Raven’s Last Flight

by Chemtest

Pupa

“Earth; that word, ‘Earth’, it seems to appear no matter where I trot, in the eldest of texts and most mythical of stories. I return now from the Unicornian Confederacy, having trotted the world around, literally, to retrieve one of my father’s journals, kept in mint condition by the xenophobic unicorns. Upon hearing I was the daughter of the ‘Great Omegamage’ Starswirl the Bearded, and upon demonstrating my ancestry by disintegrating one of their leaders, they were more than happy to give them over. It was there that I saw the word once more, ‘Earth’, mentioned in the earliest of his transcripts as a realm that Equis was separated from at its conception. Indeed, it claims that he even asked King Ordirus, Discord, and Sombra if the realm is more than myth, and they all said that it was real, and that Equis was once part of it. With Discord in stone, Ordirus slain, and Sombra MIA for a thousand years, this cannot be proven to be true, but my father rarely wrote down falsehoods.”

Raven trots into a bright room, one kept sterile, built out of stone and steel rather than the chitin the rest of the Hive is built out of. An old book floats by his side, an auto-reading enchantment upon it reading out its contents to him in a dry mare’s voice. He looks around the new laboratory, seeing plenty of paper for writing down notes, a sink, many tools, a bell for requesting service, and some doors leading to a bathroom and a bedroom. He nods along as he looks at all of it, resuming the enchantment on the book.

“In the Deer Kingdom, Elk Tribes, and Caribou Jarldom, in all found mentions of Earth, of infinite tundras and boreal forests through which tall bipeds would walk, right beside the Old Gods. To the east, the Centaur Nomads, Saddle Arabian City-States, Donkanian Kingdom and Purrsian Republic, I found yet more mentions. Creatures devoid of any magic roamed infinite planes, they conquered the seas and tamed the deserts, assisted and guided by the ancients, Ahllu and Rain. To the west, the Purple Hive, Eeeeeeeeeenglish Kingdoms, and Grogaria, they told of distant creatures made by their God, John Smith, in a perfect garden, out of which the holy Thestrals were cast due to the corruptive magics of the Grogarian Necromancers. In Zebrica, ancient texts speak of a divided realm of mountains and grass, above which reigned Zuéstro, Arésh, Appára, and Hermása, and of a southern empire of the sands, overlooked by Setátha. Within the Griffons, they speak of lush lands for hunting, where they fought their ancient enemies, the Arimaspi, outside the cave in which Boreas awaited.”

Behind Raven would trot in three fillies, looking around the lab with curious looks. Sweetie Belle looks at the talking book, and then at him, while he grabs a quill in fingers made of chitin, beginning to write down notes. Scootaloo opens her mouth to speak, but Sweetie Belle gives her a small shake of the head, and then points at the book, while it continues.

“What is Earth? If it was once part of us, or we part of it, why are we no longer? Perhaps… perhaps this would explain how strange our world is. It is something I have noticed in my travels. In the north, the Elk, Deer, Caribou, they all share very similar traits. Yet as one moves more and more south, creatures become more different, more diverse, in abilities, sizes, and general structure. Is this simply how a world must be, or is it special for us? Why did the Gods design our world in such a way? I don’t understand yet, but I have one more expedition to go on. South, to the Southlands, beyond the jungles and the Kirin villages. Perhaps my answer will be there. — Clover the Clever.”

Raven finishes writing, and then looks back at the fillies, specifically at Sweetie Belle, “Sweetie Belle, I have some questions. You’re the smartest of your friends.” Scootaloo opens her mouth to speak, but he looks at her, “You have your own strengths, Scootaloo, as do you, Apple Bloom, do not take my compliments of her to be insults of you. You may be children yet, but you are smarter than that. Now, please, Sweetie Belle, tell me. Who is Ordirus, who is Sombra, who is Discord, what gods are true and which are false, and who is Clover the Clever?”

