Chapter 71: Twilight Sparkle
Charlie watched her father fight for his life, powerless to do a thing to help.
She'd seen accidents before—in a life long ago, she'd been walking when a drunk driver went straight into a tree. She'd been the one to call emergency services—and the one at the scene when they cut the poor man out, and tried in vain to save him.
Perhaps there was something analogous here, in the way Septum had willingly made an oath with evil to make himself vulnerable in the first place. But Firefly wasn't in any place to deconstruct what happened, not while one of the people she cared most about in the whole world was attacked.
Unlike that driver, Septum didn't have to wait for help to arrive. Twilight was already here. But her efforts weren't going well. Twilight struggled, levitating a dozen different chalk pencils at once, while focusing something else on the levitating changeling.
Firefly didn't want to look, but she couldn't look away. It was as though unseen hands constricted around Septum's throat, slowly strangling him. Every breath was a struggle, his eyes bulging out and drool trickling down his face. Every few seconds his horn flashed, but evidently his attempts to transform weren't working either.
“Lilac...” She turned, tears streaming down her face. At least she wasn't alone. “Lilac, can't you do something? You know all kinds of magic, right? That's your whole talent!”
Her friend bounced nervously back and forth on her hooves. “I don't... Twilight probably knows better than I do...”
“Maybe!” Firefly snapped. “But I don't think that matters! He's dying! Please, you have to do something!”
It was all coming true—the exact death Septum had imagined as soon as he fled the cult. He had saved her life, knowing this was the price waiting for him. Agonizing death from afar, with nothing he could do to stop it.
Finally her friend nodded, and darted over to join Twilight.
Charlie listened to what she said next, but none of it made sense to her. A few technical, magical-sounding things, along with terse gestures. She half-expected the unicorn to send her harshly away—but that didn't happen.
Instead, Twilight dropped her chalk to the ground, turning all her attention on Septum. The changeling began glowing brilliantly purple. He gasped, taking a deep breath.
His voice came out ragged, racked with coughs. Even so, Firefly made out her own name.
She approached cautiously, remaining several strides away. She wanted to take his hoof, even if he looked like an alien. She might not look as strange, but Firefly knew she was just as foreign to Equestria. How could she be disgusted?
“I... sorry,” he gasped. Each word cost him. Despite Twilight's magic, he was still struggling for breath. “I've lied for... loved you. Made me feel like... I was a real pony. I... love you.”
“I love you too.” She watched his face, long enough to see that he'd heard. But then he collapsed, and said no more.
She probably shouldn’t interrupt Twilight's concentration. The mare was the only one keeping her father alive at this point, and maybe not for much longer. But she couldn't wait in silence. “How long will this last?”
While she spoke, Lilac drew. She wasn't as fast as the unicorn, not with her levitation to draw multiple runes at once. She was still moving quickly, chalk in her mouth and head to the ground. She was practically sprinting with it, somehow drawing straight lines one moment and perfect curves the next.
“Until he... dies,” Twilight whispered. She spoke slowly, eyes focused forward. “This is... some of the darkest—burns the victim's own essence. Caster... knows his true name, has his blood... have to put him into...” She shook her head, eyes focusing back on the changeling.
Firefly retreated, getting out of their way. She wanted to help, wanted to save the changeling herself. But there was nothing for her to do now but wait and hope.
Until the moment Lilac completed her diagram. Twilight inspected it, then there was a flash of magic, and Septum vanished, reappearing in the center. The spell ignited with the same lavender as Twilight Sparkle's magic, burning so powerfully that it briefly overpowered the sunlight coming in from outside.
Then it faded. Septum stopped gasping, settling to the ground as if asleep. The diagram continued to glow, pulsing every few seconds as though to a heartbeat.
Celestia's apprentice slumped onto her haunches, breathing a sigh of relief. Despite her obvious exhaustion, there was deep satisfaction on her face. “Not today,” she whispered.
Lilac retreated from the spell-diagram, spitting out the chalk. Firefly darted over to meet her, though she kept her distance from the diagram. She knew enough about spells to know that damaging the marks might end whatever protection Septum had. “Did it work?” she asked. “My dad doesn't look like he's breathing.”
