Twilight shook her head to clear away the memories. That tentacle monster… it was no wonder Celestia needed her help. So many flailing arms, so many… probes. But that was in the past now. The rift was sealed, the horror dispelled to the Dungeon Dimensions where it belonged.
The other princess was still out there, helping the Ponyville guards burn away the leftover ectoplasm with her solar flares. Twilight saw bursts of fire through her castle’s windows, searing severed tendrils with a sound like deep-frying eggplant.
Ugh, eggs… Millions of eggs, all white and gushy and warm, had spilled out of the creature when she stabbed it. A few got stuck in her mane, and then they started hatching, and then they confused her for their mother, and then the suckling started…
It had been a long day.
It was going to get longer. Twilight slipped her battle armor off, lilac magic clutching it as she teleported it back to the blacksmith for repairs. Scratched hooves followed the path they’d followed many times before, winding through gleaming corridors of her castle. The Castle of Friendship, they called it.
Appropriate, then, that it would be the final resting place of her best friends.
Doors opened before her, receptive to her magic, as she spiraled up skybridges and stairways to the pinnacle of the castle. It had expanded over the years, tended to by Spike like it was one of the gems he used to grow for Rarity. After he left, Cadance had offered her assistance, but their gemnasts could never match a dragon’s talent.
The room at the peak of the castle’s keep was his magnum opus, built like a cathedral with high arches, vaulted ceilings, and soaring buttresses, all fortified by impenetrable diamond. Twilight’s horn flashed as she opened the last set of double doors and stepped inside.
“Hey, girls.”
Five stained-glass windows looked back at her, their eyes seeming to follow her as sunlight streamed through. Beneath them, mummified in opaque crystal, lay the bodies of the Bearers. All around them, medals, awards, statues and paintings, reminders of the time they’d spent together.
There were flowers, of course—magic kept them fresh forever, but Twilight still made sure to change them out every once in awhile. Rarity loved variety, after all. It simply wouldn’t do to have flowers that were out of season. And Fluttershy… her last wishes included a desire to see her critter friends again, so Twilight would take Angel’s great-great-and-so-forth-grandchildren up to meet her. They tended to eat the flowers, too.
Twilight stepped into the center, her horn flaring once again. Lilac magic leapt around the funeral chamber.
The room was a masterwork, with thin holes and fluted pipes running through the walls like a church’s organ. When the wind blew just right, Twilight could swear she could still hear her dead friend’s voices, their laughter, their…
“Dear, I must say, your mane is simply a wreck. Have you been conditioning the way I showed you?”
… comments on her style. And she’d be correct, of course. Some small piece of their souls still lived on, bound forever to the Elements, and thus bound to the Tree of Harmony, and finally bound to her castle. Their bodies may be buried, but their friendship wasn’t.
“Yes, Rarity. Saving Equestria does tend to ruin my coiffure, though.” She tried to copy her friend’s ostentatious accent.
“Well. Perhaps maximum-hold manespray would help?” The white unicorn in the window moved a little, glass shards rearranging themselves.
“I’ll be sure to give it a try,” Twilight answered with a chuckle. Right now, Rarity was the only one awake—animating the windows and letting the girls speak was brilliant magic, but also very draining.
She cleared her throat. “I’m afraid I’m not just here for a social call, though. There’s been a… development in Spike’s life.”
Rarity’s expression dropped when she heard the tone of Twilight’s voice, fragments of eyebrow furrowing. “Whatever do you mean?” Suddenly, the glass screeched as it halfway-shattered and reformed itself into an image of an aghast unicorn. “You don’t mean he’s dying, do you? Quickly, to his side! We must save…”
“No, he’s fine, Rarity!”
The window slowly returned to normal. “Oh. Whyever did you have to make it so dramatic, then?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “He’s fine, it’s just… he’s getting married.”
Rarity smiled, glass stretching across her snout and forming little vitreous dimples in her cheeks. “Oh, he is? That’s wonderful, darling! You’ll have to hold the wedding in the castle, of course. It would be simply unforgivable for me to miss little Spikey-wikey’s special day!” A glass hoof gestured around the room. “I’m sure the other girls will be thrilled too, once they wake up…”
She tried to step closer to Twilight, but the window couldn’t move, only imitate motion. Rarity instead placed a hoof beside her mouth, as if she was whispering a secret. “Don’t get me wrong, I love what you’ve done with the glass and the crystals and all, but Rainbow truly needs her beauty sleep.” Rarity glanced askance at the slumbering mare, her mane a disheveled mass of multicolored glass.
