Chapter 23
After retrieving Applejack's cart, (much the worse for it's extended and untended exposure to the elements) Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash made their way into Ponyville on the third day after Twilight had left. As the familiar sight of Sweet Apple Acres came into view, Rainbow Dash wondered how much longer she was going to have to wait. The last three days had been intolerable enough as it was.
"Hold up here a moment," Applejack waved at the other two. "Probably best we don't just crash in through the door with a pony that's been missing for months. I'll go on ahead and get them ready. Let them know we'll be having guests."
Applejack ran down to the farmhouse, leaving Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to stand at the tree line in awkward silence. Ten minutes later, she came running back with news. Apparently, Applebloom was off visiting her cousin Babs in Manehattan, while Granny had taken a trip to catch up with Goldie Delicious. That left only Big Mac, a stallion that could be counted on to keep his mouth shut in sensitive matters. Furthermore, considering the last thing Applejack had said to him before heading out with her cart was "gonna go bring Dash home" , returning with her in tow was hardly a surprise.
While Applejack got Dash settled into the guest room, Fluttershy took off to check in on her animals, and to relieve the probably much beleaguered sitter she had arranged to care for them in her absence of undefined length. Said settling in took very little time, as Rainbow Dash hadn't exactly brought any luggage to unpack, and with nothing to do but wait for Twilight to come for her, it wasn't long until she was asking Applejack for any kind of work she could help with, just to have something to focus on.
Fortunately for her, a great number of chores had been building up in Applejack's absence. The two spent the day feeding pigs, mending fences, patching roofs, and bucking apples. It was tiring, left little time to worry, and was followed by a proper home cooked meal not prepared over a campfire. The mood was further brightened by Fluttershy returning to join them for dinner and bringing Tank along with her. After a joyful reunion, some cobbler, and a few rounds of cards, Rainbow Dash took her tortoise under her foreleg, collapsed into bed, and crashed straight into dreamless sleep.
***
Three more days passed, and despite her efforts to keep busy, doubts and worries continued to make themselves known within the confines of Rainbow Dash's skull. How long was she supposed to stay here? Twilight had been vague and evasive on any kind of timeline, just that she would meet her here. Presumably "soon", but that could be days or weeks for all she knew.
Unless she's not coming back at all.
No! She's definitely coming back. She promised me!
Even if whatever she was planning went sideways, she'll find a way to get back to me.
She was shaken out of her contemplation by a commotion out in front of the house. She peeked out the window to see Applejack staring down a trio of royal guards. In the distance, she could just make out Fluttershy approaching with a basket of treats, catching sight of the scene, and dropping the basket to quickly turn around and fly off.
"I told ya, y'all ain't welcome here right now. Now I got a lot of work to do, so why don't you fellas just move along?"
"We have strict orders to bring the pony known as Rainbow Dash to the Princesses at once. Reliable information places this as her last known location." He glanced over to see the pony in question peering out the window at them. "And confirmed current location."
Not taking her eyes off the ponies in front of her, Applejack called out. "Hey, Dash! What do you think of leaving with these here gentlecolts?"
"No Way! I'm not going anywhere, and the first pony who tries to make me is getting a broken leg!"
"Well, there you have it. Looks like she ain't up for traveling. Now, I'm not opposed to talking. I'm all for it in fact. But Rainbow Dash is my guest, and welcome to stay as long as she likes. And to the Apples, guests are like family, and we don't stand for anypony trying to do harm to family around here."
"Our orders—" The lead guard began to repeat.
"I heard ya. But she ain't leaving unless she wants to, so if the Princesses or anypony else want to chat, they can just come and do it here. Ain't like we're going anywhere." Applejack swept her eyes over the guards, spotting one of the fresher looking ones with the look of a pony about to try something stupid. "Course, if nopony is feeling particularly talkative..." She suddenly lashed out behind her with a hind leg, reducing an empty apple crate into a cloud of splinters. She could see the guard in question reconsidering. "...but no, I can tell we're all reasonable ponies here, and there's no need for any kind of unpleasantness."
The ensuing staring match was broken by a posh voice calling out.
"Applejack, darling! What is going on? Fluttershy came storming into town saying something about some kind of emergency on the farm. Is everything alright?"
Applejack looked up to see Rarity, Pinkie, Spike (riding on the former's back), and Fluttershy quickly approaching down the path .
"Hi Rares. The short version? Dash is inside, these fellas wanna take here away, and she don't wanna go."
"Good enough for me!" Pinkie shouted before jumping to Applejack's side and taking a defensive stance.
"Yes, while I quite expect to be caught up on all the no doubt lengthy details later, I trust you know what you're doing, so..." Rarity took her place on Applejack's other side.
With four ponies (plus a baby dragon) blocking their path to a very hostile fifth, the guards began to recognize that the situation had spiraled far out of control. The new addition of a very large red stallion rounding the corner of the house and joining them didn't make it any better. Their orders were to secure a single VIP on a psychiatric hold, not start a brawl with Equestria's national heroes. Two guards held position while the leader fell back to call in with a status update and ask for further instructions.
After twenty minutes of alternately being put on hold and re-explaining the situation up the chain of command, it became clear to all present that this standoff was not going to be short lived. After forty-five minutes, an unspoken but mutual agreement was made between both sides to transition to a more relaxed sitting position until further orders came through. After an hour and a half, rumbling stomachs prompted Pinkie to slip into the house and whip up some snacks for everypony, including the guards and their backup that had been dispatched with orders to wait and observe. Three hours in, and small talk had been achieved, mostly from Pinkie inquiring about what being a guard was like, but eventually transitioning into a few of the younger guards asking about some of the heroic exploits of the Element Bearers. One guard even worked up the courage to ask for an autograph for his kid, prompting a few stern looks from his compatriots, followed by several more such requests. After four hours, somepony produced a pack of cards and Pinkie had laid out a full buffet table of snacks and a punch bowl.
It was early evening by the time Princess Celestia herself arrived on the scene, snapping the guards back to full attention as some tossed away cups and attempted to covertly wipe crumbs from their mouths while maintaining a stony expression. With a curt nod she dismissed them all and turned to address the assembled group of friends.
"First of all, I'd like to apologize for all this." She waved a hoof at the general area. "I never intended this to be something confrontational. In truth, I should have just come myself from the start, but I was otherwise occupied. I merely wished to confirm that Rainbow Dash is well."
"Well, she's fine. She just don't feel like going anywhere or talking to any doctors at the moment." Applejack swallowed her apprehension as she fixed a determined glare at the divine ruler of Equestria.
"Understandable I suppose. I would like to have her come in for a checkup at some point, but I suppose there's no real urgency if she's not an active threat to herself or others. Is she?"
"No."
"Well in that case, she can schedule an appointment whenever she feels comfortable, though preferably within the next month."
"And she won't be kept there against her will?"
"It shouldn't take more than the better part of a day. There might be a few quick followup visits to schedule, but provided she doesn't attack anypony while there, she should be in and out and sleeping in her own bed."
"Well..." Applejack thought for a moment. "That sounds mighty reasonable, but I ain't the pony you gotta convince."
"Indeed. Which is why I suggest we continue this conversation inside." She looked around at the assembled ponies. "All of us. There is much we need catch up on, and I'm afraid I bring...unfortunate news."
***
Rainbow Dash's world was awash in noise and confusion. There was the clattering of the table somepony had kicked over. Right, that had been her. She was vaguely aware that she was shouting something, but the pounding in her ears was so distracting, she could hardly tell what.
"LIAR!" She thrust an accusing hoof at Celestia. "THAT'S NOT TRUE! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
Celestia simply nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid it's all too true Rainbow Dash. Twilight is—"
"Don't you say it!"
"Twilight is gone."
"NO!"
Rainbow continued her raging storm of denial. Pinkie sat with her deflated hair hanging down and hiding her face. Applejack held her hat to her chest and stared at her hooves. Rarity had gasped and fainted straight away, while Spike was simply staring catatonic into a corner. Meanwhile, Fluttershy attempted to speak up through leaking eyes.
"A-Are you sure? I mean, you don't have a body, so..."
Celestia nodded again. "There would be nothing to find. I was reluctant to believe it myself. I'd love nothing more than to be wrong. That's why I waited this long, but after scouring the area over and over, the conclusion became increasingly inescapable. Twilight Sparkle is no more."
"NO!" Rainbow Dash punched a hole straight through a wall of the Apple residence. A small part of her recognized she'd have to apologize to Applejack later for trashing her house like this, but it was a small and distant part. "I don't care what you say! There's no way–she–she promised! She looked me in the eye and promised she would come back to me!" A small voice of reason in the back of her mind told her she needed to get out of here before she demolished the entire building and possibly hurt one of her friends in the process.
She turned and launched herself out a window, which fortunately turned out to be open at the time, not that she had even paused to check. The wind ripped the tears from her eyes before they could even fully form as she piled on speed. If she could just go fast enough, it wouldn't be true. The terrible reality wouldn't be able to catch her and drag her down into that horrible dark abyss. She didn't know where she was going. With no set destination, she just kept her initial upward trajectory.
Now she was getting dangerously high. The air grew cold and thin. Her wings struggled to find purchase in the low pressure environment, like attempting to swim in foam, and the flight field generated by her pegasus magic began to destabilize. It was also getting harder to breathe, but the lightheadedness helped push the troublesome thoughts from her mind for a few brief moments. Spots swam in front of her vision and she closed her eyes just for a second.
When she opened them again, she was in free fall. Recovering from her brief and blessed bout of unconsciousness, her finely honed reflexes kicked in as she spread her wings and pulled out into a recovery glide as she took stock of her surroundings. She soon spotted something and didn't know if it was simple chance, or something in her subconscious that had directed her here. Celestia had only vaguely mentioned the location of her confrontation with Twilight. Somewhere out in the hinterlands in the direction of Baltimare. A place that would normally be hard to find given the lack of distinguishing landmarks, at least until recently.
