Chapter 15
I was woken up by a quiet but incessant tapping on my door. In the distance, I could just barely hear what sounded like a heated argument, and I had a good guess as to the ponies involved. Already, I was regretting my decision to pick a room near the throne room.
I say ‘room,’ but it was really more of a suite. There was a bedroom, with the basic needs—a bed, a wardrobe, and a night table—but nothing more. It was up to me to decorate it how I chose, but that would take time. There was a bathroom attached to the bedroom, with a massive shower and a luxurious tub. Between the bedroom and the hallway, there was a little room furnished with sofas, a low table, and a small, mostly empty bookshelf. This was the public-facing portion of my living space, where ponies would wait if they needed to see me. I didn’t expect it to get much use.
Finally, from the lobby area, there were three extra doors that led to rooms that, for now, were completely empty. Rafflesia told me they were mine to do with as I wanted, but I had no idea what I would use three extra rooms for, so for now they sat empty.
With a groan and a yawn, I pushed myself out of the absurdly large bed I’d been given and trudged over to the door. Unsurprisingly, I found Rafflesia on the other side, looking a good deal more anxious than I was sure the situation called for.
“Ah!” She jumped slightly at my appearance, then straightened out her back and stood at attention. “Good morning, Miss Starfall! I’m terribly sorry for waking you, but the Princess has asked for your presence in the throne room.”
I nodded groggily. “Yeah, I figured. Alright, let’s go, then—”
“Ah, w-wait!” I moved to leave, but Rae frantically waved a hoof to stop me. “You can’t go see the Princess like that, Miss Starfall!”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah.” I laughed sheepishly and scratched at my sleep-tousled mane. “I guess I should brush my hair, huh?”
“Y-You need to do more than that, Miss Starfall!” Rae looked almost horrified. “You’re meeting with the Princess! You haven’t even showered!”
“Oh, c’mon,” I said, “I can do all that after. Wouldn’t it be better to go see what she wants as soon as possible?”
“Absolutely not! I’m sorry, Miss Starfall, but I cannot allow you to meet with the Princess without taking care of yourself first. As your attendant, it’s my duty to make sure you’re presentable!”
“She’s my friend, she doesn’t care how ‘presentable’ I am,” I said. “It’s really not that big of a deal. I can just—”
“Miss Starfall, I really must insist! This is not up for debate, you must make yourself presentable for the Princess, no matter who you are.” She huffed and gave me a stern look. “Now, go and get yourself ready. I’ll drag you into the shower and do it myself if I have to!”
“Okay, okay, fine, I’m going,” I groaned.
It took almost an hour for me to get ready, largely thanks to Rae fussing over every little thing. Apparently, I wasn’t doing a good enough job, so it wound up devolving to her forcing me to sit still as she blow-dried my fur and carefully brushed my mane and tail. She wanted to put makeup on me, too, but thankfully, I was able to get her to back down from that.
By the time I finally made it out the door, the arguing out in the distance seemed to have died down. Rae trotted along behind me dutifully, a satisfied grin on her face, and I slowly made my way to the throne room.
The first thing I saw when I walked in was Nightmare Moon. She was slumped down in her throne, eyes closed and a hoof on her head like she had a migraine. Flanking the throne were two unicorns, legs crossed over their chests and looking pointedly away from each other with deep frowns.
I sighed. “I take it you two are still fighting, then?”
“Ah!” At seeing how informal I was being, Rae rushed in front of me and bowed deeply. “Um, g-good morning, Princess! I’ve brought you Starfall, like you asked.”
“Thank you, Rafflesia,” Nightmare Moon said. She sounded exhausted. “As always, you exceed my expectations. You may leave us, now.”
Rae grinned wider than I’d ever seen her, and bowed again. “My pleasure, Princess! I’m here to serve!” With that, she trotted away with an obvious skip in her step.
Once she was gone, Nightmare Moon sighed. “Good morning, Starfall. As you have likely surmised, the situation here is…”
“It’s awful!” Trixie cut in. “I can’t work with her! I don’t know why you decided to bring her in, but she is the most egocentric, self-absorbed, annoying, obstinate—”
“Oh, you’re one to talk,” Starlight yelled over her. “Starfall, she isn’t fit to wield an Element of Harmony! You must know a lot if you knew to bring me in, so I really cannot fathom why you would choose her of all ponies to—”
“Don’t act like she’s on your side! Starfall is my friend, you’re just some random mare who—”
“Hah, as if you could have friends! Starfall is smart enough to—”
“ENOUGH!” Nightmare Moon roared over their bickering, and they both flinched back and stopped talking. “You two will cease this yammering this second, or I will have you both flung into the Everfree, do you understand!?”
