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Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge Outline

Feb 21st, 2020
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  1. so for the past 1000 years things have been going more or less fine, more or less
  2. the nightmare moon deal still happened more or less the same
  3. the end of Talons deals with how luna and celestia and andromeda are handling the artifacts
  4. so setting up luna and celestia controlling the sun and moon, and such
  5. (and andromeda and her daughter line protecting the crystal heart)
  6. luna still gets jealous, that deal goes down, and then equestria has a good couple of centuries mostly undisturbed
  7. settling the empty lands, expanding, wiping out the buffalo all that good stuff
  8. honestly, luna could still be around?
  9. to give more personality to the AU?
  10. but tbqf i think luna's nmm deal
  11. is a really important aspect of her and her character
  12. and aus that forgo it run the chance of losing that
  13. admittedly i had the nightmare moon thing happen for 1. the ability to use it as imagery and 2. to put luna on a bus
  14. which arent very super good reasons
  15. at this point i've come around to how integral the NMM shit is for luna so
  16. prolly keeping it
  17. that aside, for the past few centuries, things have been fine and dandy with minor interruptions from
  18. you guessed it
  19. discord
  20. after that whole deal that went down in Talons he ended up getting trapped in some far realm-type chaos limbo that just is sort of all around horrifying and awful to be in
  21. in order to break out of this plane of existence, he needs to be able to ground himself in a physical realm
  22. namely, equestria
  23. he can only anchor himself by sewing massive amounts of disharmony and chaos in equestria
  24. like in the s2 premier
  25. discord is always foiled when he attempts to do this, and generally sucks at it the first times around
  26. after a while discord wises up a bit and decides to be more
  27. "covert"
  28. most of his attempts to sew disharmony and dickishness were all
  29. either really petty personal swipes at the princesses or the Twilights
  30. or grandeous and ambitious but poorly executed fanfares
  31. that are easily unraveled by luna, celestia, or one of Andromeda's descendants
  32. so by the time we get to where our story begins
  33. with Twilight Velvet and Night Light
  34. the Twilight family has a long history of family folklore and histories about their deal with the crystal heart
  35. Discord hasnt shown up in Equestria for a while, though
  36. and this is because he's decided to go for the long con
  37. he's been riling up the griffons and ponies on the equestria/griffonstone border and generally creating tons of friction
  38. griffons are also in a world of resource shit so it wasn't difficult to just
  39. capitalize on that
  40. a few battles and such break out over the decades before the story takes place
  41. before there's an escalation into a full on war
  42. now, what's important to note before this is
  43. since discord hasn't been around and his new nature of covert operations and espionage
  44. has caused celestia to withdraw quite a bit for the past couple centuries
  45. and become very reclusive, albeit still a just and kind, leader
  46. however she has become increasingly paranoid
  47. when the full on war breaks out, it is mostly discord-manipulated griffon aggression
  48. however it is worth mentioning the mountains surrounding and contained within griffonstone and its territories are quite rich in minerals
  49. just none that the griffons really need since they have a surplus of them but can barely farm (and they're not allowed to capture and eat ponies anymore)
  50. ponies, however...
