Castle Doctrine
A few days later
“Okay, class. Let’s see how you did!” Cheerilee smiled as she paced around the library, looking at her small but important group of students. Every foal in the building, including Pound Cake and Flurry Heart. While they couldn’t really participate or learn, it was a chance for their caretakers to get a little space from the little ones.
It had taken a day for Cheerilee to decide on what exactly to teach in her classes, especially now that more standard stuff didn’t seem as useful. So she had settled on more practical things that the other adults had suggested. Today was knot-tying!
“Good work, Applebloom.” It was no surprise that Applejack’s little sister had one of the best honda knots that she had seen. The rest were less than impressive, but that’s what they were here for. “Scootaloo, I think you forgot the stopper knot.” It wasn’t something that Cheerilee even understood before she binged a book on the subject and Applejack gave her a crash course as well. “Remember, the stopper knot is what makes the loop for the lasso possible so without it you just have a few knots in a line. Same with you, Diamond Tiara. We’ll go over this again in a moment, don’t worry. Rumble, very good job!”
It felt good to teach again, even if it was more unorthodox subjects. To help mold the skills of the young, to just educate felt right. It let Cheerilee’s mind wander from the troubles of the outside and get lost in the craft that made her whole.
“No, it doesn’t make any sense!” Every head snapped to the direction of the outburst. It was Sunburst on the opposite side of the library, the corner he had claimed for himself. “Celestia!”
“Okay class, I think that’s time for our lunch break.” Cheerilee chuckled nervously as she looked around at the fillies and colts. “You all go help set up the table and I’ll be down in a bit!” There were grumbles as the little ponies stood and shuffled off, Scootaloo taking Pound Cake and Applebloom taking Flurry Heart.
Once her students had left the library, Cheerilee’s smile dropped. The past two days of working within the same vicinity as the new arrival had been difficult to say the least. He talked to himself a lot and these kinds of outbursts were more common than she would like, so now it was time to go see exactly what he was ranting about.
She trudged around the myriad of towering shelves stocked with tomes filled with knowledge. To say she had been impressed with the sheer quantity of knowledge that the Princess of Friendship had amassed in the short time since the old library was destroyed would be an understatement. There were thousands of books packed within the confines of the room, certainly more than anypony could read in a lifetime.
Sunburst had set himself up in the far corner after he had dragged a mattress in here. The chalkboard he stole away from Twilight’s room was propped against the wall with nonsensical drawings and scribbles marked all over it.
“Sunburst?” Cheerilee approached the stallion, who finally turned to look at her. Dark black circles hung under his eyes and his posture was slumped and exhausted. “What’s wrong?” She approached a bit closer, avoiding the stacks of books that littered his living space.
The blackboard, right at the center, had Twilight’s name circled with ‘PATIENT ZERO’ written above it. Lines trailed off from the name into a number of different directions, connecting to things like the castle, the hole by town hall, and a depiction of the Crystal Palace.
“Sorry, sorry. I know you have your class...uh...name?” Sunburst once again turned his back to her, picking up the piece of chalk in his mouth and writing something down on the board in what she could only equate to chicken scratch.
“Cheerilee.” She sat down, lifelong lessons of patience and understanding with ponies more abrasive than him kicking in. “Don’t worry about my class, they’re off to lunch. But I’m curious what doesn’t make sense.”
“I-it’s nothing, I’m just trying to make sense of this all...and failing.” Sunburst spit the chalk out again and sat down with a sigh as he stared up at the chalkboard. His eyes were searching for an answer, one that was elusive but he thought was right in front of him.
“Let’s talk it out.” Cheerilee offered as she placed a hoof on his back, which earned her a skeptical gaze. “I know I’m not a unicorn, but I find talking out things with other ponies helps. So just walk me through it, please.”
“Alright.” Sunburst slowly rose to his hooves again and took his spot right in front of his chalkboard, pointing at Twilight’s name. “From what we seem to know, Twilight Sparkle was the first one to turn. We don’t know how or why, but it has something to do with that Friendship Mission she went on. Nopony seems to remember where it sent her, except that it was in the northwest and not within Equestria...so that doesn’t narrow it down at all.” Sunburst mumbled something under his breath, it definitely was not polite to say the least. “But whatever. WHATEVER. We can gloss over that for now.”
“Well what’s to the northwest outside of Equestria?” Cheerilee knew parts of the answer, but she wanted him to answer. To think out a small part and give a good answer to expand upon.
“Yakyakistan and frozen wastelands, that’s about it.” Sunburst tapped a map he had taped to the board and sighed. “The yaks aren’t capable of something like this, no way. Th-they’re brutes who wouldn’t know a horn from a tree branch. It doesn’t help that there aren’t any settlements up that far on modern maps.”
“What about older maps?”
