Chapter 26: I Feel You
Mount Metazoa was located at the far northeast end of the same island chain archipelago as Mount Aris. Seven centuries ago, following the Minotaur raids along the Dragon Lands border, and encroachments by a rogue griffon faction all along the coastline, Equestria, the Hippogriff Independency, and several new emerging nations wished to forge new treaties and mutual defense contracts as the world expanded. The then unclaimed and unoccupied island had been selected as neutral ground to host the first world summit. Construction crews began with the Hall of Unity convention center in the middle and expanded from there to included various private wings tailored to the taste and preferences of each participating nation and dignitary. Over the centuries, as new nations and creatures attended, new additions and improvements we integrated to accommodate including one of the most vast and thorough repositories or cross cultural knowledge and information.
Even by modern maps, the island was geographically ideal for neutral ground. The island was only accessible by boat or airship and was reasonably close to Equestria, Griffonstone, the Zebrican nations, Saddle Arabia, and Minosa, the homeland of the minotaurs. The dragons and yaks had a bit farther to travel, but neither nation complained as of yet. At least formally.
Sunset Shimmer had never had a chance to visit the temple structure in her time as Celestia’s student for there had been no summits large enough to require the time, cost, and resources to use the facility. As she stood on the bow of the airship, lost in memories Sunset reacted slower than usual to Tempest Fury’s hoof poking her in the side.
“You should be resting,” Tempest said in her usually mixed tone of blunt and respectful. “No pony wants you to fall asleep while trying to raise the moon later.”
“Got too much going on in my head. Needed the fresh air.”
“Well, you have some time to clear it. Our initial setup team arrived yesterday in preparation for our arrival. We have two days before the official start of the summit. Twilight is certain other envoys will also be arriving soon. No creature wants to be last or be caught flat hoofed when so much is potentially at stake.”
Sunset sighed, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle. “This is either going to work or it’s going to blow up in our faces.”
“You could say that about a lot of plans. Usually yours.”
Sunset snorted. “True, but this one was Twilight’s. Which is a good thing because I honestly had nothing.” Sunset turned to the commander and examined her. An examination that did not go unnoticed and caused the vermilion unicorn to narrow her eyes in anticipation for what was about to happen next.
“How are you doing, by the way?”
“I’m fine, leave it at that.”
“Seriously?”
Tempest growled under her breath. “Look, I’m alive, I’m mostly intact, and I’m adjusting to all the changes from my broken horn and my bouts of disconnect. I still have both my foals and a loving husband who somehow has a magical compulsion spell over me despite not having a horn. I don’t know how he does it, but he understands me sometimes better than I understand myself. It’s witchcraft or zebra alchemy I say. Anyhow, I have nothing really worth complaining about, especially to a princess, when there are real problems going on in the world. So, yeah, I’m fine.”
Sunset chuckled a bit. “You really are a grunt, you know that?”
“As a soldier I will take that as a compliment.” Tempest turned her eyes back to the horizon. “There it is.”
Sunset immediately understood why no single nation or race tried to lay siege or claim to the mountain temple. The cliff face was nearly shear vertical with only small outcrops along the base for dirigibles and other hot air balloons. She could see heavy steel doors built into the rockface that could be closed and given their design it would be easy to destroy the platforms if needed to deny an enemy a landing zone. There were more airship docks near the temple, but only the bare amount of land so no one ship could dump a large occupying force without pushing their own troops off the cliff.
The Hall of Unity itself was nearly as vertical as the rock it was built upon with towering widows, many of which featured stained glass of important creatures and events. Unsurprising there was more than one of Celestia. They likely looked even more amazing from within with the shining light of day passing through them at just the right angles. From what Sunset had read there were tunnels, stairs, and elevators inside that ran all the way down to the ocean below to accommodate ships docked in the natural harbor. There were even storage rooms and safe rooms carved right through the rock at various locations. Some nation had likely added their own making it impossible to know how many rooms the entire facility actually had.
