Thread 107: Stories 46-60

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Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"Cadence"
'DT'
[Derpy]
{ShadowDerpys}
~~~~
>Welcome to Not Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content does matter, but people have needs! Now for our main segment...SUCK IT!

[RAAAAAWR!]

{AAAARGH!}
*PEW PEW PEW*

[Back off!]
Derpy bats a few away and shoot lasers to melt them.

{I got one!}

[And now you get none!]
Shadow gets melted into glassy goop.

>I have an idea! Help me vacuum up the goop.
Gives them Pinkie designed vacuum cleaners.

"'I don't do windows.'"

>Nopony ever likes to do windows. P-Team GO!
Pinkie runs and slides sucking one puddle of goop up, moving on to the next. Cadence flies through the air sucking up goop as they fall. DT's backpack sprouts legs and collects for her while she sits back watching the lasers fly.

{You have plenty of muffins, now share you bitch!}

[There are many muffins like them, but these ones are mine!]
*PEW PEW PEW*

{Die monster, you don't belong in this world!}
*PEW* Melted

[It was not by my hooves that I was given muffins! It was Sugar Cube Corner who paid me tribute!]

{Tribute? You steal our muffins and eat them yourself!}

[The same can be said of all moochers.]

{Your words are as empty as your heart! Marekind ill needs a useless pony such as you!}

[WHAT IS A MUFFIN!?!]
Smacks shadow to the ground shattering it.
*KSSH*
[A pile of yummy goodness! Now enough talk. Get in my belly!]
Derpy begins inhaling, sucking up both shadows and muffins.

{{{Nooooo!}}}
Once they're all sucked up, she spits all the shadows to the ground.

[MIIIIINE!]
She asserts her dominance by shooting them all in a long continuous laser blast, melting them all down. The pinks rush in to suck it up.
[DERPY STRONG! DERPY STRONG! DERPY-]

>We fixed it!

[...?]

>Your glass dick is in a box in one piece!
Derpy shrinks back to normal and hugs Pinkie.

[*gasp* Thank you! I'm not going to get fired!]
Suddenly sunshine and rainbows in the sky.

>Well this was an easy job. Right girls?

"'...'"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>SP
"Chitania"
'AJ'
[Sunset]
{41}
~~~

>Okay, Punch. You can do this.

{No you can't.}

>She's not going to attack you with the princess right there.

{She totally will.}

>Just walk up to her, and ask her.

{And get killed.}

>The princess is right there, she'd stop her if she tried to punch you and turn you to paste, and or eat you.

{Which she totally can't do.}

>Nothing to worry about.

{Except dying.}

>Just get right up in there, annnnd...

He stopped behind the titan, frozen in place as she turned around, watching muscles bend her chitinous, armor like skin as she did so.

The look she gave him was nothing less than terrifying.

"What the fuck do you want?"

>...Hi....

"..."

>...

"And now you die."

He nearly soiled himself right there under her glare, and it was only his Princess's voice that kept him from running.

'Ya' can't punch him for saying hi.'

"I can punch him for wasting my time."

'Right, cause ya' got so much goin' on right now.'

"You're implying I need to have anything going on for my time to be wasted by a braindead vagrant."

'Pretty harsh insult fer' someone who just said Hi.'

"Accurate, though."

'Solider? What did ya' need?'

>...hi...

"..."

'Really, Sukcerpunch? Ah' go up ta' bat and ya' pull this on me?'

>E-erm... I uh... I had a... inquiry?

"I swear to fuck if you are looking for a date-"

'HAW!'

"..."

'What, seriously?'

"All the time."

'Seriously!?... Well, shoot, don't try ta' date her, Suckerpunch. You can do better.'

"I have never been more insulted in my life."

>I... I...

'I think he broke.'

"Happens around me a lot."

'...Fine, ya' get a point fer' that one.'

>Ieeee...

"SPIT IT OUT!"

>Iwaswondriniffyaknewboutmahfriend.

"...The fuck did he say?"

'Ain't got no idea. Soldier? Whatever ya' wanna ask her, maybe ya' should go through me first. Ya' seem... a bit stiff.'

>I... I just erm...

"This is starting to piss me off."

'What doesn't?'

"The long ago memory of watching my mother bleed out on the ground, defeated beneath my hooves."

'...Sad part is, not even surprised.'

>...I just... oh, fuck it, do you know about changeling Queens?

"Yes."

>...like... all of them?

"Yes. At least the ones who were alive when I was."

>Soooo, if I was looking history for a specific Queen who would be alive around your time...

"I probably know it, yes."

>...

"...Is that all?"

'Are you screwin' with him?'

"What? I do. I know about all of them, even personality and what powers they held. I know that."

[ARE YOU SERIOUS!?]

He had wanted to leave her stare, but not like this.

Not by being shoved aside like a sack of potatoes so the princess's new student could get up in the Queen's face.

Not like this.

[Are you fucking serious!? No, fuck you, are you fucking serious!?]

"Think I broke this one too."

'Think she came prepackeaged like this, actually.'

[I've been looking for information on changeling Queen's for months, and you don't say a word, but this blank faced stupid asshole just walks up to you and you spill!?]

>...that last part wasn't really needed...

[What the fuck!?]

