Life Lessons Shared
Epilogue
Much time has passed in Equestria and the ponies have all been in a more relaxed state-of-mind than ever before. Due to the lack of major threats against Equestria, Twilight and her friends were rarely ever needed to save the day. However, there were a couple incidents when they had to act but managed to quell the danger rather quickly. The reason? They had help from some very unexpected individuals.
The Pony of Shadows was known to be one of Equestria’s most well-known folktales since he existed during a time when The Pillars of Equestria were still around. On the day when the Pony of Shadows was freed along with the Pillars from limbo, he vowed for revenge and set off to engulf the land in darkness. All the Pony of Shadows had to do now was await his former friends to arrive at Hollow Shades, where he had a trap ready and waiting as soon as they stepped hoof in the Well of Shade.
“Foolish Star Swirl,” the Pony of Shadows sneered to himself. “Soon all ponies will feel the despair I did when you cast me out!” The Pony of Shadows’ hatred continued to burn towards the Pillars, nothing mattered to him besides acquiring revenge. “I shall revel in my victory by forcing you all to witness me spread the darkness!”
“Oh, now we can’t have you do that.”
A sudden voice made the Shadow of Pony snap his head towards the entrance. Two figures appeared before him as they stared at him. One was the Spirit of Chaos, Discord, and the other was the reformed Changeling Queen, Chrysalis.
“Who dares enter my inner sanctum?!” The Pony of Shadows hissed.
“Somepony who can tell that you are misinformed, Stygian,” Discord said.
“DO NOT SPEAK THAT NAME, WHELP!” The Pony of Shadows hissed. “And I am far from misinformed!”
“Are you?” Chrysalis asked. “Because it seems to me that you are trying to force something that can be earned a different way.”
“And what is that?!” The Pony of Shadow barked.
“Accepence,” Discord said, making the Pony of Shadows pause. “I know who you are, Stygian, we both do. A young stallion, once a friend to the Pillars of Equestria, but forced out under false pretenses.”
“Enough!” The Pony of Shadows bellowed as his dark magic flared. “I refused to listen to your words, Draconequus!”
Before The Pony of Shadows could blast Discord and Chrysalis with dark magic, Discord took Chrysalis’ hoof and they both combined their magic. With a snap of Discord’s fingers and a flash of Chrysalis’ horn, they both flew straight towards the Pony of Shadows and fazed into his body. There was darkness at first, until Chrysalis lit up her horn for light. They then saw a lone unicorn wearing a tattered cloak and staring at the two in shock.
“But how?!” The stallion gasped.
“Never underestimate the combined power of the Spirit of Chaos and Changeling Queen, my boy,” Discord smirked.
“So this is what you look like, Stygian,” Chrysalis said as she stepped forward. “Why must you have such hatred? Surely this all must be some kind of misunderstanding?”
“Misunderstanding?” Stygian scoffed. “I was the reason why the Pillars were held in such high regard. I was their tactician, I learned all I could about the dangers that threatened Equestria, but I was never acknowledged for my efforts.” Stygian’s expression became dark and angered as dark magic flowed around him. “And what do I get for wanting to be stronger and fight by their side? THEY CAST ME OUT!”
“As I thought, this all was a misunderstanding,” Chrysalis sighed.
“Indeed, Chrysalis, it seems to me you jumped to conclusions and as did they. All this mess was due to a lack of communication,” Discord said.
“What does it matter, they betrayed me!” Stygian said.
“They did not betray you, Stygian,” Discord remarked. “You betrayed yourself.” Stygian recoiled at his words. “While you may have wanted their acknowledgment and recognition from the populace, you failed to properly confide in your friends. You acted of your own accord and they saw it as an attempt to take all the power for yourself.”
“Tell us, Stygian, before you were banished, even before you became the Pony of Shadows, do you truly believe your friendship meant nothing to the Pillars?” Chrysalis asked. “I would imagine that they were heartbroken because of your actions and did what they felt was their only option to stop you.”