The roof was of a rare design among Equestria architecture, Sunset noted. The large hooks to the gables and round lanterns reminded the goldenrod alicorn of buildings she had seen in Japan when she and Twi had visited during their Earth world tour years. It was beautiful, functional, but also defensive. The overlapping tile structure and degree of angle would be impossible for hooves to hold onto without magic. Even claws from dragons and griffons would find it difficult beyond the corners or apex. And with magical alarms built in, if suck a fool were to try and drop down from the roof it would alert all the others present.
“I’m guessing the inside is just as remarkable as the outside?”
Tempest took note of the crew beginning to scramble about the ship deck in preparation for arrival. “We are about to find out.”
Once Twilight felt the airship shudder from the anchor lines she began to gather her notes. The crew would take care of any additional luggage, but her personal notes were for her and Sunset’s eyes only. Twilight glanced to her empty bed and sighed. This was not how she imagined her honeymoon ending.
“Chin up, horn at the ready. Just like Mom and Dad used to say.” Twilight took one last look at herself in the mirror, ensuring that her regalia was spotless and crown straight, and exited the cabin to meet up with their friends and others.
Said friends were easy to find. As Twilight made her way across the deck she spotted Spike first. He waved at her approach. Spike, Isabella, and a team of engineers and caterers had arrived early to begin setting up for the event. Judging by the other ships moored, they had not been the only ones making preparations. Twilight took special note of the airships with the Saddle Arabian flags and colors. One was massive, luxurious, and even had a secondary skiff secured to the stern. The other appeared to be more of a military patrol ship, spartan and had steel plating around the bow, which she had read was for ramming. From a distance Twilight did not see anyone of note beyond a few crew members mulling about. The prince and his entourage were probably already setting up in the annex as they requested or their own wing.
Recalling from first time she had visited Mount Metazoa, Twilight had been thoroughly impressed by how well preserved all the halls, glass, and delicate paperwork and books in the archive library were. Celestia had said that the Hall of Unity had some of the strongest preservation spells known worked into its construction to prevent moisture rot given the number of waterfalls that were in use at the facility as well as dedicated archivists that were tasked with renewing the additional stasis and barrier spells every few years. From the looks of the place, they had been doing a fantastic job.
Sunset nuzzled Twilight the moment she was close enough. The purple princess happily returned the gesture. No one dared question the public display of affection.
“So, do we take a tour or just start hammering out our game plan?”
Twilight tapped her chin a moment. “We can take a small tour as long as we stay in the Equestrian wing or designated neutral grounds. It’s a huge break of protocol to go wandering down some other nation’s reserved space or recognized sovereignty.”
“You two go, spend as much personal time with each other as you can,” said Cadence with a wink. “Spike, Flurry, and I can work with your aids as far as what else needs to be done to make everypony comfortable and where our supplies will go.”
“If it’s all the same to you, empress, I’ll shadow them while inspecting the facility,” said Tempest Fury. “I need to see where the best places are to station our guards, assess possible vulnerabilities, and just be generally paranoid. The usual.”
“All nations are allowed to bring a small number of guards, but they must remain in friendly or treaty neutral locations,” said Twilight as if she had read it from a pamphlet… which she probably had at one time. Or wrote it herself, Sunset thought. “This place is meant to be a sanctuary, Tempest. Just keep that in mind.”
“Duly noted, Your Highness.”
Twilight smiled warmly and nodded. “It’s great to have you back.”
Tempest smiled back. “I never left. Just found something that was equally as important as watching after your big, purple plot. That’s Sunset’s job now.”
Twilight blinked, blushed, and looked about at the smirking faces all around, her jaw hanging open slightly. “H-Hey!”
Sunset giggled and nuzzled her wife. “Babe, you do have a big purple plot. And I love it.”
“Doesn’t mean I need everypony to point it out!”
After a heart felt laugh all around Sunset managed to get the subject changed and back onto the tour of the temple while the others saw to their assigned duties.
Spike dusted off his claws and smiled at the retreating diarchs walking side by side. “I’ve got a good feeling about this.”