"I didn't spill anything, I just said I could. Though him being less annoying than you helped."

[What!?]

"Less shrill and ugly."

'Now let's not go comparin' looks buggerella.'

>Erm-

[Shut up! And you, youuuu, you'd better not-]

"What did you want to know?"

[SERIOUSLY!?]

'Wait, seriously?

"It's making her mad, this is enjoyable to me."

[SERIOUSLY!?]

>Uh... I was just wondering if you knew of the heirs too?

"Yes."

>Oh... oh! Great! Uh, cause my friend got brainfucked or something-speaking of you guys really need to stop that it's scary- and she can't remember much about her mom. Soooo-

"I could tell you what she was like, fine."

[REALLY!?]

{REALLY!?}

At last, the changeling in question emerged from the bushes she had been hiding in since this all started, shoving aside the yellow zombie pony in her rush.

{YESYESYESYESAWESOME! Tell me tell me tell me!}

"Is this her?"

>That's her.

"Very well. Tell me of your mother's name, and I'll tell you about her. I suppose I can spare that much."

>...

{...Er, slight hiccup.}

"That far back? Hrm... well, not to worry, I knew of every heir as well, I very likely saved you on multiple occasions, what's your name?"

{Forty One.}

>...

"...No... no, I-"

She groaned, mashing a hoof to her nose.

>Go easy on her. Lotta brainfucking.

{HEY!}

"...What is your birth name, I meant?"

{I, uh... was kinda hoping you would tell me that, actually.}

"..."

{Don't know?}

"Fine, what power did your hive possess? I can get it with that one."

{...Punching stuff really hard?}

'Really hard is kinda subjective, seein' as yer' the only one in the fight that tied...'

{Knowing cool wrestler moves?}

"There is no part of this that isn't hurting me."

{Look, I don't know, okay!? I don't know anything! That's why I came to you!...Er, why SP came to you! You had to have met me back in the day, you had to know me, you're my only hope!}

[Boy did you bark up the wrong tree with that one.]

'Can't ya' do anything?'

"I can't exactly just divine the answer here... wait... wait, I have an idea."

{You do!?}

"It's just crazy enough..."

Without warning, the Queen's hoof snapped forwards, grabbed hold of the smaller changeling in the crook of her ankle, and chucked her straight up into the sky.

'TARNATION!'
>FORTY ONE!
[This went EXACTLY how I was expecting it to.]

{AHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh...}

"...Hrmmm..."

>OH CRAP OH CRAP SOMEONE CATCH HER!

[Said the pegasus.]

>...OH SHIT! I can fly! I'M COMING FOR YOU BUDDY!

He cocked back, shot up...

And instantly face planted into the ground when a hoof on his tail stopped him in the act.

'CHITANIA!'

"...Hrmmm..."

{....hhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-}

Everyone winced when she smacked into the ground.

'Ya' still alive?'

{...owie...}

'What the sweet apple buck was that for!?'

"...OH! OHHHH! I remember that one! That scream, right. I know that scream...

'...'
[...]
>...Are you fucking serious with me right now?

"...WAIT A MINUTE!"

Everyone, even the prone changeling on the ground, jumped at her cry.

>WHAT!?

'TARNATION WHAT!?'

"...Titania had kids!?"

>'[...]'