Rainbow Dash descended to the large circle of blackened glass that was now eminently visible from the sky. The place where Twilight had di–NO! She was alive! She had to be! Rainbow Dash landed on the cool surface and began searching. For what? She didn't know. Something. Anything. Some clue Twilight would have left behind for her. Something that only she would understand and would go completely unnoticed by Celestia and everypony else. A hidden message or a map etched into the scorch marks, telling her where to meet up. Some obscure Daring Do reference? Something connected to one of their dates?
But there was nothing. No matter how much she searched, there was nothing here. Just the wind howling over scorched earth. Finally, Rainbow Dash laid down in the center of blackened circle and began to cry.
***
Time, as it is often keen to do, continued to pass. Days became weeks, and soon a month had gone by. With her friends by her side, she had reluctantly submitted to a series of medical examinations, been given a clean bill of health, promptly spat on an offer of "trauma counseling" and been able to return home to her own bed.
Unfortunately, it provided little in the way of restful sleep. Most of the time she woke up in tears. Even worse was when she awoke struck by sudden inspiration, remembering yet another secret location where Twilight might possibly have gone to hide. She'd leap out of bed, racing off into the night to check it. She knew from the start that she wouldn't find anything there, but somehow, every time, a small ember of hope would rekindle itself in her heart, and no matter how she tried to smother it, it would grow into a raging inferno of certainty by the time she reached her destination. When she finally arrived, she knew that this was it. That Twilight was just inside that cave and she'd apologize profusely for putting her through all this. Explain that she couldn't risk reaching out and contacting her in Ponyville, but that she knew Dash would come find her eventually. By the time Rainbow Dash crossed the threshold of the cave , she was always buzzing with excitement.
Only to find a barren interior and have her heart crushed all over again. Those flights back home afterward were always the longest.
Today, Rainbow Dash was in an even fouler mood than usual. All of her friends had left her. Oh, they had invited her along with them. Practically begged her to come, really. But she wanted nothing to do with where they were going, and after enough shouting (and a few thrown objects) they had finally boarded the train without her.
Today was Twilight's funeral, held by her family in Canterlot. An empty grave in a family plot. A small private affair given her...mixed legacy in the eyes of the public. It was official now. Everypony had just given up.
Not her though. No. Not her. She wasn't some fair-weather friend who would cut and run and throw in the towel when the chips were down. She was loyal damnit! She had no interest in spending the day listening to speeches from a bunch of weepy quitters!
After continuing to sulk on her cloud for a while longer, Rainbow Dash returned home to check her mail.
"Junk, junk, junk, ju–wait a minute!"
Something on one of the envelopes caught her eye. It looked like a certain familiar cramped but neat horn-writing. Rainbow Dash ripped the thick envelope open with her teeth and her nose was struck by a lavender odor that made her heart leap. FInally! All that waiting had paid off! She quickly retrieved the contents and began to read.
Dear, Rainbow Dash ("Dear" is the greatest of understatements, but I fear that if I stop to search for the perfect words to describe how precious you are to me, I may never finish this letter).
I'm writing this before we part ways and I head off to meet Celestia. I desperately hope with all my heart that you never have to read this, because that would mean I wasn't around to prevent it from shipping after a set period of time as per my instructions when I dropped it off at the post office. Assuming I'm not currently showing this to you in person as we both share a laugh looking back at all this craziness, that means something went wrong and I...didn't make it back to you.
I'm so, so sorry. I hope you can somehow forgive me. I knew there was always a chance this could happen. That I couldn't control for everything. That one day, no matter how calculated the risk, I'd gamble and lose. But that's no excuse. I left you behind. Failed you. And for that I can't sufficiently apologize, though I could spend eternity trying.
I've already written similar letters to be sent to the rest of the girls and Spike (that one was hard), along with copies of the enclosed will. This is the last one and then I'm finished. I can't make myself stop writing, though. I don't want to go. I can hear you getting antsy and irritated on the other side of the camp, wondering why I'm taking so long, and I just want to stay here with you forever. But no, I decided that this was a risk I had to take. I need to finish up and get going.
But...if you're reading this, that means I'm gone. That means this is my last chance to speak to you. Write to you. Whatever. My last chance to tell you how much I love you. How am I supposed to do that?! There's not enough ink and paper in the world. I'd grow old and crumble to dust before I could finish. I'd need to study even more languages, possibly invent new ones, just to have the words to properly convey my feelings for you in a way that would do them justice.
Damnit! I had this letter neatly planned out. It was going to be succinct and to the point, and now it's become a mess and I can't stop words from just pouring out. I LOVE YOU! I love you so much that my death could be taken as proof against the existence of an afterlife, else I would tear the veil between worlds apart in an instant to come back to you! You're the light in my darkness. The center of my universe. The axiomatic first principle of all reason and understanding. I could go on and on, but I realize I'm just stalling now. I need to wrap this up.
I'm sorry.
I love you.
I'll never be sorry for loving you.
- Twilight Sparkle
When Rainbow Dash finished reading the letter, she reread it a second and then a third time. She tried reading every other letter and some of the other simple ciphers Twilight had once tried to teach her. When that failed to substantially change the message, she considered tearing it in half, shouting a denial at the heavens, destroying the room in a rage, collapsing into a sobbing heap, or possibly some combination of all of the above.
Instead, she did none of those things. She gently placed the letter down on the table as she felt something finally give inside of her. It was a sharp, stabbing pain, but one that was accompanied by an almost merciful release of a constant aching pressure. Like lancing and draining a boil. It was that final spark of hope being extinguished, bringing with it an almost perverse sense of relief with all the agony.
Rainbow Dash turned and crawled into her bed. She was so tired. Now, without that constant prodding in the back of her mind that insisted she needed to go out there and continue the search, she could finally get some rest. How long had she been this exhausted? She could rage and scream and cry her eyes out later. There'd be time enough for that after a nap. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and drifted into sweet dreamless oblivion.
***
Celestia sighed as she reviewed the stack of guard orders, budget appropriations, and intelligence reports. She struggled to face what even Luna had come around to before her. It was nearly time to call off the search. She hadn't wanted to believe it, but either Twilight Sparkle was truly dead and gone, or else so deep in hiding that she wasn't going to be found in several pony lifetimes no matter how many resources Celestia frittered away.
She thought back to her final meeting with Twilight. She had been so sure her former student had been bluffing. Afterwards, she had been positive she was still alive. That she had somehow covertly worked out a way to breach her interdiction field and escape. But there was no trace of any attempt to teleport out. An illusory Twilight perhaps? Remotely controlled along with the improvised bomb by an invisible Twilight hiding nearby? No. She had definitely felt the real Twilight teleport in at the start, and no physical body had crossed the invisible sensory hemisphere surrounding them to escape milliseconds before the blast. Despite all the evidence it was still difficult to shake the feeling that Twilight was still out there somewhere.
Celestia had of course ordered Twilight's friends watched and their mail intercepted ever since that day, just in case Twilight was still out there and attempted to contact them. Three days ago, that had paid off when Twilight's packages (the real ones, and not the elaborate decoys sent by Pinkie) had shipped out of a small post office in Baltimare. After exhaustive study, they were determined to be free of any decipherable codes, invisible ink, or secondary messages imprinted with magic that would trigger in the presence of a specific pony. It seemed they were exactly what they appeared to be. A last will and testament and farewell letters to her friends and family. Eventually, she had sent them back on their way to their destinations.
Celestia refocused her attention on the reports. The major issue of managing Equestria's defense against major threats with one of the Element Bearers gone turned out to be something of a moot point. After several guard patrols encountered overly aggressive vines in the Everfree Forest, Discord had 'remembered' an old gambit of his from roughly a thousand years ago that had 'just slipped his mind until now'. The Elements had to be returned to the Tree of Harmony, leaving them all without a contingency plan for a rogue Discord (as if there were any other kind). Something Discord himself insisted was 'entirely coincidental'.
On a more positive note, the heightened state of alert maintained in the search for Twilight had detected the escaped Tirek, still hiding and attempting to gather strength. Fortunately, he was still too weak to drain the innate magic of anything less magical than a unicorn, so a team of earth pony guards was able to subdue him and return him to his cell in Tartarus. Celestia gave an involuntary shudder at the catastrophe that might have turned into if it hadn't been caught so early, especially without the Elements to call upon.
Great strides had been made with the changeling prisoners. The researchers claimed they were on the verge of a breakthrough in finalizing a method for changelings to generate and share love among themselves, even if the test cases were...garish. Soon there would be no need to continue feeding them puppies to drain. The puppies recovered eventually when removed and provided plenty of cuddling, but changeling feeding duty remained the most disliked assignment among the guard force. Interestingly enough, with Chrysalis either dead or off hiding somewhere, some of the changeling prisoners had reoriented themselves toward herself as the next clearest source of queenly authority and offered to serve. She had given a few probationary assignments, closely watched of course, and they proved to be remarkably capable spies and informants if directed well. They showed an aptitude for improvisation and adaptability in the field that she wouldn't have expected from beings living in a hive collective.
She had already begun working up plans to integrate them into her new preemptive threat detection program that would be vital to keeping Equestria safe in this post-Elements future. There had been too many close calls. She had been relying too much on Twilight and the Elements. It was time to be less reactive and more proactive. There appeared to be the beginnings of a small cult village forming out on the edge of nowhere, led by a powerful unicorn. It was probably nothing serious, but she'd send an agent out to infiltrate and observe. More concerning were rumors abroad about some 'Storm King' seizing power in distant kingdoms. That was where the changelings would really prove useful. Not only could they take the form of non-pony races, they were also much better suited temperamentally for work in the...less idyllic societies outside Equestria's borders than any of her little ponies. Then there was that mirror.
