Chapter 26 - The Balance
~~~~~Somewhere, Somewhen.~~~~~
"Bah. You cheat." spoke a smooth, cultured male voice through the misty ether that surrounded the two lone figures.
"I do not cheat. I play to win." Spoke the other figure, in a sweet and gentle feminine voice. "Besides. This means we can keep playing. Have you become bored of me already?"
A vast plain of grass spread out through the strange realm. Gentle blue-white mists rolled through it seemingly without form or reason. Little eddies of darkness flitted amongst the mist, sometimes clashing with it, and sometimes not. In the center of this plain, two ponies sat atop comfortable chairs, watching each other across an ancient stone game board.
A dark maned male unicorn with a bright violet coat snorted softly, tossing his excessively curly mane a little in the process. "Please. I never become bored with you, dear. You really are the only one who can keep my attention." His unicorn horn lit with a faint purplish energy and began to slowly remove pieces from the board, setting them neatly to one side. "I must admit, I had not anticipated that final gambit of yours. You are learning." His shining green eye twinkled at the female across from him.
The female Alicorn laughed softly, tossing her fiery red mane herself, as if in mockery of him. "Truly? I had thought the play obvious." Her own horn lit with a gentle golden magic and lifted a piece from the side of the board. "A small sacrifice for the greater prize. I expect you to take care of her, now." Her voice gently admonished, almost motherly. "She is a good one."
The once white, and now black unicorn gently floated across the board to set before the male figure, who smiled toothily. "Hmm. Her piece is... inaccurate." He smirked softly. "Now that's just petty, making me do all the work." He shook his head slowly, his magic slowly remolding the piece, before setting it amongst his own. He leaned back and folded his hooves over his chest, regarding the red-haired Alicorn lazily. "So. I think we ought to discuss the outside interference."
The Alicorn nodded gracefully. "Yes. It appears He has once again become interested in the game." Her eyes trailed off into the ether, narrowing slightly. "As though He has learned nothing from His previous attempts." she snorted unladylike in derision.
The male unicorn laughed softly. "Of course He has not learned. If He could learn, He would never have tried the second time. I still say you should have killed Him." His smile widened, showing off the razor sharp teeth within. "Or let me kill Him." He gestured to his new piece, smirking. "She may very well do it for us. I do not think I am inclined to stop her, either. I am tired of His antics, especially when it interrupts my private time with you."
The red-haired Alicorn sighed. "You know why we cannot deal with Him permanently." She gave him a level stare. "He is at least a known quantity. If we were to slay Him, what would take His place I wonder?" she shook her mane gently, sparks of white fire shedding off of it. "We shall deal with the situation, should it actually arise. For now, I think it is time we left them to rest." Her own hoof gestured to the board. "They deserve it."
The unicorn laughed, and pushed himself off the chair. "Oh, very well. I suppose I wouldn't want to break my new toy before I've even had a chance to play with it properly." he smirked over his shoulder. "So. Why did you leave them in the game, Faust?"
The red haired Alicorn sighed. "As much as I wish I could grant them peace... " She herself lifted from the chair with her wings, setting down next to the unicorn stallion. "The world yet needs them, Cedistic." Her eyes went bright for a moment, and the black unicorn's smile went gentle. "I will not be greedy. Even if I miss them both so much."
The stallion gently laughed. "Yes. I suppose you would not be here if you were any different. Still. Who knows what the future will bring, eh?"
The two figures vanished, leaving the lonely stone board standing silently in the midst of the vast plain.
Waiting for the next game.
~~~~~~~
The world went white, and then all descended into blackness. Twilight felt her mind floating along in a warm silence for what felt like a very long time. She could not really think, or speak or even act. She could only float along. What of her mind could still think, could only think that the rest of her mind had shut down. Her body had followed, to allow her to process whatever had just happened.
But as nice as the cocoon of darkness was, it wasn't letting her accomplish anything. She had lists to fill out, books to read, and Princess Celestia was going to expect a friendship report in a few days. So it was time for her mind to come back from vacation and wake up.
Twilight slowly pulled herself out of the blackness, no matter how much it might hurt. There was no time for pain, no time for anguish or sorrow. The world was going to need her. She didn't know why it was, but it was.
~~~~~~Aboard the H.M.S. Commander Hurricane, Two Days Later~~~~~~
Twilight's eyesight began to come back to her, and her ears caught the gentle hiss and beep of medical equipment. She felt weird, awkward. Like her body was different somehow. She must be on some kind of medication. That would explain it. Twilight's body felt lethargic and sluggish, and she could not move.
But she could hear, and was trying to see. Over the sound of the hissing and beeping, she heard a familiar soft voice. It sounded desperate and sad, and was speaking some kind of prayer. "Please, ancestors, bring her back to us. Please bring me back my Twilight."
