The New Monarchyby Death Star 813ChaptersThe accidentDesperate timesConvincedChangeEscapeLifeless Sand (finale)EpilogueThe accidentThe Sun rose and Fluttershy yawns, being woken up by the light. And a bird chirping next to her ear, that could have woken her up to. She stands on all four hooves and stretches, watching her animal friends wake up one by one. After saying good morning to all of them, she fetches something to eat and drink. Feeling her thirst quenched and her hunger now subsiding, she feels energized. Out of the normal routine for her, she goes ahead and decides to fly around for a bit, enjoying the light cool breeze flow through her mane. She then gets the idea to go and see Rainbow Dash for a bit, just a nice little visit. Flying up to her cloud door step and taking a moment to breathe in the fresh, crisp air of Cloudsdale, she knocks on the door with a smile on her face. "One second!" A voice rings out from inside the house. After a quick minute of sounds of shuffling around and quite bangs, the door swings open. "Oh, hey Fluttershy! I was just going to go to the market, want to join?" Rainbow asks, strangely perky this morning. "Oh sure, that sounds like a great idea." Fluttershy happily says, looking forward to a day at the market with her oldest friend. "Great! Let's go." The two fly down to the street and begin to walk along the road, wanting to take in the scenery of the wooded outskirts of Ponyville. Fluttershy made a quick stop at her cottage to pick up some bits. "So how are you Dash?" "Me? I'm fine, could be better though, a couple of workers at the weather factory had to request time off so I'm almost working triple shifts, but it keeps me busy. I had yesterday off so I could catch up on my sleep. Same with today, then it's back to work tomorrow. How about you?" Rainbow asks, looking at Fluttershy. "Oh, well I guess I'm well. Nothing new so it's been pretty relaxing lately." Rainbow nods in acknowledgment. Reaching the market Fluttershy spots the grocer with vegetables. It's a new seller, a colt with an orange coat, combed green and red mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a scroll with a feather pen. "I need some more salad, I'll be right back." Fluttershy says to Rainbow who has already started to head over to the seller she needs. The orange colt begins, noticing Fluttershy heading over. "Good morning Ma'am, is there anything I could get you?" "May I have two heads of lettuce and a corn please?" Fluttershy asks, starting to pull out some bits. She stops when she looks up and notices who it is. "Write? Write Holliday? It's been so long, how are you?" Write looks up from grabbing the plants and widens his eyes. "Fluttershy! I've been pretty good, not much to tell of really. How are you?" Fluttershy looks around and leans in, knowing she can trust Write. Write and the mane six, including Fluttershy, met under... odd circumstances, but she remembers him completely. "They've actually been tiring, I can't go into detail but it's been a big help meeting up with an old friend." "Well, let me help you more by giving you this purchase for free. It's the least I could do." He pushes the three plants towards her on the wooden table. "Really? I mean, I... I couldn't, it feels wrong to do." "Hey, if anything happens, I'll take the fall." He says, a sly grin on his face. Fluttershy stands there then nods, figuring Write won't take no for an answer. "Ok, thank you Write." "Don't mention it." He leans in this time. "Especially to my boss." He winks, restocking the table. Fluttershy smiles and turns around, saying goodbye to him. She meets Rainbow at the other end of the market. "Ok, I think I'm good. Ready to head out?" Fluttershy nods. "I'm all set, thank you for bringing me. The animals have been needing fresh food for a while." "No problem Shy, it was my pleasure." Rainbow smiles, looking at Fluttershy. "Oh, do you know who I met up with at the market?" Rainbow shakes her head. "Write Holliday." It takes Dash a moment, but then remembers him and slightly laughs. "Oh no kidding, he's really hit rock bottom then huh?" She chuckles. "Nah, I'm kidding. How is he-" "Look out!" A voice yells from behind them. Write is running at full speed at the two pegasi. Each look back and see him chasing a rouge cart, heading right for Fluttershy. Rainbow jumps in front of her, taking the full brunt of the collision. "Oh no, I'll go get help, you see if she's alright." Write bolts off, yelling for help. Fluttershy, just getting out of her daze, immediately pushes the wood off of Dash after the dust cleared. "Dash? Dash are you alright? Dash?!" No response. Fluttershy frantically looks around, not knowing what to do. Looking up she sees Write and some ponies dressed in medical gear running towards her. "Right there, she's badly injured and needs help ASAP." One of the medics just nods at Write and kneels down next to Rainbow, putting her onto a stretcher. "Fluttershy, you and I should go and tell the others what happened. Ok?" She nods, tears swelling up in her eyes. Write nods and