Epilogue - Exodus to the Sky
*Eight weeks after the Magister’s defeat, Castle of Friendship*
“So, how are they adjusting?” Spike said as he waddled next to Twilight. The two were heading back to the portal room.
“Physically? I think they’re okay. Mentally? Not so good, to be honest.” Twilight said as she slowly trotted, the metallic click of her right foreleg breaking up the staccato of her hooves on the crystalline floor.
It hadn’t surprised her that the Rainbooms took her up on her offer to bring them back to Equestria. After their decision had been made, it had taken close to two days for them to gather up what personal belongings they were going to bring back with them. Through it all, Twilight had to regularly use The Aegis’s powers to cleanse the blight from the humans, lest they succumb to its toxic effects.
They had systematically visited each girl’s home, both to gather their belongings, and in some vain, futile hope that someone had survived. They were met with bitter disappointment at each site.
The most painful for the girls was visiting Sweet Apple Acres. When they’d arrived, they found not only Granny Smith and Big Mac’s bodies, but those of Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, all in their clubhouse, their flesh withered from the blight.
Both Rarity and Applejack had broken down on the spot, clinging to the corpses of their siblings as they wept. Even Rainbow Dash found herself holding Scootaloo's corpse against her chest, though her tears were far more subdued as she simply cradled the young girl and rocked her back and forth.
Once she'd managed to compose herself enough, Applejack had insisted on giving everyone a proper burial in the family plot and would not be moved until it was done. Rarity and Rainbow tearfully agreed. Thankfully, with the help of the others, they’d managed to put everyone to rest in the earth as best they could, given the circumstances.
Once back in Equestria, Twilight had surreptitiously brought them to Canterlot. New identities were concocted, and magic was used to permanently alter their coats and voices. After all, the native Elements were famous heroes. The sudden appearance of doppelgangers would have caused no end of trouble. They were then given a crash course in Equestrian culture and customs, before eventually began relocating to their new homes.
Applejack had been relocated to Appleoosa, and was now going under the alias Macoun Blush, and had taken up work with the local smiths. Celestia had offered to help set up a job in the orchards, but she declined, saying that working with the trees brought back too many painful memories of her old home.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, now under the aliases Silver Streak and Whisper Wind, respectively, had been set up as sisters in the city of Las Pegasus. Silver had elected to teach youth sports, while Whisper had found work as a caregiver for the elderly.
Pinkie, now going by Shale Stone, had chosen to be placed with her counterpart’s family of all things, working as a ranch hand at the rock farm. The trauma of the experience had permanently left her hair straight and flaccid, and she figured staying with her counterpart’s family might be both a way to cope with her loss, and as a reminder to her how fragile people’s smiles really were.
And finally, Rarity, now Silk Tassel, had moved to Baltimare and been given a job under a local dress maker as a model. She hoped one day to develop the magical dexterity to break into the design space herself, but until that time, she would be content to show off the creations of others in place of her own.
Shaking her head free of her brooding, Twilight scanned the room she and Spike now occupied. Dozens of massive wooden crates occupied the space, which Twilight regarded with a degree of sadness.
After bringing the Rainbooms through the portal and leaving them in the capable hooves of Princess Celestia, she had begun to make expeditions to the other world with a single goal in mind: collect every book she could find from every library she could reach. The process was slow and tedious, but with the aid of her guardian form, she had managed to collect and cleanse of lingering blight from every volume in the Canterlot High library, as well as those in the Central City library as well as the one at Crystal Prep Academy and University of Canterlot.
Unfortunately, the blight had continued to grow and spread as she worked, and after the last trip, she decided that there was no way for her to safely travel to the other world anymore. Not without risking the blight spreading to Equestria. So, upon her return, she had removed the replacement journal from its place in her portal device, destroyed both journals and shattered the mirror, sealing the way forever. It had hurt so much, but it was the only way to ensure that the blight wouldn't seep through.
