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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jul 1, 2014 23:09:43 GMT
Chrysteel comes up from the small group and says, "Mother Cadence, we have another to join our cause. I would like you to meet Midnight Strider. He feels like he can handle himself well in the situation we are in. Also I am ready to head back and get started when every pony else is. By the way, Where is Bolt and Schakolad? I hope they get here soon."
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Post by wanderingmagus on Jul 2, 2014 3:50:55 GMT
Cadence nodded to the newcomer. "Well met, and well come, Midnight Strider. I greet you in the name of Avalon. My Child has told you of our quest?"
((The following scene is inspired by alexwarlorn's fanfic. no infringement intended.))
Ah reached mah hoof into th' thing, th' Truth. Ah.. Ah don't want ta do this...
Ow! It burns! Consarn it, Cadence, it burns! Ah...
Bloom? No, yer dead. But yer here? An' it ain't no lie?
Bloom, what're ya doin'?! No, no, not the Truth, anythin' but the Truth, no, NO, NONONO AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
It hurts! Ah'm drownin'! Burnin' me up, eatin' me alive! Make it stop, Ah don't want the Truth, all it ever does is hurt you!
Silver, more than silver, like a mirror but so much more, a window, a window to everything...
Everything.
White.
Ah gasp as Ah push mah way outta that awful, awful Truth, gagging for breath-
Wait. Where?
Whiteness. Blank, clean, pure. Not a speck of dust from wherever Ah was to the horizon, if there was one. No shadows, no secrets, everything revealed, no lies, no illusions...
Ah'm scared.
Bloom? Where'd ya run off to? If this is some sort o' revenge fer mah givin' you yer final rest, Ah'm sorry, okay? Please? Anypony!
Wait. What's that?
Two dots, on opposite sides of me. Far, far away. No matter how fast Ah gallop, they don't get any closer. Am Ah... in a tunnel?
One spot of shadow, as if a hole, an Abyss, a Bottomless Pit. Another spot of light, whiter than white, brighter than a thousand suns, but not blindin'...
"Howdy, sis."
Applebloom?! What's goin' on? Where are we? Wait, no, yer dead! Am Ah dead?
"No, but Ah am. Ah've got permission."
What? Bloom, what was that? That... that? Ah remember... somethin'... images o' stuff what never happened...?
"We all make choices, sis. Our choices, everypony's choices, decides how the world is. Ya saw all th' possibilities. Ya saw yerself, yer possible selves."
But it all never happened! What's the point if Ah never even got the chance ta make most o' those decisions?
"Ta show ya this ain't th' only choice that ya had."
But why push me into... that? It hurt... so much...
"Ya needed ta see first. There are rules, sis. Rules Ah can't break, nopony can break."
All right, fine. But why now, o' all times? Five hundred years, Ah've wanted ta speak ta ya so bad...
"Ya weren't ready, an' what ya saw jes' now wouldn't o' made a difference, nor what's about ta come."
Ya don't know that! It might have!
"No, AJ, it wouldn't. If Ah'd done it earlier, ya'd still o' had yer head buried in th' sand, refused ta see. An' ya'd o' been thinkin' more o' me than o' everypony else."
Ain't nopony else. They're all as good as dead, ain't nothin' left o' them, not anymore.
"Liar."
That... that stung. No, that hurt like mah sis up an' stuck a knife right through mah Element. Ah don't want ta think o' this. Back ta th' other topic. So... if Ah'm not dead, but ya are... where am Ah?
"Limbo. Everything. The World Between Worlds. Not th' Nevernever. Outside. Outside th' Outside. Ah can't explain it in terms ya can understand, sis. Trust me, Ah've spent an eternity tryin' ta think o' ways ta explain it, but Ah can't."
You've only been dead five hundred years, Bloom. Or are ya tellin' me time don't work th' way Ah think either?
"Ya couldn't begin ta imagine, sis. But we're off topic. Ah brought ya here-"
PUSHED me here, into that horrible, nasty, burnin', Tartarus-banished Truth! Th' most nasty, disgusting thing what ever existed!
"AJ..."
