Ascension To Beyondby Lepking13ChaptersReport 1: Year 5Report 2: Year 20Report 3: Year 50Report 4: Year 60Entry 5: Year 100Entry 6: Emergency BroadcastReport 1: Year 5“Now presiding, Archmagister Twilight Sparkle and the Council of Harmony.” Twilight trotted into the room, closely followed by her fellow elements. The lights flared, blinding her slightly before her eyes adjusted. She walked quickly up to the long desk, taking the topmost chair as her friends filled in the remaining seats. Her eyes roamed over the packed throne room turned council chamber. The ponies started talking amongst themselves, as they usually did after the council entered. “First order of business,” Twilight spoke up, silencing all the attendees. “The sentencing of the griffin King. Bring forth the accused.” The doors in the back of the room opened, as several guards dragged in a heavily chained griffin. Once he saw Twilight he struggled against his chains, almost breaking them before the earth pony next to him grabbed him and hit him with a club. The griffin went limp in his hands. Fluttershy gasped, before jumping over the bench and rushing to his side. “He’s been hit harder, just check if we have to postpone another day again.” Twilight said without even looking up from the papers she was reading. “He has a light concussion, but nothing that’ll prevent him from standing trial.” Fluttershy said, her fingers pressing against different parts of the griffins skull. One particular spot made the griffin squawk, his eyes shooting open and his claws flying upwards to strike at Fluttershy before the chains still wrapped around him stopped his movement. “How mean. Here I was worried about your health, and you try to kill me.” Fluttershy said coldly, standing up and walking back to her seat behind the bench. “Are we going to get to business now? Cloudsdale has a new class of Wonderbolts I was asked to give the graduation speech for.” Rainbow said, her wings flaring as her patience withered. “You can wait a few more minutes until we render a judgement.” Rarity said, shuffling through the papers she had brought. “After all, I had to delay the Old Castle restoration meeting for this.” “Enough girls.” Twilight said, putting her papers down. Her gaze locked onto the griffin. “Gaius Ironbeak, you stand before the Council of Harmony charged with war crimes. Kidnapping, theft, mutilation of innocents, arson, and attempted assassination of not one but three members of the Council of Harmony. How do you plead?” Gaius was hauled to his feet, and walked out into the middle of the council room. “Guilty as charged. Unlike you, I have no problems facing the punishment for my crimes. If I could live it over again, I’d choose to do the same things every single time.” “And what is that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked, her eyebrow rising in question. “You played a part in Celestia’s disappearance. I can’t prove it, but it just so happens that a week after she is gone you step in with Luna’s approval to reform the entire government. And you don’t have to worry about the nobles opposing you, since the aliens just so happened to remove a majority of them as well.” “Are you accusing me of masterminding the genocide of our noble caste, as well as the disappearance of our beloved princess?” Twilight said, her voice raising in anger. “Damn right I am. It just so happens that you get friendly with the aliens, and right after they leave you know exactly what to do to keep peace. More than a little suspicious.” “She isn’t the one on trial here.” Rainbow said, slamming her hands on the table as she stood up. “You admitted you were guilty, so let’s get to sentencing his feathery ass and get back to things actually worth doing.” “I second that. I have too many parties scheduled for this to take much longer.” Pinkie said, her demeanor rather tame compared to her usual antics. “Very well then. For your crimes, Gaius-” “King Gaius. You never took my crown, and I will not be insulted by you sentencing me to death without my full title.” “Very well then, King Gaius. You are sentenced to death. Your execution will be carried out at dawn, five days from now.” Twilight said, signing the papers before floating them over to one of the guards. He looked over the papers once, before nodding to two more guards that walked over and grabbed the griffin. “You will be punished for your crimes, if not in this life then in the next. You are solely responsible for the hell you have created.” Gaius squawked at her as he was dragged out of the room. “I have seen hell, and everything I have done is to keep us from that end.” Twilight said coldly, before storming out of the room. The other elements just sighed, knowing how she got whenever Celestia was brought up. Twilight was pacing back and forth in her room, her work completely forgotten as her mind wandered back to the council room and what Gaius had said. ‘I need to figure out who else thinks so. This could be seen as me silencing him.’ “You okay sugahcube? You rushed outta there pretty quick.” Applejack said, walking in without knocking like always. “What he said struck me pretty deep. I was closer to Celestia than almost anypony else, and the fact that he could say such things about me is horrifying.” ‘Even if it is true, except for the genocide.’ “He was a dead-griffin walking, what he said was meant to strike deep.” Applejack said, walking up and pulling Twilight into a hug. “You’ve done a good job since she disappeared, and Equestria is stronger than ever.” “Yeah, after a war with Griffonia and Zebrica. Not to mention the minotaurs and wolves threatened war as well.” “You talked them out of it pretty well.” Applejack said, remembering the peace talks rather extensively. Twilight pulled herself out of Applejack’s arms, and walked over to her bed before flopping down on it. “Sometimes I question how so much stuff happened. This all started in that one week. The one week with the Aetherians.” She mumbled into the sheets. “Now, I won’t say I remember much of that week. Rightly being, all I remember was us being brought to Canterlot. Right before everything went to Tartarus.” “Yeah, the Aetherians definitely changed the world.” “There’s more to that than what yer sayin’ sugar. There something you need to get off yer chest?” ‘Should I tell her? Could I tell her?’ Twilight rolled over onto her back. She stared up at the ceiling, the same ceiling that she used to sit under with Celestia late into the night and read books. Her mind wandered back to those days. She was no more than a knee high filly, always preferring to have her nose in a book. She would wander around the castle, usually pulling a little cart filled with all kinds of books. A majority of her wanderings would end up with her in the throne room, seated beside Celestia’s throne. A good book in front of her, and her pseudo-mother seated next to her as she studied. She could feel her smile, the warmth always generous and real. Then she would remember that night with Prophet. The night she had effectively dethroned Celestia. “Not yet. Maybe someday, just not today.” “You know we’re all here for you. You don’t have to hold it all in yerself.” Applejack said, opening her bag and pulling out a small apple treat. “We’re worried about you. Every time somepony brings up Celestia, you get so touchy. It’s been five years since she’s disappeared.” ‘For everypony else maybe. I see her quite regularly.’ “While everypony seems to accept what I’ve done, the feeling is still strong. They miss their princess of the sun, even if they’re better off overall now.” “Yeah, in such a short time you’ve definitely revolutionized everything. We’ve already surpassed the griffins in technology, and made everypony’s life much easier.” Applejack thought back to her farm. She wouldn't have even thought about accepting Twilight’s offer if she hadn’t brought those things that let Big Mac run the farm by himself. She needed to stop by one of these days, when her schedule opened up enough to let her travel. “And it’s only beginning. There are new discoveries made every week, either making what we already have better or making something else easier.” Twilight said, remembering the report she had read just before the council. She hadn’t had much time, but skimming over it she had noticed that somepony had discovered a way to bind a magic infused gem to a living creature’s soul and use the magic of the gem to dictate the wellness of it. That would be extremely useful in the long run, although the pony researching it would have to be watched closely. “While I don’t understand all of what your Magistry makes, I do understand that you do it to make pony’s lives easier.” A small alarm went off in Applejack’s bag, which made her jump in surprise. “Consarnit, I thought I had more time.” She said, reaching into her bag and digging for the alarm. Pulling it out, she hit the button on the top to silence the bells. “It’s fine Applejack. You’re a busy mare, just the like the rest of us. Go ahead with your schedule, I’ll be fine.” Twilight said, lifting herself back to her hooves and walking over to her desk. “I have projects to approve, and other projects to catch up on.” “Just remember sugahcube, we’re here for you if you need to talk about anything at all.” Applejack said, walking back out the door. ‘If only I could talk about the things I really need to.’ Twilight thought, trying to lose herself in her work. Luna knocked on the window, awakening Twilight from her nap at her desk. Reaching out with her magic, Twilight opened the balcony door to let her in. “Did you forget what tonight is?” Luna asked, landing in the room. Twilight definitely had to congratulate her, she had learned the newer vernacular pretty easily. “I’m sorry, I’ve been busy with a cartload of different projects. Care to remind me?” Twilight asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eye. “It’s the night of the month we’re supposed to visit her.” Luna said, tossing an apple to Twilight. “Already? I’ll never understand how you two did all of this, and so much more by yourselves. I’m losing myself in the reports from just my branches, I doubt I’d be able to stay on top of everything from the others as well.” “You’re also making it much harder on yourself. You make yourself read through every single notice, letter, and report you get. Celestia and I simply had somepony summarize everything and we read those. Not to mention being alicorns helped more than a little bit.” “Yeah, but what if they overlook something that’s important?” Twilight said, as she took a bite of the apple. “It’s something you have to trust them to be able to do. So are we going tonight or are you rescheduling because you’re tired?” Luna asked, turning and walking out onto the balcony. “Tonight is good. It wouldn’t do well after so many years of following a schedule to overlook it because I was tired.” Twilight said, preparing her teleporting spell. “I’ll see you there.” She said, before a popping sound signaled that she had already gone. “Nice to see you again, Twilight.” Celestia said coldly. “Must we do this every time Celestia?” Twilight sighed, sick of how she treated her. Admittedly it was deserved, but after so many years Twilight thought that Celestia would at least begin to understand. “Must you constantly grind the knife you planted into my back by coming here every month? While you haven’t driven Equestria into a hole, you started two wars that I never would have and barely talked your way out of two more.” “But she has made the lives of our ponies so much easier. The inventions of the Magistry have made their lives so much easier, and every week they revolutionize some idea or discover some new thing that simplifies another part of somepony’s life.” Luna stepped in, hoping to have a nice conversation for once. “At what cost though? How many ponies have been injured during their research, and for what. A few trivial simplicities?” Celestia said, her hand slamming down on the table. The table groaned under the pressure. This one had lasted longer than the last three. “There is a no tolerance policy for experiments that injure anypony. If any experiment even accidentally injures somepony, then the pony in charge is put on probation until a full incident investigation is completed, and I say they are allowed to continue working. Those that do it purposefully are imprisoned for ten years and never allowed to be within a hundred yards of a thaumaturgists lab again. And I’m quite glad to say that I have yet to do that to anypony.” “It is only a matter of time.” Celestia said, before turning away from Twilight. “Always the same things with you. If you aren’t the one watching everything, then whoever is will mess it up.” Twilight said, standing up from her seat. “I’ll see you back in Canterlot Luna.” Twilight charged up her teleportation spell, popping away before either of the alicorns could stop her. “Is it impossible for you two to get along? We’ve had five years, you’ve both explained your sides of the argument.” Luna said, pulling out a small cake and knife. She cut the cake apart, floating a piece over in front of Celestia who promptly grabbed it and swallowed it whole. “And I still agree with Twilight. The griffins would have taken over technologically. No amount of magic can oppose the capability to take an enemy out at ranges far greater than the average spell.” “Yeah, I’ve heard it before Lulu.” “But have you listened? You denied all chances of advancement, for fear of a few accidents. Within five years, we have tripled our exports and become an economic superpower far greater than what Equestria was under our rule. All thanks to technology.” “Something we could have done anyways.” “But not before one of the other species discovered it. You would have accepted the technology after another species discovered and released it, just to make sure your ponies weren’t harmed while it was being created. We would have been following behind, pulling ourselves along by their coattails. Now we are the leaders, the ones at the head of the wave going forward.” “If all you’re trying to do is convince me to forgive her, then forget it. There is nothing you could do, nothing anypony on this planet could do to make me forgive her.” Celestia said, standing up out of her chair and stomping off to the back of the small cottage she was trapped in. She slammed the door to her bedroom shut, effectively ending this reunion. A tear fell down Luna’s cheek. “Happy birthday Tia.” She said, pulling a small package from her bag and placing it on the table before teleporting back to Canterlot. Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 First Report Count: 5 years War. Peace. Advancement. Calculating Odds: 30% Initializing Hibernation Protocols. Report 2: Year 20“Remember. Move fast, no innocent casualties, and check those damn corners. Alfalfa checking.” “Bridle checking.” “Drift squad, checking.” “Zebra, checking.” “All teams cleared, weapons hot.” Several explosions sounded out, as various parts of the building were breached. “They’re coming for me.” Twilight said, her muzzle bleeding onto her dress as she smiled. “You won’t live through the night.” “Tell us where she is.” The masked stallion in front of her said, hitting her again. “She disappeared when the aliens came. I don’t know where she went.” Twilight answered, spitting out a loogie of blood. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell someone who kidnapped me in the middle of the night and tortured me for hours.” “We’re running out of time, they brought the big guns. We’ve got four teams coming in, all of them heavily loaded. They came prepared for war.” Another masked pony rushed into the room, her voice betraying her gender. “Has she said anything?” “Still feigning innocence. We’ve watched you disappear monthly along with Luna for the past few years. Where else would you be going?” He asked, his fist clenched and drawn back ready to strike. “What me and Princess Luna do alone is none of your business.” Twilight said, as the stallion decked her again. “WHY WON’T YOU TELL US WHERE SHE IS?” He screamed, grabbing her dress and lifting her off the ground chair and all. “I would tell you if I knew. Heck, I’d probably be leading the charge to bring her back.” Twilight said, spitting into his face. He dropped her, the chair threatening to tip over before she caught her balance. Several shots sounded in the hallway through the door the mare had come in. “We’re out of time. I need an answer now.” The mare came up beside Twilight, drawing one of the guns they had recently designed and released, putting it to her temple. “Where is Celestia?” “I. Don’t. Know.” Twilight said, staring into her eyes defiantly. The crack of a shot echoed and Twilight flinched, her eyes closing as she tried to curl up into a ball. A second crack. “VIP found, moving to secure and extract.” Twilight cracked an eye open and noticed several heavily armored ponies entering, their weapons scanning the room as they checked for anyone hiding. “Control, inform them that we have recovered Archmagister Twilight.” Several of the armored ponies came over, two of them untying her and the others checking the now dead ponies that had kidnapped her. “We’re going to do a quick field check, is anything broken or any sharp internal pains?” One of them asked, as Twilight was brought to her feet. His hands pressed quickly against parts of her legs and chest. “No, they wanted information from me I didn’t have. They were just about ready to kill me when you showed up.” She said, rubbing her wrists and stretching. “Good. Now let’s get you out of here and back to Canterlot. Everyone is waiting.” Twilight was quickly ushered into the middle of the group, as they filed back out into the hall. Nothing short of a rampaging dragon was going to stop them now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh sugahcube.” Applejack was the first one to get to the group after they had landed. The soldiers all moved aside, as the other elements came running up. It was a heartwarming picture. Off to the side, the soldiers had all formed up in their squads in front of their commander. “Damn good job men. No casualties, and the VIP is relatively uninjured.” Luna walked up to them, all of them snapping to attention. “You guys did better than a good job. I expect you to be up early tomorrow for the reward ceremony, in your dress uniforms. You’re all getting the Platinum Star of Harmony.” She said, saluting them. “Now get your rest. It isn’t everyday you save one of the most important ponies on the planet. Dismissed.” They all returned the salute, before turning and heading off towards the barracks. “I know you girls were worried. I promise I’m okay.” Twilight said, from within the throng of the group hug. “But now we get to have a Twilight is safe party. I’m going to invite everyone I can. What kind of cake do you want?” Pinkie asked, pulling out her usual list of party necessities. She sat there, quill to paper and a giant grin on her face. “Can we hold off on that party until I at least get checked out by a real doctor. The best I’ve had is a field check for broken bones.” Twilight said. The rest of them quickly backed away, more than a few sheepish looks on their faces. “I suppose that would be the best idea right now. Let’s go make sure you’re ok, inside and out.” Luna said, winking as she teleported them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “While you have proven me wrong, was it necessary to do so in such a shocking manner? Willingly letting yourself get captured, just to test your experiment.” Luna said, handing Twilight a wet rag. “If I am not willing to go to such lengths to test it, how will I ever convince my friends that it is for the best.” Twilight replied, wiping the blood off her face. “But honestly, subjecting yourself to torture. Was it at least worth it? Did you discover anything more than what our intel said?” Luna asked, removing the tatters of the dress and throwing it on the floor. “Hey, be careful with that. I don’t have a lot of pajamas, and that dress is the most comfortable one I’ve gotten. As for information, they didn’t reveal anything that we didn’t already know. Some pony is pulling the strings from the shadows, spreading rumors and recruiting the stallions and mares that would prefer to see Celestia back on the throne.” Twilight said over her shoulder, a frown on her face. “I’ll have them make you a new one. We’ll look more into where the ponies from your recovery came from, maybe that will give us a lead. How well did it work?” Luna asked, applying pressure to different joints on Twilight’s body. “Any actual damage was healed almost instantly, leaving just the image that I was horribly injured. The field doctor was pretty surprised, saying something about ‘appearing much worse for wear than I actually was’.” Twilight said, allowing Luna to do her work. "Almost got to test whether or not I could take a bullet to the head." “Did he just attribute it to your innate magic healing you?” Luna asked, ignoring that end comment. “He just shrugged it off as ‘Element of Harmony’ magic.” “And you believe you can convince the rest of the elements to go through the same process?” Luna asked, handing Twilight a loose shirt and pants. “There is a lot of stuff we still need to perfect with the process, but I hope that we can have it done before they die.” Twilight said, her voice muffled by the clothes as she put them on. “And how many of them will agree?” Luna asked, her magic straightening out the clothes on Twilight’s form. “If I approach them all the right way, every single one will. The question is going to be how to do so.” “So immortality is in your hands now. How does it feel, knowing you’ll live as long as me and Tia?” Luna asked, knowing to avoid the topic they were heading towards. “It hasn’t actually hit me yet. Right now, I’m just living my normal life. Ask me in a century or two, if everything hasn’t gone to Tartarus by then.” Twilight replied, as her horn glowed. A flash of purple later, and they were in her office in the basement of the Magister’s Tower. Twilight moved over to the wall, her magic lighting up a pattern and opening the hidden door. “You’ve done pretty well. You’ve somehow convinced the griffins, zebras, and diamond dogs to unite with Equestria. The United Equus Alliance is the most powerful military power on planet, surpassing even the dragons.” Luna said, walking through the hidden tunnel. “Well, they were threatened with self-destruction before we stepped in. Their governments were in anarchy, everyone with any sort of claim trying to take it all for themselves. It’s rather easy to convince the people that we are their best choice.” Twilight said, walking through after her. The door closed behind them, seamlessly hiding where they went. From deeper in the tunnel, they could hear the usual sounds of machinery and the hum of the ley lines echoing through the crystal caverns. “At least you made sure to keep it secret. How many actually know what you did?” Luna asked, as the tunnel started lighting up. “Other than you, four unicorns. All of which have been sworn to secrecy with magical oaths. If they try spreading the information anywhere, their minds will be wiped irreversibly.” Twilight said, as they walked out into a small lab. The four unicorns that had been waiting turned to the last of the newcomers. “Congratulations everyone, the experiment was a success. The first part of Project Alicorn is a complete success.” Twilight said, a cheer going up at the news. “Yes, we can celebrate. You all get the next two weeks off with full pay. When you get back though, we’re going to start adapting the process for a pegasus. I’m quite sure I know exactly who we’ll be changing next.” The four unicorns turned and walked off through their own hall, chatting as they disappeared into the darkness. “And if something happens that requires the Elements of Harmony before you can talk with all of them, how are you going to explain that yours no longer exists as it did before.” Luna asked, walking over and sitting atop the small table in the center of the room. “If I need to, I’ll bring them all here at once and make them the offer.” Twilight said, as she sauntered up to Luna. “And how much longer are we going to remain a secret?” Luna asked, as Twilight drew closer. “I said I would leave the choice to you on whether or not we went public.” She replied, leaning forward and kissing Luna on the lips. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 Second Report Count: 20 years Discovery. Realization. Subterfuge. Recalculating Odds: 45% Re-Initializing Hibernation Protocols. Report 3: Year 50Twilight tripped, her hoof catching on a small root. She landed on the ground just as a light passed over where she had been standing a second earlier. “Are you sure they went over here?” “Of course I’m sure, I watched them.” “So why didn’t you shoot them?” “Orders are that they’re taken alive. They couldn’t get Twilight to tell us what happened before they broke out and the rest are too valuable to risk injuring.” “Twilight, what are they talking about?” Applejack asked, crouched as she snuck up to Twilight. She helped her to her hooves, giving the other girls time to catch up. “We don’t have time for it right now, we need to get out of this magic cancellation bubble.” She replied, already looking ahead for their next path. They could risk running through the buildings, which would take them out of the camp quickly but could also end up with them running into a dead end and getting caught, or stay along the outside of the camp and hope to find a gate. “Make time. We’re in the middle of the Zebrican desert, after being kidnapped in the middle of the night.” “Look, I’ll tell you everything once we get back to Canterlot. I promise.” Twilight said, moving ahead through the sparse brush. “Pinkie Promise.” “What?” Twilight asked, turning to look at Pinkie. “I said, make a Pinkie Promise. You’ve spent a lot of years hiding stuff from us, and it’s put you into danger countless times. Heck, it’s starting to put us into danger.” She said, her mane going straight as it did whenever she was serious about something. “Pinkie, we need to move n-” “Make the Pinkie Promise. I’m not taking another step until you do.” Twilight sighed, before going through the motions. “Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” “Okie dokie, let’s get out of here.” She said, her hair poofing back up with her mood. “Someone check the perimeter. They might be heading for the gate.” “We need to move now girls. Where’s Dash?” Twilight said, opting to head through the buildings. “Right here. The camp is surrounded everywhere by rune lines, and there’re only two ways in and out unless you want to try the front gate.” Rainbow said, landing silently ahead of them. “They’re swarming towards the front and western gates as well as starting to circle the lines. We have maybe a five minute window.” “How far to the third gate?” Twilight asked, walking down the alley between the buildings. This town looked like it used to be quite lively before these ponies came in and took over. “We can get there in two minutes. The problem being that we’d have to avoid the patrols of the ponies throughout the town. Me and Flutters can do it quickly, since they don’t have any pegasi here, but the rest of you would be stuck going through the maze of buildings because we can’t carry you all.” Rainbow said, following after her. “And if we could?” Twilight asked. “This would be a cakewalk. We could just go right over their heads. There doesn’t seem to be a ceiling to this area, just walls around the perimeter.” “Uhm.” Fluttershy started. “Unfortunately, you can’t just grow wings.” Rainbow said, sighing as that plan went out the window. “Actually, we can.” Fluttershy said. A dead silence was her only response, accompanied by deadpan stares. “What I mean is, Twilight asked me to help her study pegasus anatomy and magic in the hopes that someday we could fix any pegasi that lost their wings in an accident or just didn’t naturally develop their magic. After figuring it out, we started testing to see if we could have the spells work on ponies other than pegasi.” “So why is it that none of the rest of us have heard about this?” Rainbow asked, glaring at Twilight. “The project was scrapped. It was too dangerous a spell, since it infused the target not only with the magic to grow wings but with natural pegasus magic in order to facilitate the use of said wings. Almost all of the tests showed a corrupted mixing of their natural magic and the foreign pegasus magic. There was a ninety-eight percent mortality rate.” Twilight said, plans running through her head. If they moved now, they could get to the gate and out where she could teleport them away. “Ninety-eight? So somepony survived it. Who?” Rainbow said, her voice changing from rage to surprise. “Uhm...Twilight.” Fluttershy mumbled into her mane, hiding behind it from Rainbow. “Who?” Rainbow asked again, moving closer to Fluttershy. “Twilight.” Fluttershy mumbled even quieter. “Speak up Shy.” Rarity said, stepping closer to hear as well. “It was me, okay. I’m the only one that survived the tests.” Twilight said, exasperation evident in her voice. A