“I’ve been looking into it, but they’re mixes of truth and fiction. Little towns on maps that cover that much land could be trap towns or they’re just ruins. I’m trying but without a good idea of exactly where she was it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.” Sunburst sounded genuinely frustrated and Cheerilee could see why. This was all one big puzzle to him, and he knew he was missing a piece that could help solve the whole thing but it was seemingly lost.
“Okay, well what next?” She didn’t want to dwell for too long on that subject, as it only seemed to rile Sunburst up.
“This castle.” That was decidedly not an easier subject. “How is it protecting us?” That’s when Sunburst started to pace, all of those pent up thoughts and theories pouring out of his brain. “It’s made of the same material as the Crystal Palace and that did nothing to save us. We thought the Crystal Heart would do something but obviously that was wrong...for all we know it was just another transmission vector. So what makes this place different? The Elements of Harmony? They’re magical artifacts just like the Heart, we know they can be nullified by bad magic, Discord did it when he corrupted them. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Okay.” Cheerilee rubbed her temples and took a deep breath, just getting ready for a headache. “Explain to me how magic works.” Sunburst gawked at the request and scoffed. “I know. It’s complicated. Give me the basics, maybe you’re just missing something.”
“Alright…” Sunburst flipped the Blackboard to the reverse side and drew a straight line across it. “This is a major leyline, there are a total of eight of these in the entire world. They’re like veins in the body and they transport the physical form of magic, mana, inside of them. Each major leyline has tributaries-” He drew about a dozen smaller lines off of the larger one. “-these are like capillaries in the body or streams to a major river.”
Cheerilee was keeping up, actually. She knew a little about magic, but it was all stuff she had learned a long time ago in secondary school. Sunburst seemed to have a talent for teaching, maybe she could get him to help with class someday.
“Now unicorns don’t pull mana straight from these things, no, that’s a good way to fry your brain. The mana naturally leaks from the leylines into the earth, it diffuses itself into the dirt and air. Our entire planet is just saturated in it.” It seemed that Sunburst caught his second wind from talking about the subject. An exuberance returned to his cyan eyes as his movements became more energetic and exaggerated. “Unicorns pull it from the air and our horns allow us to shape it into something useful. It’s a bit like a faucet for us, we open it and the magic flows into us. Some unicorns have a lot more...well...throughput than others. Their faucets allow a lot more magic in, which makes them more powerful. Ponies like the Princesses have the magical equivalent of a fire hydrant on their heads, they just gulp down enormous quantities of the stuff and it lets them do things like move the sun and the moon.”
“Okay.” Cheerilee was still keeping up, the analogies helping more than she would like to admit. “I kind of remember this part from school. When unicorns use it, it becomes like ‘dead’ magic and the leylines recycle it, right?” As an earth pony in a town that was overwhelmingly full of earth ponies she never really had to retain or use this information until now. She received a joyful nod in affirmation from the unicorn by the blackboard. “So where does it go to be recycled? You said they’re like veins, so where’s the heart?”
“You think I know?” Sunburst laughed, just straight up guffawed at Cheerilee. “That’s waaay above my pay grade, Cheerilee. Actually, I’m not sure if anypony but the Princesses even know where the Central Pool is. It’s the most vulnerable point of Equestria, poisoning or tainting it would-” He motioned to a nearby window. “-well something like this would happen!”
“So whatever this is…” Cheerilee motioned towards him, hoping that he would clear things up for a simple mare like herself.
“So whatever is doing this probably taints that dead mana and other unicorns absorb and try to use it instead of the good stuff. It’s like the flu.” He elaborated as he brought a hoof up to the wiry beard on his chin. “You catch it, you cough and spew out more of the germs that infect others.” He turned towards the mare, now speaking ‘at’ her rather than to her. “It’s most definitely in the leylines by now, that’s the only way it could spread up to the Crystal Empire. We shut down travel almost as soon as Canterlot sent out the warning to stay home. But there’s no way it’s gotten to the Central Pool. A concentrated source of pure mana like that would scrub something like this out, it’s what it’s meant to do!” Sunburst sighed. “It makes no sense.”
“Maybe you should take a break, Sunburst.” Cheerilee finally stood and gave the stallion a small smile. “I’m going to guess you haven’t been sleeping much?” A shake of his head let the teacher know she was right on the money. “Take a break, get something to eat and take a nap. Okay?”
“I…” He bit back an excuse, a reason to stay awake even longer and worry himself into a further stupor. “Okay. Lunch and nap. I can do that.”
----
Scootaloo trotted through the halls of Twilight’s Castle. After leaving Pound Cake in the dining hall with Bon Bon and the others, she decided she would go check up on Rainbow Dash and bring Pinkie Pie down for lunch.
