Celestia's Theory
Twilight rushed back and forth, hurriedly using her magic to try and tidy up the library. Her eyes darted around in a panic as she looked over the foyer. Spike followed behind her at a more languid pace, casually tucking any loose books away.
"Oh, hurry up Spike," Twilight exclaimed, dancing on her hooves. "Princess Celestia’s going to be here any minute. We can’t greet her with the place looking like this." Twilight waved a hoof, gesturing around her at the nearly-spotless library. Spike calmly picked a stack of books off of the table and carried them over to the bookshelf.
“Don’t worry Twilight,” he said as he began sliding the books into their proper places. “The place looks fine, and it’s not like the Princess would just drop everything to come he-” A sudden flash of light in the center of the room interrupted him, forming itself into the shape of Princess Celestia. Spike stared at her, his mouth moving silently for a few moments. “Huh,” he managed to force out eventually.
“Hold still for a second, Twilight,” Celestia said as she leaned down, touching her horn to Twilight’s. A light golden glow enveloped the spiralling white horn, wrapping itself around the purple mare. The glow gently covered Twilight’s body for a moment before cracks ran through it, fracturing the glow and causing it to dissipate. Celestia sighed as she stepped back, an irritated look on her face. “I was afraid of this,” she muttered quietly.
“Princess?” Twilight licked her lips, which suddenly felt dry and parched. “What is it? What’s wrong with me? Am I-” her voice broke for an instant, and she was forced to swallow before she continued. When she spoke, her voice was barely over a whisper “Am I going to lose my magic?”
Celestia looked at Twilight in surprise for an instant before she smiled reassuringly. “Do not worry, my dearest student. There is no danger of you losing your magic from this affliction, and it shall pass in time. And no,” she lifted a hoof to interrupt Twilight as the unicorn started to ask the inevitable question, “I do not know how long it will take. I’m sure you already figured out the cause, but I sense Discord’s presence on you.” There was a quiet thump as Twilight’s hindquarters hit the floor. Celestia nodded her head, understanding her student’s dismay. “Yes, the seal is weakening. I fear that we haven’t much time before he is able to break free one more.”
“Oh, not again,” Spike moaned. “Please tell me we’ve got a way to stop him this time that doesn’t involve me belching up a parade of letters.” He wrapped his claws around his gut. “My stomach couldn’t take having to go through that again.”
Celestia only smiled at him, but Twilight was the one that responded. “We’ve got bigger problems than that, Spike. Don’t you see? If Discord can affect me this far from Canterlot even while he remains sealed, he must have a physical link to the outside world. A kind of vector.” Her hoof began moving, scratching out some lines on the hardwood floor. The lines quickly became distinguishable as a sketch of Discord’s head and a stick-figure drawing of the creature in the woods, a thick line connecting the two. “If the link was made only in the past week when the Princess felt some activity from his statue, it’s probably still very fragile. If, however, we can’t figure out a way to sever the link before Discord breaks free, he will be able to strengthen the bond, giving him a permanent hoofhold in Equestria even if we manage to seal him again.” Finishing up her little drawing on the floor, Twilight glanced up at her teacher. “Did I get it right?”
“Almost,” Celestia answered, reaching out with a hoof to increase the thickness of the line between Discord and the stick-figure. “There’s also the possibility that the bond goes both ways. If there is, as we fear, another one of these creatures with a link to Discord, he will be able to gain power from them.” She scratched another stick-figure into the floor as she spoke, another thick line connecting it to the Discord head. Spike sighed as he finally realized that he would have to buff out the scratches once they were finished, but both females ignored him. “At the worst-case scenario, he might even be able to resist a direct attack from the Elements of Harmony.”
“Wha- But- Tha-“ Twilight tried to articulate a coherent response, but her tongue seemed to keep getting in the way of the jumble of thoughts that wanted to pour out of her. Eventually she gave up and only asked a simple question. “How?”
