Geoverse Part Six: A Season Of Adventure

by GeodesicDragon

Epilogue

Author's Note:

Since A Season Of Terror, the original sequel to this story, has now been declared non-canon, a new Epilogue was required.

This is what I came up with, and I hope it is to your liking.

The next part of the Geoverse saga will take place during Season Four — though I'm unsure what title to give it just now.

Crimson Star has told me he is no longer my co-writer, so future stories will be written without his input.

After months of listening to Pinkie always making excuses to avoid talking about Ace, she stunned us all by finally announcing that she was ready to tell us exactly why she had been avoiding him. Rainbow Dash, Spark Plug and John had, at first, been hesitant to let her speak — but she shushed them and launched into a story unlike anything we had ever heard before

"Remember that creepy Nazi guy, Manglanosa?" she asked, to which we nodded. "As you know, he and Ace didn't really get along all too well — a rivalry which escalated, when Manglanosa accused Spark Plug of attacking Ace's base. He took him prisoner, as well as me, and took us to his own base — so Ace set out to get us back along with Rainbow Dash, his bots... and his man on the inside."

She looked at John as she spoke the last four words, causing him to drop his head and look away in shame. Applejack glanced between the two before realising what Pinkie was talking about.

"Wait just a dang minute," she snarled. "You mean to tell me that mah husband was actin' as a spy inside Manglanosa's base?!"

"I had no choice but to do it," John whispered. "When Geo and I helped Ace to build his stabiliser, he made us sign confidentiality agreements — an agreement I broke when I reported back to my superiors at MI6. He came to see me one night and demanded that I helped him... otherwise he was going to take the farm." He looked at Applejack solemnly. "I couldn't let him do that." He continued. "So I agreed. I wasn't prepared to give him the satisfaction of casting us out onto the streets and taking our home away from us, not after all the effort I went to in order to buy it. I didn't tell you because... well, I didn't want you to worry. I was doing it to protect us, AJ, but after everything I saw there... maybe homelessness would have been the better option."

Applejack's anger evaporated as she nuzzled John's hand affectionately. He idly patted her as Pinkie continued talking.

"Ace and his bots stormed Manglanosa's base, and managed to free Spark," she said. "But then Manglanosa's men counter-attacked, and it was revealed that I had been taken prisoner. As well as this, we saw that Manglanosa had been conducting experiments into making super-soldiers who were capable of causing, as well as taking, a huge amount of damage."

Various gasps of horror and disgust filled the room. Rainbow Dash and John both looked crestfallen, with Spark Plug hugging the former as tightly as he could.

"After some fierce fighting against a group of these super-soldiers, Ace found me with the 'good doctor' himself." Pinkie shuddered. "At first, there was a stalemate while Manglanosa held a gun to my head, but Ace had prepared for this and revealed that he had taken Manglanosa's family captive."

"I guess he learned his lesson from the Diamond Dog incident," Applejack muttered. "Sorry, Pinkie, carry on."

"Before Manglanosa could do anything, there was a large explosion which took out the whole area." Pinkie paused for a moment. "An explosion which caused me to die." Everyone looked at her in silent disbelief for a moment before they all started shouting at once. She raised a hoof to quiet them. "I'll explain how I'm alive in a minute, but right now you have to realise that Ace was furious. I was dead and so was Chocolate, given the fact I was still pregnant at the time. At that moment something inside Ace snapped, so he grabbed a weapon and took off after Manglanosa. Along the way he came across some of his bots which had captured a few mercenaries. When one of them asked Ace what to do with them, he replied with the chilling news that all he saw was a pile of corpses."

"And with those few words, all of those poor men were killed on the spot. Ace ordered that all prisoners were to be killed and resumed his search. He caught up with his rival again and was about to kill him when Manglanosa revealed that he had secretly been working on a serum to raise the dead. In exchange for his life he offered it to Ace, who could then use it on me — so he had my body brought to him and did exactly that." She sighed. "I came back to life all right, but the serum also had a side effect in that it accelerated the gestation period of my foal."

"So in other words..." Fluttershy said. "In other words, it made Chocolate grow faster than normal?"

"Exactly." Pinkie nodded. "I went into labour then and there and gave birth to her. Ace allowed Manglanosa, his family and his surviving men to leave alive, we were reunited — and then he simply broke down and told me what he had done. He said that what he did was unforgivable but I told him that, yes, it was a lot to forgive, but if he worked on making things right then he could be forgiven. I then made a Pinkie Promise to stick by him." She sighed again. "A promise I've broken."

***

Twilight and I had been listening outside the door in silent horror. I had always known Ace to refer to himself as a 'villain,' but I always thought he did so as a joke. To hear that it was actually because of this was unbelievable — and the fact that so many of my friends were involved was a lot to take in as well.

After Pinkie finished talking we decided to make our presence known. Twilight was the first to walk into the room, and immediately wrapped a wing around Pinkie's shoulders.

"I know Ace has done some pretty horrible things," she said. "But it sounds to me like he regrets it."

