Words and actions can sometimes hurt more than we know, sowing betrayal and hatred where friendship and innocence lies. A single thoughtless action can be a tipping point, one fallen domino setting off hundreds. Look back, and answer me.
Of Child of Mine, And the Daughter Of Laughter, Daughter of Sun and Daughter of Night, I ask of thee, What have you done?
Words and actions can sometimes hurt more than we know, sowing betrayal and hatred where friendship and innocence lies. A single thoughtless action can be a tipping point, one fallen domino setting off hundreds. Look back, and answer me.
“In fact, if I were you? I wouldn’t show up to the wedding at all.”
Twilight forgot how to breathe. Her chest had hurt before, the biting words her dearest brother had snarled out at her had made her feel like Discord was doing a tap dance on her chest- But that pain was nothing compared to what she felt now. It felt, incredibly, like drowning. He hadn’t said the words themselves, but the meaning behind the ones he did say was just as clear. “Get out of my life.”
How had it gone all wrong? It was a desperate reach upwards, to try to understand so she could make it right again, so she could breathe, break the water’s surface, and go back to how things were.
Then again, maybe it was already hopeless.
She was sinking as her mind, no longer preoccupied with the wedding, slowly pulled bitter cold conclusions. Maybe he’d thrown her out of his life a long time ago, maybe this had just been the last straw, the last step from which they could never return to. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so crushing- The wedding? Ha! She hadn’t even known he was engaged… Last she heard, he was getting over a bad break-up with Lyra.
Her head sank as tears soaked her cheeks, leaving her feeling as if an entire ocean’s worth of water pressure was trying to crush her. She felt too heavy to even stand anymore, and sank to her haunches.
She pulled her tail close around her, a frail attempt to be warm in the cold depths. Still struggling to find air, she looked behind her at her friends, hoping somehow that they could pull her up, rescue her just as her brother had, years ago, when she had nearly drowned as a filly.
“C’mon Y’all, let’s go check on the Princess.”
They walked right by her.
Suddenly she was scared, more so than she ever had been in her life. She forced herself to her hooves, reaching out to them, desperate-
They didn’t even look back.
She'd felt Celestia’s presence before she'd seen her. Twilight turned to her quickly, opening her mouth to try to explain, to beg for help, but she could only stutter as oxygen seemed hard to find. The look Celestia gave her cut her down more than anything else could- shattering the last fragment of hope she had as she realized she’d even pushed her mentor away.
“You have a lot to think about.”
That was it. That was all the pony she’d looked up to so said. The pony she’d considered her very first friend, outside of her own family. The pony she’d trusted the most… Everypony she trusted…
They left her to drown.
Chrysalis stepped quietly around the arch, looking down at the unicorn that had, incredibly, nearly ousted her to the entire Royal Guard, including the Princess herself. Everything had went far better than she could ever have anticipated though, and everypony had immediately sided against the little foal. She could hardly believed that it had worked, that she had managed to align all her pieces so, so perfectly! Every single pony in the castle was under her thrall, magical or otherwise… Which really just left, what was her name again? Ah yes, Twilight. That just left Twilight.
She had, originally, intended to toss the young unicorn into the same caverns that she had the lovely little Princess Cadence. Now, however, she was questioning how wise such a move would be. Heck, Twilight hadn’t even noticed her yet. With her head buried in her forelegs, and shaking in wracking sobs that left a taste of despair in the air, she was dead to the world… And maybe that was just perfect. Why bother wasting the magic on a pony that everyone else had already broken for her? It was completely unnecessary.
No, Chrysalis would just leave her there. Why bother playing the villain when you’ve already been cast as the hero? It would only lead to complications.
Pinkie tried to shrug off the chill that had shot down her spine, but it wasn’t working. She stared determinedly straight ahead, face still set in an indifferent frown, continuing her otherwise cheery bounce down the hall towards the room her and her friends had been assigned for the duration of the wedding. Shining Armour had insisted on speaking to his bride alone, so Pinkie had decided that she would go back to her room and make a super awesome gift to cheer the Princess up when Shining was done cheering her up. There was nothing wrong with double cheer after all.
…I know you can hear me you little bubble-headed twit.
Pinkie ignored her, bouncing on, even as a block of ice started to form in her stomach. Yes, she was being unusually…Cold… But that didn’t mean she was going to just sit there and let her take all the fun out of the wedding. Twilight had already done a pretty good job of that.
Okay that’s it.
Pinkie’s back legs very suddenly locked up as Pinkamena wrestled control over just enough to cause them both to do a spectacular face-plant.
WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?! Pinkie snarled, suddenly very vexed at her other self’s actions. The rug burn on her chin probably wasn’t helping.
That’s what I want to know! Pinkamena snapped back, wishing she could smack her other self right then and there.
You’re the one that made me go flying!
You should know better than to ignore me in the first place.
It was right then that Pinkie actually realized how furious her other self was. She hadn’t noticed it at first, thinking that the anger was her own at Twilight for making Princess Mi Amore Cadenza cry, but- No, now that she’d thought about it, she’d only felt an odd sense of horror at seeing Twilight lash out like that. Every bit of this rage- every drop of it was simply rolling off Pinkamena.
Pinkie gulped. She didn’t like this feeling. It was rather terrifying, really, to feel that much hate and anger, and knowing not only is it directed at you, but it was coming from within you as well.
Okay, okay, I’m listening! What?
Give me control for a minute.
As it sounded like Pinkamena had started to calm down, now that she was actually listening, Pinkie complied… And immediately regretted it as Pinkamena used the promised minute to slam the back of their head into the nearest wall.
OW! WHAT THE HAY’S GOTTEN INTO YOU?! Pinkie yelped, slowly reaching a fore-hoof to tenderly rub the now very sore spot of her skull.