runs off, heading straight for Twilight's. Fluttershy runs, almost blind thanks to her tears, over to Applejack's. The five of them and Write are at the hospital within ten minutes. Desperate times"What happened?" "Will she be alright?" "How could someone do this?" "Give her more medicine!" Fluttershy sits in the corner of the waiting room, holding her ears to block out her friends questions. It's all my fault, she thinks to herself. It has to be. I'm the reason she stopped to talk, I'm the reason she stayed longer, I'm the- "Excuse me, may I have a Ms. Shy to speak with?" A nurse walks into the room while levitating a clipboard. Write Holliday, who has been sitting alone in the room, gets up and walks over to Fluttershy. "Hey Shy, the nurse wants to see you." He says, putting a hoof on her solder. She only stares at him but eventually gets up and walks towards the nurse, then follows her into an isolated room. "Ms. Shy, I'm afraid I have some bad news." Fluttershy feels her heart race, ready to burst out her chest and put her in the hospital with her friend. "The operation can be done, but it'll cost a lot." Fluttershy doesn't know how to feel. Angry that the nurse is willing to let her friend die because of money? Or relief that she can be saved? "H-how much?" Fluttershy barley asks the inevitable question. "Well, it'll be one million bits." The world freezes, or at least it seems to freeze. "One million? I-I don't understand, how can-" "A pice of wood lodged itself into Ms. Dash's chest, only a centimeter from her heart. Around the same time, a piece of wood slammed into her head, propelled by the speed that the cart was going. Thus, it forced her into a coma. Now normally we'd be able to operate using purely magic, but this operation specifically requires technology. Technology that is on the verge of being created, but the bits required to make it are factored into the medical cost of the normal operation. And on top of it all, she doesn't have any life insurance, health policy, or anything of the sort. It'll have to be from a regular citizen of Ponyville, and since you're her first choice for an immediate responder, it falls onto you to get the bits." The nurse studies Fluttershy, then notices something is wrong. "Are you feeling ok Ms. Shy? You look pale." Fluttershy doesn't reply, hearing an echoed voice coming from the nurse. I can't believe it, one million bits. But how am I supposed to get that much? I'm not rich or a princess or anything of the sort. Maybe I heard her wrong, maybe it's not one million, but one hundred. That's a pretty common mistake, right? And could the hospital really ask for that much? "And it's how much?" "One million bits." Fluttershy stands there, processing everything. No, no I heard her right, one million. I can't tell the others, or should I? No, I can't, I'm solely responsible for the medical costs and they shouldn't have to worry, after all she will get better, only after the cost is covered. "O-ok, thank you." Flutteshy turns and leaves. She hears the nurse say good luck to her, then tries to ask her to sit as she doesn't look well...or something like that, it was all blurry. Nonetheless Fluttershy just keeps walking, mainly from shock. The moment she opens the doors back into the waiting room she is bombarded with questions, only to have Twilight to tell the others to be quiet. "Fluttershy, what did the nurse say?" In a moment of panic, she can only respond with positive news. "She, she said she'll be ok." A sigh of relief comes over the room. "She didn't give me a date as to how long it'll be until she recovers, but she did say it might be a long time. The main thing to focus on here though is that she will be ok." "Whew, that's a relief. Alright, ah' think we need some rest." The others, along with Write who was sitting by himself, agree with Applejack as they say goodnight to one another and exit the building, leaving Fluttershy. Twilight stops just before the door and turns around. "Fluttershy, are you sure that's all they said? It doesn't sound like a lot of news seeing as though this is life threatening." Fluttershy's heart skips, and she gives up, knowing that she won't be able to hide it from Twilight. "No. But what I'm about to say can only stay between us, ok?" "Scouts honor." Twilight says, saluting with a hoof. "O-ok, well, they said that the operation will cost one million bits." Twilight's face suddenly drops, her eyes widening. "One million? What, are they going to turn her into a vampire or something?" Fluttershy shoots her a quick glare. "Oh yeah, sorry, forgot about that." "I just don't know what to do. You wouldn't be able to ask Celestia, would you?" "No, strangely enough the princesses don't have a lot of money." They sit there, pondering. "I uh, I may have an idea." "West is it? Please, I'll do anything to save Dashie." Fluttershy practically begs. "Well, you may not like this but, we may be able to create something." Twilight says, now seriously staring at Fluttershy. "What? I don't care what it is, what do we have to create?" Silence