The Corner
When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown
It was a subdued group that sat in Sugarcube Corner.
Normally the Cakes would have been rolling their eyes at Pinkie for bringing a gaggle of ponies into the bakery, especially at 2 in the morning. Despite what Pinkie might think, the main dining area was not party central. But taking one glance at Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadence had stopped any protest dead. That, and the fact that Pinkie and her friends look so utterly beaten down had led the couple to scurry about and begin waiting on them before they had returned to bed.
The group had mulled about, the events of the day weighing heavily upon each of them. The fact that so much had happened in so little time had left everypony struggling to understand how things had become so twisted so easily. Shining Armor and Cadence were supposed to be in the honeymoon suite of the Canterlot Grand Hotel, enjoying their first night as husband and wife. Velvet and her husband had expected to spend a night at the castle with Twilight and her friends, recovering from the reception and dreaming of the Post-wedding breakfast that would await them. Celestia had planned to meet with her sister and share with her all the happy details of the wedding.
But fate had played a cruel hand and the group found themselves sipping hastily made coffee and nibbling on what few day-old treats were available. Shining and Cadence remained unmarried, Twilight’s friends and family were reeling, and the Princesses were left to brood upon long lost truths.
"We can't fight with each other," Cadence finally said. As the only one in the group to make any sort of headway with Twilight she had been silently elected the head of the meeting. "No matter how much we all wish to bicker about who started this that will only waste time. There is blame to be placed on every pony.” She held up her hoof to silence Shining, who was moving to speak. “Even me. I should have demanded you tell Twilight about us, Shining. It was a mistake and maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so bad if we had been honest with her.” The love goddess shook her head sadly. “But none of that matters. We have two days to get Twilight back and we have to-"
"We can't get Twilight back," Night Light said softly.
"Now don't ya go thinkin' like that," Applejack stated firmly. "We're going to work hard and-"
"You misunderstand," Night said, interrupting once again. "Before we go any further we have to take Princess Luna's advice and accept some hard truths. First and foremost... Twilight has changed. Our Twilight, the one we knew from a day ago, is gone."
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "But we can fix that!"
Fluttershy gently placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "What if there isn't anything to fix?" Every eye was on her and normally she would have begun waking at being the center of attention. But for Twilight she forced herself to be brave. "Twilight chose all of this. She wanted to become an alicorn and none of us have the right to tell her she should change back."
“So you are saying it’s hopeless?” Shining Armor grunted.
“No… there is always hope.” Several of the ponies made a move to speak but Fluttershy, drawing on her time as "New Fluttershy", merely kept going, forcing them to be quiet. "Rarity, do you know what made me question what Iron Will taught me?"
"You were horrified by what you had done," Rarity said, remembering how Fluttershy had locked herself away in fear of the monster she had briefly become.
Fluttershy nodded. "It took me seeing the truth to snap me out of it. Even though you and Pinkie kept telling me I was being mean I didn't listen because I didn't want too. It took me looking within myself and seeing my own actions to make me realize what I had been too blind to see. The same is true with Twilight. We can't force her to give up something she wants... we don't even have the right to."
"You can't believe that her being that... dark alicorn is a good thing," Velvet argued. She felt so conflicted… on one hoof she was horrified by her daughter’s new form, the anger in her eyes and the rage in her heart. But a small part, a very small part, was thrilled that her child was now an immortal… powerful and strong.
"I honestly don't know at this point,” Fluttershy admitted.
Cadence nodded in agreement. "She's caused harm but it only occurred when she felt threatened. At the hospital she woke up during the middle of an operation. I would have reacted the same way if I found strange ponies filling me up with foreign magic." Cadence lips twitched. "Ok, not exactly the same way... and at the club, she was perfectly happy just to dance. It wasn’t until I messed up and tried to force her into coming back to the hospital that Twilight stopped being… Twilight. Before that she was herself. Maybe a bit rougher around the edges but she was Twilight." The love goddess smiled slightly. "I know none of you will like hearing this... but she was actually better than Twilight."
"What ever do you mean?" Rarity asked. “How could you say that about our Twilight?”
