Chapter 55 - Princess' Genesis
Light Flow was no stranger to time warping around him. Reading tended to eat up hours at a time. Thinking too hard left him bleary and wondering where the sun had suddenly gone. Taking walks into the Everfree actually would burn entire afternoons. Letting the world drift away around him was a constant facet of his life, and one he often welcomed whole-heartedly.
Not this time. This time, Light could count the draining seconds in the wake of Bon Bon's words.
Her Sister's recovery.
And in every second that passed, where he found himself unable to move, or to blink, or even to breathe- as he ran through the words again and again and again and again, they were each followed by a single sentence burned across his vision by pulsing, veiny red.
Nightmare Moon had survived.
With every recurrent return to that thought, his chest would squeeze and fill his throat with burning acid wash. It made his bones ache. It made his eyes sting with dry, restless anxiety. It filled his veins with a jolting, electric rush of fear and anger that made him inexplicably want to smash his hooves into his own head over and over and over and over until he didn't have to imagine the vile monster still wasting breath too precious for Her abominable lips!
Why wasn't She dead? Why wasn't She dead?! Why hadn't the Elements killed Her?! How had his friends all survived if She wasn't dead?! Why had they been allowed to walk free as She still did?! She never would have spared them had She still had a chance- She was a cruel, sadistic monster that would never stop until all who opposed Her were driven to taking their own lives for fear of losing everything they loved!
He'd have to do it again, or She'd come for him. She'd never stop, never leave him alone until he was shackled and bound by Her side for the rest of eternity. She'd make him find the secret to immortality through Necromancy so that he'd never never never ever get away from Her. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't go back to cowering before those slotted, cyan eyes lit aflame by a malice too deep to die. He had to do it now before She found him. He had to do it he had to do it he had to do it he had to-
Something impacted his cheek- and suddenly, he was staring at the forest.
Light blinked stars out of his eyes- wow that stung- as he brought a hoof up to rest on his now-burning face. Kept it on his new bruise as he turned- a sudden crick in his neck- to stare widely at the creamy mare with the stern expression and the hovering hoof who'd not been sitting in front of him last he'd checked.
When had she..? Why had she..? What was..?
Bon Bon wore a grim, if apologetic, frown as she shook her hoof out between them. "Consider that a repayment for slapping me in the forest." She grimaced down at the shiny new welt on her frog, courtesy of his face. "But... don't tell anypony I did that. Harming you counteracts my orders."
Still holding his hoof to his cheek, Light uttered a dumb monosyllable. Something like 'buh' but just a little less coherent, if at all possible.
He was having... a hard time catching up... Bon Bon had slapped him?
He must've really been deep in it. He supposed... yeah, he had been panicking, hadn't he? About Nightmare Moon? That seemed like him. He so hated to leave things unfinished, and it felt like he should've continued... but he'd have to shake off the shock from being slapped, first.
...She'd really hit him, though?
With the shock chaining his panic behind flimsy bars, he felt a little more able to speak his mind. He did always feel more articulate when he was angry... and he couldn't deny he was a little furious with the mare for slapping him.
"Bon Bon... is.. is it true?" The mare in question glanced at him curiously as his hoof drifted off his cheek, where he shakily held it in front of him. "About... Nightmare Moon?"
He was already breathing a little faster at saying it. Thinking it. The panic was snapping the bars of its cage one by one- and that metaphor was making it so much worse.
He was beginning to freak out again, and he found himself inwardly urging the mare along as her hoof fell to the ground. Her brow furrowed in thought- but would she just hurry up?!
What was she going to say? She was going to say yes, he just knew it. She was going to say yes and then his life would just crumble down around him! He'd never truly escape Her. She always came back. She'd come back from a thousand years ago, and She was going to come back from this, too.
Dread was a heavy burden that never got any lighter, and it was crushing him as Bon Bon slowly opened her mouth bit by bit and her throat tensed in preparation- urgh! He hated his observational tendencies, sometimes! He was just too good at categorizing every little detail, and it made the world move too slowly!
Watching the tensing of her jaw as she chose the first word. Biting his lip; listening to his heart hammer; feeling the tangible feeling of adrenaline rushing through his veins. Waiting, and watching, and wishing that he'd died when he'd fallen so he wouldn't have to be there, waiting, and watching! He was going to scream!
And then it came. The moment ticked over, and in a single second came the word that would utterly destroy him.
"No."
Bon Bon shook her head, as the world around Light screamed to a sudden halt. "The figure known as Nightmare Moon is dead and gone. With any luck, She'll never be seen again," she affirmed in a clear, solemn tone.
Light felt weak. He felt hopeful- and he hated that. He felt the despair screaming to be set free- and he wanted it to be false.
If his aching jaw was really as heavy as it felt, then he was as strong as Rockhoof for how he managed to eke out a few, squeaking words. "But... what you said..?"
At that, Bon Bon pursed her lips and nodded again: rubbing her hoof through her mane and jostling its messy buns. "...Yeah... that's where it gets a little difficult," she murmured as her eye drifted pensively away: her demeanor suddenly becoming altogether uncertain. But why?! Stop being so heavens-damned coy!
He jerked his hooves up questioningly- frustratedly- as Bon Bon's hoof reached the back of her neck, and she directed an aggravated sigh to the side. She shook her head in resignation as her stare returned: the look in her eyes undeniably troubled, but at the same time, oddly... hopeful?
What could be so conflicting as to warrant that much consideration? Bon Bon hadn't proven herself to be overly driven, but still...
"...Nightmare Moon is no more... because She's been purged from Princess Luna."
Light stared.
And then he stared.
And then he stared some more.
He didn't know what else to do but stare. In fact, staring was the only thing on his mind, because rather than indulging shock or surprise or massive incredulity as reason dictated he should have, Light was most preoccupied with searching Bon Bon's face for tells.
Because Bon Bon had gone insane, and he has intent on figuring out just how insane. It'd show on her face, surely?
The mare who had clearly lost her mind must have miraculously retained some kind of awareness, because her next motion was not to continue raving her madness, but instead to slowly wave a hoof in front of his face. Her frown deepened quizzically- but that must've just been a side effect of her severe mental deterioration.
Poor Bon Bon. He'd barely had a chance to know her, or to plot her gruesome death at his own hooves. Darn shame she was going to spend her twilight years in a vomit-stained, puce-colored gown babbling gibberish at tired nurses from her hospital bed.
Wow, that was really funny, what he'd just thought. That must have been why he was smiling. No- don't look confused, Bon Bon! He was just laughing because she was insane! Just an insane pony out of her gourd saying ridiculous things that made as much sense as june bugs in July!
Her befuddlement at his sudden change took a change of its own as he wheezed chuckles: reducing into something completely serious. So silly! What a silly, whackadoo pony pretending like she could still construct rationale!
