Collateral Damage
In which we discover extreme solutions often have far reaching consequences.
Earth, Tuesday morning, June 11, 2013 8:03 AM Eastern Standard Time
President Bend stared at the stack of crises on his desk. Everett Brier’s catastrophic leak of NSA documentation sat on top.
Thank God the Fae weren’t part of what he grabbed, President Bend thought as he looked over the DOJ’s formal charges against the ex-analyst. A damn computer geek, he thought morosely. Of course it was. Rabidly apolitical, the lot of them, and this particular geek was young enough to be an idealist on top of it.
I am too old for this crap, he thought. But still stupid enough to fight tooth and nail to get this job for a second term. If I’d known then what I know now would I have stayed in the Senate?
A knock on the door distracted him.
“Come in,” he called.
His Chief of Staff opened the door.
“There’s something you need to see right now,” the man said, face pale. “We’ve got a mega disaster in the middle of Canada.”
“What happened?” President Bend asked sharply as the two men headed toward the conference room.
“You’ll have to see it to understand, Mr. President,” the other man said grimly, “but it’s bad—unbelievably bad.”
The two rushed into the room dominated by a large wall-mounted flat panel TV displaying a local news station. Everyone already in the room was so absorbed in what they were watching they didn’t even notice the President enter.
The anchorwoman looked a bit shaken, but struggled to convey professional detachment.
“As you can see behind me, the area that used to be Cosen’s Lake is just—gone. Helicopter over flights reveal a massive crater. Witnesses say it looks like God took an ice cream scoop to the lake and surrounding area. The death toll is unknown at this time but feared to be in the hundreds as the lake had a hotel and several lodges around the lake’s edge that catered to fishermen, hunters, and hikers.
“Canadian authorities are at a loss to explain this bizarre disaster. They hasten to assure the world the crater is not, I repeat, not radioactive, so this isn’t the result of a nuclear blast. Given the level of devastation no one WJLA reached for comment has any idea what happened. Most can’t even offer a guess what might have done this.
“WJLA has learned that Canadian authorities assembled an ad hoc team from whatever scientists or other experts were in the area. The crater is at least half a mile deep and has a creek now spilling into it. Authorities say the team, inserted by helicopter, has a few days to explore the crater before the bottom floods too badly to allow further investigation.
“The only thing we do know is the crater is the bottom half of a perfect sphere—a sphere almost exactly 1 mile in diameter. Dr. Jonathan Bridges, a geologist at the University of Wisconsin, has confirmed this is not simply a sinkhole or other natural event. Like everyone else we were able to contact he is completely unable to explain what it actually is.
“Authorities have ordered no one approach the crater edge as it is made of soft soil rather than rock and might easily collapse under a person’s weight, throwing them to their deaths. Authorities urge calm as they try to determine exactly what happened. Cosen’s Lake is in a remote area of Canada and major urban areas are not at risk. This appears to be a unique if inexplicable event in an isolated location. Authorities believe there is no cause for alarm.”
“For viewers who just joined us, at 6:43 AM Eastern Standard Time there was an enormous blast in the remote northern reaches of the Canadian state of Manitoba. The shockwave awakened residents several hundred miles away from the epicenter, which was located at Cosen’s Lake, a small shallow lake some 600 miles northwest of the city of Ottawa, the capital of Canada.
She then largely repeated what she’d said before. It was exactly like someone had scooped up Cosen’s Lake and a large chunk of the surrounding countryside and spirited it away. No one knew how it was done, what had caused it, or who (if anyone) was behind it.
“All right, people, it’s time to get to work,” President Bend said sharply, breaking the group’s fascination with the disaster. They settled in to discuss what needed to be done.
ooOoo
Earth, Tuesday evening, June 11, 2013 11:46 PM Eastern Standard Time
President Bend rubbed his eyes tiredly as he slumped in the Oval Office with total disregard for appearances. Admiral Spears and Dennis Mitchell were equally tired. All three of them had a cup of the Chief of Staff’s infamous coffee in front of them.
