Chapter Ninety-Five: Sunlight
The first thing he heard was his heartbeat. Blackness, only the thudding in his ears.
Slowly, Arcane’s senses returned.
First was the sensation of touch. Something soft pressed against his back. Then his smell. The air was so fresh, so clean. And then his sight. All he could see was the sky. Fluffy white clouds skittered across the blue ocean. A crisp air filled his lungs. Actual air, not the heavily purified and sterilized stuff from the Silo.
I’m alive.
He didn’t know where or even when he had ended up. Chaos magic could certainly warp time and space. For all he knew, he had enacted an extremely slow teleporting spell.
Slowly sitting up, the stallion looked around.
I’m free.
He didn’t move from his sitting position. It was too much to think, to take in. The simple sight of the meadow was overwhelming. A small waterfall cascaded over across a small pond while green grass waved in the slight breeze.
The sight blurred, tears falling from Arcane’s eyes. The touch of grass against his hoof, the wind against his fur…
What do I do now?
Do I even know who I am anymore?
Arcane’s lips trembled as tears trickled down his cheeks. He reached up and gently felt his horn with a hoof. No suppressor, no armor. It was just him.
It was first a laugh, the stallion rolling around and feeling the grass against his fur. But the tears kept falling.
As he sat back up, he felt the familiar touch of his fox friends, the only family he had for so many years. There was so much pain, anger, joy, sorrow…
It all hurt. Arcane had thought of exactly what he’d do at this moment a thousand times over. And yet abruptly, none of it mattered.
The landscape shimmered, changing into a sight Arcane had always wanted to see. A freezing wind dug into his fur, the night sky painting a beautiful scene of stars as the pony sat on the edge of a glacier, black waves far below him.
The northern lights peacefully flowed across the sky. Blues, greens, oranges, yellows amidst the darkness.
It was beautiful. Indescribably more amazing than the videos.
The blue flames around the pony didn’t stop the tears from freezing on Arcane’s cheeks. He had dreamed of this moment for so long. To be able to feel something other than pain and fear.
The times he had worried that such emotions and sensations were all he’d ever feel were incalculable. Being proven wrong was a relief beyond words.
The beauty and peace surrounding the stallion was intoxicating. The blue ice of the glacier, the small snowflakes that blew hither and thither. The entire landscape was illuminated by the dancing colors above. He wanted nothing more than to revel in it. And yet in that serenity, there was a horrific realization.
He didn’t belong in this world of order and peace. Everything about him was wrong. His eyes, his body, his magic. From the moment he was born, all most creatures had wanted to do was get away from him. Parents, friends…
Everyone.
The stallion wanted to run until his legs gave out, until he reached the edges of the earth. But he couldn’t move. There was too much in his mind to even consider using his limbs.
Should he get his revenge? Seek out his handler and end it once and for all?
Disappear into a remote village to quietly try and find out who he was?
Or perhaps stay here on this glacier?
And yet he had promised to deliver a message for his two friends. Arcane could do that at least. But that thought was the one that overflowed his mind, a dam breaking beyond any sense of control.
There was only one thing he could do.
The Chaotic God had a dozen spells on standby, and that was on top of a thousand ways to confine the individual in his sight. When dealing with chaos magic, you couldn’t afford to be slow. A mere thought could end a city, or worse.
But so far all the pony had done was transport himself to a remote glacier. Fascinating.
Discord adjusted his view from on top of a nearby icy outcropping. He had been studying Arcane Flare for the past hour as they lay unconscious, and that was after being well-acquainted with his file. It was chaos magic, that much was a certainty. Yet how much seemed to fluctuate by the second. The pony’s cutie mark linked him to the chaos realm without question.
That said, it peeved the Chaotic God that he hadn’t picked up on the unicorn’s abilities before now. The shields and suppression spells had been surprisingly effective, not that he’d let Sparkles know of course. Most likely, there hadn’t been that much chaos magic to even detect in Arcane’s youth. Then once within the shields of the company, it was all but indecipherable. Discord didn’t visit this realm regularly. Perhaps he should have paid-
The stallion screamed.
Discord snapped his claws as a beam of white light punched up into the sky. A hurricane of black clouds danced around the beam as they were pulled into the heavens, northern lights wrapping around the phenomenon like small threads of yarn. The beam had required a nudge out of this plane ever so slightly. But there wasn’t any impact so far. The chaos beam appeared to have no direction or control. Yet Discord saw the true pattern.
It swirled around Arcane in a rhythmic pulse, the multicolored energy coursing over the stallion’s body. Every vein and muscle were permeated with the magic as he screamed to the heavens, nothing but an empty glacier to hear his cries.
