Chapters Standing United
Chapter 1: A Call For Unity
“So…” Duskfall hadn’t really planned for this. Well, when her plans involved her ceasing to exist that was only to be expected. Now she was stuck with the awkward propositions of helping bring in a new world order, spending time with her ‘parents’, and being babysat by Death’s Right Hand. At least he was a goofball and not some scowling reaper. Speaking of her parents…
“So…” Tom agreed as he, Twilight, and Duskfall all sitting around the Map. They had decided to talk after coming back through the Mirror but had so far only been able to awkwardly eye each other for the last fifteen minutes.
“This is ridiculous!” Twilight finally broke, stamping a hoof against her crystalline seat in frustration.
“You’re only just now realizing this?” Duskfall couldn’t stop herself from snarking with an amused chuckle.
“You know what I mean, missy!” Twilight huffed with her ears splayed back.
“I think we’ve moved well past ‘ridiculous’ and perhaps even beyond ‘absurd’,” Tom quipped dryly, a bemused smile on his face.
“I hate both of you,” Twilight declared with a pout as she folded her forelegs petulantly.
“What an awful thing to say to your daughter!” Duskfall gasped melodramatically, “Oh, woe is me! My own mother hates me!”
“Well you’re Tom’s daughter at least. You’re both huge hams!” Twilight declared, trying desperately to maintain her pout through an oncoming fit of giggles.
“Hey, Duskfall, Tom, Twilight, I’ve got a message from Celestia!” Spike entered the room, cutting the three’s banter short. Spike walked over to give the note to Twilight and paused briefly to hug her, “I missed you.”
“Happy to be back,” She replied as she hugged him back before turning her attention to the missive.
“What’s it say?” Duskfall asked as she fluffed her wings.
“There’s to be a summit in two day’s time to discuss what should be done,” Twilight replied as she scanned the piece of paper.
“Ten bits says at least one of them wants to lock me up and throw away the key,” Duskfall grew a dark grin at her attempts at gallows humor.
“Duskfall you’re being silly. No one would want to-” Twilight started to say but was interrupted.
“I’ll take that bet,” Tom said, raising his hoof and surprising Twilight.
“What?! Why?!” Twilight shouted.
“Simple: Politician + Problem = ineffectually shoveling the blame onto someone else,” Tom shrugged, “Once the blame is assigned, they’ll need to punish the ‘one responsible’ so the people think they’re doing something about it.”
“To make matters worse, I am the one responsible,” Duskfall said as she nodded her head in agreement.
“So someone is bound to call for some sort of retribution,” Tom replied. Twilight cocked her head to the side as she considered what they had said before sighting wearily.
“I can’t exactly argue against your logic,” She admitted.
“So then, I guess we have two days to figure out what we want to do and say,” Duskfall said and the two Alicorns and one dragon in the room nodded.
Two Days Later
Celestia was nervous, even if she didn’t allow herself to show it. Why wouldn’t she be? This summit would herald the greatest change to the state of Equuis any of them save Discord and Harmonia had ever witnessed. It would make the Nightmare’s possession of Luna all those years ago look insignificant in comparison.
“Are you ready for the other dignitaries to arrive, Sister?” Luna asked at her side, awaiting the foreign dignitaries in the courtyard.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready, Luna,” Celestia confessed.
“Well we do have a guide in this particular venture, which is undoubtedly a boon many in our situation lacked,” Luna pointed out.
“True enough, Luna,” Celestia conceded with a tilt of her head.
“I would have thought you two were used to making history by now,” Chrysalis snarked from her spot beside Luna.
“I don’t think that’s something you can truly get used to,” Cadence commented from Celestia’s other side.
“If it were a pedestrian thing then it wouldn’t be worthy of making the history books,” Duskfall quipped from her position farthest from Celestia on Cadence’s side.
“If it were pedestrian it would be part of an auto-biography,” Tom snickered.
“I think I see the first of the dignitaries,” Shining Armor announced as he squinted and shaded his eyes and sure enough a smattering of dots on the horizon soon revealed themselves to be the Griffon contingent. Shortly thereafter, the Griffons landed on the grass of the courtyard, which had been chosen as the meeting place with the Dragon Lord in mind.
“Princesses of Equestria, I greet you on this auspicious day,” The Griffon King and his entourage bowed politely. The Equestrians returned the bow.
“King Gallahan, we welcome you to Canterlot,” Celestia replied.
“I couldn’t very well refuse your invitation when I learned what the summit was about!” He exclaimed boisterously while clapping Celestia on the back with a wing.
“It will certainly be an event to be remembered,” Celestia smiled with practiced ease. Gallahan chuckled.
“Master of understatement as always, Celestia,” He said as he scanned the area, “Are we the first to arrive then?”
“You are,” Celestia confirmed.
“Excellent! What of our extraterrestrial guest?” Gallahan inquired.
“I can only presume he wishes to make an entrance,” Celestia answered as the corners of her lips twitched in poorly repressed amusement. She knew full well what he had planned.
“I’ll look forward to that then,” Gallahan smirked and he and his took their seats at the meeting table.
It was only a few moments later that a gentle breeze blew through the courtyard, bearing a group of Breezies with it. A Breezy twice the size of the others with the wings of a monarch butterfly fluttered forward.
“Hail Princess Celestia o’ tha Pony Tribes!” She greeted as loudly as her small frame would allow.
“Hail Queen Titania of the Breezy People,” Celestia greeted in kind, “And thank you for agreeing to attend on such short notice. I know it wasn’t easy.”
“Achk, Breezies have little enough say in Equuis’ politics as it is! I shan’t let a chance like this slip away!” Titania said firmly.