{Who now?}

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>AB
"SL"
'??'
[??]
~Winona~
~~~

>THIS WENT SOUTH SO FAST!

They had expected at least a little buildup, some rising tension, some stakes being established before the true horror of this clearly haunted house arrived.

Then the walls exploded, the floor grew teeth, eyeballs appeared on the ceiling, they ran for what felt like hours...

And now they were on a roller coaster, going through tunnel after tunnel of horror..

"I DID NOT EXPECT THE ROLLER COASTER!"

~ARF!~

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT, DOG!"

>Don't yell at mah dog!

"I'll yell at your dog if I want to! It's her fault!"

>We weren't really gonna leave Sweetie Belle anyway!

"..."

>...Scoots.

"...OH SHIT! Ghost!"

>Scootaloo.

~ARF!~

>Don't be takin' her side- OH CRABAPPLES!

They ducked just in time for a ghost to pass over them for the fifth time, claws grasping where their heads had been a second ago.

"Phew... that was close."

>Yep, now we get ta' go inta' that giant worms maw.

"..."

>...

~Arf.~

>"AHHHHHHHH!"

'Fly you fools!'

"OFFENSIVE!"

'No, I mean jump out of the cart!'

>...Sweetie Belle!?

'Jump not-white pony!'

They couldn't see her, but they could hear her, which wasn't comforting considering what she asked.

>...Do we trust our good friend, who has stuck with us through thick and thin, good and bad, been a true crusader from the very start and to this point? Do we stick ta'gether, believe in her, and jump outta this cart like she's askin'?... Do we believe in Sweetie Belle?

"...NO!"

>That's

~ARF!~

>Oh, well, if Winona says so.

"WHA-"

Without warning, Applebloom jumped.

She took Scootaloo with her.

"I didn't sign up for a cutie mark crusader suicide pact! AHHHHHH!"

>AHHHHH!

~ARF!~

WHUP!

>...Are we dead?

"I don't know, I'm afraid to open my eyes."

>It feels like we landed on a cloud.

"I think that happens when you die."

>Yep.... we're dead.

"..."

>Sorry fer' killing you.

"You know, you really should be."

'Hi guys!'

Reluctantly, very reluctantly, both of them opened up their eyes to find...

A room.

A stage room. Covered in black felt, with plenty of lights, a clear view of the roller coaster they had leapt from, and...

>"SWEETIE BELLE!"

They wasted no time hugging her, or strangling her, it was hard to tell.

>Where have ya' been!?

'In the funny room with my new buddy the ghost!... he gave me candy!'

>...

"...She just-ugh..."

Clop. Clop.

"NOT ANOTHER ONE!"

~GRRRRRR!~

Without warning, her blade was out, pointed directly at the second set of hoofsteps.

[Hello? Miss Belle? Did you find out who was... does that dog have a sword? OH FUCK!]

>WINONA NO!

Only at her masters command did she stop trying to stab the guy.

The completely normal looking, pony guy in a ghost costume missing it's head.

Who had been strangely unbothered by the dog pointing a sword at his throat.

'Told you it was my friends!'

[And I told you just to let me turn the thing off instead of making them jump from a moving vehicle.]

'But it was awesome when I did it! Why wouldn't I let them do it too? That's not fair!'

>...Ah' regret a lotta things.

"Join the club."

>That's how Ah' got inta' this mess.

[Sorry about that, this place was supposed to be shut down until Nightmare Night. Nobody was supposed to be here, but it looks like you guys stepped on an activation plate that was supposed to be turned off, and well...]

>Er, sorry for trespassing?

[Oh, no worries, your friend's company was plenty.]

"..."

>...Ah' don't wanna know.

'Okay!'

[Speaking of, are you like your friend and will-]

>"NO!"

[Aw, that's a shame...]

"You know, this place is pretty dangerous."

[Well, good news! You can get back on the road now, storms all gone.]

>THANK GOODNESS!

In no time at all, they were back outside in the sunny, sunny day.

[Here's some supplies, your friend told me you lost yours, figured I'd help out. Terrible, terrible things can happen on this road if you're not prepared, wouldn't want that to happen to anybody.]

"Er, thanks, but we don't really have any money."

[Not a problem, she already paid for it.]

'YEP!'

>...

"...Don't wanna know."

'Okay!'

>Well, we'll be seeing you.

"Bye!"

'BYE MISTER!'

~ARF!~

He waved them off, all of them, as they continued their journey once more.

>...Hey, wait a minute, if nobody was supposed to be there, and it wasn't open till Nightmare Night... what was that guy doing in that house all dressed up in the middle of a storm?

As one, they turned around...

And the house, and the pony with it, was gone.

>...
"..."
'...You know, something seemed kinda off with him when his head popped loose and he could still use it just fine.'

>...
"..."
~Arf.~

>You said it, girl. All together now?

>"'NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE!"'

~ARF!~

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>FS
"7"
'Buttercup'
~~~~

He felt her coming before he saw her, shrouded in the fire of the sun.

With what he had experienced before, he was intuited to it. The way the world felt just so slightly off to the side when she came, the feeling that things had become a little more hectic even when he was still. That feeling, in his gut, that made reality itself taste sour when it should not be.

"Princess."

Her descent was dainty, almost. Timid, so very much unlike the being who held such power as to be able to wipe out anything in her way, be they mortal or pseudo-goddess. She was seemingly meek, apologetic even as she landed, and that filled him with uncertainty. Was this an act of apology for her earlier fleeing... or that of something else?

Was she apologizing for what she had done... or what she would do?

He had plans for both.

>Um... sorry for running off. I just... needed to think about this.

"Of course, I don't blame you. Well? What did you come to?"

Off to the side came a growl. A deep, foreboding growl that spoke volumes without a single word. All her gained knowledge, yet she reverted to animal instincts when the time came.

All her words learned, yet they spoke less than a mere sound.

"Buttercup-"

'Me not want to go back.'

She had regained her weapon, it seemed. Gripped once more in ivory claws, useless in its empty state yet comforting in it's heavy weight. She held it as a shield, something to protect her even as they all knew it could do nothing even were it loaded with every bullet in Equestria and beyond. It was not about power, it was little more than a safety blanket in metal form.

'Me... me not going back.'

She gripped it harder, so much so her paws nearly rent into the neat, brushed metal and left scrapes.

"Buttercup, Calm down."

His eyes, unseen to the pony, cut to the side with his words. A look, nothing more than that, was enough to calm her down, just a bit.

"Now, Princess... what have you decided?"


Anonymous Fri 06 Nov 2015 18:46:14 No.25355394 Report
Quoted By: >>25355414 >>25355477
>>25355375

She breathed deeply, steeled herself for what was to come, held herself up as tall as she could, not even realizing her body had begun to warp with such an act. Without even noticing, she now towered over the changeling.

>You... have not been hurting them, you have not been twisting them... but you are using them.

"...I am."

He did not deny it, for how could he? This was the plan, the goal after all. To say he had no intentions not to make use of them was a lie, plain and simple.

>But not in a way to hurt them, or exploit them. You're using them, like we do sometimes with animals.