Arcane couldn’t see it, but the chaos magic had begun to weave a crown across the unicorn’s head. The Draconequus stared, his eyes narrowing into a fearsome snarl. But it wasn’t directed at Arcane.
I’m not letting this happen again. I doubt you know who you are, Arcane. But I do.
Fluttershy. I know what you’d do. You’d break the cycle. You did for me.
And now so can I.
She was the only one who knew, of course, the only pony Discord had dared entrust his darkest and most sacred fears and memories. The true stories of his past and upbringing beyond myth and legend that had taken him decades to tell her.
She was the only one he’d ever trust to dry his tears when he unlocked that box of memories, of a time before he was a monster.
Before he thought of himself as one.
I can stop it all before it starts again.
Arcane’s throat was raw from his cries, the stallion taking heaving breaths of beautifully cold air. His horn sparked, returning the scene to the meadow and waterfall. Sweat mixed with melting snow across his fur, the pony struggling to catch his breath.
There’s someone here.
“Don’t come any closer. I don’t want to hurt you,” Arcane croaked.
Nobody else. Not one more! I won’t hurt any innocent creatures ever again!
“You can’t hurt me.”
Arcane lifted his head, eyes widening as the Lord of Chaos looked at him.
Is this real?
“Discord?”
“Indeed. You, my little pony, are an interesting creature, to say the least.”
He was ashamed of crying, but the sensory overload was still too much. Arcane tried to wipe away the tears which now restarted their journey from his eyes, but they just kept flowing. There had been a thousand questions he had once wanted to ask the God of the Chaos Realm.
Yet now there was only one he needed answered.
“Can you take it away?” Arcane whispered. “I don’t care how. Can you take the chaos out of me? Please? Even if it’s all my magic.”
His request seemed to deflate the Draconequus, Discord shaking his head.
“That’s not how it works,” he said softly, “it’d kill you.”
Arcane had known that was a likely answer, yet it was a gut punch all the same.
“I don’t know what to do,” the stallion whispered. “I planned for this moment every moment of every day for more than five years. But now that it’s here, I don’t know what to do.”
Discord stayed silent, watching the pony curiously.
“I know that I need to find a pony. One last creature who escaped,” the unicorn growled, the tears starting to slow. “I can at least focus on that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Am I sure? They tortured me! Stole my life away. Of course I’m sure!” Arcane snarled, eyes flashing crimson.
“Oh, by all means, take your revenge or justice or whatever. That’s not what I’m asking,” Discord said dismissively, floating on his side as he continued to watch Arcane out of the corner of his eye.
“I’m asking if you want your first act as a free pony is to find a creature and kill them. Or do whatever you have imagined doing to them.”
The stallion was genuinely speechless, the rage guttering out.
“W-what?”
Discord shrugged, inspecting his claws.
“I won’t stop you if that’s what you’re wondering. Well, depending what you want to do. Can’t have you destroying a city or anything. That’s a no-no. But that’s what I’m curious about. You’re free. So, what’s the first thing you want to do? What do you want to be remembered as doing?” Two yellow eyes now locked onto Arcane. “Because you’ll be remembered for a long, long time. And you’ll be around to reap the consequences, whatever they may be.”
The Draconequus’ voice then softened, becoming almost caring in a fatherly way.
“Because you’ll be around, won’t you?” Discord repeated softly.
Arcane’s lip trembled, the pony only able to nod once.
“I didn’t mean to. It just happened! I was just trying to survive down there, and the Chaos kept me alive,” he whispered. “But how can I do that now when I don’t belong here? I don’t belong in this world anymore. I thought I could fit in if I escaped. But now that I’m free, everything feels so wrong up here! I’m what’s wrong with the world now!”
The stallion’s vision was blurry with tears, but he could have sworn Discord’s eyes widened in shock, in understanding.
“I can offer you an alternative, Arcane,” Discord said, his voice still uncharacteristically soft. “But first you need to decide what type of pony you’re going to be.”
“I don’t know what I am, who I am!” the stallion whispered. “How can I decide that right now?”
“By answering a simple question. Your answer, right now, will set you on a path to be truly free, to be happy. Or it will drive you to be consumed by chaos. A false sense of joy.”
Discord now stood on the ground, walking over to the pony. A red orb was conjured up in one of his claws, a blue orb in the other.
“If you latch onto that thought, that you’re what’s wrong with the world, I know where that path ends. I know what happens when you give yourself into Chaos, when it’s the only force that feels like it cares. It took the love of a creature far better than myself to break me out of that path.”