"Light... I'm not joking," she said slowly, but he just laughed all the harder. Swiped a hoof gently in her direction as his head lolled back on his neck, and the laughter just went on and on.
Maybe, if he just laughed hard enough, he could just ignore how tight his chest felt.
"Come- come on, Bon Bon! Of course you're joking!" he managed to wheeze out through his rolling chuckles. Trying to focus on her frowning face through the springing tears in his eyes- but it was only because he was laughing!
He was just laughing. Why did she look so serious? Why was she putting a hoof to his shoulder?
Why didn't she look insane?
"Light," she stated firmly as their eyes met. "I am not joking."
...and on and on and on...
Her grip on his shoulder was firm- firm enough that he failed to jerk away from her. Still chuckling, still smiling: Light tried, with his own hoof this time, to pry the mare's hoof off his shoulder. Tried to push it away, then his second try became a shove. Then, he tried to smack her hoof away. After only a few moments, Light had taken to beating his hoof against hers hard enough that his shoulder was beginning to bruise.
And she still wouldn't let go, as he laughed and laughed.
It got worse: her other hoof came up, and firmly took hold of his other side. Trapping his own hooves at his sides, and leaving him nowhere to go. Nowhere to look, except at her.
Her voice sounded again, and his laughter died in his throat as something changed. It wasn't anything in her expression- so sane, so lucid and sincere- but something else. He didn't want to believe it- didn't want to imagine it, but he couldn't deny the realization.
He'd finally finished isolating the minutia of Bon Bon's face, and he could feel the exact second that it truly dawned on him that she wasn't insane. He was very well acquainted with the tells of madness, and there wasn't an ounce of lunacy in her eyes.
A very different feeling began to well up in him.
"Last night, after you jumped from the window, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony confronted Nightmare Moon, and used them on Her."
His laugh had been hollow. His smile was listless. There was never any humor in his eyes, and nothing but burning smolders sparked and caught aflame of rage in his heart. Nothing to show in his blank expression, but everything to feel inside.
She was lying to him. How could she? After everything he'd been through? How could she be so cruel, after he'd told her of everything he'd been forced to sacrifice, to dangle a miserable false reality in his face as though he'd done something to deserve that kind of mocking ridicule?! Like it was funny?! Did she think his trauma was funny?!
What kind of a monster would dare to lie about Her?!
It was all mockery. Every word of it: it was all insincere and gloating, and he heard it in her voice. "When the dust settled, the mare left behind identified Herself as Princess Luna. She brought back Princess Celestia from where She'd been imprisoned in the moon, and the two of them reconciled-"
He couldn't stand to listen to it anymore. Every word- every lie cut deeper. Every ignobility only opened the wound further: made him remember more and more in rancid spite of what she was saying.
He knew Nightmare Moon, and he knew when he was being lied to.
"Shut up!" The scream tore from his throat in an instant as he pushed his hooves into Bon Bon's chest with as much force as he could muster. The mare's hooves fell off him as she staggered slightly back: the surprise in her eyes smothered by anticipation turned again to something cautious cut off as his vision blurred with red. A second later, he was nose to flaring nose with her, and still screaming.
"You have no idea what you're talking about!" She remained tense and alert as she took a step back from him- but he followed her. Kept yelling, because she'd dared to lie to him! "You don't know anything about Nightmare Moon, or what She wanted or why She turned against Celestia! She would never reconcile with Her, and She would never surrender!"
The frenzy he felt in his eyes only drove him to continue, or he'd explode. "Nightmare Moon was insane! There was nothing left to redeem of Her, and nothing would ever change that! Not Her Sister; not innocent lives; not logic and not even me!"
His next breath felt like lava in his lungs, and he welcomed the burn. Let it rage at the sound of Bon Bon's voice: low, and filled with a tense undercurrent of danger.
"Light, step away from me now, and think about what you're doing."
Light did not step back, because he didn't have think about what he wanted. He wanted to hit her. He wanted more than anything to make her hurt for her lies. Break her smug teeth. Bloody her red nose. Blacken her impetuous eye.
But what would it accomplish?
It would make him feel so much better. He knew it would!
It wouldn't change the truth.
No, it wouldn't, because it wasn't the truth! Bon Bon was a serial liar- so she was lying to him. The idea of- of any of what she was saying was just insane! She was insane! None of it made sense!
If he really believed that, then he wouldn't be so afraid.
Of course he was afraid. Of course he felt nothing but fear to imagine, against every single impious prayer he'd made in the past few hours, that She was still alive. Life couldn't be that cruel. It just couldn't be the truth.
You don't want it to be.
No, he didn't.
You don't want your sacrifice to be in vain.
No, he didn't.
You wanted Her to be dead.
...No, he didn't.
And then, it was gone.
Every single ounce- the tiniest cinders of anger had all been snuffed in a second. Smothered by a vast, sweeping sense of weariness. In the wake of his own, admittedly insane rant, Light only felt tired.
He was so... so tired of being wrong.
Bon Bon was still waiting, and he was still standing face-to-face with her. So close- so uncomfortably close- that much of his vision was dominated by her wide, intense stare. Unmoving, unwavering, unwilling to be the one to move first.
Why should she? She didn't do anything wrong. She was just doing her job, and answering a question.
A melancholic sigh drifted from his mouth as he bent his heavy head, and turned away. He took two steps forward, then turned again, and let his legs slump out from under him. Thorns and ivy immediately dug into his back as he slumped against the wall of his house.
The prickly feeling up and down his fur and the irritating scratching was a fitting prize indeed. The annoyingly miniscule pain was about all he deserved for flying off the handle and getting all worked up...
He sighed again, and leaned his head back until it touched wood: staring up at the bright sky above him. Fluffy clouds lit by the sun in a tranquil sea of blue. As untouched by strife as all of Equestria was. Pristine, and safe.
...over nothing.
"...Her real name is Luna, then?" he murmured, closing his eyes and grimacing as his voice came out as a raspy whisper. He hated how thin it always got when he'd been screaming. He just hoped Bon Bon had heard him, because he didn't think he had the courage to ask again.
He'd figured out a long time ago that Nightmare Moon was just an alias. He'd even accused Her of it, but to the end, She'd denied any vestige of Her life before. She'd welcomed the vile moniker of a foalhood monster whole-heartedly.
He couldn't imagine how self-deprecating it must have felt. What had driven Her to abandoning Her entire persona? He could never give up his name to take another; he loved being Light Flow.
...Most of the time.
A few moments passed of tense silence and growing anxiety, before there was a subtle sound of crunching grass. He counted the steps- two, four, six- then, there was an unfortunately familiar presence at his side.
Bon Bon gave a sigh of her own as the dull thorns on his back shifted. "Nowadays, it's only known to a select few ponies, but I'm a little surprised She never told you." She let out a hum that bled into a sardonic laugh, as though it were at all funny. "Her true identity never came up, throughout the entire night?"
