said a couple platitudes to reassure her even so, but she had tuned them out and only responded with a nod and a smile. Protests. She’d actually participated in one, during her third mission to the nightlands for Gamma. It hadn’t been a big one, but it had served as excellent cover for a handover of information by one of their informants. There hadn’t been any blocking of traffic for that one, just a lot of standing around shouting slogans. It had made the local papers, complete with a group photo that happened to include her in it. Star Fall had brought a copy of that paper through the Everstorm to show the Professor.

That thought led to others, and she nervously touched the folder that contained the pages of a spell she had crafted on the way to Gemini City. A spell that would, if she was right, cement a Republics-Kingdom alliance.

If she was right.

The car threaded its way through to the front doors of the building. A less than ideal place to disembark, considering it was swarming with press. Better than a frightened, angry mob, however. Astrid preceded her out of the door, eyes scanning the ranks of journalists with their microphones and flashing cameras. Star Fall winced at those flashes, still unused to being this much in the public eye, but finally stepped out into the spotlight with as much grace as her artificial hoof would allow her.

Questions were shouted from every side. Her name and her title were wielded like bludgeons, demanding her attention, insisting she reveal everything. More than a few of those voices were hostile. They knew who she was, and they knew who her mentor was. Inevitable leaks meant that a few even knew to shout questions about the Elements, though none of them knew what they were. It was overwhelming.

Astrid sensed her anxiety. Or perhaps her control had failed and it was written all over her face. Either way, the Griffin held a wing over Star Fall’s head, buffering her against the camera flashes and the shouts, allowing her to move up the steps to the open doors of the Senate.

Once inside they were ushered by a pair of security guards so generic they were almost certainly Changelings into a small but comfortable room where they could rest and wait to be called on. There were chairs and couches in the room, as well as a table with some food and water laid out and a radio that was tuned to broadcast the Senate meeting.

Star Fall lay on a couch, surprised at how fast her heart was beating. For all that she’d faced death itself these past few months, the coming speech still scared her. It wasn’t just her own neck on the line, her words and actions before these people could decide the fate of the world.

“Do you want to listen in?” Astrid asked, tapping a talon on the radio.

Star Fall shook her head. “It’s going to be an hour of procedure that we already know the outcome of.” Indeed, Senators Graves, Cartwright and Birchfield had told her how they were going to give her the chance to convince the Senate not to go to war. They hadn’t had much time to plan it all out, and Star Fall worried that there was too much to do to make it work. Fortunately, it turned out that while the wheels of Republican government might grind slowly, their political maneuverings were done at lightning speed.

The first step in the plan was to secure the position of Speaker. Senates didn’t have a leader, but at the beginning of each session once a quorum was reached they would randomly select one Senator to take up the position of Speaker. The Speaker had the power to influence the agenda for that session, as they were the ones who gave others the chance to speak and decided when a vote would occur. Every Senator present was part of the random selection, but they could voluntarily withdraw themselves from consideration. It was a well established practice that when a contentious issue was to be raised that factions would decide on a single candidate for speaker, and the rest withdraw themselves so that their candidate had a greater chance of being chosen. Withdrawals could also be negotiated in return for favors.

This time her three Senators had maneuvered it such that Graves was the only candidate, and thus would become the Speaker for this session. It would take some time to go through the process, but the result was a foregone conclusion.

The second step was to prepare the grounds. Graves would have their military advisors speak, giving the Senators the shape of the conflict on the Stile Islands. That should scare them some, but would also be an opportunity to direct that fear where it should be placed: squarely on Nightmare Umbra. Then she would have Straff give a report on the hunt for Max Cash and reveal some information about the Elements of Harmony. Not a lot, not the whole story, but enough to let the Senators know that powerful magical artifacts had been found and were being wielded by a madpony. The destruction of Senator Birchfield’s mansion and the devastating fight in Hoofprint would be used to illustrate why they should care. That would provide the background the Senators needed to understand what Star Fall would do.