----------
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
Luna and Belldandy turned to Chaz. The warm grey alicorn withered a bit under their combined gazes. Even though his sister was blind she had this disapproving stare that just cut right through him. Chaz's wings sagged and tail stopped swishing while anxiety festered in his chest. Luna was about to remind him again that neither he nor his sister had any reason to fear Aine. They had been neutral in past altercations involving the siblings and had done nothing to create the current predicament. Their fidgeting was unwarranted.
Luna had reached out with her remaining power, careful to not attract the massive creature that was stalking them and all magical beings. Still, the three of them had been drained and there was hardly enough ambient magic on their current sanctuary asteroid to quickly refill their mana wells. Thus, it had been a necessary risk to reach out to Mother Creation, the Alicorn of Life, Aine.
While certain Aine had heard Luna’s call she had no way of knowing how long it would take Aine to come find them… if at all. Knowing her mother, Luna would not have been surprised in the least if they were left to figure it out for themselves. In the mean time, Luna settled in and began listening to the twins talk about themselves and their personality quirks. She found that Chaz and Belldandy were far more interesting and quirky than Samael’s memories had suggested they were. They reminded Luna of Celestia and herself in many ways both good and sometimes bad. Especially when it came to bickering.
“You are just scared,” Belldandy said for the… honestly, she had lost count.
“I’m not used to being afraid. I’m just having a hard time coping with… with what is going on. Inside me, the world around us. My life was so simple before!”
Belldandy rest her head on Luna’s right shoulder. While Chaz sat to her left. She had needed to play referee when they had started slapping each other like foals. They were all sitting in the dirt, leaning against a rock that was smooth while doing nothing but staring out at the stars while trying to recuperate their magic reserves. It was so quiet. Too quiet for Luna's liking. It made her thankful to have Sable Nimbus for company in the lonely underworld.
“I remember this one time, not long after Celestia and I had been coronated that I went exploring the Everfree Forest. I had been warned it was dangerous to go alone and that it was imperative to stay on the marked and cleared paths. I was young, adventurous, and had just had a silly argument with my sister. I think it was over something so simple as the arrangement of the new drapes in our colors of choice. I cannot recall my exact words, but it was something along the lines of, ‘Well, if they are just going to make everything in your colors, I’ll go find a place to build my own castle.’
“So, I stormed out with little more than a basic sword, a satchel of food, and a chip upon my shoulder. I lasted about two hours in those woods before I was crying for my mother and sister. I was so young and reckless. Which of course does beg the question. How is it that you two are so old and yet still act so much like… foals?”
“Could have something to do with the fact that we never really had a foalhood,” Chaz offered.
“Or that our only interactions with other creatures were if they came to visit us since we could not leave the temple,” Belldandy added.
Luna nodded. “And here I used to think my social skills were left wanting.”
Belldandy was about to comment when she turned her head. The other two alicorns noticed her change in demeanor and turned as well. Before Luna could inquire, the surrounding area of dust and rock was bathed in golden light so bright the two that could see had to shield their eyes from the intensity. Luna went as far as to pull her hood back over tightly and it still shined through.
When the light faded a large, winged horse stood before them. More accurately, a white alicorn with black socks, ears, and a black diamond in the center of her face from her horn to the tip of her nose. She flapped her wings a few times and kicked up more dust in the extremely thin atmosphere before they settled in place. Her expression was a mix of curiosity and annoyance. One Luna knew well. The other three alicorns just remained seated while the new arrival’s mouth began to move, but they could not hear any words.
Chaz rolled his eyes as he stood, dusting off his fur. “You have to step inside our bubble. We can’t hear you in space.”
Aine nods, steps inside their thin magical shield, and starts again. “As I was saying, I am not entirely sure I want to know why the three of you are all the way out here. You have jobs, callings to attend to.”
“Oh, that is a cut of hilarity coming from the likes of thee,” snapped Luna, throwing her hood back again. In her current anthro pony form she was pleased that she was finally on equal eye level with the large alicorn of life. That amused her far more than it should have, but having spent so many years looking up the nostrils of her sister and mother it was a small, if petty victory.