He shook his head woodenly, though he knew she couldn't see. Maybe it was just to give himself some semblance of solace for how twisted it was. "No... it never did. She only spoke of Her past once... and it wasn't about anything so mundane..."
All that time... all that fake caring... and She'd never even told him Her real name...
He'd long since felt used, but now he felt well and truly discarded.
Bon Bon was silent alongside him for a few moments before she spoke in a candid tone. "Well, regardless, it's going to be made well-known." He felt the shifting of her body against the wall through the brambles, and heard her grimace through her voice. "With Her rescue from corruption, Princess Luna is going to ascend to rule alongside Her sister again. For the first time in a millennium, Equestria will witness a diarchy."
She laughed on the tail end of the thought, but to Light's ears, it sounded... incredulous. Airy and thin, as though she was parroting a script. "Within a week, She'll be the most well-known name on Equus."
She went silent for a moment, and then her voice sounded: her voice seeming strained. "It's... incredible."
Was it him, or had she meant impossible? Perhaps unbelievable?
Or maybe abominable...
Nightmare Moon had shed Her Queenly moniker, and had retaken Her old name. She'd... apologized for what She'd done... and now... She was going to ascend the throne...
...alongside Celestia. Had it all been a lie? A sick joke at his expense? Was it a long con? Had She lead him on, or had the Elements just brainwashed Her? Enough that She was trusted to rule Equestria?
How must it have seemed to a mare of faith? Was any of this accounted for in the church?
Truth be told, he was feeling less upset than he'd imagined- evidently even less than Bon Bon- but talking about Her still made him feel queasy. A nauseous feeling that roiled in his gut: threatening to rise every time he opened his mouth.
He couldn't believe this was the reality he was living in. He'd joked before that he'd been in Tartarus or Hell or whatever, but it really wouldn't surprise him at this point. At this point, it seemed just outlandish enough to be nothing but a figment of his own imagination.
Stupid imagination, taking him to a world where his greatest tormentor ruled the kingdom. Why couldn't he have imagined an afterlife where he and Applejack were dating, where she held him tightly each and every night? This sucked.
"Bon Bon?" He held his tongue from gagging as Bon Bon shifted, and hummed questioningly. Light's muzzle screwed up in indecision for a quiet moment before he sighed, and spoke quietly. "I... don't really understand what you mean when you say Nigh- Nightmare Moon was... purged."
It was an odd thing to say- heck, it was an odd thing to imagine. He couldn't even conceive of what she was insinuating; it seemed more like a story than anything.
He turned barely to see the mare as her gaze traveled to the sunlit sky. Deliberating on the sight for a few moments before it returned to Equus, and she murmured. "I'm only using the word Lady Sparkle used. Without speaking to the Princess directly and receiving a report of the events, I can't be sure of what happened." Her eyes flicked sideways, and caught him in a glance. "It makes sense, though."
Light's jaw opened on a whim that went nowhere, as he only gaped softly for a few seconds before he shut it, and turned away. "What do you... think Nightmare Moon was?" He spoke unsteadily; waveringly, as with every word he felt more and more unsure of asking. It was a frightening question, none the less because her answer could be anything.
Frowns were audible, apparently, because he could hear Bon Bon's. "That's... a strange question," she stated aimlessly. After a moment, there was a tug at his mane, and he looked over to see Bon Bon brushing her hoof idly along the ivy. He almost told her to stop- because the way the thorns were yanking at the roots of his mane really hurt!
After a few seething moments of prickling agony, she stopped her ministrations and answered. Slowly and clearly, as though she were very carefully picking her words.
"Without compromising confidentiality... it's been... asserted that the figure known as Nightmare Moon was... an independent, malignant entity that infected Princess Luna's mind... presumably as a result of Her dabbling with Black magic."
With her thoughts shared, her tense shoulders relaxed, and she gave a soft, uncaring shrug. "Whatever was wrong with the Princess, the Elements of Harmony have obviously returned Her to Her uncorrupted state. She's been freed, and returned to Deific status."
In the first few seconds, Light was surprisingly calm. The shock had clearly set in, and he was feeling numb enough that there was nothing except the logic. And logic is as logic desires: he began to theorize.
The concept of Nightmare Moon being nothing but a parasite upon Luna's mind was interesting. It was a lie, obviously, but it wasn't Bon Bon's. No, in this case, it was the both of them being lied to. She'd been deceived just as much as she was unknowingly doing for him, and unlike him, she had no idea. He almost felt sorry for the poor, blind fool.
He knew the real story though, and been apart of a disorienting amount of it. A long, fabled tale of the Younger's indolence, and the Elder's crimes: all told to him by a mare far too gone to have considered lying. Whatever She'd said before or after, the weight of Her experiences as She'd screamed at him had come through clearly.
Nightmare Moon was no parasite, just the last-ditch efforts of a Goddess who'd long since lost everything. War, regret, and undeserved penance. That was the real story, not the bunk Bon Bon was spouting.
Sorry- Princess Celestia. The bunk Princess Celestia had been spouting.
Why had the Sun Princess lied, though? What had She gained by misleading Her inner circle? Notoriety, certainly; the real story was incredibly damaging for Her image- but that didn't feel like the only reason. A zealot was a zealot regardless of evidence, and there was already public evidence of Princess Celestia's cruelty. The fact that nopony seemed to care was all the proof he needed: Princess Celestia didn't need to disguise the events for Her own sake. She was beloved in spite of her many irredeemable faults.
But there was the kicker. Why did Celestia ever act, if not for Herself? If She hadn't done it in ego, then why? Why would She cover up Her Sister's insanity?
...Ugh. He just wasn't properly prepared to answer that question. He was well-read enough to know that Celestia, like everypony, probably had an actual character and goals to match- but he just hated thinking of Her like that! He wanted to vilify Her, and objectify Her, and endlessly ridicule Her because She deserved it! She was every bit the monster Nightmare Moon was! Had been. Was?
This... wasn't what he needed right now. He needed to move on, and come back to it later. Sometime after he'd had a nap, and wasn't so lastingly grumpy.
Though thinking of Celestia usually set his chest aflame, he felt shockingly placid as he turned to the still-troubled face to his side. Her eye flicked over and caught his, then her expression immediately smoothed over into apathetic curiosity. That was the mare he'd somehow come to know as Bon Bon: eternally interested in seeming disinterested. What a nut.
"Do you know... where the name Nightmare Moon came from?" It was a straight question- which was actually a little odd. He didn't stutter, or wince, or have a traumatic flashback that conveniently cleared a few minutes of dead space. It was almost like he was becoming used to talking about Her. Or he was just feeling apathetic: that was always a possibility with him.