“You mean how could he resist the Elements when they have proven so effective against him in the past?” At Twilight’s nod, Celestia began scratching tiny Discord heads just above the stick figures. “By splitting up his power and storing it away inside these creatures. He would have a direct connection to the world no matter what we do to him. Even if we manage to hit him with the force of the Elements, I expect the duration of the seal would last only minutes before he broke free again.”
“But,” Spike asked from by the wall, since Twilight seemed to be having trouble remembering how to talk, “but if he splits up his power, wouldn’t that make him weaker? Would we be able to beat him if he did that? Is that why he hasn’t done this before? It sounds like it would have been perfect for him.”
Celestia closed her eyes, her expression radiating sorrow and shame. “You are correct; splitting his power like that would make him much weaker. If he splits it up equally, he might even drop down to a third of his full strength. But even at a third his regular strength, I am afraid that Discord is still too strong for both my sister and I to defeat.” A strangled choke came from Twilight as her tongue seemed to be trying to crawl down her throat. These were the mightiest ponies anywhere in Equestria, capable of raising and lowering the sun and the moon and Discord was stronger than both of them combined even at a third his strength? This was even worse than Luna’s warnings. Celestia continued, ignoring Twilight’s shocked dismay.
“As for why he’s never done this before, he likely never believed he had to. When Luna and I sealed him for the first time, he had no idea what to expect. We had made sure he didn’t find out what we were doing until we stood in front of him, the six elements in tow. He believed they were powerless baubles that were completely useless before his power. He even mocked us before we attacked him, posing for us even as the Elements unleashed their strength. He completely underestimated us, even though he should have known of the strength of the Elements far more than we did. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late for him to stop us.”
“As for last time,” Celestia scratched out six small ponies, two of each race, “he simply underestimated you and your friends. He believed that he would be able to prevent the Elements from working for you. When your friendship,” she drew thin lines connecting each pony to every other pony, “proved stronger than his brainwashing, he failed to realize it before it was too late. Once again, his own pride proved to be his undoing. I doubt we will be so lucky this time.”
“He sees me as a threat…” Twilight muttered indistinctly.
Celestia nodded at Twilight’s words, but her hoof continued moving, scratching an image of another pony on the floor. “I am afraid so. Unless we can reseal him as soon as he breaks free, he will probably work to prevent the Elements from working on him again. We will have to find and contain both these creatures and sever their connections to him before he breaks free once again.” She scratched sharp lines across the connections between Discord and the creatures.
Twilight stared blankly at the drawing. “I’m sorry…” she mumbled. Celestia stopped drawing and only looked at Twilight, her kind eyes inviting the unicorn to continue. “This is all my fault. If I had managed to capture the creature when you asked me to, we wouldn’t be here now.”
Spike spoke up before Celestia could. The Princess remained silent, allowing Twilight’s housemate to say his piece. “It’s not your fault, Twilight,” he said, walking up next to her. “You’ve done everything you could. The Princess is here now; she’ll be able to fix everything. What I want to know is,” he asked up at Celestia, “how are we going to break the connection between Discord and these creatures once we capture them? Do you have a plan or are we going to try to figure it out once we have them?” In response, Celestia pointed at the seventh pony she had drawn.
“That is not a concern. We already have experience breaking these connections of Discord’s. Shortly after his defeat, my guards managed to capture Subject B-11; codenamed ‘Screwball.’ A pony that Discord had made while he was running free, she had a weak connection to him even after he had been sealed. He likely developed this entire scheme once he realized that he could still touch the world through a third party.” Twilight’s eyes went as wide and round as dinner plates as she realized the underlying meaning of Celestia’s words.
“Whoa, whoa, hang on,” Spike said, waving his claws back and forth in the air. “This is all a bit much for me to take in. You said he ‘made’ her. You mean he created life? And she wasn’t affected by the Elements of Harmony? Do you- do you think he made this creature in the forest too?”