"Oh, he does," Dash interjected. "He made us promise not to tell anypony because he doesn't want us thinking any less of him."

"But he deserves it!" Pinkie shouted. "He blackmailed John, took a family hostage and killed Celestia knows how many people! Do I really want someone like that raising my foal?!"

"Pinkie," Twilight soothed. "I think the real question here is why you left all those months ago, instead of when he told you all of this."

"Yeah, Pinkie!" Dash added. "You said yourself that you forgive him for it, and you promised to be there so it wouldn't happen again."

"Uh huh." Pinkie sighed. "But... now that I think about it, maybe he really does regret it. I know he has nightmares about what happened at the camp, about what kind of monster he turned into. And I was always there to comfort him."

"I've seen first-hand the depravity to which humans are willing to sink," I said plainly. "After all, you were there when Derek pretended to listen to my advice... before he shot me again and then he and his friends tried to kill you and the rest of the girls. I don't know what to think and I can't make your decisions for you, Pinkie, but I'll support you no matter what."

"On the one hoof," Rarity offered. "He seems no better than Derek. But on the other hoof, he doesn't want to be anything like him." She closed her eyes, as if focusing on her thoughts. After a moment she opened them and continued speaking. "Metaphorically speaking, he sounds like a savage beast that is soothed by the presence of a fair maiden." She paused for a moment. "In a way, I pity him — the poor dear sounds like he’s haunted every night by the ghosts of his past. But I suppose he brought it upon himself."

"Pinkie..." Twilight said. "Do you know if Ace want to put that kind of past behind him?"

***

Pinkie awoke to the feel of the mattress shaking. Confused, she looked around for the source of the disturbance to discover that it was Ace, who was in the foetal position. He was shivering, letting out silent sobs, and whispering something to himself.

"Acey?" Pinkie asked, placing a hoof on his arm.

"I'm a villain," Ace whispered. "I'm a monster. I don't belong."

Pinkie listened to him repeat those words over and over. This wasn't the first night something like this had happened, as Ace had been having these night terrors ever since the battle at Dr. Manglanosa's camp. Pinkie looked over at Chocolate, who was safe in her crib, sleeping soundly. Pinkie counted her blessings; she'd hate to explain to her why her father was so upset.

"It's all right, Acey," she told him, wrapping her forelegs around him gently. "It's over, and you'll never have to do it again."

Ace's mumbling turned to sobs, and all he could do was face Pinkie and hold her close. Pinkie felt bad for Ace, as she didn't know how to make the nightmares stop — but she knew that she was going to be there when Acey needed her.

***

"Yes," Pinkie said after a long pause. "Without a doubt, yes."

"If he don't wanna do it no more, then I ain't one to judge him on his past." Applejack nodded "If you wanna go back ta him, sugarcube, ya have my support."

"I... I do wanna go back," Pinkie said. "The more I think about it, the more it seems like I wasn’t being very fair when I left him."

"Well there's the door." I pointed at the object in question. "Just go through it and head to his lab."

"Can you guys come with me?" Pinkie sniffled. "I don't wanna lose my nerves at the last minute."

We nodded, following as Pinkie trotted swiftly out of the room. She moved quickly through the Ponyville streets, returning any greetings with a simple nod. It was almost as if she was determined to get to Ace's lab, and that nothing was going to stop her.

As she approached, the bot guarding the door went to stop her. "Halt," it said. "The master does not wish to be disturbed."

"Step aside," I said. "As crown Prince of Equestria, I order you to stand down and let us past."

The bot shook its head. "Negative," it replied. "This unit, like all others, only obeys orders from the master."

"Well, it just so happens that I'm married to the 'master,'" Pinkie said, stepping in front of me. "What do you say to that?"

The bot was silent for a moment as it pondered its next move. Eventually, it stepped to one side. "You may pass," it said. Pinkie walked up to the door, but the bot stepped in front of the rest of us when we tried to follow her. "The mistress may pass, you may not."

"All right, fine," Rainbow Dash said. "Don't get your circuits in a twist." She raised her voice. "Hey, Pinkie, you do whatever it takes to get him out of there while we support you from back here."

Pinkie nodded, pressing a button on the door. There was a pause, and then some faint crackling as the intercom burst into life.

"Who's that?" Ace's voice said. "Is that you, DB-32?"

"Acey?" Pinkie said sweetly. "It's me, Pinkie. Can we talk?"

"Pinks?" Ace sounded shocked. "Uh, sure, we can talk..." He trailed off. "As long as you're not here to shout at me again."

Pinkie shook her head. "I Pinkie Promise," she said, performing the motions. "I won't shout if you won't." She sighed. "But I'd much rather talk to you face-to-face, rather than through a door. Why don't you come on out, Acey? All of our friends are here, and they'd love to speak to you again." As if on cue, the rest of us began calling out, agreeing with what Pinkie was saying. "See? They're worried about you just as much as I am... and there's a certain little filly who is missing her daddy."