“And your input on this matter is much appreciated,” Celestia said, “As is that of every other world leader.”
“Oh no…don’t tell me ya invited the fooking Storm King!” Titania begged.
“As…energetic as the Storm King may be, he still rules over a large portion of the southern Badlands and Mount Aris,” Celestia said.
“‘Energetic’ is he? Are ya sure that’s tha word ya wanne use?” Titania asked with an arched brow.
“You know my answer to that, Titania,” Celestia replied, the barest ghost of amusement passing over her face.
“Yes, Titania, the Ponies have to at least pretend to be impartial!” Gallahan laughed.
“Gallahan, you old brute! I’ve been meanin’ tah have a word with ye!” With those words Titania and her escort fluttered over to the table.
Next to arrive were the Kirin. Celestia had fully expected them to either not show up at all or at the very least still be under the effects of that dreadful Stream of Silence, so imagine her surprise when, for the first time in almost twenty years, she heard the voice of Rain Shine as the Kirin leader greeted her.
“Greetings Celestia,” She spoke in a dry, raspy monotone. It was clear she was still out of practice with her voice, but it was still sweet to Celestia’s ears.
“Greetings Rain Shine. Your presence here is a surprise, but a welcome one,” Celestia said with a warm smile.
“Even the Kirin could not ignore this,” Rain Shine said neutrally and took her seat. Gallahan and Titania clearly felt uncomfortable with the Kirin’s attendance, but said nothing about it and Rain Shine seemed disinclined to care.
Shortly thereafter a mountain of scales and wings appeared on the horizon. Dragon Lord Torch had arrived. As was usual, it seemed he was alone at first, but as he drew closer, a much smaller dragon was spotted flying alongside him.
“Celestia!” The elder dragon bellowed as he touched down, “It’s been too long!”
“Torch! I wasn’t expecting you to bring anyone!” Celestia shouted back.
“Ah, I don’t believe you’ve met my daughter, Ember!” Torch gestured to the much smaller, much younger dragon next to him.
“Yo,” She said with the supreme apathy that only teenagers seem capable of producing.
“Pleased to meet you, Ember,” Celestia greeted. Ember opened her mouth to say something, but clearly thought better of it at the last second.
“Nice to meet you too,” The young dragoness replied, clearly forcing herself to be polite. Torch, for his part, seemed satisfied with her efforts. Torch took his place near the table, Titania yelling at him all the while to mind his tempest causing volume.
Somehow the Saddle Arabians, Zebricians, and Minotaurs all arrived at the same time, despite coming from three different directions.
“President Cliff, Sultan Shifting Sands, Chief Lionheart, welcome to the Summit,” Celestia bade as they approached.
“Of course, such an event demands nothing less than the Senate’s full attention and I’m sure my colleagues feel similarly,” Cliff said somberly in a deep baritone.
“Such a monumental change to the state of the world has not occurred since the days of Discord’s mad reign. We would be fools to put our heads in the sands and try to ignore it,” Shifting Sands agreed.
“To ignore this Summit would invite disaster. I only wish we could have known faster,” Lionheart remarked.
“Indeed. Potentially only having a day or two for this Summit is most unfortunate,” Cliff sighed.
“We work with what we’ve got. Now I do believe it is time for us to find our spot,” Lionheart said and the trio made their way to the table.
The next arrivals were King Vorak and Queen Haydon…Tirek’s parents. Celestia didn’t need to look at the trio of purple Alicorns to know they were apprehensive of the pair. Given their history with Tirek, such feelings were inevitable. Apparently the King and Queen also appreciated this fact as, instead of approaching Celestia, they went straight to the trio.
“Twilight Sparkle, Tom Williams, and Duskfall Sparkle…for the unspeakable horrors my son has inflicted upon you, you have my sincere apologies,” King Vorak spoke before he and his Queen bowed before them. Tom and Twilight appeared dumbfounded, but Duskfall had no such issues.
“I will never forgive Tirek for what he did. You both played a role in how he turned out. A mother who refused to acknowledge Tirek’s wrongdoings until his crimes mounted so high as to be impossible to ignore. A father who treated him with naught but suspicion and paranoia until it became a self-fulfilling prophecy just because he was born with magic more potent than most…yet Tirek is his own person. We can sit here for days arguing if anything could have been done to turn him from his path and if so, when it would have needed to be done. That way lays madness and I should know. Instead I will say that I will not hold your son’s actions against you in our dealings as leaders of our respective nations. Anything else is irrelevant for the moment,” Duskfall declared. Twilight and Tom looked at each other before nodding in agreement.
“I understand. Truthfully, I had expected a much harsher rebuke,” King Vorak remarked.
“I have no interest in airing dirty laundry in public. If you find me behind closed doors, my censors will be turned off and you’ll get the full blast,” Duskfall smirked, her whole body suddenly radiating something akin to killing intent. Wisely, the King and Queen decided to take their seats rather than risking unintentionally provoking Duskfall.
The next party to trickle in was the Deer. Queen Sacred Springs and her entourage entered the courtyard with their renowned grace. Once she drew close to Celestia, she bowed respectfully.
“Lady Lightbringer, I greet you,” Sacred Springs said with reverence in her voice.
“Lady Sacred Springs, I welcome you to Canterlot,” Celestia said in return.
“Thank you for taking us into your home and hearth,” Sacred Springs replied before taking her own seat.
The Yaks, with their customary rambunctiousness, were next to show themselves.
“YAKS HAVE ARRIVED FOR MEETING!” Prince Rutherford shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Hello Prince Rutherford,” Celestia greeted pleasantly.
“GREETINGS SUN PRINCESS!” He replied.
“How did the journey here treat you?” Celestia asked conversationally.