I'm right here! She wanted to say, but she could not speak either. Slowly, her eyes began to adjust to color and light and shape once again. She could see a slender mare with a bubblegum pink mane and long white forelegs kneeling next to her bed, her hooves pressed together desperately. Who is that? her mind muzzily wondered.
It didn't really matter though. The figure was crying, and that wasn't right. Twilight was just fine, just a little sleepy. So Twilight concentrated as hard as she could, and lifted her own hoof up to rest on the mare's own. The figure started and looked up to her in astonishment. The violet eyes and slender white horn were unmistakable, though the hair was a bit odd. Twilight could feel her lips lifting into a smile, and managed to whisper out. "Celestia."
The soft white hooves gripped hers and Celestia nodded repeatedly, her eyes bright with tears. Celestia turned and yelled something out of Twilight's sight, then hurriedly turned back. Celestia's hoof stroked Twilight's mane, and Twilight felt a warm feeling of contentment slowly seep into her. "It's alright, Twilight. You're safe now. We're all safe. "
Twilight nodded a little. She didn't know what was going on, but Celestia said things were alright. That was enough. "Tired." she whispered, pausing for a moment to lick dry lips. "Thirsty first." Celestia's horn immediately lit with a weak magical glow, and a wooden cup was there moments later. Twilight slowly dank the clean, cool water - the feeling of it rushing down her throat like a tonic.
Moments later, her vision was filled with white-coated unicorns. Nearly a dozen of them rushed around Celestia, their horns glowing a dozen different colors. Slowly Twilight felt some of her tiredness lift from her body, allowing her mind to begin to wake up.
Twilight began to remember the past few days. The book, the battle, the trials, the strange ritual. Twilight's eyes blinked away the sleep, the fatigue. "What happened?" She asked, her voice no longer a quiet whisper as healing magic poured into her from every possible side. "Why do I feel so weird?" Her weirdness had not changed, even as the magic pulled the sleepiness right out of her. Like she was carrying extra weight, or something. "And what happened to your mane?" It seemed an inane question to ask, but Twilight was not exactly running on all cylinders.
Celestia shook her head. "There is too much to explain. You need to rest for now. " Her white hooves felt good on Twilight's own, and Celestia moved closer so that they could be face to face. "We will talk very soon." Twilight stared at her, then nodded a little. Something was definitely different about Celestia.
Celestia sighed as if in relief, and slowly the doctors began to file tiredly out of the room. Twilight began to take in the small details - like the fact that the walls were built out of clouds. "Where are we?" Twilight wondered aloud, eyes flitting around. The floor was solid at least. Some kind of tile.
The door opened again, this time by a white coated pegasus pony of all things. Black hair and a tan coat. "Welcome aboard the Hurricane, your Majesty." The pegasus smiled slightly. "She's seen better days, but luckily the sick bay was untouched by the event. I'm Doctor Flyaway." He bowed his head to her slightly.
Twilight frowned at being called 'majesty' anything. Maybe he was talking to Celestia then? "Nice to meet you, Doctor. What happened to me?" Twilight queried, Celestia now just stroking her hoof and smiling at her.
The Doctor waggled his eyebrows in a comical fashion. "Magical shock, mostly. Understandable given what you went through." The Doctor held up a chart with his wing, examining it. "According to my physicians, you should be sufficiently recovered to move about the ship. There's quite a lot that you'll need to be taking care of, your Majesty. Though Princess Cadence has managed quite a lot in the last two days."
Twilight stared for a moment. "Wait a minute. Two days!? I've been out for two days? And what is with this Majesty business?" She half wanted to glare at him, suddenly noticing something else "And why am I wearing a limiter?" her voice came out softly that time, realizing why she had felt so odd. Her magic was being blocked by a rather superb limiter shoved over her horn.
The Doctor exchanged glances with Celestia, and Celestia herself slowly spoke. "Twilight. Do you not notice anything... different about yourself?" Twilight blinked at her, and the Doctor sighed. The pegasus slipped outside for a moment, coming back wielding a mirror in a combination of his wings and his forehooves.
Twilight stared into her reflection. She was a little taller than she'd been before, enough that she would now be approximately Luna's height. Her eyes were permanently green-and purple it seemed. Her horn had grown a little longer and sharper, And oh, yes. She thought, faintly. I have wings.
They were large ones too, colored in the same way as her coat, except they slowly variegated to an orange gold towards the tips. Like the sky at sunset. her mind whispered a little and Twilight had to lick suddenly dry lips again. "I... what... Celestia?"