They both nodded, their mouths shut tight.
“Good. Now, Starfall,” she said, turning her attention to me, “I summoned you here so that the four of us could discuss our next move. We have some difficult decisions to make.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Well, as I see it, attempting to bestow an Element upon Starlight at the moment would likely only weaken our overall bonds. Do you agree?”
I nodded, and Starlight grimaced. “Hey, don’t act like this is my fault,” she said. “If it wasn’t for her—”
A bolt of magic flew from Nightmare Moon’s horn and scorched the floor next to Starlight, which was enough to stop her rant in its tracks.
“We are not here to lay blame,” Nightmare Moon said, “but to plan our next step. Our time grows short, and without Starlight, we still require three more ponies to put our initial plan into action. I feel it is time to reassess its viability.”
“We’re not that tight on time,” Trixie said. “Starfall said it’d be like, a year before Discord got out, right? We’ve only used a couple months.”
“We cannot rely too heavily on Starfall’s timeline,” Nightmare Moon said. “It was an estimate to begin with, and it’s impossible to know how much our actions so far may have accelerated things.”
“Sorry,” Starlight cut in, “but I feel out of the loop here. What plans are we talking about? And what, exactly, are we planning for? You all have yet to give me a satisfactory explanation for what’s going on.”
“Right. So, in about a year, a being named Discord is going to escape his prison, and—”
I spent some time explaining everything to Starlight, including who I was, what we all wanted, and everything in between. She spent the time asking question after question, wondering about everything from what Discord actually is to how she factored into things in the first place. By the end, she seemed to be deep in thought, and she had a determined look in her eyes.
After some thought, Starlight nodded and stared at each of us. “Alright. We need to go reinforce his prison now, before he can break out.”
“That’s not for you to decide!” Trixie shouted at her. “For all we know, you could just be trying to stop me from getting any glory!”
“I’m not that petty,” Starlight said. “Do you really think you all can find three more ponies who can get along with all three of you before Discord wakes up? You’re betting the whole world on this!”
“I trust in Starfall,” Trixie said. “I’m sure she has a whole list of candidates!”
“Ehh…” I grimaced. “Starlight was the only one I was really all that confident in. I know of a lot of ponies, but it’s really hard to say how well they’d get along with us all, you know?”
“It is certainly a gamble,” Nightmare Moon said. “While I agree with Trixie’s reluctance to give up on the publicity we could gain, I fear we may have no choice.”
“I think we at least have some time,” I said, “and we haven’t really given Starlight a chance to shine. We’ve got a ton of old books and artifacts here. Who knows what she might be able to find that could help against Discord. We might not even need the Elements.”
“You’d have to have a lot of books for me to be at all confident in that,” Starlight said.
“Hmm…” Nightmare Moon looked thoughtful. “It could be worth trying.”
“We do have a lot of books,” I added. “It couldn’t hurt.”
“So, what, we’re just abandoning the Elements plan?” Trixie asked. “That sounds dumb.”
“We’re not abandoning anything,” Nightmare Moon said. “You and Starfall can continue searching for bearers while Starlight researches.”
“That works for me,” I said. “What are you gonna do, though?”
“I will continue building our fledgling nation,” Nightmare Moon said.
“Is that really the most pressing thing?” Trixie asked. “Having ponies serving you isn’t gonna help if we lose to Discord!”
“Of course it is pressing,” Nightmare Moon told her. “Having a national presence is our key to gaining access to Discord in the first place. We cannot simply sneak into Canterlot. Our best option is to utilize official channels.”
“Ohhh. Yeah, that’s smart,” Trixie said. “I knew we kept you around for a reason.”
Nightmare Moon laughed, then turned to me. “Starfall. Do you have a target you can set out towards?”
“Hmm…” I thought through all the ponies I knew of, wondering how each might fit in. “Actually,” I said, “I think I do. In fact, I think I know ponies who Trixie and I could each befriend on our own, so we can split up!”
“You’re gonna trust her to make a friend on her own?” Starlight asked.
“Trixie is perfectly likeable!” Trixie replied.
“She’ll be fine,” I said. “Probably.”
“Definitely!” Trixie said.