“How's the transfer to the Great Library going?” Twilight asked Spike, her voice distant and detached.
“Princess Celestia says that it’s been going well. They’ve commissioned a new section to house and preserve the books.” Spike said as he looked up at his sister. “I still don’t understand why we aren’t keeping them here, or in Canterlot.”
“We can’t risk them like that Spike.” Twilight said mechanically. “These books… they’re the legacy of the other world. They’re all that’s left of it. Its history. Its cultures. Its people. They have to be kept as safe as possible. Perhaps one day, we can make copies to share with everypony, but for now, they need to be kept safe and protected. And the Great Library is the only place I know of that I can be as close to 100% certain can do it.”
A weighty sigh escaped Twilight’s throat as she regarded boxes.
“I'm… going to my room Spike. I'll see you at diner.” Twilight said as she turned to leave.
Before she could reach the door, Spike had rushed in front of her and blocked her path.
“I just remembered. The girls and I have been planning a trip to the Crystal Empire for the gem-blooming festival three days from now. Why don’t you join us?” Spike said, a hopeful smile on his face.
“Spike, please, I really just want to be alone right now…” Twilight said.
Spike wasn’t going to be deterred.
“Twilight. You’ve been cooped up in the castle for almost two months. You barely talk to anyone, and we’re concerned.” Spike plead, wrapping his arms around Twilight’s non-metallic foreleg.
“Spike… I failed. I failed Sunset. I failed to save the other world. I just… I need time to process everything.” Twilight said, tears starting to well up in the corners of her eyes.
“I… I can’t even begin to understand what you're going through Twilight.” Spike said as he hugged her leg tighter. “But you’re killing yourself with this. Please, let us help you. Let us take some of the weight off your shoulders. Even if we can’t make it better, you can lean on us. It’s what friends are for, isn’t it?”
Twilight brought her right leg up and wrapped it around Spike, finally returning his hug.
“Okay Spike. When do we leave?” Twilight said, a small smile finally starting to form on her face.
“Day after tomorrow early in the morning!” He happily cried, before squeezing Twilight’s leg even tighter, rubbing his face against the soft fur of her limb.
“Sounds good. We can pack tomorrow. That work for you?”
“Yes! Yes, that’s great!”
“Good. I’ll see you in the dining room in three hours. You think you can whip up something special tonight?”
“Of course Twilight. See you then.” Spike said as he finally released her limb and allowed her to leave.
A few minutes later, Twilight reached her room. Entering and closing the door behind her, she placed a locking charm on the frame. Even if she’d agreed to go out with Spike and the girls, she still needed to be alone for the time being.
Trotting over to her bed, she flopped down onto her mattress, her breathing slow and pained. As she lay there, her eyes drifted to the dresser next to the bed. Or, more specifically, the letter resting to it.
When she’d first come back, she’d nearly burnt it in her pain and anger. But, at the last moment, she’d stayed her hoof. It was the last remnants of Sunset Shimmer. The real one. Her friend. Not the taken abomination she’d become.
How could she destroy it?
Yet, up until now, she couldn’t bring herself to read the letter Sunset had left for her. After all, that letter was literally the last piece of Sunset anywhere. She wanted to lock it in a stasis field and store it in the Great Library’s archives, protect and preserve it like it was the most precious thing in the world. Somehow, to her, it was.
Slowly… gently… with the care that one would lift a piece of cracked glass, Twilight’s telekinesis wrapped itself around the letter and gently floated it over.
Unfolding it, Twilight began to read.
As she read, the tears she’d been holding back finally broke free. Upon finishing the letter, she hugged it to her chest, cradling it like a foal as all the pent-up pain and sorrow she’d been holding back burst forth. She sat there for she didn’t know how long, holding the last trace of her friend to her chest, her tears falling like gentle rain onto the blankets below.
“I’m sorry Sunset.” She said between sobs, “I’m so, so sorry…”
And there we have it. The conclusion of The Magister of the Deep. Thank you all for reading. Please, let me know what you thought in the comments below. I'd like to hear your opinions.