"True."

>...but it's all happening too fast.

She sighed, looking around to the forest, which for once was bursting with life and activity just beyond their sight.

>You're tipping the scales too far in one direction, and life... it's going to find a way.

"To adapt?"

>To exploit it.

She sighed, waving her hoof with such care, parting the trees with the help of candy cane hooks that sprouted from the ground. It revealed to them, all of them, that life unseen, bustling and moving with dozens of creatures big and small, not a predator among them.

>Seven, this isn't just some thing that naturally corrects itself. Nature is all about exploiting and flourishing. When an opportunity arises, it goes at it with everything it has. It doesn't stop, because animals do not know what stopping means. They know survive, flourish... and caught.

"I see..."

He looked around, pensive in his thoughts, scanning it with a careful, trained eye.

"...I didn't even think about this, really."

>It's hard, thinking about what one small thing will do. Just one Manticore, one cragodile... and everything can change. But small changes can be fixed, in time. All of it so fast... it leaves an impact.

"I see... so..."

He looked back to her, eyebrow cocked in thought.

"What does that mean for my little operation?"

>...You can keep going.

She couldn't help it. For the very first time, Buttercup fistpumped in the air. She was that excited, she cared not a wit she didn't know what it meant or why she did it.

>But... you have to let some of them go back. You have to put some of your 'subjects' back into the wild, and let nature do the rest.

That, in an instant, took the wind from her sails.

'But... none of them want go either.'

>But they have to.

'But that not fair!'

She stepped forwards, growling, defensive to the shapes out of sight that suddenly hid inside their 'homes'.

'They am already have it, not fair give them then take away!'

>I know... I know and I'm sorry, but there has to be some balance.

Tears, strangely colored though they were, began to form on the edge of the pony's eyes.

>I don't want this, I don't want to do it... but I went over it again, and again, and... in one generation, they'd be overgrown. They'd be everywhere. Nothing would be able to sustain them, and then we... not them, we'd have to...

She choked up, the very thought of such a scenario bringing her heart to a stop.

'But... but it not fair...'

Her heart began to sink, drowning in the pit of her stomach.

A liferaft came, as it had before, in the form of light laughter from the only male in the group.

"Oh, not to worry. I think I have a solution where we can all be happy."

Something about the way he smiled was... unsettling to Fluttershy, down to her very chaotic core.

However...

>You do?

"Oh yes. I think we can kill many, many birds with one stone... if you'll pardon the expression."

>How?

He just... smiled.

"Well, since none of them want to go back to the wild... why don't we find some who do?"

She had no idea what he meant. No idea what that could pertain to.

But from the way the manticore smiled with joy... she was willing to give it a shot.

>Tell me everything, and I'll think about it.

"...Have I told you I've started dating?"

The plan, without her even knowing it, had begun.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 OOCO
>AJ
"Chitania"
~~~~

>Ya' know, Twi's been fallin' all over herself tryin' ta' learn more bout changelings.

"I, likewise, have been falling all over myself completely not caring."

>Don't ya' wanna at least leave somethin' behind to remember who came before?

"Are you threatening me you pony princess."

>Just sayin', ain't no telling when something might happen.

"...threat received."

>Was just talkin' bout-

"I'm on to you."

>...

"..."

>...Gonna be like that, really?

"...It's better than telling you about them. They, uh... left something to be desired, legend wise."

>...Ah' feel your pain...

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Non-canon
>Celestia
"Luna"
~~~~
Celestia sits on a beach, under a palm tree, drinking out of a coconut.
>This is a good day. No pony to bug me about an emergency, no Applejack trying to question me. Just me and this coconut. Life is good.
A banana falls on her head.
>...?
She looks up and sees that the tree doesn't have any bananas.
>...weird.
Peels the banana and eats it.
>Waste not, want not.
Tosses the banana to the side. She sits back again taking in the sun.
>...I think I'll leave the sun overhead just a liiiiittle bit longer.
The peel earlier moves closer. Celestia catches movement in the corner of her eye and it drops limp as soon as she looks.
>...hm.
Looks away. It crawls closer and closer. She looks again and it stops moving.
>...nah.
As soon as she looks away it grows large and swallows her up, covering her up in darkness.
>What's going on?! I'm being attacked! Help!
The banana peels itself and she finds herself in the tree among other bananas.

"HAHAHAHA Tia! Who's a bundle of bananas now?"

>...I never called you a bundle of bananas. In fact, I said you're no fun. You're the one who tried to claim she's a bundle of fun.

"...You're a banana!"
Flies away.