Cadence thought back to the bulk of the conversation she had shared with the lavender unicorn. "She was free. Even when she was little Twilight was tightly wound up.” Cadence looked over at her future in-laws and they nodded in agreement. “But at the club she was loose... there was no tension." The pink alicorn shook her head in amusement. "To tell the truth, when she was mad she was more like the Twilight I remembered when she was throwing a fit."
"Twilight doesn't yell and have tantrums," Velvet said.
"Or toss nurses into walls," Rarity added.
"But she does get upset and it makes her do stupid things. The same thing happened at the club and the library was the same situation. Things weren’t going as she planned and her first reaction was frustration and trying to get her plans back on track… by shoving us out."
Celestia finally spoke up. "As much as it pains me to admit, for now we must accept Twilight as she is now: an alicorn who looks upon all of us with distrust and scorn. Doubt did well to stack the deck against us."
"Can we really trust him not to continue to do so?" Shining argued. “All we have to go on is his word and right now I am not ready to trust a pony who is literally all smoke and mirrors.”
Luna closed her eyes, her mane hanging nearly as limp as Pinkie's did when she was down. "We can trust him," Luna stated sadly. "It... hurts to admit it but I was the one that stated we must focus on the truth. Doubt cannot lie; it is simply not in his nature. Doubt... the emotion and the alicorn... does not work in lies but truths. Selective truths, but truths. If he says he will give us two days, then he will give us two days." Luna looked at them all, answering the unspoken question. "But he will defend her if he views us as a threat, so we cannot hope to kidnap her and free her from the magics he gave her."
"If we even should," Applejack said, earning a slight smile from Fluttershy.
"This is all well and good but it doesn't help us," Shining said, playing Devil's Advocate. "We don't even know where to begin. She just... hates all of us."
Rainbow Dash thought back to the fight between her and her friend. "She said we were apologizing for the wrong reasons. She wasn't upset that we didn't believe her... she was mad because she felt like we all abandoned her. She felt like we were all dropping her and didn't want to listen to her."
"And we did," Rarity admitted sullenly. The rest of the bearers nodded their heads in agreement.
"So... we need to show her that we are there for her," Rainbow Dash said firmly. "We need to show her that we are loyal and even if we fight we aren't going to turn our backs on her."
"But how to break through to her and let her know that?" Celestia pondered. Not since Luna had taken the mantle of Nightmare Moon had Celestia felt so lost. All her usual methods to getting Twilight to talk to her were no longer at her disposal. She could almost see the bond between her and the unicorn-turned-alicorn fraying, coming apart as they were pulled apart.
POMPF!
All of them turned as Pinkie's mane and tail suddenly went from straight to frizzle. "We need an expert!" Pinkie dashed out of the room, but before any of them could even wonder what she was doing Pinkie zipped back in, carrying a basket and wearing a huge grin. "Spike managed to get through to her... I'll bet he knows the answer!" Pinkie dropped the basket and looked down at the yawning baby dragon.
"What?" Spike stammer, looking at the grinning face of Pinkie, then at the princesses and the bearers. "Man, not this dream again."
"Spike... we need your help," Shining said softly, dropping his head so he could look the baby dragon in the eye. "You told me earlier tonight that we needed to make up with Twilight... somehow you managed to do just that."
"I don't know if you realize this, Spike, but things have progressed much further since you fell asleep," Celestia stated.
"Twilight has turned into an alicorn!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"And it appears the 6th element of harmony, a being now known as Doubt, has been providing Twilight with negative information, turning her against us," Night Light said.
Pinkie nodded. "So you need to tell us what you did to make Twilight not a grumpy gal and we will each do that and then Twilight will be our friend again." The party planner was practically beaming. "Then we can throw a 'Twilight is now an alicorn!' party!" The mare's eyes got even bigger as she considered other options. "Oooo! Maybe once Twilight is better she can fix Mr. Doubt and then he can let us be alicorns too and we can hold a party that lasts for weeks since we'll all live forever!"
The others chuckled at Pinkie's antics. They needed a bit of laughter after the day they had and the dreams of the pink pony were a balm on their souls.
Spike hated ruining the good mood but knew he needed to answer their question. "I didn't do anything special, really. I just ran to her and apologized and I've been sticking by her ever since."