Stygian stood silent as he took in their words. He remembered how jealous he was of the Pillars and wanted to be acknowledged as they were. However, instead of speaking to them directly about it, he decided to act on his own accord. After he was cast out by his former friends, he allowed his jealousy and newfound hatred take over, thus also allowing the darkness to consume him.
“I was angry for what they did,” Stygian muttered with a frown. “I wanted to show them I could be as heroic and they were. But I…I never meant to hurt anypony.”
“I’m sure you didn’t, all it takes is not losing faith in yourself and your friends,” Discord said. “I should know, since I once believed I didn’t need friends.”
“And I believed I could take what I desired for my own personal gain,” Chrysalis said.
“How did you change your ways?” Stygian asked and both Discord and Chrysalis smiled.
“An old friend showed us a better path,” Discord said.
Chrysalis stepped just before Stygian and raised her hoof out to him. “We can help you just as he helped us. We can share with you our experiences and the lessons we have learned so you won’t ever have to feel despair.”
The Pillars and the Elements made their way down the Well of Shade, all prepared to face the Pony of Shadows. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light from the inner sanctum that shined brightly for several moments, followed by a demonic roar. The Pillars and the Elements were startled from this strange phenomenon. As the light died down, the group ran down the stairs to investigate. What they found was the Pony of Shadows they were expecting, but also two other individuals. Discord was on one side and Chrysalis was on the other. Both were using their magic to keep the Pony of Shadows at bay while the beast struggled to break free from their hold.
“Discord?!” The Elements gasped.
“Hello, my friends! If you would all be so kind as to send this brute back from whence it came, Chrysalis and I would be most appreciative!” Discord said.
“Chrysalis?!” They gasped again.
“Later! Now do what you must!” Chrysalis said.
“But what about-!” Twilight tried to say.
“Twilight, dear, do not argue!” Discord snapped. “Just trust us!”
The Pillars and Elements had no choice but to oblige and power up their combined magic. A beam of magic shot towards the Pony of Shadows and a portal opened up behind it. With their combined efforts, the Pony of Shadows was successfully forced through the portal and sealed away.
“We did it!” Rainbow Dash cheered.
“Indeed we did,” Star Swirl nodded.
“I just wish there was another way…” Twilight frowned.
“You are referring to young Stygian, yes?” Chrysalis asked, surprising the group.
“Yes! But how do you know that?” Twilight wondered. “And what happened to you, Chrysalis? You look so…”
“Reformed? I shall explain everything at another time. For now, there is somepony who wishes to speak with you.” Chrysalis and Discord looked off to the side towards a stone pillar. “The darkness is gone, dear, you may reveal yourself.”
All heads turned to the pillar and a young stallion slowly walked out. The Pillars went wide-eyed when they saw their old comrade as Stygian approached them with a guilty frown.
“Stygian?!” Rockhoof gasped.
“How can this be?!” Star Swirl demanded.
“Calm yourself, Star Swirl,” Discord said as he walked over to Stygian and placed his lion paw on Stygian’s head. “I believe you Pillars and this colt have a long overdue conversation that must be addressed.”
Some Time Later
School Of Friendship
Her ruse worked more perfectly than she could ever have imagined. Months of planning had proved to be worth it in the end as Cozy Glow paced around the magical field that had Starlight Glimmer trapped in.