>...wait! I'd still like to get down! ...Luna? Luna! ...I guess this is my dream life now.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"Cadence"
'DT'
[Derpy]
~~~~
>Welcome to Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content doesn't matter, and we are the ones who watch the night! Now for our main segment...Dreams are an Open Door!

'I guess that's it then. Now what? Watch her deliver the wrong packages to other places?'

"We should probably wait here for auntie Luna."

>...waiting sucks.

"...it does."

'...I wonder if there's a good day spa here. Maybe we can get a massage.'

>Oh I can do that for you!
Hits Cadence's back.
*CRACK*

"HAAAAAAA!"

>Wasn't that great? I like pretending to be a chiropractor sometimes. Let me do it again!

"Nope...nope I'm good."

'...I'm so bored...I want to set fire to one of the houses and watch it burn.'

>We can't do that.

'Why not? It's a dream. Not like we're burning a real houses. Plus look at that hay roof and tell me you don't want to watch it catch on fire.'

>We're in somepony else's dream. That's just rude.

'But what if she gives us permission?'

"It's probably not going to happen. She looks really into making deliveries right now."

>Does anypony actually know how to get back from here?

'You don't?'

>No I just followed Luna. I didn't think she'd leave us here without supervision.

"Then I guess we couldn't leave even if we wanted to."

[You want to leave? I could take you to the door that I usually Luna and the nightguards walk through.]

>We'd appreciate it. If we go now maybe we'll have time to do an episode for our club!
Derpy takes them to a house with a red door.

[Here you go. Thanks for helping me.]

>Happy to make a difference.

"Wasn't it a recurring dream?"

>I said we made a difference!

'Good enough for me.'
They go through the door.

[Bye!]
Puts a package in the nearby mailbox. After she walks away it catches fire and spreads to the house with the red door.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC
>Twilight
"Spike"
~~

>I can't believe I missed out on so many things with my friends!

"Yep. It's a tragedy."

>All the laughs, the adventures, the feelings!"

"Can't imagine what that's like."

>I feel so betrayed!

"Awww, just take it as them getting back at you for missing out on your birthday."

>Wha? They were all at my birthday.

"Really? Well, I'm sure there were dozens o other events."

>I think dozens is a lot.

"Well, at least they never had to stick themselves in a group picture after the fact."

>Well obviously, why would they need to?

"..."

>...

"..."

>...What?

CLICK!

>SPIKE NO!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OOCO
>AJ
"SA"
'???
~~~

>Come on.

"Nope."

>Come onnn.

"Not happening."

>Shiny, Ah' know you can be stubborn, but really, we need ya' ta' let up on the export tax.

"And I know you know that I need that surplus, as it provides a boost I need for my economy."

>We're in just a bit of a pickle is all.

"Now, AJ, if I do it for you, I have to do it for everyone. That wouldn't be fair."

>...Yer' related ta' most of the rulers here in some fashion.

"Principal of the thing."

>Look, can't we just tip the payment in some way?

"I'm listening."

>Fine... RARITY!

'You rang?'

>I need ya' ta' join Shining's Harem.

"WHAT?!"

'I BEG YOUR PARDON!?'

>Ain't no other way. It's fer' Equestria.

'NO!'

"What she said!"

>Aw, come on Rars, it'd be great.

'HOW!?'

>You'd get ta' marry a dream prince, get your own sparkling kingdom, and so on.

'SO!?... I mean, yes, I wanted to marry a prince since I was a filly, but-'

>Oh, and did Ah' also mention you never have to do anything but go out and be popular because he handles the paperwork, you get to spend time over here whenever you feel like it-

'That's still not-'

>Annnd, you never even have to sleep with him.

'...'

"Applejack! I can't believe you would even say that!"

>Was just a joke.

"Well, it wasn't a very funny one! Right, Rarity?"

'...'

>Rar?

'...OH MY GOSH!'

>...

"..."

'CADENCE IS ME, BUT SHE ACTUALLY GOT WHAT SHE WANTED!'

>...

"..."

>So about that reduction-

"No."

>Shucks.

'MY LIFE IS A LIE!'

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC
[???]
~~

>Okay, so, bad news. Apparently everyone heard about mah' little joke, annnnd-

"I NOTICED!"

>Oh, good... would think it would be pretty hard ta' miss the long line o' new applicants, Ah'm gonna be nice and call 'em, from pretty much everywhere.

"WHAT AM I GONNA DO!?"

CHU-

CLICK.

>...

"..."

[Shiny?]

"Yes, dear?"

[I've got this one.]

"...I am so turned on right now."

>Ew.

[GET SOME!]

BOOM!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>41
"Chitania"
'Aj'
[Sunset]
{SP}
~~

>So, what you're saying is... you knew my mom.

"I knew literally every Queen when I was active, they all wanted me to save them."

>And my mom... was named Titania.

"I think. Fifty percent sure, mostly."

>The Titania that was, apparently, your eternal rival.

"Both of those last words are greatly exaggerated."

>The one who would fight you, YOU, all the time.

"All the time. Could not brush my teeth without dealing with her some days."

>YOU... and not just you like you are now, she fought you when you were... big. Big big, not just big, but really big. She fought you.

"Correct. Though she was covered in corpses, don't know how you want to scale that."

>...YOU.

"Me. She was literally the only one to openly fight me. Mostly stupidity."

>...YOU.

'Think ya' broke her.'

>...YOU.

[Definitely broke something.]

>...YOU.

{Huh... well, hey! You know who your mom is now! Woo!}

"Fifty percent sure... maybe."

{But you don't know her name?}

"I had no idea Titania had her brood. She must've waited until I was in the ice to do it... how'd she die anyway? I never found that out."

'Have ta' ask buggo for that one.'

>...YOU.

{Sooo, since she was your eternal rival and stuff-}

"GREATLY exaggerated."