Am I ever going to share what Sunset wrote in that letter to Twilight? No, I'm not. That letter is between the two of them, and them alone. I'm not going to intrude on that.
Also, if you want an ending theme to the story, this is the most appropriate one I could think of:
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So, that’s it then. The human world’s been destroyed, all the Rainbooms’ loved ones are dead, they are now living in Equestria under new aliases And Twilight is now coping with the fact that she has failed to save Sunset, the one she truly considered a friend or from her reaction to her letter, even more. Wow.....It’s both shocking and amazing how much damage; both physically and mentally, can be caused from even the most smallest of mistakes. Eons and Centuries of history that was conducted and made in the human world, all destroyed because of a Mystable account spreading secrets.
I really hope wherever they are now, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are proud of themselves.
9805162
It really is. So many tragedies in history have hinged on what appeared to be small events. TBH, the main inspiration for this story was the events that led up to The Great War (i.e. world war 1): the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the chain of events that led to humanity nearly tearing itself apart.
Its interesting how the smallest of things can lead to an entire world being gone. Good work on the story pal. Few stories make me feel a sense of dread (in a good way mind you) and this did it
Hmm, I liked it. I do wish you included, in some fashion, what happened to the Dazzlings. Maybe a possible sequel, perhaps? Hint hint. I also wish you had Sunset and Sci-Twi winning, I get why they didn't but... I just wish that there was some good fics that had a premise like this where Sunset actually wins even if it means everyone loses.
Eitherway, I have my own ideas on what was in the letter, and I am kinda grateful the EqG5 never found out that it was their sisters who caused it all.
It was a fun ride, albeit brief, but I did enjoy it nonetheless. Good job, and good writing!
IIRC, they never did find out the Human Crusaders were behind it all, did they?
9805351
I was also hoping that sunset was going to win. But yea good story. I think an alt story showing sunset winning would be nice.
9805234
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
As I mentioned, this story was inspired by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and how it resulted in The Great War (aka World War 1).
9805351
9805640
In the original cut of the story, the Dazzlings were going to also end up being taken, but I ultimately decided against it. This was Twilight and Sunset's story, and I didn't want to distract too much from that.
And let's be honest here: the Magister did win. Her goal was to wipe out life on Terra in service of the Deep. And she did that. Her surviving was never her concern, because, to a taken, all that matters is fulfilling the Deep's will. And the Deep, for all it pretends to care about its taken, does not see them as anything other than a means to an end. Its why the Magister was at peace when Twilight defeated her. She knew that her fate didn't matter at that point because even if she was killed, she'd won the war for Terra.
Twilight may have defeated her, but, ultimately, its a Pyrrhic victory. Terra was lost. Her human friends have lost their homes, families and everything they ever knew, and have been left as broken shells of their former selves. She had to kill someone she cared about deeply. And thanks to The Aegis being permanently grafted to her leg, she's going to live with a constant reminder of that failure. She may have been able to kill the Magister, but she certainly didn't win.
9805523
No they didn't. Now that the terror of the Magister's rampage is behind them, and they have a chance to reflect, they may eventually figure it out. But that was never really part of this story.
9805695
Oh neat. Well I hope you come up with more great storys.
9805934
Thank you. I've got some more ideas, but I might not get to them right away, since the semester just started, so I'm going to be splitting my attention between teaching and working on my dissertation.
This ending. I'll admit, its bitter sweet. So I'm going to imagine one where Sunset and SciTwi, instead of being Taken by Oryx, idk. They were taken by a party god. Yep, that's my version. They dont kill things, they go around the universe spreading fantastic parties.
this was one of the best story's i have read in a long time and it was not to long. so many story's are like 200 chapters long and each chapter is 150.000 words long. Its nice to have a story like this one.
this story end in a way i was not expecting. The ending of the world wow i thought twilight was going to save the world at the last second.
9811823
Thank you.