Lilac nodded. “That's the point. The only way to stop the spell killing him was to freeze him. Then somepony has to find the vial of blood they're using and destroy it on the other end.”
“It's—not actually frozen.” Twilight ran one hoof through her mane, straightening it. “Not even Princess Celestia can cast a perfect stasis spell. It leaks a little time out the edges. But instead of taking minutes to kill him, it will take days.”
She stared forward blankly for a few seconds more, looking past Firefly more than at her. Then she twitched, lurching to her hooves. “I can't believe what the two of you just saw. You're fillies. Thank Celestia you sent the colt away before this happened.”
“Little Risk could've helped me,” Lilac said. She sounded a little shaken, but nowhere near the pegasus. She wasn't the one who'd almost lost a father. That happened a few days ago. “We know what we're doing.”
Twilight glanced over at the diagram, and the pony resting within. “Your competence is—remarkable. I'd never expect a pony without a horn to master so much. I'm impressed.” She gestured to the door, and it banged open. “There's nothing more we can do for the changeling. Let's get you somewhere safe.”
Firefly didn't follow them out of the room, not right away. She lingered beside the spell diagram, looking in at the frozen changeling. “I'll save you,” she promised. “I won't leave you like this, Dad. We'll save you.”
He didn't react, didn't make any sign he'd heard a word she said. Firefly felt a little better anyway. And if we'd gone anywhere else, Twilight wouldn't have been here. Lilac couldn't save him on her own.
If she was waiting for more proof that Equestria was right, she had it now.
The next few hours were a blur to Firefly. She followed Twilight through the castle until they reached an upper-story guestroom. Twilight left them there, with a promise that she would be going elsewhere to continue working on how to save Septum. And them too, though she didn't say so directly. Maybe she didn't want to scare them.
There were more servants waiting for them in that wing—some with nurses to poke and prod them and make sure they were healthy—others to wash them in a luxurious bath. Firefly was so physically and emotionally drained that she barely even felt embarrassed about bathing together with a pony she found attractive.
Then they rejoined Risk in a large bedroom with three beds along the wall, and suddenly she remembered again. How could she not, with the desperate relief she saw from Lilac when she met Little Risk near the door for an intense embrace and several seconds of whispered conversation.
Firefly didn't even catch the name of the pony who introduced herself as their caretaker after that. She wore a Canterlot castle uniform like the others, and spoke in a nervous whisper. “Miss Twilight informed us that she would be returning tomorrow morning. I suggest you get a good night's rest before then. If there's anything you need during the night, go ahead and ask.”
She walked past them into the center of the room, then gestured. “The restroom is that way, and the balcony is through those doors. Can we trust you not to fly off on your own, miss Firefly? Or should I have it locked?”
“I won't leave my friends,” she snapped, without thinking. “You'd have to lock it if she had wings. But she doesn't.” And I have no idea what I'm supposed to do to help.
“Well then.” The mare circled back to the entrance. “Pull on this if you're in need during the night. Somepony will be there—if not myself, then some other pony in the staff. You're not permitted to leave, but if there's anything else we can do for you, we will.”
Nopony asked for anything. They let themselves out, then shut the door gently behind them. They were so quiet about it that Firefly almost didn't hear the lock click.
They remained in silence for almost a minute, gathered together on the plush carpet. It was Firefly who finally broke it. But how could she not, when it was her dad who was dying. “What do we do?” she asked. “What's the plan?”
She didn't even know she was crying until she felt a light touch, wiping the tears away. She should've smelled Lilac coming, but she couldn't through the thick floral scent on her own coat. “I don't think there's anything we can do,” Lilac said. “Equestria knows. We've told them everything we can. Unless you know where the Lightless Star moved their secret hideout, I think we have to leave this to them.”
Another hoof touched her shoulder. Risk was gentler than Lilac, as if afraid she might attack him if he got too close. Firefly's wings opened reflexively, but she didn't shock him. Yet. “I heard about your dad. I'm sorry... I hope they can help.” He looked away. “Hoping Equestria will help, it barely feels real. You're the True Gods, they should've killed you.”
He lowered his hoof, turning back to Lilac. “What did you learn? We got caught because of this, I hope it was worth it.”