That caused her to pause in her duties. Yet another student lost. Celestia wondered if it was something about her, some flaw in her teaching that kept repeating this tragedy. But perhaps...perhaps the previous one wasn't lost in quite so permanent a manner. Celestia glanced to the bookshelf where the two way journal still lay under a thick coating of dust. Was it still possible to mend that relationship? There was no guarantee it even worked anymore, but she hadn't bothered to try in all these years. She had simply waited for her former student to come back on her own.
Be proactive, not reactive.
Celestia vowed to make the effort and filed it away in her mental to do list. A list that she had to admit was much more manageable now that Luna had successfully convinced her to share the workload after a long and long overdue talk. In the mean time, she'd wait another month. One more month of keeping Twilight's friends under surveillance. Just in case. Then she'd redistribute those resources elsewhere and move on.
*** 8 months later ***
As she did every morning, Rainbow Dash looked around at the trash pit that was her bedroom. She knew she should clean it, but every time she tried to work up the motivation, a single question would float through her mind. Why bother? It would stay clean maybe two days, a week if she was particularly diligent, then it would be back to this state. Who was she even trying to impress anyway? It wasn't like she was bringing any mares or stallions back to her place these days.
She had told herself she needed to try to get back in the dating world, if for no other reason than it was a much poorer world without the stunningly sexy Rainbow Dash in it. But...she just couldn't do it. How could she sit through a date and not end up comparing it to what she once had with Twilight? And how was anything supposed to follow up something like that? That wouldn't be fair to her or her hypothetical dating partner. So here she was, single and celibate as a damn monk, entirely out of apathy.
Apathy was what defined her life these days. It seemed like nothing excited her anymore. Sure, hanging out with her friends was still fun and Pinkie's parties never disappointed, but there was definitely an overall lack of passion. Even the Wonderbolts didn't stir up the same energy. Not that she was considering dropping out of the reserves or anything, but apparently Firestreak was planning on retiring soon to teach full time, creating an upcoming opening in the main team, and Spitfire had come to her first to tell her the spot was hers if she wanted it. It had been her dream since as long as she could remember, but in that moment, all she could think was that it sounded like a lot of extra work and responsibility. She had passed it up, let the opportunity drift right by while telling herself she'd catch the next one, just as soon as she got her head screwed back on right. Whenever that would be.
Rainbow Dash looked over the detritus of loose change, stationary, takeout boxes, and a rather worryingly large number of now empty alcoholic containers, and knew something needed to change.
I gotta get outta here.
Travel? Maybe a change of environment would break her out of this rut. One thing was for sure. If she stayed here, there was an increasingly likely chance she'd end up a sad, washed up has-been who almost accomplished her dreams, slowly drinking herself, if not to death, than into a state that destroyed the sleek athletic body she had worked so hard to build, staring at her past photos and trophies and promising every night that tomorrow she'd turn it all around.
But where should she go? Just start flying East? She mulled over the question as she sorted the small pile of mail on the table. A colorful bit of junk mail caught her eye. Some mass advertisement that had been cluttering up all the mailboxes of Ponyville in the last week. She hadn't paid it any mind until now.
A Land of Adventure Awaits!
Looking for a change of pace? Come visit exotic Southern Equestria! Try the mouthwatering food from street carts along with the local fashions in the vibrant marketplace of Somnabula, Desert Jewel and gateway to the south. Hire a guide and explore the white water rapids and perilous jungles of the Tenochtitlan Basin. Marvel at the architecture and artwork of our many ancient temples. More are being discovered all the time! Will YOU be the one to uncover the next piece of lost history? You'll find thrills, excitement, and a unique beauty not to be found anywhere else!
Get lost in the adventure! Start your trip to Southern Equestria today!
-Somnambulan Society for the Promotion of Tourism.
Southern Equestria? Wasn't that where the Daring Do books were set? She'd actually forgotten it was a real place and not just a fictional setting for her favorite book series. She wasn't alone in that, either. Unlike most of the northern part of Equestria, the southern half was significantly more isolated. So much so that most ponies thought of it as more of a separate country entirely. Twilight had once mentioned something about the difficult terrain inhibiting the southward expansion of the rail networks that had stitched most of the North together. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth through the bittersweet pain that accompanied any memory of Twilight.
Still, cutting through jungles and exploring trap filled ancient temples like she was Daring Do could be just the change she needed. True, the reality was probably different from the fiction. The ancient temples were probably closer to museums with gift shops and guided history tours, and velvet ropes blocking you from touching the flaking ancient murals, rather than mazes full of puzzles and traps. But at least she could see the iconic location from the series in person and lose her shit like the fangirl she was. And who knew? She might stumble into some adventure along the way. Maybe foil a nefarious plot by villainous rogue archaeologists or something.
The notion that had started as a half-joke quickly blossomed into a serious plan of action. Soon she was tracking down maps, packing survival gear, and wondering where she could get a pith helmet. She found her friends and told them she was planning a vacation of unknown length, arranging for Fluttershy to look after Tank while she was gone. For their part, they were glad to see her with some energy again, looking a bit more like the Rainbow Dash they recognized. She went to the Wonderbolt Academy to clear some time off. Spitfire told her to take as much time as she needed, and that there'd always be a spot waiting for her when she came back. By the time she finished packing, planning, and sorting all the necessary details, the sun was already setting, so she resolved to make a fresh start first thing in the morning.
The second the morning sun shone through her window, she jumped out of bed, practically inhaled her breakfast, grabbed her bag, and leaped out the door. There was only one stop she had to make first.
***
"Hey there Twilight, how's it going?" Rainbow Dash stood in Canterlot, on the well manicured lawn of a small cemetery plot, staring at the grave in front of her. "Dumb question, I know."
It irked her that it was so...modest. A pony like Twilight, a pony that accomplished half the things as she had, deserved at least a 50 foot tall statue. Maybe some fountains. A mausoleum with so many stained glass windows and packed with so much gold, flowers, and golden flowers that Rarity would faint at the sheer garishness of it all.
But Twilight probably wouldn't want all that anyway. She was never comfortable being put up on a pedestal. She'd save Equestria and attempt to brush it off as nothing special. She'd probably appreciate the tombstone being shaped like a giant book though. That was a nice touch.
"So, I'm planning on taking a trip. Don't know how long I'll be gone. I just know that I gotta get outta Ponyville for a while, you know? It's been...hard. Since you've been gone, I mean. I just feel like...like a wheel spinning in the mud. But I think maybe this trip could change that! I'm gonna go to Southern Equestria and visit all the places from Daring Do."
Rainbow Dash's faint smile dipped briefly into a half-frown.
"I wish we could see them together. Geek out like a couple of eggheads and embarrass ourselves in front of the locals." The delicate smile quickly returned. "Wouldn't that be something? You'd probably find out the North Face Totem actually faces 0.05 degrees Northeast or something and be completely scandalized. Probably get us both arrested when you insist on trying to 'fix' it."
A genuine laugh forced its way from Rainbow Dash's chest at the thought.
"Anyway, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. I'll write your name on the Wishing Wall, too. Well, I should probably get going. Got a long flight ahead of me. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll be back."
Rainbow Dash tilted her head and plucked out a feather with her teeth, placing it gently on the grave in front of her. With that done, she took to the air.
"See ya later, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash fired a quick salute and took off on her adventure.
***
Rainbow Dash walked through the evening streets of Somnambula, the fatigue of her long journey continued to make itself known in her muscles. Despite this, she was fully alert and ready for action. A small part of that was due to the impressively spicy vegetable kabob she had eaten earlier, but most of it was due to the fact that she was clearly being tailed.
For the last hour, she thought she had caught glimpses of the same pony shaped cloaked figure wherever she went. About fifteen minutes ago she'd spotted them following her when she checked her travel compass with a small built in mirror. She'd continued to check it every couple minutes since, which probably made her look like the most directionally challenged tourist in the world. Each time, she spotted them following along at a distance, trying to blend into either the crowds or the shadows, depending on whichever was more prevalent.
Rainbow Dash was awash in conflicting emotions. Part of her was excited. This was the danger and intrigue she had come for! Another part was annoyed that this couldn't wait until tomorrow morning after she got some rest. Another was curious as to what this mysterious pony wanted. One thing was certain, if they were looking for trouble, she was ready to deliver it in abundance.
Rainbow Dash adjusted the strap on her bag as she approached her destination, the Get On Inn. After making her way to the front desk and acquiring a room key, she grabbed a drink and dinner from the nearby bar and took a table in the corner where she could see the door. A minute later, the mystery pony entered, gave a quick glance around the room, and moved to a table facing the opposite wall.
And the large mirror covering it, through which they could likely see the entire room. Rainbow Dash scowled and turned her gaze back down to her food. The cloaked pony made no attempt to approach her or offer any cryptic warnings or pleas for assistance, or anything of the sort. They just silently watched her, ordered a drink from a passing waitress, paying with a few bits levitated onto the tray, and resumed watching. A unicorn, then. At least that was something she knew.
Rainbow Dash finished her meal, tossed a few bits on the table, grabbed her bag and headed upstairs to her room. She didn't need to look to know the pony was following her up. She breathed normally, kept her muscles loose and maintained a steady gait, giving no hint that anything was wrong. She knew they were right behind her now. She reached the door to her room, smoothly turned the key in the lock, and pushed the door open. She took several steps inside, stopped abruptly, heard two rapidly halting hoofsteps behind her, and spun around with a lightning fast kick.