faint glow of purple came from her back, as she dropped the illusion spell she had been holding. Two large wings extended outwards, stretching across the entire alley. “Whoa.” “Yes, very pretty. Now, can we get on with escaping from this place?” “Twi, why would you go and do something like that to yerself?” Applejack asked, her hand reaching out and touching the feathers to test their realness. The wing twitched away in response, folding against Twilight’s back. “If I wasn’t willing to do the test to myself, how could I ever release the project for the public to use.” “But you could have died.” “But I didn’t. Now is not the best time to argue over my method of scientific discovery. We’re still in the middle of trying to escape. You can lecture me on how dangerous it is to test spells on myself when we get out of here.” Twilight said, walking over and wrapping her hands around Rarity. Rainbow and Fluttershy grabbed a hold of Pinkie and Applejack, and all three took to the sky. From up here, they could see the ponies moving around below like ants. “Bank right, the gate is just to the east.” Rainbow said, cutting across their field of vision and directing the group eastward. All the ponies below were moving towards the western area, since they had escaped from that side of town. They would have been caught running around on the ground, by sheer numbers. “Why are there so many of them?” “And what did they want?” “My secrets. One’s a fifty year old secret that could destroy everything we’ve worked to build, and the other is a thirty year old one that would change everything.” Twilight said. “Does it have anything to do with the reason you and Fluttershy don’t seem to age?” Pinkie asked. “That is a part of it. I believe it is time that I reveal the entirety of Project Alicorn to the rest of you girls.” “Project Alicorn? Sounds like you’re trying to become immortal.” Applejack said, as they started floating downwards to land. “Not trying. We succeeded. Twice.” Twilight said, setting Rarity on the ground then landing beside her. “Both Fluttershy and myself are now immortal. We were working on a way to give this gift to the rest of you girls as well.” “Fluttershy, why didn’t you tell me? We’ve shared everything for decades, and this is what you keep from me?” Rarity turned, a look of anger and sadness on her face. “Twilight made me Pinkie Promise not to tell any of you girls. When she bound the Element of Kindness to my soul, it nearly broke me. I wasn’t used to having so much power, and she was afraid for the rest of you. She’s been spending the last thirty years trying to figure out a way to guarantee you would survive.” “Whoa, wait. Bound the Elements? What exactly did you do Twilight?” Applejack asked, glaring at the pegacorn. “Like I said, I’ll tell you everything when we get back to Canterlot.” Twilight said, stepping up to the gate. She wrapped her hands in the glow of her magic, and pushed upon the weak point in the spell. After a few seconds of struggling, a quiet pop sounded as she moved straight through. “There we go, now let’s get out of here.” The rest of the girls quickly followed her out, forming a circle as she started charging the teleportation spell. “They just went through the East gate. Get over there and get them.” “Twilight, they’re coming.” Fluttershy said, looking behind them. Several dozen of the ponies had stormed out of nowhere, running towards them. “I know. Give me a second.” Twilight said, as a circle of purple light surrounded them. A loud pop was heard, as they disappeared to wherever Twilight was taking them. “DAMMIT!” The ponies shouted, slowing down as they came up to the spot that had been filled seconds earlier. They all grumbled and milled about, only a mild silence around the area before a burst of blue magic blinded many of them. “Congratulations everypony. Mission accomplished.” Luna said, dropping the illusion spell around the area. It returned to the small mining town it was. “Everyone get some sleep, we have to return tomorrow on the dawn.” The ponies all saluted, their own illusion spells dropping to reveal the Magister Forces. “Let us hope this does not end up for naught.” Luna said, turning to face towards Canterlot. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The girls landed in Twilight’s room below the Magisters Tower, everyone but Twilight falling to the ground. “Twi, just how far did you take us?” Rarity asked, climbing to her hooves. She had teleported before, but had never been this dizzy. “Three hundred miles, and into my office below Magister’s Tower.” “Snazzy. Why haven’t you ever invited us down here?” Rainbow asked, looking around at the decorations.Various inventions decorated the bookshelves and tables. “We’ll agree to disagree on the decorations, but three hundred miles? The longest range recorded before was twenty.” Rarity said, amazed. “Yeah, part of the binding. The elements hold nearly an infinite amount of magic, and binding them let’s us control however much we need.” Twilight said, walking over to a blank wall. Purple patterns lit up as she approached, the bricks folding back to show a hall leading off into darkness. “This brings back memories.” Fluttershy said, smiling as she walked past them down the hall. “Yeah, memories.” Twilight said, walking after her. The other girls shared a look of concern before following them. “Did you figure out how to resolve the problems you had with me?” Fluttershy asked, looking back over her shoulder towards Twilight. “Most of them. The only thing we have to worry about is whether or not the pony wants to bind themselves to the Element.” Twilight replied, the light growing brighter as they walked down. “Just what are you implyin’ Twi?” Applejack asked. “How willing are you to join with your elements? Yes, you will outlive everypony you have ever known and ever will again. But we will watch over Equestria, making sure everything ends up alright.” Twilight asked, as the tunnel suddenly opened into a room that could only be described as massive. Machinery covered every wall, and in the center of the room was a giant cylinder filled with green goo. Wiring covered the entirety of the ceiling, running up the walls from the machines and focusing on the vat of goo in the middle. “Whoa.” “Reminds me of the stories of Flankenstein’s laboratory.” “Did everything have to be grey?” “Ok girls. The choice is now or never.” Twilight said, as she walked over to a panel on the large cylinder. She pressed a few buttons, and four lightly padded steel tables descended from the ceiling. “Are you willing to become immortal, to guarantee the future of Equestria and her children?” Twilight asked, turning around to them. Fluttershy walked over to stand beside Twilight. “Please, join us girls. We can work to make sure there isn’t anymore pain ever again.” She said, smiling. A look passed between the remaining four, indecisive and contemplative. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 Third Report Count: 50 years Deception. Lies. Conversion. Recalculating Odds: 20% Re-Initializing Hibernation Protocols. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh Twilight, I warned you. Now, let's see just how far you must fall in order to see your wrongdoing. Report 4: Year 60Twilight looked up, the light rain mixing with her tears. “An overcast day to represent our overcast hearts. We commit to the earth this mare, taken from us before her time. Applebloom had much to offer us in her life, but was not meant to be.” No sounds were made as the coffin was lowered, save the crying of her sister Applejack. Twilight’s eyes wandered over the graves on either side. Granny Smith, AJ’s parents, and now her little sister. Then her eyes moved to the other ponies gathered. The other Crusaders and their families. A few of the ponies they knew from Ponyville. Various other ponies they had met over their lifetimes. And of course, three squads of her own Magister Force armed to the teeth to take on anything. “No, she doesn’t deserve to be in the ground.” Applejack said, struggling to get away from Rainbow. “Aj, we can’t do anything now.” Fluttershy said, wiping away her tears. “Get offa me. My little sis doesn’t deserve to be dead. She didn’t deserve to die. She was finally happy. She had a family. Was about to have her first grandfoal.” “Aj, fighting isn’t going to bring her back.” “Sis. What happened was beyond any of our control, and it is too late to change. We can only go forward from here.” Big Mac said, walking over and grabbing Aj’s shoulders. “I could have done something. I could have stopped him.” She said, shaking as tears started streaming down her face. “There was nothin ya coulda done sis. We’re purty strong, but we can’t fight a unicorn.” He said, pulling her against his chest. Tears stained his own face as he held her close. “There was nothin we coulda done.” “I want you to do it.” Applejack said, slamming the door to Twilight’s office open. “Ok.” Twilight responded, dropping the report she was reading. “I don’t care what you-” Applejack started, before a look of realization came across her face. “You were waiting for me to come here, weren’t you.” “I’ve been waiting since the funeral. Now, do you want this done or are we just going to talk?” Twilight asked, the shimmer of rage glinting across her eyes a mirror to the same Applejack saw every time she looked in a mirror. The tunnel entrance in her office appeared, like it had so few years ago. “After this, I want the pony who did it delivered to me personally.” Applejack said, as she stormed down the tunnel. “Already waiting. We captured him trying to escape via the forest.” Twilight said, following after her. “How much is it going to hurt?” “Like nothing you’ve ever felt before.” “It can’t hurt more than watching Lil Bloom die in my hands.” “It tears at your very soul.” Twilight warned, as the light from the lab filled the tunnel ahead of them. “If Fluttershy can take it at full strength, then I can take it reduced.” Applejack stormed into the room, surprising the two unicorns that were working on the machinery. “Very well. Start the warm-up sequence, then get out.” Twilight ordered, her voice providing no room for argument. They quickly ran about, flipping switches and levers. A low hum filled the room as the machinery powered up. A single table descended from the ceiling, which Applejack promptly hopped onto. “The moment we get this over with, that stallion is a dead pony.” She said, her eyes locking onto the vat in the center of the room. “If that is what you want.” Twilight said, as she input the last calculations into a computer. “Now, don’t hold your screams in. It’ll hurt more if you do.” Twilight said, as she flipped the lever. Several flasks shattered. “I have rights as an Equestrian Citizen.” The stallion shouted as he was shoved into the room. The door was slammed shut in his face and several bolts slid into place on the opposite side. “Sit down.” A voice said from behind him. He spun around, only to be greeted by pitch black. “No, I’ve already been arrested and sentenced.” He said into the darkness. “Sit. The buck. Down.” “Ok, fine. I can’t help you anymore than what I said to the police. I received my instructions from an anonymous source.” He said, groping around in the darkness. His hands glanced across something metal, and he grabbed ahold of it recognizing it as the back of a chair. He quickly moved around, taking a seat. “That’s fine, since I don’t want you to talk.” “Then why am I here? I was already sentenced to thirty years maximum security.” He said, sweat starting to form on his neck despite how cold the room was. “Oh no. That isn’t punishment enough for you.” “What are you talking about?” He asked, barely getting the words out. The fur on the back of his neck rising, his every instinct was telling him to run and get out of that room at any cost. “Ah want you to scream.” “What kind of sick pony are you?” He asked, jumping up from his seat. He made his way back to the door, banging on it. “Come on, this isn’t funny. Let me out.” He shouted, beating on the door. His fist was suddenly wrapped in an orange aura. “It isn’t meant to be funny. You’re meant to be scared.” The aura provided a little bit of light for him to see, just enough to notice the orange pony standing on the opposite side of the room. The look she had in her eyes made his blood freeze. It was pure rage, and he was the only target. “I’ll defend myself if I need to.” He said, his own horn flaring and his aura wrapping around the chair. Before he could even move it, an orange glow surrounded the chair as well. “You thought you could hurt her, because she couldn’t defend herself against magic. Let’s see how you feel in the same position.” She said, removing her hat and placing it on the table. “What are you?” He asked, noticing no horn on her head. “My name is Applejack. The older sister of Applebloom, and the Element of Honesty. Right now, I’m your worst nightmare.” She said, a flare of orange shooting across her eyes. The stallion felt his hand go numb. He looked over, to notice it was just a bloody stump. He opened his mouth to scream, only to have his tongue ripped out by the same orange aura. “Tonight is only beginning for you.” She said, a sadistic grin on her face as she walked closer to him. “Now, let’s hear you scream for me.” One of the guards standing right outside winced, as the blood curdling scream echoed up and down the hall. “Is this the right thing to do?” He asked, turning to his partner. “You weren’t on duty. You didn’t see what he did. Personally, I think Twilight is letting him off easy. She left him to someone untrained in torture. She’ll be sloppy.” The mare replied, her hand tightening around the grip of her rifle. “But her enthusiasm will more than make up for it.” He said, wincing as another scream echoed. “If you need to leave, I won’t blame you. Just know, you won’t be allowed to come back.” She said, watching him struggle with the decision. “Our job requires us to do much worse rookie. So either get out, or buck up.” She watched the indecision move across his face, being replaced by determination. He tightened the group on his rifle, as a smile grew on hers. “Good colt. We’ll make a Force-man out of you yet.” She said, watching him wince as another scream echoed down the halls. Twilight was standing outside the room, waiting for Applejack’s signal. It was the appointed time, now she was just waiting for- Three short knocks, and a loud bang interrupted her thoughts. “Open the door.” The two guards moved to unbolt the door, weapons ready as they stepped back. The door swung open slowly, gradually revealing a bloodied