For an instant, Twilight grinned, but she soon remembered the complication of the wedding. “Yes, I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see you all again…”
“I say, it’s positively been ages since his last visit. Oh, wedding gifts!” Again the glass cracked and reformed, this time into a bashful smile. “I don’t suppose you could help out a bit with those? Being a piece of castle decoration is not exactly gainful employment…”
Twilight brushed away her concerns. “Yes, yes, gifts will all be taken care of. But there’s another problem.”
“You want me to design the dress! Oh, Twilight, you didn’t even have to ask! Why, I’ve already worked out patterns for the one hundred, seventy-three mares I thought Spike might marry!” Rarity leapt to the top of the window, making space for the glass below to render her fashion notebook. In a quieter voice, she continued. “And a few suits for the five dozen stallions I saw potential in as well!”
“Rarity, it’s not that…”
She didn’t listen, glass clicking and popping as it slid around. “So here’s the dress I made for Ember—it’s fireproof, of course—and this one’s for Flurry Heart—tell the Empire we’ll need a thousand of their finest gems, by the way…”
“Rarity!” Twilight shouted for the first time since she’d entered the chamber, her voice echoing off the crystal walls.
Slipping off her reading glasses—Twilight could never figure out why a unicorn made of glass needed reading glasses, also made of glass—Rarity looked down at her. “Dear, you know I admire anyone with a strong interest in fashion, but yelling isn’t the best way to express your opinions. Oh! Is it Luna? I always said she needed to find a good stallion… er, dragon!”
“Rarity, it’s not Luna, it’s not Flurry Heart, it’s not…”
“Could it be Torch? I have a kilt designed…”
“Rarity, it’s…” In a voice as clear as the crystal statues, she spoke the name.
Halfway across Equestria, Spike tried to think of conversation topics that did not involve shapeshifting, abducting ponies, or assaulting their emotions with foul magic.
“So, Chrysalis, do you… enjoy tea?”
“I do enjoy licking the tears off of children. Does that count?”
Somewhere in the distance, Spike could swear he heard a posh scream.
Once again, you give us a absolutely golden ending.
So is Buttload a Metric or Imperial measurement?
7267351 Once again, I... okay, I'm running out of ending puns. Just pretend I said something super-witty about Celestia's butt or something.
7267352 Metric. The Crystal Empire uses the Imperial Buttpound, of course.
I can't even think of anything to add to that. It really speaks for itself.
♪ It's fun to stay at the YMPA~ ♫
They go well with chamomile. Not so well rooibos.
A buttload is 126 US gallons here in the real world. So that would be a lot of tentacles.
Awesome way to keep the rest of the main 6 around.
7267370 we all know an Imperial pound is double a normal buttpound the plot thickens!
She's shattered!
My first....
I went to pieces!
7267393 Heh, the plot... thickens. I don't know, Celestia's plot is already pretty thick...
Stomping on heart feels like Harkonnen Celestia stomps cake.
And Dasterdly Dungeon Dimention DwellersDevouring Delicious Dainties.
You think Glass Rarity might, due to unicornness, learn the Nack?
I ´m really thinking that. I can heard tha Rarity scream here. Wow. Amazing ending man. Good job again.
7267352
I personally thought it was a literal Buttload, if you know what I mean.
7267480
But as F.A.T.A.L has proven with the Anal circumference tables, that varies from creature to creature.
And now I feel ashamed of myself.
7267488 And I'm ashamed of you for mentioning F.A.T.A.L.
Bad Wind King; go play some nicer RPGs.
7267511
Okay, I'll go back to to my Dresden Files RPG game, that's actually supposed to be a horror game.
Okay I really enjoyed this chapter.
But I do have a question for you somatic. During the scene when Twilight was taking to 'Rarity'. Was that just Twilight doing the talking for both herself and Rarity? It is confusing to me.
Does this mean that Twilight can use her magic to really talk to her friends even thought they have passed on. Or is this just all going on in Twilights head and she is just crazy and in need of a professional psychiatrist?
I'm hoping that it is the former of the two though.