The door to Rainbow’s room was marked with her cutie mark, a tricolor lightning bolt of red blue and yellow coming out of a cloud. Scootaloo had made the sign yesterday and was hoping that it would bring some good luck to the sick mare.
After a short knock, Scootaloo pushed the door open. The scene inside hadn’t changed in the last few days. Rainbow laid in bed, out cold and seemingly turning more gray by the day. Pinkie sat beside her, either reading or staring into space. Right now it was the latter.
“How is she, Pinkie?” Scootaloo already knew the answer, only getting worse and they didn’t know why. There was the slim hope in the back of her mind that Rainbow Dash would just turn the corner out of nowhere and be back to normal again.
“Bad.” Pinkie droned out, a pink hoof resting on one of Rainbow’s. “She woke up earlier, I think she was having a nightmare.” Pinkie looked so tired, her eyes barely open as she leaned against the bed. The mare was struggling to stay awake and only the need to look after her best friend was keeping her going at this point. “Her fever finally broke though...maybe it’s a good sign.”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo put on her bravest smile and walked over to the bed. “She’ll be better in no time, Pinkie Pie! She’s Rainbow Dash, she has to be.” Pinkie only nodded solemnly, repeating the sentiment quietly to herself. “Oh I know what will help!”
Scootaloo sped over to the window, her wings buzzing to give her that extra burst. She jumped up to grab the blackout curtain and threw it open, bathing the room in pure unfiltered sunlight. Scootaloo was always told that sunlight and fresh air were good for the body and soul. The little pegasus looked back to the bed, a beam of sunlight streaming over the bed ridden Rainbow Dash.
“Thanks Scootaloo.” Pinkie smiled. Pinkie Pie smiled. It wasn’t big or goofy, but it was a smile and one she meant. “I think she’ll like that.”
Scootaloo sat on the end of Dash’s bed, enjoying the sunlight herself as she hummed and just kept Pinkie Pie and her hero company. Of course her little heart was as full of as much worry as Pinkie’s, but Scootaloo couldn’t let it show. There was enough misery, she couldn’t let hers show too. That’s how she was going to help ponies here, she wasn’t going to give into her fear or sadness anymore. She needed to be the hope she wanted to see in this castle.
“Is that...a cloud…?” Pinkie stood up for the first time in what seemed to be at least a day. She walked over to the window, Scootaloo right behind her. Drifting lazily through the sky was a group of clouds, fat and gray with rain.
“Things can’t be all bad if Cloudsdale is still spitting out clouds, right?” Scootaloo asked, her eyes following the clouds as they drifted across the sky. “Maybe it just took them a while to get the weather factory working again.”
“Dashie would love to see them.” Pinkie sighed and turned her back to the window.
“All the more reason to make sure she gets better!” Scootaloo added. “Umm...have you tried talking to Sunburst? He seems smart! I bet he would be able to help!” Scootaloo was trying to do everything to cheer up Pinkie, but nothing seemed to work.
“Maybe tomorrow, Scootaloo.” Pinkie moved back to the bed, her hooves dragging with every step. “Can you leave? I need some sleep…”
“Yeah, of course Pinkie Pie. G’night. G’night Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo left the room just as she saw Pinkie laying her head on the comatose pegasus’ chest. She closed the door and let her eyes shut for a moment as she pushed down all of the sad feelings that were building in her chest.
“Hey...Scootaloo, right?” As the filly turned around, she was met with the recently unmasked changeling. The color combination was honestly a little hard on the eyes, but that was a small gripe. “I just wanted to say thanks...for sticking up for me. It really means a lot.” The chitinous creature rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof,
“I just didn’t want to see you get hurt.” Scootaloo sighed. “That’s all I’ve seen is ponies get hurt and die and...I just think, even though you’re not a pony I guess, that we should be nice to everypony that’s left.” She gave her best smile to Elytra and stood up straight. “Princess Twilight always said we had to put our best hoof forwards and try to make friends wherever we go!”
“Very mature.” Elytra returned the smile, it was gentle and kind. One Scootaloo would get from Fluttershy or Cheerilee. “I would ask if anything interesting is happening, but lately it seems we can’t get away from interesting.”
“Oh! Did you see the clouds?” A shake of the bug’s head made Scootaloo grab the glossy hoof of the changeling and gallop down the hall. “There are actually clouds in the sky now! It even looks like it’s going to rain!” The beaming smile from Elytra did not go unnoticed by the little pegasus, in fact it only spurred her on. “Can you imagine? Rain!” The two galloped through the halls, two sets of wings buzzing in excitement as they rushed up to the balcony.
When they finally arrived at the set of double doors, Scootaloo pushed one of them open and bounded onto the covered outcropping. She looked back to see that Elytra was at the threshold but not moving a step more, in fact she had a worried look in those dark pink eyes.