Bon Bon sucked her cheek in for a few moments as she thought, then let it pop back out as she propped herself up a little more on the wall. "No, I don't. I don't think anypony really knows, except-" Her brow jumped amusedly as she chuckled shortly. Smiling wanly, and shaking her head. "-well, except Princess Luna. I imagine She'll be fielding questions like that for a while."
He was thinking historians would be asking a lot of questions soon. Clergy, too. Nobles, and dignitaries. Foreign leaders and impressionable citizens. Really, the whole globe was probably about to simultaneously say what.
He glanced away from the mare, and put his eyes to the sky. Let his eyes flutter closed on a whim, and began a trek though soft foalhood memories spent reading naïve fairytales.
After everything that had happened, it was a little easy to forget that Nightmare Moon was just a fairytale. A well-known character in a timeless story told to foals when the weather began to chill. Meant to strike fear, and stoke fireplaces. Force loved ones close under a warm blanket; invoke soft whispers reminding frightened ears that they were loved; bring comforting brushes and long-lasting hugs to remind them all it was only...
...a story. That was all She ever really was. The tragic story told by a mare seeking salvation for Her subjects.
Luna... Princess Luna...
He wanted to hate the name and everything it stood for, but when he thought of it... let it silently whisper over his lips... he only found it beautiful.
It made him sick.
He peeled his eyes open to the bright sky with a bated breath, and tilted his head around to look at the shape of Bon Bon through his peripheral. "You knew about Her return in advance."
It was an accusation, and Bon Bon, surprisingly enough, didn't deny it. What he blurrily assumed was a foreleg raised up to cross behind her head, and the only response he got was an unconcerned hum.
What a snide mare she was. The very least she could've done was seem ashamed for her silence.
Light felt marginally more annoyed, and he made it obvious through a short scoff. "You couldn't ever just ask Princess Celestia?" he sniped snarkily. "Wouldn't Her Holy Highness know all about Nightmare Moon's origins?"
He turned further to see her better- to see if she took offense- but she only smiled wryly at his jab, like she'd not even heard it. Infuriating. What was the point of insulting ponies if they didn't react?
"You've never gone to Day Court, have you?" she asked, to which he muttered out something crass. She shook her head: still smiling, but still seeming somehow frustrated. "The Princess has all but forbidden prying into the unwritten past. Going through all the trouble of requesting an audience and then asking that kind of question would be like asking if you could be 'escorted' away."
It was only then, as her annoyance peaked, that her smile faded. "For... good reason, it seems."
He didn't enjoy the thought of relating to Celestia, but if it were him, he probably wouldn't like talking about his evil sibling, either.
Evil sibling.
He shivered softly at the distressing injection into his otherwise resting mood. "So- She's passive? Nightma- um- Luna? She hasn't hurt anypony... or threatened anything?" He swallowed back the lump in his throat: trying to calm himself by turning out towards the horizon. His friends were all still waiting around the tree, and now there was a splotch of purple amidst them.
He couldn't see Bon Bon shrug, but he got the impression she had. "I imagine not. Again, I only know what Lady Sparkle told me and what I read in the letter she gave me from Princess Celestia." She sniffed quietly, and he imagined her face solidifying into reservation. "But I trust the Princess absolutely, and Her Student by extension. Whatever they say about Princess Luna, it must be the truth."
Then he imagined her face inflating rapidly and exploding into gore. Unfortunately, that wasn't his reality.
Maybe the future.
His eye focused again on the angry purple unicorn standing aside the little green dragon. So prickly. So hypocritical. What made her worthy to wield an Element? "Why do you call her lady, Bon Bon?" he murmured crassly. "I hardly think she deserves it with how she treats ponies."
Bon Bon's voice sounded back, and he was sure she was looking at Twilight, too. "She is... a little brisk." she admitted, then, her tone lightened. "I don't think she remembers, but I've actually met her before. A long time ago, when she was just a filly. She was present during an audience I had with the Princess."
Her tone quieted: dreamily absent. "She was so much sweeter back then. A bright, excited little filly running endless circles around Her Majesty." He tried not to snort as Bon Bon continued. He had a hard time imagining Twilight as sweet. "I don't know how much she's changed since then, but It's obvious she's very stressed out with everything that's happened."
She sniffed. "Maybe she'll cheer up soon."
He really did snort in derision, then, and his reward was Bon Bon reaching over and roughly pushing him in the side. He caught himself on a hoof because- well, because he'd expected it, and quickly pushed himself back to sitting position.
He settled back into his uncomfortable nest of prickles and thorns, then turned back to Bon Bon. "I don't really... keep up with current events. How exactly are she and Celestia..." He screwed his face up in disgust: the words feeling sick on his tongue. "...related?"
Bon Bon flicked her eye to him: her tone turning incredibly dry. "Try not to sound too revering. I'd hate to think you thought well of Her Holy Highness."
She turned again to the tree in front of them as she continued, luckily missing how he stuck his tongue out at her. "They're not actually related, obviously, but the Princess accepted Twilight as Her Personal Student when she was very young. Young enough that..."
She trailed off, then coughed. When her voice sounded again, it was much deeper and held a hint of daring conspiracy. "It's frowned upon to gossip about Her Highness, but... for what time I was in Canterlot after Twilight arrived, there were more than a few whispers around the palace about their relationship."
Well, maybe that just meant Celestia was a foal-fiddler. Bon Bon'd left it ambiguous, after all.
He blew out a scoff as Bon Bon settled down. He knew what she'd actually meant. Lucky Twilight. The prodigy. The beloved of a Goddess. Living it up in a castle for her whole life like she was Celestia's daughter. Her decadence sickened him.
"That doesn't mean you need to call her a lady." he muttered bitterly, to which Bon Bon audibly sat up. He turned in a shock to see her hot gaze locked on him. He'd been insulting Twilight, how had he angered Bon Bon?
"Light, there are very few positions as prestigious as Princess Celestia's Personal Student. Scholars and esteemed laureates have begged to learn from Her for their entire lives." He leveraged himself up onto his hooves with a frown: meeting Bon Bon's gaze bemusedly as she continued.
"It's not just the scholarly aspect: Twilight is allowed to levy more power than most nobles, and nopony is closer to the Princess' ear." Her tone grew hotter; she seemed to be speaking on a point of pride. "She's even been allowed the power to command royal guards and coordinate agents' actions, if the need arises."
Her frown grew deeper for a moment before she laid back against the wall. Crossing her hooves over her chest, and matching the motion with her legs. Kicking back with a mutter. "I call her Lady Sparkle because she holds extreme authority. She's all but been adopted into the Royal Family, and she actually is a title-holding Lady."
Everything seemed just a little worse, then.
Light gaped at the mare, because it was the only thing to do after such a bombshell. Seconds later, and as though it'd only occurred to him then, he whipped around to catch the far-off purple figure in his disbelieving sights again.
