White Sun

by The Psychopath

Choices

Twilight drooped slightly at Silvery's news. "Oh..."

The stallion shrugged. "It is what it is, sohry teh say." He walked around Spike, taking in every little detail of the undead dragon, and whistled. "Quite the specimen. Even rehpleeced his missing bits with a bit of meegic hullabaloo," he mused.

The unicorn was quick to start digging through her saddlebags and pull out a few small dragon bones. "I've got these as payment this time. Genuine adult dragon bone."

Silver raised a hoof and took them. "Seems genuine," he stated while looking them over. "Pretty good quality. Surprised yeh even meeneged ta sneak these through anyp--" He stopped himself and smirked. "Ah. Right. Yer forced to circumvent eeveerythin'." There was an awkward silence as he put the bones away in his cloak and the two ponies had nothing to follow-up on. "Yeh eever wondah what it would've been leyk if Celeestia didn't...yeh know..." He drooped his head several times.

Twilight looked away. "I...try not to think about it." She smiled at Silvery, though her expression was clearly forced. "I'm just working to bring her back! Then I can stop all of this," she claimed.

The stallion nodded, not believing a word. "Theen come ohn. Leet's go see what there is."

The two entered the strange room again. Twilight never paid much attention to it, but there was a strange scent in the air. Whether it came from the decorations or not was a mystery that the unicorn wasn't too interested in delving into. The two ponies were surprised when Spike stepped into the room and the magic bindings started to spark and fluctuate wildly out of control.

"Get it out!" Silvery shouted. The two pushed the skeleton away and sighed in relief when Twilight's spell stabilized. "Hoo. Was close," the stallion wheezed. "Gave me a fright."

"There's anti-magic in here?!" Twilight realized.

The stallion nodded. "Yes. Good for negotiations, now teel yer skellie teh stay out."

Twilight didn't feel comfortable with leaving Spike alone by himself. After all, he didn't know much about the world at all, and his shyness would make him easy to take advantage of. Noticing Silvery's disapproving glare, the mare toughened herself up for Spike's benefit.

"You can wait outside, Spike," she ordered it. "Just don't talk to anypony you don't know, okay?" The skeleton did not respond. "Great! I'll be back shortly."

Silvery rolled his eyes. "Hey! Jam! We need you' eexpertise!" When there was no answer, the stallion became increasingly annoyed. "Jam! Don't make meh get in theere and turn make you' name an observation!"

Twilight jumped back when a wall slid off to the side, knocking over several pillows and piled up comforters and wall carpets.

"Whaaaat?" an angry voice crowed. "I'm busyyyy!"

"Need heelp identifyin' some good pleeces fer my client."

The unicorn tried to get a better view of the yellow light obscured by Silvery's body, but she was unable to even catch a glimpse of the source before the door was shut close by Jam. As she stepped forward, Twilight realized that every other step produced a heavy 'clunk' noise. It didn't take long to see why. She was a battered pegasus with stubs in place of her wings and a wooden left foreleg. It was equipped with joints and seemed to move with every flex of her shoulder muscles, but it was a stiff movement. Her fur was a vibrant pink color, and her mane and tail were both grape colored with three thin, vertical streaks of dandelion yellow going through them. The mare's rough, yellow eyes told Twilight that this pony wasn't somepony to annoy. There were years of hardships in them.

Twilight attempted to introduce herself. "H-hello! My name is--"

"Twilight Sparkle. Yeah. I know," Jam said grumpily. "Sunshine Sunshine, lady-bugs awake!" she mocked.

"How do--"

"You're the little necromancer that installed herself around these parts after Celestia got beheaded," she said while tracing her hoof across her neck. She laughed afterward. "What a mess that was." She leaned in close to Twilight and almost fell over because of her prosthetic. "You know, for the right price or a service, I can tell you what's happening in Canterlot right now."

The unicorn gulped. She was really, really curious to know what had happened to the castle when that awful day occurred. "I...I'm okay," Twilight said quietly.

"Stop tormentin' her," Silvery chastised.

Jam turned to him, shaking her head a bit and looking at him with bafflement. "What? It's info. Everypony loves info."

"Yeh, but thees is the first time I've called for yae. Could use some tact."

The pegasus grunted as she adjusted the latches of her prosthetic. "Yeah yeah. So how much gold is she giving? Or did she bring us some jewels or something?"