No, ya listen ta me! Ain't nothin' worse than Truth in this world, ya hear? Nothin'! It hurts ya, burns ya, lays everythin' bare-
"Ah love ya, sis. That's th' truth. Is that so bad?"
...Ah sigh. Bloom, don't ya remember yer pet mouse, way long ago? Remember when ol' Opal ate 'im, an' Ah jes' up an' told ya up front that he did? What did ya do? Ya went ahead an' tried performin' SURGERY on Opal! Ah kin think o' hundreds, thousands, MILLIONS o' examples! But Ah didn't realize, Ah didn't learn mah lesson til Master came along an' showed me! Ah've worked so hard, tellin' kind lies, sweet, kind lies ta everypony, keepin' everypony safe from Master by lyin'! Everypony's changed, but at least Ah've kept us together!
"Then they aren't as good as dead?"
Ah... Ah... stop contradictin' yer elders, missy! Besides, what's the point o' bringin' me here anyways?!
If You Had Listened To Your Sister, You Would Have Realized By Now.
He... Is. Was. Will be. Ah can't explain it, Ah'm no poet!
He was as far away as infinity, yet closer than even mah own body. Older than, well, EVERYTHING, but as innocent as if He'd just been born. Bigger than Ah kin imagine, but small as me, lookin' me at mah level. A male alicorn? Ah thought... wait... Ah...
Ah'm not worthy. Ah'm nothin', no, get away from me, Ah'm not worthy! Ah can't be worthy! Ah'm, Ah'm, Ah-
There Are None Righteous, Not Even One. You Once Strove After Me, Sought Me More Than Almost Any Of Your Peers, Applejack. That ain't mah name no more. Ain't no Applejack left in this world.
Is A Liar All You Are, Then? You Are Not A Big Sister? You Are Not A Life? You Are Not An Apple? You Are Not A Friend To Your Friends?"
Ah said they're good as dead.
Then Why Comfort Dash? Why Tell Twilight The Kindest Version Of Things? Why Play Along With Rarity's Fantasies To Make Her Happy? Why Protect The Daughters Of Wrath? Why Sing Lullabies To Fluttercruel In Her Sleep?
No... please, please stop...
You Were Born Clinging To Truth As Fervently As To The Love Of Your Family. But When Discordance Showed You The Other Side Of Truth, You Shunned It As Passionately As You Had Embraced It. And So, His Taint Twisted Your Heart Until You Came To Believe You Had Transformed Into A Completely Different Pony Altogether.
W-when all the Truth does is make yer heart ache, sometimes a lie is easier to take...
You Have Taken Those Words, And Made Them Your Mantra, The Center Of Your Entire Sense Of Morality. You Distort Every Truth You Fear Might Cause Anyone Any Fraction Of Pain Or Suffering.
But... but lies are often kinder than truth! Ah'd rather tell a lie than see ponies hurt! If Ya says Ah can't, that bein' Kind is wrong... j-just... let me go...
What Purpose Would That Serve? I Have Given All Life Free Will. Truths Can Be Hurtful. Truths Can Be Cruel. Truths Can Bring Pain. If You Found Out A Hero Who Died Five Hundred Years Ago, Who Helped Found Your Hometown, Was Really An Unrepentant Pirate, Would You Uphold The Fiction Of A Selfless Hero, For The Sake Of Inspiring Others To Aspire To Selfless Heroism?
YES!
If You Were An Earth Pony Who Wanted To Prove She Could Learn Spells As Well Any Unicorn, Would You Hide What You Were So You Could Be Given The Chance?
Dangnabbit, YES!
Would You Maintain That Deception Forever? So No Earth Pony Would Know That The Unicorn Who Had Done So Much Was Really One Of Them, And That They Too Could Accomplish So Much?
A-Ah...
If You Lived In A World Where It Was Law For All Earth Ponies To Pretend To Be Unicorns And Pretend Earth Ponies Never Existed, Would You Continue To Pretend Forever? No Matter How Much It Hurt So Many Earth Ponies Inside That They Could Never Share Their True Selves With The Unicorns They Loved Or Were Friends With, Applejack?