To their credit, the cloaked pony had solid reflexes and actually managed to jump back enough to dodge the surprise attack. Unfortunately for them, they didn't leap back out the open door, but ended up with their back against the wall. They weren't quite fast enough to dodge the second blow, a downward chop that caught them right in the horn just as it was starting to light up, leaving them stunned and completely open to the combo that followed. First, a breath stealing uppercut to the gut, which lifted them up onto their back legs. Second, a low kick that sweeped said legs out from under them. Their fall forward was abruptly halted by Rainbow Dash's back as she pressed in, grabbed one of their forelegs, and flipped them over her shoulder and onto the bed. In an instant, Rainbow Dash was ontop of them, hooves pinned on chest, horn, and major joints.
"Why are you following me!" Dash snarled.
Still wheezing a bit from the uppercut, the cloaked pony finally managed to cough something out.
"W-Well you always did take my breath away, didn't you Dash?" An impossible voice replied.
Dash tore off the hood of the cloak to reveal a ghost. A bizarrely corporeal ghost, given the thrashing she had just administered to it.
"What?" That was the only word in her universe at the moment. Twilight, on the other hoof, seemed to have more.
"Or wait, should I have gone with 'you always knew how to sweep me off my hooves'? Crap, now I've really made a mess of it and gotten completely off script. I had stuff planned. It was gonna be a whole thing. I don't suppose I could go out and come back in again, could I?"
"......WHAT?!"
***
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Twilight's face as she watched Celestia's hoof descend in slow motion, in defiance of her ultimatum. This was it.
"Please forgive me Dash."
Several things happened within the next half-second as Celestia's hoof struck the ground. Twilight closed her eyes and released a blinding flare of light from her horn. She also wrapped a shield around herself as she slammed a narrowly focused gravity field down ontop of herself, driving herself down like a nail through the plug of dirt covering the long vertical shaft she had previously excavated beneath her current position. As she rapidly dropped away from the surface, limbs tucked in away from the walls of the narrow shaft that left her very little room, the nullification field around her balloon bomb ended, triggering the detonation.
She hoped she had calculated the timing right. Too soon and she'd be caught by the blast, too late and the delay between her false flash and the actual detonation would be noticeable. And too strong of a gravity slam would render her unconscious and then dead shortly after (whether from the blast, the impact with the bottom, or snapping her own neck from the slam itself depending on how much she overdid it). All she could do was keep her shield up, hope she had given herself enough of a head start on the blast, and keep her teleport primed and ready for the instant she fell out of the radius of Celestia's interdiction field.
She wanted to simply spam attempts as she fell, but Celestia might detect them. It could be that it didn't matter with the explosion serving as sufficient distraction. Maybe Celestia wouldn't be able to scrutinize what happened with such precision that she'd spot failed teleportation attempts a few microseconds after Twilight should have been vaporized. But if she left any trace of evidence that made Celestia suspect she wasn't 100% dead, this whole scheme would be for nothing. The shaft itself was risk enough, but fortunately a nuclear blast did a good job of cleaning up after her.
Twilight suddenly fell something shift. The restrictive itching feeling of the interdiction field on her coat vanished and she wasted no time in teleporting away. Then teleporting again, and again until her tracks were thoroughly covered.
"OW! OW! OWIE! OW! OW!"
Twilight hissed through grit teeth at the stinging sensation on her back. While she'd made it far clear of the actual blast, the radiation, moving at the speed of light as it did, was a bit harder to outrun. Even though she'd been most of the way to freedom by the time the detonation started, the front of that first wave had caught her, and some of it had even managed to get through her shield. Not enough for serious radiation poisoning, but enough to leave her back with a seriously painful sunburn as a memento.
But she was alive. Somehow. It had worked.
Twilight let out a long sigh of relief as she retrieved her stashed supplies and dug around for some aloe (the good stuff with lidocaine in it) to ease the burning on her back. The risky part was over. Now began the hard part. The waiting. Getting far far away from Ponyville. Away from Dash. As much as it hurt, there could be no communication. No reaching out to let anypony know she was okay. Particularly Rainbow Dash.
There was no way Celestia would just accept this right away. She'd expect some trick. Would keep a close eye on all her friends and family, just waiting for her to slip up. And even if Rainbow Dash was somehow the greatest actor in the world...no, she couldn't know. The shock had to be real. The grief had to be real. It all had to be real if she was going to sell this. It might take weeks for Celestia to buy it. She'd wait months. If she moved too soon, it would all be for naught. She'd go somewhere far away. Disappear. Let those letters ship. Let the world move on without her. Then...
Then she hoped Dash would forgive her for putting her through something that cruel. That she would even still want her.
***
"I'msorry!I'msorry!I'msorry!I'msorry!I'msorry!I'msorry!I'msorry!I'msorry!"
Twilight, her story now concluded, crushed Rainbow Dash in a vice like hug as she begged for forgiveness. Still trying to stitch the shattered pieces of her entire world back together, Rainbow Dash extricated herself from the hug so she could breathe once again.
"So...just so I've got this straight...not dead."
"Rumors of my death were indeed greatly exaggerated." Twilight nodded with a grin.
"And you've been hiding out down here all this time."
"I moved about the area a bit, but yeah, mostly here."
"And your plan to contact me was...junkmail?"
"Yeah, basically."
"So, what, you invented a fake tourism board?"
"Actually, no. The SSPT is a real organization. At least it is now. I may have had a hoof in creating it. With a couple of anonymously written suggestion letters from concerned citizens. And maybe one or two stab in the dark anonymous blackmail bluffs. And possibly planting the idea in the dreams of one or two influential city council members. But hey, it turned out to be a pretty big boon for the town after all. Local business is thriving!"
"So...so we did it? We won? It's all over now?"
"Well, nearly. There's one last thing I'd like to take care of, and I kind of need your help with it."
Rainbow Dash let out a long suffering sigh "What now?"
" I guess it's not strictly necessary. More a bonus objective. But...It'd mean a lot to me and I'd sleep a lot easier. I just need some packages delivered. I can't take them myself, and I'm not sure if I can trust the postal system. This has to be done by somepony I can count on 100%."
"Alright, so tell me where I'm going already."
***
Applejack fussed about her kitchen ensuring everything was clean and all the necessary ingredients and equipment were where they should be. Now she just had to wait for her cooking partner to arrive. Fluttershy had moved beyond the role of student about two months back when Applejack found she had run out of things to teach her. Now she was nearly as skilled in the kitchen as Applejack was.
Not quite willing to give up on their favorite routine, Fluttershy had suggested they both start making dishes that neither of them had any experience with. That way they could both learn something new, and if it turned out a disaster, at least it was a disaster with a friend who could help clean up the mess. Applejack thought it was a swell idea, and they had soon found themselves frequent patrons of the library, where Spike would help them find an apparently endless supply of exotic recipe books.
Today's task wasn't all that exotic, but it was something Applejack herself had never been any good at. Chocolate. They'd be making their own chocolate from scratch and then attempting to use it in about a dozen different ways, even tempering it. Applejack was no confectioner, but she was ready for the challenge. If she really wanted to ensure they got through this without a bunch of pans coated in a sticky burnt mess, she could always invite somepony who knew what they were doing, like Pinkie, but that wasn't really the point.
Besides, Pinkie would be way too busy to leave Sugarcube Corner today. It was Hearts and Hooves Day after all. Though that certainly had nothing to do with her selection for today's planned activity. Nope. Not in the slightest. There was a gentle knock on the door.
"Come on in Fluttershy."
Fluttershy walked through the door wearing the same bright smile she always brought over. In no time, they had fallen into position and gotten started. For some reason though, Applejack found it difficult to concentrate on her own work with Fluttershy bouncing happily about next to her.
"Hey Applejack, gimmie some sugar."
"I–What?" Applejack jerked her head sideways in surprise. The movement also brought her head close to her pan for an unfortunately timed bubble to pop and gently splatter the side of her face with the hot proto-chocolate. "Ahh! Consarnit!"
"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's not that bad. More surprising than anything." She raised a hoof to wipe at the rapidly cooling dark specks that clung to her face.
"Here. Let me." Fluttershy grabbed a damp rag and began dabbing at the offending spots. "Hmm, you know it's almost like you've got extra freckles now. They're kinda cute."
"Uh, th-thanks?"
Fluttershy leaned in closer as she scrutinized a particularly stubborn spot that refused to let go. Applejack was suddenly quit aware of how warm it was in the kitchen.
"You know, you don't have to–"
"No, no, I got it. Just a little more." She leaned in even closer.
"For the sake of Celestia, get a room already you two!"
Both ponies leaped back in surprise and jerked their heads to the window, where Rainbow Dash hovered with a smug smile.
"Dash! Wh-What are you doing here? Didn't you take off traveling?" Applejack pointed a hoof accusingly, trying to pretend she wasn't nearly as flustered as she actually was.
"I was, but I had to pop back real quick to take care of something, then I'll be heading back out again. Speaking of which, these are for you." Rainbow Dash reached into a bag and threw two envelopes down on the table.
"You a mail pony all of a sudden, Dash?"
"Apparently I am today. Just make sure you read those real soon. See ya!"
Rainbow Dash took off in a blur to complete the rest of her deliveries. Applejack and Fluttershy turned back to each other, as if expecting the other to have any answers.
"So, uh, where were we?" Applejack asked.
"I think here." Fluttershy leaned forward and gave Applejack a quick peck on the cheek, then turned back to the stove, licking her lips slightly. "Needs more sugar if you ask me."
Applejack grinned and turned to join her. Later, when they finished their batch of chocolate, cleaned up , and stopped for a break, they'd look at the letters sitting on the table, sealed airtight with wax. When they eventually opened them, they'd have a scant few seconds to read the message before the exposure to air ignited the pyrophoric iron(II)sulfide that the corners had been dusted with, quickly destroying the letter in an entirely magic-less fire that would leave behind no thaumatic signature. Fortunately, it was a very short message. Only six words.
I'm okay.
Don't look for me.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash zipped across Ponyville. She had caught Spike and Rarity together at the same time, out on an expedition for gems. That only left one delivery remaining. She set a course for Sugarcube Corner, pulling to a sudden stop as she saw Pinkie waiting in the street for her.
