Having finished cataloguing and safely wrapping up each and every gem had taken Sunny just about half of the day, with a short break for lunch. But the task was complete, and they were packed and ready to take to Maretime Bay.
Hitch had mapped out all the halls, and while they hadn't gotten to every room yet, what rooms they had explored had almost nothing in them, save for the throne room and the basement. After Pipp had done a short clip on the mirror, they elected to leave it where it was. While intriguing, it was likely too unwieldy and fragile to move.
So before they broke again for dinner, Sunny decided to check the one place no one had been yet; a tower that was effectively the castle's third floor. The only means of access was a crystal spiral staircase behind the throne room. Checking to make sure her headlamp and phone batteries were good, she slowly ascended the stairs, checking for cracks or anything else that might be a sign of structural weakness along the way.
At the top of the spiral, she came to a door, no hallway, just a simple yellow and purple metallic door. She gave it a push, and it rotated on its hinges with creaking objection.
It was one of the smallest rooms in the castle by far. The view was probably spectacular, had shrubs, vines, and bark not completely obscured the window, as it had with every other one in the structure.
She tried not to be disheartened by one of the last, highest rooms in the castle being just as barren as most of all the others. The throne room gems had been an absolute treasure trove, an incredible look back into the Guardians' era, one that would keep historians busy for weeks and months. The mirror was more of a mystery than anything, but she had a hunch it was some kind of magical portal, due to gem #174, which showed a similar glowing mirror with the purple unicorn and her dragon friend. She felt it was best to leave it where it was for now. Even if they had a way to power it back up again, with how much their world had changed, it probably wasn't the best idea to open some magical portal if they had no idea what was on the other side, or how it had changed with the passage of time.
The only thing that seemed out of place with this room was that a section of the left wall was beginning to crack. With a soft sigh, she turned to head back downstairs, but at the last moment, did a double take at the left wall.
Those weren't cracks... It was an inscription!
She trotted towards the wall and dug out her notebook and pen, flipped through all the notes on the gems, to the next fresh page, and began to copy as she read silently.
I have no way of knowing how much time will pass before this is found, if it is found at all. Already I can feel myself fading away, unable to hold this corporeal form much longer. So I'll keep this brief.
I believe I finally understand why they did what they did; why they invariably linked Equus' connection to Aetherius, the source of all magic, into those crystals.
Because they knew that nothing lasts forever, and realizing that, that it would be unspeakably cruel to leave the beings of this world, friends or enemies, to the mercy of the Windigos, not when they had an alternative; a way to contain them.
My greatest fear for years was that everything we have accomplished, all that we have become, could be forgotten. That Sunset, Starlight, Luster, Fizzlepop... All of those who followed in her stead, everything that they have done to carry that magic forward could be for naught.
But on the other claw, that wouldn't exactly be fair, would it? For it to only be up to us? Of course we have done amazing, incredible things for ponies and creatures everywhere here and now, and can give forthcoming generations hope for a better future, but it will be the burden of each and every generation yet to come to take up the mantle of friendship and cooperation, to realize that better future for themselves. There is no answer that lasts forever. Just as we evolve and grow, so do the forces that seek to divide us.
My life has stretched for eons, yet the relationships I have developed with these Equestrians over the last few decades has brought me genuine pause the last several years as I have witnessed this nation collapse; causing me to wonder if I have had the willpower to go on without them. Is this what Celestia went through during her rule? Perhaps it is finally time for me to cross over into whatever is next; vanish into the ether and see if I can find them again.
To whomever finds this, I wonder if you can imagine the unity that we experienced, just as I will wonder what Equestria will look like generations from now. All things change, so they will inevitably change from what they have become now.
Whoever you are, I wish you the kind of luck that only unfettered chaos can bring.
-Di
"Hey, Izzy. Can you go and get Sunny? I think she was looking at the tower up top. Tell her that her favorite camp meal will be ready in ten." Hitch said as he stirred the pot that was hanging on the tripod above the fire. Giving him a salute, Izzy lit up her horn and trotted back into the castle, heading up the stairs and down the front right hallway.
"Sunny! We're breaking for dinner! How's it going?" She called, taking the long way around the curving hallway to the rear door, which was already open. Her lively prance up the spiral staircase was slowed and halted when she heard soft weeping coming from above.
"Sunny...?" She asked, coming up the rest of the stairs and looked into the tower, seeing her friend sitting in front of the left wall, her notebook sitting open in front of her, as well as her phone, which had a picture that she had taken of the inscription before them.
Sunny Starscout's sparkle was definitely dim right now.
"Hey... What's wrong?" She asked, coming up to her crying friend. Tears running down her cheeks, she looked up to the inscription on the wall.
"A... Carving?" The unicorn asked. "We finally found something else, that's awesome! Why are you crying?" She asked, sitting down next to her friend.
"Yeah... And whoever wrote it, did so as they were fading away, as they were dying. They didn't even finish signing their name."
Sunny pointed a quivering hoof at the bottom of the inscription. It was definitely ponish. A 'D', then an 'I', and what looked like part of an 'S', but that was the end of it, as if the scribe had indeed vanished suddenly.