A title-holding Lady with the authority to command the royal guard.
He sputtered- words were hard- as he turned back to Bon Bon, and flung his hoof out towards the apparently powerful mare. "She outranks you? She can give you orders?!" he cried: earning the slightest defensive hardening to Bon Bon's expression.
"She can," she eased, then quickly pre-empted his continued panic. "-but if it makes you feel any better, I think the only order she's ever issued is when she ordered me to tell her what happened to you last night."
His instinctive fear eased the tiniest amount as Bon Bon nodded slowly to him: speaking again, with the barest hint of a cynical smile. "Even that wasn't an order: she really just asked."
Well, that was something, at least. Maybe he was right about her social anxiety. Maybe that was her fundamental, defining flaw.
The thought of destroying her by introducing her to a crowded room brought him some comfort.
With the panic washing over his shoulders like any passing wave did, he sank back down into his swaddled cocoon of thorns. A tired sigh on his lips; a cool hoof on his burning forehead, because he had a headache. He always had a headache.
Twilight was mean, and probably had a vendetta against him. The idea that she could order authority figures to do... whatever was just- the idea set him on edge. As long as there was a pony seeking to do him harm in this world, he'd never feel safe.
Maybe he'd just never feel safe. That was a possibility, however unfortunate.
With Bon Bon returned to resting at his side in another moment, the equilibrium of his mood began to return. Then, the longer he stared at the stupid unicorn on the horizon, the more it began to tilt into anger. He just hated her so much- the thought that she was some kind of destiny-bred hero with all the advantages and all the prestige just burned him up inside!
Light was left grumbling to himself as he hatefully stared down the purple jerk. 'Oh, look at me, I'm Twilight Sparkle! I get ponies to drop their guards before trying to ruin their friendships! I'm mean for no reason despite always getting everything I want! I can get anypony to do anything I want despite the fact that I'm a total loser with no right to such a privilege! Ooh, look at me canter away like a proper noble! Hope I don't trip over my huge-'
Hey, why wasn't Spike going with her?
Light sat suddenly up: staring widely at the far-away sight as Twilight began to leave, and the little green figure behind her lagged behind. Then, he turned, and began to run.
Towards them.
Oh no.
"Spike is coming over," Bon Bon pointed out. How helpful of her to say! He made sure his gratitude towards Miss Marvelously Obvious fully conveyed through the glare he shot her. Her lidded eyes and relaxed posture only screamed apathy back to him- couldn't she let him have anything?!
He turned back to the rapidly approaching little figure, and licked along his teeth in an attempt to wet his suddenly very dry mouth. He was gradually getting closer- his tongue felt like a sponge- and then, Twilight turned around. She'd noticed Spike wasn't following her, and now she was coming over too! Luna strike him down now before he had a chance to invoke Her name again!
He could hide in his house. No, he couldn't, because his door was broken! Maybe he could escape into the forest? No, he'd probably be lost for hours! He had things to do today!
What to do? What to do? How did he avoid having to look Spike in the eye and say-
Two seconds ago at the time of that thought, Spike had been in speaking distance. It was about the time he'd begun to spin through mindless panic that the dragon had reached hugging distance.
And so, he did. And so, a little green rock lodged itself into his chest.
Spike was small, and despite belonging to one of the most dangerous sapient races on the planet, he wasn't very strong, either. All in all, as he'd been subject to Apple Bloom's intensely strong hugs of near-death before, it was pretty easy to deal with. Sort of odd to hug a creature without fur, but he'd gotten used to the feelings of scales when he'd ridden on his back. The ones on his head were kind of tickling his chin, though...
Though he enjoyed the comforting warmth that constantly emanated from the drake, he didn't quite return the hug: instead sitting stiffly with his hooves out in dead space. Not because he was uncomfortable hugging Spike, but because he was uncomfortable with how quickly that giant frown with its vestigial unicorn was drawing near.
He flicked a quick, pleading glace to his assigned secret agent- who only shrugged at him, and turned nonchalantly away. She'd turn a blind eye to an orphan's murder. Mule.
Well, he reasoned, if he was already halfway in, then there was nothing to do but keep digging his own grave. He'd be crow food, otherwise, and that was something he never wanted to happen again.
Nope, joking about it didn't seem to be helping.
With a sigh, Light let his hooves fall to circle around the small drake's back. He returned the hug with a soft squeeze, and the weight against him squeezed back. How nice. It warmed his heart- and destroyed his morals. Twilight was just going to kill him, and he'd never be able to stop her. If she really wanted him dead, she could order Bon Bon to do it- now there was a terrifying thought.
Unfortunately, just as he'd become used to the warm-blooded figure pressed against him, there was a tug, and Spike pushed himself away. Light watched bemusedly as his friend stepped back with a claw pinching the end of his nose: a nauseated grimace on his scaly cheeks.
"Oh dude- you stink!" Spike groaned nasally: waving his other claw in front of his face. His tongue lolled out with a gag as his eyes rose to Light's, then his claw snapped to his side as they went very wide.
Whoa. Spike blushed green. That was cool. Would that mean his blood, his blood vessels, or his underscale flesh was green, though? It'd be nice to check- no! That was a bad thought! Bad!
As though Spike could read his mind, the dragon went ramrod-straight, then relaxed entirely as his posture shifted. One of those odd little claws came up to rub the back of his neck as his sharp teeth showed in an embarrassed grin. "I mean... I'm uh- I'm really glad you're okay."
Spike chuckled self-consciously as he tried to look somewhere else from Light, as Light just... wondered if he really did smell so bad. It'd been a while since he showered, and sure- he'd died, but did he smell like gore or something?
Spike suddenly turned as Twilight came ever closer, and Light took the chance to bend down to take a quick whiff of his fur. He... didn't really smell anything? Kind of earthy and musky, if anything... Did dragons have a better sense of smell than ponies? That might make sense considering they were a predator race... But then, wouldn't he find the smell of blood nice? Maybe it was an exposure thing. After all, Light quite enjoyed the heady scent of blood.
Light's attention was raised from his aromatic introspection by a loud call, courtesy of the irate purple mare standing a short distance away. "Come on, Spike, we need to go!" Her voice quieted as their attention turned to her, but the frown went nowhere. "We've got a lot to do to get settled in, so we'd better start on the checklist."
He and Twilight shared a short, vindictive glance as Spike called back. "Just give me a sec, okay?"
Twilight's frown deepened, but not at him. "Second, Spike."
Ugh. Grammar freak. Hadn't she grown out of that at fourteen like everypony else?
Funnily enough, Spike actually verbalized his ugh as he turned back to him. His exasperated leer turned up into a hopeful smile: his claws coming together to twiddle nervously at his chest. "Me and Twilight are gonna be staying in Ponyville for a while while she studies friendship, at the Golden Oaks Library."