Aine arched a brow and examined the three before her once more, particularly Luna. “I do not jest, daughter. You have taken on the mantle of death, even if it was unintentional. You should just accept it and do the job to the best of your ability just like I tried to instill in you. As far as you two. The strings and the loom require constant attention. Crucial context and information guiding the lives of all upon Equuis could be lost because you two are off standing on a… honestly, of all the places, why here?”
“Straight to it then,” said Chaz.
Belldandy held up a finger to silence her brother. “The loom has stopped and the strings no longer heed my commands.”
Aine blinked twice. “Impossible.”
“I said as much as well, but I have seen it for myself. The loom stopped feeding after rendering Sunset Shimmer’s cutie mark.” Aine narrowed her eyes and glanced to the side at nothing.
“Luna is forgetting to mention what happened prior,” said Belldandy. “Void visited our temple and demanded to see the tapestry. He ranted and raved like a mad pony then struck Chaz in anger.”
“Why would he do such a thing?”
“He blames me for Samael’s current state and he blames Sunset Shimmer for thwarting his latest scheme. I was trying to find him, to speak with him about this ‘game’ as you call it. I wanted it over, dealt with before anypony did something foolish. But, he is in hiding beyond my sight and now we are certain he has lured and released an omega beast to our universe.”
Aine stomped in a circle, kicking up dust and snorting. When she turned back to the other alicorns her eyes were glowing with crackles of angry lightning. “I cannot believe he would do such a thing. He was there! He remembers what such a creature is capable of devouring. We six sat down and created the rules to avoid such a calamity.”
“What you believe is irrelevant, mother.”
Aine snorted and huffed. She stepped closer and lit her horn, pulling the other three closer. “I will believe with my own eyes.” The white alicorn’s horn burned brightly and flashed. There was nothing left on the baren rock save for hoof prints and residual magic. In the black distance. A creature sensed the surge of great power. It changed course to investigate and find more of what it desired. Its belly growled as it hungered for more.
Luna stumbled back, the disorientation from a long teleport passing as she felt a flood of refreshing magical energy flow through her. She smiled and sighed, shifting her body back to the more familiar four hooves that she had known most of her life. Chaz and Belldandy felt the mana flow as well, but they did not smile with relief. They knew exactly where they were the moment their hooves hit the polished stone floor.
“Annnnd here we are again,” said Chaz, rolling his shoulder, which was still a bit sore.
“Hush,” Belldandy chided as she held onto her brother so as to orient herself. She could sense the other alicorns around her, but without the moving threads she could not distinguish one part of the temple from another. Falling off the edge again was not ideal at the moment.
Aine ignored their asides and quickly made her way to the thread spools and tapestry. Much like Luna had done days before, she lifted the finished tapestry and examined it as well as going back to find any anomalies. After a few minutes of silent examination she sighed and let the fabric fall back down, hanging her head.
“And so, the final chapter has begun. I never thought I would see this happen again.”
“Again?” asked Luna.
“She refers to the first cataclysm,” Belldandy said. “The destruction of the first Equuis.”
“Tabula Rasa,” said Aine, turning away from the tapestry. “I once made a world of perfection. It was pure in a way I can scant describe in words. No hate, no war, just perfect harmony and balanced life. Everything lived long, fruitful lives from the plants to the animals and all things in between. I took what the universe made through strife, pressure, and conflict and perfected it. Magic made it so to be. But then, my siblings, you, grew jealous and destroyed my beautiful creation. So, I started again and asked for their input on how I could make a world that would stand the test of time. We laid the foundation of the game.”
“I have Samael’s memories and I can hear his… opinions. He says that your world was too perfect. Everything was immortal. No growth, no evolution or chaotic change. Just eternal perfection like a painting behind glass. He says that is not what life is supposed to be.”
“Spoken from the jealous lips of death, such is completely meaningless.” Aine snorted, but then took a deep breath and recentered herself. “The game allowed for balance. We all agreed to the rules and how it would be conducted. The wild variables of the unknown would be the mortals themselves. The 'chaotic evolution' you quote at me. I decided they should be given the gift of souls. They would grow, change, adapt. Then, they would die and would pass on what they had done. It was not perfect, but it was still beautiful.”
