Author's Note

The descriptions in this chapter are bit... morbid, I guess. I'm not sure if it classifies as gore yet, though.

Promised Day

Seven years. It took seven years to finalize the plan. In all that time, we had went through every conceivable—and inconceivable—possibility. We were going to leave nothing to chance, because if even one miniscule part of the operation failed or was malformed, there was a large probability we would not succeed and we’d be discovered. Obviously, obtaining god-status at the extent of literally everypony else was generally not something looked that others were fond of. Failure almost certainly meant that there would be no going back, and I might have even been stripped of my power.

You of course know that on rare occasions all of the nobles will gather for a banquet, along with the princesses, and at this particular event, the highest ranking generals. This was the most opportune time for us. It would let us get rid of all the ruling parties in one fell swoop. This would cripple the Equestrian government, and shatter military command.

The reason the latter was important is simple: I wouldn’t be powerful enough then to take on an entire army alone. Eventually, I would run out of energy and, given enough soldiers, they would overpower us. The Equestrian military was almost definitely large enough to overtake me and my freinds, given enough time.

Since I was one of the princesses, I was invited to the dinner party featuring all the houses, generals, and, of course, princesses. In my letter, I asked if I could bring my friends along with me for the dinner. I also brought Scootaloo along, so she would be there when everything went down.

My friends took the train to Canterlot, and I took a chariot. I arrived the night before to make sure everything would go off without a hitch. It was boring and tedious work; I had to go around enchant all of the doors to make sure nopony escaped. Maybe it wasn’t necessary, but I was determined to… not have any survivors.

That night, I didn’t sleep.

I stared up at the intricate ceiling of my room, noting all the details on the stone arches. The summer breeze felt good through the open window, and I noted the smell of the flowers in the garden outside.

It was so peaceful, and I remember that I was hesitant for a moment to go forward with my plans.

It was nerve-racking, thinking about everything that I’d never see again: my parents, my brother, you two, Cadence… everypony, really.

But I also was certain that it was what I wanted. I wanted to become a goddess; no, a god. I wanted to be the perfect being, and to have ultimate control. I knew what I needed to do, and how to do it. Yet….

I sat up, hopped out of bed quietly, and walked over to the open window behind the wooden desk. A group of candles on the windowsill still smoldered from use a few hours before. The smoke gently blew back into the room, dissipating after a short distance.

I looked out at the moonlit land. The still night made it easy to see the very faint glow of streetlights down in Ponyville; nopony was out at the time; and all the houses were dark.

It was so peaceful, calm, and charming that it almost seemed like the universe was trying to convince me not to do it.

I heard the rustling of linens behind me, and turned around to find Spike woken up and rubbing his eyes.

“Twilight?” he asked.

“Yes…” I replied.

“Can’t sleep?”

“Well… I…. I don’t know…. No, I can’t sleep….”

“Are you worried about tomorrow?”

“I… I don’t know….”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m… unsure now….”

“Unsure about what?”

“Everything…. Do I really want to do this…?”

“Of course you do. It’s all you’ve ever dreamed of.”

“I know… but…. What if it’s not what I want? What if I’m not happy?”

“Twilight, you’ve told me before that gods don’t need petty emotions. They are omniscient, unbound by things like ‘feelings’ and ‘hopes’. All they have is will.

“At least, that’s what you said. I know this is what you want, Twilight. You cannot doubt yourself at the last moment and make everything you’ve accomplished be for nothing.

“I mean, you got an extremely loyal group of friends; not to mention that one is a changeling, one of the most untrustworthy creatures out there.

“You have the gems, the magic, and you’ve gotten close enough to princesses where you could be in a romantic relationship and nopony would even question it. Not that you would or anything, I hope, but you get the point.

“You’ve worked so hard that it’d be stupid and wasteful to just throw it all away for some doubts. I’ve known you since I was born, Twilight, and I know this is what you want. Monotone would say the same thing, I’m certain of it.

“Don’t doubt yourself, Twilight. You will emerge victorious.”

His talk left me envigorated, and I was once again determined to go through with everything. I mean, he was right, after all. Our plan was next to flawless, and we had everything set up. There was nothing that could stop us.

“You’re absolutely right, Spike. There is nothing that can stop me. I will become god. I will be the perfect being. This mortal shell will no longer bind me. I will triumph over all of these insects. I will strike god down to equus and eat it. The universe will answer to me alone. There will be no resistance.”

The rest of the night was filled with determination and eagerness instead of worry. I looked out the window, thinking about what I could do with all my power.

As I was thinking, I remembered what I told Monotone when we were both fillies. I remembered how I told her that we’d get back at the professors who told her her ideas were stupid. And I smiled. Not a smile of intent or malice, but a smile of laughter. I knew she would keep me to my word, but I still found the agreement funny. It seemed like such a harmless and empty threat; I was sure that a lot of fillies said something like it before.

And, finally, after all that time waiting, I saw, well, you, Celestia, on your balcony, raising the sun, completely oblivious to the events to come.

That night, everything would change. A new era would begin: an era of terror. I would be the catalyst and reactant.

The next day was normal, at the very least. I stayed in my room all day, checking over all my notes strategies. I won’t say I enjoyed it. It wasn’t necessary, but I just needed to kill time.

Then, after hours of killing time, the party was going to start. The first guests arrived, and everything was set in motion.

“You’ve said ‘everything was set in motion’ or some form of it multiple times. Which time was it?” Luna asked, almost annoyed.
“Uhm…. All of them, I guess.”
“What?”
“Well, all of the occurrences added up. I don’t really know…. I just say it for dramatic effect, to be honest.”
Both princesses stared at her blankly.