{-you're not going to, like, seek vengeance on Forty One, right?}

"For what?"

{For... like, the rivalry. You're not going to like seek her out to finally get the ending battle you never got with Titania to get a sense of closure for all those times you engaged in epic battle with no real conclusion, right?}

"...No? Why would I, I always won."

{But what about all the massive fights, the war that never seemed to end between you two, the power you both displayed in a never ending battle to see who, truly, was the superior? You missed your one last, grand battle to once and for all prove that you were the strongest there is!}

"What part of always won is not clear here?"

>...YOU.

"Right, me. See? She gets it."

'Ah'm just gonna take you not smashin' her as a win, thank you very much.'

"Why would I do that? She doesn't even know anything about Titania."

'...Could ya' tell her?'

"What?"

'You know, tell her. You knew her, right? Well... would it be too much trouble just ta' give her the lowdown? Would be pretty... pretty sad iffin' she just forgot about her mom and never knew anything about her. Ah'm not even sayin you should tell her how her ma's power worked-'

[Yes, you should do that, you should absolutely do that.]

"..."

'Sunny? Teacher speakin' here, zip it. But what Ah' mean is... can't ya' tell her bout.. her?'

>...YOU.

"Is she still broken?"

'Gonna change the subject like that, really? Look, Ah'm not askin' ya' ta'-'

>YOU.

"This is annoying me."

{Forty One? You're, uh... you're worrying me, are you okay?}

>...Excuse me for a second.

With wide, dead eyes, she turned around, and roboticly wandered off into the woods.

'Forty one? Where... ah, horseapples.'

"...Gonna blame that one on me too?"

'Really?'

{Punchbuddy! Come back!}

Wasting no time, he took off after her, disappearing into the woods in seconds.

"...So are they fucking?"

[Wow, gonna go right there?]

'What do you care?'

"Just wondering."

'Well, ain't got no clue, and it ain't mah' business.'

"...Her mother was an asshole, you know."

'Knowin' your parents weren't that great is better than dreamin' bout what they could'a been.'

"...Hrm."

[...Soooo about that power-]

WHAM!

"Thank you."

'Don't mention it.'

[OW!]


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC
>AJ
"Chitania'
~~

>So they would-

"Yep. And yours, they-"

>In mah bathtub.

"They ever use the catapult?"

>With mah bits, no less. They ever stab-

"With a fork or spear?"

>Either or.

"Yes. So then yours also-"

>Cake, all the time cake.

"I think mine kept hitting on me. You?"

>You'd be amazed.

"...You should come by the library sometime."

>Yeah, figure Ah've gotta lunchbreak once a week.

"Lucky bitch..."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Luna
"29"
~???~
~~

What was the point of it all?

"GAH!"

What was the point of even trying, of even making the attempt?

"GLK!"

How could she ever hope to teach anyone, to be a mentor as her teacher was, when she understood so little?

"NOT THERE NOT THERE!"

Children... that was all she understood. She understood simple minds which were easily molded, never caring how just as easily they could have snapped back. Never following up, merely a lesson learned and that was the end of it.

"OH SWEET LOVE NOT THE BUGSPRAY AGAIN!"

Yet, when confronted by a mind she could not so easily point and control... she fell apart, just as she always had.

Just as she always would.

"Okay, okay I think it's stopped for a- BY THE THUNDERERS BEARD!"

She was a failure, just as she knew she would be in teaching, just as she knew she would be any time she tried to compare to her sister. She had failed, and fled. That was when she had sought out the Tanatabus, to learn from it as she should have so long ago, to let it show her the truth.

But it had not sought her... it had found him.

Her 'student'.

"Mine fair Tantabus, before now I never noticed, but thou art quite ravishing in stature. Perhaps you may put down thing weapons and bringers of pain, and perhaps upon this night I may show thee something much more... interesting you can do in a dream. Maybe, for once... your fantasies can come tru-GAHHHH! Blast!... Oh, don't give me that look, it worked on Sciderella!"

Even her own creations fled from her. Perhaps... it could teach him instead. It certainly couldn't do as poorly as she had.

"LUNA, PLEASE! PLEEEASE HELP!"

Even now, he cried to her.

Even now, she would not move. She could not.

"LUNA!"

No matter how much she wanted to.

"YOU HAVE TO STOP IT! Please! I... I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I said! You have to stop it! Only you can!

>...No... I can't.

Her sorrowful eyes found the creature, ignoring her, not paying her any mind.

Forgotten, just like she should be.

>I can't do anything right.

She found herself forgotten again, by her own self and her own body. Floating aimlessly in a sphere of her magic, unable to move, unable to fight.

>A thousand years passed without me, and all any could remember was what I'd done as the being of their Nightmares... as they should.

It haunted her to this day. She had never let go of it, punishing herself every time she slept with it's memory. It was still a part of her, as it should be. Tantabus was not a being of malice.

It was justice.

"TEACHER!"

She winced at the word. It felt toxic to her, an insult even.

>All I have to teach is what not to do, who not to be... I should never have thought I could teach one with a mind more than a simple child to actually better themselves. How could I?... I don't know anything myself. I have nothing to leave behind to the ages should I be taken from this earth again. Cast me to the moon... and I have nothing of note to my name. All I am to be remembered for... is that.