That done, the third step was to get the Senators to convince themselves to go along with Star Fall’s plan before she ever gave it. This meant letting a few choice Senators give speeches. Graves was a leading hawk, so she’d be expected to call on Senators from her faction to speak for immediate war with the Kingdom in order to secure resources to fight Umbra. There would be pushback from the doves and other factions, of course, and demands that their side be allowed to speak as well. Graves would acquiesce, and soon each faction would have had a speech or two to give the unaligned Senators something to think about.

The maneuvering here was more subtle than the Speaker selection. Most would think the speeches wouldn’t really matter because everyone knew that Star Fall was in the building, and the whole of it would pivot on what she said to them. Yet, they would set the stage for her. She needed the Senators to be in a particular frame of mind to accept what she was going to show them. Thus Graves would choose Senators who she knew would give particular speeches, their own agendas working to direct the attention of the whole where Star Fall wanted it.

Umbra was the key to it all. If she could do what she’d promised, if she could get Umbra off the Stile Islands, then she would have her alliance. If not, then she would likely see the world end from a prisoner’s cell.

She considered what was to come carefully, going over her planned speech and its climax again and again. It wasn’t complicated. Wasn’t long. She’d decided to be as direct as possible. Still, the potential for disaster was immense. She had to be flawless.

At some point she must have dozed, because it only felt like minutes had gone by before Astrid was shaking her. She blinked up at her guardian, her friend. “Is it time?” Astrid nodded. “Okay. How do I look?”

Astrid’s eyes scanned over her, and her beak opened in a smile. “Like a princess. Come on, Fall. Time to make history.”

Minutes later she walked out onto the floor of the Senate chamber, wings and head held high as befit a Princess of the Solar Kingdom. The chamber itself was enormous, an amphitheater with tiers reaching up a dozen levels, and then galleries above that where citizens watched in quiet anticipation. Every eye was on her, and she wasn’t ignorant to the fact that most of them weren’t friendly. She stood before the high bench where Senator Graves presided and waited. Astrid stood back and to the side, doing her best to look unintimidating and failing.

“The Senate recognizes Princess Fallen Star of the Solar Kingdom,” Graves intoned. “Princess, you have requested to make a statement and then offer a proposal for vote. The Senate will now hear your statement. Proceed.” There was no applause, no polite acknowledgement from the gathered people. Only a silence heavy with the weight of the world.

“Thank you Senator,” Star Fall said with a polite incline of her head. She then paused and looked around at the gathered Senate. Thousands of people from many different species stared back at her. Their variety alone was stunning. Earth ponies and pegasi and unicorns were the majority, of course, but there were also zebras and Diamond Dogs and at least one Dragon. There weren’t any obvious Changelings, but she was sure they were mixed in. It was bizarre to her sunlands-trained eyes, but it also gave her hope.

She had paused long enough that the anticipation was cresting. It was time to put her rhetoric training to use. She steeled herself against the last flare of nerves and began speaking.

“Senators, thank you for letting me speak. It is a historic thing for me to stand here today and address you like I am. Still, I hope for more. More than you simply hearing my words, I hope that you will also listen. I know it isn’t an easy thing to ask for, to listen to me. I come from beyond the Everstorm, from the sunlands that you have been taught to hate and fear your entire lives. Not without reason. Our two nations have a long history together. A history of pain. A history of anger, and of hatred. A history of debts made and paid in blood and death. That history is a lens that distorts everything between us. I know this, and still I ask you to listen.

“You know that I am here to plead against war. It seems almost absurd, doesn’t it? For so long we’ve considered a war between us inevitable, waiting only for one side or the other to make the first move. We’ve all felt it coming, prepared for it. Even, I think, looked forward to it. Eight centuries of tension building up to a crescendo that demands a climax. To plead for peace? It might seem a betrayal in itself of all that has come before.

“Yet that climax would have been an illusion. There is no release in war, save for that of death. Only misery would have resulted, and no matter who won the battles, all would have lost the war. Fortunately for us all, this end has been forestalled.

“Unfortunately, our reprieve came in the form of Nightmare Umbra. The Destroyer. She has hidden herself among ponies for centuries, on both sides of the Storm. She has funded political campaigns and whispered in the ears of kings. She was my mentor, and I will never forgive that deceit. For all that time she has been guiding us to this, pushing our nations towards the brink of a new war. This is what she wants. War between us would only feed her power and give her purpose. She would have waited until blood had been shed and the fighting entrenched before revealing herself, but events have forced her hoof. Exposed early, she placed herself between us, and dared us to try her power. So now she makes war against us both, and as you have just been informed by your own generals, we are losing.”