"Hi Rainbow Dash! My Pinkies Sense told me I'd be getting a delivery soon, so I popped out for a quick break."
Through the open doorway, Dash could catch a quick glimpse of the Cakes scrambling to keep up with the tide of last minute shoppers.
"Uh, yeah. That's right. Here you go." She pulled out the last of the sealed letters and passed it over.
"FINALLY! It feels like It took FOREVER to get here. The writer really took their sweet time, didn't they?"
"Uhh–I–"
"Anyway, gotta get back to work! Have a good vacation, and happy Hearts and Hooves Day!"
"Uhh–Thanks! You too Pinkie!"
Pinkie Pie had already returned to a furious storm of baking.
Her task finally complete, Rainbow Dash set a course southward. With a quick thought to what was waiting for her at her destination, she prepared to shatter her previous speed records.
***
Twilight paced as she waited for Dash to return from this final errand. Her rational self-knew she was engaging in an unnecessary risk. She knew the course of action she should take was to keep letting everypony other than Dash think she was dead. After coming all this way and with everything to lose, why leave any possible opportunity for fate to screw her over? She'd have to be crazy to leave any dangling threads at all. She remembered the adage about three ponies being able to keep a secret only if two of them were dead.
But there was another part of her. A part that had taken something of a backseat amid all the action and fighting and scrapes with death. The part that valued friendship too much to simply leave things the way they were. Even if she could never see her Ponyville friends again, she couldn't just leave them like that, thinking she was dead. They deserved to know. How could she really be sure they'd keep her secret? That word wouldn't get to Celestia, undoing everything she'd worked for?
She'd just have to trust them. She'd spent so long in constant paranoia that she'd almost forgotten what it was like trusting in her friends. She'd missed it.
She heard the door to the room open behind her as Dash stumbled in, panting and sweating profusely from the exertion of her record setting flight.
"All done, Twilight. Now what?"
"Well..." Twilight swallowed nervously and pointed toward a lit candle placed on a nearby table, sweet purple smoke rising from the tip. "If...if it's still what you want, then..." she trailed off.
Dash thought for a moment then walked over to the table. She leaned close to stare into the tiny flickering flame. Then she blew it out with a quick puff.
"Actually, I've got a better idea."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, you see, it's still Hearts and Hooves day, and somehow, impossible as it may seem, nopony has asked me out yet."
A snorting laugh ripped its way involuntarily from Twilight's lungs.
"Inconceivable!"
"I know, right! It boggles the mind." She fixed Twilight with a look of mounting impatience.
A smile spread across Twilight's face like the rising dawn. It lit up the room like a thousand candles.
Twilight cleared her throat.
"Ahem. Rainbow Dash?"
"Yes?"
"Would you like to go out with me?"
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
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I have to give you credit for a well crafted set of stories with a compelling narrative and well fleshed out characters. But in the end, the implicit and explicit moral implications of the story are deeply disturbing, to the point where I kinda literally dry heaved at the "happy ending".
You thought I wouldn't notice what you did here. But I did!
10085912
Agreed. I feel almost gaslighted in the sense of wanting to root for Twilight despite everything she has done.
Another proof the Purple One has not learned anything, morally speaking.
10085927
Why should she learn anything? The entire outcome of the story is she was able to take everything she wanted, everypony else paid the price, and even her friends partially sided with her so she feels even more entitled.
Honestly man.... I've waited forever for this and for that I thank you.
10085946
Well, at least Sunbutt herself did learn her lesson: stop relying on gifted yet mentally unstable students to save the day, and roll up your own sleeves.
10085922
I haven't actually read those stories. I only sort of recently stumbled across them and have been intimidated by the word count but also intrigued. I told myself I couldn't start reading them until I finished writing this.
10085927
Yikes. I meant that more as a throwaway joke, but I guess you got a point there.
On an earlier draft, I narrowly resisted recycling an old Simpsons joke.
"It was a three pronged assault. Subliminal, liminal, and superliminal."
"Superliminal?"
***Earlier***
"HEY YOU! MAKE A TOURISM BOARD!"
"Yeah, okay. I'm in."
It took a lot of restraint.
This was a nice ending for a great story.
Ah, this is finally finished, is it? It has been quite a ride, huh.
I have to admit I've grown rather detached from the story over the years, so perhaps my opinion of the ending is influenced as such, but I find myself rather ambivalent. I still do relish Twilight's villainy and her having won the day, but nonetheless, I now also find it wanting.
That aside, it has been a joy to read and follow this story, and as such I offer my thanks to you for writing - and finishing - it.
So Twilight basically got away with brainwashing her friend against her will, taking her away from a relationship she was perfectly happy with, and now is manipulating her from afar just to avoid paying for her crimes.
This isn't a happy ending, it's a toxic relationship no matter how you look at it.
convulsions of laughter
All right, thank you Pinkie...
Well that ends it for another great example of brony brilliance.
Loved the science, fight scenes (surprising for me as there normally bore me in literature but you have a way of making it intense and creative), jokes, characterisation, romance, overall intelligent and skilled writing. Oh and I didn't mind at all that twilight developed an anti hero to full blown super villainy side to her depending on your interpretation of events.
Speaking of which I love reading comments on a fic. And this comment section sure has been a lively and divided one just the way I like it.
Maybe I should hate the fact that all the immoral stuff went down by one of the most moral ponies in the show but I personally like a bit of entertaining villainy (like the joker my favourite fictional character of all time) so there.
I wish you luck in your future endeavours which from the authors notes seems to be making that 'praise the sun meme' a reality. Go punch the shit outa global warming. Hope you continue writing in some way in the future as your well gud at et.
Thanks.
I love the fact that it finished. There are so many fanfictions that go on with no real ending or stop altogether. The ending, while good its own right, feels a bit wanting. The moral ambiguity of twilights and celestia's actions don't feel wholly resolved which was arguably my favorite part of your story. I have many conflicting emotions about this story but I guess most great pieces of media or literature will do that. Thank you for writing this. I quite enjoyed reading it.
On a not personal level, you wrote a great story that raised moral questions for the readers and delivered a great thriller of a romance.
But, and as I read this entire chapter I was dreading it happening, I can't agree with the ending. Twilight is 100% a villain protagonist here. She is not the good guy. And even when I found myself rooting for her in previous chapters, it was as a villain to succeed. She was so lost in her delusions and audacity that I supported her just to see how far she would go for her goals.
But ultimately, I wanted her to fail. Needed her to. She hurt so many people, people she considered family, people she loved, for the sake of her obsession. And she received zero comeuppance. Sure, she can't see her friends and family again, she can't go back home, but those are sacrifices she chose to make herself. Her life wasn't taken from her, she threw it away and ended up with everything she wanted at the beginning of the story. She gets to continue her horrible toxic relationship with her victim, and we're led to believe that this is the happy outcome. The villain wins, with minimal losses, and no real consequences.
So at the personal level, this story can only be one that was good but with a weak, bordering on bad ending. As great as the ride was, the sour taste of that resolution taints a lot of it, especially with how encapsulating of the situation Celestia was last chapter. Love may conquer all, but I don't think the same should be said for obsession, sociopathy, and selfishness.
So, a glorious happy ending to a great story.
Well worth any wait and doubts. Many thanks for delivering!!
GLHF!!
To be honest, the last thing I think about when I think of pony fanfic is "neuropunk science thriller" but here it is.
And it's awesome.
Thank you for writing this!
10086270
Couldn't have said it better myself.
That was one hell of a ride... but enough about the ethics debates in the comments. Kudos on finishing a riveting story that sparked a lot of reflection and self-reflection along the way!
10086041
10085912
10086270
Bad people dont always get what they deserve. Plenty of bad people get away with shit on a daily basis. Instead of thinking the author agrees with it, take it as an acknowledgement of it existing.
10087101
I acknowledge that circumstances like this exist, that doesn't mean that I can't be mad/disappointed about it.
There are several stories with villain protagonists sure. However, when reading certain stories like that, they made me genuinely root for the villain and want to see them succeed... this story failed to accomplish that.
10087101
I don't think the ending is bad because of the idea that the villain won in the end. I disagree with it because it portrays the villain winning as romantic and the good ending, which I vehemently disagree with.
You can frame a story as the bad guy winning and have it be understood as a tragic thing. This story doesn't do that. If anything your analogy is worse than I initially thought it was, because unlike real life, in a story, you can deliberately set the tone of your scenes to match exactly what you want it to. Here, the tone is romantic, triumphant, almost heroic. That's a bad thing. That is the problem with the ending.
media.giphy.com/media/kRmg8zeReOYXm/giphy.gif
Great story
Personally, I like the way this story ends, and this is my reason:
Was Twilight a villain? Yes, but not in the traditional sense. She did one thing that was wrong, and then did everything that she could to survive the consequences of what she did. I do not blame her for fighting back, when attacked, and having no other recourse. She still cared about everyone else, through to the end, or she would not have made sure even Celestia's guards did not get glassed by her explosion. Fighting back, when the consequences are so dire, I do not consider evil, or I would have to consider what happened with Sombra to be evil.
Was Celestia a hero? No. A hero does not lock up an innocent for weeks in a secret bunker, and then use experimental brain surgery as an acceptable solution, when removing the spell does not work. You may say that she did not directly authorize it when it was down to that, but she did not hesitate to suggest it, or even say anything against it when the doctor suggested it. A Rainbow Dash that is still Rainbow Dash, even if she is in love with Twilight, even if it is mainly due to magical interference, to me, would be a better thing to have than a vegetable.
Did Twilight learn her lesson? Many would say no. TWILIGHT would probably say no. And yet...she did not repeat her act, when she could have. She chose, instead, to let it happen more naturally. I think she did.