“I’m sorry I had to push you in, but what else could I do?” Cozy asked rhetorically. “You were going to ruin all my plans. You might get some company soon, if I can’t make that annoying Neighsay to BACK OFF!” Cozy took a deep breath to calm herself. “I wish this would have happened sooner if that stupid pen pal of mine hadn’t abruptly stopped writing me back! I mean, one moon we’re sharing copious details of how to drain all the magic in Equestria by using this vortex to suck it into another realm, and then he just stops writing to me out of the blue! Do you have any idea how difficult it is for a single filly like me to plan something as big as this and fake a smile?!” Cozy glared at Straight. “Really hard! Especially since I wanted to pull my mane out from listening to all those braindead lessons of friendship.” Cozy took another breath to calm herself. “Whatever, I did all the heavy lifting anyway so I get to hog all the credit once I become the new ruler of Equestria. I’ll admit that Neighsay was right about one thing, friendship is the most powerful thing to ever exist! And with Twilight and her lackies out of the way, all of Equestria will bow to me! The future Empress of Friendship!” Starlight could do nothing as Cozy Glow cackled to herself. “You know something else? I honestly expected more from that nerd of a princess of friendship, Twilight. For all her smarts, how dumb can she be to think the cause of magic disappearing could be in Tartarus?! She practically was begging to set herself up to fail!”
“It seems my letters were a tad more influential than I expected.”
Cozy Glow gasped and turned to the entrance of the chamber. Two figures entered the chamber that shocked both Starlight and Cozy Glow. The first was Sombra and had a stoic yet stern gaze directed at Cozy. The second was none other than Tirek, dressed in royal-looking armor that had a red cape draped over the shoulder guards.
“What the rusty horseshoe?! King Sombra and Tirek?!” Cozy gasped.
“The young filly has caused quite the mess,” Sombra said. “It’s no wonder my search with Hope for the fragments had to be put on hold.”
“Indeed, though it is my fault that all of this came to pass in the first place. During the early days of my rediscovery journey, I was still in the hunger for power state-of-mind. I presumed that I would need a backup plan in case my original one failed, so I took up a protégé to share my influence,” Tirek sighed.
Starlight was still in complete shock upon seeing both Sombra and Tirek in the same room, more so Tirek since she had heard from Twilight how Sombra managed to be reformed. Tirek was more healthy-looking than ever before and his eyes were no longer black. The once evil centaur no longer had a menacing appearance as before, but now a more calm and collected atmosphere about him.
“You better stay back!” Cozy warned.
“Or else what, little filly?” Sombra wondered.
“I’ll-I’ll use the magic from this magic field to trap you too!”
“An admirable bluff, but we did not come to fight,” Sombra said. “You should know that we have already sent word to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about your transgressions and I expect Twilight and her friends to return from Tartarus momentarily.”
“Wh-What?! How could you do that?! And you!” Cozy pointed at Tirek. “You think just because you’re here that I’m gonna let you take what I earned?! Fat chance! I did all the work while you sat on your haunches!”
“I did nothing of the sort, Cozy Glow, I was on a journey,” Tirek said. “I have come to tell you that I was wrong.”
“Wrong about what?!” Cozy demanded.
“Everything.” Tirek paced around the chamber with his hands behind his back. “I was determined to drain every last drop of magic so that I could rule as the most powerful being. I did not care for who or what suffered and only thought of myself. I soon came to the realization that power isn’t everything. My journey to rediscover myself showed me that there is more to life than seeking power wherever I go. There is more to offer to the world rather than keeping it all to yourself.”
“What are you, stupid?! Of course power is everything!” Cozy argued. “Just look at what it’s done and how it helped bring the creatures of Equestria together! This school itself is proof that friendship is the most powerful thing in existence!”
“I too once had the same beliefs as you did, young filly,” Sombra said. “I desired power since I am something not of this realm. I wanted to conquer all I saw and believed it was my fate. But what good is power when you abuse it for personal gain? My friend Hope helped me see a brighter path, as did an old soul who convinced me that I could change my fate.”
“Spare me the woe was me speech, Sombra, and you don’t know what you’re talking about, Tirek!” Cozy rolled her eyes. “You both set yourselves up too since everypony knows you’re two of the greatest enemies of Equestria! I doubt anypony would believe either of you over a sweet and innocent filly like me.”
“Is it perhaps you have misunderstood the concept of friendship?” Sombra theorized. “You believe that it can make others do what you want them to once you tap into their innocence, when all you’re doing is taking advantage of them.”
“So what?! It works!” Cozy huffed.
