Epilogue:


I don't know how long it's been now. Master Discord sometimes messes with my perception of time. Sometimes it feels like eons, and others -if I didn't have clear memories of LiarJack's little sister growing up and dying of old age (after Scootaloo died as an adult mare defying master) I'd think it all happened yesterday.  The Elements of Chaos seem to have rendered us immortal.

Master Discord has no need for servants, minions or slaves, but he keeps us around anyway.

Liarjack is almost the only one of us who seems to remember how things were before . . . everything began.

She smiles and tells me that everything was rigidly frozen with order before Master Discord took 'control.'  That nothing and no one ever changed, the world was caught in a predictable monotone cycle.

I'm relatively certain she's lying, it's hard to tell though, she's gotten much better since things began. I know she's only saying it though so I don't get upset, so I'm not angry and I'm glad she's willing to lie for my sake.

I sometimes go into a daze and wander the palace aimlessly until I somehow end up in the gallery. Nothing is ever the same once, except the statues in the middle: a solid gold statue of a large Alicorn that shines like the sun, and a smaller silver one that simmers like the moon.

I don't understand why, but I always end up crying while looking at them. FlutterCruel thinks I need to grow up, of course Rarigreed doesn't care, Angry Pie is always asking what I'm crying over, Liarjack just says I'm crying because the statues are so beautiful, Traitor Dash always begins to tell me something, then stops before saying anything meaningful.

By that time, I have to feed and wash Spike. It takes a long time since he's so big, and Master Discord is always riding him around like Spike was a party horse for fun. It always leaves Spike so tired.

Rarigreed is always in her bedroom, or storage room for her 'jewels': they're about the same thing. She's always so dirty, her coat is practically matted with dust from her collection and digging up more to add to it.

She rubs herself against the rocks and stones in her room the way you would a lover. She has rooms full of the things, it's a wonder they haven't fallen over and crushed her. She's always getting more.

She venomously insists they're diamonds rubies, emeralds, what-have-you. We're all sure she's quite crazy.  

Liarjack spends the most time with her, always complimenting how 'beautiful' Rarigreed's collection is, and asking finer details about them. Rarigreed is happy to comply and goes on for hours about her 'treasures.'

Rarigreed's caretaker used to be a white unicorn with a cutie mark for singing until the sweet mare died of old age.

Angry Pie once said they were just 'dumb rocks.' Rarigreed gave her a broken jaw. Traitor Dash said that was the first time Rarigreed had given -anything- in a long time. I can't remember when Rarigreed has given away anything ever.

Liarjack told Rarigreed Angry Pie was just seeing things and of course her treasure weren't rocks, there was no reason to be upset or unhappy.

Whatever you do, don't laugh around Angry Pie, it'll be the last mistake you make. Just take a look at at the fully grown alligator skin on her wall to know what I mean.

She almost seems to hunt down ponies, Dragons, diamond dogs, Griffons, Zebras, -anything- that laughs. Master Discord approves.

Master once laughed near her, she reacted naturally . . . mercifully all she got was a limp for the rest of her life. Hasn't slowed her down one bit.

Don't ask what FlutterCruel does, you don't want to know.

Traitor Dash is always trying to protect or save ponies who get in the way of Master's games. Strangely she always ends up having to let one suffer to save another, master oddly laughs harder during those games.

There's this one pegasus who walks around the palace each day, her wings don't seem to work right, or her legs for that matter. Her eyes always looking in different directions.  She has a pale blond mane and a gray coat, but then again all ponies have gray shades to their colors.

She starts out each day as a fillie too small for a cutie mark then by the time she finishes a full circle for the day, she's so old that you'd think it was only force of will keeping her heart pumping.  

She's always carrying a unicorn filly shaped muffin on her back. Keeping it safe from hungry birds.  She speaks to it.  "No please, she's my muffin, she's my baby, sneeze don't!" She rambles, she doesn't seem to even notice when I try to speak to her. She's always counting down a number of laps each day, telling the muffin everything will be okay once she's done them all. Last I check she was down to only eight quad trillion. "He promised, he promised, you'll be okay, as soon we finish Dinky, he promised, you'll be you."

This pale blue unicorn with a magic wand cutie mark wandered into the palace once, she was older than old, practically skin and bones.  None of the others gave her much mind but me, LJ, and Traitor Dash. LJ just told her sweet nothing that made her smile though I didn't hear them. Traitor Dash looked like she had seen a ghost. She looked at me almost intensely, trying to recall something, as if we had met before. But the look of recognition faded from her eyes and she left the palace never having once raised her head or spoken a word.

Despite Liarjack's best efforts, I sadly found out she died of a heart attack soon after and Traitor Dash and LJ buried her body on the palace grounds.  Kinder than letting Master reanimate her corpse and send it to eat the brains of who she had loved most in life.  Wouldn't be the first time that happened to an unburied body. Applebloom had had to defend herself from her own husband's zombie.

About once a week or so (it's hard to tell) Traitor Dash shows up in my bedroom after 'midnight' (not that night and day really exist anymore, you expect a world run by master to -make sense-?).

She just shows up unannounced at the end of my bed unnoticed when I'm not looking. Glancing at the two house plants I keep but I can't remember why they're so important to me that I keep them watered and in the sun.

I've long since stopped asking questions when she begins speaking.

"Twilight Tragedy," She begins saying my name. "Master promised he'd put everything back the way it was before, -everything!- Every detail, every memory: except mine . . . all," Dash began to tear up, "All I need to do," She hiccuped, "Is murder the pony I care about the most!" She breaks down sobbing, hugging me.  "I can't do it Twilight! I want AJ to be honest again! I want Pinkie to laugh again! I want Rarity to be sane again! I want Fluttershy to be FLUTTERSHY again! But . . but . . I CAN'T DO IT! It's for the sake of everypony, it's for the sake of everything!  But I can't kill my best friend . . . I'm  .. . I've always thought I was strong, ya know, deep down . . . I'm not .  . I'm weak . . . I'm a traitor . . . I'm a traitor . ..  I'm a traitor . . ." She falls asleep in my forelegs.

I wonder about it the next morning, the layout of the palace having changed again, as usual. I wonder what Dash meant in earnest, confused on how she described the others.

Then in all comes back like a crack of thunder. I remember! I remember! Celestia! Luna! Mom! Dad! All of us! This is wrong! This can't be real! It isn't real!

I use my horn to guide me! I'll cure them! I'll lead them! I won't fail! I can't fail! I mustn't fail! Blood pumps through me as I feel my colors returning to me after too long! If I can wake up then so can everyone!

I think about where everyone normally is, Pinkie Pie is closest! I'll start with her!

Discord appears out of the blue before me before I've made it five steps.  I draw in power ready for the fight of my life and . . . he snaps his fingers and the worlds turn gray in my eyes again.

"Oh Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. My little Twilight Tragedy. You forget each time. The only reason you ever wake up each time at all is when and if I want you to . . ."


I don't know how long it's been now. Master Discord sometimes messes with my perception of time. Sometimes it feels like eons, and others -if I didn't have clear memories of LiarJack's little sister growing up and dying of old age (after Scootaloo died as an adult mare defying master) I'd think it all happened yesterday.  The Elements of Chaos seem to have rendered us immortal.

I'm informed by My Master that some foalish ponies in Ponyville are trying to practice magic. Duty calls. Time to show these little ponies that Magic Is Tragedy.

~Fin