Does that make what she did right? No. But she suffered and fought for her happy ending. She did only what damage was necessary, and she was honestly upset to find out just how badly she had hurt Luna. They say that evil can be a slippery slope, but the only evils Twilight truly committed after the spell on Dash were defending herself, and even then, she only kept it to what was necessary. No one died, or even suffered permanent damage (besides perhaps Luna, and that was neither truly intentional, not a desired outcone, and I am pretty sure she will recover, in time.) I don't see her as evil, and undeserving of a chance for a happy ending. Just someone who made a bad decision to make the best of a bad situation, and did their best to survive the fallout.
10091782
That's kind of an unfair comparison considering the fact that if Twilight really did care about her friends she wouldn't have brainwashed Rainbow Dash in the first place. If she really cared about her friend she wouldn't have taken her away from a perfectly happy in the relationship with Applejack. She didn't only do one thing wrong, she did several things wrong along with avoiding facing the consequences for her actions.
Her actions were more Justified than Twilight's, considering she was trying to save someone who had basically been brainwashed into loving someone they didn't have any feelings for originally. Even if it didn't work, continuously trying to free her was better than leaving her in the arms of a psychopath who thinks she's justified in forcing someone to love her.
No she isn't, Twilight effectively killed the original Rainbow Dash and replaced her with in obedience doll that loves her and only her. Magical interference just makes it worse considering the fact that she had no choice in the matter and still has no choice now. No matter what choice she makes, it comes from Twilight manipulating her from the start.
She's basically Twilight's slave.
You're 100% WRONG.
Who cares if she didn't repeat the act? The fact that you didn't once is bad enough. The fact that she never on did the first brainwashing was bad enough. The fact that she lured Rainbow Dash to her just so she could get what she wanted out of everything is course. She didn't learn her lesson, she just got what she wanted so she had no need to repeat it.
She didn't deserve a happy ending. It doesn't matter if she felt bad for her to Luna, she still did it. If she truly felt guilty she would have turned herself in. But she still ran just cuz she didn't want to face the consequences of her actions.
The greatest evil Act was the spell in general, defending herself after that was just as evil because she kept trying to justify her actions and keep things the way she wanted them to be without facing consequences.
Well then you're 100% wrong. She is evil, plain and simple.
like I said, she didn't just make one bad decision, brainwashing Rainbow Dash was wrong, running from the consequences was even worse did the fact that she got her happy and despite all the horrible things she did is even worse in that regard. Regardless of if she didn't intend for anyone to get hurt, she still heard a princess. Even if he does recover, she's still guilty of that.
Twilight is the villain, Celestia is the hero. Twilight deserve nothing more than to be locked in a cell and have her magic taken away because she mentally brainwashed her friend for her own selfish reasons. And that's that.
10085912
10086270
What do you two think?
Leaving aside the issue of who deserves what, and sticking to clarification of facts,
10093919
Twilight did not break up Rainbow Dash and Applejack. They were already separated when she cast her spell.
10091782
There is something of a distinction between simple self-defense and resisting arrest for a crime you definitely committed. But I get what you mean.
10093955
Fine, but that doesn't change thee fact that she cast the spell in the first place. Nor does it make what she did any less horrible.
A criminal trying to escape lawful apprehension does not have any legal or moral right to "self defense", so that entire line of argument is a complete nonstarter. What Twilight does in this story puts her at literally Nazi levels of evil; it is literally identical to the Nazis' attempts to try to "cure" gay men in the Holocaust by chemically reprogramming them to be attracted to women. Only in reality, this method does not work.
Good to see this wrapped up! I do want to see the furtherance of where Celestia and Twilight meet again after so much time.
This is a villain protagonist done well. Hell, Twilight’s actions ARE flat out evil, even in the name of love. Did Celestia go too far in trying to “Fix” Dash? Probably. That being said, there’s no real justifying Twilight’s actions.
You root for a protagonist not for their morality, but their relatability, their flaws, and their “Heroic” traits. Yes, Evil Heroes are a thing. They’re called “Villains.”
Bravo.
Thank you so much for finishing this story. It's been a blast. I don't remember if I've written it before, but Then Tomorrow Came is one of my favorite love stories (it's a very short list), and this sequel finally managed to tie up it's few loose plot-threads.
I kinda think it was at least a major gamble on Twilight's part to hope that Celestia wouldn't detect the escape-shaft, but on the other hand you've delivered so many memorable gambits, like the invasion of the secret base, the escape from Chrysalis and the escape from Luna, that it seems rather petty of me to even mention this. Moreover, Twilight's second thoughts on the second echantment of Rainbow was no less well thought of than those more tactical bits of brilliance, and on that note I think Rainbow blowing out the candle was a very thematically appropriate end to this entire love story.
I also liked Twilight's explanation of her choices to Celestia, that conversation was long awaited. I really wish more writers could write with the same level of understanding of what makes their characters tick.
Sorry to hear that you'll be otherwise pre-occupied, because you have a real talent here, but I suppose more efficient solar panels is of more overall value to society, even if I personally am skeptical of how much influence humans have on climate change, especially vs what we can afford without some serious political... gonna stop now.
Thank you, and have a great day.
sequel pls :v
Well written set of stories overall. Props to you for taking the dedication and years to pull through.
That being said, this ending is quite possibly one of the most atrocious and morally reprehensible things I have seen in a piece of fiction in quite some time. Never has an ending quite disgusted me and made me shake with anger before this.
I will be retracting my favorite and leaving a dislike. Im sure it means little to you, but to me it'll be all I can do to express my dissatisfaction towards an ending to a series that is otherwise quite well done.
If nothing else, I'll remember this work for quite some time as a reminder of how NOT to end a piece of fiction.
Best of luck to your future endeavors.
-Jay Romeo
10108440
Well said
While I've seen quite a few negative comments regarding the ending, it's not any different from a lot of what was being said earlier on every time Twilight narrowly escaped something with only severe injuries, mental scars, internal conflicts, and character development. Myself, I rather appreciate what this ultimately wound up being.
Regardless of your take on how bad Twilight's initial use of her spell was, what we have here is a story about someone driven to the brink from their stress, anxiety, and emotional pains. They go too far while they're not in their right mind, and things start going wrong. Not instantly, because that's not always how the world works - karma isn't some universal force waiting to punch people for doing something wrong. But from there, there's facing consequences, learning a lesson, trying to fix a mistake, working together with her friends, and there's a resolution that rewards that effort. Things aren't all made perfect, in that things can't go back to how they were before and how Twilight might wish they could be again: she's lost her family, her influence and friendship with Luna and Celestia, and the comfortable life she had. But it's still more in keeping with the themes of the show and its idea that no one is beyond redemption than it would have been should Twilight have just been caught and punished horribly.
In the end, she leaves whether they use the magic solution to Rainbow like she should have at the start, and is willing to let Rainbow go if that's what she wants after everything. It shows she's learned her lesson there, and accepted that a relationship isn't something she can make on her own if she wants it to last - it takes two. The fact that Rainbow doesn't need it anymore is a way to make things a bit cleaner at the end, but also probably carries a better message than using it might have.
Not to mention that we see character growth and regret on the other side as well - Celestia is realizing that her methods she's been using may not have been the best, and that being more involved in the lives of people she cares about is important. Had she been there with Twilight to comfort her after Rainbow gave her the 'I wish I could feel that way' line in the first story, she'd have been able to smack Twilight upside the head about her idea of using magic on Rainbow when she was asleep.
Maybe with a full explanation of the spell and showing how it worked, Celestia would have approved it for use with informed consent as something of a relationship aid. Or maybe not. To me, how it was described to work didn't seem any worse than Cadence going around using her magic to remind ponies who are having marital troubles of why they loved each other with her magic - it was literally based off of that spell in concept, after all. Just... have someone agree before using it on them. If she didn't approve of it though, she could have easily still helped keep Twilight from making her mistakes and comforted her, before giving her advice from someone who's seen a lot more of the world than she has. Here, she sees what keeping completely out of things can lead to, and has been forced to re-evaluate and remember that even she can still have more to learn.
Mind, I still wanted to slap Celestia for her "You don't get to keep what you stole" line and telling Twilight that she'd never be allowed to be with Rainbow Dash. That's not how you de-escalate with someone offering to give themselves up and quickly capitulating to more and more stuff as long as she gets one thing that shouldn't even be up to you to decide to withhold. The only reason I don't view this as Celestia completely holding an idiot ball is because she's still upset over how badly Luna was hurt earlier. Seriously - once it's determined that there are no outside influences on Rainbow Dash anymore, she gets to make her own choices on if she wants to visit Twilight in jail or date her after everything, full stop. Resisting arrest with enthusiasm is the only reason I'd even say they have legal rights to put Twilight in jail if Rainbow isn't wanting to press charges after being cleared free of magic influencing her, and Luna and Celestia were both going with rather excessive force on attempting that arrest as a mitigating factor.
TL;DR: Friendship lessons and keeping to the feel of MLP happy endings, mixed with epic magic adventure, neat science stuff, and a few darker themes and more lasting negative consequences to break the status quo than normal. I approve, but realize that the people who don't believe redemption should be allowed without 15-20 years served or a death penalty carried out won't agree.
10116049
Glad you enjoyed it.
I'd add that the idea is that mind manipulation magic is a capital crime in itself and something they really want to strike down hard with some solid deterrence and not leave any kind of precedence for cutting deals around, but that premise of the fic got set down long before a certain episode aired and established pretty definitively that Equestria could not give less of a shit about the ethics of magic use. To the point where Twilight just apparently keeps books on mind control spells out on the shelves for anyone to use (though she also keeps a bunch of artifacts with the power to create a magic apocalypse in an open chest in her unlocked office so maybe she just sucks at security), and Starlight using them on her friends is treated as kind of rude and more like a major breach of etiquette than some horrendous crime that would get one thrown in Tartarus.