“Then why would Void seek to destroy it all?”
Aine sighed and pointed at the tapestry and Sunset Shimmer’s cutie mark. “Because of that.”
Luna felt as if she had been slapped. A burning, indignant anger suddenly ignited in her chest. “I beg your pardon?!”
“The Incarnate.”
Luna’s eyes darkened and her horn began to glow with blackish blue magic. “Thou art still your daughter, born and suckled upon thy tees and raised, but thou hath grown to more than thy was and will gladly show thee what dark arts thou hath learned, Goddess of Creation. Speak with care when referring to thy beloved niece in such a dour and disdainful tone. Sunset Shimmer is a good pony and makes many others happier just by being in their lives.”
Aine, did not flinch. “Do not threaten me, Luna. You may have Samael’s power and memories, but I know both of your weaknesses.”
“Oh for the love of… Will you two stop measuring your horns and get on with an explanation so that we can come up with a solution!” shouted Belldandy. “That thing is still out there!”
Aine sighed and nodded. “The Incarnate, or as it was written in the spell I secretly passed on to Star Swirl the Bearded, Ignis Ferrum Incarnate, is a perfected recreation of my alicorn construct spell. The same complex magical matrix I used to create my first children, the Athanatoi. Where as Epona, Balius, Aethon, and Scylla were crafted from inert elemental aspects, Sunset Shimmer’s power core is a living soul. The alicorn construct was never meant for such, but Celestia took it upon herself to change the original spell. She changed the rules in a way I could not predict. Such is the unpredictability of mortals. The free will of choice. To do, or to do not. To be, or not to be. This goes for even a mortal alicorn. None are completely unbound. In doing so, by creating the Incarnate, Celestia began a cascade of events that sealed her fate.”
Once again, Luna felt as if she had been slapped by words right across the muzzle. “What? What are you talking about?”
Aine trotted back over to the tapestry and beckoned Luna to follow. “What have I always told you, Luna? Actions have consequences. You fell prey to Scylla’s mind games and became corrupted. But it could not be allowed for you to kill your sister and free the Athanatoi. So, I helped guide Harmony’s power, wielded by Celestia in a moment of desperation. You were not destroyed or turned to stone. Harmony does not kill. That is not her way, but instead, she temporarily imprisoned you in the one place you were most familiar with. The moon. You slept through most of it, if I recall.”
“Y-You… YOU WERE THERE?!”
Aine smiled thinly. “Daughter. I have always been there. For both of you. I could not always act, but I could observe. That was the nature of the game. Every action warranted a reaction. Void corrupted Scylla, Harmony helped seal you away. Action, reaction.”
Aine lifted the tapestry in her magic and spread it out across the floor.
“Hey!” shouted Chaz. “Be careful! That is my life’s work!”
Aine ignored his whining and pointed at the images on the tapestry. First, she pointed out the Sun being eclipsed by the Moon over a crumbling castle. Next, were the swirling gems that were obviously the Elements of Harmony. Aine then stepped further down the tapestry, skipping vast quantities of material, finally coming to a point when she pointed again.
Luna took the time to examine some of the space in between, but could not understand half of the coded symbolism. However, there was no mistaking the two marks Aine was pointing at. “Did Celestia or Sunset Shimmer ever tell you the young one was born with her cutie mark? Much like my first children, her magically structured nature allowed it to be so. Her first breath, here. The Well gifted her with the spark of a soul as it does all living sentients. A weapon, given access to the most powerful magic in our universe. It was then her mark appeared. The little sun that would eclipse my own daughter.
“The implications were beyond what I could foresee. A pony born of two different universes, not bound by destiny or fate until this moment we have arrived at. Celestia had no idea that by creating the Incarnate that she was writing the story of her own end and the end of all. It was her choice, however. She did not wish to cross horns with you in battle again. She did not wish to face you and risk having to slay you. Truthfully, I could not blame her. There were other pieces in motion, as always. So, I did nothing. Action, reaction, consequences.”
“YOU NEVER DID ANYTHING! YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED THEM! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED HER!”