“If you two are confident, I see no reason to deny you,” Nightmare Moon said. “With that, I believe our courses are set. You two are dismissed. Starlight, allow me to show you to the vault.” Nightmare Moon nodded to Starlight, and the two of them left the throne room together.
“So,” Trixie said, turning to me, “who’s my new friend gonna be?”
“I think you’ll like her,” I said. “At least, as long as you don’t get too caught up on her family.”
“What does that mean?” Trixie looked mildly offended.
I laughed and shrugged. “Her sister is one of Twilight’s friends, is all. Just don’t hold that against her, okay?”
Trixie made a face at me, then huffed. “...Trixie will try.”
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This could be one of the CMC ( tho if scootaloo counts as rainbow dashes sister is debatable) or one of pinkie's sisters ,either way it's great so far
11271039
Probably Maud
gotta be one of pinkies sisters, unless im for getting someone
The sister that they are talking about is probably Maud, which would be a solid choice for an element bearer.
Sunset Shimmer could be another potential candidate, but we don't know where the Crystal Mirror is at this point in time, nor do we know if it will open in time.
Tempest Shadow is another worthy choice especially if Starlight or Nightmare know of any magic that could heal her horn. If they could heal her it would pretty much forever guarantee her loyalty, but there is no way to where she is at this point in time. (A solution to find her could be to open their school and then VERY publicly advertise that they are researching ways to repair a unicorn's broken horn. Tempest would definitely hear about it and come to them)
Sunburst is an easily recruitable pony and could be a valuable addition to the team if he and Starlight can get over their issues.
Thorax is definitely worthy of an element and he'll probably get along great with the rest of the team, but at the moment he is probably deep within the changeling hive and they have no way to get to him without going through Chrysalis.
Radiant Hope is another choice if this equestria is also based off of the comic books.
If the elements don't work there are at least 3 other artifacts that could beat Discord.
The Staff of Sacanas: It drained the magic from the Alicorns and would presumably do the same to Discord, but it's probably in the possession of the Storm King, who they are NOT prepared to take on at the moment.
Chrysalis's Throne: we see in the show that it is able to completely nullify Discord's magic, but getting the Throne means that they need to deal with Chrysalis and her army, whom they are not at all ready to fight.
The Bewitching Bell: Also proven to be effective against Discord and probably the easiest to get. In my opinion it's the next best choice to defeat Discord.
I think in Maud to
Yep, Maud makes sense.
Good to see how seriously Rae's taking her job. I'm sure that won't cause any kind of comedic action in the future... /s
Maud. Definitely Maud.
11271094
At this point Chrysalis would actually be a very good ally to have. The hive is still months from starving to the point of risking discovery in an all out assult on the capital. They would be open to negotiation especially given that NMM is the one offering. (Hive records were not so easily wiped by Celestia). Actually General Pharynx or a royal nymph would probably be good choices for an element bearer.
If this proves true then Sambra is a player on the board and another potential ally assuming NMM tolerates him and Radiant keeps him grounded in reality.
The storm king would prove a challenge however at this point the treasures of Sacanas are not yet in his possession nor are they on his radar and Tempest is likely still with her marauders but definitely unreachable given Equestria's isolationist policies.
Normally I would say that gathering powerful artifacts for use against superior foes is a good idea. Enemy of my enemy and all, however I draw the line at Grogar. That is ancient and powerful magic form a time long before Equestria and there is no way to truly know the full ramifications of using such an artifact. Especially given that it contains the soul of an overlord of death.
In my opinion Sunset is the best course of action but she will require some careful planning and forced reharmonization paired with some mild manipulation. Lucky for us Starfall is uniquely suited to hunt her down on Earth and bring her home. While we're on the subject, Wallflower would be a fine addition to the team as well but cornering her will be much more challenging.
Likely we are looking at one of the Pie sisters if I had to wager a guess. I've seen some mentions of Sunset, too, but accessing the mirror seems beyond their ability at the moment, let alone if it's even open.
Another consideration, if the author cares about this, is maintaining some sense of balance between the bearers in terms of tribes. Right now, we have a unicorn bearer with a potential second one. An alicorm, and uh... I'm not sure what tribe Starfall is. As far as I know, she's never mentioned having wings or a horn so maybe earth pony? In that case, there is a lack of pegasi on the team.