9839792
No worries.
This was some Lovecraftian stuff, right here. Super unsettling throughout, especially the first death song scene.
My only issue is that Sunset herself wasn't really explored much. From what I can tell in the absence of any further backstory, the Sunset in this fic went from relatively stable to being on the verge of suicide in under two weeks. While such a thing isn't impossible, it might've been better--and certainly more true to the subject of suicide--to actively show that Sunset had been dealing with these thoughts for a long time, and losing her friends was what finally pushed her over the edge.
That being said, let me clarify that this is an exceedingly good story. Your writing is grandiose when it suits the story, but you also know that big emotions don't come from big words. It's a tricky thing to balance, and you've done so beautifully here. The narrative itself is lovingly crafted and saturated with little details that bring out the most in the characters. I also really appreciate that there was no cheap cop-out ending. If there's one theme that permeates this whole story, it's that all actions have inescapable consequences.
10132868
Thank you. Lovecraft, Chambers, Machen and Blackwood are some of my favorite authors, so I take that as a great compliment.
And, I'll admit, the death song scene was a lot of fun to write. As an aside, it wasn't in my first draft. Instead, that chapter was going to have AJ discover AB was Anon-a-Miss, but as I thought about it, the whole thing felt like I was just checking a box on the standard AaM "Sunset goes evil again" trope list. So, I figured: "what would the Magister do once she'd sharpened herself enough with sword logic." The death song scene is what came of that.
That's a fair assessment, and the last thing I want to do is treat them with disrespect. I tried to hint at things with the damaged journal, the texts on her phone, etc., but I suppose it could have been fleshed out. I just wasn't sure how to incorporate it without going on a tangent.
Thank you. When I started writing this thing, I originally envisioned it as a fairly bog-standard AaM "Sunset becomes a demon, but with a taken coat of paint" story, but as I drafted things, I realized that I shouldn't treat it like that. Instead, I started treating it like a disaster/kaiju story, with the Magister as the humanoid abomination that's been unleashed on the world, and where a happy ending was not going to happen. As an aside, in the flesh world, I'm a organismal botanist, and have colleagues in things like zoology, geology, climatology, ecology and conservation biology, and let me tell you, I channeled a fraction of the horror I feel daily at what's happening to life on this planet into Magister.
9805695
Stating the obvious but for Twilight it was a Pyrrhic Victory
9802313
what's bomb logic
10232386
In the Destiny universe, there are two competing paracausal logics: sword logic, and bomb logic.
Sword logic is the logic of the Darkness/Deep - Contest against a thing, and by defeating it as an individual, you prove your superiority over it and thereby gain power over that thing. Sword logic is individualistic, and states that unity and working together promotes weakness.
Bomb logic is the logic of the Light/Sky - Alone, one piece is weak, or may serve no purpose, just like each part of a bomb has no killing power on its own (or very little). But united, the bomb is more destructive than the sword, but relies on the unity of the pieces to become more than they are on their own. Bomb logic states that unity, order and cooperation is the greatest power, because it takes multiple disparate pieces and events, and makes them into something greater.
Again, look at how the Magister and Twilight fought. Sunset used straightforward tactics, while Twilight enacted complex plans with multiple moving parts. Sunset's use of the nukes was from a residual connection to the Sky left after her taking.
Finished reading for the second time ! Any chance there will be a sequel ?
10234057
I'm glad you've enjoyed my drables enough to warant a second reading. That being said, at the moment, the chances of a sequel are pretty low. Mostly because I'm currently working on
- MLP: FiM
- Equestria Girls
- Adventure
- Drama
- Slice of Life
The day of ascension has come. After 300 years, a new phoenix shall hatch, and with that, one child with great potential shall be chosen to be reborn in its flames. But, when a young orphan is chosen, it throws everything into chaos.and the Splintered Sky AU. That being said, nothing's impossible, so if I need a break from Nitor, and can come up with something to tell in this world, it's a possibility. Just, not one that's very likely.