Aine ignored the scream that rattled the very temple itself, barely twitching an ear. “Have you not been listening, Luna? Let me put it in order for you. Celestia chooses to create the Incarnate by her own free will. The perfect weapon that can slay any enemy, even gods if she wills it so. She is the harbinger to the end game. However, the end was delayed because, with a soul and free will of her own, Sunset instead chose to run away. That, unexpectedly, gave her soul time to grow, to become permanently attached to her body and not easily removed. Trust me, I tried. However, in that same gap of time Flurry Heart became corrupted much like you had. She…”
“Scylla and her wretched ilk forced Flurry to kill Celestia. And, as usual, all you did was watch!”
“I saved you! I should have let all of you die in that ruined throne room! It was an action against all better judgment and the good of the world, but I did it! With Celestia already gone, you were their only means of entering Elysium and taking the Well, but they would have needed you alive to breach the door. If you had died that day, they would never have been able to open it. I created the Athanatoi prisons and tied their locks to Celestia’s life, but Samael created the door to Elysium. Your death would not have caused it to fall. You would have all been dead, but the scales would have been in balance. The world would have gone on.”
Luna screamed, her eyes burning brightly with teal light and flecks of black energy. She aimed her horn and fired a blast, purposely striking the floor next to Aine. The goddess of creation had made no effort to move or defend herself. She just stood there, like a blinking statute as part of the cosmic marble melted.
“Then why? Pray thee tell us! Why, oh, mother of creation itself?! WHY DID THOU NOT LET US LAY SLAIN?!”
“BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!”
The words echoed. The echo faded. Only the sound of heavy breathing and tears dripping on the floor could be heard. Belldandy and Chaz could only stand to the side, holding hands for comfort and strength as two alicorns threw enough power and fury about to topple mountains around their small sanctuary, which was thankfully stronger than the average mountain.
“I…”
“I love you, Luna. I loved your sister. You were born for a purpose, but I still birthed you, raised you, and I felt closer and more kindred with the two of you than I did with ALL the variety of creatures of the world. Because you were like me and you were of me. A piece of my soul beats within you.
“I asked Sunset Shimmer to return to our universe knowing full and well where it would eventually lead, but I also knew how happy it would make Celestia to see her daughter again. Because I knew how it made me feel to see the two of you happy again. When she fell… when I watched her die. It... broke me. It broke my heart in a way no mortal death has ever done. I could not watch you die as well." Aine had to pause to gather herself, the tears falling freely down her perfect fur. "I damned the world and every living creature upon it by breaking my own rules. For you. I interfered directly and gave Void the opportunity to set the rest of this in motion. For you. The world, the universe itself is possibly doomed because of me and my actions. All because of a stupid game.”
“Then you should have played better,” Luna said just above a whisper, the loudest her ravaged emotions would allow.
“Perhaps. But Void was desperate to win. It was his nature and his sole desire. He exploited every loophole, every perceived angle. He took risks not caring if it hurt his children or others. They were just pieces on a board, after all. I just wanted my little ponies and all the creatures of the world a chance to live. But the more I tried the more he fought back. That was when I came to realize the truth of it all. The only way to win is NOT to play.”
Luna remained silent, chewing on the words as the anger in her ebbed slowly. She had not expected to hear those three words from her mother again. Aine had said them before, long ago. But not since she was a filly. Now, unlike then, they felt warmer. More genuine. There was a dull ache in Luna’s chest and she had to fight down the shuddering need to cry more.
Finally, after a few minutes of silence, the alicorns of life and death met eyes once more. Luna was the first to speak. “What do we do now?”
“Now, we use the only unknown variable we have left to us. We tell the mortals what has transpired and hope, pray, they can come up with a solution. If it has grown too powerful to simply blast it to nothingness then another means must be found. Go, quickly. Speak to Sunset and the others. The more time standing about is less time thinking.”
“Wait,” Luna narrowed her dark eyes once more, “you say that as if you are not coming.”
“I cannot. I made a promise to Sunset Shimmer that I would stay away. In addition, I need to look after my other children and if possible, I will also attempt to locate Void.”