Celestia shook her head as the mirror was wrestled out of the room. "That is not all, Twilight. " She stood up - and Twilight saw her extend a hoof. "Come on. I think you need to stand and see it for yourself." Twilight took Celestia's hoof. Celestia's magic gently glowed and the limiter was pulled from her horn.
Twilight suddenly felt a rush of power as she stood up - she felt lighter than she ever had before. Like she could leap a hundred feet into the air, or float on the clouds. Pegasus magic. It has to be. This was exciting! A chance to study one of the least understood branches of pony magic? Twilight could barely contain her glee.
There was also something else, some other power she could not quite put her hoof on. Until Celestia sighed softly, and gently turned her head with a hoof to face her flank. Twilight stared there - for no longer was her flank blank. The same symbol. she thought. The purple and violet spark of magic, within the Crescent Moon and surrounded by a field of golden stars. But why?
Twilight could feel her senses slowly coming back to her - and she could now feel a new one. A powerful one, that seemed to stretch on into the infinite. Twilight's head turned to the east, and a sense of wonder and awe overcame her. Celestia spoke gently. "Twilight, come." She gently nudged her student in the shoulder, smiling softly. "We have ponies to go see."
~~~~~~
The pegasus doctor had taken off down the hallway, carrying messages. Celestia had slowly led a wobbly twilight out of the room, ready a moment's notice to catch her should she fall. Twilight knew it was going to take time to get used to her new sense of balance. The extra weight across her back was throwing off her instinctual walking pattern. Still, she was adjusting well enough. She only fell down a few times in the medical corridors.
Celestia was always there, always helping. Lifting her up when she fell, supporting her with a shoulder, or a touch of magic. Mother. Twilight's mind whispered, and she felt new warmth flooding through her. She had always been this way, but now Twilight understood why. There was a love there, a deep abiding love that nothing would ever destroy.
Twilight leaned on Celestia, and softly spoke as they turned a corner, heading up a painful looking flight of steps. "Your cutie mark, Celestia." Twilight whispered, not wanting to say it. And Celestia shook her head with a smile. "It's different." Twilight whispered. What had once been a blazing sun-in-glory was now a white cloud, with shafts of light burning through it.
Celestia softly laughed. "Yes. My destiny has been changed, Twilight." She shook her head. "Come on. It's not that much further to where we're going." Celestia softly pulled her along, and Twilight let her. "I will explain everything soon enough." Twilight nodded a little, still trying to feel through her magic.
All of her connections were there. She could feel them still, even stronger than before. Her friends were waiting up ahead, as was Luna and Shiny. Yet there was a new connection that Twilight could not yet comprehend. It was vast, powerful and ancient. Focus on the important stuff, Twilight. Like walking.
She was getting the hang of it by the time they reached the end of their journey, almost an hour later. Though she knew it would be at least a week of falling on her face before she got it completely. Celestia's hoof pushed open the door, and gently chivvied Twilight through it. Twilight blinked into the bright lights, and stared at the singularly strange assembly.
It was a throne room. There was no other term for it - Two sleek thrones stood at the far end of the room, one carved of some pure white stone with a shining golden sun set above the head of the one who would sit there. The other carved of pure black ebony, with a bright silver crescent moon in the same place as the Sun.
At each side of the room were rows of neat benches. Ponies of every color and tribe were there, but astonishingly there were also armor-wearing changelings and Batponies, cloaked Vamponies in their finest clothing too. In fact, every species and race Twilight had encountered over the last five days was present in some way or another as Celestia slowly led her down the aisle.
The room was mostly quiet, save for the murmurs of voices all around her. What on Equestria is going on? her mind whispered softly. Then a door opened at the other end of the hall, and Cadence walked through it. Cadence was different too, Twilight noticed immediately. Her mane now shone with a thousand different shades of red, gold, and deep purple, all slowly waving in an unseen breeze. Her wings had grown much larger, and much more delicate and beautiful. And her cutie mark has changed. Twilight stared - what had once been a crystal heart, was now a crystal sun-in-glory.
Cadence wore a shining golden crown upon her head, and a necklace much like the one Celestia had often worn in court. Close in behind her, Shining Armor strode confidently inside and Twilight could feel a surge of love and pride towards her from him. He worse a sleek suit of dark metal armor that looked more like the chitin of a changeling warlord than something shaped by pony hooves. He sat down between the two thrones, as Cadence ascended the Sun Throne.
Twilight's mind was already putting together the pieces when she finally approached the dais upon which the thrones sat. Celestia quickly hurried to a lesser seat to Cadence's right hoof. Twilight looked, and there she found Luna sitting at her own left hoof. Luna herself did not appear much changed, though Twilight could not see her flank from this angle. Luna smiled softly at twilight, and gave a little gesture.