  51. Night Light and Velvet both enlisted in the war, in a manner of sorts
  52. Night Light enlisted properly as a combat medic, and Velvet was a war journalist
  53. the Twilights have also become estranged from celestia, beyond the princess checking to make sure the crystal heart is still okay
  54. but for the most part they trust the twilights not to have fucked things up
  55. and celestia is more concerned on her own theories about discord
  56. so discord, and the traditional activities of the Twilights
  57. have sort of faded to myth
  58. by the time Twilight Velvet is born and all
  59. Numb To NothingToday at 10:16 AM
  60. the story starts with the funeral of Velvet's grandmother, Twilight Helena
  61. the name of whom I'm flimsily justifying as such: helena is a mutation of helen, which is a greek name that could possibly linked to the word "torch"
  62. so whatever i'll bullshit the etymology
  63. (also u no)
  64. (Helena Blatavsky and all)
  65. she died while Velvet was at the warfront
  66. and she was the last one who ever really dealt with discord at all
  67. out of the family that's still alive
  68. thing is, it happened when she was a little filly
  69. the other caveat with Discord's deal is
  70. in his fractured dimension he perceives time far differently
  71. so while trying to ground himself he usually gets scrambled around the timeline
  72. out of what he's been able to tell
  73. the twilight family will specifically foil his plans entirely
  74. even more specifically, Twilight Sparkle
  75. roughly 1000 years after his original fracturing
  76. so usually he's trying to disrupt their lineage or wipe out the family entirely
  77. in his plans to return to physical form
  78. he fails, of course
  79. but when Helena was very small
  80. he figured to himself "well, best to just knock her out of the equation"
  81. that didnt work
  82. however he had been pretty far into his covert plan
  83. so the twilight family hadn't even interacted with him in living memory
  84. and by then their duties had branched out
  85. once discord slunk into the shadows and stopped being so obtuse with his efforts
  86. the twilights fanned out into a lot of different trades and crafts beyond just "guarding the crystal heart and cockblocking discord"
  87. lots of them are astronomers, cartographers, explorers, engineers, arcanists, aristocrats, and magistrates now
  88. basically the Kennedys of this VFD/SCP hybrid society that was set up by celestia shortly after the banishment of nightmare moon
  89. (Bon Bon/Sweetie Drops is also in this society, but those are for a different series)
  90. Velvet is still of the direct line from Andromeda
  91. as was helena
  92. but Helena talking about a random encounter with discord that she managed to foil one night was sort of just
  93. "oh, what an imagination on that one"
  94. she never gave up on that
  95. and she tried so hard to prove discord was real
  96. of course discord wouldnt have any of that
  97. and the princesses are so preoccupied, and the family estranged just enough and hooves full of their own affairs
  98. that celestia was never alerted
  99. or even realized that the twilights had produced an eccentric focused on finding discord
  100. helena died not disgraced, but not respected either
  101. and Velvet always sort of considered her to be a good, if strange, grandmother
  102. her own mother certainly spoke fondly of her
  103. Velvet met Night Light during her journal work on the frontline
  104. Velvet came with a partner, Stone Turner, and the two became quick friends with Night Light and his best friend in his squadron, Steadfast
  105. but stone turner died towards the end of the tour, and that sort of put a pall over velvet, night light, and steadfast
  106. velvet and night light develop a romantic relationship by the end of the tour as well
  107. and the whole deal with stone turner feels like a lot on velvet with the nascent relationship
  108. and all the shit she saw in the war
  109. then she find out helena passed and that just
  110. sets her over a tipping point
  111. where she plunges into isolated withdrawal from the world
  112. but night light isn't going to let her do that to herself
  113. even as velvet does her best to withdraw away, night light checks up on her
  114. keeps her company
  115. talks to her about it
  116. and despite what she initially anticipated
  117. she feels like this pressure, between her grandmother, the war, and stone turner
  118. and the fact that her war article compilation books are skyrocketing her into a newfound sort of stardom she never anticipated
  119. is actually bringing her and night light closer together
  120. Steadfast meanwhile leers over this entire situation sulkily
  121. he fell in love with Velvet during the war too, but Velvet went for Night Light
  122. he never admitted any of this, and just decided at first to try and suppress it
  123. that doesnt work at all
  124. so now he just seethes
  125. growing more mad in love with velvet
  126. and psychotically angrier at night light
  127. all while keeping up the facade of night light's best friend
  128. and most trusted confidant
  129. velvet manages to recover emotionally enough to go to the funeral for helena
  130. right as she's standing over the casket
  131. looking down at Helena's poised body, contemplating her grandmother's life
  132. and what it was in relation to hers (you can see where twilight gets it from)
  133. griffon guerrillas smash into the cathedral and start attacking
  134. twilight family is high profile
  135. Velvet also just published all those war article compilations
  136. so of course there were guards
  137. no one is sure, presently, how they got past them all
  138. but they cause a massive uproar as they start attacking guests
  139. attacking indiscriminately, or so it would seem
  140. this was a distraction so that one of them could get velvet isolated enough in a crowd to take a swipe at her
  141. and he gets her across the neck
  142. Steadfast mauls this griffon, while Night Light immediately drops in to give Velvet first aid
  143. as he's doing this, velvet says to him (griffon thankfully missed her throat proper)
  144. "if i don't die, we should get married"
  145. and then passes out from blood loss
  146. she doesnt die
  147. while recovering, we get a nice little bit of steadfast grumbling and fuming and mulling things over
  148. it's revealed he actually directed the griffons to attack the funeral
  149. during his solitary ramblings
  150. he is approached by a ghostly figure that is unlike anything he's ever seen
  151. Discord has taken notice of what Steadfast is doing and goes
  152. "hm yes, this is a good pawn"
  153. approaches him and offers a deal
  154. "i can get you with twilight velvet"
  155. "all you have to do is dispose of Night Light"
  156. steadfast just rolls his eyes
  157. "as if that wasn't the first thing that crossed my mind, obviously wouldnt work"
  158. discord then lets steadfast in on the addendum
  159. "well now, if you treat it with a bit of finesse, and maybe have someone to show you the ropes..."