Luna grumbled. She wanted to further argue, but if Aine could locate Void then that would be one less thing for them to do. They already had enough to contend with. In addition, she had no idea how Sunset would take the news that the fate of their world rested upon her somehow.
You know that is not entirely true, Luna. You know your niece well. She will take it very, very badly.
Luna sighed internally. Samael was right. This was not going to be pleasant. “I suppose there is no point delaying then.”
Aine nodded before turning back to the twins. “I know not what role you two will play in this. You have always maintained your neutrality, but I fear this time standing to the side will only guarantee the end of all. If you can assist, I suggest you do so.”
Belldandy nodded in turn. “I think it would be best if we returned to the world. We could help explain the situation. It may even be necessary to bring Sunset here.”
“Protect all those that can be protected, but most important of all, protect the magic. It is the life blood of our universe. If the omega beast drains it all we will be nothing more than another dead space. Good luck to us all.”
Aine lit her horn and she vanished in a flash that was bright enough that Luna had to shield her face once more. She blinked the spots from her eyes and strolled over to the edge of the colonnade, grumbling mostly to herself about a certain oversized pony always having to be so flashy. The mopey thought soon passed.
The night sky was so beautiful from here, unhindered by obstacle or light pollution. Luna quite honestly missed seeing the night sky. She had a new job and would fulfill it to the best of her ability, but she was still a pony of the night. She loved to see the stars in the sky and her moon following its path like a well rehearsed dance. It called to her soul and was a refreshing reminder what needed to be done to protect all she held dear.
Luna turned slightly, her attention on the two other alicorns, still messing with Chaz’s shoulder. He nodded as he rolled it around with no pain. “Come along, you two. It is time we drop in once more… less violently this time.”
“You do realize we are significantly older than you, yes?” said Belldandy with notable sass in her voice.
“Yes, but I was a princess. I am accustomed to dealing with ponies who do not act their age or station when the situation is outside their comfort zone.” Luna lit her horn and searched for a particular pony’s brightly burning soul she knew so well. Twilight Sparkle. She located the co-ruler of Equestria in an unexpected place. Mount Metazoa? What an odd choice for a visit. Perhaps they are touring other lands to extend the honeymoon?
With nothing else to add to the thought Luna lit her horn. Chaz and Belldandy touched their own horns to hers and the three disappeared.
Twilight and Sunset were admiring the stained glass in the central atrium when the cavernous room lit up with a bright flash. The thundercrack that followed, amazingly, did not shatter the widows or crack the wooden and stone walls, but most likely only because they had so many preservation spells woven into their construction.
When the ringing ceased and their spotted eyes could see once more, Sunset started to growl, feeling a need to summon her sword when she recognized a familiar cloak and wavy, midnight stardust mane billowing in ethereal breeze. Luna turned to her niece and smiled warmly. Sunset blinked twice. Luna was not alone.
“I sense others around us,” said Belldandy, turning about, “many others.”
Chaz nodded and then waved his hand, smiling perhaps a bit too wide. “Hello, mortal creatures!”
Luna facehoofed and shook her head. “Just let me do the talking, yes?”
“Uhhh…” Twilight blinked rapidly as she assessed what was before her. “Sunny, are you seeing this?”
“Luna along with some naked, humanoid ponies? Yeah, I see them too.”
Tempest stepped around the princesses, her horn stub crackling with power. “Identify yourselves!”
Luna held up a hoof, trying to restore calm. “Be at ease, Commander Tempest. They bring no harm or desire for confrontation. What you see before you are the alicorns of Fate and Destiny.”
Tempest did not relax. She too had not had the best of experiences dealing with new alicorns.
“Luna,” Twilight said finally, one reassuring hoof placed gently upon her friend and bodyguard and the other upon her clearly irked and tense wife, “what’s going on?”
Luna turned her eyes to Sunset Shimmer, but unlike their previous encounters, she grimaced instead of smiled. It left a sting of pain deep in her heart. “I apologize for the intrusion, but there is much to say. You may wish to sit down for the weight of my words shall be heavy. Perhaps the heaviest burden you will ever have to carry, dear niece.”