That’s what I should be asking you! What were you thinking back there?! Pinkamena snapped, sounding oddly heated. She was usually so calm. Snarky, sure, but not hot-headed, or for that matter even all that aggressive. Pinkie wasn’t liking this Pinkamena, and would rather like to have the old one back, preferably soon.
You know what they say about being careful what you wish for…
Oh, no, wait, I just like, totally figured it out. Pinkamena drawled, her voice cold and nearly eerily calm. You weren’t thinking AT ALL.
You’re breaking your promise. Pinkie muttered, and actually cringed as she felt her other self shift, her heated emotions dropping into silence as a cold fury spread through their veins.
Don’t. You. Even. Dare.
Pinkie winced with every word. But you’re being so mean-
I DON’T BUCKIN’ CARE!
Her roar made their already growing headache even worse.
Since you’ve apparently edited your idiotic little mind into only seeing your petty, sugar-dusted version of the world, let me remind you how come you can usually get away with that crap, as you’ve obviously forgotten.
No, I didn-
Shut up. Here’s that promise you’re insinuating I’ve broken; I protect you and your friends from all of your nightmares so you can forge dreams. I take all your pain, all your anger, and all your fear, so you can be other’s laughter. I become despair, so you can be hope. That is our deal.
I know tha-
No, you apparently don’t. Because if you did, you wouldn’t have the gall to even suggest that I’M the one breaking our promise.
It took a full minute for what Pinkamena had just said to register. You… You think I’m breaking it?
You look back at what you just did, and you tell me.
Pinkie blinked. It felt disturbingly quiet now that her other self had fallen silent. After sitting for a minute in the unsettling stillness, Pinkie closed her eyes and reached back into her memories to figure out where she had gone wrong. The memory of what had just happened barely twenty minutes ago came immediately to mind, and for a second Pinkie just stared at it. Then, she realized with a growing sense of horror what Pinkamena had meant as her mind locked on the broken Twilight that had looked back at her in that moment.
I become despair, so you can be hope. That’s our deal, Pinks. So now tell me why you just denied one of your precious friends the hope she so desperately needed in that moment.
But… But… Pinkie’s mind was spluttering. She couldn’t deny that Pinkamena was right, but she had to, somehow. But Twilight screwed up, so-
So what? What do you really expect her to be able to do? Have you even listened to her once this entire time? You get so riled up when no-one listens to Miss Totally-Random-I’ll-Explain-When-I-Feel-Like-It, but I bet you’ve never actually once listened to the mare that’ll explain everything with barely a prompt.
I’ve listened to her! She’s my friend, o-o-of course I listen to her!
Then tell me what you expect her to do. You should know, right?
Pinkie wasn’t sure if Pinkamena was actively mocking her, or if she was simply trying to teach her in the only, cold, hard, method she knew.
She… She should go make it right, make-up with her brother and Cadence and-
How.
What?
How? How do you expect her to do that?
What are you talking about? Siblings make up all the time, it’s easy!
Do they?
Wha-? That was when she finally clued in. It had been somewhat out of character for Twilight back then, as it was really more her job to break randomly into song, not their bookish friend…
…They never had a single fight. Pinkie muttered softly, her throat tightening as the implications started to finally settle in.
That’s right. Pinkamena’s voice had finally returned to the soft and gentle one Pinkie knew. Maybe it was because of the crazy age difference, but they never fought. How do you expect her to know how to deal with something she’s never dealt with before? Things like this aren’t in books. It’s hard for you to understand, we’ve got two sisters. When we weren’t best friends we were each other’s worst enemies.
But we always ate supper together with a smile. Whatever it was had always been resolved and forgotten by then. Pinkie added softly, trying to understand how her friend must be feeling right then… Then suddenly she froze with a bitter cold epiphany that shoved her to her hooves and running back towards the throne room.
Oh Faust. Pinkamena swore as she seen what Pinkie had realized.
We’re her first friends. I’m so stupid! We’ve never fought either, none of us! She’s seen us squabble, but we’ve never actually fought or anything. The only thing even close to an argument that’s ever happened between us is back when she was freaking out about being tardy and we all blew her off!
And we all know how well THAT worked out.
You’re not helping. But what if Twilight’s, like, freaking out now too? What if she doesn’t even understand what’s going on is just a stupid misunderstanding and thinks we’ve all abandoned her?
You kinda did.
STILL NOT HELPING. Even if I kinda did I didn’t mean it like that! I just, I thought the Princess needed me more ‘cause she was all crying and stuff, and I figured she was probably all stressed out because of the big day, while Twilight’s really strong, if a bit paranoid, and she just needed some time to figure stuff out and-
And just “get over it?”
You’re making me sound like such an ass.
You’re not making it very hard right now, Pinks.
Pinkie Pie skidded to an uneasy stop as she took in the crooked stone doors that swung loosely open on damaged hinges, and the dazed guards on either side. The room beyond was empty. It was obvious that Twilight had already long left.
If Celestia knew how brain-numbingly, mind-twistingly boring it was to be frozen as a statue, she might have reconsidered her use of it as a “humane” way to deal with her rivals. Then again, maybe not, as Discord was pretty sure she wasn’t dumb enough to think that it was harmless. What do you expect to happen when the very embodiment of chaos is dipped in the weaponized essence of harmony anyway? Sweet dreams of fluffy bunnies and happily-ever-afters? Please. That was about as likely to happen as Tia's goody-four-shoes student throwing off her crown and declaring herself a villain!