She paused again, gauging their reactions. There were too many faces for her to focus on any one of them, but the general mood of the room seemed to be where she needed it. There were quiet murmurs, a few louder comments, but no one was shouting her down. No one was screaming denials or demanding she account for past crimes of the Kingdom, whether real or imagined. They were hearing her out, and she could only hope that they were doing as she needed and actually listening.

“The time has come to be bold,” she continued. “The time has come to put away old grudges and to forgive old debts. The time has come, not for division, but for unity. The disaster facing us demands no less! There is an old adage, Senators, that comes from a time before the Schism, from before the separation of our two peoples. A saying from the time of a united Equestria, flourishing under the guidance of our Goddesses. One that speaks to us even now, showing how ancient wisdom can guide modern paths: ‘Friendship is magic’.

“Think about that. Friendship is magic. We need all the magic we can get right now.” She paused again, letting it sink in. A few breaths later, she continued. “This is what I have come here to propose to you: friendship. Forgive the old debts, forget the ancient grudges. Leave our history in the past and search instead for a future. Senators, let us be friends. I propose an alliance between us. A grand Equestrian Alliance that will allow our people to finally be rid of the specter of war and the legacy of hate. Only together can we succeed. Only together we can walk into a future of prosperity without fear. Only together, in friendship, can we face the darkness and see it defeated.”

She gestured to Astrid, who came forward with the sheets of her spell, laying them before her on the ground. There were more murmurs at this, probably the Senators wondering what she was doing.

“I know it’s not easy. I know how strong the emotions are that hold us to the dark path. Mere words won’t be able to overcome them. So I have come not just with words, but with actions. To cement our alliance, I have agreed on behalf of the Solar Kingdom to open our markets to your products. I have agreed to allow the crystal resources of my kingdom to be exported to the nightlands. And I have agreed to end the practice of indenture.”

There was a great deal of noise at this, an uproar of excited talk and shouted questions. It was enough that Graves had to ring the bell at her side to bring the Senate to order. Once it had quieted, Star Fall continued. She put her weight on her artificial hoof, the living one hovering above the spell arranged in front of her. Magic poured into the design, lighting it with a crimson glow. She kept her eyes on the Senators as they shifted uneasily at her display of power.

“Finally, I have this. I have learned secrets about the Destroyer, passed on to me by Master Spike, a Dragon who lived through the Schism and saw the birth of the Nightmare himself. I have learned that she is not unbeatable! I have learned her purpose, and I have learned what it will take to defeat her. It’s something neither of our nations can do alone. I have also learned what she fears most. Not us, no. Not our armies, not our weapons, not our magics. I will show you that fear. I will speak to the Destroyer herself and I will drive her from the Stile Islands, giving our combined armies the chance to defeat hers. I will do this, Senators, in the hopes that you will see it as the overture it is. In the hopes that you will remember friendship, Senators. For all our sakes, friendship.”

***

The spell came to her like a whisper on the wind. It would have been barely perceptible had she been anyone else. For her, it was a scream in her ear distracting her from her work. The havoc of the battlefield was both distant and near, the closest fighting miles from her physical body, but she was riding the minds of her minions, coordinating their efforts, seeing what they saw and hearing what they heard. It was her commands that had kept the battle at a near stalemate so far. Not that she was struggling to keep up with the pony forces. No, just the opposite. It was only because she was holding her side back that the ponies hadn’t been wiped off the islands completely.

Not that the ash-ponies were strategic geniuses. They retained rudimentary cognition, but they were animalistic in nature, higher thought processes and problem solving severely limited. They had no more grasp of war strategy than an ant would. She could create more intelligent servitors, but it was a time-consuming process and counterproductive to her designs. Nor were they particularly indestructible. The ponies had discovered the weaknesses of her minions fairly quickly, aided no doubt by what had been learned in the assault on the Solar capital, but ‘aim for the head’ is good in theory and all but impossible in practice. If she had simply left them to their own devices, her ghouls would have swarmed over the two armies in a day, an endless tide of death to cleanse the living from the world.