... Well, that's an interesting way to keep your friends around.
Them last lines.
Wonder what upsets Rarity more- that Spike is getting married to Chrysalis, or how hard it will be to design a dress for her. Designing a tux for Spike at that size will be difficult enough. Well, not like she can make it herself anymore (can she?). At least that's Rarity done with, I wouldn't be surprised if Pinkie still threw a party for the wedding somehow or other.
7267550 Twilight's not insane (well, not that insane). The girls are really talking to her, but Twilight (or some other magical being) has to use her magic to "wake them up." Without it, their souls are sleeping.
7267596 Well that answers my question then. It's what I thought but I just did not under stand it. Thanks you. I would give you a cookie but I can bake about as well as a sleepy Applejack can.
7267352
Actually, it's two hogsheads, and one hogshead is 63 gallons.
It's traditionally used as a measurement of volume for wine and other alcoholic beverages.
I'll admit I've never seen the animated glass bit in any fic, but it fits together perfectly. Seriously, amazing touch that really does fit the universe and is a first to my knowledge.
replygif.net/i/90.gif
7267563
How do you design a dress for a shapeshifter?
7267648 Use stretchy fabrics. I hear Chryssy likes spandex.
7267596
Pony afterlife need not apply here?
Come on Rarity. You should be happy he found someone to share his life with. Besides, it's probably been a long time.
I look forward to the day the Castle Friendship evolves along with ponykind's societal technologies to allow hardlight constructs for the souls entombed.
Love this new chapter. It's hilarious!
That new chapter.. Pure awesome infused in every word.
MORE! (Please.)
i imagined Chrysalis pouring sugar into children eyes
This chapter made me realize something. Rarity needs to meet Edna Mode.
7267854 Actually, Chrysalis prefers her tears with lemon juice. And pepper spray.
Now your just teasing us with these short chapters and suspenseful endings. Great job!
And very, very nice idea with what tithe after life for the rest of the girls. I like this idea, or the one that gives them a ageless lifespan without making them all Alicorns.
And, it looks like, Spike and Chrysalis, are really in for a very interesting time together.
Spike could just sorta accidentally sit on Chrysalis. Accidents happen!
I wonder if chrysalis would try some orphan tears I have a few bottles she can try
Dear god, I think you are giving my emotions whiplash.
...I'm fairly certain there is a moth that will do this... Yes, there is.
We wonder why if it's possible for a glass construct to shatter itself with its own screams?
Keep going!;)
keep it up.
7268819 Your wish is my command.
7268501
Good question.
WE MUST SCIENCE!!
I'm really enjoying this so far. Quite random, but hilarious too!
Also, someone certainly mentioned this already.
But a buttload of tentacles... uh... No. Whatever's been said, I'm not going to say anything more to that. Those words are perfect as they are, untouched
Those tentacles. Dat ending. Just...
So far everyone whose learnt has gone critical. Will Cadence go critical, or double critical?
7271562 Cadance will be... interesting.
7271579 I wanna see someone's reaction be more along the lines of: '... Well, stranger things have happened.'
What did I just read?!
Or better: What didn't I just read?
I honestly don't know what to think about your idea with Twilight's Friends.
Wouldn't it be better to let them Rest in Peace instead of this.
I mean, they are nether dead nor alive, and I would think they would be bored to death (pun intendet) after the first dozen years.
But that is an philosophical question, which hasn't been answered in thousands years of mankind.
7274904 These are the parts of their souls that are permanently joined to the energy of Harmony, so they would still be around regardless. Also, the windows and wind-structures seem to just be an interface. It looks like they can be awake and use the room to talk to each other and Twilight, but go to 'sleep' when they want to, which seems to be effectively the same as resting in peace until they decide they want to be awake and talk to each other.
Also, given how easily Twilight can get to the room and her own access to resources and staff her friends are probably waited on and kept entertained while also being kept informed on current events, new developments, trends and things related to their hobbies, etc. This actually seems pretty pleasant to me, if done properly.
I thought this was a comedy...
7276226
I agree, they're probably resting in peace when they aren't awake, which is fine. But if the magic is very draining for Alicorn Twilight, I doubt the staff is going be able to do much.
That's just sad. and all this magic BS and they don't have body? that needs to be fixst like NOW
A buttload, you say~?