Twilight's legs seemed to move without her telling them to. She found her body slowly ascending the platform and then sitting gingerly upon the cushion of the Moon Throne. This is impossible. her mind insisted, This has got to be some kind of dream. She nearly panicked, until a burst of soothing calm rushed down her connection with Luna. Twilight stared out into the strange crowd, as Celestia's voice rang out through the room. "All Hail Queen Mi Amore Credenza, Crystal's Splendor and Sun's Glory!"
The ponies of the room, and even some of the night creatures burst into cheers and applause, hooves stomping against the stone floors and whistles ringing through the air. Then Luna spoke, her Royal Canterlot Voice cutting through the clamor. "All Hail Queen Nightmare Twilight, Mistress of the Moon!
Twilight was deafened by the cheers that assailed her. The room seemed too small to encompass all of the sound coming from the dark creatures, and even some of those ponies that were present. Twilight winced a little, her head still aching from the magical backlash.
Luna lifted the silver crown of Magic with her hooves, and placed it upon Twilight's head. She then slowly pushed shining silver boots onto each of Twilight's hooves, and fastened a silver torque bearing the new symbol upon Twilight's body. Luna whispered softly to Twilight as she performed these tasks. "We will explain shortly, But it is nearly sunset. Cadence was able to handle the other evening, but the ponies will need to see that all is still well in our kingdom." Luna's hoof reached out and squeezed Twilight's before she whispered again, "Follow Cadence. I shall aid you." Luna winked, and Cadence rose as if on some kind of cue, and began to walk out of the side door to the room.
Twilight blinked and then rose to her feet herself. Alright Twilight, not one single misstep. She moved slower than Cadence had, but she managed to keep herself upright and stable. Luna fell in by her side, walking slowly with her. Luna.. Twilight reached out with her heart, with all of the emotions within it and tried to project the love she felt at that moment. Luna's eyes went wide, and she smiled softly at Twilight, winking cheekily.
Twilight followed the path of Cadence as they marched up several flights of steps, with dozens of uniformed pegasi and other creatures watching them as they ascended. Step by step, Twilight made her way up to the very top of the Cloud Fortress, and out into the light of the late evening.
The sun hung low in the sky, and Cadence stood quietly at the end of a sleek stretch of cloud. Twilight eyed the cloud a bit nervously, before recalling her wings. Oh. Right. Pegasus can walk on clouds, and so can Alicorns. It felt odd to think of herself in that way, as her hoof touched the cloud like it was solid ground. She slowly walked out to the edge where Cadence and Celestia waited, Luna practically skipping behind her. Sheesh, what is she so happy about? Twilight groused, wishing she'd had time to get some extra sleep. Or a bloody explanation.
Cadence bowed her head to Twilight as she approached, and Twilight bowed hers back. It was nothing like the exuberant greetings they'd so often given one another in the past, but this was not the time for that. Cadence smiled softly, and opened her forehooves up. How did she... Twilight didn't care, she lurched forward and embraced the pink Alicorn, burying her face in the so much longer mane that she now had. Twilight's voice came out muffled. ""Why didn't you tell me we were sisters?"
Cadence's voice was soft, apologetic. "I am so sorry, Twilight." Twilight blinked and pulled away to stare at her. Cadence shook her head. "All I wanted was for you to live a normal life. I didn't want you to have to live in my shadows. In the end, all I was able to do was let you remain who you are inside. And for that, I am sorry." Cadence's eyes were closed, and twilight reached a silver-clad hoof up to wipe away the tears.
Twilight spoke back softly. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Cadence." her tone was not angry. She couldn't be angry, not at Cadence. "We do not choose our place in Harmony. We can only seek to make the most of it." Twilight tried to say, a little smile peeking under her lips.
Cadence actually did smile back, wiping her tears away. "You still remember your verses, little sister." Cadence chuckled softly, gently squeezing Twilight close to her again. "Far better than I ever did."
Twilight giggled, a warm happiness inside of her. She then turned to face the eastern Horizon, swallowing softly. Okay. I can do this. She reminded herself sternly, Luna stepping up close beside her. Once again, Twilight closed her eyes and felt Luna's spectral hooves upon her shoulders. It is not so difficult as it seems. You can already feel the powerful connection to it. Simply open yourself up to its power, much as you would Dissonance or Harmony. I will guide you the rest of the way.
Twilight nodded a little, and gently inhaled a breath slowly letting it out as her mind grasped at that powerful new connection deep within her. It was like... Twilight lacked the words for it. The power was immense, far larger than any other force she had ever tried to control or even touch. Yet Luna was there beside her in spirit and in form, and Twilight knew there was nothing here to fear. She was the monarch now, and the Moon would listen to her.