That would not do. They must fear her. They must know that alone they faced annihilation, and that only together could they hope to survive. For them to realize that, it needed to seem like she was struggling against both their armies at once, and they had to have time to push beyond their prejudices and unite. For both those reasons and one more she held her forces back.

Some would know the truth. Some would see what she was truly doing. Like the one who was reaching out to her now, whispering a call she could not ignore into her mind.

The spell was one that she had created. A very special spell that could reach across even this magic starved world to find her. On its own it was but a request. A hoof reaching out across fathomless distance. To truly complete the magic, she had to reach back.

So she did.

She opened her body’s eyes and beheld the image of Star Fall standing before her. She had no need to pretend her magic less powerful than it was, so the pegasus appeared as if she were physically present, no telltale translucence or ghostly glow to indicate the illusion. She would appear just as solid on the other end. With a small additional investment of power she would feel solid as well. The Student stood in darkness, a light from above all the illumination in the vast chamber she stood within. Yet Umbra’s eyes could pierce the darkest depths of Tartarus, and she saw the hundreds of ponies who sat in audience, silent but fearful.

What was this? She recognized the Republics Senate. What was Star Fall doing there? What’s more, as her attention turned back to the Student, she finally saw the prosthesis that had taken the place where a hoof should have been. A part of her cried out at that, a wail that would never be given voice rising from the chorus of screams within her. Her gaze left the false hoof, and she examined the rest of her protege. She had lost weight again, but even so she was looking well. Surprisingly well. There was a shine to her coat and a shimmer to her wings that had never been present before, not even when she had been made up as a princess on her wedding day. There was magic at work here. Old magic.

“Nightmare Umbra,” Star Fall said, and when Umbra met her gaze she did not flinch away. “I bear a message.”

She spoke in Lunar, likely for the benefit of her audience, so Umbra did the same. “Student. You Cannot Sway Me From My Appointed Course. This World Will Feel The Full Measure Of My Wrath. I Will Not Stay My Hoof, Even For You. Should You Survive The Coming Inferno, You Will Walk A World Of Ashes And I Will Not Weep For Your Fate.”

Star Fall’s lips thinned for a moment, but she mastered whatever emotion had prompted it. Not fear, she could see in her eyes that Star Fall had moved beyond fear. Good. It would serve her well.

“I am not sending you this message as the student of Twinkle Shine,” she said, the barest flick of an ear betraying her unease at saying the name. “I speak now as Princess Fallen Star, Queen presumptive of the Solar Kingdom and spokesperson for the Equestrian Alliance.”

Alliance? So soon? Too soon. At this point it would be a fragile, temporary thing, made of cobwebs and promises. She had to ensure that the alliance would hold fast beyond her defeat. She would need to adjust her strategy, increase pressure on the divided lands so they were forced to integrate with each other. Perhaps an example, to drive home the threat? Virgo City wasn’t too far away, she could level it in an hour.

Something to consider later, as Star Fall was speaking again.

“I know who you are, Umbra. I know what your purpose is. Because of that, I also know that you will not listen to anything I have to say. You can’t listen. But you are more than you seem, and there is another that will listen, and will be able to get you to do the right thing. I want to speak to Corona.”

Oh, Spike, the Professor sighed into her thoughts. You warned me. You said you would not lie if asked. I should have listened.

“You Use An Ancient Name. You Demand Of Me, Thinking To Leverage Some Hidden Knowledge You Presume Has Power Over Me.” Umbra’s gaze drifted to the watching Senators, though that was merely for show as her attention remained firmly on Star Fall. “And You Have Shared This Knowledge With The Robber Barons and Pedagogues Who Rule The Nightlands.”

“They know.” The sign was barely there, but Twinkle Shine knew her student’s face better than any other, and she did not miss it. A tell. A lie. So they did not know everything. “The survival of both our peoples is at stake, and false unity will get us nowhere.”