"What could have possibly happened, Izzy?" Sunny asked as a fresh wave of tears began. "We've seen those gems. These ponies did amazing things... And it wasn't enough."
Izzy sat silently, putting a leg around Sunny's shoulders as she took a moment to read the inscription on the wall herself.
"Maybe it was enough... For them." Izzy said, looking over to her friend. "We don't know how long ago this was, but whoever this was, they were absolutely right. Things change, they always do. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. And Sunny? You are the best change I think I've ever had in my life."
The earth mare wiped her eyes, and smiled over at her friend.
"You remember what I told you about your sparkle? Your luminescence?" Izzy asked.
"Yeah... Yeah you said it was lavender."
"Yeah. Pretty close to what our purple unicorn in those gems looks like. She and her friends clearly did amazing things for Equestria, and if you think we haven't, then you need to take another look. Yeah, things got bad, clearly. Sometimes they do. But you're fixing it. We're fixing it. Together."
Sunny sniffled, swallowed her tears, turned, and threw her hooves around her unicorn friend, who immediately returned the hug.
"And I have no idea what Windigos are, but they obviously thought that putting our magic on the line was preferable to whatever they were going to do. The point is, we're doing what we can, and, hopefully, so will everypony else. The generations that come after us will also have to do their part. Hoof to heart." Izzy added.
Sunny released her from the hug, and gave her another smile as she closed her notebook and dropped it into her saddlebags.
"Thanks, Izzy. So I'm guessing you came to get me for dinner?"
"Ooh yeah. Hitch said it was your favorite camp meal ever."
Sunny chuckled.
"He's probably talking about his Maretime Bay Minestrone soup. Alright, let's go chow down."
Just guessing, but I think it was Spike that wrote the inscription before fading.
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Nope. Discord.
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Can't tell if this comment is facetious or sarcastic...
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I was about to say, I did everything except spell it out. In fact I even started to spell it out.
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.... no, it's Discord
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I'd say Discord
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Because Spike’s name goes like Discord.
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It's neither. I was just guessing. My apologies if I somehow sound that way.
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Oh, that's right. Sorry, I forgot he also has claws.
A very Good read. The Administration will monitor this reality.
I didn't know Izzy was her own best friend.
I'd say something more substantial but I'm too tired right now.
Crud. Whatever happened happened a long, long time ago.....and it bothered the crap out of Discord.
The crystals lock mechanism has Friendship as the key! Twilight's a genius, so that when magic returns, the windigos doesn't, and ponies will value Friendship more as their thought associate magic with Friendship
D. I. S.
Discord. Poor guy died alone...
You know, my thoughts went from Twilight (due to the title), to Spike at the mention of the claw, but the last line and D I (partial) S made me realize Discord… not going to lie, I may or may not have slightly teared up. I wonder if they’ll find anything else.
Have a great day!!!!!
At first I thought it was Spike. Then I learned it was a being that was literally made of Magic. Makes you sad they will not see his like again.
Man alive that was a really emotional chapter. That note written by Discord in literally his final moments was downright heart-wrenching, but it does explain a lot (even if it will be a while before the gang finds out WHAT it explains). Also enjoyed the dialogue between Izzy and Sunny (especially with the former reassuring the latter) as they broke for dinner.
Very certainly looking forward to more of this.
Awww...this chapter was so sweet but sad! That inscription was also pretty intriguing, good job!
It had to be Discord's writing on the wall.
You mean sunny
So it looks like sunny I was checking the last room but until she saw a note when she was reading it it was somebody's last note saying that the only way to stop the wendigos but it also cause somebody who wrote the message is Discord since he's pure Magic it was kind of sad that he disappeared even Sunny broke down because it was somebody's dying word and Izzy really they came through and telling Sunny everything will be okay and as sacrifice will not be in vain that was very nice of her saying that I wonder what else are they going to find I guess we'll find out next time
Thinking upon it, with the magic back, Discord may return as well, whether or not he (or she) has the G4 XP may be questionable ...
Well dang man that message discord left on the wall was pretty heavy he must have faded away knowing to the fact that the magic started to disappear there's even sunny question what really happened and you know it was pretty nice of Izzy cheering her up
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Thank you... Fixed.
Pretty sure you meant 'every' and 'explored' there.
A 'D' an 'I', and an 'S'?
Hmmm Of course! Dishwater Slog! THIS WAS THE PONY LIFE TIMELINE ALL ALONG!
No I'm not serious. I know it was Discord.
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Actually there is clear evidence in the movie that it has to be at least 1000 years or more.
The evidence is that only sunny and her father believed that twilight existed. No one else did.
It took 1000 years to have nightmare moon as a legend.
However the ponies even FORGOT ABOUT TWILIGHT SPARKLE! That means it has to be at least 2000 years.
But there is an chance we can get answers. John de lance refused to do a Star Trek movie because of a prior engagement. It was twilight cutie mark. It was deleted 48 hours after posting.
That means discord may be showing up. Will he be a villain or an ally?
I think that somewhere beyond the ether, Discord finds every pony and they're all together again and happy.