“TRAIN WAS GOOD! THANK YOU FOR ASKING!” Rutherford answered before he and his took their seats.
Celestia took a quick headcount of those in attendance. There was only one party still missing. Secretly Celestia hoped he wouldn’t show up at all, but her faint hopes were dashed as storm clouds rolled in on what was supposed to be a clear day. Shortly thereafter a zeppelin flew into the airspace above Canterlot.
“Here he comes…” Luna couldn’t keep herself from muttering. It was a sentiment shared by most gathered, even if only some voiced it. It was a mark of how universally unpopular the Storm King was that even the Dragons and the Griffons, who were forever squabbling over treasures and land, shared a dislike for the Yeti.
The zeppelin landed and soon thereafter the Storm King, along with Queen Novo and a handful of underlings, disembarked. One in particular caught Celestia’s eye, a unicorn with a snapped horn. Celestia could only imagine the trauma that the mare had suffered, both the sheer power to shatter her horn and living with the injury afterward.
“Hello Ponies!” The Storm King greeted with a slimy, condescending smile.
“Greetings, Storm King,” Celestia said, doing her best to keep her face in her best fake smile.
“Happy to be here!” He declared, “And what a nice place ‘here’ is,” His eyes scanned the area with naked avarice. It sent chills up Celestia’s spine. She had suspected for awhile now that he had designs on Equestria. This all but confirmed those suspicions and she wanted nothing more than to demand he leave. Unfortunately that would be counterproductive at the moment.
“With your arrival, we’re all gathered. Let us take our seats so the Summit can officially begin,” Celestia said. Fortunately the Storm King complied without any further remarks. The Ponies then took their seats and the Summit was ready to begin.
Suddenly it seemed as if they were all transported to the depths of space. Glittering stars and swirling galaxies came into existence all around them.
“Space: The Final Frontier…” A commanding voice rang out. Tom, Twilight, and Duskfall looked at each other.
“Over the untold eons and the endless reaches of the cosmos, there exist countless civilizations. These civilizations range from the theropoda-like species Kinecelerans-” an image of one appeared before them, “-to the jellyfish-like Hanar,” Another imagine appeared.
“Yet despite their differences, one thing unites almost all sapient species: A desire to know what’s out there. A drive to explore, to discover, to learn, a drive which eventually leads them to look to the stars and wonder ‘what’s out there?’.” The speaker continued.
“Most species have the luxury of going into space at their own pace. They slowly develop from simple chemical rockets to faster than light travel and they typically find that they are not alone in the universe. Some species are, instead, forcefully advanced into the space age for one reason or another. You unlucky souls have been thrust even further along the road straight to being forced to play on the interdimensional stage,” David appeared at the head of the table.
“I have been tasked with giving you the tools and information you need to make this transition as painless as possible. That’s not to say it will be a smooth process, far from it, in fact. However, it is my hope that this does not become an unmitigated disaster ,” He told the gathered delegates. With a snap of his fingers, the illusion dissipated and they were back in the courtyard.
“And how do we know you’re telling the truth?” The Storm King spoke, “Illusions aren’t that hard to make.”
“A fair enough concern, Equuis is overflowing with Magic and such an illusion would be child’s play for one such as Discord. However, I direct your attention to the three young Alicorns sitting at this very table. You can sense their power, correct?” David asked the Yeti. He begrudgingly nodded.
“I suppose I can detect some small amount of power,” He said imperiously, barely glancing at Tom, Twilight, and Duskfall.
“So, that leaves us with three options. Either I’m such a skilled illusionist that I can make you believe you are sense Alicorn levels of power from three separate sources for a prolonged period of time, I have created three Alicorn level beings, or I’m telling the truth. In any of these three situations, wouldn’t the wisest course of action be to at least listen to what I have to say? At worse I’m a very powerful crazy person who just wants to waste your time,” David shrugged.
Most of the gathered at the Summit looked at each other. The Storm King was clearly just trying to stir the pot, as it were, yet they couldn’t say his words were completely without merit. Astonishing claims require astonishing evidence, after all. As David had pointed out, having three nearly identical purple Alicorns sitting next to each other was quite astonishing evidence indeed.
“So, for the moment if we take it on good faith that the things I’m warning you about will come to pass, let’s get down to discussing what we’ll do about it,” David said as his gazed scanned the gathered.
“That’s a fine idea, but what can we do about it?” Gallahan asked to mutterings of agreement.
“We certainly won’t be mewling hatchlings about it,” Torch rumbled.
“Policies on immigration, on imports and exports, on tourism, and on building new infrastructure seem like a good place to start,” Celestia remarked.
“Do we know how the first…guests will be arriving?” Sacred Springs inquired.
“Unfortunately not,” David admitted, “The most typical methods would be by spaceship or by portal. In the case of portals or teleportation, they could potentially end up anywhere on Equuis and I wouldn’t be able to detect their presence until after the portal has opened or from picking up the energy discharge from the teleportation.”
“I suppose that would preclude any of us from simply trying to close our borders,” Rain Shine said, her face impassive.
“Is there any way to prevent them from showing up in specific locations? I’m sure I don’t speak only for the Minotaur People when I say there are certain places we’d rather not have prying eyes,” President Cliff said.
“I can supply a number of devices meant to redirect most kinds of portals and teleportation. Unfortunately since they have to be more generalized, that means they aren’t able to hit as wide a range. At best I can get you 100 cubic meters of coverage per device,” David answered.
“We need ta decide if we’re gonna send ‘em all to a single location or iffen we’re gonna handle newcomers to each o’ our territories in our own ways,” Titania spoke up.