“I...should I come outside?” Elytra looked at her aqua colored hooves. “I mean, I was outside for a long time alone...but...do you think it’s safe?” Scootaloo was no expert on magic or what was going on, but even she could put two plus two together.
“When did you change to look like Vinyl?” Scootaloo sat beneath the tarp that kept the balcony from the sun, now the ever increasing number of clouds in the sky made the tarp less useful than before.
“After the...outbreak, I guess.” Elytra stuck her hoof out to test the water, nothing happened to that appendage at least. “It was already all over town, one of them had already tried to get me. I hid in a house and changed and then ran to the castle as fast as I could.” It was probably the shell that saved her from a worse fate than being in here, if Scootaloo had to guess. Those things had a lot of teeth, but they weren't any match for one tough bug.
“So you used magic after this all started! We haven’t seen any changeling monsters either. So you’ll be safe!” Logic would win out in the end as Elytra took a few hesitant steps outside of the confines of the castle. Nothing happened. She didn’t turn into a scary bug-wolf thing or grow twice her size, she just stayed as she was. “Just...maybe don’t use magic. Better safe than sorry?”
“Right.” Elytra gave a nervous chuckle as she sat down next to the filly and looked out to the sky. “Huh...it almost seems normal out here.” The clouds drifted gently through the sky, blocking out some of the harsh sunlight and giving the world below some reprieve.
“Almost.” Scootaloo smiled as she looked up at the world above. It was easy to imagine herself up there, flying among the rain-filled blobs. An old daydream, but one she loved to indulge in. “So...why were you in Ponyville?”
“Ah, well.” Elytra shifted, the sound of hardened chitin against crystal a new sound to Scootaloo’s ears. It sounded almost like glass clinking against glass, but a lot more sturdy. “I...I was part of the Canterlot invasion.”
“Whoa, really?” Scootaloo’s wings buzzed and she looked at her conversation partner with a mix of curiosity and excitement. “So like, you were there fighting Rainbow Dash and her friends.”
“Something like that.” Elytra kept focusing on the sky, her smile gone now. “I spent a long time wandering Equestria after that, just trying to get back home. When I finally got back to the hive...well, Thorax and his friends showed up and-” The changeling motioned to her colorful body. “-this happened.”
“So you came back? You like Equestria that much?” Scootaloo couldn’t really blame Elytra, before this all happened Equestria was the jewel of the world in terms of peace. If she had a choice between a Changeling hive and here, she would pick here a million times over...okay, maybe not now. But back then, sure.
“You ponies are just so nice.” A wistful smile crossed the bug’s features and she finally turned to look at Scootaloo again. “My first time here, I had to siphon love off of so many ponies. I didn’t have to trick anypony or anything, you all just gave it so willingly. Second time around, well any positive emotion will do or just regular food in a pinch. So I was always full and happy, just exploring your culture and country.”
“So do you think that’s why you didn’t turn into a monster?” Scootaloo pondered aloud. “Because you don’t use those...laid lines things?”
“You got me.” Elytra shrugged. “I don’t know much about magic, just that I have it.” The colorful changeling sighed and let her eyes drift upwards as a cloud approached the castle. “You think we can get one of these things to drop some rain for us?”
“I can’t really...fly.” Scootaloo tried her best to hide her shame, but when she talked about her lack of ability it always showed. “Not that I think I’d want to with Twilight out there…”
“Good point.” The changeling stood and looked around, the wings on her back buzzing loudly in thought. “I know!” She ran back in the castle for a moment and came back holding a small chunk of crystal from when one of Twilight’s blasts almost hit Rainbow Dash. “You think this will work?”
“Only one way to find out!” Scootaloo grinned wildly. This almost reminded her of back when the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in their prime, just trying stupid things sometimes just to try them. “Chuck that rock!”
Elytra took a few steps back under the tarp and waited for a moment, the cloud drifting ever so closer to the castle. It was almost right overhead when she finally galloped out from under and heaved the dislodged piece of the castle into the air. It soared through the air like, well, like a rock. It got just enough lift and distance to clip the fat gray cloud and give it a good shake.
Drip
A single drop hit the crystal balcony, soon followed by others. A steady drizzle started to come down, drawing grateful cheers from the two creatures below. Elytra’s shell became slick and shiny with the water and Scootaloo’s mane became plastered to her face.
“Rain!” Scootaloo cheered as she jumped into the air. When her hooves hit the ground she had to steady herself as she slipped on the now slippery crystal. One of Elytra’s chitinous hooves steadied the filly.
“Careful.” The bug cautioned before sending up a raucous cheer into the air along with her diminutive compatriot. “But you’re right! Rain!” The biggest smile Scootaloo had seen since this all started, and she helped cause it!