Twilight Velvet sighed. "I doubt that will work for us... Twilight is ready to blast each of us the moment we look at her."
"Maybe, maybe not," Cadence said. "There is still a chance for us."
"What do you mean?" Applejack asked.
"Twilight's anger is focused on those that attended the wedding. Even though she made me...doubt myself... she still cared about me." Cadence cringed slightly at her words; even though she had been freed from the darkness (which she now realized was Doubt's influence wielded by Twilight) she saw the truth in the unicorn’s words. "She said when I was ready to talk to see her... I think I should."
"Cadence, she and Doubt will corrupt you again!" Shining exclaimed in fear.
"They can't, my love," Cadence said softly. "They can argue my faults but now I understand my own failings and I am ready to face them. They will not be able to infect me again because I will take their arguments and make myself stronger. Doubt, both the alicorn and the emotion, has no power against a pony who is willing to work past their mistakes and failings."
Celestia nodded. "A very wise statement and something each of us must remember. Cadence, you will go and talk with Twilight... perhaps you can go with her Spike and help smooth over any tensions. Meanwhile, the rest of us will brainstorm-"
"No," Spike said quickly. The others blinked, staring at him in shock and the little dragon realized how harsh his words had seemed. "Uh... I mean yeah, I'll talk to Twilight, but you guys shouldn’t brainstorm together."
"Why not?" Luna asked.
Spike sighed. "If you try and come up with some big gesture Twilight is going to see through it. She is looking for all of you to pull a stunt to try and trick her and if she thinks for a moment you're all in league with each other she will just stop listening."
"Then what should we do?" Rarity asked.
The baby dragon shrugged. "Think of something you can do on your own... something simple. Something that will show her you care but doesn't feel like a con job." When he saw the morose faces he sighed. "I know it won't be easy but you have to try. Twilight might be mad right now but I know she is hurting and even if she won't admit it... she needs each and every one of you in her life."
"But what if one of us does something wrong and screwed it up for everypony else?" Shining asked.
"You can't have any doubt... that is what got us here in the first place," Spike said. "We have to believe in each other. It is our only hope."
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This story is about the mind, relationships and duality. Many of you have picked up on that... a few haven't. Good and evil, hate and love, peace and war... dark and light. They must be in balance and they must blend... if there is a message to this story it is you can't have one or the other, or even have one greater than the other.
You need both.
And thus we turn the corner... darkness begins to fade and a glimmer of light can be seen. Will it be enough? That is what the next half of this story is all about.
Thank you to all that have reviewed and debated. I have enjoyed reading all of your posts... from those that got it right to those that came up with things I would have never thought of... and even those 2 or 3 that are dead wrong. I do ask that you be RESPECTFUL when you post. Be mindful of your words and realize that just because one person things Doubt is evil or thinks Twilight shouldn't yell at Celestia that it doesn't mean that reviewer should be mistreated...and the same for the other side too.
Whoo intelligent, informed decisions!
Also,
It's interesting what doubt can do to a person
Dun dun dun!
Another incredible chapter.
It is really fantastic to see Spike staying on Twilight's side. Whilst this could be called a betrayal in that he is "collaborating" with the enemy in a sense, he is trying to help repair Twilight.
But methinks the cracks will always remain and she'll never be as close to them as she once was.
Cheers
GM
Don't you dare remove twilights OP ness because it's fun
I still don't like how things have gone thus far, I still feel that you have twisted the show... teaching the alicorns things they would have already come to terms with, challenging its core concept 'Friendship is Magic. I think that things could of be done better...
Still, this chapter, like the first. Makes sense. Its not enough for me to remove the thumbs down I've given, but it might. The darkness is fading and now its light's time to shine, will it be enough to equal what the darkness that has happened? We'll see.
I'm looking forward to seeing how they will all apologize to Twilight. And props for Spike being smart in this story, I like when Spike is smart.
Good luck to you ponyfolk.
Awaiting further releases.
The ponies should listen to Spike more...
This story basicly sums up why I don't make friends.