She nods, smiling softly, “Well… Ordirus was the Spirit of Order, father of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and he was the first King of Equestria, he still technically is since neither Princess took the title Queen in order to preserve his memory, and he died against a Minotaur, Cain.” Raven’s eyes widen ever so slightly, but he simply nods for her to go along, “Sombra is his brother, he’s the Spirit of Shadow, and he was the King of the Crystal Empire. He was fought by Princess Celestia and Luna because he went mad and cruel, and he caused the entire Empire to disappear when he was defeated. Discord is Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, he was also a brother to the other two, and he went mad when Ordirus was killed, so he started to cause chaos all over, until he was frozen in stone. He was released, umm… a few months ago, for… reasons, but he was sealed back in stone. I don’t really know much theology, but I know that Princess Celestia and Luna are worshipped as goddesses, but they reject the worship. Clover the Clever is the daughter of Starswirl the Bearded, the greatest wizard ever, who was renowned for traveling the world and finding information.”

Apple Bloom speaks as soon as Sweetie Belle is done, “Raven… what are we doing in some sort of fancy looking lab? We didn’t really get told all too much on the way here.”

Raven looks at her, and then gives her a small nod, “I have come to an agreement with Queen Chrysalis where I will help her defeat her enemies, in return for materials for research. You are here because I need someone to give me information about the world.”

Scootaloo frowns slightly, “Then why are Bloom and I here, since Sweetie is apparently so smart?”

He then moves to look at her, “Because I want you to watch and look impressed when I do something impressive. It has been a long time since I’ve had a captive audience… quite literally.” He breathes out in a small snort, “That was a joke. I wish to have laymen here, you always have the ability to ask questions which an expert would never even think to ask. Do not disparage yourself, Scootaloo, you are quite useful.”

Sweetie Belle looks at her friends, and then back at him, “You mentioned you’re helping against enemies… who do you mean by enemies? The Changelings aren’t at war with anyone.”

He gives her a curt nod, “With my assistance, there shan’t be a war. Chrysalis plans to strike the realm of Equestria.”

Sweetie’s eyes widen and her face goes pale, while Scootaloo steps forward angrily, “What?! You’re helping her attack Equestria!? Our home!?”

Apple Bloom steps up right alongside her, a frown on her face, “Raven, you can’t be serious if you’re actually gonna help her.”

He calmly holds up a hoof, looking at the two of them with an impassive look, “I know quite well that it is your home, and I am very serious in my help to her. Before you say anything more, allow me to walk you through this, step by step. Chrysalis has been slighted, she seeks revenge, justice, for what was done to her. Her mind is set on conquest of Equestria, nothing I could say would stop her. So allow me to ask you this, fillies. What is better, Chrysalis sending a swarm of changelings into battle, where they shall rip apart and be ripped apart by your friends, family, and neighbor, or is it better that I assist her with a surgical strike, no death, no injury, just a simple change of the flag.”

Scootaloo scowls, “Neither of them! You’re strong, right, strong enough that there’s a whole book about you, why don’t you just step up to her and force her to stop?! Why would you ever help her?! And don’t say there’s nothing that’s going to die, Equestria is going to die!”

Apple Bloom looks down, thinking, while he answers Scootaloo, “Would that be better, to destroy this nation instead of another? I do not care about nations, be it Chrysalis’s Hive or Equestria, they both suffer the same eventual fate of every nation, to wither and to die. In a thousand years, will the actions I take today have any effect, when the memory of Equestria is forgotten? No, it won’t, but what will be remembered is the information, the experiments, the ideas. That is why I asked for a laboratory instead of any other reward. When you have all withered, when I have eventually been finally slain, it shall be my books that survive me, my research. Chrysalis has provided that to me. She has given me respect, she has given me honesty, far more than you ever have, Scootaloo, in the blink that I have known you. You are too strong to be this stupid and unfocused, now close your mouth and think for a second before you speak next lest you waste our valuable oxygen.”