The stone around him cracked. Discord’s attention was very suddenly drawn to the amount of magic that was being poured into his prison. A strong stone reversal spell, mixed with trace amounts of corrupted harmony magic… It was undeniably what he was feeling as it tore through the prison he was bound to. A sense of glee washed through him as he started to help it along, pushing against the stone, and allowing a peal of laughter to escape him as fresh air started to reach him once more. With one last burst of energy from the both of them, he burst with a whoop out of his confinements, and into the bright blue, oddly magically encased sky above. That could be addressed later, as could the cloaked figures floating above the bubble they appeared to be in. Right now, the only question he had, was who had deigned to save him.
“Well, speak of the devil.”
Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s precious little student, stood before him. As she raised her head to raise a questioning eyebrow at the draconequues’ quite mutterings, Discord’s curiosity grew as he noticed how her fur was matted and her eyes dark and almost empty. The two stared at each other for a minute, he with a look of bemused fascination and surprise, while she seemed to stare at him like an interesting modern art sculpture that she was trying to wrap her head around. Not a word passed between them, before Twilight suddenly broke their little staring match to turn and walk away.
Discord blinked. This day was making less and less sense. The Element of Magic coming to save him? Canterlot under a class ten shield while some unknown enemy tried to find a way in? Were those wedding bells he heard being prepared? Yep, today made no sense what-so-ever.
It was marvelous.
“You know that isn’t very polite, Twilight Sparkle. Appearing out of nowhere and waking me up without so much as a good morning? Really. I thought your manners were better than that!”
Discord’s grin grew a little as the unicorn mare stopped at his words. He had always found the ponies that Celestia took to be her students to be quite worthy of his interest, and Twilight was no different in that regard. She had, however, been the first one he had chance to meet face-to-face, and perhaps that was the reason why she had become the most fascinating of them all. And now in this topsy-turvy upside down nonsensical day, she was proving herself every bit worth that fascination.
It had taken a little over a minute, but Twilight finally decided to respond to Discord’s jest. His smile slipped a little to be replaced with a hint more confusion as she turned slowly, as if it was too heavy to move, to look over her shoulder at him. Was that pain in her eyes?
“Good morning, Discord.”
She spoke them with such quiet serenity that she sounded nearly hollow. Or perhaps, Discord wondered, she’s so hollow that everything falls to silence. The thought was absolutely ridiculous. What could the unicorn mare that had it all have to grieve? Then again, what wasn’t ridiculous about today? Besides, as upside-down as today was, even he found it hard to believe that she who was practically the perfect ponification of logic would just randomly get it into her head to free the draconequues that had tried his best to drive her to despair. No, there was a reason to all this, and he realized with near epiphany like suddenness, that he had to know what it was.
“Hmm, perhaps morning is a bit of a stretch-” Discord said, giving a long stretch himself, as if to punctuate his statement. He yawned magnificently, before scratching his chin with faux absent-mindedness as his eyes followed the once again retreating figure of his rescuer. “And perhaps it being good is as well.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow again as Discord settled in to glide beside her as she walked. “Do you need something?”
Discord tried to match her look of curious indifference. “Oh, just pondering what could possibly possess the lovely Miss Sparkle to make her free the Dreaded Draconequues of Chaos.”
“I realized it wasn’t right for you to be locked up like that.”
“Oh I see, I see, it wasn’t ri-” Discord stopped mid-nod to double-take at what Celestia’s student had just said, “Wait, what?”
“You and Celestia were friends once, right?” Twilight asked softly, as she continued to walk on, without even pausing or turning to look at his dumbfounded expression.
“Well, yes, but that was a very long time ago- We were barely your age! Why-”
“It’s lonely, isn’t it?”
Discord’s look of confusion only grew as he stared at the back of the lilac mare that had just interrupted him with the oddest question he had ever been asked. Twilight had stopped walking now, and was just standing a few feet from the exit of the Canterlot Statue Gardens with her back to him and her shoulders shaking almost imperceptibly.
“What?” He seemed to be using that word a lot today.
“In the statue like that. It’s lonely, right? Lonely, and cold? Without anyone being there to hear you, or for you to speak to? Just you and your own blasted dark thoughts about what went wrong, or what happened… Or why the one person you trusted the most, who you always thought would be there for you, wasn’t?” Twilight’s voice was nearly cracking now, “O-or about how the ponies you thought would always understand you,
“Turned out to never have understood you at all.”
They had said that last line together. Twilight jerked around so fast to look behind herself that she had nearly tripped over her own hooves. Her eyes quickly met the oddly still figure of Discord, who was looking at her with a new look of understanding.
“Yes, that’s quite it exactly, Miss Sparkle…” He said softly, a bitter smile passing across his features. With an almost dark chuckle he flew forward to glide beside her once again, and she gave him a bitter smile of her own as he sighed. “That’s quite it exactly.”
The two walked together in silence. The gardens passed out of view as a different path was stepped onto, this one winding down and around the back of the castle. It was surprisingly empty of other ponies, who, on a normal Sunday, would be swarming these back paths to enjoy the serenity of the palace gardens. It wasn’t as if Discord minded the lack of an audience at this moment, but rather that he was curious as to where they had all gone. A different question was burning in his mind, right now, however.
“So what happened between you and your friends?”
Twilight looked up at him with a glare so spectacularly dark that he nearly burst out laughing.
“Oh come now, Twilight, it’s quite obvious that something happened- You can’t blame this old coot for simply dying to know what it was, can you?”
Twilight looked away, her eyes dimmed. “…It doesn’t matter. At least, not anymore.”
Discord hummed, noting her reaction. He had a pretty good idea of what occurred anyway. After all, it was only natural for ponies to underestimate quite how well a simple “statue” could hear.
“What happened between you and Celestia?”
He probably should have seen that question coming. But then again, perhaps… Discord looked down, meeting Twilight’s mildly curious and already so-understanding gaze. Yes, she already had a pretty good idea as well, now didn’t she?