Ah, she understood. The part of her that was the Professor surged with pride. Still, she couldn’t show vulnerability here. “You Cannot Order Me As You Would A Palace Servant, Princess.” She spat the word with such disdain that she saw some of the Senators flinch. “I Am Umbra! The Destroyer! I Bow To No Ruler! No Authority! I Crush All Nations Beneath My Hooves And Render Their Mightiest To Ash. Whatever Secrets You Know, Whatever Names You Speak, They Hold No Sway Over Me.”

“Fine, then you have nothing to fear by letting me talk to Corona,” Star Fall said, her eyes fierce and unblinking.

“Such Childish Manipulation–”

“Is not manipulation at all. I have no patience for your grandstanding, Umbra!” The shout, and the sheer frustrated anger in it, caught her off guard. She gave no reaction, of course, but inside the Professor flinched in pain. “You are not the greatest danger to this world right now, and frankly, I was sick of your shit already the first time I heard it. Bring out your mortal half. Bring out Corona and stop wasting my time.”

The silence in the Senate chamber was deafening. Umbra stared at Star Fall for a long beat, then snorted. “Very Well. Speak With Your Teacher, Student. When We Meet Next I Will Have A Lesson Of My Own For You To Learn.”

With that the Nightmare retreated, allowing the pony to rise to take her place. Her body changed, falling apart even as it came together into the familiar shape of Professor Twinkle Shine. The remaining mass swirled around her as a cloud of ash that was soon drawn in to her mouth, disappearing within her to wait until it was time to form the fearsome Nightmare Umbra once again.

“Star Fall,” the Professor said. “You’ve been spending too much time around Rainbow Dash. It is very rarely a good idea to mouth off to an evil Goddess.”

Star Fall’s lips tightened, anger sparking in her eyes, though she kept her ears up. “I have no time to feed her ego. I have no time to banter with you, either. You will be leaving the Stile Islands immediately.”

The Professor quirked an eyebrow. “Really, Star Fall? A demand?”

“A statement of fact.”

She shook her head, Umbra’s indignant rage a throbbing background noise in her thoughts. Star Fall wouldn’t say something like that without anything to back it up. “You know Umbra won’t move just because you or I tell her to. She is even now grinding down the armies of both nations. It’s only a matter of time before there is nothing left to slow her conquest. What possible reason could you give to abandon that?”

“Max Cash has released all the Elements,” Star Fall said.

Whatever reaction she was hoping to get, Twinkle Shine did not give it to her. “Yes. I know the Elements are in play. I saw the Rainboom. Tell Dash that it was very impressive. It changes nothing.”

“It changes everything. Cash has turned Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy.”

“Turned?” The bottom dropped out from her stomach. It was impossible.

“He used a quirk of the Elements to turn them against their virtues, and against us. They have joined him.”

“No.” Here was what Star Fall had been hoping for. She reeled at the news. Max Cash was bad enough, but with the power of the others added to his? He would be all but unstoppable. She stared at her student, hoping to see that tell again, the lie subtly playing in her features. She saw nothing. “That won’t be enough,” she said, though the words were numb as they left her mouth, empty of confidence. “The Element of Magic is shattered.”

“I’ve read Harmony Theory. I know as well as you that breaking an Element is meaningless, if that even was Magic you broke. This is my message to you: the greatest threat to Umbra’s purpose is if Cash activates the Elements. A Harmony Event under his control will destroy everything you’ve worked for since the Schism. I know you can’t let that pass. Umbra can’t let that pass. And with Rainbow Dash and the others working with him, Umbra is the only one capable of stopping him. There is no choice here, not for you. You will leave immediately.”

“Oh, Star Fall,” Twinkle Shine said, feeling the rising might of the Nightmare within her. “You play a dangerous game.”

"It’s not a game, Professor,” Star Fall replied. “It never was.”

Umbra surged up, tearing through Twinkle Shine in a burst of blood and skin. “You Have Not Ended My Conquest. Merely Delayed It.”

“If you don’t stop Cash, none of that matters.”

Umbra let out a growl that reverberated through the spell, low tones spreading into the Senate chamber in a disquieting rumble that upset delicate inner-ear balances, sending dozens of Senators reeling and vomiting. Star Fall staggered, but didn’t fall, glaring at the Nightmare the entire time. Then with a mighty flap of her dark wings, Nightmare Umbra took to the sky, the spell ending with a thought.