ensues until Twilight finally says... "A new monarchy." ConvincedFluttershy stares at her, a mix of thoughts and emotions. "A new monarchy? What do you mean?" She gives a slight chuckle. "Well, maybe monarchy isn't the word, but along the lines of it. I mean that we, you and I, no one else, plan the fall of Celestia." Fluttershy's eyes bulge, extremely scared now. This doesn't make sense, this isn't like her. "Y-you want to, but how? And why? Celestia is amazing, your mentor and friend, why would you want to-" "To make way for a new ruler." Twilight interrupts. "I can't say who, but trust me when I say that she will turn Equestria into the perfect place to live." Fluttershy stands up, ready to run. She can't trust her, not after this. "Who are you? You never used to be like this, you were never so cold. What changed?" "I saw the truth, Fluttershy. I realized that Celestia couldn't care less about you, me, or anyone in all of Equestria. But the one that will be the new ruler, they would do something with it that no one else could." "W-what?" Fluttershy nervously asks. "Purify it. They will make the land pure, rid it of any imperfections. It will be a utopia." She stares at her, smiling in an unforgiving way. "Think about the failures of the land right now, all of the things that are wrong with it. Now think about all those imperfections not gone, but turned into great qualities of Equestria. Think about a perfect land, a perfect life." Fluttershy's eyes dart between her and the ground. "I-I don't think this is a good idea Twilight. And how is it supposed to help cure Dash?" Fluttershy inquisitively asks. "I'm glad you mentioned her, I didn't know if I'd have to bring her up myself." She walks forward and puts her fore hooves onto her shoulders, locking eyesight and striking an unexplainable fear into Fluttershy's heart. "She would be the second in command and the head of any enlisted Pegasi. She would make any decisions that the ruler didn't, and a second in command isn't of any use dead." "So they'll pay off the bits." Fluttershy says, finishing Twilight's statement for her. "Exactly. You're smarter than you look Fluttershy, smarter than you look. Now regarding how we will go about this, I can't give you all the details of what I'm going to do. But you're role is simple, all you have to do is go door to door and tell them 'change is coming'. Change obviously referring to Celestia giving up her power. Once you tell them, it doesn't matter what they say. It doesn't matter if they think you're a pchyco path, a saint, or a normal pony. Just finish you're talk and move onto the next one." "Alright, but why can't you tell me what you're going to do?" She needs to know Twilight's role in all of this, her secrecy isn't very comforting. "Fluttershy, don't worry about me, this will be a team effort between you and I. No one else is to know. And for that matter, no one is to know that you are the one going from door to door." Fluttershy is now frightful for her own life at this point. If no one is to know that she is telling others to help the defeat of Celestia, what if she refuses to do this? How serious is he about toppling her? "I, I don't think, no wait that's not what I meant. We shouldn't try-" she is cut off by Twilight pushing her against the brick wall. "You will wear a robe that was delivered to your door an hour ago. Fluttershy, listen to me, I want Rainbow Dash to get better. Do you agree?" She nods. "You'd be willing to do anything to help her, right?" "Y-yes." "So what is the difference between doing labour work to accumulate the bits, and doing secret work to do it for free?" "O-one is illegal." Twilight shakes her head. "And here I thought you were a good friend, willing to do anything to help you're oldest, closest, most trustworthy friend. I thought you used to be the element of kindness." Fluttershy feels a pain in her chest, a strain in her head. Am I a bad friend? Why aren't I willing to do something illegal to save Rainbow Dash's life? Would I really rather have her die than be in jail? Why would I be so mean? Twilight smiles. "You finally get it, I can tell by the look on your face. Fluttershy, you and I, we are going to change Equestria for the better, forever. And in the process, save Rainbow Dash's life. Are you with me?" Twilight lets go of Fluttershy and steps back, holding out a hoof. "I, do you promise to me that she will get better? No matter what happens to either me or you, she will get better?" "On my life." Twilight smiles. Admittedly, her smile looks about as untrustworthy as you can get. But right here, right now, she doesn't care. If there's a shot that Rainbow can get better, she'll take it. "Ok. I'll help. But for Dashie, nothing else." Twilight's face lightens up into a sincere smile. "But if something goes wrong and we get caught, or you don't pull through, I swear to you, I will bring you down with me." "Fair enough. Thank you Fluttershy. I want you to go from door to door first thing tomorrow. Remember, 'Change is coming'." She nods. "We are the beginning