Fluttershy nodded. "It took me seeing the truth to snap me out of it. Even though you and Pinkie kept telling me I was being mean I didn't listen because I didn't want too. It took me looking within myself and seeing my own actions to make me realize what I had been too blind to see. The same is true with Twilight. We can't force her to give up something she wants... we don't even have the right to."
I'm not sure I buy the comparison. New Fluttershy was lashing out at everyone, regardless of what they had or hadn't done to deserve it. Twilight's lashed out only against those that have threatened or provoked her: Chrysalis (self-explanatory), the medics (well-meaning or not, they were essentially trying to brainwash her), Cadence (try to order her into seeing things your way, great idea, moron) and Rainbow Dash (I have no words for how boneheaded that move of hers was, classic RD). Holding up a metaphorical mirror to New Twilight would simply be met with "she deserved it" or "self-defense".
1406235 nothing mixes better with stubbornness than contempt
1405986 We're only half way done?!? (Not that I'm complaining...)
Woohoo! New chapter!
1406189
No....Not really.
But please, I would like to know your story behind that line.
Thhis is.... Wow...~ :O
1406554
Doubt's voice is more Bane than Megatron... there are just hinting of the deepness in it. But for the most part, I use Bane's slightly Scottish, gravely voice. Every line is said completely calm and collected but there is something... slightly offputting about it.
I feel as though Spike is betaying Twilight and is not acting the role of anti-hero as I thought, which disappoints and annopys me at the same time, the ponies are listening to him but only because he is their only hope....hmmm....maybe that's thre point, and Spike is still on Twilght's side just giving her friends more ground to cover...so, may he is an anti-hero, neither light nor darkness, for Twilight of against her, with her friends or for them....hmmmmm......I withdraw my pervious wording
great chapter, good to see that some of them are finally getting it into their heads that twilight isn't evil, and that they are actually the problem (twilight does own a little blame as well, but it's insignificant, what matters on her side is how she handles their apologies). a little aggravating to see that some of them are still bone heads and think something is wrong with her head.
THIS STORY!!!
THIS FUCKING STORY!!!
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!
1406235
To be fair, that is their only real point of reference.
1406701
Yes well, she WAS influenced. So they had reason to believe that something might be wrong with her.
"Ignorance is bliss and knowledge is pain. The more your learn, the less happy you become. You begin to understand the world around you for all of its flaws: you loose sight of the joys."
"I feel sorry for the ignorant folks who get by without any understanding their own world: wandering in bliss. And I weep for those who've become aware of the world's faults: the pain never leaves."
"As for myself... well... I just know too much and understand too much to be truly happy anymore. Yet, I am not wallowing in sadness. I am content, and content is good enough for me."
"Balance." 1405986
In my personal opinion, "only Pinkie, Twilight's parents, Cadence, and Luna have a real chance of rectifying with Twilight. Pinkie just went with the flow (similar to Spike) and has always tried to be there for anypony. Twilight's parents didn't have a flying buck to what was going on and have done nothing against Twilight. Cadence had already started rectifying with Twilight. On the side, Luna is already in Twilight's
goodneutral books, so she's fine.""Honestly... Celestia's, Shining Armor's, and the remaining Mane6's ultimate betrayal leaves little-to-no room for redemption. Also to add: Rarity... to be frank... is a stuck up bitch."
Doubt seems remarkably familiar to the devil in my opinion. Never lies because he doesn't have to. He says the truth to convince others of what he wants. And also he enjoys playing with his victims to push them in hopelessness.
But other than that I am loving the story, especilly with the idea that dark is not evil.
1406779
yea, they had reason to believe so at first. but she kept telling them that they were wrong, but they kept refusing to listen and consider other options, in the end; the practically did the same thing they did at the wedding.
1407060
Really? So just saying someone is wrong without listening, and trying to get someone back who seems to be influenced by a dark magic are exactly the same thing?
1406902
Ultimate betrayal? That's a bit far. I know that in this story that its set up that was, but through it was a big mistake. It wasn't an ultimate betrayal. If you haven't, I suggest you read Post Nuptials. Its similar to this, only much more true to the show. Also to add: Rarity... is haughty... but not a stuck up bitch.
1406940
Put it that way... he is a lot like the Devil. I mean, sometimes the truth can be wrong if used in the wrong context.