Memories flickered to life in his head as Spike took a blind step back, and began to slowly turn: his smile continuing ever-presently. "You should come by sometime and hang out!"
He waved cheerily as he turned, and then began to run back to Twilight. Only... he slowed a few steps in, and turned quickly back to Light. "If... you're not busy," he added nervously: his mood having turned from cheer to anxiety frightfully quickly. He felt a genuine twinge for the poor dragon. He'd been there, too.
But unlike Light, he still wore a smile. He imagined the cheery drake wore it even as he turned again to run to Twilight: stopping at her side, and reaching his claws to dig into her saddlebag. He tugged at the bag as he hiked a leg up, using his hold as leverage as he hoisted himself all the way up in a smooth, practiced motion. He shimmied forward until he was at the junction of Twilight's neck, then leaned his head out from behind hers: a toothy grin still on his face and his claw waving goodbye.
He'd have to apologize to Spike for not reciprocating his clear strides in friendship, because his attention was mostly on the leer Twilight was giving him.
A momentary stare; a silent warning, before she turned with a flick of her tail, and began to trot away. Their egress was fast enough that Spike bounced slightly on Twilight's back from the motion of her shoulders, and very soon, they were over the hill and gone.
He'd barely had the time to wonder whether he should have spoken at all.
Light huffed out a dazed breath as he fell back into the wall, and crossed his hooves over his stomach. He felt very drained all of a sudden, for more reasons than one. Processing the turbulent emotion as Spike had hugged him was... exhausting.
When Twilight had pointed out that he could've hurt Spike, he'd actually silently agreed with her. He hated that he did, but he cared about Spike, too. He'd grown to mean a lot to him in the short time they'd been together, somehow, and it was already painful enough just knowing he'd lied to him. Thinking that he could've hurt his friend at Her behest was...
...It made him feel like he didn't deserve his friend, and that maybe that idiosyncratic metaphor should actually mean something.
But there was a little part of him that was still happy. Even as the greater part of him knew, and screamed that Twilight was right, the thought that Spike still thought they were friends was... wonderful.
It made him feel... good.
"You do know how conversations work, don't you? It usually involves both ponies." came the dry, mocking voice of his sitting partner, though he didn't let it dissuade the small amount of spiteful joy he felt. Bon Bon could mock him all she liked; Spike still liked him!
"Oh, shut up," he scoffed through his grin. He slid his crossed hooves up to his chest: still smiling even as he rebuked. "I'm just so used to animosity, I don't really know what to do when somepony acts nice. It's weird." It really was.
Something occurred to him, and then, his smile fell into a concerned frown. "Speaking of..." He cast his gaze sideways: leering at the unbothered mare staring forward. "You've been awfully nice to me for a while now..."
Her eye flicked to the side as she lazily tilted her head towards him, while Light matched the motion: peering accusatorily at the nonplussed agent. "Half an hour ago, you were pinning me to the floor. What's with the change in attitude?"
It was kind of freaky. Bon Bon was a covert government agent sworn to do little but watch and aggress him, as far as he knew. Contrarily: she'd engaged in quite a bit of amicable conversation with him. It was confusing.
They stared at each other for a few moments. Light continuing his aggressive suspicion, while Bon Bon's expression gradually lightened to... something oddly normal? A strange, resting expression of ease. Ew, he didn't like that on her face.
It seemed weird to think, but what wasn't she hiding?
As soon as he'd identified it and subsequently become confused by it, Bon Bon's hoof moved: traveling down to her side, where it firmly patted what little of her smushed saddlebag that poked out from under her.
"I'm off the clock," she supplied easily, then returned her gaze forward. As though it made perfect sense and needed no explanation- and as though he wasn't displaying every sign of befuddlement.
He managed a few confused sputters, which caught her attention back from where she was purposefully ignoring him. Their eyes met again, with Bon Bon's eyebrow newly accenting her nonchalance. After a second, she sighed, and pushed herself up on her hooves.
"Listen, Light, let's get something straight," she started as her back straightened- and that was a tone that proceeded something bad. He preemptively sighed and slumped back into the thorns as the sound of her shuffling against the grass made clear she was standing. A second later, she was, and then she was in front of him. Blocking his view; shading him from the sun.
She was such a killjoy. Why couldn't they just have a few minutes of calm? Why did his life have to be such a constant stream of emotions and heartbreak? He wished he could just go to sleep...
Whatever. Bon Bon's face was stern, because it always was. Stupid mule. "I was only treating you harshly because you were suspected of a very harsh crime, and belligerence helps to aggravate and disconcert: which is where I needed you for the interrogation. I was only acting as I was ordered to. The reality as it stands is-"
At that and on a cliffhanger, she suddenly reached her hoof out to him. First came slight shock, and Light blinked dazedly at the proffered limb. Then came a train of thought, and as soon as he'd realized what it meant, a resigned acceptance followed in its wake. The time for sitting had passed; it was time to stand up, and move forward.
The pace of his life was so unsatisfying.
He levered himself to a sitting position, and took the limb in his. He pushed off with his other as Bon Bon pulled, and just as soon as he was on two hooves he found himself falling to three. Only three, of course, because Bon Bon never let go of her hold. In fact, as he found his bearings, it tightened marginally: drawing his attention to her, and to her tough little grin.
She looked... almost happy? Drowned principally by businesslike removal of caring, of course, but undeniably pleasant. He'd been with her for a few hours, now, and in all that time, she'd never looked so much like she wasn't gearing up to scream.
It was... off-putting.
"You're not suspected of any crimes anymore. The order's come down straight from the Princess: you're innocent, Light." Her hoof shook his softly as the cleft in her brow lightened, as did her tone. "You're a civilian again, and I'm allowed to treat you the same as anypony else."
She shook his hoof a final time, before she let go and let it drop to the ground. A pleased, expectant smile on her face- as though she were happy for him. As though this was some incredible thing they should've been celebrating. As though she was waiting for him to exclaim in joy, and begin to jump around like an hyperactive foal on their birthday.
Well, it was a thing to celebrate. Light was ecstatic. Well and truly overcome with sob-worthy joy, and for the first time since he'd woken up the day after a trip into the Everfree forest that he couldn't remember, he could finally say that he felt safe. Secure. Hopeful.
Except he wasn't, and he wasn't smiling. He wasn't happy- he couldn't bring himself to be, not even to match the mood in the air. The pressure to smile- to match her- gnawed away at him like a parasite even as his expression fell sullenly. He knew he should've been happy- he knew he should've smiled.
He just couldn't.
Because she'd only said that she was off the clock.
That meant there still was one.
His frown deepened a split second before he swatted her hoof off his shoulder, and it was a testament to how unexpected it was that she let him. As it was, the fact that he saw surprise at all on her normally blank or serious face spoke volumes.