“It doesn’t matter anymore, now does it?” He asked softly, and she nodded with the quiet and bitter smile that hung between them.
“No, it doesn’t.”
Yes, Discord had lost Celestia. All his games, all his tricks and trials she and Luna had outwitted. In the end, it hadn’t mattered that the three had been friends for decades past, when she had become Princess, and he Chaos, it had all ceased to matter. In that moment of battle for Equestria, they were enemies, and perhaps had been for a long time before. It was then that things had changed, it was then that the Elements of Harmony had aligned with the alicorns, and it was then that everything he had ever wanted had been pulled eternally out of his reach. Yes, Discord had lost Celestia… But her student, her precious, beloved student? Celestia had made her first mistake in the chess game they’d been playing for nearly a millennia now- She had turned her eyes from her queen, who was now wandering lost and broken. Her lovely little queen, who had wandered straight to him.
Yes, Discord had lost Celestia, but her student? Her student, or rather, her little Twilight- Yes, she’d be all his... Now wouldn't she?
Everything had been just perfect. Despite all the little hitches, all the problems and difficulties that had tried to stand in their way, Celestia had managed to give her beloved niece a perfect wedding. The threat against Canterlot had been defied, and now a beautiful reception was in full swing. Cadence and Shining Armour sat together at the head table, enjoying their wedding cake together with a loving smile.
Yes, despite all the stress, all the difficulties and trials, things had gone absolutely perfect. Well, almost perfect.
Celestia’s eyes darkened as they settled on the empty chair to the left of Shining; the seat reserved for the best mare. Twilight had never showed up. Somehow, even though expected, her absence left a sour taste in Celestia’s mouth, like a bad omen on a dark night.
The Princess closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh, clearing such thoughts from her mind. Yes, Twilight hadn’t come, but after the argument her and Shining had had, perhaps it wasn’t that surprising. He had implied that she was no longer welcome, after all, and Celestia knew that her student could be sensitive enough to take such heat-of-the-moment things a little too seriously. Why, Twilight was probably in the back of the library right now, flipping through some random black-bound magic book and plotting everyone’s demise, just as she always did when she was mad. The thought made the Princess chuckle softly to herself. Oh, Twilight was probably indignant, and absolutely furious; Not that Celestia could entirely blame her.
She had found out from Shining about an hour after the rehearsal that he had failed to mention the upcoming wedding to his sister- Meaning that the pony Twilight had found out from hadn’t been him, or even her old friend and foal-sitter Cadence, but Celestia herself. Twilight had every right to feel angry about that, she should have been one of the first people told of the happy news. Instead, she had only found out a few days before hand, and not even from the couple themselves. Of course Twilight would be indignant. It was only natural, especially when one considered how close she had been with her brother when they were younger… But that didn’t mean she had the right to bully Cadence just because she was upset and stressed.
Heck, they were all stressed. Shining had been forced to split his time between the demands of his job, and the needs of his bride. Cadence was so worried and stressed about her wedding that the poor mare was visibly cracking under the strain- And really, Celestia wasn’t doing much better. The Solar Princess had been so busy trying to fix everything for her dear niece, as well as help her guards with protecting Canterlot, that Luna had actually resorted to outright forcing her to get some sleep last night. It had gotten to the point where her younger sister had simply given up trying to reason with her, and had just cast a strong sleeping spell on her instead. Celestia had been so exhausted that she hadn’t even managed to put up any resistance to Luna’s magic, instead collapsing into a desperately-needed sleep for nearly an entire day. That was why Celestia had been so utterly relieved to have Twilight and her friends coming to assist with the wedding- She had been absolutely positive that it was a task she could entrust her dearest student with, leaving her with some more time to assist her little ponies with other things. She had been wrong.
Celestia sighed again, and although her eyes were following Shining Armour and Cadence as they took their positions on the dance floor, her mind was still several hours in the past. Twilight’s choice of actions still surprised her. Yes, Twilight had always been a bit dramatic and paranoid, but she had been getting better, more reasonable. Then, just like a terrible blast from the past, at the worst possible time, over-emotional clingy teenage Twilight showed up in full tantrum. They were all very stressed, over-tired, and cranky. Celestia knew that, and therefore had restrained herself from blowing up at her student. Perhaps putting her in time out had been a bit, well, childish, but if Twilight was going to act the part…
A third sigh escaped Celestia’s lips as she watched the newlywed couple part, and the groom walk over to hug his parents. His mother’s smile faded as they spoke, a look of concern replacing it. Celestia raised an eyebrow as she turned her ears towards the group, wondering what it was that Shining was trying to brush off as Velvet’s look of concern deepened into anxiety and what looked like a tinge of anger.
“I’m going to go look for her,” Velvet said softly, her brow furrowed as her eyes looked past Celestia and towards the Royal Library.
Probably talking about Twilight then. Yes, that’s where she would still be… Most likely half-way through that old book of Luna’s by now. Celestia could see it if she closed her eyes; A furious Twilight tucked away in the corner of the library, old horror books stacked all around her like a fortress, a book of nightmares under one hoof, and a quill and notebook under the other as she plotted how to use the new dream spell she had just researched to wreak revenge.
“Have I missed anything?”
Celestia looked up with a smile as at the sound of her sister’s soft voice. Having Luna nearby seemed to ease her nerves even more, and she draped a wing over the darker alicorn as the two settled down to watch the wedding party take the floor.
“Only the first dance.”
It was a shame that Twilight was missing all this, Celestia decided. Although she was absolutely terrible at it, her student positively adored dancing. Perhaps once the wedding began to wrap up, Celestia could sneak over to the library, and speak to Twilight. The two of them could go have a cup of tea alone in the gardens, and talk this whole mess of nonsense out. She probably just needed somepony to hear her out after all, so she could vent out all her frustrations and anxieties, and get them off her chest. Celestia knew that feeling quite well- It was why she was so truly glad to have Luna back. Having a kindred soul by your side is surely the greatest thing in this world.