Twilight felt her hooves slowly rising from the cloud, her wings flaring out and magic coursing along her horn. By Dissonance... her mind whispered as she felt the enormous strength slowly fill her limbs - the sun sinking beneath the western sky and the moon rising above the eastern horizon. Twilight could feel the thousand little stars bursting to life in the growing darkness, and the gentle pressure of the moon lifting from her hooves into the air. It was like releasing some immense weight, one that needed only to be called.
Twilight nearly collapsed back down to the cloud, the energy leaving her in a massive rush as the full moon rose for the very first time by her actions. It was an incredible feeling, almost sexual. Like coming down from an orgasmic rush, all exhilaration and exhaustion. Luna gently lifted Twilight from the ground and smiled gently. "Hmm, That didn't take long." Luna observed with a sly smile.
Twilight blinked, her hoof grasping a bit of her mane to examine it - which was hard, given that it was now moving and seemed to be full of starlight and streaks of purple aurora. Twilight licked her lips...and found another unwelcome addition in her mouth. She had to sigh. "Fangs. Why did it have to be fangs?"
~~~~~
Four Alicorns, one pegasus and one unicorn sat in a small meeting room somewhere deep in the heart of the Commander Hurricane. Twilight was not entirely certain where they were, but she knew that it was someplace very well secured. Twilight felt nervous as all heck still, but she was slowly beginning to come down from it. After an entire week of extraordinary and insane events, even this was starting to feel a little routine to her.
It wasn't every day that the two former monarchs of a land led a meeting that included the two newly crowned monarchs. Celestia and Luna sat side by side, as did Cadence and Twilight. Between the pairs, Shining Armor sat between Cadence and Luna, while Commander Spitfire sat between Celestia and Twilight.
Twilight took a deep breath and placed a hoof on the table. "Okay. You've all been awake way longer than I have. I want some answers, and I want them as simple as you can give them." She paused. "Then, I want two vats of broccoli and cheese soup, sixteen dandelion sandwiches, and about three hours of private time with Luna."
Blushes crept into the faces of everyone except for Luna and Twilight, both of whom grinned at one another. Commander Spitfire coughed slightly. "If I may, your Majesties." The flame-haired pegasus stood at the table, and nodded to each of them. "Prince Armor submitted his preliminary report this morning. Although that report has yet to come under review, I think it'd be quickest if I presented the relevant points, and you can address the specifics amongst each other."
Twilight nodded a little. "That seems very logical, Commander. Thank you." She beamed at Spitfire, who smiled back a little nervously. What's wrong with her? Must be the eyes. And the fangs. Twilight wanted to sigh. At least her wings were of the proper pegasus type. For now.
Spitfire cleared her throat again, and began to speak. "I'm going to skip the things most ponies in this room already know, and focus on when things got murky. Firstly, the Ritual and the events that happened with it." She eyeballed Princess Celestia. "According to the notes I took during the last meeting, Celestia intended to cast a modified version of the Alicorn Ascension ritual. This version would transfer all of her power and connection with the Sun to the pony that was being targeted by the ritual. She expected that this act would result in her death. Am I correct, Princess?"
Celestia nodded her head, and dipped it sadly. "Yes, that is a correct summary." Luna had gently taken Celestia's hoof in her own and was squeezing reassuringly.
Shining Armor looked stoic and said nothing, but Cadence spoke up quickly. "But... Why, Celestia?" It was the question everyone at the table wanted to know the answer to, and nopony else had the courage to ask.
Celestia took a deep breath and spoke gently. "I believed the only way to keep my kingdom, and all of my ponies safe from Dissonance was to imprison it. I knew that no single Alicorn, nor any normal unicorn could ever achieve such a goal. But there was a way that it could be done that I sought to exploit." Celestia smiled gently at Twilight. "I needed a pony who could command both Dissonance and Harmony. With all of my power and knowledge within that pony, they could use their connection to dissonance to bypass the power requirements to cast the spell. It seemed fittingly ironic to me, that Dissonance strength would be used to chain its power forever."
Celestia closed her eyes and leaned against Luna. "There was no other way to transfer my power. I knew without the Alicorn magic within me, I would very quickly die from extreme old age. I simply ensured that the spell itself would consume my body in the process." Celestia exhaled. "Only I was supposed to be able to trigger that ritual."
Twilight blinked and then slowly shook her head. "Except that didn't happen. Someone triggered it for you." She blinked a little. "And in doing so, broke the spell." That seemed to make sense, and given how both Celestia and Luna were nodding at her she was probably right.
Luna spoke up next. "Yes. My sister and I tried to redirect all of the ritual's magic at ourselves. We'd hoped that we might be able to short-circuit what was going on." She sighed. "But we could not. It is only thanks to the timely intervention of Cadence that any of us survived it."