“Given the sheer volume and variety we’re looking at, a single location wouldn’t be able to keep up,” Shifting Sands spoke up, “But those selfsame reasons mean that coordinating between every nation who is and isn’t supposed to be on Equuis would be a nightmare if we weren’t all operating on the same protocols.”
“Perhaps neutral zones we should create, that such we might avoid such an unpleasant fate,” Lionheart suggested.
“YAKS LIKE THAT IDEA!” Rutherford proclaimed.
“It wouldn’t be difficult to set aside a piece of land to build some kind of processing center on. If the land is considered neutral territory, it also keeps anyone from having undue influence over the new arrivals,” Cadence mused and all eyes turned to the Storm King. It was no secret that those people he conquered often became slaves.
“All in favor of this plan?” Celestia asked and after a few moment’s consideration and one or two stink eyes directed at the Storm King, the motion was passed.
One and a half days later
The majority of the Summit had been spent hammering out the finer details, with some discussion on what should be the sole domain of each individual government. To Duskfall's eternal shock, no one had suggested arresting her yet. However, just as things seemed to be winding down David perked up like a hound that had caught the scent of a fox.
“It’s time for a field trip, boys and girls!” He declared, “We’ve got our first arrivals coming in via portal about three miles east!”
“Then what are we waiting around for?!” Torch bellowed.
“YAKS WANT TO GREET NEWCOMERS!” Rutherford agreed.
“I just need a moment to run the calculations for a teleport gate,” David assured and about 20 seconds later a magic circle appeared on the ground and they were teleported away.
The congregation reappeared in a mostly empty field. More than a few people had to deal with some disorientation, but they quickly shook it off. They couldn't very well tell their children and grandchildren they had been too busy dealing with a little motion sickness to properly greet the extraterrestrial visitors.
As one, they turned to the open portal that was sitting in the field, waiting with baited breath for who or what would emerge…
Author's Note
Ain't I a stinker?
To be completely, 100% honest, I'm just sick of looking at this chapter's ugly mug. It was supposed to get out months ago but then real life started kicking me in the balls and four months later here we are.
Anyway, allow me to properly welcome you to Standing United ! Next chapter will be the reveal of who's coming thru the portal and chapters after that will start settling more into the slice of life/anthology category. I hope to see you there!
Standing United Chapter 2
The gathered being awaited with baited breath as the portal flickered and sparked lightly, as if it wasn’t quite as stable as it could be. Twilight felt her heart beating hard in her breast as she awaited first contact…well, it would be third contact, after Tom and David, but who’s counting? She wondered what manner of beings they would be. What memories she had received from Duskfall only made her less certain what might come through that portal. All of reality was a big place, after all.
Speaking of her pseudo-daughter, if Duskfall shared her nervous anticipation at all she wasn’t showing it. Twilight could be honest with herself enough to admit she felt the slightest bit of envy over Duskfall’s seemingly calm visage, but she also knew full well what Duskfall had gone through to get to that point.
Then her ears perked up, registering sound before her conscious mind caught up. She returned her full attention to the portal to find it looking as if it were on the verge of collapse, wild bolts of energy flying from it and its circular shape wobbling dangerously. Twilight didn’t need to be an expert to know the portal was either about to collapse completely or disgorge the ones who were using it.
Sure enough, with one last mighty crack of energy discharge, three humanoids and three small floating marbles came tumbling out just before the portal collapsed entirely. The humanoids groaned on the ground while the marbles hovered above them, seemingly in concern. The marbles then popped open into more complex looking models and to Twilight’s immense surprise, they spoke!
“Dan, are you alright?!” A rough, masculine sounding voice emanated from the red marble.
“Ugh, I think so…not looking forward to going through that portal again though,” A young man with brown hair groaned. He was wearing a red jacket, black undershirt, white pants, and a pair of goggles on his head.
“Sorry about that, I’m not sure what went wrong,” The small blonde boy apologized. He was wearing glasses, a blue vest over a light blue undershirt with white pants and blue fingerless gloves with orange orbs on the back of the hands. His hair was also done with a small ponytail in the back.
“Uh, guys, we seem to have an audience,” The young woman of the group said. She had orange hair and was wearing a small silver jacket, white gloves that reached almost to her elbows, blue earrings, and a rouge form-fitting jumpsuit with uneven sized boots and leggings. The most striking thing about her was her eyes. They seemed clouded over, almost like what happens with certain blind people, but not quite the same. Her eyes were also an almost uniform blue color, only a slightly darker center denoting possible pupils distinct from the iris.
The other members of her party turned to see the gathered crowd.
“Gah!” Dan exclaimed.
“Holy cow!” The smaller boy squeaked.
“You know, I thought I was ready for most things that might come through that portal. Borg, Andalites, maybe even the Teletubbies, if the universe was in a particularly sadistic mood. I was not expecting a pair of Humans, a Vestal, and a trio of Bakugan. It’s nice to know I can still be surprised,” David snarked.
“You seem to have us at a slight disadvantage..?” The redhead trailed off.
“David Thomas, but you have bigger concerns than who I am and how I know you,” David said mildly.
“Let me guess, how to get home and the fact that we’ve crash landed in the middle of what looks to be a bunch of royalty?” The redhead sighed.
“ROYALTY?!” Dan squawked.
“The crowns and things kinda give it away,” The smaller blonde deadpanned.
“Daniel, compose yourself!” The red marble barked and the young man jumped up to comply. He bowed earnestly, his companions quickly following suit.
“Sorry for barging in unannounced! I’m Dan Kuso, these are my friend Marucho, Mira, and Drago,” Dan introduced themselves.
“There’s no need to apologize. It seems like this was quite unexpected on your end and we were…well, not expecting you in particular, but we were expecting some kind of visitors,” Celestia replied graciously.