“What are you two doing out here?” As soon as the smile appeared, it left. A voice that brought no small sense of irritation to most survivors in the castle. Mayor Mare. The pony politician stood in the doorway, just staring at Elytra.
“It’s raining, Mayor!” Scootaloo pushed away the feelings of unease that the earth pony stirred up in her gut. Maybe she could bring the eldest pony in the castle a smile as well, there was at least a chance. “Cloudsdale sent out clouds!”
“Scootaloo, you should go inside.” Mayor Mare spoke flatly, her eyes never leaving Elytra. “You shouldn’t be out here with this thing alone.” Elytra, for her part, shrunk back and avoided any sort of eye contact with the mare.
“Hey.” Scootaloo moved between the changeling and the pony, flaring her wings out and glaring up at the Mayor. “Leave her alone!” Scootaloo was just tired of Mayor Mare bullying everypony and always causing trouble. “She hasn’t done anything to anypony here! She hasn’t hurt anypony!”
“Scootaloo, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mayor Mare pushed Scootaloo aside, causing the veteran Crusader to stumble and fall to her hooves on the rain-soaked balcony. “For all I know this changeling has worked its magic on you and you’re under its control!”
“You know they don’t do that anymore!” Scootaloo got to her hooves and took her place between the bug and the pony again. She puffed out her chest and glared at the other pony, the rain still coming down and soaking all three creatures gathered there. “Why are you being so...so...stupid?!” Scootaloo shouted at the Mayor. She felt a little bad about using such harsh language, but she couldn’t contain herself any longer. “You’re so mean to everypony all the time! Just stop!” The frustration, the stress, all finally erupted out of the little pegasus. She stared up at her hometown’s once-leader through teary eyes, her face hot and red.
“Scootaloo, I said shut up!” Mayor Mare’s hoof shoved Scootaloo away again, this time it sent the filly sliding further than before. Her hooves scrambled for a grip but the smooth surface offered none, the fresh rain coating it not helping in the slightest. They had been outside of the protective cover of the tarp before, near enough the edge to see the clouds and get doused by the deluge they brought.
Scootaloo slid off the edge of the balcony, her wings buzzing helplessly as she began to tumble through the air. She couldn’t even scream, the panic in her brain wouldn’t let her. Deep pegasus instincts help orient herself to stop the tumbling, but they wouldn’t help her useless wings achieve lift.
As she approached the ground, she finally screamed.
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Here’s a theory. Something happened to the central pool, obviously, but the reason Discord is gone is because he can sense magical disturbances; and left before he could get corrupted.
man that mayor really needs to go
Please, let Mayor Mare's death be a painful one.
I have a slightly worry that the unicorns are digging because that thing, the heart is under Ponyville... That or they are smelling prey down there.
I wonder why you decided to make the Mayor the biggest meanie around. It's absolutely the meanest Mayor I've ever seen, not that I've read many stories where she got a prominent role.
Just another proof that Twilight's castle's a major architectural catastrophe.
Welcome to the club, Spitfire, I guess?
Just realized my comment has some spoilers 😳 Here it is adjusted:
somehow
Hoo… Mayor Mare is testing us all!! I really liked the explanations on the ley lines and Scootaloo + Elytra’s bonding ! Hope Scoots and Rainbow are gonna be okay
Never in my life have I checked a story so frequently as this one.
10830642
True, the Pegasus and Earth ponies use magic but maybe in different ways to the unicorns. Still, if that is the case, why was she unable to sonic rainboom? Surely that would have expediated the process. It's a real puzzle right now and I think the unicorns are messing with the magic in Equestria somehow and that is the cause of why Dash was unable to rainboom and why she is unwell.
This is bad...
By now I am pretty sure that Rainbow, having tried to perform a sonic rainboom, has tapped into enough of the ley line magic to get herself corrupted, with only the Tree of Harmiony protecting her. Given how much she cares for Scootaloo, she will no doubt rush outside to save her, in which case leaves her completely exposed.
If she does manage to catch Scootaloo, she will by then have transformed, and there is very little Scootaloo can do other than watch as her idol devours her.
Fuck you mayor first u get someone killed by negligance and now a straight up murder good luck not getting locked up in ur room after this what am i saying i hope you do.
Bruh
Aha! So it is vaguely like a Magical Disease! That must mean there’s a cure, they just need to find it. Possibly using some sort of....not exactly a vacuum, but if the Central Mana Pool is corrupted, then some way of getting the corruption out
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Let's just hope it's Cheerilee who saves her, and Rainbow doesn't leave?
...I know that the author isn't gonna have that happen, and you're probably right. Guys gotta hope though, right?
Okay, So what happens to Scootaloo next. Maybe Spitfire saves her? Who knows.