The stallion grinned. "Going with yer profeesion, I figured yeh wouldn't know."

Jam looked up slightly. "Know what?"

"Thees li''le pony's the one that's been geeving us all that research."

The uncaring attitude of the pegasus seemed to lighten as she looked at Twilight with a big smile. "Is she now?"

"Y-yes," Twilight said. She backed away instinctively as Jam approached her with her head slung low. "I can bring gold if you--"

"No need!" Jam said. "All that research you've given us has made us rich, rich, rich!"

Silvery's eyes shot open. "Jam!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. Some spit flew from his mouth and landed near the vaguely annoyed pegasus.

"What? She's not going to stop giving us research, are you, filly?" the mare asked slyly. Twilight shook her head in response. "And we're busy searching for Celestia's body anyways." Her stubs shook a bit before the pegasus continued. "Tell you what: You've given us so much that I won't charge you this time for any knowledge. Why, I may not even charge you later either!" she laughed. "And don't mind Grumpo. He works on a businessman mentality." She tapped her head with her good hoof. " 'We've got to make mo-ney' type, you understand?" Twilight nodded quickly. "So what is it you want?"

The mare cleared her throat and straightened herself out, catching herself from looking at Jam's 'wings' several times. "I want to know if there's somewhere far away from this region where I could find some useful...specimens for my experiments. It's the same kind of magic saturation here and I realized that I need new specimens from elsewhere if I'm going to--"

Twilight was interrupted by a hoof shoved in her mouth. "Ponies or something else?"

"Prrners," Twilight responded.

"How far?" Jam asked. When Twilight couldn't respond, the pegasus chuckled. "Fine. I'll think of something," she said while turning around to go back to the golden room. "Two days of continual marching without resting should be a good distance for you." She spun around. "Although, I think you would find wild magic more efficient in your studies, I think."

"Wild magic? Why? Celestia--"

"Was an alicorn," Jam interjected. She gestured to her forehead. "Have those giant horns and their magic is unique. Uncontrollable to non-unicorns. Similar thing. Worth a venture, and I'm certain you'll find some ponies that died in these places."

"Yeeh. Okay. While yae talk about that, I'll geet the ingredients for yer meedallions," Silvery said with a hint of annoyance.

"Okay, thanks," Twilight said with a light smile.

There was a pause as Jam ran some knowledge through her head. "There's still some alicorn magic out there," she grinned knowingly. "Could try asking my employees--"

"No that's fine!" Twilight rejected vehemently. "I'm good." She pursed her lips in anticipation and worry. "So...what are--"

"Hold on," Jam interrupted her again.

The pegasus rushed off toward the golden room, pulling the wall back in the process and forgetting to shut it again. The temptation was grand and almost palpable, and Twilight soon found her legs moving forward on their own. Unfortunately, she still wasn't able to check what was beyond the veil as Jam popped back out with a huge, rolled-up parchment slumped over her back.

"Here," Jam said. She pulled a short table away from a group of couches placed in a half-circle shape and laid the parchment over it. It was a view of Equestria from far above. A consequence was the lack of smaller details which chased out many of the smaller towns and cities. The pegasus put her hoof on a spot surrounded by mountainous and hilly terrain as well as several small woods dotted about. "We're here, in Flarolina." She circled the area, covering a few larger cities including the graveyard Twilight had 'looted' atop a high cliff. "You've been snooping around here for a few years. Some places with wild magic that you might be interested in-" She briefly looked Twilight in the eyes. "which have ponies, of course-" Jam smiled. "would be places like the Terrestrial Nebula up here across the border into the Crystal Empire's territory." Twilight tensed up at the name. "It's a field of crystal-like structures that create an artificial nebula of colors and shapes using magic that the Empire is still studying now that they've returned. Its ecosystem is one of the best things you can see as a biologist," Jam mused. "The advantage is that it's only half a day's walk from here and there's an underground tunnel system that goes on forever, so even though it's not that far from the usual, you'll have plenty of time to explore and find what you want."

"Eeeeh. I don't feel comfortable going up there...yet..." Twilight said quietly. She shifted in place, clearly uncomfortable with the idea.