The sound of anxious hoof-steps on marble drew a sliver of Celestia’s attention as Velvet pushed her way back into the reception. The grey mare made a beeline for her husband, hastily pulling him away from the astronomers he was talking to and into a slightly less noisy corner of the room. An alicorn’s hearing is quite good, and so Celestia could just barely make out what was being hissed in desperate tones.
“I can’t find Twilight.”
“What do you mean you can’t find her, Honey? Isn’t she off sulking in the library, like she always does?” Night Light asked gently, placing a calming hoof on his distressed wife’s shoulders.
“No, she isn’t, that’s why I’m scared! She isn’t in the palace library, or the archives, or even the library down the street she loved so much. I don’t know where she could have gone…”
“Maybe she went to the Vault of Tomes? You know, that big bookstore that had those big books on jinxes? She might have decided that nightmares weren’t going to do the trick this time,” Night Light was laughing, trying to hide his own anxiety as he attempted to ease Velvet’s; But his wife was shaking her head, and his weak smile was slipping.
“They’re not open today... I called to ask. There’s a colt there doing stock, but he said the store isn’t open during national events. I even winked down to Page Turner’s little place to see if Twilly was there, but he says he hasn’t seen her all month! I’m really worried, Nighty, this isn’t like her.”
Celestia frowned, dropping her attention away from Twilight and Shining’s parents, and instead onto her red-tinted reflection in the goblet of wine she was holding. Velvet was right, this wasn’t like Twilight. The sound of Spike’s stuttering apology made her look up again. Velvet was going to Twilight’s friends, asking them if they’d seen her, if they knew where she might have gone, about what had happened. First Spike, then Applejack, then onto Rarity, each of whom had shook their head sadly with looks of bemusement and a tinge of shame. Finally, the grey mare pulled Pinkie aside, who refused to meet the older mare’s eyes.
“It’s Pinkie Pie, isn’t it?” Velvet asked softly, as she tried to catch the younger mare’s gaze, “What happened? Where’s Twilight?”
“I-I don’t know. We had a bit of a-a fight… And when I went to apologize, I-I couldn’t find her… She’d already left…” Pinkie’s ears were folded back, her bottom lip starting to quiver as she struggled not to cry.
Velvet seemed to freeze, her fur standing on end as she processed this new information. It seemed to take a moment for her to find her voice again. “T-Twilly had a fight with you too? With… With all of you?”
Pinkie nodded slowly, as she finally looked up to match the unicorn’s gaze. Velvet’s mind seemed to be racing a mile a minute, her eyes shifting back and forth, as if she was reading a novel.
“Oh... Oh no. Oh no no no,” Velvet was muttering, visibly paling under her grey fur, as she backed up a step, bringing a hoof to her forehead as her mind raced faster “I need to find her, I need to find her right now.”
Velvet span around, her age doing little to stifle the grace she held when she was younger. The mare was ready to gallop full-speed out of the reception in a mad search, willing to knock any fool standing in her way across the room in her rush if she had to- Until Celestia very calmly stepped in front of her with an outstretched wing to slow her to a stop. Velvet came to an uneasy stop in front of the princess, her eyes still darting around the room in an attempt to keep up with everything that was going through her head, while still remaining respectful of her ruler.
“Come and talk with me for a moment, Velvet,” Celestia said softly, wrapping her outstretched wing around the frantic mare as she gently steered her over to a quiet corner reserved just for such meetings as this.
Already, Velvet wasn’t having any of it, and the unicorn was practically prancing in spot even as they came to a stop. “I am very sorry, Your Highness, but can this please wait? It would be my greatest honor to have a lovely conversation with you- Once I have my daughter safe and sound at my side.” Her voice was one of perfectly trained respect and manners, an epitome of politeness. There was steel underneath them however, steel that wasn’t hidden by the polite bow that preceded Velvet’s attempt to dart around Celestia and out the door once more.
Celestia closed her eyes and sighed as she blocked the attempt, drawing the grey mare back to where she stood not a minute before. A flicker of exasperation, and a stronger one of anger shone across Velvet’s face, before disappearing once more behind a cool mask, only cracked by the panic that was rolling off her in waves.
“Twilight Velvet. Your daughter is fine. I assure you. I know my student just as well as you know your daughter and we both know that she’s-“
“Most definitely not fine.”
The anger had broken through the mask, and through all pretenses of respect that had been held between them. To say that Celestia wasn’t startled by being cut off would be an outright lie, as would saying that Velvet wasn’t entirely willing, in that moment, to commit grand treason if it meant getting to her daughter. Steel met steel as Velvet and Celestia stared each other down, each gathering the measure of the other, as they had countless times before. This had nearly become routine in the early days of Twilight’s schooling. Each, a mother and a teacher in their own rights, had disagreed in many, many ways about the beloved filly they shared. This, however, was the first time Celestia had felt such hatred and anger from Twilight’s biological mother. The aura between them was enough to be unsettling the guards that stood nearby. Even they could feel the murderous intent that coated Velvet’s next words.
“I do ever so apologize, Princess, but I must correct you on one little thing. Twilight may be your student, but she is my daughter. And she will always be my daughter. I know Twilight. I’ve known her for far longer than you have, and I know her far better than you ever can, because there are things she would never bare to you. I know her pain, I know her fears, things that you could never understand, because you are a goddess. A being above us. And I respect that. I honor you as my ruler, but I will never honor you as my sister, or as a fellow mother. Now, move aside, so I can save the mare that you helped break.”