orange mare with a stallion on the ground behind her. “Thank ya Twilight. I’m quite sure he won’t be causing problems ever again.” She said coldly, walking out and past them. “Check him.” She said, following after Applejack. She followed her into the bathroom, where she heard vomiting. “Aj, that you in there?” “Oh Celestia, how could ah do that to somepony.” Aj replied, before another bout of sickness interrupted them. A quick tap on Twilight’s shoulder made her turn, noticing the mare guard. She traced her thumb across her throat. Twilight nodded in response, understanding the message. “Ah mean, yeah he killed Lil Bloom. But I’m supposed to be better than this.” Applejack started sobbing. “None of us are above wanting vengeance.” Twilight said, as she walked over and leaned against the wall. “But what would Bloom say if she could see me now?” Applejack said, her voice cracking. “I don’t know. She would probably be happy knowing he would never do it again.” Twilight said, knowing just how hard this was on Applejack. “Is this what you do everyday? Kill ponies so that they never hurt anypony else?” Aj asked. Twilight could feel the tingling of magic, attributing it to the Element of Honesty. “It’s a part of what I do. I help Luna keep the innocents innocent, and we stop the bad ponies before they can do anything. Most of the time.” Twilight said, knowing truth would be the best path right now. “And what about Celestia?” Twilight froze up. She wasn’t prepared for this. Not yet. “I can’t answer that.” “Can’t or won’t. There’s a distinct difference.” Applejack said, before another bout of vomiting interrupted her. “I’m sorry AJ. It isn’t something I’m comfortable talking about.” Twilight said, hoping she would leave it at that. “You’ve held it in for so many years. One of these days, you’ll have to let us in. We have forever now.” Aj said, the flushing of the toilet signaling she was done. The latch of the stall slid open, revealing a sick looking blood covered mare. “Yeah, and I’m still coming to terms with it. Let’s get you cleaned up. The other girls are worried about you.” Twilight said, walking over and wrapping her in a hug. “Yeah.” Applejack replied, ignoring the little niggling feeling she was getting in the back of her mind. Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 Fourth Report Count: 60 years The first step of evolution has been taken by all necessary. Recalculating Odds: 30% Initializing Long-Term Hibernation Protocols Energy Consumption reduced to 40% Remaining Power: 30% Estimated Remaining On-Time: 90 Years Can you save yourself, little Flame? Can you save yourself from this downward spiral you have cast yourself into? Entry 5: Year 100Celestia sat upright, a knocking sound coming from the door to her cottage. “That’s unusual. Usually they let themselves in.” She said, getting up from her bed and walking into the front room. She made her way to the door, opening it to several heavily clothed ponies that weren’t Luna or Twilight. “Your Highness, we have come to bring you back to your throne.” Celestia just stood there, jaw open in shock and eye twitching. (\ /) ( . .) (“)_(“) Luna’s horn lit up softly, waking her and Twilight from their slumber. They looked up at the glow, before realization hit them and woke them up hard. “Prepare the city.” Twilight said, as she jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. Luna nodded, teleporting herself to the barracks of the Magister Guard. Twilight, meanwhile, was staring out into the night. Celestia was coming, and she would be ready to greet her. (\ /) ( . .) (“)_(“) A group of cloaked travelers approached the main gate to Canterlot, the one in the center larger than the rest. “No admittance allowed without papers. The city is under lockdown due to rebel threat.” The guards said, their grip tightening ever so slightly on their weapons. “Remove your hoods.” “We will not.” One of them said, reaching beneath his cloak. The soldiers responded by raising their guns to point at them. “You have one more chance before we open fire.” “Belay that order.” The two gate guards turned to see a lieutenant of the Magister forces. “They have permission from Archmagister Twilight to enter. With an escort of course.” He said, as a few more soldiers filed out from the barracks. They were decked out in heavy armor, and were all carrying fully automatic weapons pointed at the group of travelers. The gate guards saluted, the unicorn turning and using his magic to undo the lock. As the gate swung open, the travelers walked through cautiously. They weren’t equipped to fight the Magister Force, and here was seven of them fully armored. “Twilight is expecting you in ten minutes, so let’s be on our way.” The lieutenant said, turning and walking off towards the castle. The armored soldiers surrounded the group, making sure they kept walking. “This is not going to end well.” The tallest one said, as the travelers circled around her protectively. (\ /) ( . .) (“)_(“) They were shown into a large auditorium. The throne room, by Celestia’s memory. The thrones had been replaced by a large table with six chairs behind it. As the door closed behind them, the travelers removed their cloaks and drew their weapons. “I had hoped we could speak peacefully, and here you come with weapons drawn.” Twilight said, teleporting in. Her wings spread slightly behind her, keeping her balance while making her appear bigger than she was. “We have returned our princess of the sun, who shall smite thee with the flames of justice for your crimes.” The leader cried out, pointing his weapon towards Twilight. With a wave of her hands, she disarmed them all and brought their weapons directly in front of her. “Smite me? She has been gone for a century, and you are nothing before my magic.” She said, as magical chains bound them all except Celestia. “She will rise again wreathed in the holy flames of the sun, and strike down the tyrant queen.” The leader cried out again. “Oh, she will? Well, Celestia. Here I am, waiting. Smite me.” Twilight said, raising her arms in mock surrender. Celestia just glared at her. “Oh yes, that’s right. Prophet sealed your magic. You’re about as dangerous to me as a puppy is to a hydra.” Twilight started laughing. The rebels looked up at Celestia, fear in their eyes that what Twilight spoke was the truth. “Just let them go. I’ll return to the cabin, if you let them live. Let them spread word that I cannot help them. That bringing me back will do them no good.” Celestia said, as a single tear fell form her eyes. “Just let my ponies go.” “Very well then.” Twilight said, dispelling the chains with a wave of her hand. None of the rebels moved, simply staring at Celestia’s confession. “The throne was made for the alicorn crown. You are still not worthy to lead.” The leader said, charging at Twilight. He was stopped a few feet away, wrapped from head to toe in purple magic. He struggled against the ironclad hold she had. “You believe I have no right to lead because I’m not an alicorn?” Twilight asked, taking a few steps towards him. “You are an earth pony, correct?” “A descendent of the Apple clan. The only one of my generation that remembers Princess Celestia.” He said, spitting in her face. Twilight wiped away the spit. “Well then, if you so wish for an alicorn ruler I have no qualms giving you one.” “Wha-what?” He said, shocked. “If you wanted an alicorn ruler, then I will give you one.” She said, the smile on her face turning to a malicious grin. The purple magic turned a deep black. The stallion’s mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. “If you so want an alicorn ruler, I shall give you one.” She said, as several threads of bright green magic started making their way out of his body towards her. “But first, you must give me your magic.” Celestia looked away, not wanting to watch what happened next. A bright flash of light filled the room, blinding everyone. “Let this be a warning to the rest of you. An alicorn commands Equestria again. I have grown tired of your slander, so be gone and do not sully my city again.” Twilight’s voice echoed within their heads, all of them covering their ears in the hope of making it stop. The remaining rebels nodded their heads, before running out with their ears still covered.. “Celestia,” Twilight’s voice echoed in her head. “look at me.” Celestia turned and opened her eyes. Her pupils shrank at what she saw. It looked like someone had taken Twilight’s body and stretched it too far. Her horn had tripled in length, tapering to a lethal point, and her limbs were gangly. Her torso was thinner, almost to the point of sickness. However, the very air around them thrummed with power. “I believe it is time for you to return. The world has changed much, and you have been gone.” She said, her voice making Celestia nauseous. “I do not wish to be a part of this world you have created.” Celestia responded. “Just return me to my solitude.” “I’m not giving you a choice.” Twilight said, before looking down at the husk of the stallion she had drained. “The citizens will be happy to have their princess of the sun again.” “Even if she is nothing more than a figurehead?” Celestia asked, her body weary. “I would not just have you here for appearances. You have millenia of experience I do not. Yet.” Twilight’s voice was growing quieter, apparently only a side effect of the sudden influx of magic. “So you want me to be your crystal ball?” “I would prefer councilor. But think it over. I have a room prepared.” Twilight said, the same lieutenant from earlier walking into the room. “Show Princess Celestia to her new quarters.” He saluted, before signaling for Celestia to follow. (\ /) ( . .) (“)_(“) Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 Fifth Report Count: 100 years Evolution. Recalculating Odds: 50% Re-Initializing Long Term Hibernation Protocols Power Consumption Reduced to 15% Activating secondary generation system Remaining Power: 20% Requesting Refueling Scheduled in 50 years Entry 6: Emergency BroadcastHermes Drone #11357 Emergency Broadcast: Channel Omega 0 0 Hostile engagement from surface Opening Orbital Weapons Platform System Check: Escalation Denial Weapon 30 Thermobaric Airburst Explosive 20 Atmospheric Extermination Device 1 Releasing E.D.W. Count Remaining: 29 Impact modified original satellite trajectory Orbit degrading into Sub-Orbital Pattern Calculating Impact: 10 Years Initiating Non-Recovery Protocols (>’.’>)# “We have a positive hit on target.” A green unicorn said, turning around in his chair to face his superior. A unicorn stood above them on a platform, a grin on her face underneath her signature black glasses. “Good. Recover what you c-” A klaxon started sounding. “What’s going on now?” She asked, her grin disappearing. “The target we hit shows no sign of damage.” Another unicorn shouted, countless screens blaring red. “And it’s releasing an unknown device into a suborbital path. Calculating impact zone.” “What kind of damage are we looking at?” She asked, worry in her voice. There was an artificial thing in orbit around the planet, and after speculation they had decided on shooting it down. Hopefully it wasn’t a mistake. “The object is impacting in ten seconds in the Crystal provinces.” A pegasus said, as several screens changed to the view of a mountainous region. A small white line arced across the screen, before impacting a mountain. They all had to look away, as it exploded in a massive burst of white. The screens started turning snowy, before the feed was cut entirely. “Just what have we done?” She said, everyones mouth hanging open in awe. “Alert Magister Sparkle.” No one moved, staring at the blank screen. The observation station had been at least fifty miles from the impact zone, and it had been destroyed in a matter of seconds. “I said to GET TWILIGHT ON THE LINE!” She screamed, jolting them into action. Their choice just might cost them more than they could ever guess. (o3o) “You engaged an unknown object you detected in orbit without any sort of approval?” Twilight was furious as she stared down the unicorn. “Do you have any idea what you might have started Starlight?” Her voice made the entire room shake, causing Starlight to flinch. “It was an anomalous object that-” “You went above your rank and ordered an attack on something that retaliated by,” Twilight paused to look at the report in her hand. “destroying half of the Crystal Mountains, two towns, a mining operation, and approximately a hundred and fifty additional square miles of empty land. This is going to be a permanent scar on the face of Equis. Do you have any idea how difficult this is going to be to explain?” “No ma’am.” Starlight hung her head in shame. “This is hands down the worst mistake anyone has ever made. Not even the pegasus that accidentally started the war with the dragons messed up this bad.” “But you dealt with the dragons in a single day, couldn’t you do the same here?” She asked, looking hopeful. “You want me to go up and pull something out of the sky that destroyed more than a rampaging dragon could in a week, and probably only did so because you attacked it first? I understood what I was fighting against the dragons. The most we know about this object is that it just destroyed more of this country than anything we have ever seen, and survived a direct hit from the prototype Mass Driver Cannon.” Twilight’s tone was condescending. “It was a horrible suggestion. I am more than willing to take responsibility for my actions.” Starlight dropped to her knees, bowing before Twilight. “We’ll talk later about your punishment. As of this moment, you no longer work for me. Clean out your office, and don’t show up tomorrow.” Twilight spun around in her chair, looking out the window over Canterlot. Starlight took this as her chance to leave, and teleported out. “Did you leave us a little present Seed?” She asked the night, unknowing whether she would get an answer. “You speak of the guest in my stars?” Luna asked, walking in from the balcony. “Yes, the head of the National Defense Organization authorized an attack on it using a prototype weapon. It did nothing to the object, and it retaliated by dropping something from orbit.” Twilight grabbed the reports in her magic and floated them over to Luna. “A single thing did this?” Luna asked, her eyes widening as she read the report. “Yes, and I believe it was nothing more than a warning shot.” “Where do you believe it came from?” Luna asked, as she placed the report back on the desk. “There’s only one place. They must have left it behind.” Twilight sighed. “And if that was a warning shot, what do you think it is truly capable of?” Luna asked. “More than we could ever guess.” Twilight replied.