It's about time you showed up, Annarchy is tearing up the void looking for you!
Ruby is absolutely besides himself seeing her in such a condition
I could only save half my book collection
Where's that mirror thing?
I knew I forgot something
and cake
Oof. That’s one heck of a farewell letter. At least they tried something.
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Doesn't need a thousand years. Two hundred and enough propaganda, with the added fact that magic went poof, and it gets pretty hard to accept that there may have been a few living gods walking around back in the day.
And, really, who's gonna go into the baaad forest, huh? After all there may be unicorns in there! The horror!
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I don’t think it is that simple. Even after the magic went poof! There would be hundreds of ponies trying to find out WTH?! Happen. That search could last forever years! Remember in the last problem Twilight was bigger then Celestia. And they stated in the shows that both earth ponies and unicorns live more then 200 years old. 15+ generations may be good enough. 200,400,600,800,1,000,1,200,1400,1600,1800,2000,2200,2400,2400,2600, 2800, 3000 sure propaganda does speed it up, but not as drastically as the movie show. In bridlewood there were old unicorns, full grown and fillies. That’s 3 generation!
OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS. IZZY IS SO FRICKIN' CUTE.
Potentially putting Changelings and other races that need magic to live was worth it?
I mean they literally killed Discord and Harmony(the crystal tree spirit)!
Also without magic sun and moon won't be moved.Magic was used to move them .
It's kind of hypocritical, isn't it?
It's also cruel to WIndigos.
And they don't seem to be worse than Discord and other villains.
They never tried to befriend them.
Well DI was clearly Discord. So won't magic returning will he too or will a brand new Spirit of Chaos be born?
As to the other races, I think they still exist most didn't have as much magic as ponies. Changelings likely still exit but don't know why they are called Changelings cause their shape shifting magic vanished.
Damn there should be a sad tag on this story as well
Funnily enough, without the Windigoes one could argue that things were worse, as there wasn't anything to pump the brakes on whatever societal collapse that went down. Those yahoos forgot everything, and managed to pare their entire civilization down to three isolated settlements.
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I needed this comment for the cheer up after that feels hitting chapter
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Obviously Discord!
There are numerous parts that point to this: "My life have stretched for eons", "on the other claw", "those Equestrians",
"For whomever is reading this I wish you this kind of joy that only unfettered chaos can bring.
- Di(scord)"
Haven't you noticed?
It's so utterly sad. He wasn't even able to sign his message.
Discord's final message was really heart-breaking, but for anyone feeling down, I want to say: it didn't need to go like that. Discord would be, without doubt, the last of the G4 cast to fade away, but if he really passed away this way?
This depends on one crucial factor: whether it was all the magic everywhere that disappeared, or just pony magic/Equestrian magic.
In the latter case, Discord may still be around and the possibility of him meeting Sunny and Izzy and the rest of the gang is real. He may be way older and even dying, but there is no telling just yet.
So let's hope for some Discord in G5
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So many interesting possibilities to explore!
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When and where was it stated that they can reach the age od 200?
Never heard of that and I know my way around the show lore.
Also, in a society without written records (or with very limited ones) 4 generations is usually enough for the old ways of living to be forgotten.
That way, when the 4th generation is born, there is likely no one around anymore who hasn't been raised the same way as the rest of the society.
Though again, we can only really speculate, becauase we lack information on any major historical processes of any resemblance to this. No obvious analogies. Even in the movie a lot was left unsaid and unspecified.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
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I think the 200 year lifespan think was just something the fans assumed from the whole thing with Granny Smith. Early on in the series Twilight said that the Town of Ponyville was founded a couple hundred years before the series premiere, but during the zap apple episode, Granny Smith had told how she helped settle the town along with her family, when she was around applejacks age. Not just her either, but some of the older apple relatives as well, as well as Grand Pear later on. And somewhere along the line, some of the fans had taken to the assumption that either ponies have an extended lifespan.
that mens whatever they did worked, good,
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I can easily believe that SOME may have extended lifespanes, but if I had to guess, it would depend on one's magical potential.
Like, Granny Smith was the Apple family matriarch and the founder of Ponyville (kinda). Wouldn't be surprised if she had some powerful earth pony magic.
Star Swirl, the most powerful unicorn sorcerer of all time, has allegedly lived through all of Equestria's early history, which would most probably make him hundreds of years old.
The alicorns, the most powerful of all ponies can live thousands of years for all we know.
So... Don't really see how magicless ponies could live for much longer than naturally.
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Or maybe with magic back again they WILL... eventually... to soon (at least if not greatly weakened) and he would be a bit of a Deus Ex Machina. At least for his powers. His ability to tell them of days gone by... weel, he wouldn't lead them into danger, but he IS a trickster.
Actually, I doubt it. Doesn't fit the melancholy mood I'm picking up from the story.
Even my eyes Tiered up reading that inscription.
I’m really loving this story!!
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Thanks for reading! Sequel currently in progress!
There's an alternate, joke version of this story where Discord was able to write just a little more, and he is known in future history as "Disco".
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And Disco, as we know, never dies.