As for the dark not being evil thing? Please, that's hardly original.
Derp. Hopefully I did the quote right.
I really want to see how this story finishes...
Personally, I'm rooting more for Doubt than the ponies. He really seems like more of "the good guy", unless the ponies put on a pretty darn good show of actually accepting their mistakes, he deserves to "win" this one.
So I'd say you've succeeded in trying to get across the message of "Dark is not evil" (insert emoticon, because at this point I still don't know which one conveys which emotion)
1407099
no, they're not, i never said that. They acted fairly at first; when they believed her to be consumed by dark magic, and had nothing to go on but what they had seen and heard. But when she started telling them she wasn't evil and actually does stand for the things she's saying, and yet they still refused to even consider that she's actually somewhat sane (they kept repeating the same thing; that they "have to get her back"), that's when they were in the wrong. they had good intentions, but the refused to take in and consider new information, which is what they also did at the wedding.
1407177
Put it like that way... it makes kinda sense.
Still, if you know someone hasn't been thinking straight recently, and you've been through highly stressful situations and is in one... I can understand what they did.
.1406491It's kinda hard to explain, and you would have to listen to me drag on about the first nine to ten years of my life.
.
I like to be alone because I look out for me and make my own decisions. I don't have to be there for someone else at times that may inconvenience me or for reasons that are really not important. No one but myself to rely on and in turn no body to be relied upon by.
Believe me, I know how cynical and self centered this sounds, but as I said this developed over a long period of time and that time has showed me that friendship is just a way to use others to your personal benefit.
Please don't try to change my mind. It took me long enough to come to this conclusion. Don't make it last any longer than it needs to. I am content to llive alone and it has brought me more happiness than I knew before
-Walters Host
1406902 Well Fluttershy has a chance as well but Rainbow Dash after that fight it'll be a miracle if Twilight forgives her at all.
Applejack is neutral but didn't do anything to make Twilight reconsider her actions.
Rarity although she can be vain and no doubt cast Twilight aside at the wedding rehersal in the hopes of impressing the Canterlot Elite which she should know by are stuck up she dogs has a slight chance as well since she is Spike's love intrest and as she has constantly shown most of the time she'll sacrifice her own beauty if means making someone else happy.
Shining Armor screwed up big time so he'll have a hard time regaining Twilight's trust, and Celestia she made the biggest mistake of all by not supporting Twilight at all during the wedding rehersal and shunning her when she was pratically the one figure Twilight could never see fault in.
1407201
I would not dare try and think of something to say to that now.
But! I do wish to some time soon. Your words mean a lot to me.
So, I guess Doubt's the devil, then? Can Twilight be redeemed? Is that even the right word? She certainly doesn't seem corrupted. This is really starting to remind me of Faust.
i think this is a good story and it teaches a valuable lesson just like the show you must learn to back up those who you call your friends even if no one else does and to give them a friend to lean on for support when they need it most
i think this is a good story and it teaches a valuable lesson just like the show you must learn to back up those who you call your friends even if no one else does and to give them a friend to lean on for support when they need it most and another thing when is the next chapter coming out cause i want to read the rest of the story. its exciting
the story is really picking up again.I hope you keep doubt out of it until some final revelation confrontation. I like it better when it's about Twilight
I find it rather odd that only a few of them are actually considering what Twilight herself wants. If this continues, I think only Fluttershy and Applejack might be able to reconnect with Twilight. Maybe Cadance too.
I'm just hoping it won't turn into a hugfest with apologies being thrown around, though I highly doubt that'll happen. I probably already said this in another review but your dark Twilight is the best I've read so far, mostly because she has legitimate reasons to be pissed off
If Twilight returns to tightly-wound happy friendly purple unicorn, I'mma be pissed. Only partial reversion at most...
1407824
All of this. All of it.
Also, if the elements of "harmony" are all the opposites of Discord's traits, the sixth element is doubt, and the title of this story is "Faith and Doubt", then Discord had to be faithful to someone or something... Maybe just chaos itself?
And so it continues... one can only wonder what will become of our heroes... and what of Chrysalis? What will be her ultimate fate?
Or did I miss that somewhere?