As much as he wanted to brazenly advance a step, he knew it probably would've just ended in a push back from the principally confident mare. He settled for poking his hoof forward aggressively: a lukewarm accent to the barb he had on his tongue.
"You're still going to be monitoring me, aren't you?"
It was an obvious accusation, and his clear anger was just as obvious. How could he have been happy to be acquitted when he was still a suspect?! He couldn't be happy in his freedom when he was still under suspicion!
The thing that made him the angriest was how shallow she was being. She was trying to say- what, that her treatment of him had just been a means to an end? And that somehow made it okay to badger him, and abuse him, and lie to him constantly?! Didn't she realize how invalidating that felt to him?!
Bon Bon needed to know he wouldn't just take her abuse. Not anymore. He wouldn't be a punching bag.
She hadn't reacted very strongly to how he'd hit her hoof away, nor to his accusation. In fact, the total unreactive stoicism on her face was just as telling as an expression in its own right! It was just as good as saying she didn't want to answer his question. If she was really good at hiding things, then she would've just pretended to be shocked. She would've at least tried to deny it.
"I'm not at liberty to divulge that information."
What a disgusting mare. A shallow, monstrous freak.
At her blank tone and equally blank face, Light's muzzle twisted in a teeth-bared snarl. "You're such a-" He cut himself off with a seethe before he could disgrace the good name of mules everywhere, and rubbed his hoof across his mouth as he turned slightly away. If he just didn't look at her for a moment, maybe he could-
His eye caught the sun-caught glint of metal, and slowly, he raised his hoof from his mouth.
Magical imprint tag.
A physical reminder of his mistreatment.
He rounded on the mare at once: pushing his hoof forward toward her unflinching face. "Take this off of me!" he demanded: an apparently weak aggravation against the sheer cliff of her mask of indifference. As she didn't immediately respond, only continuing to stare blankly, he shook his hoof insistently toward her. "You said I'm free, didn't you? I'm cleared of your suspicion, so take it off!"
Their gazes clashed; furious and righteous brown met apathetic and principled blue. One was full of impossible promises of bloodshed and pain, while the other had snuffed any hint of emotion or thought at all.
He didn't understand Bon Bon- because she just kept changing! One minute, she was cruel and belligerent. The next, she was happy and smiling. At any time, she could just hide it all and pretend like she didn't care. And sometimes, she didn't even manage to do it well!
Did she care? Did she not? Was she doing her job? Was this personal? Was she pretending? Was she sincere? Could she really hide her emotions perfectly, or were those glimpses of something deeper just more layers of deception?
Was she even a good secret agent at all?
She took orders well, at least.
Light set his rear down impatiently as Bon Bon had stepped forward, and taken hold of his banded hoof in hers. She kept her blank eyes down on her work as she lifted his limb with one hoof, then covered the tag's surface with her other.
Then her eyes had drifted closed, and with little pomp: a distinctly blue glow had coalesced around the metal.
He so wanted to stare in unabashed amazement as the earth pony clearly performed a tangible magical act- something he'd thought was impossible- but breaking his cultivated face of wrath and misery would've completely ruined his credibility. So, he just waited for her to finish, and silently watched as the ethereal dust alit on the reflective metal.
He'd always thought earth ponies' magic was all internal, though? It was basic Arcanic theory: unicorns exerted their magic externally, earth ponies were internal, and pegasi could do both. How was Bon Bon breaking that law? Had he misunderstood? Was the law itself wrong? Was she an aberration? He hoped it was that last one, because it would mean a new insult he could yell at her.
Eventually as as his wound-up face was beginning to grow tired, the glow between the mare's hooves slowly faded away, and then there was an audible click. Before she'd even stepped away with the open cuff draped over her hoof, he could feel the freeing difference. The open air on his fur, and the total lack of constricting pressure he'd long since grown to ignore. Oh, how symbolic it felt!
He breathed out a relieved sigh as he rubbed his hoof over the- ouch- slightly chafing mat of fur around his pastern. After only a moment, he returned his pinching brow to its cleft between his eyes, and his glare to Bon Bon.
She had turned to stow the used cuff into her saddlebag: turning to him just as he turned to her. Her face still chiefly and undeniably uncaring. "I don't think I have to tell you not to tell anypony what happened to you last night, or of my involvement," she intoned dully.
Light bristled in indignation as her face bled apathy, and turned to warning. "Purposefully exposing an undercover agent is grounds for prosecution under endangering public safety, as well as your immediate relocation." She sniffed disdainfully. "I hope I've made myself clear."
'Don't say anything about me, or you're going to jail, punk.'
She was just so gods-damned cheery; how was he ever going to stop himself from telling all his friends about how great she was?
Light had to think for a moment about how best to respond to a sheer-faced threat, but he'd had loads of practice, so it only took him a moment. As soon as he'd decided, he made a show of scoffing, and forcing a snarky smirk onto his face.
"So, you're admitting you're an undercover agent, then?"
Bon Bon's perfect mask broke as her lips immediately pursed inward, and something acidic grew behind her eyes. After a moment of looking as though she'd bit into a lemon, her puckered lips jerkily creased into an angry frown. "I'm leaving now."
At a word, she turned on a dime and began to trot away. He sarcastically waved her off as he made a rude tugging gesture with his other hoof- before he froze as she stopped, and shot him a glare over her shoulder.
"Don't look for me."
Oh, if only he'd have to.
Thankfully, there really wasn't anything she had left to say, and she finally left in a huff. She kept to the treeline as she made her egress, probably because she was a vampony who would just combust and die in the sunlight. Ironic, considering.
He watched her go all the while until she was a smear against the green. Still frowning; still angry; still wishing that he'd done something more aggressive towards her. Who knew when next he'd have a chance to disfigure her? Sure, he wasn't nearly strong enough to, say, rip off her arm, but he could poke out an eye if he was fast with his horn. Something that long and pointy would just pop the organ altogether.
But then... she'd get a cool eyepatch. She didn't need more flair.
Nothing was ever easy.
Light sighed, as his last violent thought catalogued itself. Internal death threats were a great way to whittle free time away, but now wasn't that time.
He was free, apparently. The Princess Herself had ordained his liberty, but Bon Bon hadn't said which one. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Princess Celestia would've sooner flown him out to the Palominoan desert and left him there before letting him go free.
That meant Nightm- Luna must have been the one to pass the order. After having just been considered a worldwide threat, not only was She allowed to rule, but to give orders. An order that was clearly being obeyed, even by a mare who had just recently considered Her the devil walking.
That must have meant She knew he was alive, somehow. He couldn't imagine Her missing his death, but then She somehow also found out he came back. Had She gone to check after... Her reformation?