“Getting caught saved my dad,” Firefly snapped. “They were never our enemies. If we'd gone to them years and years ago, maybe they could've fixed this sooner.”
“Maybe.” Lilac walked away from her, over to one of the beds. She touched the covers with her hoof, slow and longing. The weight of exhaustion on her was tremendous.
Firefly felt some of that herself, but less than she expected. Her father still needed her—she felt like she should still be moving, probably rushing to whatever secret place the cult was hidden. She'd kick over their vial of stolen blood, then burn all of them for good measure. A thousand royal guards would follow her through the door, and the threat would be over at last.
“We learned... strange things,” Lilac finally said. “We are from the same place as the original Alicorns. They were real—they made this place by copying our home. Only better—they fixed some things we were cursed with by random chance, made the best home they could.”
She hopped up into bed. As she did, the lights overhead switched slowly off. Not electrical—metal grates rotated, covering glowing crystals beneath, until they were cast in gloom. Not total darkness—that glow made the ceiling light up, speckled with hundreds of little glowing stars. They looked accurate, at least as accurate as Firefly could judge.
“It was all real?” Risk prompted. “The Lightless Star told the truth about you? The True Gods are real, and you're two of them! Did the library say why the Tyrant betrayed them?”
Lilac opened one eye, watching them. “She didn't. They went somewhere else—not back to where they came from. There's some... I'm not sure exactly, but I think something happened with time. They might've been from our future, even though they're in your past. Celestia didn't attack them, they weren't betrayed. The library... didn't mention here at all. She might have to tell us that part herself.”
She closed her eyes again, rolling to the side. “Now you two need to rest. Maybe they'll stuff us with dessert tomorrow, or maybe we'll be running off to fight the Lightless Star ourselves. Either way, we need rest.”
Firefly nodded absently. Somewhere deep down she still felt tiredness, buried under layers of deeper pain. Maybe taking some time to rest would make some of that go away. Either that, or maybe something would come to her while she slept.
She remained alert enough to watch as Risk went off to his own bed. Lilac had chosen the center bed for herself, so she couldn't make sure they were more widely separated. But given how intense their day had been, she probably didn't have to worry anything silly would happen.
She found her own bed soft and warm, nicer than anything her family had ever owned. She curled up alone with the pillow. She was getting too old to be asking for her father to comfort her when she got scared, anyway. She was supposed to be grown—twice, almost.
No part of growing up had prepared her to fight an ancient cult. She flopped onto her belly as usual, so she wouldn't have the weight on her wings. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Then Risk was snoring. Lilac was more graceful, but soon she was sleeping too. Firefly just drifted, never quite feeling relaxed enough to sleep.
Somewhere out there was another world—her world. Somewhen far away, godlike beings had come from there, made a whole world to look like theirs. Then they left. She didn't know why, maybe nopony did. Nopony except Celestia, who the Lightless Star thought had betrayed them. That explained their ancient hatred of the sun princess.
It felt as though Firefly should have all the pieces by now—but somehow she couldn't fit them all together. Like her puzzle was upside-down. She knew she had the pieces, but how could she get them to connect?
Firefly tossed and turned, searching for the answer that would save her dad. She couldn’t find it.
That meant she was still awake about an hour later, when the lock clicked quietly, and the door swung open.
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Please don't let this be nighttime assassins.
So Septum's on ice now. I hope it's not going to take until the end of the story to unfreeze him, he's not a bad character.
Seems like it's not just one commenter now who thinks that time shenanigans might be involved in the backstory. I'm still not quite convinced of the whole time loop theory - if Firefly somehow goes back in time to create Equus, presumably she would've known how to prevent all the misery the Lightless Star causes, she could've made sure Celestia is informed about it.
Septum's condition might make the sisters return to the cult but I doubt they'll have anything but divine retribution to give them.
Guess they're still careful to quickly associate humanity with the alicorns. The only thing that can really be said is that they come from Earth.
Still be cautious. It's ultimately one side of the story.
The origins of the conflict lie with what happened in the past. The sisters deserve to know the full story if they are at the center of this fight.