Sunset gulped the dry lump as cold anxiety began to grip her heart. She did not know why, but she just knew deep down in her soul they were about to be served extremely bad news.
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Well... that revelation from Aine made me think "like mother, like daughter" with her and Celestia, both made some poor choices as mothers, but still cared deeply about their daughters.
Like Newton's third law: every motion or action has an equal and opposite motion or reaction.
And suddenly, the thing with Saddle Arabia is going to seem completely insignificant. To a degree anyway.
Well here are my thoughts:
Sunset at these "negotiations" will say that if Arabia declares war on Equestria, then Sunset Shimmer will burn down Arabia itself or worse, rewrite their fate to suicide. Well, how do you like her "possible behavior".
Like a mother, like a daughter, these words are perfect for Aina. That she was a bad mother, that Celestia was also a bad mother, well, at least Sunset is not like that. Aine, like Void, together with Samuel, have not gone far from Fate with a Destiny, the same children, when it does not go according to theirs, they freak out and break everything around. And here are adults, only mortals, because they have to grow up to survive.
And everything that was in "Gods and Monsters" is a consequence of the fact that there is Fate and Destiny. If they didn't exist, there wouldn't be such shit.
They say "you decide how to commit suicide", that's how I hear it when you have freedom, but at the same time you are slaves of Fate. Now Equus has really gained freedom and now his achievements are his own, and his mistakes are his mistakes. As it should be.
The first Equus. It's funny, but it somehow resembles the "Matrix", or the 1 generation of MLP, even let Aine say that this Equus is already 7, and she is generally an "Architect", and Sunset is "Neo", and Goth (Omega)- Agent Smith. As a comparison is not bad. If you haven't watched the trilogy of the film, then look, it's a cool movie.
By the way, we understand that the "true" Equus is very far away, and the real Goddess is not Aine, but Lauren Faust herself (she is a real Goddess in the form of an alicorn).
By the way, the Luna appeared almost as I thought. Sunset thought it would be hard with Arabia, it's not a fairy tale yet, it's still a lubricant. No matter how she blew herself up to kill Goth (Omega).
Can ask for help from the colored human world about nuclear weapons (so 1000 megaton). And how do you imagine that- EG, this is our real world, come on, it may be another human world, but not ours.
And I think we are on the threshold of a grandiose shoo-in, both in the world of mortals and among higher beings. Interestingly, it will be similar to "Avengers Endgame" (these words are also right), along with the end of "Mass Effect 3". If so, it will be nostalgia for 2019.
By the way, I have a few questions:
1. You watched the video that I threw off, how do you like my view of Omega, how do I see it.
2. Did you just have a play on words, or did you really make a hint about the game "Dead Space".
3. And why did you release this chapter on Friday, even though you release chapters on Saturday.
P.S. In your universe, we are missing a meme from Dr. Livesey. I can give candidates for the meme: Sunset, Twilight, Flurry.
"Hey Saddle Arabian assholes, your little war needs to be put on hold because the whole world is in danger." -Sunset, maybe
Aine is a very tragic figure. I understood what she was hinting at before. But it was nice for her to explain the whole thing.
So what happens next? How does Sunset handle the news? Probably not well.
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Aine does not get mother of the year awards. She likes to make new things but forgets that some new things require more attention. Especially when they need motherly attention. Action and consequences is an underlying theme throughout the series.
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when it rains, it pours.
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1. Yes I saw the link. 2. I have played many video games. I also draw from many books I have read, manga, graphic novels, comics, movies, shows and of course personal experiences. I suppose any writer could say that. #. Because I could. If I had enough backlog I'd release twice a week.
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It's kind of going to go like that but more diplomatically... and of course not smoothly. Because that would be boring.
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If you watched this video to the end, then I think you will understand that the Omega creature is quite suitable for the role of anamorphic energy that eats other energy and it doesn't matter what it is - psionics, magic, biotics, Argent Energy (soul energy), etc., this stuff will devour everything.