“I don’t know,” Celestia admitted. “That does seem like the most probably explanation, and yet something about it doesn’t seem right. The violent tendencies that this creature has shown are just too much unlike anything Discord has done before. He may have taken the creature from another world, or even reached across time to bring it here. Regardless, our course of action remains clear. We must capture the creature before the day is over.” Her horn flaring, she covered the floor with her magic, wiping out the scratches and leaving the floor as pristine as it was before they had started.
Twilight started back as the pictures vanished – restoration was an extremely powerful spell – before turning to look at her mentor. “Before we go, can we make a stop at the hospital? I want to see how my friends are doing.” At Celestia’s nod, Twilight turned to address Spike. “We’ll be heading out for a bit. Do you want to come with us to the hospital or wait here?”
Spike only thought for a moment before answering. “I’ll come with you guys. Maybe I can do something to help Rarity and the others.”
A few minutes later, the trio made their way through the streets of Ponyville on the way to the hospital. The ponies on the road moved out of the way for their Princess to pass, bowing their heads to her as they did so. Eventually, Spike asked Celestia a question from where he rode on Twilight’s back. “Is it alright for you to be here, Princess? To just leave Canterlot by itself for a few hours?”
Celestia glanced down at him, her long flowing mane covering her eye. “Do not worry, young Spike. I have not left Canterlot to fend for itself. Luna is taking care of the castle while I am here and Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor are in residence as well. They should be capable of dealing with any situation that arises in my absence. Regardless, I feel the experience will be good for Luna. She keeps looking for opportunities to prove to our ponies that she is no longer Nightmare Moon of legends, but they do not give her the chance.”
“But she seemed like she was doing so much better when she was here at Nightmare Night,” Twilight said, referring to the holiday that portrayed Princess Luna’s alter ego as a fearsome monster. “Do you mean that ponies are still afraid of her even after all this time? I thought she was doing better nowadays.”
“The ponies of Ponyville are willing to give her a chance,” Celestia agreed, “but Ponyville is different from most other towns. It was only today that another town was willing to offer her a chance. Strange things seem to happen here, and everypony has slowly become used to the odd going-ons and occurrences. Helping a banished Princess find redemption is just another one of those occurrences.”
“’Redemption?’” Spike asked. “Do you mean in her subject’s eyes, or…” He trailed off, but Celestia picked up what he had been asking.
“Her own,” she said simply. “She has not forgiven herself for when she tried to overthrow me and forced me to banish her to the moon.” Something in her voice caught Twilight’s attention, and the young mare looked up to see a complicated expression on her mentor’s face. They walked in silence until Twilight stopped moving. Celestia continued walking, not realizing Twilight had stopped until the unicorn spoke up.
“…She’s not the only one who hasn’t forgiven herself, is she?”
Celestia’s hoof stopped moving at Twilight’s words before slowly lowering to the ground. Twilight and Spike watched her in concern, her flowing mane the only part of her that was moving. Eventually, Celestia’s head tipped back and a tiny laugh escaped her lips.
“Heh. You see through me so easily, my dearest student.” Celestia stared directly into the sun as she spoke, not noticing Twilight lightly blushing at the compliment. “You are correct. I… failed her. All those years ago.” Celestia spoke softly, and Twilight had to move in closer just to hear her words. “I was so focused on being the best ruler for Equestria I could that I never noticed as more and more ponies only focused on me and ignored her and her night.”
“Princess…” Twilight said softly, but Celestia continued as if she didn’t hear her.
“I saw as she became more and more resentful of the attention I was getting, but I did nothing to help her. I only deluded myself into thinking everything would be alright. I was so focused on being a kind and just ruler to my little ponies that I did nothing to stop the destruction of the one who needed me most. By the time I finally tried to stop her, she would no longer listen to what I had to say. I was forced to banish her. My little sister, who I should have been protecting. I… have never forgiven myself for what I did.”
“Oh, Princess,” Twilight said, quietly tearing up at hearing how that moment that Luna had showed her from a thousand years ago still affected her teacher. She squeaked in surprise as Celestia’s head came down and leaned against her own.