Jam immediately broke Twilight's imagination by slamming her prosthetic onto the table, startling the unicorn. "Aaaaaall the way down here, way past Canterlot, is a forest called 'Everfree'. Supposedly it's like its own little pocket world that doesn't follow what is happening outside somehow. Day and night cycles don't really follow the outside world, and strange critters live within."

"And it houses the Castle of the Two Sisters," Twilight said in awe. "That's...really tempting."

"Well, over here on the bottom left of the map, bordering the desert is the Golden Pin Woods. This place is...odd. The trees and plants look like they're made of stone, and much like the Everfree it's basically its own little place, but it grows from the sand and there's no seeds or anything that comes from it, so no pony knows how it's growing. Those that live there tend to trim it down every six months, so it can't grow far." Jam looked at the yellow, angular sticks drawn to represent it. "Pretty sure there's stuff underneath. They grow on sand so anypony that died there must have sunk underneath, so what could be there?"

Twilight's eyes darted between the two locations faster and faster before she closed her eyes and yelled. "Golden Pin! I'll go there!"

"Fantastic!" Jam said. She rolled up the parchment and stuck it in her robe. "I'll give you the instructions to get down there shortly. The rest is up to you." The pegasus hopped in place. "And don't forget that a trip like this will likely take you a week, if not more, on hoof. Better look for ways to go faster. Still, not as far as Everfree would have been."

After around fifteen minutes, Twilight was given the reagents and materials for her medallions as well as the instructions and a cheap copy of a map that would lead her down to the Golden Pin Woods. She waved the two goodbye, grabbed Spike, and immediately started mumbling to herself as she tried to come up with several plans for her trip. It wasn't urgent, but she couldn't wait to take the trip!

Jam bashed the stallion in the shoulder with a jab from her good hoof. "Hey, you heard about the Crystal Empire?"

"What about it?" Silvery asked angrily while rubbing his leg.

"Heard Empress Cadance and Emperor Shining Armor have been decrying the state of Equestria to the world, defaming the council that rules over us 'all'," the mare mused.

Silvery snorted. "That why you tried to get Twilight to go north? So she'd be stuck with those two?"

Jam shrugged. "Maybe," she said before going silent for a moment. "She's a strange one, that's for sure. Could have done her a lot of good to go there," Jam told Silvery.

"Yeah. For a neecromencer she's very 'pure' in a sense." The stallion rubbed the back of his neck. "Somepony like her, though..."

"Yeah yeah," Jam interrupted. "Necromancy isn't the best thing to be studying, but I figure, with her goals, she won't go power-hungry like the other idiots we get here."

"That's not it," Silvery said with increased worry. "A pony so weell-intentioned like her is more easily consumed bey their purpose 'n goal the loonger it teekes ta be accomplished."

Jam looked at the stallion sideways. "What are you getting at?"

The stallions expression grew somber. "I'm worried she'll geet so impehtient she'll becohm a lich."

Comments

[DarkSnowGaming]

Ok so Cadance does exist, and so does Shining Armor, does anyone know that Shining Armor and Twilight are siblings?

I'm also kinda curious if we will see Twilight turn into an Allicorn in this story, that's something that I realized because the elements of harmony are what turned her into an Allicorn, Celestia only sped up the process and helped her along the way so it's not impossible for Twilight to turn into an Allicorn even with Celestia dead, would be interesting and if she was an Allicorn I wonder what she would be the Allicorn of, magic? Necromancy? Princess of the undead? That would be a very interesting concept.

Twilight going power hungry is also concerning, but maybe there are ways to avoid that, maybe since her special talent is magic, that includes all types of magic? Meaning she wouldn't go power hungry or lose control? Never know, only the Arthur can decide.

Although if Shining Armor is alive I wonder what he thinks of Twilight, does he think she's dead?

[Dormi_san]

11829025
I have a theory that the story takes place between season 4 and 5, as for the other enemies, Dircord is probably still sealed in stone since it is practically impossible to defeat the unreformed Discord without the elements of harmony and I doubt that the council secretly be alicorns, King Sombra is only strong if he has enough time to gather strength but the crystal heart can finish him off, Chrysalis and the changelings may stay hidden in the shadows to attack at a good time (I doubt Chrysalis will go to waste the opportunity since Celestia is dead) and Tirek has also been waiting for the right moment. Personally I feel that the most relevant would be Starlight or the Storm King, Starlight wants to impose her way of thinking by force and I doubt that the council is in favor of that, while the Storm King sees Equestria as an open treasure chest without his dog guardian (Celestia), that's what I think.