“Iran’s making noises about an American super-weapon,” Admiral Spears said wearily. “Half the UN seems ready to believe them. At least Prime Minister Vervelen doesn’t believe it. He’s sensible enough to know this is beyond us.”
“What about beyond the Fae?” President Bend asked sourly.
The NSA director shrugged. “No idea. But do you know any other super-powered races?”
“What about the seventh universe?” President Bend retorted. “Funny how everything’s fine for hundreds of years, then poof this new universe shows up and now a chunk of Canada goes missing.”
“Yes, well Faust did warn us about the queen swatting our noses if we stuck them somewhere she didn’t like,” Dennis Mitchell pointed out.
“Too convenient,” Admiral Spears growled. “If half the legends are true the Fae can’t be trusted. For all we know this is one of the other six universes making a power play and laying the blame on the new kid. Hell, I wouldn’t put this stunt past Faust.”
“What I don’t understand is why Canada?” The President mused. “Why some puddle in the middle of nowhere? Cosen’s Lake was six feet deep for God’s sake! The hole they left is bigger across than the entire lake!”
“Sending a message?” Admiral Spears theorized. “Something like, look what we did here. Imagine if we did it there?”
“Then why not something even more remote?” the Chief of Staff asked. “Middle of nowhere or not the death toll was still a couple of hundred people—maybe more.”
“To show us they don’t care about humans?” The NSA director offered. “Like the Mafia, mind your own business or sleep with the fishes?”
“Do the Fae really use such awful puns, or are you just punch-drunk?” President Bend asked grumpily.
“Faust does,” Admiral Spears shrugged. “From the legends it seems likely the other Fae are no better. This kind of humor appeals to them on multiple levels.”
“Speaking of our favorite elf, have you heard from Faust lately?” President Bend asked hopefully.
The NSA director shook his head.
“No, and I really don’t expect to. Despite the scale of Fae involvement in this mess he’s given us fair warning. That’s typical of every previous encounter. We may not see him again for years.”
“Wonderful. Just when we need our pet faerie he pulls a disappearing act,” President Bend groused.
“If I had to guess,” Admiral Spears said, slumping back in his chair, “now that the hornet’s nest is well and truly poked we’re on our own.”
ooOoo
Teagan let the wind of the chariot’s passage blow her cares away. Her necklace kept the chilly wind from bothering her. She’d been keeping track of the days on a pocket calendar. Back on Earth today was July 30th. Here in Equestria it was October 28th.
Emma stood beside her, her fear of heights pummeled into submission by three months of steep winding stairs carved into the cavern walls—stairs that, in many cases, lacked guardrails.
“I wouldn’t have missed this trip for anything,” Emma said, propping her elbows on the front rim of the chariot, “but I’m glad to be going home. It’s the little things I miss the most. Like my electric toothbrush.”
“Yeah, it’s stupid but I miss French fries. You know the ones from Mickey D’s?” Teagan answered, taking a deep breath. “I will miss this air though! I still can’t believe how fresh it is. ”
“That’s because we’re a thousand feet up and it’s autumn now,” Emma pointed out. “Back home we’d be on the ground with all that air pollution. Here it’s just trees for miles and miles and miles.”
“And I am so happy we’re flying over it and not trudging through it,” Teagan said, “especially dodging Duisternis and irate dragons.”
“Amen, sister!” Emma shivered from something other than cold. “Hey, what ever happened to old Dusty anyway? All the reports I saw said they messed with some magical gizmo they shouldn’t have. Sounds pretty sketchy to me.”
“Yeah, and Celestia’s letters weren’t any more forthcoming. I guess it’s possible but it seems awfully convenient.”
“So Celestia actually did something you think?” Emma asked. “I mean, she’s a goddess after all. You said she blasted Tishana so hard she cratered a mountain, right?”