  160. discord "possesses" steadfast
  161. steadfast is still mostly in control, and his appearance outward doesnt change
  162. but he now has a subtle, yet intense aura of menace to him
  163. and he has several new powers granted to him by discord
  164. namely
  165. a compulsion ability
  166. also, discord's insanity is infectious
  167. so they sort of merge into a new entity, greater than the sum of its parts
  168. Discord's maniac insanity and Steadfast's incel vengeance
  169. as night light and velvet are planning for the wedding
  170. (velvet's recovery occurred during steadfast's isolation and encounter with discord)
  171. things keep going... wrong
  172. guests are acting erratically
  173. there's a gas leak during a rehearsal that knocks a whole room out
  174. it finally culminates in one of the guests drowning in the pool at the canterlot hotel they're hosting the wedding at
  175. steadfast of course is orchestrating all this but his trail is covered pretty well since
  176. all he has to do is tell ponies what to do
  177. and they'll do it
  178. this chaos caused allows discord to sink a deeper and deeper hold in Steadfast's mind
  179. and get that much closer to achieving his dream of a physical form
  180. honestly, at this point, he's pretty sure he can just take this wild romp out to the end and succeed
  181. the griffon shit was fun for a while but that's old now
  182. steadfast will fuck things up enough for him to get what he wants, in the end
  183. with the addition of solving that nasty issue of twilight sparkle being born
  184. if night light is dealt with, she won't be born by his logic; additionally, he can see/predict that steadfast and velvet wont work out either
  185. more than likely end violently
  186. so all in all, he's pretty chuffed with this
  187. steadfast moves into his next phase:
  188. framing night light
  189. he originally thought of just having somepony compelled to kill him
  190. but even though steadfast may be insane
  191. he isn't stupid
  192. he knows he has to do this in a way that fully debases night light and portrays him as a sympathetic individual for velvet
  193. and of course he can't just compelled velvet to love him, that's just wrong
  194. night light and velvet have, this entire time, been trying to figure out what the fuck is going on
  195. the framing is fairly simple, in steadfast's eyes
  196. guided along by discord, he seeks out military officers he knows night light pissed off back during their tour
  197. and builds a pretty strong core of powerful ponies who will testify that he was a dangerous and unruly member of the army and exhibited questionable medical ethics
  198. which is topped off by steadfast compelling several ponies to plant evidence tying night light to the murder
  199. even though the trial is contested, and velvet writes furiously about the injustice of the trial
  200. it's rushed along and night light is sentenced to detention while awaiting further investigation
  201. steadfast meanwhile has been playing along on velvet and night light's side
  202. defending his innocence
  203. but subtly fucking up in ways that lead the mob against night light
  204. a lil compulsion on the judge to make sure it goes smooth
  205. and away Night Light goes
  206. Velvet is stricken and doubles down on trying to expose how this was character assassination and a gimp trial
  207. night light is thrown into prison, where he's roughed up by a lot of the ponies there, since he's in a military prison with a lot of
  208. actual war criminals
  209. in addition to him being painted as some psycho angel of death who used dying soldiers as a way to satisfying his sick morbid pleasures by the trial and his opponents
  210. steadfast meanwhile tries to creep in on velvet
  211. who mostly is completely oblique to it due to her attention being more rightly focused on trying to figure out how all this happened
  212. discord is rapturous
  213. he can almost feel the real world again
  214. just needs a little bit more of a push before he can break free
  215. steadfast isnt as happy
  216. he's growing increasingly frustrated with velvet's rebukes
  217. finally, at last
  218. much to discord's gleeful anticipation
  219. he compels velvet to "love" him
  220. it's a weird thing
  221. most of his compulsions have thusfar been
  222. specific instructions
  223. "you should put this here"
  224. "you should make this verdict"
  225. "you should say this claim"
  226. but to say "you should love me"
  227. is a bit more abstract
  228. he also doesn't feel entirely comfortable with compelling her to love him, either
  229. it doesnt feel genuine
  230. but he's desperate
  231. so he tries to reserve it
  232. the power he puts into the compulsion
  233. when usually he's going all out
  234. these factors, along with numerous other unknowable variables, cause the compulsion to sort of