Arcane could only stare. This wasn’t the Discord mentioned in books and legends.
“Why are you being so nice? This isn’t a trick, some sick joke?” the stallion asked, head hanging in shame. If it was, he had already fallen for it.
“No jokes. Not yet. You don’t need jokes right now. The fact that I’m so serious should clue you in to listen,” Discord said, casually popping a massive pill labeled ‘chaos supplement’ into his mouth.
“There, much better. My question to you, Arcane, is if you will choose to be better than the creatures who tortured you.”
“You don’t know what they did to me!”
Discord didn’t answer immediately, only nodding slowly after a moment.
“No, I don’t. But I know they hurt you. From what I can tell, you think they might have done damage beyond repair. So, you want them to face justice, to feel just as much pain as you. And you have the power to make them pay.” The yellow eyes now looked up, locking onto Arcane with an intensity that swept aside the waves of emotion in his mind.
“But I know where that path would lead. That would be the truly chaotic path. Throwing aside all morals and right and wrong, doing what just feels right at the moment.” Discord raised the blue orb. “This path will be satisfying at first, pleasurable even. But it will gut you in the end. You’ll get everything you want, and more. And yet it’ll be worthless.”
Discord now raised the red orb, a beautiful, sun-like object. “This other path, however, is difficult from the start. But I can promise you that even though it will be painful, you’ll get something else out of it that the other choice could never offer.”
“What, do I just let him go? Forgive and forget to choose that path?” Arcane growled, shaking his head. “I can’t forget what they did to me!”
“I never said you had to,” Discord replied with a huff. “I’m saying the choice is between giving into Chaos and getting your revenge…or showing that you want to try and be a different pony. I don’t know who that pony is. Maybe they would take the stereotypical revenge path. Or maybe they wouldn’t. But doing the same evil to another, even if deserved, just creates a cycle.”
“Are you lecturing me on revenge after what I have gone through?” the stallion asked, head shaking back and forth. “I can barely think.”
“That’s why I’m here. No thinking, only going with what truly feels right underneath it all. Right now, you’re at a crossroads. You could take your revenge. Kill, torture, and make your bullies suffer beyond imagination. Or you could spare their life and deliver them to the flawed ponies that run this nation, and let them sort it out with legal justice. Their life is ruined either way. What you have to ask, is which path do you feel will let you heal?”
“Why did you call my torturers bullies?”
Arcane’s question made Discord stiffen as if he’d been shocked.
“It was a…guess. Torturers, bullies, close enough.”
The stallion’s eyes narrowed at that, the Draconequus not meeting his gaze anymore. Discord finally let out a huff, crossing his arms.
“I’ve walked both paths, Arcane. Only one of them has led me to be happy for all eternity,” he finally said, the Chaotic God actually blushing slightly before letting out a frustrated sigh of admittance.
“Look. You’re the only other creature here who can use chaos magic other than myself. I feel…a bit of responsibility to help you not make the same mistakes I did. My mistakes cost me thousands of years, and a lot more. If giving some words of warning can prevent more pain on your part, I feel obligated to do so.”
“So, what, I just don’t kill him?” Arcane asked, his head starting to pound.
“More or less. The question is, will you treat him better than he treated you? I don’t mean just removing his limbs instead of granting a swift death. I mean going above and beyond. To treat a scum of this world so much better than they deserve. That after everything they did to you, you still spared them and delivered them to the authorities.” Discord turned away, looking at his claws. “Because if you can somehow treat the creature who has betrayed you, hurt you, and tossed your life aside better than they deserve, the consequences can be unimaginable. And not just for them, but for you. My question is if you’ll be better. That takes a lot more strength than the alternative.”
Arcane stared, fully grasping that it didn’t sound like Discord was talking to him for the last two sentences. He just didn’t understand it.
“I…” the words didn’t come at first. “I don’t want to be a bad pony,” Arcane finally whispered. “I once dreamed of helping others, of doing good. But when the world is so poisoned with evil, now can I even consider that? How much of me is lost to that?”
“And you’ll just give up then? Oh no, evil is here, what can I do?” Discord replied with a bit of snark and a dramatic flair of a paw to his forehead. On seeing Arcane growl, the Draconequus pointed a claw at him with a knowing smirk. “Hah! That’s what I thought! So, Arcane Flare. I’ll leave you to choose. What will you do now? When you make your choice, we’ll meet again.” He set both of the floating orbs onto the ground.
“Both orbs are the same. They’ll take you to the pony you focus on in your mind. But each one represents intent. What happens after you find them, is up to you. Red orb, or blue orb?”