Perhaps it's something like a prion? I know the Central Pool is analogous to the heart, but-
Prions are basically just proteins that folded incorrectly by chance. Whether they are transmitted or just happen randomly, it doesn't matter. once they're there, they will spread, because they're actually more stable than the surrounding proteins. It gets in your brain and replicates, so rapidly that it forms "crystals" that poke holes in your brain. it keeps doing this until your brain looks like swiss cheese, and even more until it's basically a pile of sludge. Basically, prions are bad fucking news.
So what if someone dropped something like it into the Central Pool?
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OR, hear me out, OR
she manages to get inside and they find out the castle nullifies the mind effects. That would be a good segway.
Ok, that ending? That's horrid. Only hope is Elytra pulling a save via magic or flight.
I think I know why the castle's fine, or at least I have a theory as to why. It's probably wrong, but the last time I said that, Vinyl turned out to be a changeling.
Okay, so there are eight known Ley Lines running through the world, acting like rivers that are splitting off from a main stream. But what if that analogy is wrong? The way I see it, the Ley Lines are closer to a tree and its roots, spreading across the world to grow over time. But the Friendship castle is different. The Eight Ley Lines, the "roots" have been around for thousands of years. Even if the Empire had its own "root" it would eventually touch the other Ley Lines. But the Friendship castle? It's new, barely a seed yet, its "root" hasn't touched the others yet because its root hasn't been around long enough to connect. It's the ninth Ley Line, the undiscovered stream/root.
Theory two, this is the pool fighting back. When the body senses an intruder, it sends white blood cells to kill them. What if this mutation is the planet's way of searching for and removing a threat but it can't tell friend from foe? It can't infect the changelings because they're more like mosquitos than intrusive diseases.
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That will also be an intresting way for us to learn just how good the Tree of Harmony is at repelling the corruption.
Given how the situation in the story keeps going from bad to worse, it will be great to have some good news. We can only hope
I can think of a few ponies who may know. If I'm right, this story takes place before School of Friendship, and the author said that this is around season seven. Now, if I'm not mistaken, there should be seven time displaced ponies who might know (three of which are probably Ferals) if they're in this world.
i.pinimg.com/originals/5d/6d/b0/5d6db098d42629b4bfd5189b9a7f7987.jpg
Of course, I could be wrong. There's always the possibility that the answer is staring us right in the face. Also, that cloud now has a lot more significance considering what happened last chapter.
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The author saw that we wanted to know Cloudsdale was safe and proceeded to show us a chapter where everyone gets brutally massacred, I've learned to prepare for the worst in this story (part of why I love it).
Kill Mayor Mare, PLEASE!
10831759
Besides that, maybe it's a form of reverence? As Sunburst stated, we know it can't be the crystal structure of the castle, because the Crystal Empire already fell, so we can easily rule that out. I won't pretend to understand how magical ley lines work, so I don't know where to agree with you or not, but we all know that it's something that both Cloudsdale and the Crystal Empire don't possess that' solely limited to the Friendship Castle.
My theory is this. With no magical artifacts that protect it, as the Crystal Heart didn't work and the Tree of Harmony isn't remotely close to the Castle, it has to be something non-tangible. Possibly magic, but what if it's Twilight herself?
Think about it, Twilight is Patient Zero, she is the first one out of all of them, so would it stand to reason that she is regarded as some form of a leader in the people that have the virus. She lost her familial connection to Canterlot when she moved, but the Friendship Castle is her home, and no one wants to go ahead and destroy her own home. It's not Ponyville itself that's protected, otherwise, the town would have been a full-on refugee settlement, but it's just the Castle.
This means that something related to the castle itself, not just the town or land it sits on, is the reason why it's still standing. Twilight is the first, and probable natural leader of people with the virus, so could she order that no harm will come to the castle and whoever is inside it?
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she'll probably say elrya did it or something sadly
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I know, I know. Just gotta hope though, right?
10831014
Good to see you are still around
how have you being doing in this harsh times? (I hope you and the people you care for have being doing ok)
Also, agree this is a bad / unprecedented situation, so leaders making mistakes is expected (especially from someone who besides leading a “small team” has no experience leading something bigger like entire city). And indeed, just because of someone’s mistakes that doesn’t mean the entire group should be destroyed. But this is the rule for this kind of stories, thighs always get bad before getting better -IF things get better that is.
I guess we know what the unicorns are digging for now. Kinda fitting that it's under Ponyville, considering how much nonsense happens around the town.
I woke up in a daze and hit publish on this chapter and went right back to sleep.
I think I'll stay out of the comments today
All those in favor of throwing Mayor Mare out of the castle for attempted murder please upvote.
10831795
Oh, if she tries that, I'm straight up voting that she just gets trussed up and chucked outside to either rot in the sun, or get attacked by the... things.