“Not all the time, Cozy Glow,” Tirek shook his head. “Not even my own brother would be fully swayed by my words, which is why he had no choice but to turn against me. Just because you think everypony is friends with you, doesn’t mean they will do everything you say.”
“Well that’s your dumb opinions!” Cozy huffed and turned away. “If none of you are here to fight and just came here to bore me with words, then you can just leave! The magic will soon be drained anyway, and you can’t stop it!”
“It seems our words are not reaching her, Tirek,” Sombra said.
“It would seem so,” Sombra sighed. “I wonder if our mutual old friend would have had better luck if he were here?”
“Perhaps he would, but I believe we must handle this situation first.” Tirek and Sombra approached the circle and each took hold of an artifact. Magic coursed through them but they managed to control it as they used their magic to lift the other artifacts in the air along with the sphere that trapped Starlight.
“What are you doing?! STOP!” Cozy panicked.
Both Sombra and Tirek did not listen as the room was about to be blasted with a powerful wave of magic. Starlight was freed before the blast and teleported out, followed by Sombra and Tirek as Tirek grabbed Cozy Glow before Sombra teleported them. A massive wave of magic enveloped the area and spread across the land, returning all the magic that was once drained. Starlight, Sombra, Tirek, and Cozy Glow all appeared in the courtyard of the School of Friendship.
“My word, that certainly was exhilarating,” Sombra exhaled.
“I agree,” Tirek nodded.
“You’ve ruined everything!” Cozy Glow snapped as she struggled to free herself from Tirek’s grip. “Now I’ll never be able to use the power of friendship to rule Equestria!”
“So misguided,” Tirek sighed as he shook his head.
“Perhaps you were a bit too convincing in your letters?” Sombra guessed.
Starlight was still in shock and kept her guard up as Tirek turned to her. “I believe there has been enough dramatics for one day. Since I am the one who coerced this one to commit her crimes, I shall take responsibility by bringing her back to the Midnight Palace. So would you please do me a favor and relay this message to Twilight and the others?”
“Uh…s-sure?” Starlight mumbled.
“Are you crazy?! I’m not going anywhere with you! Let me go!” Cozy yelped as she continued to struggle.
“I shall teleport you just beyond the walls of your home, Tirek, I must get back to my search,” Smobra said.
“Thank you, I believe it will take some doing to help reform this one. I wonder if our mutual old friend would pay me a visit to assist me?” Tirek wondered.
“Who knows? But if he does, be sure to tell him I say hello and thank you,” Sombra said. With that, Sombra’s horn shined bright and the three vanished in a flash, leaving a very flabbergasted unicorn.
A Few Days Later
“Apologies, Starlight Glimmer, but you say both Sombra and Tirek saved the day?” Celesita asked, still in shock along with the rest of the group who had all gathered in the throne room.
“I wish I was lying, princess, but I saw it with my own eyes!” Starlight said. “And Tirek looked so…different!”
“So he mentioned he was traveling across Equestria and then returned home to the Midnight Palace this whole time?” Twilight asked, her eye twitching.
“That’s what he said! And then he took Cozy Glow and Sombra teleported them!” Straight said.
“Once again, the unexplainable happens,” Twilight groaned as she rubbed her temples. “I can name so many other occasions when Equestria is under major threat, something or somepony steps in and solves everything before we can get a hoof in!”
“I must agree, Twilight, this has happened too many times for it to be a coincidence.” Celestria then noticed her sister smiling fondly for some reason and even giggled a little. “Luna? What is so funny?”
“Oh stars, how could I have not seen it sooner?” Luna said. “It was him, it’s always been him since the start.”
“Him? Who his him?” Twilight asked.
“Why, our mutual friend, of course!” Discord appeared in the throne room in a flash. With him was Queen Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek, much to everyone’s utter shock.
“What in my blazing sun?!” Celesita gasped.
“Sister, it is okay,” Luna stopped Celestia as she walked up beside the other reformed villains. “We all have something to share with you. Something we had not realized we had in common until now.”