It had shifted in it's form ever so subtly, even as it continued to ignore her and bring pain to the insect. Less of a formless pony, more... familiar.

The only image she would ever be known for, if she lived ten thousand years more.

>My one attempt is all I shall ever be known for. I shall be feared, even if they do not say it. I shall be looked at with side eyes, as they well should. My sister will never trust me again... as she should not. None, be it my citizens or my friends, shall ever really trust me, even if they pretend to... and I deserve it.

"...Do... do you really think so?"

Her ears flickered, at that. There was something strange in his words, something...

Cold.

"Will... will they really never be able to forget it?"

The Tantabus, so gleeful as it had been before, had stopped. It had become, if such a word could be attached to it, curious. It took only a touch of pressure this time, a subtle poke where as before had been bricks chucked with abandon, and the dam started to crack.

"Surely it was just one little invasion, right? And it was so long ago! Come now, it wasn't that bad. Sure, the princess was injured and there was some property damage, but think of all that could be made now! There... well, nobody is in jail, are they not? And surely if such a concern was met they would be in prison, wouldn't they? So... so clearly the populace will understand if... if there was one little mistake..."

Even though all of the attacks and the pain, he had remained bright and active. He had remained standing, mouthy and loud.

Now, however, his already chitin as dark as the night seemed a touch duller in color. Emptier.

"...E-even if the others won't, they will, right? They care... right?"

Much like his words.

So very unlike... Tantabus.

It grew, and grew, even as he went smaller and smaller. Even as he curled up, eyes wide with realization of a thousand unspoken words. As he rumbled with a chill down his spine, it shook with a power filling it to the brim.

"...I... I'm just a bug monster, aren't I? This whole time, they were just pretending... Marey just wanted me to do her work, Zecora just wanted me to deal with the spirit, Trixie just wanted a place to sleep... oh... e-even... even Fifty Six, he didn't... he didn't care. He just needed someone to carry him, to feed him. I was just there to pay for his habits, he never wanted me... nobody ever really wanted me... they just wanted favors..."

Soon, soon now... it could break free.

Tantabus would be free.

"...she didn't want to teach me... she just wanted to show up her sister... that was all..."

He was almost gone.

"...I'm just a bug monster..."

Only a little... bit... more...

>Away you damned thing! BEGONE!

The orb rocked the being off it's hooves with a single strike, blasted it back away from the fetal-curled form of the changeling below. It made not a sound as it was knocked away, but the look it gave in return was far darker than it's coat could ever be.

>Away We said!

She floated, stance wide and defensive to cover the smaller thing as she rocked her head from side to side, trying to shake free the worming thoughts it had burrowed into her skull, never succeeding fully.

To her horror, the thing seemed content to leave her and her progeny alone, and instead...

It turned to the walls that prevented it from fleeing into the world.

>Twenty Nine! To your hooves, We command this! Thou must stop this before it escapes! We cannot face it while it still has hold of you!

"What... what's the point? It's pointless... I deserve this..."

>Of course thou thinks such, the thing was created for no other purpose! Tis the Tantabus in your mind, nothing more! This is what it was meant to do! Now rise!

"I deserve it, I deserve to be punished for all of time. They would've been enslaved, drained dry, why would they ever forgive that? Twice, we did it... who could ever forgive that? They shouldn't. They... they should never forgive me... I should be punished."

She grabbed him, her magic held tight to his neck, trying to force him to stand.

He would not, falling away every time.

>Thou have answered for thine mistakes already! If We sought more from you, We would have taken it! Now rise!

"But why!?"

He looked to her, with eyes so full of veins they looked like a spiders web gone horribly awry.

"Why!? It's pointless! It doesn't matter what comes next! You said it yourself, no matter what I do... I'll always be that monster that tried to take over Canterlot. I'll always be that black evil creature with fangs hungering for the children of ponies! I'll always be that, nothing more!"

She winced, the blows of the Tantabus already straining her magical might.

>That... it's not true, thine friends would never see you as a-

"What of my 'friends', huh!? Its the same, even to them! Even if they never say it out loud, even if we spend a hundred days more seeming happy, they will always just look to me with that thought in their mind, 'is he going to snap and kill us all again'? 'Is he still a monster, just pretending'? Why would they trust me?! Why would they ever trust me!?"

>Because... because they are your friends. We've seen it. We know it. We have seen what thine friends hold in their hearts with you... it is not fear or hate.

"What is the difference then!?"

Her mouth flapped like a fish, gasping for the words as it would the air that let it breath. She was lost, nothing to be formed as she sought to prove him wrong, as she should.

>...There isn't one.

He looked to scream more, to challenge her more, only to have her turn away. To look above as another horn strike nearly tore the barrier in two.

>Twenty Nine?

He did not answer her, unable to get up, still down, still defeated. He needed something, she knew.

He needed her, right now, to do the one thing she could not.

...Teach.

>If you will not listen to Our words, listen to theirs.

He felt the first touch upon his back before the last word left her lips. A hoof, so very, very...

Small.

~Mister?~

He turned around, though it proved fruitless. No matter how hard he tried, he could not see them all.

>There is wisdom in innocence and youth, student. If I cannot show you... perhaps they can.