Fluttsehy, we will rewrite history." She walks away, proud of her work. Fluttershy lies down, not wanting to move. "Oh Fluttershy, what did you get yourself into?" ChangeFluttershy wakes up, yawning and stretching under her covers. Looking around, she notices that she is in her room, even though she fell asleep outside last night. Looking at the time she is shocked to see that she is up two hours earlier than usual. "Hello?" She asks the presumably empty house, not wanting any uninvited visitors. No response. Walking down the stairs she notices a cardboard box in the middle of her living room. On its top it reads "change is coming." She had hoped that it was a bad dream, clearly it wasn't. Opening the box she finds exactly what Twilight had mentioned; a red-hooded robe. It's a perfect fit. The robe covers up any and all color of Fluttershy, and the hood is big enough to completely cover her face as long as she looks slightly down. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this, it's not too late to back out, I can still-" She remembers Dash. "No, just do it." She steps out of her house. Walking down Ponyville without being noticed was a task, and she was barley able to get to the first. She made sure she doesn't know the residents of the house and sucked up all bravery she had. For Rainbow Dash. She knocks. "Hello?" A stallion walks out of the house, looking around until finally laying his eyes on the masked pony at his doorstep. "Oh, good morning. Would you like something?" Fluttershy stands there, trying to move her mouth. She's frozen, unable to do anything. Come on, say it. Say it, please just say it. "Excuse me?" The stallion asks, curious as to what is happening. "...C-Change is coming." She quickly turns and walks off, not wanting the wind to blow the robe upwards. "Wait! What do you mean? Hello?!" Fluttershy is gone by the time he can get another word out. She stops near a wall and darts behind it, catching her breathe. "So you did it." Twilight walks around the corner. "Twilight, how did you... nevermind, I don't think I can do it again. This is crazy, I don't even know what I mean by 'change is coming', let alone expect strangers to understand." Twilight chuckles. "Fluttershy, the first is always the hardest. From here on out, it'll be simple. Just walk up, say it, and walk away. I understand how you feel, trust me, I do. But I also know what's best for Equestria, and this is it. You may not see it now, but trust me, this is it." She offers a slight smile. Fluttershy can only smile back, no longer trying to understand, just doing what she is told. "How long will it take until Dash is treated?" Fluttershy asks, concerned that Twikight has forgotten about her. "Don't worry about that, it'll happen soon. Take my word for it, she will be ok." Fluttershy nods. "I have to get going, and you should get Back to work. We'll meet again soon." Twilight walks off, leaving Fluttershy with more questions than answers. The next couple of houses go smoothly, no one really taking her seriously. Some just close the door on her while others bombard her with questions, only to watch the yellow mare run off. She gets to a house that seems strangely familiar, but figures it's only a coincidence. She knocks and the door swings open. "Hi there! Wow, nice robe! It's so cool to have dressed up ponies walking around in Ponyville, it really lightens the place up! Oh, want some brownies? I just made some, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." Pinkie Pie runs into the house. Fluttershy is frozen stiff, not wanting the pink pony to know its her. She goes to walk away but can't as much move before Pinkie comes back. She drops the brownies in front of her, letting Fluttershy look right at them. She gets an idea. Fluttershy points to the brownies, then to Pinkie, all while keeping the robe over her hoof. "Oh, I catch your drift. I'll show you they're safe!" She take one and stuffs her mouth. "See? Its perfectly healthy. And really good!" She says with her mouth full. "One more can't hurt." She grabs two more and eats those. While she is eating Fluttershy runs off, staying mysterious to Pinkie Pie."Hey, wait! Your brownies!" Fluttershy rounds a corner and runs into Twilight again. "Over here, now." Twilight pulls her into a dead end with barley any light and a large trash bin at the end of it. "What were you thinking going to Pinkie Pie's friends house!? You could have been caught! If you're caught then the whole thing falls apart, meaning that celestial stays ruler, you and I go to prison and Dash never gets better. You can't do stuff like that, you need to be careful." "Twilight, believe me, I'm trying. I did all I could to avoid being spotted by Pinkie and she never knew it was me, please understand that it was an accident and I'm sorry. I don't want to get caught, because I don't want Dashie to die. I know the risks but I also know the rewards, and right now the reward outweighs the risk." Twilight smiles at her, looking almost like an evil grin. "What?" "It's started." Fluttershy blankly