“Expecting visitors?” Mira asked curiously.
“Perhaps we can discuss this somewhere that isn’t the middle of an empty field?” Gallahan helpfully suggested.
“I’ll just plop us back in the courtyard we were in before if that’s alright with everyone?” David asked to general nodding and murmurs of agreement. In an instant they found themselves back in their seats, with their guests standing a little off to the side of the table.
“Whoa!” The four of them exclaimed as they took in their sudden change of surroundings. Drago then groaned as he started wobbling in the air drunkenly.
“Drago! What’s wrong?!” Dan exclaimed worriedly as he reached out to cradle the Bakugan in his hands.
“Nothing…just a little woozy…” Drago assured him
“Sorry about that, first timers can sometimes experience something akin to motion sickness,” David apologized.
“I’ll be fine…” Drago assured a bit unsteadily.
“So…” Mira began, “You said you were expecting someone? And I suppose it has to do with that dimensional disturbance we detected?”
“That might’ve been my doing,” Duskfall admitted as she looked slightly away and her ears folded. She knew that inevitably the story of her fuck up would spread far and wide. She just wished ‘inevitably’ would come a lot later down the line.
“We should probably get our own introductions out of the way,” Celestia noted and the gathered all introduced themselves to the new arrivals.
“A world of magic filled with mythological beings! Amazing!” Marucho exclaimed as he took it all in with a wide eyed wonder.
“That was pretty much my reaction when I got here, with a side order of panic,” Tom snarked as he grinned at Marucho’s child-like enthusiasm.
“Being on the receiving end of Celestia’s death glare will do that,” Duskfall teased as she shoulder bumped him.
“Why yes, yes it will,” Tom nodded faux-sagely, if either of them noticed Celestia pouting, well, she was a big girl who could withstand a little teasing now and again.
“So, what exactly are yer intentions?” Titania asked of the dimensionally misplaced quartet.
“We were just investigating the source of the disturbance. We definitely weren’t expecting to find all this,” Mira said, “That being said, The Resistance could always do with more allies.”
“We can certainly discuss such matters,” Celestia replied as she noticed the Storm King’s sour look.
“Tell us of your enemies, child,” Gallahan encouraged, his intrigue clear in his posture and voice.
So they did, telling the tale of the Vestal people and how the royal family had convinced the general public that Bakugan were no more than dumb animals while performing cruel experiments on them.
“Such casual disregard for the sanctity of life, do you have any idea why the royal family would cause such strife?” Lionheart asked the slightest tone of disgust in his voice.
“Unfortunately we don’t,” Mira sighed, “All we know is they’re working towards some kind of goal.”
“All warfare is based on deception. Without knowing what they want, we can’t know what they need to do to achieve their goals or how far they’ll go to do it,” Tom commented.
“Just so,” Cliff agreed, “And speaking personally, I would need to get the approval of the Senate before entering any sort of alliance.”
Dan looked like he wanted to say something, but Marucho spoke first, “Of course, we just showed up unannounced and suddenly asked for your help in a rebellion. It’s only reasonable that you need time to deliberate.”
“In the mean time, you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need,” Luna offered, “Do you have the means to return home? The portal you used to arrive did not appear to be the most stable.”
“If nothing else, I should be able to get us home,” Drago said, “And your hospitality is very welcome.”
“Tis a small thing,” Luna assured and summoned one of the maids to escort the visitors to the guest quarters.
“That children should be made to fight against such a corrupt empire,” Sacred Springs sighed.
“We’ll have to confirm a few details, of course, but I share the sentiment. The young should enjoy their youth,” Shifting Sands said as he stroked his beard.
“There is an argument to be had about the young needing to fight for their future because it is theirs,” Gallahan said, “But that is neither here nor there.”
“You all can do whatever you want, but I’m staying out of it,” The Storm King declared to the surprise of absolutely no one.
“No one expected otherwise,” Torch rumbled dryly.
“Given recent revelations, I suggest we adjourn for the day and inform those who need to be informed,” Celestia suggested to general agreement and the meeting dissolved.
Author's Note
BWUAHAHAHHAHAAHAH.
I can guarantee none of you saw this coming and if you say you did then I'm calling you a filthy liar. I put exactly all the thought and zero thought into this choice. Also, it's finally done, thank fuk. Next chapter will likely be the last chapter done in a more sequential style before moving into a more anthology style.
Standing United
Chapter 3
“Looks like we’re in it again, huh Drago?” Dan asked his bakugan companion. The pair had been set up in one of the guest rooms of the royal palace. Dan was reclining on the bed while Drago was standing on the nightstand. It was a familiar setup, if in an unfamiliar place.
“From one mess to the next, there’s never a dull moment,” Drago replied good-naturedly.
“Do you think they’ll help us?” Dan wondered.
“Honestly, I’m not sure. They’ve got no stakes in our fight. No reason to pick a fight with the Vestals by helping us. They also each have their own people to take care of. Getting into a war for no reason…” Drago sighed.
“Yeah…” Dan nodded in understanding. Asking for military support would be asking for too much. At the very least such a request would be selfish. Dragging people into a war that wasn’t theirs…the thought soured Dan’s stomach.
“We should get some rest for tomorrow,” Drago counseled, seeing the stormy look on his partner’s face.
“Yeah…goodnight Drago,” Dan bid and slipped under the covers as Drago rolled up into his ball form.
______________________________________________________________________
Celestia was no stranger to long nights agonizing over important decisions. Should she seal Chrysalis without telling Luna? Should she send Twilight to the Crystal Empire alone? Should she make Twilight a princess?