10268630
That makes sense. The story is very impressive still, just kinda discombobled me
10270760
Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
Wow, just, wow.
This was one of the best storys of Destiny/MLP i have ever read, it was a fun ride.
But I still have a little question, what was the planet that Twilight went to get the Aegis? Was it Riis?
10586738
Glad you liked it.
As for the planet, it was something I made up for the story.
10641258
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the ride.
In the end, though the battle was won, the agent of the Deep defeated, the Sky still lost; a world turned to ash, billions dead, all for a war where none can win, but all can lose
10793854
Sometimes, the only victory is a pyrrhic victory.
10794222
Can you call it a victory, when all you won is a pile of ashes and a mountain of corpses?
10794669
Hence a pyrrhic victory: one where a the cost of winning was so high that by all measures it can't be counted as a victory.
Well that was depressing. A total defiance of genre convention.
In the end Sunset was killed, a world was destroyed, the Rainbooms have to live with the guilt and trauma of losing their home, and to top it off NO ONE figured out who Anon a Miss was.
Suppose that's cosmic horror for you, no one wins in that.
It was a good read but the ending was so depressing I'm not sure what to think of it.
10936161
Then I hit the note I was going for. The ending's pretty much meant to be "they didn't win this, no matter how you look at it." Even with the Magister defeated, they still fundamentally lost.
Great story but, and i cant be the only one who remembered this, some taken CAN be brought back! Case in point: the Taken Techeuns in the dreaming city. Kalli, Sedia, and Shuro Chi. Not to mention Rivens heart being cleansed at the end of the last wish raid. Granted, the techeuns were awoken, and taken through proxy by Riven instead of directly by the deep. And Riven had to be un-taken post-mortem by the techeuns. But still! Being taken, under the right circumstances, is reversible! Twilight, being the magical powerhouse that she is, plus the boost from the Aegis, could have served as a bootleg techeun for the purposes of un-taking. Plus, the process of taking in this story seemed a bit off. in the lore cards,it always seemed like the darkness was gaslighting/brainwashing the soon-to-be-taken, as opposed to convincing them that they've been wronged. Kind of like:
As opposed to
Because i couldn't see anything being eloquent enough to convince a Vex to willingly betray the collective, or to convince the techeuns to betray their queen.
But in the end, this is your story, and im just some wannabe destiny lore nerd. And this is a really good story.
10972458
Glad you enjoyed my drables.
Regarding the whole 'returning' thing, MotD was written before Last Wish came out, so it wasn't canon at the time. And, frankly, I kinda hate the idea of 'returning.'
if you ever make a sequel, have it involve the Human CMC, they're reincarnated to make up for what they did
I've been reading this story last week, and yeah, what a tragic ending but this story is like a rollercoaster ride to me so far. So far, it's tragic but I like it.
You know, there could be a way to save Sunset....
Time travel.
11245721
Thank you for reading, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Regarding the time travel angle, I thought of that. Mind, the period that this takes place in is before GlimGlam started mucking with the timestream. Mind, there's an in Destiny canon way: the Vex. But, since the Vex serve the Deep, they would probably interfere to ensure Twilight lost if she tried to use that route.
And honestly, the biggest thing that I wanted out of this were consequences for actions. Using time travel to undo Sunset's taking would go against that.
11245727
Do you mind if anyone makes a sequel to your Magister of the Deep fic where they figured out that time travel is their key to undo the damage?
I LOVE the way you write the interactions with The Deep. Each one feels suitably haunting, all-powerful, but gentle, like an actual dark god. Parental almost, but still creepy as fuck, like the Deep is telling someone to actually go gently into the night
11381262
Thank you. The idea with the Deep's interactions was based on some rather poisonous people I've known: they tell you things you want to hear while subtly tearing you down, then offer a quick fix that really only benefits them.
11381421
Ah, narcissists?
11381559
pretty much.
A confession letter I'm guessing?