“Thank you,” Celestia whispered, a tear silently running down her cheek. “Thank you for returning my sister to me. Thank you for giving me the chance to set things right. For a thousand years, I always thought that I should have been the one banished to the moon. That the burden had been mine to bear. Luna told me how she lost herself to the Nightmare. She said that it came to her one night, gently speaking honeyed words into her ears, but that the pleasant words quickly became poisonous, feeding on her self-doubt and turning her against me. If I had been paying her even the slightest amount of attention, I could have saved her. I should have saved her…”
Twilight stared at Celestia for a moment before leaning against the white alicorns, gently comforting the older mare. Spike looked away awkwardly, trying not to intrude on the tender moment.
The pair stood silently for several minutes before the ground rocked with an earth-trembling explosion. Celestia and Twilight sprung apart, their horns glowing as they tried to locate the source of the blast. Twilight happened to glance up at Celestia’s face, and took a moment to marvel at the changes a few seconds had wrought. No longer was she a sorrowful mare lamenting the loss of her sister. Without question, it was the co-ruler of Equestria, the single strongest pony in the entire land that stood next to Twilight. Twilight’s train of thought was broken when Spike tugged her mane, pointing past her head in the direction they had been traveling.
“Look up ahead,” he said. Twilight followed his claw to where he was pointing and saw a large number of balloons slowly floating into the sky. She cast he mind back on her mental map of Ponyville, trying to figure out where the balloons were coming from.
“That’s from the hospital…” She laughed as she realized what it must mean. Pinkie Pie! “The others must be awake. Hang on, Spike.” Spike grabbed her mane with both claws for support as she shot forward. The glow faded from Celestia’s horn and she followed after Twilight at a more regal pace.
“SWEET TARNATION!!”
Applejack’s shout of surprise echoed through the tiny hospital room, drowning out even the sound of the hundreds of party balloons that had suddenly been unleashed in her face the moment she woke up. Her instinctive flinch was checked when she felt a tug on her legs. Applejack saw that her legs had been set in casts and immobilized in the moment before her vision was suddenly filled with yellow.
“Applejack!” The farmpony’s vision slowly focused until she was able to see Apple Bloom sitting next to her, the younger filly’s forehooves carefully wrapped around Applejack’s torso. A weak smile spread on Applejack’s face. Her little sister was safe, and that made it all worth it.
“Hey sis,” Applejack’s hoarse and raspy voice grated against her own ears when she spoke, “you look terrible.” The small pony’s fur was covered with dirt and mud, with twigs and leaves tangled in her uncombed mane.
Tears poured freely from the filly’s eyes as she stared up at her big sister, joining the streaks that already stained her face. “Don’t-don’t even joke,” Apple Bloom hiccupped. “You… you really… really… bawwww.” She buried her face in Applejack’s fur as she wept, all the pent-up emotion she had been carrying ever since she saw Applejack injured for her sake being released in a wave of relief at finally seeing her wake up. Her shoulders shook as she silently sobbed into her sister’s chest.
Applejack stared down at her, tears brimming in her own eyes as she watched her sister’s weeping. Applejack licked her lips before her mouth cracked open, her husky whisper barely heard over Apple Bloom’s cries.
“Ah’m sorry…”
She hadn’t even considered what it must have been like for Apple Bloom to watch her fight the hydra. To watch her sister beaten to within an inch of her life, knowing that it was for her sake. The only feeling she thought to compare it to what she would be if it was Big Macintosh who was beaten trying to save her. She would be devastated at watching him stagger, blood dripping off him as it had been off her. And she had forced her sister to witness that.
“Ah’m so sorry, little sis…”
The pair remained like that for a few minutes, Apple Bloom sobbing while Applejack watched, her restraints preventing her from moving to physically comfort her little sister. Apple Bloom’s heaving sobs gradually slowed and deepened until the filly’s breathing evened out.
“Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked tentatively. The filly didn’t respond.