  235. snap velvet a little bit
  236. she starts to regress in memory
  237. suddenly thrown into thinking she should still be in the war
  238. that night light isn't in prison
  239. that stone turner is still alive
  240. steadfast doesnt like this
  241. not only is she too erratic in what she remembers or where she is in her memory
  242. he also feels awful about the confused mess he's made her
  243. the whole time, however, she
  244. even if spouting about being with night light moments before
  245. finds a way to force in affection or attraction or lust, and whichever other litany of emotions and mannerisms that can be ascribed to love
  246. even if it's very hamfisted and unnatural
  247. this just confirms to steadfast that
  248. yeah
  249. this is super fucked
  250. he done fucked up
  251. he gets all mopey and miserable
  252. has a nice fat war flashback that details more between the dynamic of their friend group
  253. and reveals how stone turner died
  254. discord karate-chops his way into the flashback, utterly spoiling it
  255. as he is wont to do
  256. tells steadfast that he needs to get off his ass and get to work
  257. steadfast is a mix of shell-shocked and furious
  258. but discord just tells him that if he keeps velvet around with him
  259. goes on with his plan
  260. fakes it till he makes it
  261. she'll truly fall in love with him
  262. steadfast can kind of go along with this
  263. fuck it, he's already in too deep
  264. might as well go for it
  265. might as well go for it
  266. he books them a suite at the same hotel velvet and night light were to be wedded
  267. Hotel Bella Muerte (Marete? :bigthink: )
  268. he plans to take her there for a night of uh
  269. "romantics"
  270. he hasnt really planned that out so much
  271. he'll think something up
  272. Night Light has not just been festering in prison with his hoof up his ass though
  273. after getting roughed up a few times, he makes tenuous friends with some of the more amicable inmates, and manages to formulate a fairly flimsy escape plan
  274. there's a drainage grate that can get him into the sewer system, but it's in an area that's under the watch of st least a single guard at all times
  275. usually two
  276. so he has to stage a distraction
  277. prison riots are cliche
  278. so i was trying to come up with something else here
  279. i could hang a lampshade on it but metahumor gets tiresome after too much so
  280. anyway he manages to slip into the drainage system
  281. makes his way through a lot of cramped ditches
  282. and tunnels
  283. finally manages to escape out in the bogs near the prison
  284. Whole time has been trying to get the manalock ring off
  285. To no avail
  286. He sets off to return to Canterlot proper, as the prison is on the outskirts in a more plateaued hinterlands area
  287. Finds velvet’s estate is trashed from her and steadfast
  288. And he starts to put little things together
  289. Nothing concrete
  290. But a suspicion is growing in his mind
  291. He finds where they’ve headed
  292. Just so happens steadfast booked the honeymoon suit, the fucker
  293. The very same night light had booked for his and velvet’s wedding
  294. so he books it off to the hotel bella
  295. but there's one little problem:
  296. they've noticed he's escaped by now
  297. as he's leaving the estate, he realizes that there's a hunt out for him
  298. so night light has to carefully dodge the authorities while making it to the hotel
  299. at the hotel, steadfast is trying to figure out what even to do with himself
  300. velvet is sort of just lapsing randomly about in memory and drinking lots of wine
  301. steadfast is arguing with discord
  302. who is slowly becoming more and more defined
  303. they've gone out of the synch they used to have
  304. haven't been a singular entity really since the war flashback
  305. but discord doesn't mind that
  306. he's ready to step out of this awful limbo and get on with his sweet revenge
  307. but steadfast is just all "look at her, she's a mess"
  308. "look what i did to her"
  309. discord is sort of feeling that steadfast is approaching the end of his shelf life
  310. and discord is growing powerful enough to start extending his reach, as it were
  311. he has more agency than ever before
  312. and he assumes direct control
  313. a point i glossed over because it's just minor foreshadowing earlier in the story
  314. hinted at because it's not pertinent until now
  315. is velvet has been taking an alchemical/herbal mix (medication) for her trauma from the warfront
  316. she's not supposed to take it with alcohol
  317. but in her fragmented state she hasnt really been remembering to take her medication
  318. half the time she's in the frame of mind where she doesnt even need it
  319. because she's regressed before the trauma occurred
  320. of course, this doesnt mitigate physical memory