The Student was right. She had no choice. She had to stop Cash before he completed his goal. He had escaped her clutches before, but this time would be different. This time she would do what was necessary to end him once and for all. And with him, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy. Their deaths would ensure that the Elements could never be used against her.

A cold smile revealed vicious teeth. Yes, she would finish what she’d started with Rainbow Dash months ago. Then there would be none who could stop her.

***

The Senate chamber was filled with the moans of those made ill by Umbra’s parting snarl. Star Fall took a few shuddering breaths, trying to keep the shaking from her wings. She’d done it. She’d been so sure it would work, but a nagging voice in the back of her head had been saying ‘what if it doesn’t?’ since she had come up with the plan. Now that voice was silent, and soon the Senate was as well.

She stood in the center of the floor, the spotlight still shining down on her, and they looked at her with a mix of emotions that ran the gamut from awe to suspicion. Low conversation rumbled through the chamber as the Senators discussed with each other what they had just witnessed. Star Fall stood through it, gazing back at them with calm patience. Minutes passed, then a pony trotted up to Graves in the Speaker’s bench and whispered something in her ear.

She stood, ringing the bell at her side to call the chamber to order. All the conversation ceased as she addressed the assembled Republics Senate. “I have just received confirmation that the Gray Mare was spotted leaving the Stile Islands, heading north. Her forces continue to fight, but she is gone.” There was a loud outcry at this, shouted questions directed at Graves or at Star Fall or at the military advisers. Graves rung the bell several times before silence once again reigned. “Princess Fallen Star, you have delivered on your promise. Now it falls to us to decide if that is enough. Senate, I call for a vote. The proposal is an alliance between the Solar Kingdom and the United Lunar Republics. Yea, or nay? Stand for your people and be counted.”

Star Fall watched in silence as the names were called and the votes were counted. She held her wings outstretched until they ached from holding the position. A glance at Astrid showed that her friend was staring right back at her, tense and ready should this not go their way. Star Fall gave her a reassuring smile. She saw the faces of the Senators, and she didn’t need to be a Changeling to know what they were feeling.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the results were tallied and Senator Graves stood, all eyes on her. “The will of the people has been heard. This is a historic occasion, and one I never imagined I would witness in my lifetime. The proposal of an alliance between the sunlands and the nightlands, brought to us by our guest the Princess Fallen Star, has been accepted! Our two nations will now stand united against the Gray Mare, and beyond.”

The stomping applause, when it came, was thunderous.

Comments

[Luna Aeterna Solutae]

IT LIVES!

[Shoggoth]

'Sure we'll help fight against the world ending evil. But first we need bribes.'

Sounds about accurate to real life, even.

[Swan Song]

motherfucking MIKE WAZOWSKI

[Merula]

Back from the grave....again!

[Chillean]

!!!

[RoboRed]

Did I read that right? Did they finally hand Cash a couple of "L"s over getting the Elements of Laughter and Generousity proxied and get the two nations to form an alliance?

Looks like things might finally be looking up...

[Kuro_Neko]

I'm so happy to see this chapter. I'd given up hope of ever seeing this finished. Harmony Theory is easily in my top ten MLP fics, maybe even in the top five. And in terms of raw world building only FoE is in the same league.

[Lightwavers]

I love this story.

[The Great Derpsby]

Truth be told, I have little desire to see Corona in any important position after the War. Exile, perhaps.

Or a corpse.

[notgreat]

Glad to see this continuing. Interesting to see the thought process of Applejack as she undergoes inversion like that.

I probably need to go re-read the whole thing, but was this the first time Umbra expressed hostility towards the True Bearers since learning that they are indeed the originals? (Or at least, exact copies of them)

[nickle241]

about time they started figuring out umbras kill switch, how suicidal can you be to ignore such an obvious untested option

[KMCA]

Oh Blaze, never st- oh... I just gave myself the sads. Amazing and slightly terrifying interactions between Pinkie and Blaze... I fear for the world.

‘east Gemini’ or ‘west Gemini’

Well played sir.

Oh man, things are accelerating now, aren't they?