Pinkie Pie’s smiling head suddenly appeared next to Apple Bloom. Her hoof reached over and she gave Apple Bloom a gentle shake. “Aww, she’s asleep,” Pinkie whispered when the filly still didn’t respond. “She’s been at your side ever since you passed out, you know. I’ll just…” She bent down to pick little Apple Bloom up, but Applejack stopped her.
“Hold on, sugarcube. Could ya… jest leave her there? Jest for now?”
Pinkie smiled brightly in understanding before stepping gingerly back, leaving Apple Bloom resting on Applejack. A squeak of pain escaped her lips as she accidently put weight on her rear leg, causing Applejack to look over at her. After a moment’s hesitation, Pinkie’s smile widened and she surreptitiously moved her body so that the other earth pony wouldn’t be able to see the bandages covering her flank.
Applejack’s gaze wandered past Pinkie, seeing the room she was in for the first time. She lay in simple hospital room, set with four beds lined in a row with curtains that could be pulled up to separate the beds hanging loosely from the ceiling. Her own bed was placed near the wall furthest from the door. The bed next to her was empty, but the covers were crumpled and thrown back, like the occupant had recently leapt off of it. A few loose pieces of confetti on the pillow left no doubt as to whom that occupant had been.
Beyond the empty bed, Rarity and Dash lay in their own beds, caught up in their own conversation. Dash lay propped up against a large pile of pillows, her wing splinted and supported by some wires hanging from the ceiling. They both gave Applejack a cheerful wave when they saw her looking before returning to their conversation. Through the open door, AJ could hear voices drifting in. It sounded like one of the doctors was chewing out a nurse for allowing a patient to smuggle in a large supply of party equipment.
Applejack looked at Pinkie, whose smile slipped slightly at the expression on Applejack’s face. “Tell it to me straight, Pinkie. What happened?”
Pinkie sighed slightly. She had hoped to hide the situation from Applejack for as long as she could, maybe ease the mare into it, but she couldn’t avoid such an honest request. Reaching into her mane, she pulled out hoofpuppets of each of her friends – where did she even get those? – and began to explain what had happened after Applejack passed out.
On the other side of the room, Rarity was scolding Dash for her reckless actions during the fight. Dash wasn’t interested in listening, and was trying unsuccessfully to blow the fashionista off. Dash’s voice was slightly slurred whenever she spoke because of all the drugs that had been pumped into her.
“Uggh. Do we have to go over this?” Dash slurred out.
Rarity wasn’t willing to give up any ground. “Yes. Yes we do. You senselessly put yourself at risk when you chased that creature.”
Dash lay back against her pillow pile, a flicker of irritation quickly marring her face. “Don’t you think I know that?”
“It’s… I just want to be certain you never do something so dangerous again.”
“What does it matter to you?" the pegasus huffed, crossing her forelegs. "You were already unconscious.”
“It matters to me because I don’t like seeing my friends hurt, though sometimes it gives me a headache to admit that we are friends.” Rarity added that last part quietly, holding a hoof up against her forehead.
“What about Fluttershy?” Dash fired at her.
Rarity frowed slightly, not sure what the pegasus was aiming at. “What about Fluttershy?”
“You talk about me getting hurt, but what about what you did? Do you think she enjoyed seeing you get hurt like that for her? You know she’s going to blame herself. She told me what happened before she left. You really scared her.”
Rarity gave Dash a sidelong look. “I think she’s stronger than you give her credit for, Dash.”
“…Probably,” Dash admitted quietly.
They fell silent, and Pinkie’s words began to wash over them from the other side of the room. As they listened, she began to explain to Applejack how Twilight had carried her to Zecora’s before leaving to send a message to Celestia and Zecora helped carry her the rest of the way.
A voice from the doorway suddenly caught their attention. “Hi Rarity.”
A hissed voice followed after the first “Spike, no.”
Rarity and Dash looked at the doorway, where they saw Spike had just entered. Twilight poked her head in after him, an awkward expression on her face as she looked at her friends. Twilight’s mouth slowly opened, but Rarity cut her off before she could say anything. “Oh no, darling, don’t even bother.”