  321. but she had taken her medication that night simply due to her memory lining up for it
  322. drinking with it causes dizziness, nausea, and in large quantities
  323. liver damage
  324. can cause rapid fainting spells
  325. however, the medication balances her out slightly for a moment for her to go
  326. "oh"
  327. "oh fuck"
  328. before the alcohol and its interaction with the medication both overtake her
  329. steadfast is arguing with discord when velvet collapses
  330. when he sees this, he rushes to her, tries to figure out what happened
  331. puts two and two together, tries to get her to vomit
  332. but discord aint having that
  333. priorities, man
  334. also, even better for him if she
  335. just dies here
  336. when steadfast sends a call through a concierge to get a doctor
  337. discord tries a new trick
  338. and fragments part of himself off into the concierge
  339. he leaves it there until the concierge gets to the doctor, upon which the fragment casts out into the doctor
  340. this shatters the concierge's mind, which discord notes for later
  341. "single use"
  342. but now the fragment is in the doctor, and he has enough ability to whisper and goad the doctor along to the hotel room
  343. despite the fact that he just watched the concierge have a fit
  344. once the doctor is in the room, discord hops himself over into him
  345. steadfast protests but it's too little too late
  346. night light, meanwhile, has been dodging the guard
  347. making his way to the hotel
  348. he gets there in time to see the concierge break down and the doctor act strangely
  349. following behind him carefully, night light watches in horror as he sees his best friend looming over the body of his wife to be
  350. a million frantic thoughts rushing through his head
  351. discord manages to split himself between steadfast and the doctor
  352. not without cost though
  353. both have a bit of a mind break
  354. steadfast already vulnerable especially due to recent events
  355. but being more used to discord in your mind is both a blessing and a curse
  356. steadfast is able to avoid having a mental breakdown
  357. well, mostly
  358. discord uses the doctor to deal with night light, who in his shock revealed himself to the room
  359. and uses steadfast to deal with velvet
  360. a little sadistic poetry for him
  361. the doctor easily bends to discord's will and goes in to attack night light
  362. who mostly just dodges and avoids him to get to velvet and steadfast
  363. steadfast is trying to resist discord's will, but discord is pretty powerful now
  364. night light tackles steadfast right before he slams his hoof down on velvet's throat
  365. the two wrestle on the bed (uwu) for a bit
  366. the doctor joins in, make it a threesome
  367. night light manages to dodge out of the way perfect for the doctor to land an vicious slice on steadfast
  368. while steadfast is reeling and bleeding on the sheets, night light scrambles towards the edge of the bed
  369. the doctor however is going in for another hit on him
  370. that's when the very beautiful, exceptionally ornate, beyond valuable, and excessively heavy vase from the nightstand flies forward and shatters against the doctor's muzzle
  371. caving it in like a sledgehammer through an overripe pumpkin
  372. and spraying bits of ceramic, glass, and gore everywhere
  373. Velvet's managed to regain consciousness
  374. she's slightly more lucid than before
  375. not very, but enough
  376. she knows night light is here, and that's enough for now
  377. Night Light tumbles over to her, helps her to her hooves
  378. And it's time to leave through the window
  379. Discord is furious that they escaped, and that he's now in the middle of an absolute slaughterhouse
  380. Steadfast is pretty fucked up
  381. bleeding from the belly and neck
  382. missing teeth
  383. broken foreleg
  384. by the sounds of his breathing, a collapsed lung too
  385. discord sighs and repossesses steadfast
  386. and forces him to perform first aid/self surgery
  387. they've got a job to do, after all
  388. Night Light and Velvet are bailing through the streets of Canterlot
  389. Night Light still has the hunt out for him, so he and Velvet have to keep to the shadows and alleys
  390. Velvet is slipping in and out of consciousness
  391. Night Light being there seems to help at least a little bit, though
  392. They head down to the station
  393. and hop on the first train that leaves
  394. unfortunately, they had to be there just long enough that somepony recognized night light
  395. and the do get on the train
  396. just not
  397. inside of it
  398. Steadfast and Discord have made it to the station just as the train is leaving
  399. and they see Night Light and Velvet climbing on
  400. so Steadfast follows after
  401. and as the train gathers speed, the three find themselves having a harder and harder time holding on