What had happened to Her? What had changed in Her radical ethics? Had She simply recovered from Her insanity, and decided to go ahead and give up on everything She was striving for? An outcome She'd vehemently denied?
There was something going on. Something didn't seem right.
He didn't trust any of it.
He turned in a step to the tree now ahead of him, and to the ponies still sitting around it. There weren't that many ways to occupy time with a tree, and not even Applejack could argue that. Pinkie Pie wasn't playing on its branches anymore, Rainbow Dash wasn't doing lazy laps around it, and they were all clearly waiting for him.
The future was ahead, but the present was now.
No more stalling. It was time to own up.
It was time to make some apologies.
Whoops it's ten-thousand words.
Oh, who even cares, anyway? I am as I am, and what I am is long-winded. It's hardly the longest chapter I've ever written, and I've made many such promises of brevity that I've always broken. It's all par for the course at this point, and I'm sure you're all used to it. 
So: this chapter! A surprisingly genial conversation with Bon Bon, a few major freakouts from Light, something heartfelt from Spike, and a whole lot of bemusement! Seriously, what is going on with Luna?!
Which trope am I following? Brainwashing? Parasite? A long con? Well, we'll find out someday. You just gotta hold your horses. 
We're looking at maybe two chapters until Light's life is back to normal, but I can probably swing it in one if it goes well. The only thing left to do is apologize to Applejack...
...this might take a while.
Happy birthday to The Stereotypical Necromancer, as well! Yesterday was its two-year anniversary!
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Nice chapter : )
such a thought process is a consequence of a different flow of time for necromancers, or is it literally his thinking?
I really, really can't wait to see Light's interactions with Luna.
Thanks for the chapter. Love the rapid personality changes that Bon Bon displayed, it really helped sell her character as a secret agent trained in acting and espionage. Wonder if we will see Luna, thus getting an interesting confrontation between her and Light, soon or if we will have to wait until Nightmare night. Also have to say that your Twilight is a breath of fresh air compared to the thousands of fics that have her acting dorky and friendshipy. On another note I'm interested in what magical lore you have prepared for us, because the snippets we have seen of its working paint a very magical picture.
All in all, love the story and can't wait for more.
And we wouldn't have it any other way~!
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Remember: just because something is different, doesn't make it good. As reality proved, most often the opposite.
She may be refreshing alright, but she isn't deep at all at the moment. Rather, controlling, manipulative and petty. As Light has said, she isn't really element bearer material as she is presented right now.
Anyway. About the chapter.
Unlike Light, we were graced with Bonbon's pov once. So we can infer, that she is slipping for real, but covers it up with her agent persona, appearing to be a multi-faced asshole. Not that she isn't an asshole, really. She is a zealot, which means, basically, a cultist. No matter what she feels, if order comes, she will become a murder hobo with no feelings. It would take something really big to shake her out of this mindset.
Like being confronted with real faces of royal sisters.
... Is what I gather from what you give us.
Spike is presented rather innocently in this chapter, although he gave me a much more perceptive vibe when we first met him.
But, the elephant in the room. Luna.
I think there are two options, really. 1. Luna is pretending to be good, since her plans failed. She was also probably stripped from power by elements, which is why Celestia isn't afraid of her. 2. Brainwashing. Either full, or removing negative emotions/memories.
One way will lead to hell for mc. Other to help. Both will bring a lot of trouble along the way.
Now, finally, how high is the chance that Celestia is covering up some kind of big conspiracy here? Judging from your personality, I doubt it. Light likes to overthink.
In the future chapters, I expect Light to wallow in misery until something snaps him out of it.
Good chapter!
Well, I wasn't expecting the whole gang to wait up on Light. Especially so, because Twilight left first.
I still don't believe dark magaic equates to evil, which means I can't believe Celestia made it a death penalty to practice it's arts. After all, Light Flow is the living-ish proof.
I believe Light will get to meet Celestia in person once. But are we going to be expecting repeat meetings with royalty? Because if not, she sounds like another obstacle in Light's road to happiness.
I've spent the last 3 days reading this, and it's been 3 days very well spent, I'd say. It's not even that big of a cliffhanger, but I still find myself on the edge of my seat, anxious for more. Great work!
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I'm reticent about replying to my regulars because of anxiety, but I'd still like to extend a hearty thanks for reading, and for commenting! I hope you stick around for the story on the horizon!
On the one hand, I sincerely wonder what literary demon would possess a person to read this story of all things for as long as it takes to get here, but as you're one of the apparent many who has, I really appreciate the time you've taken! And as you've made it here, now you get to wait like everybody else!
Solidarity in anticipatory tedium! You'd better buckle in, because I've got major consistency issues!
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Well, as I imagine it, Applejack is probably the only one who actually waited for Light.
We know Pinkie's there, which may as well be a given considering there's a massive party on all day and she needs to make sure Light is celebrating in some way. Fluttershy is there because they all went together and that was the de facto choice, and Rainbow Dash is there because Fluttershy is there. Twilight came to yell at Light, and Rarity came to make sure he hadn't wandered into the woods and died. The two of them have definitely left at this point, though; Twilight needs to start moving in, and Rarity apparently has Sweetie Belle to take care of.
So, when you think about it like that, it's not so incredulous. Dash is there because Fluttershy is there because Pinkie Pie and Applejack are there.
And, as well, there's a lot regarding Celestia that people haven't quite considered. All those things being... pretty huge spoilers to outright bring up, so I won't say too much. It's a good thing to remember that this is a biased story, though. It's all told from the perspective of a colt who absolutely abhors Celestia, so naturally, She tends to come off a bit bad. Our other POV comes from a mare who feels the exact opposite, which tends to make Her character feel inherently polarizing. When presented with the literal ends of the extreme, it's a little hard not to naturally gravitate towards one side, as well.
Thanks for commenting! I always like seeing you, Screw!
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Hey, thanks for commenting! I'm glad the story's going well in your eyes!
I'd always intended to give Bon Bon a duplicitous feeling. That, at any one moment, she could completely flip the emotional mood, and consequently lead Light by the nose to feeling something completely different. Ironically, as I feel I've done a poor job of showcasing that, it's still worked out decently well. Her lapses in composure themselves feed into the question of her true feelings, making her feel as shallow as she does mysterious. All the better for Light to hate her, incidentally!
My intent with Twilight comes a lot from the idea that she was a lot like Moondancer before she moved to Ponyville, if not so abjectly opposed to interaction. Intellectually focused, grounded, and completely prejudiced against anything that she's categorized as antithetical. She's prickly and belligerent, but only because she's come to a conclusion. In her mind, she's logically worked out Light's status as a source of negativity, and thus made the decision to try to prevent him from having any sort of presence in her or Spike's life. From her perspective, her decision is completely sound.
Of course, she doesn't have all the facts, and has unknowingly come off as really shallow.
Light's got some serious horn envy.