Twilight’s head came up as she looked at the other unicorn. “Rarity-“ But Rarity ran roughshod over what Twilight was trying to say.
“You’re blaming yourself again. Well, don’t. Your plan was fine, and nopony blames you for how the altercation occurred.”
“But-“
“Futhermore,” Rarity continued, decisively crushing Twilight’s protestations, “what could you even have done differently if you knew then what we know now? And don’t tell me ‘I could have changed something,’ tell me what you could actually have changed.”
Twilight didn’t respond.
After a few seconds of waiting, Rarity finished her point, her voice much gentler and understanding than before. “You see?”
Twilight shook her head, her mane flopping limply against her side. “I’m sorry Rarity, but I don’t. It just feels like it’s my-ulmph.” Twilight cut off as a pillow was flung squarely into her face. Catching on her horn, the cushion hung dispassionately in front of her face for a moment before she reached up to scrape it off. With nothing blocking her view, she was able to get a good look at Rainbow Dash glaring at her.
“Can it, Twi.” Dash growled out, the hoof she had used to throw the pillow falling limply to her side. The angry expression on Rainbow Dash’s face made Twilight wish for a moment that she had left the pillow alone. Despite the slight slur in her voice, every syllable of Dash’s was short and clipped. “What is wrong with you? You’ve been in a one-pony pity party all week. I don’t know what’s been eating you, but you need to get over it!”
The entire room was silent after Dash’s last shouted words until Rarity turned to Spike, standing at her bedside. “So, um, Spike, what happened with the Princess? Did you get a response?”
Spike jumped slightly as he was thrust into the center of attention. “Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. She actually arrived… herself…” His words trailed off as he and Twilight realized for the first time that they had sprinted off and left Celestia behind. Both their faces paled for an instant before Twilight turned and sped out of the room fast enough to leave an afterimage. Her shouted apology could be heard as she collided with one of the hospital’s employees in the hallway.
“She came herself? That’s just stupendiferiffic!” Pinkie Pie bounced cheerfully up to the group, her hindquarters not quite reaching the same height as her front. No matter how she tried to hide it, her injury was affecting her. Not that it was going to stop her. Behind her, they could see that Applejack was gently nuzzling the still sleeping Apple Bloom.
“So? So so so so so? Is she going to come here?” Pinkie gasped. “Oh no! I used up all my party supplies to celebrate AJ waking up! I don’t have any more with me! What am I going to do?”
“Pinkie, I don’t think the Princess needs a party thrown for her just because she walks through a hospital door to come see us.” Rarity’s attempt to act as the voice of reason fell flat when Pinkie rounded on her.
“Of course she needs a party thrown for her! Don’t you see? You know how Twilight feels about us getting hurt, that it was her fault. The Princess is going to feel a hundred hundred hundred hundred hundred hundred times worse! She needs a party thrown for her, but I don’t have any supplies! Oh, what am I going to do?” She began fidgeting on the spot. “I knew I should have stashed some emergency party supplies around the hospital.”
“The Princess is here to deal with that creature, right?” Dash asked from her bed. “Couldn’t you just throw a Congrats-on-Stopping-the-Thing Party or something when she returns?”
“That’s a mouthful of a name you got there,” Spike muttered from where he was massaging Rarity’s hooves.
Pinkie stared for a moment before zipping over to her bedside, a gigantic grin plastered on her face. “That’s it! That’s a great idea, Dashie!” Pinkie accidently jostled Dash’s wing in her excitement. Dash’s sudden inhalation caused Pinkie’s exuberance to vanish as quickly as it had appeared.
“Dashie, I…” Pinkie trailed off as Dash reached for another pillow from the pile behind her. Her gaze slid away from the injured pegasus and focused on the pillow lying on the floor in front of her. A tiny sad small bloomed on her face as she considered what had happened, what Dash had done. “No… No I’m not sorry, Dashie.” She walked over until she was standing next to the bed. Dash watched her, a slightly quizzical expression on her face.