  402. Steadfast is increasingly reckless though
  403. goaded on by discord and adrenaline, he shambles and stumbles over to them
  404. and lunges for Night Light
  405. he doesnt really do any damage since discord is actively screaming at him to go for velvet
  406. but velvet decides to take things into her own hooves
  407. and grabs ahold of steadfast
  408. pops the rest of her medication into her mouth
  409. and presses her muzzle to his, and promptly vomits mostly wine and a sludge of her medication
  410. directly into his mouth
  411. this is enough to both repulse steadfast and discord
  412. and he stumbles back, losing his balance slightly
  413. Night Light and Velvet press flat against the train as they go under a bridge and Steadfast is promptly smacked by the advancing wall of rock
  414. Discord quickly slides himself into a passenger inside the train
  415. doing it so suddenly took a lot out of him, so he spends the rest of the ride recuperating in his newest victim
  416. Night Light and Velvet and Discord ride the train all the way to Apploosa
  417. and when night light and velvet climb off at the apploosa station
  418. the authorities are waiting there for them
  419. well, they didnt come this far just to give up now
  420. but maybe they can talk some sense into them
  421. before they can even attempt to approach the sheriff and co however
  422. discord hops into the sheriff
  423. he isnt fully recouperated, and even though this jump was more calculated
  424. it's still draining
  425. but he's determined to finish this
  426. night light and velvet bail, and start running out into the desert
  427. the law hot on their hooves
  428. one of them manages to place a crossbow bolt in Night Light's flank
  429. velvet manages to get him to limp to the opening of an abandoned mineshaft
  430. and night light instructs her how to do impromptu first aid
  431. or rather guides her through
  432. velvet already knows a lot of the basic concepts through osmosis
  433. once he's relatively patched up with their limited supplies, they notice they're near the traintracks
  434. and the train going the opposite direction is about to pass them
  435. Velvet musters up all her energy
  436. and even though she's only read about this spell in concept
  437. teleports them inside of the train
  438. inside the train is hardly safer though
  439. there's an off-duty member of the canterlot royal guard on the train
  440. who immediately detains night light and places him in the caboose
  441. velvet isn't detained but the royal guard does come back to question her
  442. she is his wife, after all
  443. and a prominent journalist
  444. velvet is too exhausted to even attempt to lie at this point
  445. she tells him the truth in the vain hopes she'll be put in with night light
  446. at the very least, she's put in the caboose with him
  447. and the two have a very long and heartfelt talk about everything that's happened
  448. when suddenly
  449. the back of the caboose is ripped open by a very powerful magical force
  450. oh boy! it's steadfast!
  451. and he's a fucking mess
  452. skull half caved in, limbs sticking at odd angles, middle split open
  453. the only reason he's still alive is discord had lingered in him so long he has a residual presence
  454. like a fragment from earlier
  455. but in reverse
  456. it synthesized with his obsession and rage and allowed him to keep going on a similar premise to discord in Talons
  457. as he advances towards them down the caboose, he starts to mutate and grow bits of a draconequus
  458. misshapen antlers and horns
  459. deformed and mismatched wings
  460. growling and sputtering about velvet and night light incoherently
  461. night light and velvet are reasonably terrified, but they use steadfast as a distraction
  462. when the guard comes to inspect what happens, he freaks the fuck out
  463. and night light and velvet dodge around steadfast as the guard engages it in combat
  464. Night Light and Velvet rush to the opening in the caboose and realize the train is moving
  465. way too fast to jump
  466. the guard at this point has been dispatched
  467. the rest of the train is beginning to catch on to what's happening
  468. Velvet makes one last final desperate bid
  469. Numb To NothingToday at 12:27 PM
  470. She teleports them a few feet to the right and forward
  471. hoping this cuts down the momentum somewhat
  472. this works to a degree
  473. but they still get pretty banged up from the fall
  474. at this point, they're just outside of a small town they've never been too
  475. limping, propping one another up
  476. they stumble to the cemetery on the outskirts of town
  477. and shambling through the graves
  478. they collapse in front of a mausoleum
  479. and give themselves a desperate laugh at how far they've gone
  480. and at this point
  481. there really is no point, is there?