Time had stopped. The surrounding crowds’ laughter roared on, but it never reached the silently cold corner that the two stood in.
Celestia was furious, but her red hot anger was suffocating against the cold fury that she was facing. Two flames cannot burn at once, sooner or later, one will always devour the other, and as they stood now, Velvet’s was winning. The Solar Princess had found herself taking a step away from the mare that was barely half her size.
Move aside.
Those words had been an order. The Solar Guards couldn’t believe their eyes. A noblemare, a simple unicorn, had stared down their goddess, and had given her an order. Not a request with no respect behind it, which was something they had seen before, but a true order- One that promised dire consequences if disobeyed.
An order Princess Celestia had heeded.
The cold fire had won. Celestia's own anger had burned out as suddenly as if it had simply run out of fuel to burn off of; and without thinking or even realizing she had done it, she had stepped back, and out of Velvet’s way.
Time was still frozen. Even as Velvet’s shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly, and she walked quietly past her princess without a word or another glance; it was as if time itself was too stunned to tick forward.
Celestia and Velvet both froze without quite knowing why- One in breathing, and the other in motion. Shining seemed to stumble, having felt it as well, but without understanding what it was, or could be. The second hand ticked forward.
Then the illusion shattered altogether, and time and magic rushed forward as if a damn had been broken, Canterlot shaking underneath it all.
Celestia’s head snapped up, her ears swivelling as she felt out with her own magic in an attempt to understand what it was that she had just felt. The party around them had broken into frightened murmurs and whispering. The other unicorns had felt that second surge too. What concerned Celestia more in that moment, however, was what the first could have been. The barrier had hummed, if only for a split second, as if someone had pulled sharply upon it, before letting it snap back into place. Someone teleporting in or out could have done it, except that there was nopony strong enough outside of herself or Luna that could have accomplished such a feat. Even then, it didn’t make sense- Transport through Canterlot wasn’t restricted, there was no reason for anypony to even try and teleport outside of the walls, the barrier wouldn’t stop ponies from simply walking in or out. There was simply no reason to, no sense for it at -
“PRINCESS!”
Sound seemed to distort, time felt as if it was laughing, She was moving too slowly as she span around to face the guard that had just burst his way through the doors, panic clear on his expression as he blurted out in a way that was barely within comprehension that the barrier was broken, gone- Just simply gone, shattered beyond existing.
Then before she could question it, or even think to ask him what was going on, his eyes lost their light as a brighter one flashed behind him, the guard behind him, who only a second ago had held panic of her own, was now smirking as her horn lost its glow, she being the one to have struck him down. Time was laughing louder as the blue of her eyes spread out beyond her iris, devouring the black, and then the white of her eyes as her fur scorched to shimmering charcoal under green flames and screams began to echo out as the laughter grew louder; and Celestia realized with a crash that it was her niece that was laughing, high, shrill and metallic as green flames spread out from the wedding table, burning all to ash as it blackened Cadence’s and her servants’ fur, turning it to shining black chitin as the laughter just roared louder because it was all so damn funny.
Shining said something, or tried to shout, but was cut off as his false bride, wife, kissed him, causing his eyes to glaze over with a sickly green shimmer as the life just seemed to drain out of him, causing him to collapse against the cold scorched wood. Celestia’s mind was choking, even as the colour drained out of Cadence’s mane, leaving it a long dull teal, and then it was an old enemy standing across the room from her, fangs shining in gleeful, knowing victory, as if the Changeling Queen before her held something precious and deadly, something that could shatter everything Celestia knew, and she couldn’t look away from those slitted eyes, as Chrysalis whispered her damnation.
You’ve lost again, Celestia.
Dark blue feathers blocked her view, and her sister’s voice forced time and sound to some resemblance of sanity, if only for a moment.
“Sister! Go! The Elements! You must gather them, quickly! I’ll hold her off, but you must hurry! Quickly now, go!”
It took all of her force of will for Celestia to turn her back on her beloved little sister, and run away from the chaos, the Bearers under her wings and flying by her side, racing together to where the Elements lay.
And time was laughing still, louder than Chrysalis, laughing that it was already too late, too late, unheard by the Bearers who charged forth blindly in trust and pride, ignored by Celestia, who’s ears were blocked as always... but heard by a grey unicorn mare, who’s breathing stopped for just a moment, before steel and an old promise settled within her eyes, and she laughed a challenge back; and then Velvet followed those fools forward, without a flicker of hesitation.
From what Velvet understood, The Elements of Harmony were laying in a magically enhanced safe in the North Tower. The fastest way to get there from the reception was straight across the palace courtyards. She estimated that the distance between them and their destination was roughly one hundred and twenty-two yards. It was not a great distance, on a normal day. Today, however, was far from normal. For, if her calculations were correct, and as a professor she had little reason to doubt that they were, there were approximately one thousand two hundred and thirty changelings in that distance, give or take a dozen.
It had been a long time since Velvet had last been in a battle of magic and might, but thankfully her skills in battle hadn’t faded as much as her memory of it had. The changelings were doing their best to surround them, and Velvet was impressed at how they did their best to not only attack from one’s blind spots, but to also do so with a form that would normally cause hesitation if spotted. It was a beautiful strategy, she had to admit, as hesitation was always costly in war; A term she did not use lightly. It was war, however, and treating it as anything less would be nearly as costly as the hesitation that she could see locking up the limbs of their Princess as she tried to clear the way for the Bearers.
Three changelings, each taking on the form of an eager, sorrowful Twilight, had caused Celestia to freeze up, as each had claimed to be her beloved student. The price had been paid almost immediately, as five more changelings had tackled the alicorn from behind, forcing her away from the group as she struggled to free herself.