Scootaloo frowns, looking away for a minute, then looking back, “Ponies are happy in Equestria, but the changelings aren’t here. The changelings are hidden in the dark, injured and angry, apart from each other. In Equestria, ponies live side by side, friends run in the daylight, enjoying every day, pegasi fly through blue skies, creating beautiful clouds while unicorns enjoy a book under the shade of a tree. Why make us more like the changelings? Why make us afraid, and angry, and dark? Why make us unhappy, Raven, why?”

He slowly blinks at her, noticing the other two fillies looking up at him, before he responds in an impassive voice, “I can see why we disagree. You value life through happiness and companionship, you believe that to be happy is good and unhappy is bad. I don’t care for joy, sadness, anger, or any such mortal emotion. Your mortal lives are fleeting and trite, the only one who shall remember your name in a thousand years is me, Scootaloo, so why should any value be placed upon how you feel? The only true value in this world is knowledge, the continuous search for the truth. Knowledge is magic, Scootaloo, not friendship or happiness.”

Scootaloo looks at him, and then shakes her head, “You’re crazy.” She then trots off to a nearby door, opening it up to a bedroom, “C’mon, Crusaders, leave him to his ‘knowledge’.” Apple Bloom would trot over, with Sweetie Belle looking into Raven’s eyes. He looks right back into her own, the two looking at each other for a minute before she slowly trots to her friends, closing the door behind her, leaving Raven alone in his laboratory.

Apple Bloom takes a seat on the bed in the bedroom, giving her friends a small smile, “Well… I guess it’s a sleepover, right, girls?”

Scootaloo frowns, kicking the sheets of the bed in frustration, ignoring her friend, “He’s insane, and I thought he was almost cool back in that cell. How can somepony believe that happiness doesn’t matter?”

Sweetie Belle slowly climbs onto the bed, speaking softly, “He seems so… sad.”

Scootaloo frowns and looks at her, “If by ‘sad’ you mean ‘insane’, yeah.”

She shakes her head, “No, he’s not insane, he’s just different.” She looks away, “Rarity told me about when Miss Twilight first came to Ponyville, she seemed to avoid everypony around her, wanting to get everything down quickly and methodically. During her own welcoming party, she just tried to go to sleep, away from everypony else. She didn’t see other ponies as being valuable, and seemed to consider reading and learning to be more valuable than friendship and happiness.”

Apple Bloom tilts her head slightly, “So… you think Raven’s like Miss Twilight? Actually, yeah, I remember when my family welcomed her, she seemed way too focused on her assignment, seeing if we made proper amounts of food, she didn’t even eat her Apple Brown Betties.” She smiles softly, “I mean, she actually had emotion in her voice, but I guess she weren’t a thousand years old.”

Scootaloo looks between her two friends, raising an eyebrow, “Wait, wait, are you implying that we should be trying to convince him by befriending him? Like your sisters did with Twilight?”

Sweetie Belle smiles softly, “Everypony wants happiness and friendship, Scootaloo, it’s just that some ponies forget that they want it if they’ve been pushed away too many times. It might be hard, but I think, starting tomorrow morning, we should try our best to befriend him, show him what happiness is again.”

Apple Bloom smiles slightly and nods, “Yeah, we can be just like our sisters! Scootaloo, you in?”

Scootaloo hops up, taking a second before she grins widely, “Sweetie Belle, you are the smartest of us, I gotta say.” She then holds up her hoof, “Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

They all three cheer at once, “Yay!”

Comments

[Cyana Flame]

[DingoAte]

This will be fun to observe:D

[RandomCommentor]

He then moves to look at her, “Because I want you to watch and look impressed when I do something impressive. It has been a long time since I’ve had a captive audience… quite literally.” He breathes out in a small snort, “That was a joke. I wish to have laymen here, you always have the ability to ask questions which an expert would never even think to ask. Do not disparage yourself, Scootaloo, you are quite useful.”

“If nobody’s standing around looking impressed, whats the point in having you all?!”

-The Doctor from Doctor Who.

[FridayPie]

Term "crusaders" here is ironic, once being a synonim of "paladins".