“You are correct in your statement, Twilight Sparkle, somepony did approach us before you Element Bearers had a chance to confront us,” Chrysalis said. “It is why my appearance has changed to what you all see now.”
“The same applies to myself and Tirek,” Sombra said as he nodded to the centaur.
“I am the reason why Cozy Glow committed such acts against Equestria, so it is my responsibility to set her right,” Tirek said. “You have my word that no harm shall come to her.”
“So…you all were approached by somepony?” Celestia asked and they all nodded. “And what did he do to make you all change your ways? Who is he?”
The group of reformed villains all smiled at each other before Luna answered. “He is a wise old man, whose old words touched our hearts in ways we were too blind to see.” Luna glanced out the window, keeping her smile. “We know not who he is or where he came from, but we know that he came to us at just the right moment. It is thanks to him that we can keep our spirits high and have a brighter outlook on life. Though I suppose it doesn’t really matter who he is or where he came from. All that matters is that he was there for us when we never knew we needed him most.”
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Well, to be honest the pillars DID use Stygian as a resource, kinda like how someone would a self-replenishing roll of toilet paper
This was such a good ending! Beautiful story!
Great story overall! I'm glad you managed to fit Stygian and Cozy in at the end. Fitting for Tirek to take that filly in, although I wonder if Celestia and the Main 6 will want to pay a visit to him to check on her.
This was a very good story.
11022595
Yeah and maybe he didn't ask before borrowing their stuff but part of friendship is trust they didn't have in him because he was just their sidekick and to give him credit for helping them was too much for them to even think about much less talking with him before they sent him away.
11022697 They at least WERE the kind of "heroes" that has a sidekick for the sole purpose of pulling them in front of themselves to stop bullets or other such uses
This was such a good story! I love it! Im completely fine with it ending here, but i also wouldn't mind seeing it continue. Just like, slice of life, the lives of the reformed villains. And maybe a few more appearances from our old friend. :)
Yo I loved this series, a definite top 10 for me. Is there any chance we could see a final one off story where the villains or the mane 6 sees the old man one last time?
I was hoping he would show up near the end there but this ending is still pretty good
Wish we knew what happens to the old man at the end.
damn dude, i loved this series so much and now its over waaaaaaaaa
100/10, Marvelous as ever my friend. I was here from the first chapter and I was here till the end. One of the best reads from this site and maybe I am biased simply because I am a sucker for alternate realities but I will say, this movie caught my eye and kept my attention till the end. Thank you for such an amazing read. Inspirational and Genuine, nothing more needs to be said than that. Hats off to you.
This was beautiful, I absolutely loved it. amazing work.
11022686 Sometimes what one person wants to do more than anything else is severely detrimental to others. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Anyone who tells you there is probably is in league with the world-domination crowd.
What a great twist: Cozy being the most evil creature in the room.
Good story.
This one was a nice break from the mold
Peace be upon thee
I have a folder in my library separate from my "favorites". It's simply titled "The Chosen", any time I find a story that I think is something incredible, not just good or well written, but something truly profound, something special, it goes in that folder. I'm adding this story to that folder.
I stumbled across this story in my feed and wanted to thank you for this. This was fantastically done I enjoyed every minute of reading it and was actually a little sad when I got to the end. Bravo dear wordsmith bravo
This story is very well done. I really loved it and you did an amazing job. My favorite part here was the end, where our characters (who were villains before) come and help others who are going down the same paths of darkness to return to the light.
8/10
A unique beauty.
11037017
I guess I have a folder like that, but it's called story's I will read again indefinitely. their stories I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for an amazing story.
We trudge through the early moments of our lives thinking we have it bad. But when we reach the later parts of our years, we begin to look back at all the hardships that made us, the friends we made along the way and the many deeds we’ve done and can’t help but smile and hold those memories close to our hearts. As a man named Haliday once said. “As terrifying and painful as reality is, it’s also the only place that you can find a decent meal, because reality is real.” Truly words to live by.