Arcane was abruptly left alone, staring at the two magical objects.
The talk with Discord had oddly cleared the stallion’s mind. He would still find his handler, and there would be justice. But now there was another priority. Something that he had promised to do first.
He wasn’t about to let down his friends.
The stallion’s form compressed, the pony launching himself into the air on a beam of light. Discord then returned to the meadow with a loud chortle.
“Well, well, well! Neither the red pill or the blue pill! Oh, how very chaotic! And that exit too, how very theatrical. I think we’ll get along just fine,” he chuckled, leaving the magic balls in their place. The Chaotic God abruptly frowned, Arcane’s words coming back to mind. He wasn’t the ruminating type, but this entire interaction had felt so familiar. It also stirred a lot of emotions the Draconequus had buried.
“I didn’t mean to. It just happened. Trying to survive,” he whispered. “But how can I do that when I don’t belong here? I don’t belong in this world anymore…I’m what’s wrong with the world now!”
Discord stared at his claws, a version of Arcane’s words having been repeated by the Draconequus thousands of years ago. A time when he too had cried next to a waterfall as a youngster, barely able to understand why the world loathed his existence. It was a memory only Fluttershy knew of. Contrary to what legend and myth told, Discord didn’t start off as a monster. But he had chosen the whims of chaos when given the choice. He had walked both offered paths to their completion.
Perhaps it was fate that they had met again, that Arcane even existed. That thought made Discord snarl.
Fate. How he hated that term. He knew some of the creatures who governed a thread or two of the tapestry of life. A certain organization was in regular contact with two of them at least. Just the idea of fate; it was so orderly and just bleh! A lovely tapestry that was all perfect and non-chaotic.
No, this required a touch of chaos.
Fate can go hang itself by those threads! I’m not letting this happen again.
You don’t know who you are, Arcane. But I do.
Conjuring a crown in his claws, Discord looked it over. He had never considered such a thing could exist for another creature. They only existed for creatures like himself, those who had utter and complete control over Chaos. This unicorn certainly didn’t meet those criteria.
Yet.
The magic had clearly shown a crown above Arcane’s head. That pony had far more leverage and power than he knew. There was a reason Discord hadn’t said anything about it. Chaos magic was like an animal, and it had made a choice. You couldn’t use chaos magic in the sense of commanding it. You had to work with it, and align the way you saw the world to how it functioned. Only then would you have complete control over it, rather than vice versa.
And now I have a chance to change things. To break the cycle that nearly destroyed me.
What infuriated the God of Chaos even more was the sense that such ‘Fates’ were in whole approval of the idea forming within his mind. He loathed it when they focused on him. They had enough work weaving the threads of life; let him be!
Just go back to your little islands and make it rain ice cream or something.
In this case, Discord knew exactly what would happen if Arcane chose to be the better pony. He’d have to ask Fluttershy first though.
Another hum of approval, and Discord growled to the invisible entities.
I told you to go hang yourselves with your threads. This is my choice, NOT yours! Try and stop me! Do you really think life will be peaceful with two chaotic entries to deal with? Arcane isn’t as removed from this world as I am. I doubt he’ll play by your rules.
There was no reply from the invisible entities, and that made Discord smirk. The smile faded quickly when he felt a general approval again, however.
He loathed the overly-sweet guidance such creatures gave. Even if they were sincere, it reeked of over-the-top compensation.
Arcane can make his choice, and I’m making mine. If nothing else, it’s an offer of something I never had.
A chance at peace.
It was a simple matter to teleport back home. Fluttershy was there, tending to a growing garden of sword apples (a new creation that required both herbalist cultivation and a blacksmith’s touch!) She looked over at him, her mouth turning into a pensive line.
“You’re troubled,” she said softly, trotting over to give him a hug, a gesture Discord had long since learned was best enjoyed when fully reciprocated. Her hugs still felt as amazing as they did two hundred years ago.
“Flutters, there’s…I want to help somepony, but only if they help themselves. I wanted to know if you’re ok with it. I’d need your help with this, a lot of help as a matter of fact.”
Considering he got a long kiss after explaining his idea to Fluttershy, Discord knew the idea was a good one indeed.
The question was if Arcane would choose on his own.
Twilight sifted through the papers in the break of the conference call. The reports had flooded in; a unicorn teleporting into Equestrian Embassies and dropping off an identical note.
The good news was that they had an update on Astral and Sassi. The bad news was that she had no idea who this individual was, other than an extremely outdated reference in the Equestrian database.