Part of Celestia’s ‘rehabilitation’ was realizing just how often she got those important decisions wrong. Unfortunately, the important decision she was currently agonizing over had one very clear and obvious solution, one that she hated but could not avoid. It was the same important decision she had made when the Storm King had first risen to power. Equestria could not actively help Dan and his friends.
Her little ponies had no stomach for war to begin with and with things being as they were…her actions here would be the starting point for the precedent of all interdimensional policy going forward. As much as she wanted to go out there and fight every injustice and vanquish every evil, she couldn’t turn Equestria into a country of ‘do-good busybodies’ who stuck their hooves in everyone else’s business. It was untenable to do so on Equuis and even more so if she had any desire to do the same on a Multiversal scale.
“Celestia, if you don’t stop trying to pace a hole into the carpet, I will tie you up,” Luna declared from her spot curled up on a sofa, reading a book. She had been following Celestia’s restless march with her ears.
Celestia groaned as she forced herself to sit down and relax her wings.
“How do you do it Luna?” Celestia asked petulantly with a sour look on her face as she crossed her forelegs.
“How do I not obsess over a choice until I convince myself to take the most insane course of action? Gee, however do I do it?” Luna’s voice wasn’t so much laced with sarcasm as it was packaged with enough sarcasm to sink a battleship, “You already know the right course of action, so stop trying to talk yourself into another harebrained scheme and go to bed.”
“I’m not trying to talk myself into another harebrained scheme…” Celestia muttered as she looked studiously at the floor. Luna put down her book and gave her sister an even and unbelieving look.
“Uh huh…”
“I’ve not waged war on the Storm King and he’s been a pain in my flank for 700 years! I can show some restraint!” Celestia protested as she stood back up and flared her wings.
“I suppose that’s true. I’ve only barely interacted with him and I already want to hire a covert guild of assassins to put him out of our misery, never mind what a despot he is to his people,” Luna mused as she put a hoof under her chin.
“Exactly! So I’m really not plotting anything. I’m just frustrated at how little we can realistically do,” Celestia sighed as she sat back down.
“We could always hire assassins covertly,” Luna suggested as she returned to her book. Celestia glanced at the title. As she suspected, it was a crime thriller that dealt with assassins. Celestia rolled her eyes.
“No assassins Luna,” Celestia said as she shook her head. She almost missed Luna’s smirk. Little sisters…
_________________________________________________________________________
Twilight Sparkle’s thirst for knowledge was endless. This statement was uncontroversial to say the least. However, since graduating from simply reading book to talking to people, she had slowly come to learn that knowledge was more complicated than simply being able to rattle off the digits of pi.
She had also come to learn that knowledge could be used for good or evil. As much as Tom said that ‘knowledge was the light of God’, Twilight had seen what Starlight’s knowledge of spellcraft had done to Duskfall.
However, like any tool, knowledge was neither inherently good nor evil in Twilight’s mind. It was all predicated on how it was used. Which brought Twilight to the current question plaguing her mind: how should she use the knowledge of the Bakugan’s plight?
Twilight was wandering the moonlit courtyard, a habit she had picked up from Tom, trying to decide. Should she go with them with a group of her friends to fight? Should she stay here and send them goods as support? Should she ignore them completely? Should she raise an army? All possibilities had to be considered.
“Well someone’s burning the midnight oil,” A male voice caused Twilight’s ears to twitch in his direction.
“Good evening, David,” She greeted politely. Then a question popped into her head, “David? May I ask you a question?”
“You’ve already done so, but you may ask another,” David replied with a ghost of a smile as Twilight couldn’t resist rolling her eyes.
“Have you ever…ignored someone in need?” Twilight asked as she sat down.
“Of course. As much as it would be ideal if you could help everyone in need everywhere, it’s simply impossible. Even with time travel, it’s impossible to be everywhere at once. Even if you could be, sometimes someone’s number is up and it’s rarely a good idea to fight against Destined Death. And just beyond logistics, it’s impossible for most beings to care about everyone, everywhere at all times. Sometimes you’re just pushed to your limit and don’t give a damn anymore,” David shrugged.
“I see…” Twilight’s ears flopped down as at she looked at the ground. That answer wasn’t as helpful as she had hoped.
“To answer your real question, the Battle Brawlers will be fine with or without your help. What kind of help you choose to give them, if you give them any help at all, is up to you. You just have to decide how much you value helping them in relation to how much you value other things that are important to you, like your friends, your family, your duty as a Princess, and so on, then rendering them aid proportional to that value,” David told her. Twilight scrunched up her face as she considered his advice.
“That is…a very pragmatic way of looking at things,” She stated.
“When you’re not allowed to stop some of the most heinous events in history, you learn to rationalize,” David quipped blithely, “‘Do I value stopping World War II more than the continued existence of all creation?’”
“Given that we’re here talking about it, I guess the latter won?” Twilight indulged the dark humor.
“You guess correctly,” David nodded, “You feeling better?”
“A little. At least now I have a starting point for what I’m going to do,” Twilight said as she stood back up and fluffed her wings, “Thank you.”
“No problem, but I hope you remember this gratitude once this summit is over. You and the other Alicorns are going through the grinder,” David warned, which got a grimace out of Twilight.
_________________________________________________________________
The leaders of Equuis had reconvened and were ready to discuss their plans moving forward, both jointly and individually.
As far as the Battle Brawlers were concerned, all that could realistically be offered were supplies and well wishes. Even if they were otherwise inclined, waging an interdimensional war was simply impossible at this stage.
The Brawlers were happy enough with just the supplies. It was an unexpected windfall and would definitely help them.
As for any future interdimensional visitors, plans were already underway to create various government offices in charge of handling tourists and maybe settlers of the off-world variety. With David’s help, various buildings would be constructed that would help draw in teleports/portals/what have you to them in order to keep people from accidentally ending up in people’s kitchens. It would also help keep the off-world visitors organized.