The demon that took Lilac's name must still be around... I wonder if that demon would return sooner or later. I'd really rather not have the "demon not gone completely" to be a red herring
I hope they can save Septum and destroy the Watcher who is probably an evil lich. I wonder what the whole story is with the ancient gods but the only person other than the royal sisters who might know is Discord and he's not exactly reliable or capable of speaking right now.
Spooky
Dun dun duuuun!
I was kinda hoping Twilight (or Lilac would be even better) would pull a Belgarion and go fuck up whoever was on the other end of the sympathetic link.
It's a good thing Lilac is so handy with her chalk. I hope they manage to break these enchantments in time!
Lilac's thinking the same as me. Gotta be proud of that
11387973
Totally nighttime assassins >.> or, more likely, kidnappers. Unless it's someone who's going to help Lilac with her 'sacrifice', and may be somewhat unorthodox in her social approach. Luna, perhaps? (Unlikely, but we'll see what sticks. She would be interested in getting rid of a possessive demon, what with her experience with Nightmare Moon.)
Firefly doesn't have to be the one to create Equus, it may have been someone else. She's gone completely native, it's entirely possible she won't want to return to an Earth which is due to crumble. There's also the possibility that we're in an unstable loop, and she will go back in time to change things, but that timeline has not yet been generated ala Starlight's time travel. That, or she just didn't want to mess with it.
Luna, Rainbow or assassins. Those are my guesses.
11387973
11388392
I don't think a timeloop is necessary if the sisters were taken into the far future. The cult may have simply peered a bit too far into the past when they snagged their alicorns. Humanity has not yet matured or evolved enough to travel and alter the universe but the potential is still there. The sisters are ultimately cousins of those that traveled through space to create Equus.
Though I suppose there's an interesting possibility if Charlie unknowingly fathered a child with his girlfriend prior to his disappearance. He may have a bloodline that would eventually reach down through all humanity. Firefly would be living in the kingdom of her great-great-and-so-on-grand-daughter. She would be the only known mother of alicorns and something of an indirect creator of Equus. It's unlikely, but possible.
It's going to take a while for Little Risk to internalize just how much he was lied to over his formative years. As for the girls... Yeah, this has been an extremely harrowing day. I'm amazed Firefly hasn't already collapsed. We'll see just what this nighttime intruder is up to.
What an ominous cliffhanger...
Ok,
I just caught up with the story after binging this for the last two days. I have to say that so far, this is pretty well done. I love the world building that was done here. It's well thought out, its intriguing, and most of all, it answers several questions that the show never answered. The pacing is well done and I never felt that the story or plot stumbled, not even once. For a story spanning fifteen hours as an audio book, thats pretty impressive.
Now let's talk about the characters. S.o.W. is full of original characters, some are repeat characters, and others are only their for minor arcs. They are all well thought out and pretty fleshed out as characters in their own right. The engineer from the Airship arc is a great example of this. He feels like a fully formed character with a solid personality and a back story. And he is only in a minor arc. This shows a writer that has a love for her characters. Even the mother character who could have easily been a two dimensional Lady Chatterly clone was well flushed out with her own wants and desires. The Author didn't have to do this, and it strengthens the story world immensely.
Now for the main two. The sisters. They are two characters who I have given a rash of shit over. But the Author did something extremely hard to do. She wrote main characters who have serious personality flaws. Characters who do bad and damaging things, but they do them because of who they are as people. While they drive me up the wall, I still like them. The author wrote two, complex characters with major flaws, and yet wrote them in a way where they are still likable.
That is EXTREMELY hard to do.
So, well done.
Monk
“Puberty was a curse for those inflicted with it, and boundless amusement for others who survived the process.” -Scarheart
11390056
I think that with the initial scrying, they were just REALLY desperate to get home - so desperate that they weren't thinking. It's dumb, but understandable dumb.
As for helping Twi and company, I get the feeling Firefly was starting to lose her faith in the cult's propaganda at this point, and was wanting to learn more. On some level.
Other than that though, yeah - they ARE flawed, which is always going to be a hard tightrope to walk.
such suspense! so wow! very good!
They're kids with over 2 decades of experience. They're e every employers dream.
They were supposed to shield them, the infiltration must be deeper than expected.