Well if you look at it in category:
Shining, Applejack, Rarity. Rainbow, Celestia: 0-40% chance of forgiveness
Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Parents: 41-70% chance of forgiveness
Cadance and Luna: 71-99% chance of forgiveness
Spike is in the trust circle because Twilight realized that he too was being neglected and treated unfairly and he is doing now what I think is the best decision with handling Twilight at the moment... stick with her, listen to her and not to doubt her...
1407099
While the 'ultimate' betrayal is a little far, they still abandoned her in a pretty cold fashion. Instead of being good friends and sitting her down and talking through it, they (quite literally) stuck their nose up in the air and turned their backs on her when she flipped out. They left her to deal with her problem alone.
They did the exact same thing with the 'Tardy' thing. Instead of listening to her issues and trying to help (even if she was wrong), they pretty much just shrugged her concerns off without much thought. Even when she teleported off, looking like she was on the verge of having a major freakout, they didn't even LOOK for her to try and sort through it. They continued with their little picnic and, once again, left her to deal with a freak out by lonesome.
spike, being a baws and staying calm
-i wonder what the dream was about though
----
another well written chapter
I don't buy this Doubt is the 6th element of harmony business, seems really out there. Doubt has no place in harmony.
I see doubt as sort of the embodiment of the emotion, it's not clear what the link is with darkness and corruption. It's not clear if it's really dark magic or just sort of twisted magic (hence "corrupting" the white magic). I wouldn't call Doubt the good guy, he just has valid arguments which is why he's succeeding here. They have to provide some proof that they are more than they appear to be for Twilight to accept that they understand that she's more than she appears to be, at least that seems to be an interpretation
It appears that their success will be advanced/hindered by how much Twilight trusts/doubts their sincerity. In any case, if they wanted Twilight to be the same as before they are asking for the wrong thing in some ways, because she'll see that as being them wanted what she appeared to be, instead of what she really is/isn't.
Celestia's got it pretty bad because she doesn't have a good track record with Twilight's incidents, she thinks about the truth of things, rather than how Twilight treats them. In at least two cases (canon and this), she's dismissed Twilight as if she just did something wrong rather than realizing that Twilight was utterly serious on both occasions. I felt like Lesson Zero made Celestia seem kind out of character with the rest of the show, but then the show seems to simplify a lot at times. She only really addressed what Twilight did wrong without really dealing with the issue.
Once again Spike gets the vote for Best Pony!
It's kinda funny. I spent the last chapter going, "Go to Twilight and say, 'we're concerned about you. We want to make sure you're still the same Twilight we became friends with. If you are, then we'll support whatever decision you make.' And then...just go do things together. One on one. Like, Rainbow could go sit and read the latest Daring Do book with her or something."
In other words, make a show of faith.
1409346
Doubt, as we know him now, is NOT the final piece of Harmony. But who he once was... the being he was when he first went to Celestia and offered aid... that is the final element. Twilight has that spark in her as well and is able to use that piece of Doubt when wielding the elements. It is still there in Doubt, but buried and forgotten. Twilight is the only one that can connect to it, which is why Doubt is her guardian.
The idea is that 'Magic', the thing Twilight draws upon, has another name. It has been forgotten (the show said it themselves) and Twilight simply named it Magic. But it isn't that... the final element is what Twilight embodies and what Doubt once was...and this story will answer that.
1410288
That was in the movie. The ORIGINAL line was said by Aragorn in the House of Healing. Peter Jackson admitted he gave it to Wormtongue and turned it from a piece about a man lamenting the pain a woman feels to a taunt by a desperate man.
i would believe that currently luna would have the most chance of making up with twilight easily, her parents may be diffcult but much less so then shining. fluttershy may have it the easiest of her friends as, lets face it who can hate fluttershy?happy to see twilights alicorn powers are staying, now she just needs to work on tempering her dakrness with positive emotions. luna's vision seemed mistranslated. and i have a feeling her reasons for heading to canterlot involved something else other then what luna thought. perhaps a certian draconequease who's seal should be weakening do to harmony being in disarray?
1410482
I will only say that the vision is much like a Slayer Dream: Filled with metaphors and hidden meanings.