Come ON. Shadow had a strong hold on Stygian. He had to have combined "talk" and "Element blast". Not to mention - Pillars DID seem at fault here. They NEVER listened to Stygian. Only when it mwas about a threat they listened. They couldn't care less about Stygian himself.
Edit: nevermind, they had to call Elements and Pillars. Kay. Yeah, and Cozy is also good at ignoring all arguments.
11660196
Nope, balance means harmony. Chaos and ORDER. And Discord is NOT about BALANCE.
11660209
Exactly. If you don't know, you will only choose one thing. If you know there is an OPTION - things change. I claim two things.
1) Within a "system" destiny can't be moved. If a person meets someone they were destined to do so.
2) If someone comes from different time or universe - they will not meet any resistance, apart from paradoxes. They can change whatever they want, as long as they still are born.
11660200
Still not a fan. Maybe keep their shape, and have colored wing covers, or whatever it is called? I mean, we have ponies, we don't need another rainbow species. Changelings were interesting because they were black and pointy. What is this pallette disaster?!
11660373
I can agree with that
11660368
It's really a shame we never got a discord center origin episode on him it would have proven interesting
11662074
Wouldn't change ANYTHING. Discord is literally ARGUMENT. An END of HARMONY in a SOCIETY. A breakdown of balance. Arguments, fights, betrayal, distrust, anger, rage... Whatever. Discord is not HARMONY, he is not BALANCE. He never should have been REDEEMED.
11662323
Then it begs the question should have any of the villains been given a chance of redemption
11662328
Discord is the SPIRIT of chaos. As I said in other discussions - God of WAR cannot bring PEACE. Discord is a CONCEPT of disharmony. Fire can NOT be water. Literally any other villain COULD have been redeemed. They simply have OTHER problems. Chrysalis is insane. Early on in the show she COULD have been redeemed, if they played the idea of "I do it for my children". If pressed hard, and proven that it is better - she could have been reformed. Still antagonistic, but no longer working to take over Equestria.
Tirek. He is a standart conqueror. He would not have been redeemed because he KNOWS what he is, and is OK with it. "Your magic will be mine".
Cozy is DELUSIONAL. She should have been placed into a mental ward. GOOD mental ward, one that can't be escaped. Unfortunately, she is a SKILLED manipulator, and outright DELUSIONAL, she sees friendship as POWER only, and doesn't see the COMPONENTS for what they are.
Ahuzotl was GIVEN as a VILLAIN. What kind of DIPSHIT WRITER decided to make him "protect the jungle" with 300 years of heat?!?!
Trixie, Flim-Flam borthers, Iron Will - they are not even evil. Heck even Lightning Dust, before she shot her chances for redemption. As well as Trixie. Who is treated as redeemed, but is not. Still pridful and antagonistic peace of poo.
Discord was being ERASED when he tried to "go good". He was a CONCEPT. An IDEA. If war starts working for peace it STOPS being WAR.
11662337
I always felt there could have been more for queen Chrysalis but no redemption for her sadly as for concepts such as gods of war there are different types such as Aries and Athena both gods of war but different meanings of it
I'm biggest issue is with all the redemption was always for the sake of equestria no one else
11662611
I'm not talking specific gods. I'm talking IDEAS. God of FIRE can't do WATER. God of WAR can't do PEACE. Spirit of CHAOS can't do Order OR Harmony. Discord was shown to DISSAPEAR when he tried to work with ORDER.
For Discord it's not even matter of CHOICE. He can't CHOOSE to be chaotic or harmonious. He CAN NOT.
Well, there are many issues with MLP, some bigger, some smaller. Still some thing could have been dealt with better, MUCH better, if f*cking writers did their HOMEWORK. As in, seen what have been written PREVIOUSLY. Reforming Discord, making Ahuizotl a good guy, and some others are completely retarded things to have been done. If you want I can PM you with more things that piss me off.
11662752
Feel free to pm me