“Tišina,” Teagan corrected absently with a small frown. “Yeah, I think maybe she did something, or maybe she and Luna together. On the other hand the photos I saw were pretty scary. Their lair was in a mountain—which isn’t there anymore. It’s like it got nuked or hit by an asteroid, or something. Whatever did it turned that mountain into a gravel filled crater.”
“Well, Luna’s the goddess of the night, right? Twilight mentioned they have shooting stars here. Wouldn’t be too unbelievable if they pulled a slightly larger one down, right?” Emma reasoned.
Teagan laughed ruefully.
“Yeah, it’s not like a flying mountain would strain a sun goddess if she wanted to lob it at somebody. I keep forgetting Celestia isn’t just another pony. I mean we’ve both eaten lunch with her for God’s sake! But she’s actually an immortal goddess who raises the freaking sun every single day. Then goes and has pancakes.”
“So what’s your point?” Emma teased. “Remember, you’re a queen and a superhero. That’s pretty cool too!”
“Well, you’ve got a magical staff—Adventure Girl,” Teagan noted, grinning. “Maybe we can get you your own comic book when we get back. That outfit belongs in a centerfold anyway.”
“Walking stick, thank you very much,” Emma sniffed, reaching back to stroke her treasure. “And look who’s taking! You’ve been wearing an outfit like this one since we got to Hejm. I just got mine today.”
“Yeah, well that was Søyle’s big idea, not mine. I froze my backside off until Truth Speaker gave me my necklace,” Teagan said with a snort. “At least you got to wear warm and comfy clothes.”
“And lose that extra twelve pounds I was hauling,” Emma said with a satisfied smirk. “I actually put on some muscle too. I can’t wait to hit the beach when we get home. Show the boys what they’re missing.”
Teagan gave her friend a startled glance. “Since when have you been an exhibitionist?
Emma shrugged.
“Since I realized how good I look?” she asked, cocking a hip. “Seriously, I think this trip burned out any shyness I had left. Think about it. I got within five feet of a hell-beast trying to chew my face off! My best friend is a superhero. I’ve been in multiple battles, lived with royalty and walked with gods. After all that what’s scary about showing off a little skin? Let them look, let them drool. Any of them worth my time will need to prove they deserve it.”
Teagan laughed, hugging her friend with one arm.
“We will still have a couple of weeks before school starts,” Teagan mused as she let go. “Personally, I wouldn’t mind lying on a beach and soaking up some sun after all this excitement. Maybe we can go to Longview Beach?”
“For what, 5 minutes?” Emma teased. “Much longer than that and we’ll have to start calling you Lobster Girl.”
“Hah! I am well versed in the wiles of the evil sun, I’ll have you know,” Teagan said portentously. “SPF 100 broad-spectrum protection is a must for this superhero—heroine?”
“No thanks, that stuff will kill ya,” Emma said, giggling. Teagan just rolled her eyes as the chariot flew on.
ooOoo
The chariots landed in Canterlot around 10:30 in the morning. Faerie Mist was waiting for them, along with Sun Hammer, his once shaggy mane now neatly trimmed. He no longer looked like a dangerous pirate but rather an equine James Bond, his black eye patch replaced with a gold one that sported a trio of small blue stones that sparkled in the sunlight.
“Very dashing there, Sun Hammer,” Teagan complimented just before glomping him. He blew gently into her hair as she hugged him hard. “Did Faerie Mist finally tempt you out of your lair?”
“Aye, so she did,” he said with a big grin. “She’s been tryin’ ta civilize this rough old cuddy. Ah keep tellin’ her chalk’s nae shears but she’ll hae nane o’ it.”
“So you’re cleaning him up?” Emma asked the pegasus mare with a grin.
“Of course,” Faerie Mist replied. “About time he stopped lurking in that dungeon he calls an armory. He cleans up rather nicely, don’t you think?”
Teagan let go of Sun Hammer and smiled at the lavender mare.