She had called Toxic Shield, as their sensors had picked up massive amounts of chaos magic across Equestria as a result of the new unicorn. They had taken a short break as the other unicorn had needed to confirm various readings and attend a prior greeting session with an ambassador.
The break ended, and the crystal screen snapped back on.
“I appreciate the flexibility, Highness,” Director Shield said as he sat back down, glancing through a few forms.
“Of course, it’s no trouble at all,” Twilight said in an even tone. “I also wanted to also share that in addition to the update on Astral and Sassi’s progress, we found a match in our files to the video footage of the messenger,” Twilight said, her suspicions confirmed as Director Shield’s eyes betrayed very little surprise. “I assume you already found one too.”
“We did. But it’s a touchy subject. Arcane Flare?”
“Same here. Age is mid-thirties, unicorn.”
“So, the same,” Twilight sighed. “What do we know about him? So far, he appeared in about five different embassies, dropped a few parchments off, and then left. Our files show the basics. Minor magical disturbances, some foster care, nothing terribly out of the ordinary.”
“Really? We know quite a bit about him. We’ve been monitoring him since he was a young colt,” Toxic explained, and alarm bells immediately began to ring in Twilight’s mind. There was something else behind Toxic’s eyes, something Twilight had seen before when sitting in on a conversation between the unicorn and Celestia, centuries ago. It set off immediate warning bells in her mind.
Betrayal.
“As an additional note, we have his current location and are actively tracking Arcane’s whereabouts. I’d be happy to share his position.”
Twilight stared at Toxic, the director meeting her gaze with a cool, steely glint in his eye.
“On Equestrian soil?! Why weren’t we informed?” Twilight couldn’t help but growl. There was a rebellious bit of satisfaction at knowing her suspicions about the Organization were correct. However, this had happened before.
It had ended with Twilight having to make an apology, more often than not, so she held her tongue after her initial query.
“The last time we entrusted Arcane’s safety to Equestria, he was kidnapped by what we now know was the Stairway Company,” Toxic said bluntly, a fire igniting behind the unicorn’s green eyes. “Your incomplete files alone justify our actions. As stated in section ninety-three, sub-section two, appendix five, following an asset on Equestrian soil is permitted as long as they present an imminent threat to the well-being of the nation. We are within the twenty-four-hour requirement to inform you of our actions. Unless you take over the monitoring, we are cleared to continue as long as we keep you informed. I’d say the second creature to ever harness chaos magic is a threat indeed. We also are the only nation capable of containing a minor form of chaos thanks to our leyline reactors. That gives us methods of containment if it came down to it.”
And there it is.
Once again, the iron-clad agreements were there to back up their actions. But there was clearly more to this.
“Very well. But why? You said he was taken before?”
Toxic nodded, the unicorn looking more tired than anything.
“Yes. Your records clearly have either been tampered with or were neglected, as much of this information should be there.
Arcane began to show odd magical fluctuations ever since childhood. He relied on a concealment and suppression spell to mask it. They worked perfectly at first, but after a few years rapidly deteriorated in effectiveness as he aged. He got taken in his later teens, the Company getting to him first. In those days, they operated under various false fronts and aliases. His primary foster parent since early childhood works here. She was in the process of adopting him. The Company’s request somehow got moved to the front of the line without anyone knowing. He was simply gone one day, and nobody knew where. By the time we realized the Company’s true threat and Arcane’s location, it was too late.”
A thin dagger slid into Twilight’s heart at that. There had been another flash in the unicorn’s green eyes. There was a barely-held-back resentment, even a sliver of pure rage, but Toxic hid it well.
“I want to talk to her.”
Toxic winced, the unicorn shaking his head.
“That would be a bad idea. She can be…blunt. The paperwork was held up in Equestria for many years. She holds certain parties at fault for Arcane’s disappearance.”
It was a diplomatic way of saying she blamed Twilight. But that didn’t faze the Princess, even though the look in Toxic’s eyes said ‘so do I.’
“Regardless. If she knows him, I need to know what we can expect. That type of information can’t be conveyed over a profile. Let her say what she wants.”
Toxic sighed, nodding once.
“Very well. I’ll ask her and transfer the call to a room in that office. Stand by.”
The view switched, and a simple, small office room now dominated the viewscreen. To Twilight’s annoyance yet reluctant thanks, she saw a familiar, Draconequus-like outline grin on the screen. The ‘muted’ icon abruptly vanished.
Twilight didn’t approve of such methods, but she could hardly discipline the God of Chaos. The Discord outline cracked the door-
“SHE WHAT?”
The speakers nearly blew out, a trill, furious voice vibrating through them.
“She just wants to know about-” Toxic was explaining calmly, but the other individual was having none of it.