Report 1: Year 5“Now presiding, Archmagister Twilight Sparkle and the Council of Harmony.” Twilight trotted into the room, closely followed by her fellow elements. The lights flared, blinding her slightly before her eyes adjusted. She walked quickly up to the long desk, taking the topmost chair as her friends filled in the remaining seats. Her eyes roamed over the packed throne room turned council chamber. The ponies started talking amongst themselves, as they usually did after the council entered. “First order of business,” Twilight spoke up, silencing all the attendees. “The sentencing of the griffin King. Bring forth the accused.” The doors in the back of the room opened, as several guards dragged in a heavily chained griffin. Once he saw Twilight he struggled against his chains, almost breaking them before the earth pony next to him grabbed him and hit him with a club. The griffin went limp in his hands. Fluttershy gasped, before jumping over the bench and rushing to his side. “He’s been hit harder, just check if we have to postpone another day again.” Twilight said without even looking up from the papers she was reading. “He has a light concussion, but nothing that’ll prevent him from standing trial.” Fluttershy said, her fingers pressing against different parts of the griffins skull. One particular spot made the griffin squawk, his eyes shooting open and his claws flying upwards to strike at Fluttershy before the chains still wrapped around him stopped his movement. “How mean. Here I was worried about your health, and you try to kill me.” Fluttershy said coldly, standing up and walking back to her seat behind the bench. “Are we going to get to business now? Cloudsdale has a new class of Wonderbolts I was asked to give the graduation speech for.” Rainbow said, her wings flaring as her patience withered. “You can wait a few more minutes until we render a judgement.” Rarity said, shuffling through the papers she had brought. “After all, I had to delay the Old Castle restoration meeting for this.” “Enough girls.” Twilight said, putting her papers down. Her gaze locked onto the griffin. “Gaius Ironbeak, you stand before the Council of Harmony charged with war crimes. Kidnapping, theft, mutilation of innocents, arson, and attempted assassination of not one but three members of the Council of Harmony. How do you plead?” Gaius was hauled to his feet, and walked out into the middle of the council room. “Guilty as charged. Unlike you, I have no problems facing the punishment for my crimes. If I could live it over again, I’d choose to do the same things every single time.” “And what is that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked, her eyebrow rising in question. “You played a part in Celestia’s disappearance. I can’t prove it, but it just so happens that a week after she is gone you step in with Luna’s approval to reform the entire government. And you don’t have to worry about the nobles opposing you, since the aliens just so happened to remove a majority of them as well.” “Are you accusing me of masterminding the genocide of our noble caste, as well as the disappearance of our beloved princess?” Twilight said, her voice raising in anger. “Damn right I am. It just so happens that you get friendly with the aliens, and right after they leave you know exactly what to do to keep peace. More than a little suspicious.” “She isn’t the one on trial here.” Rainbow said, slamming her hands on the table as she stood up. “You admitted you were guilty, so let’s get to sentencing his feathery ass and get back to things actually worth doing.” “I second that. I have too many parties scheduled for this to take much longer.” Pinkie said, her demeanor rather tame compared to her usual antics. “Very well then. For your crimes, Gaius-” “King Gaius. You never took my crown, and I will not be insulted by you sentencing me to death without my full title.” “Very well then, King Gaius. You are sentenced to death. Your execution will be carried out at dawn, five days from now.” Twilight said, signing the papers before floating them over to one of the guards. He looked over the papers once, before nodding to two more guards that walked over and grabbed the griffin. “You will be punished for your crimes, if not in this life then in the next. You are solely responsible for the hell you have created.” Gaius squawked at her as he was dragged out of the room. “I have seen hell, and everything I have done is to keep us from that end.” Twilight said coldly, before storming out of the room. The other elements just sighed, knowing how she got whenever Celestia was brought up. Twilight was pacing back and forth in her room, her work completely forgotten as her mind wandered back to the council room and what Gaius had said. ‘I need to figure out who else thinks so. This could be seen as me silencing him.’ “You okay sugahcube? You rushed outta there pretty quick.” Applejack said, walking in without knocking like always. “What he said struck me pretty deep. I was closer to Celestia than almost anypony else, and the fact that he could say such things about me is horrifying.” ‘Even if it is true, except for the genocide.’ “He was a dead-griffin walking, what he said was meant to strike deep.” Applejack said, walking up and pulling Twilight into a hug. “You’ve done a good job since she disappeared, and Equestria is stronger than ever.” “Yeah, after a war with Griffonia and Zebrica. Not to mention the minotaurs and wolves threatened war as well.” “You talked them out of it pretty well.” Applejack said, remembering the peace talks rather extensively. Twilight pulled herself out of Applejack’s arms, and walked over to her bed before flopping down on it. “Sometimes I question how so much stuff happened. This all started in that one week. The one week with the Aetherians.” She mumbled into the sheets. “Now, I won’t say I remember much of that week. Rightly being, all I remember was us being brought to Canterlot. Right before everything went to Tartarus.” “Yeah, the Aetherians definitely changed the world.” “There’s more to that than what yer sayin’ sugar. There something you need to get off yer chest?” ‘Should I tell her? Could I tell her?’ Twilight rolled over onto her back. She stared up at the ceiling, the same ceiling that she used to sit under with Celestia late into the night and read books. Her mind wandered back to those days. She was no more than a knee high filly, always preferring to have her nose in a book. She would wander around the castle, usually pulling a little cart filled with all kinds of books. A majority of her wanderings would end up with her in the throne room, seated beside Celestia’s throne. A good book in front of her, and her pseudo-mother seated next to her as she studied. She could feel her smile, the warmth always generous and real. Then she would remember that night with Prophet. The night she had effectively dethroned Celestia. “Not yet. Maybe someday, just not today.” “You know we’re all here for you. You don’t have to hold it all in yerself.” Applejack said, opening her bag and pulling out a small apple treat. “We’re worried about you. Every time somepony brings up Celestia, you get so touchy. It’s been five years since she’s disappeared.” ‘For everypony else maybe. I see her quite regularly.’ “While everypony seems to accept what I’ve done, the feeling is still strong. They miss their princess of the sun, even if they’re better off overall now.” “Yeah, in such a short time you’ve definitely revolutionized everything. We’ve already surpassed the griffins in technology, and made everypony’s life much easier.” Applejack thought back to her farm. She wouldn't have even thought about accepting Twilight’s offer if she hadn’t brought those things that let Big Mac run the farm by himself. She needed to stop by one of these days, when her schedule opened up enough to let her travel. “And it’s only beginning. There are new discoveries made every week, either making what we already have better or making something else easier.” Twilight said, remembering the report she had read just before the council. She hadn’t had much time, but skimming over it she had noticed that somepony had discovered a way to bind a magic infused gem to a living creature’s soul and use the magic of the gem to dictate the wellness of it. That would be extremely useful in the long run, although the pony researching it would have to be watched closely. “While I don’t understand all of what your Magistry makes, I do understand that you do it to make pony’s lives easier.” A small alarm went off in Applejack’s bag, which made her jump in surprise. “Consarnit, I thought I had more time.” She said, reaching into her bag and digging for the alarm. Pulling it out, she hit the button on the top to silence the bells. “It’s fine Applejack. You’re a busy mare, just the like the rest of us. Go ahead with your schedule, I’ll be fine.” Twilight said, lifting herself back to her hooves and walking over to her desk. “I have projects to approve, and other projects to catch up on.” “Just remember sugahcube, we’re here for you if you need to talk about anything at all.” Applejack said, walking back out the door. ‘If only I could talk about the things I really need to.’ Twilight thought, trying to lose herself in her work. Luna knocked on the window, awakening Twilight from her nap at her desk. Reaching out with her magic, Twilight opened the balcony door to let her in. “Did you forget what tonight is?” Luna asked, landing in the room. Twilight definitely had to congratulate her, she had learned the newer vernacular pretty easily. “I’m sorry, I’ve been busy with a cartload of different projects. Care to remind me?” Twilight asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eye. “It’s the night of the month we’re supposed to visit her.” Luna said, tossing an apple to Twilight. “Already? I’ll never understand how you two did all of this, and so much more by yourselves. I’m losing myself in the reports from just my branches, I doubt I’d be able to stay on top of everything from the others as well.” “You’re also making it much harder on yourself. You make yourself read through every single notice, letter, and report you get. Celestia and I simply had somepony summarize everything and we read those. Not to mention being alicorns helped more than a little bit.” “Yeah, but what if they overlook something that’s important?” Twilight said, as she took a bite of the apple. “It’s something you have to trust them to be able to do. So are we going tonight or are you rescheduling because you’re tired?” Luna asked, turning and walking out onto the balcony. “Tonight is good. It wouldn’t do well after so many years of following a schedule to overlook it because I was tired.” Twilight said, preparing her teleporting spell. “I’ll see you there.” She said, before a popping sound signaled that she had already gone. “Nice to see you again, Twilight.” Celestia said coldly. “Must we do this every time Celestia?” Twilight sighed, sick of how she treated her. Admittedly it was deserved, but after so many years Twilight thought that Celestia would at least begin to understand. “Must you constantly grind the knife you planted into my back by coming here every month? While you haven’t driven Equestria into a hole, you started two wars that I never would have and barely talked your way out of two more.” “But she has made the lives of our ponies so much easier. The inventions of the Magistry have made their lives so much easier, and every week they revolutionize some idea or discover some new thing that simplifies another part of somepony’s life.” Luna stepped in, hoping to have a nice conversation for once. “At what cost though? How many ponies have been injured during their research, and for what. A few trivial simplicities?” Celestia said, her hand slamming down on the table. The table groaned under the pressure. This one had lasted longer than the last three. “There is a no tolerance policy for experiments that injure anypony. If any experiment even accidentally injures somepony, then the pony in charge is put on probation until a full incident investigation is completed, and I say they are allowed to continue working. Those that do it purposefully are imprisoned for ten years and never allowed to be within a hundred yards of a thaumaturgists lab again. And I’m quite glad to say that I have yet to do that to anypony.” “It is only a matter of time.” Celestia said, before turning away from Twilight. “Always the same things with you. If you aren’t the one watching everything, then whoever is will mess it up.” Twilight said, standing up from her seat. “I’ll see you back in Canterlot Luna.” Twilight charged up her teleportation spell, popping away before either of the alicorns could stop her. “Is it impossible for you two to get along? We’ve had five years, you’ve both explained your sides of the argument.” Luna said, pulling out a small cake and knife. She cut the cake apart, floating a piece over in front of Celestia who promptly grabbed it and swallowed it whole. “And I still agree with Twilight. The griffins would have taken over technologically. No amount of magic can oppose the capability to take an enemy out at ranges far greater than the average spell.” “Yeah, I’ve heard it before Lulu.” “But have you listened? You denied all chances of advancement, for fear of a few accidents. Within five years, we have tripled our exports and become an economic superpower far greater than what Equestria was under our rule. All thanks to technology.” “Something we could have done anyways.” “But not before one of the other species discovered it. You would have accepted the technology after another species discovered and released it, just to make sure your ponies weren’t harmed while it was being created. We would have been following behind, pulling ourselves along by their coattails. Now we are the leaders, the ones at the head of the wave going forward.” “If all you’re trying to do is convince me to forgive her, then forget it. There is nothing you could do, nothing anypony on this planet could do to make me forgive her.” Celestia said, standing up out of her chair and stomping off to the back of the small cottage she was trapped in. She slammed the door to her bedroom shut, effectively ending this reunion. A tear fell down Luna’s cheek. “Happy birthday Tia.” She said, pulling a small package from her bag and placing it on the table before teleporting back to Canterlot. Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 First Report Count: 5 years War. Peace. Advancement. Calculating Odds: 30% Initializing Hibernation Protocols.