Also may I just say that while I'd lost some of that hype from this fic back in the jungle I appear to have found it again.
(Thanks for the Christmas gift of an update Shar)

[Swan Song]

Looks like we’re hurtling towards the end. Star Fall continues to make my jaw drop with her insane power plays. Cash continues to infuriate with his opacity.

I still want to know what his fucking endgame is. What is his grand purpose? What the hell is he careening towards?

Your stellar writing has made me froth for years at the promise of answers. I froth yet more that they seem just upon the horizon.

[Swan Song]

9365692
I dunno if that’s fair. She didn’t choose to exist. She doesn’t want to be her. She tries very hard to do good, even if there’s a festering evil inside of her.

[Meneth]

9366337
As I recall, he thinks a Harmony Event can rewrite the entire universe, the last one was very long ago, and his existence will be granted some measure of "permanence" or "reality" if he survives an Event. Possibly also immortality/invincibility. If I was in control of a Harmony Event, that's one of the top things I'd try for.

[Crimson Dawn]

Great to see Pinkie in action again and this story updating. I always wanted to see more interactions between Pinkie and Blaze and I always like looking around to see if we can gleam any history of our favorite characters in my case in particular Pinkie.

[Artemis Fowl II]

9367028
While very possible, I'm still trying to figure out why the Element was delivered to Rarity.
Doesn't look like a game of "Gotta catch 'em all" anymore.

[Reese]

Very nice to see this story still going; thank you. :)

[VanillaWaffle]

It was a pleasant surprise to see this get an update. I'm excited that the story is continuing and I'm looking forward to the next

[mrk]

Yes! Excellent! The best story on this site continues!

Good political maneuvering there. Also pinkie blaze, yay.

[More Dakka]

Awesome to see this update

[Vixen_Felicity]

Wow.
Wow.
I may need to read through the last few chapters again just to fully appreciate this.
Well done man

[Booster Spice]

Harmony Event.

Total rewrite of all reality to however you want.

Troble is, if Im even anywhere right in my notes, then once you get past a given tech, magic level, it becomes effectively trivial.

Try looking at the code that generates Elite Classic. Its simpler than that.

Thats why Discord is totally out of his skull. He can do pretty much Everything, but has noone to do it For. He is insane with boredom.

[Nadnerb]

Hooooo wow I didn’t expect this over a year later.

Given that mechanics of the elements seem to be based almost entirely on the events of return of harmony, and the suggestion that it would be possible to create a harmony event with inverted elements, it would seem that the world was spared from one by chance when dash wasn’t present and loyalty was given to spike, a non inverted proxy.

Star’s plan seems to have worked perfectly, so now I’m worried.

[Bobby23]

Great to see it continuing, excellent chapter as always.

[Artful-Harmony]

i'm ecstatic to see that this hasn't been abandoned. This is one of the best-crafted fics I've ever read, full-stop, up there with Fallout Equestria. It would be a shame to see it go unfinished.

[son_of_heaven176]

Good to see that this sorry hasn't been abandoned, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

A few typos, though:

They’ve already stopped two Senator’s cars

Unless a "Senator's car" is a specific type of car, I believe that you meant that they stopped cars belonging to two senators, in which case the apostrophe needs to move:
"They’ve already stopped two Senators' cars "

Her gaze left the false hoof, and she examined the rest of her protege.

You need an extra E since Star is female:
"Her gaze left the false hoof, and she examined the rest of her protégée."

[The Great Derpsby]

9365389
Late reply, I know. Sorry. Anyways, at this point, I'm more inclined to believe Max Cash is going to win. He's going to get his wish, Discord comes back, all the horrible deeds will be ignored, bam. Just like that.

Of course I hope that won't happen, but he's pretty much invincible, so... yeah.

[CrustyKing]

It took me 3 days, but i finally finished the story so far, and i gotta say, holy shit, this is awesome. I can't wait for more chapters, even if the dates of last releases are a bit worrying, but i am sure waiting for them will be worth it.

[Mr Extra]

When this story is finally finished, I'm gonna have to get it in print. Right there next to Fallout: Equestria and The Immortal Game.

[RePoisn]

OH man, the last time I read this I only read up till Chapter 20. Honestly going to have to reread it to remember what actually happened! Damn though, good to see this (amazing) story still alive and kicking. A few large chapter every now and again is alright as long as it finishes one day (hopefully lol).