P-please...
If You Had Learned Skills That Could Help Your Close Family, Would You Still Pretend You Didn't Feel A Thing Except Relief When Leaving Your Aunt And Uncle?
Y-yes...
And Would You Hide The Talents You Had Learned From Your Close Family, Even If They Would Become Destitute And Homeless Without Those Talents, Because It Would Mean Showing That A Part Of Yourself Had Changed And You Were No Longer The Exact Same Applejack They Knew?
Ah...Ah don't know.
Is It Really Deception You Have Embraced All This Time, Applejack? Or Has It Been Kindness Towards All Others?
A-all ponies look away from... f-from SOME part of the Truth, don't they? I-it's how we survive...
After A Thousand Years I Ask Of You: Are There Not Always Exceptions?
E-exceptions d-don't change rules...
"Sis... when ya said ya love me, was that a lie? That ya loved big brother? That mom and dad loved us? That Granny Smith loved us? Is that Ah love ya a lie? Are all truths completely awful?"
M-most are! The world was painful even before ponies ever heard of Master, or Nightmare Moon, or anythin'! Ponies have always lied to themselves to get by day by day: that if they work hard enough, if they don't give up, if they just believe in themselves, that things will turn out alright! But nine times outta ten, their choices don't mean squat!
The World Is Far More Complex Than Something As Simplistic As Pain, Applejack. Some View The World As A Chessboard: Simple Black And White Squares Of What Is Right And Wrong. Others Think The World Is A Rainbow Of Gray, With No Truly 'Wrong' Or Truly 'Right' Decisions. They Are Both Wrong. The World Is A Rorschach. Ever Shifting, Ever Moving, Who Is In The Right And Who Is In The Wrong, Who Is The Hero And Who Is The Villain Always Changing. The 'Black' And 'White' Never Meld Into Gray, But Rather Twist Around Each Other In A Endless Dance. What You Think Is 'Black' And 'White' Changes With Perspective, But The Pattern Itself Does Not Submit Itself To Your Preferences. A Sin Does Not Become A Good Deed Simply Because The Wrongdoer Has Convinced Herself Her Actions Are Virtuous. And No Choice Is Without Meaning. Simply Consider Your Journey Here To Understand That. Listen, Applejack, For The Sake Of Those Who Love You, Listen.
Ah ain't never becoming the element of truth again. Ya can forget it, if that's what Ya want.
When Did I Say I Wished You To?
...what?
You Embraced One Absolute, But Lied To Yourself More Than Once. Then, When That Absolute Was Proven False, You Embraced Another Absolute - But Consistently Told The Truth THROUGH Your Lies When It Served The Happiness Of Others. You Have Been A Servant Of Sin. But Also You Have Been Kind And Generous.
With Master rulin' the world, it's the best Ah could do. Master rules, everythin' else drools. That's the truth of everything.
Celestia And Luna Negated Discordance Before. You Know He Is Not Infallible, Nor Invincible, Nor All-Knowing. The Greatest Lie You Have Told Is The One To Yourself: That He Is Impossible To Defeat. Because You're Afraid That If You Lose, He Will Make Things Even Worse For Those You Care For.
A-at least where Ah am, Ah can do some good for 'em!
Is That All You Want? For Those You Still Love? Is That All They Want? Are You Happy? Are They Happy?
No, please, stop it, STOP IT! I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU!
Ah turned ta run... an' stop. The blackness...
It wasn't so tiny no more. I-it's... l-like the jaw o' a dragon, no, a Draconequus, no, of, of...
The End Of All Things.
Wait, wait, wait! No, wait, Ah, Ah...
"Applejack! Please, please come to us, get away from there!"
Bloom? Y-you're inside Him?! Wait, since when... He...
I see... Eternity. I see Existence. Joy, Harmony, Goodness, an endless starfield, an' Bloom on th' inside, reachin' out ta me...
A-Ah looked back at th' darkness, an' it's even closer, cold, so cold...
E-enter? B-but He's Truth! A-Ah can't be part o' somethin' so cruel, d-didn't Ah promise?