“Oh, NOW she wants to know? Took her long enough. Tell that pony to pound sand or lick a book. I’m busy.”
“She’s trying to help, Mally.”
“Is she now? How very friendly of her! Don’t give me that, Toxic! She’s more than fifteen years too late for that! You don’t even know what I went through!”
“I have a pretty good idea.”
“No, you don’t,” Mally hissed, and a white, feathery side was visible outside the cracked door. “Your mother does. That’s another reason we have lunch every week. Ok, you have some idea, fine, I’ll give you that. But you. Don’t. Know! We could have saved him!”
“Not without starting a legal nightmare, or an all-out war if poorly handled!”
“Oh, so now legality concerns you? That’s not the Toxic Shield I know! Why do we have all this hardware if we can’t save-”
“Do you really want to go there, Mally?” Toxic growled, Twilight’s eyes widening in surprise. It was the first time in ages she had heard the unicorn get genuinely angry. From his tone, it was a touchy subject. “Then let’s go there. It’s taken me two centuries to build our relationships to their current state. You have no idea the amount of work we do off the books to keep creatures safe without a trace! The nonstop grind that goes into upkeeping the military that no nation thinks is necessary, all so they can live in their bubble of peace and harmony without knowing, is immense. Don’t you dare hold a creature’s life over my head like that. I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to. You know I wouldn’t hesitate to save the one pony everyone else forgot about!”
There was a long pause, a silence that made Twilight’s chest ache. That ‘one pony’ had been Toxic Shield early in his life. His words encompassed a century of viewpoints Twilight had gleaned about the secretive aspects of the organization. Toxic was right, after all. As much as the alicorn loathed to admit it. Equestria wasn’t a nation built for war, and the Organization had certainly been the subject of regular mocking parties.
Said parties had, almost without fail, then called upon Last Light for aid even though in their previous breaths they had mocked the Organization. And yet they received help all the same.
That included Equestria.
“Sorry, Toxic,” Mally sighed. “That was insensitive. I suppose I did forget.”
“I couldn’t risk the entire organization for a single individual, not with what we knew. What could we have done? Kidnap an Equestrian citizen?”
“You know I’d say yes. Clearly our enemies have no such limitations. Fat lot of good the protections of being a citizen of Equestria did him.”
“You know I’m right on this, Mally,” Toxic said in a more subdued tone, “we’ve hashed this out over and over. They didn’t know, and we only had rumors at best. We didn’t even have a specific entity to monitor. The teams I sent followed three leads until they dead-ended into false trails; the Company was too far ahead. We couldn’t dig further without causing a huge stir; those teams alone would have put us in hot water. By the time we knew the truth, it’d have been a full-blown war with multiple nations considering how embedded the Company was. If we had more than a rumor and guesses when Arcane was with you, I’d have acted without hesitation and dealt with the fallout later. You know that. I’d have gone myself if it came down to it. But we didn’t even have a location until now.”
“I’m still not talking to her.”
“I won’t make it an order, I never would, not for this. But please?”
“NO!” Mally growled. “No, Toxic! I respect you and everything you’ve built, but for all intents and purposes, Arcane was my son. I had the paperwork for years and fostered Arcane for almost his entire life outside of that Company! I’m not going to just kiss and make up with the Princess that robbed him of a normal life! Let me know when there are no more spies in the Equestrian Government, then we’ll talk. How many requests did we send? How long did we try to go through the ‘correct’ process? Ten? Twenty? How many sleepless nights did I have?!”
“They couldn’t have known.”
“Oh, don’t give me that,” the gryphoness snarled. “For having fostered world-destroying creatures and ageless rulers at their beck and call, Equestria has long been in denial to the idea that ponies can do bad things. We’re the ones picking up their mess even now! This Princess is apparently so smart with her dozens of Ph.D.’s? Well, why didn’t she do some digging before asking to talk to me today? Look into the adoption records!
Mine was pending for years, and that slimy company got theirs pushed through in weeks without anyone knowing! And then having Arcane simply vanish without a trace for years? Look into the requests from Last Light, from ME! For a genius, that mare seems perfectly happy delegating her smarts too! What did she do before this call? Look at a single piece of paper and decide that was good enough? Tell her to go read a book. Or maybe she’s neglecting those too?”
“The records may have been tampered with. That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it? I don’t buy that for a second. She could have looked for two minutes and seen the red flags in his file if she had bothered even cross-referencing his name outside of the main database. I know; I’ve tried! Why didn’t she lead with that information, hmm?