Celestia spoke softly. "Because of her, the spell went through with its original intent. It transferred our connections to the sun and moon, and some of our power, into two new vessels for it." She gestured at Twilight and Cadence. "Though thanks to Cadence, we did not lose so much power that we ceased to be Alicorns. It was a very near thing though."
Twilight was absorbing all of this well, she thought. She hadn't burst out into declarations of how all of this was impossible, mostly because it had actually happened. Spitfire nodded once before speaking. "As to who set off the ritual, we've really got no idea. We found the Senior Battlemage and his entourage knocked out and tied up in his suite. Whoever the buck was wearing his cloak was some kind of infiltrator. As of now, we don't have any further intelligence on that score."
Twilight sighed and dropped her head onto her hooves, looking miserable. "None of this makes sense." She grumbled softly. "This kind of magic ought to be impossible. You can't just transfer cutie marks! It doesn't work that way!" Twilight hid her head for a moment, her head starting to hurt even more.
Cadence's voice spoke up softly. "Normally, you would be correct Twilight. But what happened was not merely a transference of power or connections. You'll notice that neither of us has abandoned our original special talents." Cadence had a little warm smile that Twilight looked up to see. " What happened was even more extraordinary. For the very first time in thousands of years, the most powerful wielders of Dissonance and Harmony are equals. In power and status."
Twilight blinked a little bit. "Wait... So, by complete accident we somehow created... Balance?" The question lilted up the table, and there was a proud twinkle in Celestia's eye. "I mean, that's it, isn't it? We created balance in the world. Not completely but enough to move forward with."
Cadence nodded wisely, smiling. Luna was clapping her hooves together and Celestia was grinning like a madpony. Celestia spoke up first. "Like I've said a thousand times before, Twilight. You never fail to impress me."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Princess. I didn't do a bloody thing except sit there like an lemon!" She grumped, crossing her hooves over her chest and leaning back in the too-comfortable chair.
Cadence laughed softly. "Twilight, you did what none of the rest of us had the courage or intelligence to do. You explored Dissonance without fear, you met the beings of it without judgment. More than any of us, you truly followed the dictates of Harmony and went to those who did not follow it with nothing but acceptance in your eyes." Cadence leaned over to bop Twilight on the nose with her gold-shoed hoof. "I am so very proud of you, Little Sister."
Twilight had to smile a little at the tease, then nodded to Spitfire. "Alright, Let's keep this conversation moving." She wiggled her silver hoof towards her. "What else do we need to cover?"
Spitfire arched an eyebrow, and then turned to another page in the stack in front of her. "Officially, Celestia and Luna have abdicated their thrones in favor of you two." Spitfire arched an eyebrow at the offending princesses, both of whom smiled slyly. "However, Equestrian Law is mighty shaky on how to handle that sort of thing. You'll notice how we referred to you as Queen Twilight in there. Our solution is to simply assume that Celestia and Luna will officially remain Princesses of the realm, and you two will simply be above them in the government." Spitfire turned to another page, arching a no-nonsense look at Twilight. "That all make sense to you?"
Twilight slowly nodded, and Spitfire grunted in satisfaction before continuing to speak. "Right, next part. Sombra and Chrysalis." Twilight sat straight up, her eyes narrowing with a little hint of shadows. Spitfire kept speaking. "We're given to understand that shortly after the spell went off, the two of them escaped into the Everfree Forest. Hivemaster Stratego and Commander Night Scythe..." Spitfire paused, glaring at Shining Armor in a halfhearted sort of way. "Have informed me that they took a number of boxes and books from that Haven place, and quickly left deep into the forest. Apparently, both Chrysalis and Sombra appeared to have been somehow adversely affected by the spell, though neither of them could specify how. They also informed me that several pieces of correspondence were left for you to read. "
Twilight shook her head. Should have known they'd run like cowards. She sighed inwardly, somehow knowing they'd be a thorn in her side for years to come. Spitfire cleared her throat. "While I would not claim to interfere with private communications Queen Twilight, Equestrian Intelligence would very much appreciate it if you would share the information in those letters." Spitfire actually looked a little embarrassed. "On another note, both the Hivemaster and the batpony Commander have informed me that they are seeking official positions in your new military cabinet. To which I shall make no comment at this time."
Spitfire busied herself with the stack of papers for a moment, as Celestia watched Twilight in some small amount of amusement. Twilight had to chuckle herself at that one, grinning as she spoke. "So, a Changeling hive and an entire society of batponies wants to go legitimate? Truly, this is a time of miracles."
Shining Armor had to laugh himself, winking at Twilight. Celestia sighed softly, speaking in a wry tone of voice. "I suppose I had best get used to the idea of changelings running around Equestria now. At least I can trust Twilight to keep them in line. Mostly." Celestia shot Twilight a challenging look. "And the Vamponies. And the Batwinged ones. And Ponywolves. And the Dissonance priests."