“Thank you.” Pinkie slowly raised her hoof until it hovered above Dash’s broken wing, almost but not quite touching it. “Thank you, Dashie.”
Dash smiled back at her. “It was no problem, Pinkie.” Her face was bright and cheerful, hiding her tumultuous thoughts behind a mask of kindness. I did it for her, she thought. I attacked the creature because he had hurt her, and I was injured because of that. But even if I had known I would be injured, I would have done it anyway, right? She stared out the open window, watching the clouds gently drift past. I don’t regret it, right?
A steady clopping sound from the hallway interrupted her thoughts. All eyes turned to the doorway as the loud hoofbeats got closer and closer. The hoofbeats hesitated just outside their room, as if the owner was unwilling to enter, before Twilight walked in through the open door. Princess Celestia followed in behind her.
The Princess simply looked at them, sorrow and regret clearly filling her eyes. It didn’t take Fluttershy’s empathy to realize that the Princess felt responsible for the group being hospitalized. “I-“ Anything she had been about to say was cut off as Pinkie threw a hoofful of confetti into her face. Celestia gaped down at Pinkie, the sorrow of a moment ago replaced by surprise. The rest of the room was completely silent as all the other watched in shock as the confetti gently drift down off of Celestia’s muzzle.
Pinkie smiled innocently. “There’s no need for any of that frumpy-frowny depressiony sillerystuff. We already finished that before you arrived. So smile for us, Your Highness. We can have our regrets when everything is finished.”
Celestia stared down at Pinkie for several seconds before a slight curve developed on the edges of her mouth. “You are correct, Pinkie Pie.” Celestia smiled as she turned to face the rest of the room, her radiant glory seeming to fill the room in her presence. “My little ponies,” she said, her voice controlled and modulated enough to avoid waking Apple Bloom. “I must apologize and thank you. You heroes have done a great service for me and for Equestria. Now, rest. It is my turn to protect you.”
The room was silent until Applejack spoke up. “Yer goin’ yerself?”
“Yes, Applejack. My guards have remained behind to protect Canterlot in my absence. I fear that Discord has other machinations in store for us.”
“What do you mean?” Rarity asked.
“I’m not going to talk about it yet,” Celestia said, “but I will explain everything I know once we have captured this creature. Now,” she looked around the room, “where is young Fluttershy? Shouldn’t she be here?”
“Oh, she’s-“ Pinkie cut off as a white and an orange coloured blurs weaved through Celestia’s legs and sped into the room. The orange blur resolved in Scootaloo, who leaped onto Dash’s bed. The white blur became Sweetie Belle, stopping beside Rarity’s bedside and crashing into Spike. “I finally found you guys!” she cried, hugging Rarity tightly.
Celestia and Twilight turned away from the blubbering fillies to see Fluttershy standing in the doorway. Celestia sadly watched the rambunctious fillies before quietly leaving the room, summoning Twilight with a nod of her head. The muffled sounds of the fillies weeping and the adults trying to calm them down could still be heard through the open door.
“Tell me,” Celestia gently asked Fluttershy, “how are they?”
Fluttershy flinched away. “Oh, um… Are you sure you want me to say it? Wouldn’t you rather ask a doctor?” She looked hopefully up at Celestia, but her hope collapsed as the Princess’ expression remained unchanged.
“You deal with injuries and wounds all the time with your animals. I have not forgotten when you tried to help Philomena. I trust your opinion as much as I would any professional’s. So please,” she motioned for Fluttershy to go on while Twilight remained silent and watched the pair.
“I… alright.” Fluttershy sighed. “I won’t lie to you, it doesn’t look good.” Fluttershy’s voice picked up as she continued talking. She was talking about something she knew about, and that always improved her confidence. Her tone was a little detached when she spoke, like she was trying to distance herself from her subject as much as possible.