“I take it the two of you are getting along?” she asked, eyes twinkling.
“Most of the time,” the mare replied, prompting a chuckle from the massive stallion.
“Skrent, Flint, Ah see ya managed ta corral the wee lassie at last,” he spoke to the pair of trolls looming behind Teagan.
“Hero’s quest,” Skrent sighed, and then grinned, carefully not showing any teeth. Sun Hammer guffawed loudly. A ghost of a smile crept onto Flint’s face.
“Aye, Ah can believe that! Well met, Lady Søyle.”
“Wide passages, Sun Hammer. It is good to see you again, even if you do glitter more than you did.” Søyle’s deep voice was stately but there was a gleam lurking in her eye.
“Well, as to that ye can thank Mist here,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Mares always got een fer the sparklies, so thay dae. Cannae ken it masel.”
“Lady Teagan, Princess Celestia asked me to have you meet privately with her, if you would be so kind,” Faerie Mist said apologetically. “Sun Hammer, why don’t you escort Lady Søyle and Emma to the Ghrian Suite? I’ll escort Lady Teagan back when the meeting’s done.”
“Ah, a queen’s work is never done,” Teagan sighed theatrically, grinning at Emma, who snorted. But internally Teagan wasn’t feeling the least bit light hearted.
As the two of them moved off into the castle, Teagan spoke casually.
“Any idea what this meeting’s about?”
“The princess didn’t say,” Faerie Mist replied, her pace steady and sedate. “She probably just wanted a bit of time alone with you just to catch up.”
“It has been a frantic few months,” Teagan agreed mildly. They spent the rest of the trip in silence, each keeping a pleasantly neutral expression.
Celestia’s private office, Teagan noted mentally as Faerie Mist knocked.
“Come in,” called Celestia.
“I’ll see you later, Lady Teagan,” Faerie Mist gave a small bow.
“Looking forward to hearing how you finally snagged Sun Hammer,” Teagan said, a genuine smile flitting across her face.
With a slight smirk the pegasus turned and trotted away.
Teagan opened the door and walked inside.
ooOoo
Lady Silkwind distractedly waved away the waiter as he offered to refill her glass. Ever since the revelation about Duisternis being destroyed the griffin had been on tenterhooks, wondering if or when the Guard would pounce. She’d heard whispers of hundreds of conspirators being seized in the dark of night and vanishing.
While she very much doubted the pony police would be so ruthlessly pragmatic she had no such illusions about the Sun Princess. Everyone else might only see the smiling face and those kindly eyes, but Silkwind knew better.
So she counted each day she remained free and carefully considered all the ways she might be tied to the ancient cult. As the count grew she began to believe that her part in this might go undiscovered after all.
But the little worm of doubt kept her from sleeping well at night.
ooOoo
“Hello, cousin,” Celestia greeted Teagan from behind her desk, her horn glowing for a moment. Teagan gaped at the alicorn, seeing dark rings under her eyes that hadn’t been there the last time she’d seen her. Looking closer she could also see how tired the alicorn looked, her folded wings seeming to droop while her regal head was held noticeably lower. As she stepped closer she saw how bloodshot Celestia’s huge eyes were. A general pallor of sadness seemed to hover around the snow white pony like a dark cloud.
Even her rainbow mane was subdued, just barely waving.
“You look horrible! What’s wrong?” Teagan gasped without thinking.
“Thank you for your candor,” Celestia replied with the merest ghost of a smile flashing across her face before her misery returned. “I’m glad to see you again, Lady Teelo.”
“Cousin,” Teagan said forcefully, “what happened to you? You look like somebody ran over your puppy.”
“Do I? Well, someone did.”
“You had a puppy? I’m so sorry!” Teagan said, stepping around the desk and hugging the alicorn. A heavy head landed on her shoulder and she felt the princess shudder.