There was also the minutia of making new treaties or revising old ones, figuring out passports and visas, and a whole mountain’s worth of paperwork involved with that minutia, but such things would be hammered out over the next few weeks via diplomats and other intermediaries.
With the summit accomplishing everything it needed to, the various world leaders needed to get back to their own domains to set things in motion.
The Brawlers were also sent home without issue, expressing their gratitude for the supplies to the last moment.
With everything said and done, Twilight felt the need to take a moment to herself. So it was that she found her favorite spot in the royal gardens with a book. It was surprising to her that for all that had happened, this simple thing helped soothe her weary nerves almost instantly. Something about how the more things change, the more they stay the same, she supposed. At heart, she was still the same old introverted bookworm. Twilight didn’t think that was a bad thing.
“I thought we might find you here,” Twilight’s ears twitched as she heard the approach of two very familiar ponies.
“Suggesting Twilight might be someplace quiet with a book is hardly a Sherlock worthy deduction,” Tom replied dryly.
“You’re just jealous I got all the brains,” Duskfall stuck out her tongue.
“Is this the point where we make a joke about Twi getting the beauty?” Tom asked sarcastically as the two came to a stop next to Twilight.
“I have a book and I know how to use it,” Twilight threatened.
“We’ll be good!” Tom and Duskfall said like scolded children threatened with no dessert as they took their places lying down on either side of Twilight.
“Things are going to get crazy, aren’t they?” Twilight asked as her ears wilted.
“Hi, I’m Duskfall, Alicorn of Darkness and Insanity. I don’t believe we’ve met,” Duskfall snarked.
“Oh shut up !” Twilight smacked Duskfall with her wing, “You know what I mean!”
Duskfall giggled, entirely unrepentant.
“I think this is the part where I say ‘so long as we have each other, we’ll be fine’,” Tom noted somewhat sardonically.
“I hate you both,” Twilight pouted.
“If lies make you happy,” Tom and Duskfall replied at the same time. The three Alicorns looked at each other and started cracking up.
Change was coming, of that there was no doubt. But these three were no stranger to change, ever since that day a twist of fate brought a human and an Alicorn together. If they were able to survive this long, then could there be any doubt they’d survive whatever the future held? Sure, things had gotten messy for awhile in the middle, but thanks to an unusual amount of stubbornness, they had made it to the other side.
What would the future hold? No one could say for certain, but as three Alicorns laughed themselves stupid, those concerns didn’t seem so pressing. Whatever the future brought, they would see it through. Whatever trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows, the three knew they could handle it. After all, they had each other. What couldn’t they face down together? What problems could they not overcome? As long as the three continued to Stand United.
Author's Note
Happy Halloween, ya filthy animals.
Standing United
Chapter 4
Twilight Sparkle was in her element. Although come to think of it, that statement probably stood to be clarified somewhat, given she was the Element of Magic. Twilight Sparkle was in her organizational element. With the hoards of the Multiverse clamoring at Equuis’ collective doorstep obviously things needed to be set up to handle the incoming influx of otherworldly visitors.
Thus Twilight was filling out permits in triplicate, writing reports for the best place to build new facilities, and balancing budgets for these endeavors. It was heavenly. It was especially nice to get back in the swing of things after being out of the game so long! Why, between being stuck with Tom and not existing, it had been months since she had gotten to just relax with a good bit of bureaucracy!
What was that? Avoiding her family? Why, what a ridiculous notion! She definitely hadn’t found anything about a very touching funeral that would make it infinitely awkward to go say ‘hi’ to her Mom and Dad in Duskfall’s memories! Not at all! The sheer audacity anyone would have to say such a thing!
Twilight simply enjoyed doing paperwork in a locked room in the depths of Duskfall’s crystal castle! That may or may not be another point of contention. Duskfall insisted it was her castle when she hadn’t even existed when the Tree had made it and Duskfall had been living here for…at least a portion of her life. Twilight tried not to think about Duskfall’s ‘lost years’ if she could help it. She was eternally grateful that those memories hadn’t been passed on to her.
“Twilight Sparkle, we know you’re in there! Come out with your hooves up and the fountain pen on the desk!” There was a pounding on the door and a voice that sounded uncannily like her own demanding her unconditional surrender. Twilight’s ears pinned against her head.
“You can’t make me!” Was her childish retort as she clutched her fountain pen to her breast.
“All evidence points to the contrary,” Was Duskfall’s dry response, “But I’d rather not unleash all the powers of Insanity upon you and Mom and Dad may or may not be upstairs so…”
“WHAT?!” Twilight squawked, her shock causing her to fumble her pen, “W-What are they doing here?!”
“You’ve been total hermit mode for a week Twi. Tom and I both know you well enough to know you need some tough love,” Duskfall replied patiently. Twilight could practically see the little hellion’s self-satisfied smirk through the door. She was enjoying this, Twilight just knew it!
“Tell them I’m sick with dragon pox or something!” All pretext of not avoiding her parents was out the window as Twilight tried to hide under her desk.
“The fact that’s your response tells me that Tom and I were absolutely right. Now, you can either come out on your own, I can force you to come out, or I can go bring Mom and Dad here and you can try to lie to them directly. I think we both know how that would turn out,” Duskfall laid out her options in such an infuriatingly matter-of-fact tone.
Twilight was tempted to try teleporting away, but as soon as that thought entered her head she felt anti-teleportation wards go up around the room. Twilight ground her teeth. Damnable treasonous foliage!
“Fine! I know when I’m beaten!” Twilight reluctantly slunk out of the room. Purple eyes met purple eyes, “You’re evil, you know that?”