10831819
Aye!
Man the Mayor is such a bitch, and there are only 2 things that this would end. Mayor gets blamed or Elytra gets blamed.
Then they pull off a Among Us move and vote out the Major and send her outside and ring her like a dinnerbell
So we finally, FINALLY, get some sort of reprieve, maybe even a little hope, with Sunburst and Cheerilee researching the infection.
Can't wait for the next chapter to tear my heart out and stomp on it.
Mayor Mare, kill her off... that is all.
I swear, if she turns this on the changeling and says: "SHE pushed Scootaloo off the castle!", and if the others stupidly believe her, that's bs!
If this was simply a disease, I don't think the unicorns vould be digging like they are. almost like they're organized. it could be twilight's influence but it could even be some residue of reasoning on her part, like she's trying to undo the damage like how someone that's very sick will stumble into the kitchen looking for medicine.
I really hope Elytra flies off the castle and catches Scootaloo. ..even if it ends in her turning, I cannot stand the concept of her getting kicked out because Mayor accuses her of her own crime. T-T
Story is very very good, hope the next chapter is soon!!
10831917
Unicorns have become Dwarves, they must...diggy hole
Mayor Mare needs to hang for her actions. As in literally hang at the end of a noose, thrown over the palace balcony.
Don't be. We need to know how stuff works in this setting. Both for story reasons and for the fun of theorycrafting.
So I'm guessing that Elytra will get the blame for this (whether she rushes after Scootaloo or not).
10831692
Oh shit. That would be bad. The princesses are powerful all but he's an actual god. I don't think there'd be any place safe from him. Unless... I wonder. Do you suppose he's what makes the castle special? Something he did or even is still doing? His magic was always different. Different rules, different methods, different potential effects, etc. Not hard to believe that his magic might spring from a different source entirely. Maybe he imbued the castle with some amount of his power as a protective measure given that it's where everyone would naturally flee to. Come to think of it, he might actually be out there looking for help or trying to fix things himself.
10831759
It was quite literally grown from pure magic. It wouldn't be altogether unlike when you create an artificial lake, in this hypothesis.
10831768
The last thing they need is Starswirl showing up and changing. I don't know exactly where he sits on the power scale besides "high" but it seems like some of them retain a semblance of intelligence. And he was exceedingly intelligent. He might actually retain some capacity for proper spellcraft rather than just raw blasts of magic.
What ever this "virus" is, its bad. Hell even Discord knew that and noped the fuck out. Along with Fluttershy.
So, I'm thinking about this a little more. Twilight is Patient Zero. She was sent on a mission by the cutie map - but why? Why specifically Twilight, and why would it send her to something that had this level of effect on her?
The cutie map sent her.
The cutie map.
The cutie map located inside her palace.
Her palace, which is the one place safe from this.
On top of that: they're digging. They're digging in Ponyville: why specifically Ponyville? What, apart from the palace, is nearest to Ponyville?
The Everfree Forest. Which contains the Tree of Harmony. Sure, it's a bit of a distance between the two; but considering the Everfree and its relation to chaos, and this theory suggesting that harmony is somehow causing this...
The major hole in this theory is that, if Harmony was doing this, then why would the castle be protecting them? How would it be protecting them? How does Discord play into this at all? Why would Harmony do this?
I have no idea! Just a theory that popped into my head.
10831692
He probably sensed something was up and left with the one thing important to him. He's the only one likely, and powerful enough, to just up and disappear a whole cottage into a side dimension.
I’m betting she’s gonna try and blame our little Changeling, ponies are already on edge, finding out someone hurt or even killed a minor?… Isn’t gonna go over well… I’m wondering if she was always racist… or is just trying to find something to blame since she’s just as scared as anyone else. Either way, I hope she gets what’s coming to her.
Two things: one, I actually enjoyed the magic explanation. That was *fascinating!*
Two? Eleytra is adorable and seeing her bond with Scootaloo is sweet <3
Rainbow getting sick strikes out a theory I had: that the castle halts/could potentially cure the infection. IE rope Twi and drag her in: she'd eventually become herself again.
10832225
That is something I thought of as an idea, or maybe take a small fragment of crystal of the castle and force it into any Unicorn or Alicorns mouth and get them to swallow it so they would be cured then.
I hope Mayor Mare get's outed and shoved outside to be eaten by those fucking monsters. That stupid bitch deserves it.
10832255
such is the nature of zombie movies: the zombies are there to show what happens when society breaks down and humans turn on each other more than 'om nom brains nom'
...The unicorns are digging towards the Central Pool, aren't they? A concentrated source of pure mana? Probably helps the Apple Family trees grow as well as they do. Probably manifests naturally in wild, uncontrollable ways, like the Everfree Forest. Probably why the Castle Of The Two Sisters was where it was before Luna's banishment. Why the Tree Of Harmony is where it is. Why so many weird, strange, crazy monsters and events make their way towards Ponyville compared to anywhere else in Equestria. Why Twilight's Castle sprouted up in Ponyville.