Velvet’s concentration refocused itself on the battle as four of the swifter, smaller drones dived at her from above. She would only divide her attention between her allies when the fight was simple enough for trained instinct to be all she needed to be effective. Now, a little more strategy and magic would be required, and she couldn’t help but smirk as she logged what forms the changelings had chosen. If they honestly thought taking on Twilight’s so-called friends’ forms would cause her to hesitate, they were sorely mistaken.
Empathic spells were a very high-class refined magic that dealt directly with emotion. Whether it was manipulating them, awakening them, creating them from scratch, or drawing from them to boost inner magic, it all harkened back to the same base refinement of inner magic and emotion. It was unique in many ways, but primarily in that it wasn’t restricted to unicorns. Although rare, even earth ponies and pegasi could learn to use certain kinds of empathic spells.
In Equestria, there were three unparalleled masters of this strange and powerful branch of magic. Twelve years ago, the first had been her old professor, Ardent Arcane, who was no doubt enjoying his current retirement in Saddle Arabia. The second master had been a pegasus mare who had tested the very limits of it in her attempts to bridge the gaps in ponies’ hearts that hatred could leave behind. The third had been the pegasus mare’s elder apprentice and tutor, Twilight Velvet herself.
For a second, Velvet let herself enjoy the irony as she wove the spell she needed together. Those twelve years felt like they had gone by in a blink. The pegasus she had once tutored had soared past those limits, breaking them altogether, and found ascension there in the art of weaving love. Although Velvet had never come close to the mastery that Cadence now possessed, she had found the level of perfection she desired in her own magic. Velvet couldn’t create, or awaken, and manipulating simply wasn’t to her taste, but she could wield, and when she discovered that the emotions she had found easiest to control were the ones that shouldn’t exist at all, she knew that wielding was all she could ever want, or hope to need.
That was where the irony lay as well, given the thought. Wielding Hatred against beings that had crashed the wedding for Love, all while chasing after Friendship’s allies for her sake.
An ear-splittingly shrill shriek came from the changelings around Velvet as her spell lashed out at them. Anger and hatred came a little too easily to the unicorn mare’s call for her liking when she looked at the forms of her daughter’s friends. She knew she shouldn’t be enjoying the look of fear that flickered across their faces, even if they were false masks worn by truly terrified changelings.
As the drones crashed around her hooves, unconscious and bleeding, Velvet turned to face the changelings that had attacked Celestia. She barely blinked before blasting her spell at the largest of the changelings pinning the alicorn down, who had taken on a twisted mix of a form between Luna and Nightmare Moon. The lilac magic collided with the figure and knocked it both out of the illusion, as well as out cold. The smaller drones around it felt their illusions flicker and fade away as they grew dizzy and weak on the miasma the spell left behind. Velvet cringed inwardly as she quietly noted to herself that she had probably put a little too much into that last shot.
Celestia rose to her hooves again, shaken, but otherwise uninjured. Velvet couldn’t help but wonder if the alicorn was shaken from the blows to the head she had taken, or by the backlash of the spell that had been cast. It would do little to harm a pony, hatred wasn’t poison to any equine, and a wielding spell could not create or even awaken- But they would still feel the intent behind it.
The look the two shared for a moment was strange, both appraising and wary. Then it was gone as they broke contact to fight, to continue clearing the way for the sake of the ones they loved and cared about.
The fighting style of the Bearers was... Unusual, no doubt. Rarity fought with a brutality that Velvet would not expect from such a refined mare, yet somehow the blows, as direct and sharp as they were graceful, suited the seamstress in a style.
Rainbow’s fighting was as rough and careless as the daredevil was, and while perhaps not as effective as a more controlled style would be, the aerial dynamics she pulled off were certainly frightening and fitting in their own right, and Velvet could see a hint of wariness slowly creeping into the drones flying formations as they shifted their strategy again and again as they attempted to keep up with the speedster's attacks.
Applejack’s focused purely on her powerful kicks and agility, and Velvet couldn’t help but smile a little as she heard chitin crack under the force of the earth pony’s bucks. The changelings were becoming less and less willing to try and sneak up behind the mare.
Pinkie’s however, was the strangest by far. Where she had pulled that cannon from, Velvet had no idea, but it easily blasted a path through the hordes as they advanced forward. That wasn’t the strangest part, however. The strangest bit was that the pink pony continuously left her back wide open to attack, and even though none of her friends’ were guarding it for her, not a scratch landed upon it. Velvet spent the most time out of all of them watching her work her way through the masses, and was soon rewarded by the answer to how she could fight like that so effectively. Whenever a changeling dived to take advantage of that blind spot, it would soon find itself staggering or flying off balance before crashing dizzily into the ground. Although she’d probably never get to ask, Velvet couldn’t help but hypothesize that Pinkie was, perhaps unconsciously, wielding an empathic spell of her own. As the Element of Laughter, perhaps that was fitting as well.
With a final blast of Solar and Empathic magic, the last of the changelings were roughly evicted from the north tower, and the doors were slammed unceremoniously shut and locked tight. Celestia slumped against the double doors with clear exhaustion, her mane dulled from her over-use of magic.
“We.... made it,” Applejack gasped out between pants, “Did you... see Twilight...while you were up there... Rainbow Dash?”
The pegasus was barely winded, and she was zipping hastily throughout the tower, making it difficult for Velvet to keep eyes on her.
“Not a glimpse of her. I was hoping she’d be in here somewhere. I don't know- Does Twilight know any invisibility spells?”
“No, she was never able to hold the control it took to manipulate light to the degree necessary.” Velvet was mildly surprised at herself for answering, but after catching the surprised looks on Celestia and the Bearer’s faces, she smiled slightly as she finished her explanation. “The idea of disappearing scared her too much, and she’d lose focus.”