“Actually, it wasn’t a puppy and that someone was me,” the voice in her ear was soft. Another shudder ran through the pony. “I’ve done a terrible thing, cousin—an unforgivable thing. Something the world must never know about, for its own sake.”
“What happened?” Teagan asked softly, caressing the rainbow mane unconsciously.
“My sister received a gift. I used it to end Duisternis—forever.”
“Emma and I thought you’d done something. Did you drop an asteroid on them?” Teagan asked gently.
“I—hadn’t actually considered that,” Celestia said in a surprised voice, her body growing still against the girl. “I suppose Luna could have done that, but it wouldn’t have gotten all of them. The leadership were demons, without physical bodies and the draugr would have reconstituted themselves almost immediately. It might have crippled their plans though.”
“So what did you do instead?” Teagan asked, pulling back to watch the alicorn sympathetically.
“We were given a magical device, a heavy metallic sphere about a foot in diameter covered in runes. The document that came with it said it was a weapon. It explained in detail what the sphere would do and how to use it.”
Celestia stopped speaking and squeezed her eyes shut.
“It neglected to mention the aftereffects of using it, however.” Celestia’s voice broke.
“What did it do?” Teagan asked. Alene Hule had explained to her there had been a strong magical backlash, but it hadn’t seemed to affect the trolls at all. She thought the worst it had done was to knock all the unicorns in Hejm unconscious for a couple of hours.
“The first thing it did was teleport into the cavern complex Duisternis was using as a base,” Celestia said. “Once there it activated, forming a sphere a mile across. Everything inside that sphere was…” she hesitated, looking for the right words, “…obliterated, annihilated. All of existence broken into inconceivably small pieces, and then those infinitesimal pieces shredded until nothing was left. Absolutely nothing, can you understand? Not just rocks and air and flesh and bone vanished. Their souls, cousin, they were utterly destroyed. Magic, time, space, the Veil, everything inside ceased to exist in one horrible instant. And then the sphere was crushed by the weight of the universe around it until it disappeared into the abyss that exists between something and nothing.
“But that was nothing compared to what came after,” Celestia watched the girl with eyes so full of pain Teagan had to look away.
“The magical backlash was strong enough to kill magically sensitive individuals—especially the old and the frail.”
Teagan’s head snapped back as she stared aghast at Celestia.
“How many?” she asked in a hollow voice.
“We may never know,” Celestia said, and started to cry. “Tens of thousands, certainly, probably more.”
And then Celestia collapsed and started to sob. Teagan immediately went to her knees and gathered the alicorn’s head in a hug and held her as Celestia let the pain out in long, heart rending wails.
ooOoo
Teagan rode the storm out, not caring her shoulder was growing numb and large amounts of snot were dribbling down her back. It took nearly an hour before the alicorn’s sobbing started to abate.
Teagan started stroking Celestia’s mane and neck, making small soothing noises, wordless sounds that carried no meaning.
Eventually the alicorn quieted and made a determined effort to pull away.
“I’m sorry,” she said, not looking at Teagan, “I didn’t mean to break down like that. I haven’t lost control that badly since Luna’s banishment.”
“Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on occasionally,” Teagan said quietly, “even you. Maybe especially you.”
“How can you bear to look at me?” Celestia asked, eyeing the girl from the corner of her eye. “I’m a monster, cousin. Thousands died because of me. Who knows how many souls were lost to oblivion because of what I did? They’re dead forever, they’ll never see their loved ones in the Fields.”
“How many millions lived?” Teagan replied forcefully. “If Duisternis had won then the whole world would have died. Thanks to Crush I remember what it was like the last time the world died, cousin. It wasn’t pretty.”
“Did you know I’ve walked Sun Hammer’s road many times?” Celestia asked heavily. “Especially in the beginning, my sister and I had to kill to defend our lives, our families. And each life I took I swore would be the last. Then my sister and I became princesses and small fights to defend my family, my village, became large wars to defend all of Equestria. I cannot even count the lives I have taken. The last time was two hundred years ago, the war between Cloudsdale and the griffins. I broke them myself, cousin, slaying with lightning and fire and my razor shod hooves and wings. I was drenched in griffin blood and they fell broken from the sky, many dead before they hit the ground.