Still, I think Trixie is going for another (?) earth pony and Starfall a pegasus. At this point in the timeline, the only ponies matching Starfall's description are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and the pie sisters. I feel like she wouldn't bring in a child, especially one so closely watched in Ponyville.
On further consideration, perhaps Starfall isn't just thinking of ponies. Gilda could be an interesting pick. Especially with her episode fast approaching, and an upcoming betrayal from Rainbow, she's an ideal candidate.
Kinda want to see friendship bloom between trixie and starlight but for that to happen gonna need outsource event for them to bond over,only thing I can think off would trixie some how repairing starlight relationship with sunburst or a mutual loathing of twlight
11271094
Don't forget stallions most authors don't do it often but some fanfics have stallions getting a element.
Taking this into account we have some other characters who could get a element: Big Mac, Shining Armor ,and Soarin just to name a few.
Don't know if the author will use stallions or not but it's just something to think about
11271819
All 3 of those stallion have very strong loyalties to the OG elements or Equestrian government. Considering that they are all participating in what is essentially an insurrection plot, involving any of them are spectacularly bad options.
11271830
Yeah I just said as examples tho
Neat story, but there is a deep dependence on the word "said". Trixie said, Starlight said, Starfall said, Nightmare Moon said. It would be good to mix it in. And not just things like "Trixie said" either. Instead adding a word to fit the mood as well.
Trixie threw in/retorted petulantly.
Trixie cried out in indignation.
Starfall mentioned thoughtfully.
Starfall yawned tiredly.
Starlight muttered/mumbled angrily.
Nightmare Moon bellowed out regally.
Nightmare Moon exclaimed loudly.
This would help touch up your writing and I hope this advice is helpful.
11271094
But Sunburst is such a soggy slice of white bread! I'd love to see him put his scholarly pursuits toward furthering the glory of the Lunar Empire, but he doesn't belong on the frontlines as an element bearer.
If any stallion becomes a bearer, Big Mac should become the element of dependability. And I know that it was a throwaway joke in the show, but he actually wants to be a princess unlike Twilight. I want Princess Princess Big Mac to happen!
I am thinking Marble Pie.
Definitely hoping Sunnybuns will be one of the Bearers.
11196576
Pinkie's "welcome to Ponyville" parties are for new residents, not ponies passing through. They're kind of like housewarming parties. Zecora wasn't moving to Ponyville, just visiting. Consider the Nightmare Night episode for example. She doesn't throw parties for Luna or any of her guards. Consider Trixie, when she delivered her show. Again, just passing through town, so no party.
Plus, Zecora obviously wasn't new. Everypony knew who she was except Twilight, who was still new in town herself.
As for how Pinkie could have solved everything if she'd been the one to approach and break the ice, well sure...but again, consider the Nightmare Night episode. She does the exact same thing there: no hello, no welcome party, she sees the opportunity to hype up the event for fun and runs with it without long-term consideration of the consequences, and it leads to Luna being sad.
Maud? Get Boulder in here too! Boulder is definitely loyalty. He has the ability to create a rock-solid bond.
I'd be genuinely giddy if it's Marble. She'll be the Fluttershy of this rag tag Mane 6-esque group. Or better yet, Limestone.
11323998
They may call it that, but that doesn't make it so.
Oh of course Starlight and Trixie don't get along. They don't hate Twilight enough to bond over it yet!
Well, this is definitely an interesting twist on an old idea. People get punted across to Equestria all the time, but I've never seen such a method of completely throwing everything off the rails, while maintaining the general arc of canon so far.
I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes, who the other three will be, if Starlight and Trixie ever stop stepping on each other's hooves, and how the nation-building turns out, especially what with it being inside a pre-existing nation.
I love this!
Hmm, not gonna lie, I think Shining Armor would be a really great addition to the roster.
Or, hell, let's rope in Chrysalis and completely send the team into wacko territories
11378312
That could be an explanation, albeit the author should have added a throwaway line then about MC having it hard to reach the place because of it, grousing about the circumstances.
Really enjoying this story, hope you're doing okay and haven't given up!
11474558
It's still on my mind. I've been goin through some stuff but I'm hoping to get back to this eventually. When I can.
Aww, I've been putting off reading this for a long time thinking that I'd need more to read to get invested, but what's already here is amazing. Shame about the lack of updates tho.
Here's hoping to getting your mojo back for this story. And if it helps, working backwards from an ending in a "how did that happen" sense works pretty well to fill out a story.
I eagerly look forward to more, whatever your decision.