My friends were some of the last to arrive. They took their sweet time.

The party was rather drab. There was plenty of gossip and scandal to be discussed among the houses, no doubt, but I didn’t usually partake in it.

Eventually, we all gathered in one of the halls at a massive, white cloth covered table. The princesses and I were sitting at the massive head, with my friends close by.

“How are you enjoying to dinner, Twilight? Is it everything you dreamed of?” Celestia joked, poking fun at how mundane the event was.

“Yes, it’s great, Princess.”

“Oh, Twilight, you don’t need to call me that anymore.” She blushed lightly. “You’re a princess too now. There is no need for formalities between us.”

“You’re probably right, but I want your magic to come easily. The more stress and uncomfortableness a pony feels, the harder it is to let their magic flow into me.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I suppose I should formally say goodbye. But as you said, no need for formalities among fellow princesses, correct?”

“Twilight, what’s going on? What are you talking about?”

I turned to the others at the table. “Excuse me, my I have everypony’s attention?”

The all turned to look at me. “I would appreciate all of your help, but I should not talk with insects. It is below me, and my companions may find it odd. In fact, simply acknowledging your presence seems unbefitting.”

With that, I unleashed my spell upon the three princesses sitting beside me. Cadence was the first to notice her magic rapidly depleting. “Twilight, what’s going on? Are you doing this? What’s going on?” she said weekly.

Celestia’s and Luna’s eyes shot wide open as they too felt the drain. I spared nothing. They were powerless insects. All three fell over in their chairs, eliciting confused and startled commotion from the others sitting around the table.

All of the guards in the room came over to aid their rulers, but I was not prejudiced in my practices. I took everything thing they had, and they watched in horror and agony as they slowly disintegrated into dust.

All the other occupants except my friends in the room screamed in terror at the carnage around me. I simply laughed. Wanting to savor the moment, I trapped them all in their seats. One by one, I took everything from them, converting even the bonds of the compounds that composed their bodies into salvageable energy.

The all whimpered, while I smiled joyfully. They cried as their bodies disintegrated in front of them.

Deathwing had the largest grin of all.

I looked over at her, and decided that I should give her back what I had stolen from her earlier. With a quick burst of magic, she was Deathwing again. Her cutie mark was replaced with it’s natural red crescent, her coat became much darker, and her mane turned blood red. She shivered in pleasure.

“Thank you, Twilight. Finally, that frail body was irritating and frustrating.”

I looked over at Monotone, and again used a burst of magic on her as well. Her coat became grey, and her mane grayscale. Her cutie mark reverted to its natural sigma character.

“That was dreadful. Acting like an idiot for so long is silly.”

I continued. The next one cried and begged.

“P-please, P-Princess, spare me!”

“Ah, that would be wasteful.”

She tried cowering, but her body wouldn’t budge. I took all the energy she had, and she cried as she watched and felt her body crumbling into dust.

The next followed suit. And the next. And so on, until I reached the end of the table. There, a blue unicorn with a pink mane sat, tears running down her face. I drained her magic, but was surprised to find that she had significantly more than the rest.

“You may be useful at a later date. I will keep you for now.”

She looked up at me with wide eyes and and a gaping mouth. She was obviously thankful.

I used an age spell and reverted her to a foal.

She was the only unicorn of interest. I simply squashed the rest as the insects they were.

I slowly trotted over to the restrained princesses. They looked up at me with pure terror.

“T-Twilight w-why are y-you doing th-this?” Cadence asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? I want to become god.”

“B-but why t-to us? I-I thought w-we w-were your f-friends....”

“Friends? Really? You thought that I would befriend an insect? Well, I suppose I should call you more like mice.”

“A-an insect?” Celestia stuttered.

“Of course. You were all my pawns from the beginning. Cadence, my most faithful pawn, thank you. I appreciate looking after me while I was young and naive.

“Now, I might aswell tell you what I’m going to do with you. Keeping my pawns informed is courtesy, isn’t it?

“Regardless, you will become foals. You will grow up and regain your magic, and I will again take it. I will repeat this process until I do not need you anymore.”

“N-no! Please! Wait! Twilight, don’t do this! You can still turn back! We’ll forgive you, we promise! Don’t do this Twilight!” Celestia pleaded.

“Why shouldn’t I? Did you not hear me? I suppose mice should find it hard to comprehend the words of beings like myself. I wish to become god, and you have a lot of energy that I can use. So I took it.”

“Twilight, why did you teach me about friendship? Why did you try to help me adjust to this new time, if your only purpose was to use me?” Luna tried reasoning.

“So you would trust me. I’d of hoped that’d be obvious, but I guess not.” I shrugged. “Is there anything you’d like to say before being erased from history?”

They looked up at me with terrified looks, and Cadence had tears running down her cheeks.

“No? Suit yourself.”

My horn glowed and I was about to cast the spell before somepony called out to me. “Twilight! Wait!” It was Cadence.

“What?”

“I-I want to to say…. I wanted to say that… you’re still our friend….”

“And?”

She didn’t reply.

“Alright, I thought this’d be more drawn out, but whatever; it’s not my final moments, no, far from it.”

I used an age spell and regressed them to foals.

Celestia put the pieces together. “Your daughters…. They’re us, aren’t they?”
“Yes….”
“I… I don’t know what to say.”
“I don’t either…. I’ve thought about what I would say, but I never found the answer. Maybe there simply is nothing to say.”
“I don’t feel like dwelling on this until I actually have material to dwell upon. The tale is not finished,” Luna declared.
“Yes,” Twilight replied, nodding.