Report 2: Year 20“Remember. Move fast, no innocent casualties, and check those damn corners. Alfalfa checking.” “Bridle checking.” “Drift squad, checking.” “Zebra, checking.” “All teams cleared, weapons hot.” Several explosions sounded out, as various parts of the building were breached. “They’re coming for me.” Twilight said, her muzzle bleeding onto her dress as she smiled. “You won’t live through the night.” “Tell us where she is.” The masked stallion in front of her said, hitting her again. “She disappeared when the aliens came. I don’t know where she went.” Twilight answered, spitting out a loogie of blood. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell someone who kidnapped me in the middle of the night and tortured me for hours.” “We’re running out of time, they brought the big guns. We’ve got four teams coming in, all of them heavily loaded. They came prepared for war.” Another masked pony rushed into the room, her voice betraying her gender. “Has she said anything?” “Still feigning innocence. We’ve watched you disappear monthly along with Luna for the past few years. Where else would you be going?” He asked, his fist clenched and drawn back ready to strike. “What me and Princess Luna do alone is none of your business.” Twilight said, as the stallion decked her again. “WHY WON’T YOU TELL US WHERE SHE IS?” He screamed, grabbing her dress and lifting her off the ground chair and all. “I would tell you if I knew. Heck, I’d probably be leading the charge to bring her back.” Twilight said, spitting into his face. He dropped her, the chair threatening to tip over before she caught her balance. Several shots sounded in the hallway through the door the mare had come in. “We’re out of time. I need an answer now.” The mare came up beside Twilight, drawing one of the guns they had recently designed and released, putting it to her temple. “Where is Celestia?” “I. Don’t. Know.” Twilight said, staring into her eyes defiantly. The crack of a shot echoed and Twilight flinched, her eyes closing as she tried to curl up into a ball. A second crack. “VIP found, moving to secure and extract.” Twilight cracked an eye open and noticed several heavily armored ponies entering, their weapons scanning the room as they checked for anyone hiding. “Control, inform them that we have recovered Archmagister Twilight.” Several of the armored ponies came over, two of them untying her and the others checking the now dead ponies that had kidnapped her. “We’re going to do a quick field check, is anything broken or any sharp internal pains?” One of them asked, as Twilight was brought to her feet. His hands pressed quickly against parts of her legs and chest. “No, they wanted information from me I didn’t have. They were just about ready to kill me when you showed up.” She said, rubbing her wrists and stretching. “Good. Now let’s get you out of here and back to Canterlot. Everyone is waiting.” Twilight was quickly ushered into the middle of the group, as they filed back out into the hall. Nothing short of a rampaging dragon was going to stop them now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Oh sugahcube.” Applejack was the first one to get to the group after they had landed. The soldiers all moved aside, as the other elements came running up. It was a heartwarming picture. Off to the side, the soldiers had all formed up in their squads in front of their commander. “Damn good job men. No casualties, and the VIP is relatively uninjured.” Luna walked up to them, all of them snapping to attention. “You guys did better than a good job. I expect you to be up early tomorrow for the reward ceremony, in your dress uniforms. You’re all getting the Platinum Star of Harmony.” She said, saluting them. “Now get your rest. It isn’t everyday you save one of the most important ponies on the planet. Dismissed.” They all returned the salute, before turning and heading off towards the barracks. “I know you girls were worried. I promise I’m okay.” Twilight said, from within the throng of the group hug. “But now we get to have a Twilight is safe party. I’m going to invite everyone I can. What kind of cake do you want?” Pinkie asked, pulling out her usual list of party necessities. She sat there, quill to paper and a giant grin on her face. “Can we hold off on that party until I at least get checked out by a real doctor. The best I’ve had is a field check for broken bones.” Twilight said. The rest of them quickly backed away, more than a few sheepish looks on their faces. “I suppose that would be the best idea right now. Let’s go make sure you’re ok, inside and out.” Luna said, winking as she teleported them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “While you have proven me wrong, was it necessary to do so in such a shocking manner? Willingly letting yourself get captured, just to test your experiment.” Luna said, handing Twilight a wet rag. “If I am not willing to go to such lengths to test it, how will I ever convince my friends that it is for the best.” Twilight replied, wiping the blood off her face. “But honestly, subjecting yourself to torture. Was it at least worth it? Did you discover anything more than what our intel said?” Luna asked, removing the tatters of the dress and throwing it on the floor. “Hey, be careful with that. I don’t have a lot of pajamas, and that dress is the most comfortable one I’ve gotten. As for information, they didn’t reveal anything that we didn’t already know. Some pony is pulling the strings from the shadows, spreading rumors and recruiting the stallions and mares that would prefer to see Celestia back on the throne.” Twilight said over her shoulder, a frown on her face. “I’ll have them make you a new one. We’ll look more into where the ponies from your recovery came from, maybe that will give us a lead. How well did it work?” Luna asked, applying pressure to different joints on Twilight’s body. “Any actual damage was healed almost instantly, leaving just the image that I was horribly injured. The field doctor was pretty surprised, saying something about ‘appearing much worse for wear than I actually was’.” Twilight said, allowing Luna to do her work. "Almost got to test whether or not I could take a bullet to the head." “Did he just attribute it to your innate magic healing you?” Luna asked, ignoring that end comment. “He just shrugged it off as ‘Element of Harmony’ magic.” “And you believe you can convince the rest of the elements to go through the same process?” Luna asked, handing Twilight a loose shirt and pants. “There is a lot of stuff we still need to perfect with the process, but I hope that we can have it done before they die.” Twilight said, her voice muffled by the clothes as she put them on. “And how many of them will agree?” Luna asked, her magic straightening out the clothes on Twilight’s form. “If I approach them all the right way, every single one will. The question is going to be how to do so.” “So immortality is in your hands now. How does it feel, knowing you’ll live as long as me and Tia?” Luna asked, knowing to avoid the topic they were heading towards. “It hasn’t actually hit me yet. Right now, I’m just living my normal life. Ask me in a century or two, if everything hasn’t gone to Tartarus by then.” Twilight replied, as her horn glowed. A flash of purple later, and they were in her office in the basement of the Magister’s Tower. Twilight moved over to the wall, her magic lighting up a pattern and opening the hidden door. “You’ve done pretty well. You’ve somehow convinced the griffins, zebras, and diamond dogs to unite with Equestria. The United Equus Alliance is the most powerful military power on planet, surpassing even the dragons.” Luna said, walking through the hidden tunnel. “Well, they were threatened with self-destruction before we stepped in. Their governments were in anarchy, everyone with any sort of claim trying to take it all for themselves. It’s rather easy to convince the people that we are their best choice.” Twilight said, walking through after her. The door closed behind them, seamlessly hiding where they went. From deeper in the tunnel, they could hear the usual sounds of machinery and the hum of the ley lines echoing through the crystal caverns. “At least you made sure to keep it secret. How many actually know what you did?” Luna asked, as the tunnel started lighting up. “Other than you, four unicorns. All of which have been sworn to secrecy with magical oaths. If they try spreading the information anywhere, their minds will be wiped irreversibly.” Twilight said, as they walked out into a small lab. The four unicorns that had been waiting turned to the last of the newcomers. “Congratulations everyone, the experiment was a success. The first part of Project Alicorn is a complete success.” Twilight said, a cheer going up at the news. “Yes, we can celebrate. You all get the next two weeks off with full pay. When you get back though, we’re going to start adapting the process for a pegasus. I’m quite sure I know exactly who we’ll be changing next.” The four unicorns turned and walked off through their own hall, chatting as they disappeared into the darkness. “And if something happens that requires the Elements of Harmony before you can talk with all of them, how are you going to explain that yours no longer exists as it did before.” Luna asked, walking over and sitting atop the small table in the center of the room. “If I need to, I’ll bring them all here at once and make them the offer.” Twilight said, as she sauntered up to Luna. “And how much longer are we going to remain a secret?” Luna asked, as Twilight drew closer. “I said I would leave the choice to you on whether or not we went public.” She replied, leaning forward and kissing Luna on the lips. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 Second Report Count: 20 years Discovery. Realization. Subterfuge. Recalculating Odds: 45% Re-Initializing Hibernation Protocols.
Report 3: Year 50Twilight tripped, her hoof catching on a small root. She landed on the ground just as a light passed over where she had been standing a second earlier. “Are you sure they went over here?” “Of course I’m sure, I watched them.” “So why didn’t you shoot them?” “Orders are that they’re taken alive. They couldn’t get Twilight to tell us what happened before they broke out and the rest are too valuable to risk injuring.” “Twilight, what are they talking about?” Applejack asked, crouched as she snuck up to Twilight. She helped her to her hooves, giving the other girls time to catch up. “We don’t have time for it right now, we need to get out of this magic cancellation bubble.” She replied, already looking ahead for their next path. They could risk running through the buildings, which would take them out of the camp quickly but could also end up with them running into a dead end and getting caught, or stay along the outside of the camp and hope to find a gate. “Make time. We’re in the middle of the Zebrican desert, after being kidnapped in the middle of the night.” “Look, I’ll tell you everything once we get back to Canterlot. I promise.” Twilight said, moving ahead through the sparse brush. “Pinkie Promise.” “What?” Twilight asked, turning to look at Pinkie. “I said, make a Pinkie Promise. You’ve spent a lot of years hiding stuff from us, and it’s put you into danger countless times. Heck, it’s starting to put us into danger.” She said, her mane going straight as it did whenever she was serious about something. “Pinkie, we need to move n-” “Make the Pinkie Promise. I’m not taking another step until you do.” Twilight sighed, before going through the motions. “Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” “Okie dokie, let’s get out of here.” She said, her hair poofing back up with her mood. “Someone check the perimeter. They might be heading for the gate.” “We need to move now girls. Where’s Dash?” Twilight said, opting to head through the buildings. “Right here. The camp is surrounded everywhere by rune lines, and there’re only two ways in and out unless you want to try the front gate.” Rainbow said, landing silently ahead of them. “They’re swarming towards the front and western gates as well as starting to circle the lines. We have maybe a five minute window.” “How far to the third gate?” Twilight asked, walking down the alley between the buildings. This town looked like it used to be quite lively before these ponies came in and took over. “We can get there in two minutes. The problem being that we’d have to avoid the patrols of the ponies throughout the town. Me and Flutters can do it quickly, since they don’t have any pegasi here, but the rest of you would be stuck going through the maze of buildings because we can’t carry you all.” Rainbow said, following after her. “And if we could?” Twilight asked. “This would be a cakewalk. We could just go right over their heads. There doesn’t seem to be a ceiling to this area, just walls around the perimeter.” “Uhm.” Fluttershy started. “Unfortunately, you can’t just grow wings.” Rainbow said, sighing as that plan went out the window. “Actually, we can.” Fluttershy said. A dead silence was her only response, accompanied by deadpan stares. “What I mean is, Twilight asked me to help her study pegasus anatomy and magic in the hopes that someday we could fix any pegasi that lost their wings in an accident or just didn’t naturally develop their magic. After figuring it out, we started testing to see if we could have the spells work on ponies other than pegasi.” “So why is it that none of the rest of us have heard about this?” Rainbow asked, glaring at Twilight. “The project was scrapped. It was too dangerous a spell, since it infused the target not only with the magic to grow wings but with natural pegasus magic in order to facilitate the use of said wings. Almost all of the tests showed a corrupted mixing of their natural magic and the foreign pegasus magic. There was a ninety-eight percent mortality rate.” Twilight said, plans running through her head. If they moved now, they could get to the gate and out where she could teleport them away. “Ninety-eight? So somepony survived it. Who?” Rainbow said, her voice changing from rage to surprise. “Uhm...Twilight.” Fluttershy mumbled into her mane, hiding behind it from Rainbow. “Who?” Rainbow asked again, moving closer to Fluttershy. “Twilight.” Fluttershy mumbled even quieter. “Speak up Shy.” Rarity said, stepping closer to hear as well. “It was me, okay. I’m the only one that survived the tests.” Twilight said, exasperation evident in her voice. A faint glow of purple came from her back, as she dropped the illusion spell she had been