Twilight burst into a laugh all her own, holding up her hooves. "One problem at a time, Princess Celestia. We'll deal with all of them soon enough." She rapped her metal-clad hoof on the table. "But I want to wrap this up. I feel like I could eat everything in Sugarcube Corner. Commander, any last important bits?"
Spitfire hummed and nodded. "I think you ought to read the full report, or at least go over it with Shining Armor, but there's only one last issue that's really pressing. We need to decide what to do with Mayor Mare and her cult." Spitfire arched an eyebrow. "Much as I hate to rain on everypony's parade, Equestrian Law is still pretty clear on the subject of Dissonance Cults. And that law aint pretty."
Twilight turned to Cadence. "Sister." Twilight tried out the word, and found that she very much liked it in reference to the Alicorn beside her. "I think the very best thing we could do is provide a blanket declaration of pardon to these ponies, and make the modification of Equestria's religious laws our first priority." Twilight tried to keep her tone as regal as possible - and failed miserably. She sounded like she was just discussing something completely banal with Cadence, as she had done so often in the past.
Cadence smiled, her eye twinkling at Twilight in amusement. "You have much to learn about proper Royal Speech, dear sister. But I do agree. Commander Spitfire, by the order of the monarchs, we declare every one of the accused to be pardoned of all crimes related to the worship of Dissonance. Effective immediately." Cadence pulled off the royal tone like she'd been doing it her whole life. Which she practically has. thought Twilight, a little jealously. Hmph. I'm not going to need fancy phrases to keep my creatures in line.
No, Twilight knew she'd only need strength. Strength she now had in even greater proportions. Spitfire nodded, making a scribble on a sheet of paper before smiling herself. "Alright. There's a lot of other crap we need to deal with, but I'm perfectly fine with dealing with it tomorrow. Any opposed?"
No one in the room said a word, so Spitfire slammed her hoof on the desk, grabbed up the stack of papers and was gone within moments. Cadence stood up from where she sat, and leaned over to kiss Twilight on the cheek. "I think me and Shining Armor have a few things to... discuss."
Shining Armor's cheeks went beet red as Cadence swayed her way out of the room, and Twilight had to laugh at the sight of her brother trailing after her. Celestia sighed softly. "Ah well. I suppose I shall go enjoy some time off for the first time in five thousand years." She popped up to her feet, and trotted for the door. "Now, you two don't get too busy." Celestia sing-songed on the way to the door. "You'll have to be rested enough for the moon setting later tonight, daughter." And then Celestia was gone, giggling like a young filly.
Twilight blushed, and so did Luna. The two of them met eyes across the table and smiled a little bit. Luna spoke hesitatingly. "So... did you have anything in mind for this evening, Mistress?"
Twilight laughed softly. "Oh I think we can find some way to fill up the time. I am rather hungry." she purred, licking at her fangs unconciously.
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We've got BONUS CHAPTER! AGAIN!
Okay, I'll admit it folks. I got bogged down in a few major scenes and details that turned into entire chapters. That means that between now and tuesday, you're going to be getting TWO of these things per day so I can get to where I want to be for Tuesday's big announcement.
Like another 25 chapters to deal with the interloper (chaos priest), who cast the damn spell prematurely.
By the void!
how do you do this so often?
39/13
and now i am the dead....
2457725 I'm in a very boring period in my life. This is a good way for me to practice writing and do something I enjoy.
2457741 Oh hush. You're not dead yet.
We still have more chapters to go through.
2457776....your just evil you know that
2457792 Yes, but I'm very good at it.
Don't worry, I don't intend to break anypony's brains. Much.
2457793 Too late, too late by muffin
Also have you already had this story written up and are slowly drip feeding us chapters?
2457801 Nope. You are literally reading this as I write it. That's why there's a lot of minor flaws and issues scattered throughout, I don't know the editor who could keep up with me.
2457809
as you write.....
, my stories only update once every moth and a half and i'm sure my readers would appreciate it
Can i have your brain when you're done with it
2457817 Sorry, I got too much to write to lease out my brain. Unless lots of bits were involved. I always need more bits.
2457830 Haha, sorry man i don't think i could afford you. But seriously it is amazing that this story is both as good as it is with the frequency that it updates at, you sir are now my second fav author on the site.
2457837 Thank you very much for the compliment. It means a lot to me to know there's plenty of folks who really enjoy what I'm writing.
2457852 you are only beaten out (and narrowly at that) by TDR author of the epic (The style of novel, though it is epic) the Stories in Stone series
Best. Story. EVER!!!
commence giggling like a lunatic *success*
2457563
your iron-hard belief in dead-lines is most amusing...also, how are you doing that!?