  482. might as well give up
  483. but for one last night they'll have a bit of fun
  484. broken and bruised, they sneak into the town and wander around, enjoy the beauty of the serene village under the light of the moon
  485. they're especially fond of what appears to be a library built out of a tree
  486. velvet saying "I know when I was younger I would have loved to live in a place like this"
  487. before they move on
  488. morning comes
  489. as does the royal guard
  490. wasn't hard to figure out the most likely place they'd go
  491. they're taken back to canterlot
  492. and put on trial
  493. discord has been busy in the meantime
  494. he's been getting better at body hopping
  495. Numb To NothingToday at 12:51 PM
  496. he's managed to get himself onto the trial
  497. this time as the judge, jury, and executioner
  498. quite literally
  499. he's gotten very adept at body hopping to the point where he can just slide from pony to pony in a room
  500. and this of course
  501. makes him cocky as balls
  502. he wants this to be a whole affair
  503. a big display
  504. he doesnt even care if celestia notices at this point
  505. which he has been suspecting for some time now
  506. she still hasn't stepped in though
  507. whole big fancy execution
  508. discord goes for the dramatic
  509. center of canterlot, right in front of the palace
  510. basically taunting celestia to come out and fight him
  511. which he knows she knows she can't without risking
  512. a lot of lives
  513. velvet and night light are put up on the guillotine
  514. an address regarding their crimes is joyously read aloud by a discord possessed executioner
  515. celestia glowers from the balcony
  516. she DID catch wind of what discord was doing right around the time of night light's escape, and it was confirmed to her more or less when the hanged trial occurred
  517. unfortunately it was too little too late, and discord's influence became so vast (in addition to lingering for some time after in each pony he inhabited, his increase in ability to use this trick negated the "broken husk" aspect of leaving a possessee and more leaving them shaken and saturated in discord energy)
  518. that she really doesn't know what to do here
  519. there are members of previously mentioned secret society loyal to her that are attempting a possible operation but the plan is far fetched and desperate
  520. she doesnt want to admit it, but it looks like she, night light, and velvet are fucked
  521. what neither of them accounted for comes barreling into the crowd though
  522. a very deformed and frankly eviscerated Steadfast
  523. he'd barreled off the train after night light and velvet and fucked himself up even more
  524. couldnt really walk properly for a while
  525. has an eye hanging out
  526. more bones exposed
  527. honestly nightmarish
  528. he's very much a draconequus/unicorn hybrid now
  529. and barreling through the crowd, he claws his way onto the stage
  530. discord, who assumes steadfast is going for him
  531. attempts to just drop the blade and end this nonsense
  532. but steadfast demolishes the guillotines with a mixture of raw physical rage and chaotic bursts of magic
  533. and then he turns on discord
  534. steadfast casts some sort of spell at the same time he swipes at the pony executioner discord is inhabiting
  535. it seems like less of a spell and more like intensive mana discharge
  536. discord jumps to leave the body, and is caught by the mana discharge
  537. and he ends up jumping back into steadfast
  538. since he left some much residual energy of himself in steadfast, he was drawn right back in like a magnet
  539. and celestia doesn't hesitate at this point to descend and take both of them out
  540. night light and velvet shakily get to their hooves, and celestia apologizes profusely
  541. she had been so concerned with "personal matters" (not mentioned in story but explored in others that for the century preceeding nightmare moon returning, celestia was very mentally, magically, and emotionally impacted)
  542. that she'd literally ensconced herself away from the world long enough for discord to sneak back in
  543. the griffon issues were also a decent factor in this but they were more of a
  544. worry for celestia
  545. than a direct concern
  546. since she is rarely involved firsthand in military matters unless shit is going down
  547. the story ends with night light asking if velvet wants to try again on the wedding
  548. and velvet suggesting they plan it again from scratch, much smaller, and in that town they spent the night wandering around before they were caught for the final time
  549. sorry for the literal hundreds of messages
  550. i appreciate your patience <3
  551. wishcometrueToday at 1:19 PM
  552. nah ur good
  553. i'll give u my thoughts once i like
  554. read all of this
  555. because
  556. Numb To NothingToday at 1:19 PM
  557. haha, fair
  558. wishcometrueToday at 1:19 PM
  559. holy shit
  560. Numb To NothingToday at 1:19 PM
  561. no for real i've gone overboard
  562. i'd ask someone to stop me but i kind of dont want anyone to
  563. wishcometrueToday at 1:20 PM
  564. lmao
  565. Numb To NothingToday at 1:21 PM
  566. i need to make daddy gerard proud
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