holding. Two large wings extended outwards, stretching across the entire alley. “Whoa.” “Yes, very pretty. Now, can we get on with escaping from this place?” “Twi, why would you go and do something like that to yerself?” Applejack asked, her hand reaching out and touching the feathers to test their realness. The wing twitched away in response, folding against Twilight’s back. “If I wasn’t willing to do the test to myself, how could I ever release the project for the public to use.” “But you could have died.” “But I didn’t. Now is not the best time to argue over my method of scientific discovery. We’re still in the middle of trying to escape. You can lecture me on how dangerous it is to test spells on myself when we get out of here.” Twilight said, walking over and wrapping her hands around Rarity. Rainbow and Fluttershy grabbed a hold of Pinkie and Applejack, and all three took to the sky. From up here, they could see the ponies moving around below like ants. “Bank right, the gate is just to the east.” Rainbow said, cutting across their field of vision and directing the group eastward. All the ponies below were moving towards the western area, since they had escaped from that side of town. They would have been caught running around on the ground, by sheer numbers. “Why are there so many of them?” “And what did they want?” “My secrets. One’s a fifty year old secret that could destroy everything we’ve worked to build, and the other is a thirty year old one that would change everything.” Twilight said. “Does it have anything to do with the reason you and Fluttershy don’t seem to age?” Pinkie asked. “That is a part of it. I believe it is time that I reveal the entirety of Project Alicorn to the rest of you girls.” “Project Alicorn? Sounds like you’re trying to become immortal.” Applejack said, as they started floating downwards to land. “Not trying. We succeeded. Twice.” Twilight said, setting Rarity on the ground then landing beside her. “Both Fluttershy and myself are now immortal. We were working on a way to give this gift to the rest of you girls as well.” “Fluttershy, why didn’t you tell me? We’ve shared everything for decades, and this is what you keep from me?” Rarity turned, a look of anger and sadness on her face. “Twilight made me Pinkie Promise not to tell any of you girls. When she bound the Element of Kindness to my soul, it nearly broke me. I wasn’t used to having so much power, and she was afraid for the rest of you. She’s been spending the last thirty years trying to figure out a way to guarantee you would survive.” “Whoa, wait. Bound the Elements? What exactly did you do Twilight?” Applejack asked, glaring at the pegacorn. “Like I said, I’ll tell you everything when we get back to Canterlot.” Twilight said, stepping up to the gate. She wrapped her hands in the glow of her magic, and pushed upon the weak point in the spell. After a few seconds of struggling, a quiet pop sounded as she moved straight through. “There we go, now let’s get out of here.” The rest of the girls quickly followed her out, forming a circle as she started charging the teleportation spell. “They just went through the East gate. Get over there and get them.” “Twilight, they’re coming.” Fluttershy said, looking behind them. Several dozen of the ponies had stormed out of nowhere, running towards them. “I know. Give me a second.” Twilight said, as a circle of purple light surrounded them. A loud pop was heard, as they disappeared to wherever Twilight was taking them. “DAMMIT!” The ponies shouted, slowing down as they came up to the spot that had been filled seconds earlier. They all grumbled and milled about, only a mild silence around the area before a burst of blue magic blinded many of them. “Congratulations everypony. Mission accomplished.” Luna said, dropping the illusion spell around the area. It returned to the small mining town it was. “Everyone get some sleep, we have to return tomorrow on the dawn.” The ponies all saluted, their own illusion spells dropping to reveal the Magister Forces. “Let us hope this does not end up for naught.” Luna said, turning to face towards Canterlot. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The girls landed in Twilight’s room below the Magisters Tower, everyone but Twilight falling to the ground. “Twi, just how far did you take us?” Rarity asked, climbing to her hooves. She had teleported before, but had never been this dizzy. “Three hundred miles, and into my office below Magister’s Tower.” “Snazzy. Why haven’t you ever invited us down here?” Rainbow asked, looking around at the decorations.Various inventions decorated the bookshelves and tables. “We’ll agree to disagree on the decorations, but three hundred miles? The longest range recorded before was twenty.” Rarity said, amazed. “Yeah, part of the binding. The elements hold nearly an infinite amount of magic, and binding them let’s us control however much we need.” Twilight said, walking over to a blank wall. Purple patterns lit up as she approached, the bricks folding back to show a hall leading off into darkness. “This brings back memories.” Fluttershy said, smiling as she walked past them down the hall. “Yeah, memories.” Twilight said, walking after her. The other girls shared a look of concern before following them. “Did you figure out how to resolve the problems you had with me?” Fluttershy asked, looking back over her shoulder towards Twilight. “Most of them. The only thing we have to worry about is whether or not the pony wants to bind themselves to the Element.” Twilight replied, the light growing brighter as they walked down. “Just what are you implyin’ Twi?” Applejack asked. “How willing are you to join with your elements? Yes, you will outlive everypony you have ever known and ever will again. But we will watch over Equestria, making sure everything ends up alright.” Twilight asked, as the tunnel suddenly opened into a room that could only be described as massive. Machinery covered every wall, and in the center of the room was a giant cylinder filled with green goo. Wiring covered the entirety of the ceiling, running up the walls from the machines and focusing on the vat of goo in the middle. “Whoa.” “Reminds me of the stories of Flankenstein’s laboratory.” “Did everything have to be grey?” “Ok girls. The choice is now or never.” Twilight said, as she walked over to a panel on the large cylinder. She pressed a few buttons, and four lightly padded steel tables descended from the ceiling. “Are you willing to become immortal, to guarantee the future of Equestria and her children?” Twilight asked, turning around to them. Fluttershy walked over to stand beside Twilight. “Please, join us girls. We can work to make sure there isn’t anymore pain ever again.” She said, smiling. A look passed between the remaining four, indecisive and contemplative. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 Third Report Count: 50 years Deception. Lies. Conversion. Recalculating Odds: 20% Re-Initializing Hibernation Protocols. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh Twilight, I warned you. Now, let's see just how far you must fall in order to see your wrongdoing.
Report 4: Year 60Twilight looked up, the light rain mixing with her tears. “An overcast day to represent our overcast hearts. We commit to the earth this mare, taken from us before her time. Applebloom had much to offer us in her life, but was not meant to be.” No sounds were made as the coffin was lowered, save the crying of her sister Applejack. Twilight’s eyes wandered over the graves on either side. Granny Smith, AJ’s parents, and now her little sister. Then her eyes moved to the other ponies gathered. The other Crusaders and their families. A few of the ponies they knew from Ponyville. Various other ponies they had met over their lifetimes. And of course, three squads of her own Magister Force armed to the teeth to take on anything. “No, she doesn’t deserve to be in the ground.” Applejack said, struggling to get away from Rainbow. “Aj, we can’t do anything now.” Fluttershy said, wiping away her tears. “Get offa me. My little sis doesn’t deserve to be dead. She didn’t deserve to die. She was finally happy. She had a family. Was about to have her first grandfoal.” “Aj, fighting isn’t going to bring her back.” “Sis. What happened was beyond any of our control, and it is too late to change. We can only go forward from here.” Big Mac said, walking over and grabbing Aj’s shoulders. “I could have done something. I could have stopped him.” She said, shaking as tears started streaming down her face. “There was nothin ya coulda done sis. We’re purty strong, but we can’t fight a unicorn.” He said, pulling her against his chest. Tears stained his own face as he held her close. “There was nothin we coulda done.” “I want you to do it.” Applejack said, slamming the door to Twilight’s office open. “Ok.” Twilight responded, dropping the report she was reading. “I don’t care what you-” Applejack started, before a look of realization came across her face. “You were waiting for me to come here, weren’t you.” “I’ve been waiting since the funeral. Now, do you want this done or are we just going to talk?” Twilight asked, the shimmer of rage glinting across her eyes a mirror to the same Applejack saw every time she looked in a mirror. The tunnel entrance in her office appeared, like it had so few years ago. “After this, I want the pony who did it delivered to me personally.” Applejack said, as she stormed down the tunnel. “Already waiting. We captured him trying to escape via the forest.” Twilight said, following after her. “How much is it going to hurt?” “Like nothing you’ve ever felt before.” “It can’t hurt more than watching Lil Bloom die in my hands.” “It tears at your very soul.” Twilight warned, as the light from the lab filled the tunnel ahead of them. “If Fluttershy can take it at full strength, then I can take it reduced.” Applejack stormed into the room, surprising the two unicorns that were working on the machinery. “Very well. Start the warm-up sequence, then get out.” Twilight ordered, her voice providing no room for argument. They quickly ran about, flipping switches and levers. A low hum filled the room as the machinery powered up. A single table descended from the ceiling, which Applejack promptly hopped onto. “The moment we get this over with, that stallion is a dead pony.” She said, her eyes locking onto the vat in the center of the room. “If that is what you want.” Twilight said, as she input the last calculations into a computer. “Now, don’t hold your screams in. It’ll hurt more if you do.” Twilight said, as she flipped the lever. Several flasks shattered. “I have rights as an Equestrian Citizen.” The stallion shouted as he was shoved into the room. The door was slammed shut in his face and several bolts slid into place on the opposite side. “Sit down.” A voice said from behind him. He spun around, only to be greeted by pitch black. “No, I’ve already been arrested and sentenced.” He said into the darkness. “Sit. The buck. Down.” “Ok, fine. I can’t help you anymore than what I said to the police. I received my instructions from an anonymous source.” He said, groping around in the darkness. His hands glanced across something metal, and he grabbed ahold of it recognizing it as the back of a chair. He quickly moved around, taking a seat. “That’s fine, since I don’t want you to talk.” “Then why am I here? I was already sentenced to thirty years maximum security.” He said, sweat starting to form on his neck despite how cold the room was. “Oh no. That isn’t punishment enough for you.” “What are you talking about?” He asked, barely getting the words out. The fur on the back of his neck rising, his every instinct was telling him to run and get out of that room at any cost. “Ah want you to scream.” “What kind of sick pony are you?” He asked, jumping up from his seat. He made his way back to the door, banging on it. “Come on, this isn’t funny. Let me out.” He shouted, beating on the door. His fist was suddenly wrapped in an orange aura. “It isn’t meant to be funny. You’re meant to be scared.” The aura provided a little bit of light for him to see, just enough to notice the orange pony standing on the opposite side of the room. The look she had in her eyes made his blood freeze. It was pure rage, and he was the only target. “I’ll defend myself if I need to.” He said, his own horn flaring and his aura wrapping around the chair. Before he could even move it, an orange glow surrounded the chair as well. “You thought you could hurt her, because she couldn’t defend herself against magic. Let’s see how you feel in the same position.” She said, removing her hat and placing it on the table. “What are you?” He asked, noticing no horn on her head. “My name is Applejack. The older sister of Applebloom, and the Element of Honesty. Right now, I’m your worst nightmare.” She said, a flare of orange shooting across her eyes. The stallion felt his hand go numb. He looked over, to notice it was just a bloody stump. He opened his mouth to scream, only to have his tongue ripped out by the same orange aura. “Tonight is only beginning for you.” She said, a sadistic grin on her face as she walked closer to him. “Now, let’s hear you scream for me.” One of the guards standing right outside winced, as the blood curdling scream echoed up and down the hall. “Is this the right thing to do?” He asked, turning to his partner. “You weren’t on duty. You didn’t see what he did. Personally, I think Twilight is letting him off easy. She left him to someone untrained in torture. She’ll be sloppy.” The mare replied, her hand tightening around the grip of her rifle. “But her enthusiasm will more than make up for it.” He said, wincing as another scream echoed. “If you need to leave, I won’t blame you. Just know, you won’t be allowed to come back.” She said, watching him struggle with the decision. “Our job requires us to do much worse rookie. So either get out, or buck up.” She watched the indecision move across his face, being replaced by determination. He tightened the group on his rifle, as a smile grew on hers. “Good colt. We’ll make a Force-man out of you yet.” She said, watching him wince as another scream echoed down the halls. Twilight was standing outside the room, waiting for Applejack’s signal. It was the appointed time, now she was just waiting for- Three short knocks, and a loud bang interrupted her thoughts. “Open the door.” The two guards moved to unbolt the door, weapons ready as they stepped back. The door swung open slowly, gradually revealing a bloodied orange mare with a stallion on the ground behind her. “Thank ya Twilight. I’m quite sure he won’t be causing problems ever again.” She said coldly, walking out and past them. “Check him.” She said, following after Applejack. She followed her into the bathroom, where she heard vomiting. “Aj, that you in there?” “Oh Celestia, how could ah do that to somepony.” Aj replied, before another bout of sickness interrupted them. A quick tap on Twilight’s shoulder made her turn, noticing the mare guard. She traced her thumb across her throat. Twilight nodded in response, understanding the message. “Ah mean, yeah he killed Lil Bloom. But I’m supposed to be better than this.” Applejack started sobbing. “None of us are above wanting vengeance.” Twilight said, as she walked over and leaned against the wall. “But what would Bloom say if she could see me now?” Applejack said, her voice cracking. “I don’t know. She would probably be happy knowing he would never do it again.” Twilight said, knowing just how hard this was on Applejack. “Is this what you do everyday? Kill ponies so that they never hurt anypony else?” Aj asked. Twilight could feel the tingling of magic, attributing it to the Element of Honesty. “It’s a part of what I do. I help Luna keep the innocents innocent, and we stop the bad ponies before they can do anything. Most of the time.” Twilight said, knowing truth would be the best path right now. “And what about Celestia?” Twilight froze up. She wasn’t prepared for this. Not yet. “I can’t answer that.” “Can’t or won’t. There’s a distinct difference.” Applejack said, before another bout of vomiting interrupted her. “I’m sorry AJ. It isn’t something I’m comfortable talking about.” Twilight said, hoping she would leave it at that. “You’ve held it in for so many years. One of these days, you’ll have to let us in. We have forever now.” Aj said, the flushing of the toilet signaling she was done. The latch of the stall slid open, revealing a sick looking blood covered mare. “Yeah, and I’m still coming to terms with it. Let’s get you cleaned up. The other girls are worried about you.” Twilight said, walking over and wrapping her in a hug. “Yeah.” Applejack replied, ignoring the little niggling feeling she was getting in the back of her mind. Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 Fourth Report Count: 60 years The first step of evolution has been taken by all necessary. Recalculating Odds: 30% Initializing Long-Term Hibernation Protocols Energy Consumption reduced to 40% Remaining Power: 30% Estimated Remaining On-Time: 90 Years Can you save yourself, little Flame? Can you save yourself from this downward spiral you have cast yourself into?
Entry 5: Year 100Celestia sat upright, a knocking sound coming from the door to her cottage. “That’s unusual. Usually they let themselves in.” She said, getting up from her bed and walking into the front room. She made her way to the door, opening it to several heavily clothed ponies that weren’t Luna or Twilight. “Your Highness, we have come to bring you back to your throne.” Celestia just stood there, jaw open in shock and eye twitching. (\ /) ( . .) (“)_(“) Luna’s horn lit up softly, waking her and Twilight from their slumber. They looked up at the glow, before realization hit them and woke them up hard. “Prepare the city.” Twilight said, as she jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. Luna nodded, teleporting herself to the barracks of the Magister Guard. Twilight, meanwhile, was staring out into the night. Celestia was coming, and she would be ready to greet her. (\ /) ( . .) (“)_(“) A group of cloaked travelers approached the main gate to Canterlot, the one in the center larger than the rest. “No admittance allowed without papers. The city is under lockdown due to rebel threat.” The guards said, their grip tightening ever so slightly on their weapons. “Remove your hoods.” “We will not.” One of them said, reaching beneath his cloak. The soldiers responded by raising their guns to point at them. “You have one more chance before we open fire.” “Belay that order.” The two gate guards turned to see a lieutenant of the Magister forces. “They have permission from Archmagister Twilight to enter. With an escort of course.” He said, as a few more soldiers filed out from the barracks. They were decked out in heavy armor, and were all carrying fully automatic weapons pointed at the group of travelers. The gate guards saluted, the unicorn turning and using his magic to undo the lock. As the gate swung open, the travelers walked through cautiously. They weren’t equipped to fight the Magister Force, and here was seven of them fully armored. “Twilight is expecting you in ten minutes, so let’s be on our way.” The lieutenant said, turning and walking off towards the castle. The armored soldiers surrounded the group, making sure they kept walking. “This is not going to end well.” The tallest one said, as the travelers circled around her protectively. (\ /) ( . .) (“)_(“) They were shown into a large auditorium. The throne room, by Celestia’s memory. The thrones had been replaced by a large table with six chairs behind it. As the door closed behind them, the travelers removed their cloaks and drew their weapons. “I had hoped we could speak peacefully, and here you come with weapons drawn.” Twilight said, teleporting in. Her wings spread slightly behind her, keeping her balance while making her appear bigger than she was. “We have returned our princess of the sun, who shall smite thee with the flames of justice for your crimes.” The leader cried out, pointing his weapon towards Twilight. With a wave of her hands, she disarmed them all and brought their weapons directly in front of her. “Smite me? She has been gone for a century, and you are nothing before my magic.” She said, as magical chains bound them all except Celestia. “She will rise again wreathed in the holy flames of the sun, and strike down the tyrant queen.” The leader cried out again. “Oh, she will? Well, Celestia. Here I am, waiting. Smite me.” Twilight said, raising her arms in mock surrender. Celestia just glared at her. “Oh yes, that’s right. Prophet sealed your magic. You’re about as dangerous to me as a puppy is to a hydra.” Twilight started laughing. The rebels looked up at Celestia, fear in their eyes that what Twilight spoke was the truth. “Just let them go. I’ll return to the cabin, if you let them live. Let them spread word that I cannot help them. That bringing me back will do them no good.” Celestia said, as a single tear fell form her eyes. “Just let my ponies go.” “Very well then.” Twilight said, dispelling the chains with a wave of her hand. None of the rebels moved, simply staring at Celestia’s confession. “The throne was made for the alicorn crown. You are still not worthy to lead.” The leader said, charging at Twilight. He was stopped a few feet away, wrapped from head to toe in purple magic. He struggled against the ironclad hold she had. “You believe I have no right to lead because I’m not an alicorn?” Twilight asked, taking a few steps towards him. “You are an earth pony, correct?” “A descendent of the Apple clan. The only one of my generation that remembers Princess Celestia.” He said, spitting in her face. Twilight wiped away the spit. “Well then, if you so wish for an alicorn ruler I have no qualms giving you one.” “Wha-what?” He said, shocked. “If you wanted an alicorn ruler, then I will give you one.” She said, the smile on her face turning to a malicious grin. The purple magic turned a deep black. The stallion’s mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. “If you so want an alicorn ruler, I shall give you one.” She said, as several threads of bright green magic started making their way out of his body towards her. “But first, you must give me your magic.” Celestia looked away, not wanting to watch what happened next. A bright flash of light filled the room, blinding everyone. “Let this be a warning to the rest of you. An alicorn commands Equestria again. I have grown tired of your slander, so be gone and do not sully my city again.” Twilight’s voice echoed within their heads, all of them covering their ears in the hope of making it stop. The remaining rebels nodded their heads, before running out with their ears still covered.. “Celestia,” Twilight’s voice echoed in her head. “look at me.” Celestia turned and opened her eyes. Her pupils shrank at what she saw. It looked like someone had taken Twilight’s body and stretched it too far. Her horn had tripled in length, tapering to a lethal point, and her limbs were gangly. Her torso was thinner, almost to the point of sickness. However, the very air around them thrummed with power. “I believe it is time for you to return. The world has changed much, and you have been gone.” She said, her voice making Celestia nauseous. “I do not wish to be a part of this world you have created.” Celestia responded. “Just return me to my solitude.” “I’m not giving you a choice.” Twilight said, before looking down at the husk of the stallion she had drained. “The citizens will be happy to have their princess of the sun again.” “Even if she is nothing more than a figurehead?” Celestia asked, her body weary. “I would not just have you here for appearances. You have millenia of experience I do not. Yet.” Twilight’s voice was growing quieter, apparently only a side effect of the sudden influx of magic. “So you want me to be your crystal ball?” “I would prefer councilor. But think it over. I have a room prepared.” Twilight said, the same lieutenant from earlier walking into the room. “Show Princess Celestia to her new quarters.” He saluted, before signaling for Celestia to follow. (\ /) ( . .) (“)_(“) Hermes Drone #11357 Sending high density info-burst Priority Channel: Omega 0 0 Fifth Report Count: 100 years Evolution. Recalculating Odds: 50% Re-Initializing Long Term Hibernation Protocols Power Consumption Reduced to 15% Activating secondary generation system Remaining Power: 20% Requesting Refueling Scheduled in 50 years
Entry 6: Emergency BroadcastHermes Drone #11357 Emergency Broadcast: Channel Omega 0 0 Hostile engagement from surface Opening Orbital Weapons Platform System Check: Escalation Denial Weapon 30 Thermobaric Airburst Explosive 20 Atmospheric Extermination Device 1 Releasing E.D.W. Count Remaining: 29 Impact modified original satellite trajectory Orbit degrading into Sub-Orbital Pattern Calculating Impact: 10 Years Initiating Non-Recovery Protocols (>’.’>)# “We have a positive hit on target.” A green unicorn said, turning around in his chair to face his superior. A unicorn stood above them on a platform, a grin on her face underneath her signature black glasses. “Good. Recover what you c-” A klaxon started sounding. “What’s going on now?” She asked, her grin disappearing. “The target we hit shows no sign of damage.” Another unicorn shouted, countless screens blaring red. “And it’s releasing an unknown device into a suborbital path. Calculating impact zone.” “What kind of damage are we looking at?” She asked, worry in her voice. There was an artificial thing in orbit around the planet, and after speculation they had decided on shooting it down. Hopefully it wasn’t a mistake. “The object is impacting in ten seconds in the Crystal provinces.” A pegasus said, as several screens changed to the view of a mountainous region. A small white line arced across the screen, before impacting a mountain. They all had to look away, as it exploded in a massive burst of white. The screens started turning snowy, before the feed was cut entirely. “Just what have we done?” She said, everyones mouth hanging open in awe. “Alert Magister Sparkle.” No one moved, staring at the blank screen. The observation station had been at least fifty miles from the impact zone, and it had been destroyed in a matter of seconds. “I said to GET TWILIGHT ON THE LINE!” She screamed, jolting them into action. Their choice just might cost them more than they could ever guess. (o3o) “You engaged an unknown object you detected in orbit without any sort of approval?” Twilight was furious as she stared down the unicorn. “Do you have any idea what you might have started Starlight?” Her voice made the entire room shake, causing Starlight to flinch. “It was an anomalous object that-” “You went above your rank and ordered an attack on something that retaliated by,” Twilight paused to look at the report in her hand. “destroying half of the Crystal Mountains, two towns, a mining operation, and approximately a hundred and fifty additional square miles of empty land. This is going to be a permanent scar on the face of Equis. Do you have any idea how difficult this is going to be to explain?” “No ma’am.” Starlight hung her head in shame. “This is hands down the worst mistake anyone has ever made. Not even the pegasus that accidentally started the war with the dragons messed up this bad.” “But you dealt with the dragons in a single day, couldn’t you do the same here?” She asked, looking hopeful. “You want me to go up and pull something out of the sky that destroyed more than a rampaging dragon could in a week, and probably only did so because you attacked it first? I understood what I was fighting against the dragons. The most we know about this object is that it just destroyed more of this country than anything we have ever seen, and survived a direct hit from the prototype Mass Driver Cannon.” Twilight’s tone was condescending. “It was a horrible suggestion. I am more than willing to take responsibility for my actions.” Starlight dropped to her knees, bowing before Twilight. “We’ll talk later about your punishment. As of this moment, you no longer work for me. Clean out your office, and don’t show up tomorrow.” Twilight spun around in her chair, looking out the window over Canterlot. Starlight took this as her chance to leave, and teleported out. “Did you leave us a little present Seed?” She asked the night, unknowing whether she would get an answer. “You speak of the guest in my stars?” Luna asked, walking in from the balcony. “Yes, the head of the National Defense Organization authorized an attack on it using a prototype weapon. It did nothing to the object, and it retaliated by dropping something from orbit.” Twilight grabbed the reports in her magic and floated them over to Luna. “A single thing did this?” Luna asked, her eyes widening as she read the report. “Yes, and I believe it was nothing more than a warning shot.” “Where do you believe it came from?” Luna asked, as she placed the report back on the desk. “There’s only one place. They must have left it behind.” Twilight sighed. “And if that was a warning shot, what do you think it is truly capable of?” Luna asked. “More than we could ever guess.” Twilight replied.