Hmm... Nope, sorry, didn't like this chapter. In one fell Deus Ex Machina, you resolved every major conflict point the story had (Sombra and Chrysalis are still on the lose, but they were only ever really support characters) and fabricated an entirely new one. This all felt extremely abrupt and jarring, and kinda gave me the vibe of "I just ran out of ideas, quick, resolve the plot!" Not a deal-breaker, but this is easily the weakest chapter.
2458049 That's a fair cop. That really wasn't the feel I was going for here, but I can see where you're coming from.
I wouldn't worry if I were you though, a lot of this stuff only looks resolved. That's more my fault as a writer than anything else and I accept responsibility for it.
There's a lot of stuff I need to expand upon from this chapter, and I probably did rush it a bit. Hope the last few chapters make up for it for you.
2458005 Doing what? Meeting deadlines?
Actually I find that setting myself these deadlines has helped a lot in driving me to write.
2458097
not just any deadlines...2x3-6k word chapters a day is quite a big deal, especially with this quality in writing (story-wise and grammar-wise).
2458164 Mostly that - while this story was NOT written out in advance - A lot of the plot was already in my head. I knew the basic story thread, and added details as I went along.
As for me writing out the bundle of story over the next few days, it's mostly because what I'm now doing isn't all that tough to write, per se. A lot of this is wrapping up plot threads and... other stuff.
2457770 I'm not complaining. I love these stories, and the writing is better than before IMO. In terms of grammar, the biggest problem that I've noticed is still capitalization. Some words seem to be randomly capitalized, and you tend to forget to capitalize certain words (major offenders are 'Ponyville' and names, especially the second half of a two-part name), but it's not nearly as bad as it was before.
2458393 Yeah, that's one of my many bad habits I'm trying to grow out of.
Hey, I figure by the time I finish Twilight Fall, I might've even cured myself of it!
Awesomesauce.
This totally makes up for that cliffhanger you gave us last chapter! ... and sorta the one before that. But you are still toeing the line with the cliffhangers!
More story for the story god!
I still can't believe how fast you update, no matter what you said. Especially with the quality involved, really. And with you going to make TWO updates per day now... I don't think my jaw can go lower than the floor.
Anyhow, this is another good chapter! Keep up the good work!
okaaayy that incest part is creeping me out...
and for petes sake not even cupcakes creeped me out
Oh and 3 likes away
and no there was flippen fight between celestia and twilight...
we demand compensation with a different fight scene
2459056 Heh, Sorry. Story's demands.
Also - Yes, I would love to have 100 upvotes before the story ends. That would be awesome.
2459075
Albeit I will forget about it by the next chapter as long as (even though it is technically not incest) shining is not one of her playthings
2459075
A story of this quality would normally hit hit between 300 and 500 upvotes within the first day or so. Did it not hit the featured list when it came out?
Hail chaos and god bless America.
but...wait.....uhhh...........isn't Luna Twilights aunt? and lover? Incest? Maybe? I'm complaining?
and then everything was k....without oranges even.....I was right, Celestia was planning her death
2459056>>2538642
I'm glad I wasn't the only one to go "WTF? Isn't she Twilight's aunt?" Incest is all the rage among deities though so I have no problems with it.
So I was all like
but then I was like 
and now I'm just kinda like 
How do you do it?
Well that was a good endi---- there's 7 more chapter! Halleluiah!
2458049 Sad to say this is exactly how this chapter felt for me to. Everyone did a complete 360 in their emotions and personalities and the epic moments everyone was hoping for snuffed out like a wet firecracker.
While I'll abstain from judging the trope of 'Gods manipulating everything in the background,' I find the choice of characters... interesting. Faust's presence is a predictable one, but hardly something to criticize. It's Cedistic that leaves me scratching my head. Didn't he destroy the great alicorn city and kill most of the alicorns in the process? So why in the name of all that is holy would Faust even be willing to talk to him, much less play cold, uncaring God games with him at no regard to the lives of those she manipulates? Unless, of course, they both really have ascended to the level of deities and have no other peers to talk to, which I imagine can be pretty conducive to communication.
Eh, I'm not sure I like the titles, but it's a small gripe. I find it a little odd that Celestia is so cool with everything after five thousand years of bigotry, but I'll roll with that, too.
What really makes me raise my eyebrows is that, somehow, I only just realized that Twilight is getting into a sexual relationship with her aunt. Huh. That's just the way Dissonance rolls, I guess.
How on earth did the Twiluna manage to get worse?
The new Solar and Luna Diarchs
I nearly laughed out loud.
2459075
Like other people I am wondering how you will resolve the situation with Twilight and Luna because Luna is Twilight's aunt which would be weird if they continue there relationship knowing that.