“I have not killed since that dreadful day,” she said, hanging her head. “I have not donned my armor—until Duisternis. Only this time I slew innocents.”
“Humans call it collateral damage,” Teagan said softly. “No matter how carefully you choose your targets, no matter how well you aim, innocents will still die in war. There’s no way to stop it, no magic bullet that only kills the ones who deserve to die and avoids everybody else.
“Besides, you didn’t know about the backlash beforehand. Whoever gave you that bomb didn’t tell you. Who did give it to you, anyway?”
“I don’t know which individual it was,” Celestia shook her head. “Luna caught a glimpse just before they disappeared, but she couldn’t even identity their species with certainty. However, I am nearly certain it was the same group that taught Epona how to make the Bridge of Days. I don’t even know the name of that group, it was never recorded.”
“Their gifts come with some nasty thorns,” Teagan said with a wince. “The Bridge was only made with the deaths of all those capaill and my ancestors. This bomb caused huge collateral damage. Might be a good idea to decline the next gift they offer even if you’ve already crossed the Godzilla Threshold.”
“The what?” Celestia asked, her horn starting to glow. Teagan relaxed as she felt herself dry off and the results of Celestia’s breakdown lifting gently away from her skin and clothes.
“Godzilla is a fictional monster that’s 300 feet tall. He causes massive destruction whenever he appears. The Godzilla Threshold is the point at which having Godzilla appear can’t make matters worse.”
Celestia blinked. “I see. As always you make your point with eye-watering impact, cousin. But I have a serious question.”
“Ok,” Teagan said warily. After Celestia’s last revelation she didn’t know if she could handle another.
“The device I used was in many ways worse than the nuclear weapons Matthew described,” Celestia said with a grimace. “But your country did use them in war. How did your leader deal with the consequences? How did he live with himself?”
“That is a question I can’t really answer,” Teagan said after a long pause. “The debate has raged ever since they were used and it’ll likely be still raging when I’m nothing but dust and bones. I suspect he never really thought about it before ordering the attack. The whole country was at war, everybody thought Japan opened the war with a sneak attack—even though they really hadn’t intended to. The war had been going on for years and the only other way they knew to end the war would have killed too many of our soldiers.”
“And afterward?” the alicorn asked intently.
“He killed a quarter of a million civilians,” Teagan said with a sigh. “Men, women, children, even pets. I don’t know if I could live with that, but back then it was a different time. He probably justified it in his own mind by saying he had no choice. They were the enemy, and they had attacked us first. It was a nasty war, cousin. The whole world was involved and everybody thought the other side were monsters.”
“Not so different from Equis, then,” Celestia said with a sigh.
“Why did you tell me all this?” Teagan asked, laying one hand gently on Celestia’s shoulder.
“I think it was because I had to tell someone, cousin, or go mad.” Celestia said in a small voice. “Luna and I are the only ones who know what happened. I thought perhaps you would understand, given your country’s history. And I trust you.”
“Secrets are heavy things,” Teagan noted with a sigh. “I promise I won’t tell anyone else. I just wish you didn’t have to do what you did. I’m not blaming you for doing it, but I can honestly say I’m selfishly glad I wasn’t the one who had to make that choice.”
“Knowing what I know now I’m not sure I would have made the same choice had I realized the price. It was clear enough some ponies would be utterly destroyed, denied an afterlife. Given a choice between oblivion and existing as draugr, perhaps they would have accepted it.
“But being responsible for the death of so many innocents, no, that is a burden I would have struggled with. Perhaps that is why the group who gave us the device were careful not to mention the horrible price Equis would pay. A price I don’t know I could have paid had I known.”