How about opening with ‘I’m sorry’ after seeing the attempted paperwork time after time, and then asking for my input? Surely, the mighty Princess can spare two minutes if it’s so important to call us, especially after almost twenty years of silence! Now it’s suddenly important enough to call and ask me what happened? That just shows they don’t care about a life until it could hurt them. I don’t even know where Arcane is right now or if he even remembers me! You can’t earn that back with ‘I’m sorry.’”
Toxic had no response to that.
“So, the Princess wants to talk about Arcane? About how her corrupt, inefficient system prevented us from saving him, how they stopped me from giving him a normal life as my son? Ok. First, you can tell that insulated, incompetent, blind, out of touch, pointy-horned, PIECE OF-”
The feed abruptly snapped off, a simple smiley face rocking back and forth as a ‘technical difficulties’ logo flashed on the screen. Soft elevator music played, Twilight’s wings sagging.
Spies, incompetence…
It was obvious, of course. A company as large as Stairway would have agents in many localities. They had already begun scanning Canterlot staff for any agents, but it was a slow process. From what Twilight had heard, this was a failure that should never have happened. And the worse part, Mally was right.
She hadn’t done any digging. She had taken the information, the file that was given, and operated on that. The Princess hadn’t even cross-referenced, as surely that’d have been pointless. There shouldn’t have been any extra information, as surely it was all listed.
But it wasn’t.
Twilight didn’t have unlimited time during the day, but this individual was right. She hadn’t looked any further, and that felt like a betrayal to both herself and Mally, on a level that made the mare’s chest physically ache.
Is this what it’s like, Celestia?
Twilight had failed many times during her rule, as was natural. But this was the first time she had heard such raw, unequivocal loathing directed directly at her. Various tabloids and anonymous reviewers didn’t count. Sure, there had been criticism, anger, and hatred directed Twilight’s way. That was the price of ruling. But not like this.
This was the rage of a parent, and it was completely justified.
Near two centuries ago, Celestia had confided in Twilight the exact details of her failure concerning Toxic Shield. How her perception of an untouchable, infallible ruler had been internalized and then promptly shattered.
In such a failure, Celestia’s views had changed, and she had grown and changed for the better. But that didn’t mean Toxic, and his organization would ever trust the then-Princess, or Equestria, with their wellbeing. For some time, his organization had been far ahead of Equestria in more ways than one. Such examples had quickly piled up since the Last Light’s founding. The fact they were already tracking Arcane without Twilight even knowing was a testament to that.
The Last Light Organization was, in many ways, the product of a stallion who had been betrayed by someone he had once trusted with his life. Toxic had forgiven Celestia long ago, but the lesson remained. Equestria would always look out for their bests interests. The ‘one pony’ would be forgotten if the stakes were high enough.
Toxic just happened to be the ‘one’, so many years ago. I don’t blame him for refusing to view things through the same lenses at almost any cost, even if it’s not as mature a thought process. You can’t always save everyone. And yet they take unnecessary risks to try.
Mally, and Arcane even more so, had been betrayed by a process that Twilight had personally overseen, re-designed, and ensured was working flawlessly. And knowing how Last Light operated, Twilight guessed hadn’t sent just one request, but dozens. The militant but charitable organization was fully capable of acting on its own, yet it was Equestria that had hamstrung their efforts. To not be aware of such a request from them was a failure on multiple, extremely-high levels. That meant either multiple individuals had been maliciously concealing things, or creatures had gotten lazy and careless.
Most likely, a combination of both. Considering the power the Last Light Organization held, the Stairway company would have had to focus a significant amount of effort to subvert them.
“My apologies, Princess,” Toxic said, the screen snapping back to him. “But Mally is…busy. Perhaps a different time?”
“Completely understandable, Director. We’ll stay in touch,” Twilight managed to say, emotion starting to clog her throat. There was a glistening of understanding in the other unicorn’s eyes as if he had a feeling of what had transpired.
“Take care.”
The screen snapped off, and Twilight sat, very quietly, for a long time.
The thoughts trailed off, and Twilight finally let a few tears slip down her cheeks. She wasn’t entirely sure why.
Have I been wrong?
Arcane's alive! 
And we get an inside look to some failures...
This is a longer chapter, as I aim to combine 'slower' moments together to avoid the pacing issues from earlier.
Also, there's some areas of Silo 3 that are unspecified. If there's any freaky floors you want our two favorite Thestrals to encounter...list 'em below!
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A vote for Coconut Mall.
And while you're at it, Baby Park.