“Rarity’s the least injured. She was able to protect herself, and should be fine before tomorrow. Twilight took a bad impact to her horn, and there’s a slight crack on it.” She gestured to the purple unicorn. “It shouldn’t affect her magic, but it does mean that her horn is weakened. Another bad impact might break it. She also seems to have somehow become immune to magic. Nopony knows why. Pinkie took a cut to her flank. She’ll limp for a while, but she’ll be fine.”
“It’s the other two I’m worried about.” Fluttershy’s voice broke for a moment before she continued. “Applejack has broken and cracked bones all throughout her body. None of her internal organs were damaged beyond repair, but she did suffer a cerebral contusion. Thankfully I was able to treat the worst of it right away, and her own nature as an earth pony means she should make a full recovery within the next half year. Dash is even worse. The bones in her one wing were completely shattered. The humurus, the ulna, the radius… all shattered. Without intensive medical care and surgery, I doubt she’ll ever be able to fly again.”
“Does she…” Twilight trailed off while Celestia remained silent.
“I think she knows,” Fluttershy responded. “If she tries to fly before she recovers, her wing would be permanently crippled. We would probably have to amputate it to save her life. I don’t… I don’t…” Fluttershy broke down, tears running down her muzzle as she hiccupped. “I don’t know what to do!”
“Calm yourself, my little pony.” Celestia’s words broke through Fluttershy’s tears. The pegasus looked up at the kind monarch standing before her. “It speaks well of you and your kind heart that you care for others so much. My student has truly made some wonderful friends. Do not fear for them. When I return, I will arrange to have Applejack and Rainbow Dash transported to Canterlot. The medical care there is the best in the country.”
Before Fluttershy could recover enough to respond, Celestia walked past her and down the hallway. Steel entered her voice as she talked, the very air trembling in fear of her anger. “Now come, Twilight. Introduce me to this creature that frightens and hurts my little ponies so.” Twilight followed behind Celestia, leaving Fluttershy alone in the hallway. The yellow pegasus remained alone, silently listening to the voices from inside the hospital room.
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Ah, Celestia. Co-ruler of Equestria, guider of the sun, expy of Skinfaxi, and part-time exposition fairy.
Of course, it wouldn't be any fun if everything she said was right, now would it?
1826069
Well, she can say her piece. Doesn't mean it'll be true. xD
Okay... let's see how our anti-hero/becoming villain can handle the full might of one of Equestria's Sovereign Princesses.
1826104
Where'd you get that?
1826108 1826146 Twilight mentioned it in passing way way waaaaay back in a letter to Celestia in "Unwelcome Guests."
In "Letters and Thoughts," Celestia had this to say:
I am sure this will in no way affect the plot in the near future.
The damage a single man can do is catastrophic, the damage two men can do is apocalyptic. The ponies don't stand a chance.
Do I spy a reference to a certain song?
1829625 Yes. Yes you do.
I was listening to that song when I wrote that scene, and I thought: "sure, why not?"
1859230 What in the...
1859820 I like that. I'll go with that. I'm already doing a rewrite so this is a good time for suggestions.
One thing that stood out to me the most was
God, I love that song
So... Discord, who is remembered as the most powerful magic-user of his era is attempting to counteract his only weakness by spreading his power into multiple vessels that will need to be individually located and destroyed by the protogé of the only person he fears?
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a3/Lordvoldemort.jpg/300px-Lordvoldemort.jpg
Good luck bro, you'll need it
1901317 *clap clap clap*
FINALLY someone figures it out. I was wondering how long it would take.
So you get applause.
*clap clap clap*
I think that john is the innocent one here, and the mane 6 are bitches to him
1910014
Not really correct. The Mane 6 have made efforts to meet him peacefully (even after a couple of violent confrontations), but since Discord is mauling John's brain that hasn't worked. While John can't be held responsible for his actions (and would be getting along fine if not for Discord, judging by his journal), the fact is if some guy attacked me with an axe I would probably go straight to lethal force (because, you know, axe), whereas the Mane 6 has yet to even consider it.
1910014
Knough said.
1910014
John's innocent but the main six aren't that far off