Her horn began to glow gently and as Teagan watched the effects of the crying jag began to fade, first her eyes cleared, then the bags under her eyes, and finally her fur became clean and shiny.
But when the glow ceased her wings still drooped and her head did not rise back to normal. Her mane remained nearly unmoving and her expression was still sad.
“I don’t think they cared about Equis,” Teagan said carefully as Celestia put her crown back on, adjusting it in her mirror. “I think they would have been willing to sacrifice all of Equis if it meant destroying Duisternis. I just wish I knew why they cared. Whoever they are they’re back on Earth. What happens on Equis has nothing to do with them.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Celestia said, becoming still. “After all, the Bridge of Days allows some movement between our world and yours.”
Teagan’s eyes widened as the implications sank in.
“You think Earth would have been next?”
“I suspect a demon’s hunger can never be sated for long,” Celestia said quietly. “If Duisternis were able to open the Bridge nothing would keep them from crossing it.”
“Oooh, and isn’t that a cheerful thought,” Teagan said with a shudder. “Humans don’t have magic. The only group that could stop them would be the mysterious Bridge builders. After seeing what they gave you, I wouldn’t trust them to keep any war clandestine. Are we sure you got all of Duisternis?”
“No,” Celestia shook her head, eyes narrowed in concentration. “We destroyed their base, which contained their archives. That alone would cripple any potential advantage they might have over us magically.
“According to the intelligence document that came with the sphere they had retreated to lick their wounds, so all of the inner circle would have been present but we can’t count on the entire organization being there. We can’t even be certain all of their elite units like the windigos and the draugr were there.”
“Could the second string put the organization back together?”
“I don’t believe so. Duisternis must rely on collaborators and unwitting agents. We have rooted out the collaborators and the demons’ shroud of secrecy is gone now. Every kingdom on Equis will be warned. Even if the remnants of the organization could rebuild it would take centuries and be nothing but a pale shadow of the Duisternis we fought.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to be eternally vigilant,” Teelo replied, “because I’m not going to last even a single century, mortal that I am.”
“Luna and I will keep watch. And Discord as well.”
“Yeah…look I know I’m biased, but Discord was pals with Nightmare and actively tried to sabotage the Mane 6 so they couldn’t wield the Elements of Harmony. You can’t really trust him. Fluttershy isn’t immortal either, and once she’s out of the picture what’s to keep him from going back to his old tricks?”
“Discord is a work in progress,” Celestia admitted. “But Fluttershy is only the first of many. In spite of himself he’s learning the power of friendship. By the time dear Fluttershy moves on to the Fields Discord will have many friends. That’s one of the long term goals Fluttershy is working toward, although I don’t believe she’s ever mentioned it to Discord.”
Celestia’s smile was tired but genuine, a flash of her normal good humor leaking through.
Teagan chuckled. “Of course, you are ever the chess master. Was this goal her idea or yours?”
“Yes,” Celestia’s smile widened slightly. Then it slipped away.
“Are we still friends, cousin?” Her tone was plaintive. “Are you scared of me now that you know what I did?”
Teagan grinned and reached up, ruffling Celestia’s ears unexpectedly.
“You know I asked Emma the very same question after she said I was scary the first time she saw Matt and I spar?”
“What did she say?” Celestia asked cautiously.
“That I was the second scariest person she had ever met but I was her best friend and she knew I’d never hurt her.”
“Ah. Who was the scariest?”
“Matt,” Teagan grinned. “Have to say I agree with her.”
“So where do I rate?” Celestia asked, tilting her head and batting her eyes.
Teagan snorted.
“You win, hands down. Let’s review, shall we? Remember when Discord told us he turned the flutter ponies into changelings? Oh yeah, angry sun goddess sitting right there. And before that when you blasted Tišina? That’s not even counting Duisternis. You are one scary pony, cousin. But I still trust you. I know you’d never hurt me. Or anyone else if you could possibly help it.”
“Tell that to all the ones who died from my actions in this war,” Celestia said, wincing.