Jk
So, why did no one from Last Light ever try to contact Twilight directly about the adoption situation if they were having issues with it? It's not like it's some complex, faceless organization, they have the name and number of the pony at the top, they could have said something. Sounds like a lack of effort on their part, too. Not to say the system worked as it should have, but a little communication could have solved the situation way earlier.
11458522
11458560
It's implied they try to go through the general process, and got hung up there. Messaging Twilight about a slow process wouldn't look good on the Organization, and they had no idea there was malicious intent.
11458614
It feels like years long is excessive, though. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but I would have been a bit more worried about the whole thing already by that point, I think. And then they still didn't bring anything up when someone else got fast-tracked for it like that right in front of them? I dunno. I guess, because I have more context as an outside observer in the future, I'm a bit subconsiously biased.
A harsh lesson, but a lesson none the less.
Twilight is a smart mare, but when you do the same job the same way for many years, you fall into a groove of complacency. Twilight should take these stinging words as a wakeup call, one that she can use to reshape and harden her resolve. Double down on the tasks that need to be done. Spies are hiding among the "corrupt" governing body, and an evil company has managed to invade into HER kingdom.
I think it's now a good time the world is reminded that Twilight is a smart and cunning genius, with almighty Alicorn power at her wing tips.
And they will regret underestimating her.
11458632
Mally was trying to follow the process; and adoption can be a long an arduous one. They kept trying to use official channels to raise their questions- and that was the problem.
11458648
Exactly. She's a mare of systems and brilliance; but trusting those systems can lead to your downfall.
Time travel experimentation lab.
I feel like any earlier noticing and attempted removal of the Stairway Corporation would have resulted in a lot of death and destruction. It seems like they were careful enough and prepared enough that the only way to take them apart was from the inside, and only through their own mistakes. Any attempt from the outside would have resulted in the Corp. using their experiments to destroy whatever was in their path. Sort of a Homelander situation: as long as people view them positively, they're fine maintaining that appearance, but they aren't afraid of being feared instead.
11459049
Timey wimey things....interesting!
11459174
Very, very true. It's a harsh and painful line to walk.
Creatures that can confuse/seperate and mimic voices? (If we want to go deep my original idea from long ago was a voice stolen from memory.) mimicry in either visual or auditorial is usually quite creepy.
I dont even know how that would fit in, but it's all that came to mind.
Or entities that can make the person see things. Like from dead space when Isaac would see Nicole or weird visions, or mess with his head.
11459972
Oooooh that's a good one. I know there's an SCP who does that! Thank you!
How about a "Mirror of Erised" area where they are trapped in a vision of life, together. They would need to figure out it isn't right and how to break from it... or if they *want* to break out of it. ;)
Make your choice, Neo. 😎
11461672
Someone finally got it!
11460977
Oooooh that's a good one!
I can only imagine what it would be like to spend years trying to adopt someone only for someone else to swoop in and snatch them. That would be terrible.
And for the silo floor idea. This one is mostly a joke, but just stick them in the back rooms for a bit.
Or to be a bit more serious, something like those liminal spaces photos. Empty places that seem eerily familiar, even though you’ve never been.
Not sure what you would do with those, or how to incorporate them into the story, but you’re the author here, not me.
Oooh, politics!
Sometimes, friendship and trust is not enough. The only way to secure a safer/non-corrupt nation is to indoctrinate younger kids early with a sense of integrity, possibly threading a thin line of tyranny.
Rules too, needs to be very harsh, but fair. It seems like Twilight might just be young and primed enough to potentially take a harsher stance
My suggestion would be to combine the liminal spaces and the mimics from earlier comments into one <3
11462453
Yeah, just a nightmare situation all around.
Also, interesting idea!
11462716
Oh, and that's a fair idea indeed....
11462705
Exactly. She trusted systems to work and not be too corrupted. Clearly, she was wrong.
Oof. Not fun when the shoe's on the other hoof, is it Toxic?
11631458
Yuuuup. But he did his best.
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/655049888404340787/1148809443174260877/redpillbluepill.gif
It'll be nice if Discord is able to help Arcane get better control of the chaos magic. Wouldn't be surprised if he became Discord's student, of sorts. Also, it looks like Twilight's views of the Last Light Organization and how distant she's chosen to be from them based on those views has come back to bite her in this moment. If things had been different, it's possible that Arcane never would have been taken by the Stairway Company or at least been able to locate him sooner. This also would have likely put the Company in Equestria's radar far sooner. As with Celestia when dealing with Toxic Shield, this seems like it may be a growing moment for Twilight.
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Enter the realm of the real, Arcane...
As future chapters will attest, I didn't build up Twilight's portion, nor the last Light's portion up enough. That was a failure in my part.