"Big Sister. Please!"
Applebloom.
Ah race fer her, Ah out run them shadows like nothin'.
Ah reach the Alicorn an' ... ah zillion electric shocks, mah hoof touchin' molten lava, Ah don't how to describe but, it hurt, so bad. Ah jerked back.
He looked down at me. He was so sad, like Pa when he got called after Ah got in a fight at school.
But why?
LOOK AT YOURSELF, LITTLE MORTAL.
"Suspended?! That skinny colt was lucky all Ah gave 'em was a broken nose for takin' mah lunch apples!"
"Write a letter? To Aunt and Uncle Orange? Ha. Ah bet they just bought themselves some new fancy clothes and forgot Ah ever came to live with'em."
"Unicorn magic isn't work! It's a trick! An easy way out! They don't have to earn it!"
"Ah was talkin' to no pony!"
"HA-HA!" Nice way fer 'Shy to bump ya Pinkie!
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty! I couldn't just..."
"Everything was rigidly frozen with order before Master Discord took control. Nothing and no one ever changed. The world was caught in a predictable monotone cycle."
"It's okay Twili, ya know ya can trust me to help ya defeat- MASTER DISCORD SHE'S RIGHT HERE!"
No... wait...
Ah reached for Bloom, even as the blackness swallowed me.
...
..
.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jul 2, 2014 5:20:09 GMT
Chrysteel was quiet with her eyes closed, a small smile forming upon her face. She could sense it, even this far away but as to how she did not know, a heart had opened its internal eye to the love of another. A live she knew all to well. The love of one's sister. when Chrysteel opens her eyes she looks to Rendia and then to Cadence and says, "No matter what comes next, sister and mother Cadence, know that I will always love you even beyond 'the end'." Chrysteel's smile never left her. She then asks, "Have you ever had this feeling, that somepony or something has just opened their heart to a love long ago lost? I can sense something but It seams far out of my normal maximum range of love sense. Even the elder ones' love for their children should have over shadowed it, but I can still feel it. It is somewhere near home that I feel this love, but at the same time, it is someplace farther away then even imaginable. I feel strange and sleepy." with those words Chrysteel falls unconscious and start to collapse to the ground. Rendia feeling something with Asterian waits for Asterian to act before acting herself.
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Shadechaser
Journeyman
Enter from the void unto the light.
Posts: 131
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Post by Shadechaser on Jul 2, 2014 7:06:11 GMT
Shadechaser looks towards Midnight Strider, and says, "Without purpose will we fall, and without hope will we wander. Without a focus, we will be lost." Looking away from Chrysteel, Shade continues, "Strange things have been, but even stranger things will be," Shade paused to take in the sounds, "For everything is in ruins, from what it lost since..."
After taking a few steps forward, Shade mutters inward, "Nothing will fix itself. Assistance from before can't break the end." Then goes quiet thinking, If we are unable to defeat the never ending... what are we? If we are lost in the endless loop, where are we? If we lose our sanity just by looking at the world, who are we? I shouldn't think about it as such. Nothing can save me without my assistance.
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Post by Bright Sanctuary on Jul 2, 2014 10:53:50 GMT
Midnight took a second to take in the situation. He was not much for getting to emotional over anything and in that he was able to stay calm when most would have panicked at the sight. Most would have saw chaos in all of this, and in some part that was true. But he knew that it was in chaos that order was born, and in order came harmony and in harmony came hope. He then looked to Shadechaser, "One must first become lost, so that they may be found. Only in the greatest of desporation has one found hope that truly mattered."
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Shadechaser
Journeyman
Enter from the void unto the light.
Posts: 131
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Post by Shadechaser on Jul 2, 2014 14:31:31 GMT
He then looked to Shadechaser, " One must first become lost, so that they may be found. Only in the greatest of desporation has one found hope that truly mattered." "It seems, logic still prevails even in chaos," Shade remarked, then looked to the sky. "As one speaks, logic compiles words together, sending a message, and hoping for a response physical or verbal." Shade turns to Midnight to look into their eyes for a moment. "With that said, I should speak my name." After blinking once, Shade continues, "I am Shadechaser." Upon uttering the name, Shade quickly looks away.Why do I do these things? Run from the first, then talk with the next seven. Am I just on the verge of insanity, or am I changing from a self-centered outcast to a more friendly mist? I can't be so sure this soon.