I really liked this ending, and this fic, and your writing. The ending in particular is great simply because it's not boring; in fact, the only ending I didn't want was one where twilight actually died—not because she deserves a happy ending, it's just that it would be kind of stale. Like, I can already imagine (even if just from the Luna nightmare thing) how it would go if Twilight were captured, and this ending minus the southern equestria bit would be the ending if she simply died. You definitely didn't bore me with the ending, in fact, this fic as a whole is action-packed.
I'm not going to say something already said a million times about ethics. Just because you wrote the fic doesn't mean you personally consider the ending or anything else happy or justified. Death of the artist and all that. Anways, the morals, ethics, introspection and dialogue really are what pushed this fic to my top 5. Well done, and I'm a huge fan of this style of detailed internal dialogue and self-reflection, even if it ultimately leads to the ethically wrong decision.
Thanks for the fic, it'll definitely be a common reread for me.
It took me forever to finally get around to reading the last three chapters, but it was well worth it. I knew it was going to be good, and like a fine wine, the wait while it aged only made it better. I admit I'm a sucker for tragedies, and would have been perfectly happy if this was Twilight's last dance, but I'm still entirely pleased with how it turned out.
Overall, this entire story was quite well written. You make attempts to stay close to the character's personalities, but let's be frank; there's a lot more of the writer in them, than there is of the original character in them. But there's nothing wrong with that. You took the story in fun and interesting directions, and while the girls were a bit overly verbose and a little unbelievable, it was so well done that the normal disapproval I have for that can be dismissed out of hand.
In the end, I don't think there was any part of the story I didn't like. I admit on some of the more wordy sections, I simply skimmed paragraphs until things got back on track, but it didn't diminish the story at all. This one was just as good as Then Tomorrow Came, if not better.
10116049
That really doesn't work considering the fact that Twilight didn't learn her lesson, last I checked she was still perfectly okay with keeping Rainbow Dash to herself and not truly facing the consequences of her actions. If she really was "working together with her friends for a resolution" she would have turned herself in or at the very least ended the spell altogether. But she didn't.
No... it really doesn't.
Twilight cast the spell, and therefore RD is under the lingering effects of the spell. why was never willing to let rainbow go, considering the fact that she basically demanded that she be allowed to be with her despite everything she's done. She was never going to accept that Rainbow Dash wouldn't be with her, if that were the case then she wouldn't have cast the spell to manipulate her into loving her in the first. And at the end she basically faked her death then manipulated Rainbow Dash from afar in order to get her own happy ending.
The only things she learned is how to be more sneaky when brainwashing her friend. Other than that? She hasn't learned anything.
Ok, NO.
You do NOT get the pin the blame on Celestia for this situation.
How the hell was she supposed to Twilight would do something so drastic and irresponsible and morally questionable?
Just because she wasn't there to pack Twilight on the back and asy "there there" that automatically puts her at fault when Twilight is the one who cast the spell?
NO. She has Equestria to run, blaming her for Twilight's actions is beyond unfair.
Excuse you? It is 110% up to her to decide to withhold Rainbow Dash from Twilight, especially since why it is established yourself to be a danger that her and anyone around her since she willingly cast a spell to manipulate her into loving her without her consent. Why should she give her any leeway on that?
Did Rainbow Dash consent to the spell being cast? No. Therefore, Twilight basically stole Rainbow Dash's Home Choice in the matter from her. He forced her into a relationship that she wasn't interested in. It doesn't matter of is RD "slowly began to love her over time", Twilight still cast the spell without her consent, therefore it is objectively mind control and it doesn't matter. Twilight should not get a choice in deciding whether or not she should see Rainbow Dash again if she can't even bring her own friend's feelings into account.
That's the thing though, there's an outside influence all the time. Because RD would have still love Twilight. Again, it doesn't matter if she's slowly began to love her over time, Twilight cast a spell, therefore that and any lingering effects of the counts an outside influence.
And Twilight should have been arrested anyway, assaulting royalty is a serious offense. Regardless if she didn't mean to,
Casting a spell on her without her consent is still morally wrong. Rainbow Dash not pressing charges shouldn't be the deciding factor since even if she was cleared as you put it, that doesn't really remove any suspicion or prove that rainbow is completely free of influence. Because she still in love with Twilight, this wasn't her default emotion before the spell was cast, so it's a lingering effect of the spell, therefore Rainbow Dash is not a valid source for evidence as to why Twilight shouldn't be in jail. Plus there's the fact that she never once turned herself in and it's Dad attempted to continue manipulating Rainbow Dash just so she could have her to herself. Resisting arrest and assaulting royalty are just the icing on the cake, she still manipulated her friend without her consent.
If she can do that without a second thought to one of her friends, then she doesn't deserve to be near her in any way shape or form. End of story.
10127859
Not wanting to jump in too much because I think authorial opinion regarding whether characters are sympathetic or not isn't worth much, but just to clarify some points.
While it's certainly up for debate what exactly Twilight learned from all this, I'm not certain learning a lesson is quite synonymous with facing consequences or "losing" (since there certainly were consequences, just not in the jail time served sense). That surrender is the only valid means of character growth. It's the same weird martyrdom logic that says a principled but illegal action taken against an unjust government is noble only if you stand still and let them imprison/torture/execute you, but cowardly and criminal if you try to escape and live to fight another day.
I think the point raised is that Rainbow Dash should still get some choice in the matter. All of Twilight's proposals were dependent on "If Rainbow Dash wants it"
By the end, the spell is no longer in effect, and the bridge of tissue created by it has been removed along with her feelings for Twilight. Any lingering effects past that is just memory and life experience. Are you claiming that all future decisions Dash makes are suspect indefinitely? Would there ever be anything further she could even theoretically do to prove her choices are her own? Is she forever trapped as some kind of romantic philosophical zombie?
There were second thoughts, and thirds, and forty-sevenths. Her crimes were deliberated upon extensively.
10127970
Considering the fact that Twilight brought this all upon herself by blatantly disregarding how her friends would feel and casting the spell on her without her consent, she doesn't really have much of a right to complain when the government cracked down on her and tries to remove any possibilities of them being together.
You can't really call them unjust and corrupt for doing their jobs, especially since Twilight herself has the most unjust and corrupt one in this entire story.
And that point is completely hypocritical considering the fact that Rainbow Dash never had a choice from the start. She didn't have a choice when Twilight snuck into her home and cast a spell on her without her consent, now did she?
Twilight's proposals may have been depended on " if Rainbow Dash wants it", but considering the fact that by this point how to spell pretty much accomplished what she set out to do, it's pretty blatant that she's only deluded herself into believing that she has Rainbow Dash's best interest at heart, so it's more "if Rainbow Dash wants what I want".
After all, if she wanted to give Rainbow Dash a choice in the matter, she wouldn't have conveniently tipped all the odds in her favor.
Yes, as a matter of fact I am.
Because the end of the day, those memories were forced upon her by Twilight. The fact that she still wants to be with her despite her disregarding her feelings, manipulating her trust, and forcing her into a relationship that she wasn't interested in the beginning pretty much kills off any goodwill she might have.
After all, like I said before, and Rainbow Dash had actually been given a choice in the matter, one that didn't involve Twilight in mind raping her, then it would be different. But even if it's stated that the spell is gone, the fact that Twilight cast it in the first place makes any choice Rainbow Dash makes regarding her feelings for Twilight subject to doubt. is the equivalent of an abuse victim being perfectly okay with going back to the abuser after just a few sweet sounding word that they've changed.
The only real way that could prove her actions are her own as if the entirety of what happened after her mind was wiped was completely stripped away from away mind, effectively reverting her back to the way she was before Twilight manipulated her, giving her actual free will back instead of simply throwing her through a situation where she basically succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome.
And before you bring up Rainbow still making the choice to love Twilight, I want you to look at this from a realistic standpoint as opposed to an "I just want them to be together in the end" standpoint. Have her actually be told that her best friend basically mind raped her just because she wasn't interested in her have RD realistically resent her for it.
-or-
At the end of it all, have Rainbow Dash outright resist the urge to go searching for Twilight, indicate that she knows she's out there, but desides that it's better and more healthy for herself not to interact with her again. The fact that you basically had Twilight lure Rainbow Dash to her openly indicates that Twilight still has some degree of control over her, and that in turn completely nullifies any indication that Rainbow Dash is still free or that the spell is completely gone.
Apparently not enough thoughts for her to Actually resist going through with it. And the fact of the matter is that despite her crimes she still got off scot-free. It doesn't matter if she had to relocate and leave behind her friends and family, she still got what she wanted in the end, which is basically having Rainbow fall in love with her.
I'm sorry, I do like your stories. But the ending to this one was objectively terrible and left a bad taste in my mouth.
10128105
I wasn't at all trying to imply that Twilight is some revolutionary fighting an unjust oppressive government (she's definitely not). Just trying to point out that formal institutional punishment received is a poor measure of whether or not a character "learned" anything. Twilight wouldn't learn anything by being locked up that she didn't know beforehand. She's already quite aware of the problems with what she's doing.
I mean...they're not fake memories. They're just real lived experiences. I'm not sure why they wouldn't be legitimate to weigh into decision making.
That might be just on the edge of accurate and overblown. Twilight certainly manipulated/deceived Dash into the initial relationship, but there was no ongoing pattern of abuse after that. Just a relationship that was quite positive for both of them (if founded on a giant deception and major crime). Twilight wasn't using magic or gaslighting to keep Dash in the relationship, just being a genuinely loving and supportive partner. Twilight isn't uttering sweet words about how she's changed because the spell was a one off thing she never had any need or intention to repeat until Dash insists upon it.