“Evil’s just my side hustle,” Duskfall replied with a cheeky grin, “Now come on, the folks and time wait for nopony!”
Despite admitting defeat, Twilight still dragged her hooves as much as was possible. This turned out to be not that much when Duskfall was using one of her wings to bodily shove Twilight along. When had she gotten so strong?! Or maybe Twilight was just weak. Whatever the case, all too soon Twilight could hear the voice of her Mom and Dad.
Anxiety made her heart thunder and she broke out in a cold sweat. She was trembling from horn tip to tail. Yet no matter how much she squirmed, Duskfall’s wing made sure she continued her steady march onward. Just as Twilight was working up the nerve to bolt…
“Mom, Dad, she’s here!” Duskfall called into the next room and Twilight suddenly found herself in warm parental embrace.
“Oh my sweet baby girl, it’s really you!” Her Dad’s voice thick with emotion. His embrace was as warm as she remembered.
“Twilight! Twilight!” Her Mom cried into her shoulder, her forelegs wrapped around her barrel in a vice grip, as if afraid that letting go for just a moment would cause her to vanish like morning fog.
“Mom…Dad…” Twilight tried to speak, but her own voice was hoarse as she felt herself tearing up. Words failed her as she started sobbing, holding her parents tight. What had she been so afraid of? These were her parents! She had missed them so much! The three of them held each other and cried until they couldn’t cry any more.
“Twilight Sparkle, don’t you dare do anything like that again!” Her Mom was finally able to say when she could speak through the tears.
“Yes Mom,” Twilight said obediently. They both knew it wasn’t truly an option, but right now empty platitudes were all that mattered.
“And no more avoiding us either,” Her Dad chimed in, to which her Mom nodded vigorously.
“Yes Dad,” Twilight replied. That one was much more doable, “I should probably see Cadence and Shiny too…”
“And Flurry,” Mom added. That’s right; Twilight had a niece now, didn’t she? It was still hard sometimes to believe her dork of a brother was married! And now he had a kid! What a world it was, huh?
“Flurry too,” Twilight agreed. She was intensely curious as to what her niece was like. She had been born a few weeks premature and so had come into this world just before Duskfall had made her pact with Death.
“Make sure Tom and Dusk go with you when you do. I’m sure Flurry wants to meet all her aunts and uncles,” Velvet said. Any idea that Tom and Duskfall weren’t family had been abolished long ago.
“Will do Mom,” Twilight promised.
“Actually dear, Flurry’s Crystaling is in a couple of weeks. Why don’t we all go as a family?” Night Light suggested.
“That’s a wonderful idea!” Velvet exclaimed, pulling back slightly to look Twilight in the eyes, “Twilight, you three will come with us, right?”
“I sincerely doubt it will just be the three of us coming,” Twilight said dryly, her face in a half lidded smile.
“That’s fine dear. I might get the chance to finally be properly introduced to your friends!” Velvet waved her off. Twilight decided to not mention they would also be bringing Starlight. Duskfall was not about to let the mare out of her sight, a notion Twilight fully supported. Starlight had proven far too troublesome to be left unattended until she proved she had turned over a new leaf.
“Then I better start making preparations,” Twilight said and untangled herself from her parent’s hugs. Fluffing her wings to check for any bent feathers she smiled at her mom and dad, “There are a lot of things that need to be taken care of between now and then, not the least of which is inviting my friends to the event.”
Twilight Velvet looked a little put out that she wouldn’t be able to hug her baby some more, but was able to swallow it, “We’ll see you then sweetheart.”
“Try not to get into too much trouble in the mean time,” Night Light said in a mix of genuine fatherly concern and sarcasm.
“I make no promises,” Twilight said honestly. Both her parents just sighed. They knew trouble followed their children wherever they went and that they could usually handle themselves, but that knowledge brought them no comfort. Especially because of that usually part.
“Then at least don’t get into trouble you can’t handle,” Velvet begged.
“I think I can manage that much,” Twilight gave her mom another hug, “And worse come to worse, we do have Death’s right hand to help.”
“Somehow that isn’t particularly comforting,” Night Light deadpanned, looking distinctly uncomfortable at the mention of someone so closely associated with Death of all things.
“He’s really not scary at all. He’s just a big goofball worse than Shiny. You’ll understand when you meet him,” Twilight tried to assure them as she pulled back from her hug.
“If you say so honey,” Velvet said, sharing her husband’s apprehensions. Twilight gave them both a look.
“You weren’t nearly this nervous about Discord and David did bring me and Tom back,” She pointed out. Her parents visibly deflated at this.
“I suppose you’re right Twi Pie,” Velvet relented. Twilight cringed at the sound of her childhood nickname. Bad enough Daring Doo of all ponies knew and had ‘accidentally’ leaked it to Rainbow.
“We’ll give him a chance. It’s the least we can do for him bringing our kids back to us,” Night Light said, “Now we should be going.”
One more hug and Twilight’s parents departed and with them a weight Twilight hadn’t even realized she’d been carrying. She really was so silly sometimes, getting so wrapped up in her own head. Now she just had to do the same thing with Shiny and Cadence with what amounted to a family vacation.
Well, it would probably be fine. After all, Flurry was only a couple of weeks old. How much trouble could she possibly be?
Author's Note
That little date next to the chapter upload of chapter 3 has to be lying right? Surely it means to say Oct 2023, not 2022...right?
Insomnia once again proves to be the bane of my existence and the salvation of my writing. I was farting around doing nothing in particular when I decided to read some fimfic for the first time in a while and ended up clicking on "The Crazy Adventures of Two Siblings Who Hate Each Other in Equestria". For some reason this sparked my drive to write and I got this done finally.