[FictionalNightmare]

Love this fic, it’s my favourite on this site along with Past Sins,

Also updaaate!

[HydrusBeta]

9515501
Oh my god, you're right. She would look a lot like Sugar Belle! Just add some blue and red to her mane (and, of course, blood drops for her cutie mark).

[FictionalNightmare]

9387760
Magic is magenta, purple is generosity.

[notgreat]

Maybe I missed something, but how are the Mane 6 still super-powered with no ambient magic? When the Schism happened everyone got weaker and the magically-dependent species died/need magic assistance to survive, The stated reason for this was a lack of ambient magic. With the main characters in said lacking environment, shouldn't they be weakened too?

I suppose a latent connection to the Elements empowering them isn't out of the question, especially with the Elements' extraction causing the animation/resurrection in the first place.

9530043
I'm fairly certain that all those mentioned were already naturally dead from old age. Remember that in this fic, Cadance is not a full Alicorn but is instead a winged unicorn/horned pegasus, with magic from both but no connection to Power nor the corresponding immortality.

Doing a little graverobbing is much more in-character than murder.

[cheesegal]

This is my favorite fic, no, favorite book of all time and I'm so glad to see it continue 😄

[FictionalNightmare]

9773283
Ohhh, seems like I’ve had the same mistake twice! Is there a way to check dates?

[Rovoska]

This story is the cream of the crop. Though updates have slowed to once a year, I pray that it be finished as such a great tale deserves.

[FOXTrot2]

“Yay, blinky lights! Blinky light science is the best science!”

Yes it is! That's how you know it's scienseing right!

“Well,” Calumn said, watching all of this with a smile of his own. “This was clearly a mistake.”

A mistake worth making.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the results were tallied and Senator Graves stood, all eyes on her. “The will of the people has been heard. This is a historic occasion, and one I never imagined I would witness in my lifetime. The proposal of an alliance between the sunlands and the nightlands, brought to us by our guest the Princess Fallen Star, has been accepted! Our two nations will now stand united against the Gray Mare, and beyond.”

Yay

[The Good Boy]

Oh boy. It's about that time of the year again.

[StubobNumbers]

I read this on an e-reader while I was offline this Summer, and I have a reading suggestion.

Everything about "Charisma" reminded me of Stephen King's novel, "Firestarter". If you haven't read that novel, I highly recommend it.

[Cosmic Cowboy]

Oh man, what a place to stop! This had better continue. These are the most complex characters--and the best villain--I think I've ever seen in a pony fic.
The Sunlands economic system sounds fascinating. Is it modeled on anything? I can't think of anything quite like it.

[NandN]

Had to put this on my dead or on hiatus list. Please finish this, I already have over 100 fics on my dead list. It would be a shame for this to end up like the others.

[Lightwavers]

This story is still extremely good. If it ever updates I’ll have to reread it again.

[NandN]

Hey, just checking in again. Please give us an update on the next chapter.

[kazamacat]

Whew, finally all caught up. Rainbow Dash is my top favorite character, so since this story kept popping up while I was looking for fanfics to read featuring her, I finally gave it a go. I don't really think she's the main character here (presumably it's Star Fall), so that's kinda disappointing, given the description (short version). Despite that, I definitely like this story more than I dislike it and am invested enough to see this thing through to the end, if it ever eventually, hopefully gets updated.

Thank you for any and all of Rainbow Dash Being Awesome in this fanfic. That's always such a treat!

[cheesegal]

One day my favorite fanfic of all time will get an update, I hope you're doing well Sharaloth 🙂

[FarmFreshAppleTarts]

She held up her good hoof to forestall their defensive retorts. “Oh, I know how impossible that would be. I know that despite all the good words every politician mouths about it, the will to do what’s necessary is simply not there. The disruption to your economy would be vast and unpredictable, and the opposition from everyone who benefits from the current situation would effectively kill any effort to change it.

No, star, ending slavery and ending proverty are two very different things

.

[Lyven]

Kinda sad to see this story discontinued. I remember reading this 2 years ago and loving every moment of it.

Though i have a sliver of hope that this gets continued