And even with that analogy, while we might certainly consider an abuse victim choosing to go back to their abuser a really bad decision, most of us would grudgingly admit they have a right to make the choice, as opposed to forcefully restraining them. Most probably wouldn't be comfortable with a policy of ordering psychiatric holds on people who insist on staying in bad relationships that aren't actually life threatening.
That she reached what you consider the wrong decision doesn't mean that she did so thoughtlessly or cavalierly. In the same manner that Dash making a choice you disapprove of doesn't mean she's bereft of free will.
Sorry if I'm coming off contrarian. This fic and comment section brings out the Devil's Advocate in me. In all honesty I'd probably be arguing the opposite positions if someone was loudly cheer leading Twilight and trying to argue that anyone trying to stop her is an evil villain. That's probably why all of Twilight's internal arguments became so bloated.
10128349
And yet she never stopped. I know there are certain instances where a story has you want to cheer for the objective villain, hence the term "villain protagonist", but this was done in all the wrong ways.
Because those memories were made through manipulation. None of those real lived experiences would have happened if Twi hadn't forcibly brainwashed her own friend.
No matter how much you protest that it was just a simple "nudge" in Twilight's direction, that nudge was manipulation in every way shape and form.
That right there kills off your defense.
If she had to manipulate/deceive Dash into a relationship then she didn't deserve her from the beginning, a relationship founded on deception on this level is a relationship that doesn't deserve to exist.
There was an abuse in that relationship, and abuse of power, and an abuse of trust. Twilight prove that she didn't trust the Rainbow Dash to make her own decisions and forcibly made one for her without her consent, he abused her own power and force Rainbow Dash into a relationship that she wasn't interested in.
I refer you to my previous statement: Mind. Control.
That one major aspect killed off any and all defenses you can make for Twilight.
You can claim that she was loving and supporting all you want, but at the beginning of it all, did Rainbow Dash consent to it? No. What was even given a choice in the matter? No. When she even told that she was put through it? Of course not, Twilight kept that little bit of information away from her until it was finally exposed. And by that point Dash was in so deep that she had pretty much been deluded into thinking she genuinely loves Twilight.
It doesn't matter if the spell vanished overtime, if Twi had to cast the spell in the first place, then as far as I'm concerned there is no genuine affection, just lingering effects of brainwashing.
Not if they're not in the right state of mind, suppose said abuse victim was browbeaten into thinking that they were only allowed to be depended on their abuser? That shows that they're making isn't really their own, just one day been conditioned to believe is the right choice by their abuser.
The fact that it's not life-threatening doesn't make it any less terrible.
That's different, mainly because Twilight was completely 100% okay with brainwashing her own friend for her own benefit. It doesn't matter if Rainbow Dash ended up enjoying the time she spent with her, the fact of the matter is Twilight brainwashed her into loving her. No ifs ands or buts about.
Tell me, did Rainbow Dash have a choice in the matter at all? And I'm not talking about when the gaurds came for her, I'm talking about at the beginning before Twilight cast a spell. What choice did she have? What chance was she given to make her own decision regarding starting a relationship with Twilight?
Absolutely none.
Twilight basically stripped her of her right to make choices the moment she cast that spell, by that point maybe that's what just shoved into a situation where she didn't really have a choice aside from one that benefited Twilight.
If this situation had gone down with any other character, do you really think RD would have been okay with it if she wasn't the one who got brainwashed?
Of course not.
And that's the kicker, no matter how you spin it, Twilight mind-raped her friend into loving her without her consent. Rainbow Dash enjoying her time with Twi was nothing more than Twilight gaslighting her with good times while she was under her spell, if anything it was just probably covering her tracks just in case she did fail so that Rainbow Dash would still be dedicated to being with her just because she had a good time, therefore hindering her better judgment and simply forcing her into a situation where only Twilight benefited from their relationship.
You could make the argument that when Twilight cast the spell she effectively killed the original Rainbow Dash mentally and simply replaced her with an exact duplicate that was more dedicated to Twilight.
10128572
So, if I'm understanding your argument correctly, any choice Dash makes that involves forgiving Twilight or expressing any desire to try to rebuild their relationship is defacto proof that she's still under lingering influence of mind control (regardless of what any medical scans show) and not in a position to make any free decisions. Therefore, the only way to demonstrate that she is free of outside coercion and capable of making her own choices is to choose the one approved correct choice of cutting Twilight out of her life entirely. That's a hell of a Catch-22.
I'm fairly certain that's not what gaslighting means (making someone question their own sanity or recollection of events by denying reality and pushing fake evidence). Also not sure how "manipulating someone with good times" differs from just having good times. I guess maybe intent? But Twilight isn't playing the supportive and caring partner as a ploy to keep her wrapped around her hoof. It's not an act or a means to an end. It's the end itself.
It's like if you meet someone and hit off, they take an interest in your hobbies, tell great jokes, you have a ton of fun playing games together or going out to movies and amusement parks together, etc. They're generally a fun person to be around. Then later you also learn that when you first met they were dosing your food and drink with gradually decreasing amounts of mood elevating anti-depressants. Now, that's certainly fucked up and creepy, and you'd be more than justified in cutting ties immediately, but it doesn't necessarily mean you weren't legitimately having fun all those times.
I guess this is less a defense of Twilight, and more a defense of Dash.
if you wanna get overly philosophical about it, you could also argue that our old selves are constantly getting killed off by the addition of new memories and experiences. That, and the question of how much moral consideration is due to present Dash and how okay it is to kill her off in order to restore a previous version is the whole theme of her captivity in the bunker. In fact, that's the core scene the whole story started from. Back when I was musing on starting a sequel to Then Tomorrow Came and what it would be about, I just had the thought of post-spell Dash strapped to a table and arguing that she has a right to live as the doctors attempt to cure her. Everything kind of grew outward from there.
10132385
I'm saying that the ideas that she would want anything to do with Twilight after her friend basically took advantage of her just for her own selfish needs is suspect to investigation. The only way Twi should be allowed to interact with her is from behind bars in a prison.
Not really, considering the fact that none of this would have happened if Twilight hadn't forcibly inserted herself into her life relationship-wise? By that logic you're basically saying that Twilight had every right to do so.
That doesn't change the fact that it's still manipulation. RD made it clear that she wasn't interested, so Twilight brainwashed her into falling in love with her. Those memories that they made together were spawned a false love.
Rainbow Dash only enjoyed herself because Twilight made her fall for her. Once again, she used a spell on her against her will without her consent. It doesn't matter if she had fun, it was all built on manipulation. What you just said is dangerously close to the "it's not rape if they enjoyed it" rationalization.
Sorry, but that logic doesn't fly. Once again, Rainbow Dash was never given a choice from the start. Twilight used her spell to make her love her, it doesn't matter if she grew to love her in the end. The fact that said love was manipulated into her mind for selfish motives makes this relationship 110% wrong.
Before this, Rainbow Dash had no interest in Twilight, after the spell was cast, she wanted to be with her no matter what despite it being very clear that her so-called friend took advantage of her just to get her way. That's not new memory that experiences, that's straight-up being brainwashed into loving someone she didn't love.
I did not expect this story to finish! I enjoyed the premise and the story a lot.
Nice Story, but awful perverse and immoral ending. It's unfortunate
10251131 Meaning it wasnt the ending you wanted. Its a grey ending. No one was 100% evil or good here. Except Fluttershy. The point is all these characters grew and learned. Just because it doesn't mesh with your personal moral compass doesnt make it perverse or wrong.
10132435 Youve got one thing wrong that poisons the rest of your reasoning. Twilight didnt brainwash Rainbow. It was manipulation through positive incentive. The idea that Twilight would be a good partner. Twilight then delivered on that idea and that formed an actual connection. Then when Rainbow was factory reset she objectivly looked at everything and came to her own conclusion reguarding the whloe thing. The concept is a grey area. The doctors were in the right logically and medically but by completely taking agency from Rainbow that was a line for her and why she fought them. Celestia even considers herself solely in the right because of her rigid black and white morality and because Luna was hurt. The whole point is each character has a view on the situation and none are completely right or wrong. Well barring Discord but he's chaos incarnate and inherently has no moral compass, just a spinning needle that needs direction by Fluttershy. What I want to say in all this is that like it or not, agree with it or not. The whole of the story cant just be put into who was right or wrong. Because in this series of events, no character was. Thats how I see it at least.
10332709
She literally did. If she hadn't brainwashed rather than there wouldn't have been a spell for her to cast now would there?
No, it was a simple manipulative move that convinced RD to automatically fall for her without their consent.
If it was an actual connection then she wouldn't have cast a spell to begin with.
Sorry, but that logic doesn't fly.
If she wasn't brainwashed than what was there to be for her to be "factory reset" from?
If she wasn't brainwashed why did she suddenly have feelings for her Twilight that didn't even exist until after she cast a spell?
The answer? Because she was brainwashed. There was no objective conclusion for her, Twilight wanted her to be in love with her, so she manipulated her into falling in love with her without her consent.
Now that's beyond hypocritical. The doctors and Celestia were objectively in the right because Twilight can easily be charged with breaking and entering, casting a spell on an unknown party without their knowledge or consent, said spell is more than likely illegal, and the fact that she resisted arrest.
If she was truly innocent she wouldn't have done so, nor would she have attacked Royalty just to get away with her actions. Plus she keeps pretending that she has a right to do so even though Rainbow wasn't given an option to refuse. In other words, she's the one with black and white mentality because she thinks she deserves to get away with her crimes.
Nope, Twilight Sparkle is 110% in the wrong in this story. No matter what point of view you try to pretend justifies her actions. Again, if she hadn't cast the spell none of this would have happened.
Yes it can, Twilight was in the wrong for casting the spell in the first place, taking advantage of her friend, refusing to own up to her actions and basically running away from her friends and family and then manipulating the very friend she took advantage of into coming to her.
Then the way you see it is wrong.