A crowd, so massive, so wide, all of those same innocent, sad faces.

~Mister, you're not...~

When one could not finish...

~You're not a bug monster.~

Another one could in it's place.

~We're sorry we keep asking you to do stuff, really!~

~We don't mean to bother you...~

~We'll stop if you want, just please... don't go.~

"...You could never bother me..."

He reached out to touch one, and the moment his hoof came to them, he did. He felt their fur tickling under his hoof, he felt their soft bodies beneath that coat. He felt... warmth.

~We just keep asking, but we never give nothing back to you.~

"N-no, no it's... that's not what I meant. There's nothing wrong with it. I... I want to."

~But what about all your friends, they want to, don't they? So why wouldn't they like you too?~

One by one, ghostly images of them appeared. Those closest to him, that had stuck with him through thick and thin, ghosts and zombies, monsters and even his own vices. The ones who had been there...

Who perhaps he had taken for granted.

~I couldn't even get my big brother to help me pick up my toys when I wanted to. If they didn't really like you, why are they helping you?~

"I... I..."

He had no answer for that.

~Please, mister... don't feel bad. When you feel bad...~

They closed in on him, like a massive, luminous and warm blanket.

~It makes us feel bad.~

His eyes were red again, as they had been before.

But for a very different reason this time.

"...I... I'm sorry... I don't feel bad anymore."

No words he had ever spoken had been so honest.

~Good.~

This moment, wherein at last he felt consumed, at last he felt peace...

Could not last.

He felt the roar without ever hearing it, something that shook him down to his very core. He had been freed from the thing clawing at his mind, but the being was not gone yet.

It was not yet done.

For nothing he could do, no matter what it was, would be enough to break the beast.

Only one could.

"Teacher..."

>Twenty Nine?... You do not deserve to suffer anymore.

She was gone.

In a flash of light and her power, the Princess of the Night was gone, upwards into the false sky.

Upwards, to Tantabus.

>I made you to bring me the pain I deserved, monster. Well... bring it to us once more!

It roared without a sound, a challenge made without wait, and met her charge.

They clashed, brilliant colors beyond compare diverging in every direction to cover the world unreal.

They fought, magic beyond his mind's ability to perceive it shaking and rattling the reality that had been created. Though he knew them of false body, he still found himself covering the little ones as they huddled around him, as they clung to him in fear of the clashing of titans above.

>I have made mistakes... I have been a monster... I have hurt those that I love...

The world shattered beneath their magic, the land below crumbling into an empty, vacant void without ends as it was broken.

>I have been many things, Tantabus... but I am not that pony anymore!

The starlight body of the thing fell away in waves beneath her luminous, all powerful magic. The place of her magic she had created bent and warped, distorted like a rock thrown into a lake with every blow against it's starlight body.

>They believe in me! They trust in me!

In the stars above, their shapes formed. Those of Twilight, those of her friends, and, above them all...

Her sister, burning like the sun she controlled.

>And I will prove their trust worthwhile!

The screech was that of an unholy beast as at last the Tantabus shrunk down further and further in size. Until, at last, it was less so than even that of her hoof.

A hoof, brimming with power, that she used to grab hold of the being.

>Return to where you belong!

In the void of nothingness they floated in, every eye in the reality so fake watched as she brought the hoof to herself, and at last the thing was back where it should be.

Within her.

In the darkness, in the soundless nothing, there was silence.

One by one, the children went away, sent off by her magic or of their own accord with the danger and fear long since passed, until he was alone, save the Princess.

"Teacher?"

She had remained, her hoof to her heart as it had been when she returned the magic to it. Holding it there, feeling it beneath her skin. Feeling the beat of it beneath her skin.

Her heart, beating again as it should be. Strong.

"Teacher... can we leave now?"

Her head rose up, starlight mane flowing as lightly as it had ever been, free in the wind that did not exist in this nether plane. Her look to him was not one he could ever recall seeing on her before.

It was a smile. A light, happy, completely peaceful smile.

>...No, not yet.

"N-no?"

>No... for We think we finally know what thou needs to learn.

He slumped, exhausted and very much wishing to sleep, as much a paradox as that was.

"Haven't I partaken in enough learning for a day, teacher?"

>Twenty Nine... thou never stops learning, ever. We shall show you why.

The darkness, again. The darkness that had consumed him so many times before, the darkness that had devoured him time and time again, the darkness so rough and abrasive.

Yet, this singular time, it was not so. It was gentle, as kind as a mothers touch, as it brought him in, to carry him away once more.

For the first time, he felt no fear.

He felt... at peace.

>Come, my student... I think I'm finally ready to teach you a lesson.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC
>AJ
"Chitania"
~~~

>CHITANIA!
"WHAT!?"
>WE MUST DO BATTLE!
"IF IT IS SO!"
~~

>Rook ta' E7.
"Fuck, check."
>Ya' like that? Yeah, check'em, that's mah' chess skills.
"But what if I move Bishop to F-9?"
>SON OF A BITCH!
"They don't call me the Titan for nothing!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Chrysalis
"Cadence"
~~

>...So you CAN set snow on fire, and there can in fact be birds inside of it.

"I'M SORRRYYYY!"

>Neat.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________