“Nobody’s perfect,” Teagan said forcefully. “You may be a goddess but you aren’t God-with-the capital-G. You aren’t omniscient, omnipotent, or any other word starting with om. What happened was a tragedy. Yes, it was horrible, and yes you were the one who triggered that bomb, but remember the ones who gave it to you never mentioned the magical feedback. You made a command decision to end the war and as far as you knew only Duisternis and its slaves would perish.
“To tell the truth, if this had happened when I first came to Equestria I’d have called you a monster. But that was then. Now I know better.”
“What changed your mind?” Celestia asked curiously.
“Being a queen,” Teagan replied. “Don’t get me wrong, I know I’ll never be a hundredth the ruler you are, but I’ve lived your life, cousin. I’ve made life or death decisions. I’ve fought battles to protect my clan. I’ve even made mistakes that hurt those who trusted me to keep them safe. I’ve killed, cousin, and not just in battle. I’ve tasted power and I’ve drunk the bitter helplessness that comes with it.”
Teagan took a deep breath.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is I know, in a way others just can’t. With great power comes great responsibility, and the greater the power the greater the responsibility. Knowing how powerful you really are I’m awed and humbled when I think of what you do day after day. I hope one day I’ll have gathered the merest sliver of your wisdom.”
Celestia bowed to Teagan, as Luna had bowed to her father, head nearly touching the ground, wings wide spread.
“Thank you, cousin,” the alicorn said softly, standing again. “You might believe I’ve got a bag of tricks to handle every situation, but the truth is when some new terror comes stalking Equestria I always have to scramble like a mad pony to find some hare-brained scheme that relies on bluff and luck as much as skill. I depend on the ponies around me to do most of the work. And I am always required to wear the mask of unshakable confidence, lest my little ponies panic.”
She winked.
“I’m sure you understand, Dronning Teagan.”
“Been there, done that,” Teagan nodded.
“Shall we go meet Søyle and Emma?” Celestia’s horn glowed and Teagan felt her ears pop.
“What was that?” she asked curiously.
“I dismissed the privacy spell,” Celestia responded. “Why do you think we’ve not been interrupted in spite of all the wailing?”
“Huh,” Teagan replied, blinking as the door swung open. “Did not think of that.”
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Brilliant as always!
8470927
Lo que dijo el
😽
After re reading the chapter I have a couple of questions: 1. did the people who died in Canada also get sent to oblivion? 2. is this incident if the full truth is found out, going to be considered an attack on NATO. of which Canada and America are part of. And 3. did the Fae know that this sort of event was going to happen on earth?
8472965
1. Yes
2. Probably, but do you really think the Administration is going to share knowledge of the Fae with Canada or any other country? It would probably make the Fae angry...
3. Yes
Yeah, well, you don't fuck with the Fae. One of the legends of my family was that the Fae weren't mortal, but they weren't eternal either. For humans, there's an afterlife. For the Fae, there's nothing. When they end, they cease to exist.
So for the Fae, the term "existential threat" has an entirely different and much more frightening meaning. This little conspiracy threatened them on a level most (religious) humans can't imagine.
So the Fae reacted ... appropriately. Mortal casualties were ... unimportant.
I just hope the other legends and tales my grandfather used to tell me were only that. Legends. Because if they're not, there are things out there I really don't want to meet.
Lovecraft might not have been a writer. He might have been a historian.
Now there's a pleasant thought to sleep on. If you can still sleep.
Have fun trying.
There are things that would have assuaged Truman's conscience. The facts that the Japanese were willing to throw their children into the fight; Girls armed with bamboo spears, and boys with satchel charges. It would have been so brutal by the most realistic estimates of the War Department that the Japanese race, then 15 million, would pretty much cease to exist as a viable race along with a minimum of 1 million allied troops.
More personally to Truman, losing a million men and the public finding out he could have stopped it with a superweapon would have resulted in impeachment and prison, if not a lynching...