“Oh.” Rainbow Dash stopped abruptly, before gently lowering herself to the ground to look around at everypony. “Well, if Twilight isn’t here, then where the buck is she?”
“Rainbow Dash, language please,” Rarity snapped without thinking, which earned her a returning glare from the pegasus.
“Do you girls hear that?”
Pinkie’s sudden question stopped the ensuing argument before it could truly begin, and silence fell in the room as they strained to hear what Pinkie was listening to past the thuds and crashes that echoed in from outside. For a moment, the pounding of the changelings against the doors was all that could be heard.
A moment later, recognition seemed to pass across the girls’ faces as they seemed to catch what was beyond hearing. Velvet closed her eyes, and tried to focus on just the sounds of the room, but had no idea of what they spoke of when Fluttershy piped up.
“There’s whispering coming from the vault! Oh dear, d-do you think some changelings got in there? And th-that they’re just w-waiting for us to open it to pounce and d-d-devour us?!”
Even when panicked beyond reason, the young mare’s voice barely rose louder than a mouse’s squeak.
“Well, we’ll just have to open it and find out. We can take’em!” Rainbow declared proudly.
As Celestia stepped forward to open the doors, Velvet held her eyes closed, listening to the sound of the Princess's hoof-steps against the carpet. She still couldn’t hear the voices that the girls had started to discuss. It was only as the solar magic flared up, unlocking and swinging the safe wide open, that Velvet realized what she had been missing. Celestia's spell had been like strings plucking at the edge of her mind, and it reminded her that physical sound wasn't the only kind one could hear. Magic could be felt as sound too, whether as music, static, or incomprehensible whispers, and it was as she tuned into the magic around them, did she finally hear it. It was voices, just barely there, but each one distinct and clear in words she couldn't quite make out. It was if a great distance was between them, leaving understanding just out of reach.
As Celestia stepped back to open the magical case surrounding the Elements, the magic suppressants on the vault began to shut off one by one, and with each one the voices grew a little bit louder. Then, as the case was thrown completely open, all magic now out of the way, the voices grew to an almost deafening din, as there was nothing left to muffle their cries.
“TRAITOR!”
“Liar...”
“Selfish Foal”
“How could you?”
“How dare you...”
“Leave”
“Why?”
“How cruel.”
“IDIOT!”
“AVARICE!”
“Don’t turn away”
The Elements themselves were speaking, and they were furious. Each element had darkened past their natural colour, but none so dark as the one that Velvet was staring, stunned and horrified, at. The only one who's voice wasn't calling out in anger, even as the ones surrounding it sparked and hissed and growled. Her daughter’s Element. The Element of Magic. A dark magenta as deep as the night sky, now, it stayed silent. Velvet reached out with her magic, could feel an utter sorrow coming off of it, but not a word was spoken. There was not a drop of anger anywhere in the strings of magic that surrounded and connected it to the other Elements, just sorrow, and almost a grievous longing.
Velvet tore her eyes away too late, not fast enough to shout a warning at Rainbow Dash as she flew forward to touch the lightning-bolt shaped jewel that had been her own. With a wave of anger that made Velvet's feel like a drop of water in an ocean, the Element of Loyalty blasted its bearer across the room with a roar that sounded much like crashing thunder, as well as suspiciously like the word “traitor.”
“What the hay?” Rainbow groaned, as she carefully picked herself up from the ground, her left wing trembling from where it had slammed into the wall.
“Judging us the way we judge ourselves...”
Rainbow’s head snapped around to stare in confusion at Pinkie, who had been the one that had spoken, even as her mane fell straight around her like a curtain.
“I can hear my Element. She sounds like Pinkam- I mean, she sounds like me.”
Velvet knew this was a conversation she was not involved in, that in a way, she was eavesdropping on something far above her, but she still closed her eyes and strained to hear, strained to know and understand... If only for her daughter’s sake. Perhaps the Elements recognized that, for when Loyalty spoke again, it let her hear, even though the words were to the pony that had once been its bearer.
“When you chose your homeland over your friends, you threw me away, saying you weren’t worthy, because you’d chosen one precious loyalty over another. I fault not my bearer for loving, for being loyal to many. But you cast me aside for that petty little thing. But now, you come to me? After choosing a stranger over your friend? Fame and praise over loyalty? How dare you. I reject you as my bearer.”
Velvet opened her eyes to see each bearer staggering back, and she knew that each Element had scolded them similarly. What Loyalty had snapped to Rainbow Dash made only little sense to Velvet as she knew not what times it spoke of, but the effect its words had were obvious, as tears of anger had begun to stream their way down the pegasus’s face.
“I reject you as my bearer.”
The elements were still speaking, growing faint to Velvet’s ears, but somehow louder still to the others.
“I reject you as my bearer. I reject you as my bearer. I reject you as my bearer.”
Velvet’s eyes locked back on the Element of Magic, the voices drifting out of her hearing range and into silence, even as the girls covered their ears in a futile attempt to quiet them. Her daughter’s Element was growing darker still, and it was now a black whose only colour was a purple shimmer that seemed to glow in the fading evening light. Velvet wasn’t sure if it was a whimper from behind her, or only in her head, or if it truly did come from the Element which she could not look away from.
“Please don’t throw me away.”
The final light in it faded. That last faint trace of colour in it remained, but it seemed dead. A horrible feeling sank in Velvet’s stomach, as she gently reached out a hoof, and placed it against the jewel. She could hear Celestia crying a warning for her not to, but it was ignored as Velvet felt the ice under the black glass. The element was cold, as if it had sank to the bottom of the darkest ocean. The Element that was linked to her daughter’s precious, fragile heart.
Velvet’s eyes filled up with tears, understanding filling her past what she could explain, even as a single question echoed out in her mind, before finally being asked in a choked out single sentence.