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Post by Asterian Starfall on Jul 2, 2014 15:46:32 GMT
Asterian, having already been close to Chrysteel's side, barely managed to catch her before she fainted. "Whoa... Easy now..." he said as he gently lowered her, body first, then laying her head softly on the ground. He pressed a hoof to her neck, checking to see her pulse. He was no doctor, but he could at least improvise, and he was not about to panic until after he was certain something was wrong, if indeed there was.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jul 2, 2014 16:48:41 GMT
Chrysteel was only exhausted. She was sleeping now. It seams the weight of the journey and the fact she didn't sleep very much the night before, finally took its toll on her. He can sense her energy reserves at near zero. Her pulse is as calm and steady as somepony resting peacefully.
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Post by Asterian Starfall on Jul 2, 2014 17:18:27 GMT
Starfall looked up and declared, "She's fine... just exhausted." He sat down next to her in an almost defensive manner, setting her head up in his lap looking to the sky. He began to stroke her mane, for reasons beyond his explanation, before saying, "We need to get her some place with a bed."
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Post by Bright Sanctuary on Jul 2, 2014 19:02:54 GMT
Midnight then responded to Shade, "I am Midnight," With that he turned back to Chrysteel. He could not help the sense of helplessness he felt. He did not know what was going on and he hated being in that position. He was a person of knowledge, but there was no question he could ask or anything he could do at this moment so he just sat there watching everpony else take action.
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jul 2, 2014 20:33:20 GMT
Rendia says, "If she can sleep on a floor made of rocks and not be tossing right now she will be fine with you Asterian. I can sense something, so I will ask. Do you care for my sister?" Rendia looks Asterian in his eyes as if to see weather or not he tells the truth. As an infiltrator truth at times needs to both be sought out and hidden in order to do a job right.
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Post by Asterian Starfall on Jul 2, 2014 21:31:47 GMT
Starfall looked at Rendia, slightly taken aback. "Your sister? You me- Oh wait..." He mentally slapped himself for not assuming that earlier. He paused for a moment, waiting for the right time, before saying, "Yes, I do care for Princess Chrysteel. Immeasurably more than anything else in this world. She saved my life. She gave me a purpose in my life I thought to be wasted. She gave me knowledge and a second chance to face my inner torments and absolve myself of them."
He looked back to Chrysteel's closed, resting eyes and lowered his voice. "I know we just did meet, but... How could I not care for her?"
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Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jul 2, 2014 22:07:39 GMT
Rendia smiles and says, "Then may I also ask this. When the time comes, will you take my place and protect and guide her when I am not able too?" Rendia seams to not mind the fact that her sister might just fall in love with a non changeling. She waits to see his reaction to her request.
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Shadechaser
Journeyman
Enter from the void unto the light.
Posts: 131
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Post by Shadechaser on Jul 3, 2014 8:41:14 GMT
Shade looked towards Asterian as Rendia asked, then Shade rose the left hoof and thought, As I have seen things, this is something I should note. Nothing beyond crazy, but it is also not beyond 'normal'. I hope this goes well, and nothing falls short of its mark.
As Asterian replies, Shade takes several steps in the direction of Avalon.
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Post by Asterian Starfall on Jul 3, 2014 17:04:30 GMT
Rendia smiles and says, " Then may I also ask this. When the time comes, will you take my place and protect and guide her when I am not able too?" Rendia seams to not mind the fact that her sister might just fall in love with a non changeling. She waits to see his reaction to her request. Asterian chuckled lightly at Rendia's question, immediately giving his answer. " On my honor. She saved my life and gave it reason to continue. Valor dictates I do the same." He then removed Chrysteel's head from his lap, setting it down to the ground again as he rose from his position and walked to Rendia. " May I see your hoof, please?"
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