It's probably why Twilight's Castle is seemingly "immune" to these effects from the ley-lines' corruption, as well. When the Castle was created at the end of Season Four, it planted itself and grew almost immediately. When the "seed" activated, basically, what if it headed for the nearest, strongest source of magical energy to plant itself? If it had been anywhere else, it would have landed on the approximate location of one of the primary ley-lines, or even one of the capillaries. But if my hypothesis is correct, and the Central Pool is directly underneath Ponyville, then the seed headed directly for that and planted itself right on top of it.
What if the reason the Castle is able to stave off the effects of the corruption like it has been doing, is because it's hooked right into the very heart of Equestria's magic? It doesn't have to use any of the ley-lines or capillaries to access the magic, it can just take it right from its source, with no worries of anything being tainted or wrong. It's like plugging something directly into a generator or wall socket, you just skip all the extension cords and adapters and stuff, and just cut right to the chase.
So continuing on with this analogy, I think I might be on to something. If we think of the magic system of Equestria as a regular body in this context, with the Central Pool being the heart, the ley-lines and capillaries being the arteries and veins, this corruption spreading throughout being an infection or poison, etcetera, etcetera, then we can conclude that the body should be fighting back against it right now, yes? But what if it is? What if it is doing exactly what it should be doing?
What if this isn't a virus or infection like we first thought?
What if it is an auto-immune reaction instead?
So Twilight goes on the Friendship Mission, right? For whatever reason, she picks up something bad while she's out there. She's sick as a dog when she returns, and tries to return to the Castle after she gets off the train. At some point on her way back Twilight tries to use her magic for something. In doing so, she taps into the ley-line of Ponyville, or even the Central Pool itself. Whatever Twilight is sick with starts to creep into the system's "bloodstream", or maybe the system just detects that something is very off about the being trying to access its magic right now and that it could pose a potential threat.
Either way, the Central Pool detects this happening practically right next door to it and its immune system immediately goes into emergency mode. It sends out antibodies, white blood cells, whatever it has to locate, identify, and treat this anomaly in its system. It traces it back to Twilight, and adjusts any further magical output from the Central Pool to contain a treatment for this new, unknown ailment.
Now, anyone who has ever had their body fight off a cold or flu without the aid of medicine knows that when your immune system fights back against something that shouldn't be in your body, it goes hard. It will not settle for anything less of complete and utter destruction of the intruder. It will also keep a sort of catalog of this intruder, so that if it happens again, the immune system can deploy the same effective countermeasures against the virus or bacteria before it gets out of control again. The Central Pool does exactly this. Enter mutated Twilight Sparkle.
And that should be the end of it, right?
Unfortunately, just like with our own bodies sometimes, the Central Pool got a little... confused. Suddenly on the look out for anything similar to this new unknown, it now registers any attempts to tap into its magical energy as a threat. Suddenly there are now thousands upon thousands of these threats, not just concentrated here on this one ley-line, but across every ley-line and capillary in the entirety of Equestria.
So what does it do? The only thing it really can do at that point, it re-deploys its cataloged immune system response to slowly stop this "threat" to its body and "fix it" as best it can. It keeps doing this for weeks on end, slowly spreading throughout the rest of Equestria. It detects another anomaly at one point, this one different, yet still the same, and swats it aside without a moment's notice, poisoning the poor pegasus known as Rainbow Dash in the process.
Other than that little note of concern, it continues working, completely unaware of the Castle perched right on top of it, invisible to the immune system. For now, at least. The unicorns are aware that the Castle is resistant, which is why they're digging to the Central Pool, to possibly tamper with the Castle's connection so that they can enter and slaughter its inhabitants.
Which is exactly where we're at right now in this story. The magic of Equestria isn't broken, it's working perfectly fine. Working to a fault. How are you supposed to fix something that is working exactly as it is intended to?
* Breathes. *
i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/022/524/tumblr_o16n2kBlpX1ta3qyvo1_1280.jpg
Also, could someone Suplex Mayor Mare through a table, please?
Well when the confrontation of what happened to Scootaloo comes to everyone elses attention, I would imagine that Mayor Mare will try to out the poor changeling. But naturally, she will tell the truth, you will probably get about a half and half vote, but Pinkie will be the tie breaker, asking them to make a Pinkie Promise that they are telling the truth. She can tell if they are lying then, or the Mayor will refuse while Elytra does it earnestly. Though what will happen remains to be seen, but I doubt that the Mayor has too many friends at this point considering she left Thunderlane to die.