And regarding Luna's situation (or Nightmare Moon).... it is complicated, either she is dead or she is being held prisoner (not banished to the Moon), that could explain the situation regarding night and day. But it would be very difficult to control her magic.

[Dormi_san]

El unicornio trató de ver mejor la luz amarilla oscurecida por el cuerpo de Silvery, pero no pudo ni siquiera vislumbrar la fuente antes de que Jam cerrara la puerta. Mientras daba un paso adelante, Twilight se dio cuenta de que cada otro paso producía un fuerte ruido metálico. No pasó mucho tiempo para ver por qué. Era una pegaso maltrecha con muñones en lugar de alas y una pata delantera izquierda de madera. Estaba equipado con articulaciones y parecía moverse con cada flexión de los músculos de su hombro, pero era un movimiento rígido. Su pelaje era de un color rosa vibrante, y su melena y cola eran de color uva con tres finas rayas verticales de color amarillo diente de león que las atravesaban. Los ojos amarillos y ásperos de la yegua le dijeron a Twilight que este pony no era alguien a quien molestar. Fueron años de penurias en ellos.

I swear when I read this for a moment....she is Cadence but pegasus. That made me theorize that in this universe Cadence never got her wings and her life went downhill from that point, until she ended up with a prosthesis and her wings completely lost.

"Escuché que la Emperatriz Cadance y el Emperador Shining Armor han estado denunciando el estado de Equestria ante el mundo, difamando al consejo que nos gobierna a 'todos'", reflexionó la yegua.

And with that my theory died suddenly, it was a good theory in my head but then I realized that the hair color and the eye color were not the same.

11829751
I think they do know the sibling relationship between Shining Armor and Twilight, he was the captain of the royal guard and she was Celestia's protégé, obviously both were somewhat known in the castle, and therefore the council must know about they.

I believe in the possibility of Twilight becoming an Alicorn, it is possible but I doubt it will happen in this story, Cadence was able to become an Alicorn on her own while Twilight needed years of guidance and training from Celestia to achieve it. She is entering a very dark field of magic, I doubt that if she becomes an Alicorn it is due to necromancy, alicorns are synonyms of harmony and order (Nightmare Moon does not count anymore, Luna was infected with the nightmare after becoming an alicorn )

There is a phrase that says: The end justifies the means, but we must not forget either, the means define the end. The Twilight at the end of this story will not be the same as the one at the beginning.

Now we just need to know if the Shining Armor and Cadence of the Crystal Empire are the same as we think, if Twilight changed who says they didn't?

[The Psychopath]

11829988
You use a Spanish translator?

[DarkSnowGaming]

11829944
I'm actually surprised there hasn't been any attacks on Equestria yet, one would think that the month Celestia is dead there would be a full out war, without the elements of harmony and Celestia is dead, Equistria is completely vulnerable, nobody could stop a war from happening, not even the guards would be able to get close.

As for controlling Luna's magic I doubt that, only the elements of harmony can change Nightmare Moon back to Luna, and so if Nightmare Moon is captured I doubt she would give up her power, and I also doubt Luna would give up her power once she realizes that her sister has been killed, she would probably rather die than give up her power.

Maybe the villains in this universe is nicer? Either that or they don't care what's going on in Equestria. I'm still surprised people would even want Celestia dead in the first place, I mean she litterly controls the fricking sun!! If she wanted to she could crash then sun into the entire planet ending all life! I'm surprised Celestia even allowed herself to die.

11829988
I don't think Cadance and Shining Armor changed to much, there probably not allowed to enter Equestria due to them being royalty along with Celestia before Celestia died, Shining Armor might have changed a lot if he thinks Twilight is dead or missing and same goes for Cadance but we aren't sure yet. If Shining Armor isn't allowed in Equestria then he wouldn't have any information about her sister so he will probably just assume the worst.

[Dormi_san]

11830240
Eeyup
Sorry for the grammar, English is not my main language, I only use the English translator when I write very long comments, I hope you don't mind.

[The Psychopath]

11830372
I didn't notice until you shared the translated sections of my story. Aside from the excessive use of commas, it looks fine to me.