With that, the intercom went silent. Pinkie stepped back, looking crestfallen, but then jumped slightly as the door opened. Ace peered out through a crack, giving us our first look at him in months — and the time alone hadn't done him any favours.

He was unshaven, sporting a bushy brown beard, he had sweat stains under his arms and – if the way Pinkie screwed her face up was anything to go by – he smelled revolting.

"It is good to see you, Master," the bot said. "Would you like me to remove these trespassers?"

Ace shook his head. "No, thanks, DB-32," he replied. "In fact, why don't you go and take a break? I can handle things myself now."

The bot nodded and entered the laboratory, disappearing from sight. Ace slowly took a couple of tentative steps outside, shielding his eyes from the sun he hadn't seen in months of solitude. He looked at us bashfully, not wanting to maintain eye contact for longer than a couple of seconds, but he eventually looked at Pinkie Pie — who, despite the smell, gave him a hug.

"I've missed you, Acey," she said, tears forming. "I wish I'd never left you in the first place — I broke a Pinkie Promise."

"You left me for a reason," Ace replied, returning the hug. "I'm a monster, a villain... not the sort of person you want to be with."

"Well, you did kill a bunch of guys in cold blood," I said nonchalantly. "So it's only natural you'd feel that way." He looked me in shock. "Yeah, we know everything."

Twilight hoofed me in the side. "Way to be tactful," she hissed, before addressing Ace. "Look, we know what you did – and why you did it – but we don't want to think about it. All we care about is getting you back with your family, where you belong."

"Though I'm still mighty pissed ya tried ta blackmail John," Applejack added. "But I guess, in time, I'll understand why ya thought it was a good idea." She turned to John. "An' don't think I've forgotten about you putting yerself in danger."

John looked away, unsure of how to respond.

"Ignore them for now, Acey," Pinkie said. "The reason I came back is because... is because I love you, and I want us to be a family again. Yes, it will take time to put all of this behind us — but I just know that we can work together and do exactly that."

"Do you really think so?" Ace asked, his voice choked with emotion.

Pinkie shook her head. "I don't think so," she replied. "I know so."

Ace blinked a couple of times, then grabbed Pinkie in a bone-crushing hug. She didn't seem to mind, even going so far as to giggle uproariously while her mane and tail returned to their usual fluffiness and vibrant pink colour.

"I'm sorry." Ace addressed all of us as he relinquished his hold on Pinkie. "I'm sorry for everything, and I swear I will do whatever it takes to make amends so that we can put this nightmare behind us." He looked at John and Applejack. "I owe you two the biggest apology — whatever you want of me, it shall be done."

John and Applejack exchanged a cautious glance, but eventually nodded and allowed Ace to shake hands and hooves with them. He made his way through each of us, apologising profusely, and then he got to Twilight and I.

"I'm sorry I did this to our friends," he said. "And I hope you can forgive me for making them keep such secrets from you."

"We accept your apology," Twilight said. "But, like the others said, forgiveness will take a bit longer to bestow."

Ace shrugged. "Understandable," he replied. "And now, if you don't mind me asking... when the hell did you get wings, Twilight?"

I chuckled. "My friend, let me fill you in on what you've missed during your time alone." I wrinkled my nose up. "But first things first..." I turned him around and pushed him towards his lab. "You need a shower, a shave and a change of clothes — in that order."

Ace laughed back and stepped into the lab, stopping just as he was in the door. He turned around and held a hand out to Pinkie. "Well, Pinks?" he asked. "Are you coming home?"

Pinkie nodded once and followed him into the lab, the doors closing behind them with a loud click and leaving the rest of us standing outside. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the resulting silence.

"What do you think, everypony?" she asked. "Will he – or, indeed, any of us – ever get over this?"

Twilight nodded. "I hope so," she replied. "The magic of friendship is strong indeed — it's never failed us before, so I can only hope that it doesn't fail us now."

"Ain't that the truth." I put an arm around her. "Come on, everypony, let's leave those two in peace."

With those words, and a final glance at the laboratory, we all turned around and began the walk back to Ponyville.

*** THE END ***

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Yaay.

What goes well with Chocolate? Chili? Vanilla? Sprinkles?

[Brother Roga]

5430607
Whipped cream.

Mmmm~

[Orion Light]

[Zugthule]

I much prefer this ending I stopped reading the Geoverse because of the now un-cannon sequel (for which I am thankful because doing what Ace originally did was very out of character) so now I'm jumping back on board and ready for a new adventure

[Shadow Lance]

5432486 he was out of carecter because he was posesed and he murderdered hundreds of lives. i would do what he did to if i went throu what he did. you cant go and act normal after somthing like that. especially after being posesed. just think about it this way. if your wfe died and than you murderd hundreds in cold blood and she came back to life and hated you. how would your emotional state be. not how his was.you would be raving mad. not just sad

[dusk flame]

I like this a lot better compared the the eggman rip off.

[sjo3989]

thanks for the update!! the other "egg man" version probably would have been a good read but personaly I prefer a lighter story so this change will be nice. Cant wait for the next parts to come out