stares back. "What do you mean? What's started?" Twilight steps forward and pushes Fluttershy against a trash bin, holding her there. "I'm sick of you. I'm sick of you ponies, you freaks. I can't believe that Celestial would actually help you six be like this, it's revolting. Jim! Bag her!" Fluttershy sees hooves wrap around her and pull her into the trash bin, pinning her down. She tries to fight but can't, now laying still with a hoof over her mouth. She hears buzzing, a lot of it. Shadows pass over the dead end as if there is no stop to them. "Tell Twilight I said hi." Twilight peeks over, telling Fluttershy. As confused as she is, her vision begins to fade, but she manages to see Twilight's teeth. Her fangs. It then goes black. Escape"Fluttershy? Fluttershy, can you hear me?" Fluttershy's eyes slowly open, straining to cope with the dark and dim blue light. She feels chains on her two fore hooves, and a surface under her. She is tied and being held captive. "Fluttershy." "Hello? Who's there?" Fluttershy asks the darkness, hoping for some good news. "It's me, Twilight. Am I glad to see you, I-" "Get away from me!" Fluttershy yells, scared of Twilight now. She tries to break free of her chains, but winds up unsuccessful. "Fluttershy, listen, it's me. I know you've been dealing with me above ground but trust me, this is the real me. That was a changeling." Her heart stops. "A-a changeling? As in, Chrysalis changeling?" "Exactly. She's back." It all makes sense to her in that moment, as if the pieces were put together like a puzzle. "She formulated a plan to-" "I know, overthrow Celestia. And I helped." Fluttershy feels a pain in her chest, she just brought her rule to an end all by herself. "It's not your fault, you didn't know." "Twilight, it is my fault. If I hadn't told every pony the 'change is coming', then they wouldn't have been so willing to surrendering. They would have been caught by surprise and fought them off, but instead the fear kept building and they put down their hooves before a single pony got hurt. I just began the end." She feels tears welling up, but tries to hold them back. "But you don't know that Fluttershy, maybe they didn't surrender and instead did fight. But even if they did surrender there is no proof that they wouldn't have done the same without your warning." Silence engulfs the air. "By the way, where are you?" "I'm to your left, but it's too dark to see. I'd do a spell but there are creatures surrounding us form the Everfree. If I show any light they'll attack, we're kind of stuck." More silence. Fluttershy stares into the dark abyss as she is lost in thought, scared of, well, everything right now. "Twilight? What will happen if they take over Canterlot?" Twilight sighs. "Honestly, I don't know. I'd hate to imagine it but I'd have to guess an, an oppressed Equestria. No freedom, no hope, no nothing. Just, an endless fog over Equestria." Twilight shakes her head. "But that won't happen, because we're getting out of here." "What? How? I thought you said-" "Yes, there are creatures around us. And by creatures, I mean animals. Animals that you can communicate with." "Oh, Twilight, I don't know if I can get through to them. Not all animals are always willing to listen." Twilight's horn slowly grows a light. "I'm going to cast the light spell. When I do, you're going too convince them to not attack. I know you're reluctant to but it's either that, or we stay down here forever." It's Fluttershy's turn to sigh. "Alright, I'll try. I'm ready when you are." "Ok, in three, two, one." A light shows the creatures' eyes, not what they are. Their red eyes stare at the two ponies. They don't move, don't make a sound, just stare. "Wait, they attacked last time I did this spell. Whatever, it doesn't matter, Fluttershy, do your work." Fluttershy swallows every last bit of courage and talks. "H-hi little buddies, I'm sure you're really loyal to Chrysalis, but you look like nice friends. Me and my friend would really appreciate it if you were to go and play with each other and uh, you know, be happy somewhere away from here." She smiles but doubts it helps at all. The red eyes go from triangles to circles as a happy panting is heard. They disappear while the sound of running is heard to their far right. "Perfect Fluttershy, perfect. I'll get us out of here." Twilight casts a spell that undoes her chains and does so to Fluttershy's as well. "So what do you say we go save Equestria?" Lifeless Sand (finale)Twilight and Fluttershy walk out of the darkness and come out somewhere near Ponyville. Twilight pounds the ground. "Darn It! We won't be able to get to Canterlot fast enough from here. Ok, think Twilight think." She paces on the grass while mumbling to herself. "We could just fly there." Fluttershy suggests. "No, we can't. The air is filled with changelings, we'd be lucky if we would make it to the boarder of Canterlot." Twilight stops and stares at Ponyville. "That's it, that's it! Fluttershy, go back to Ponyville and tell everyone to meet me at the train station." "But what if they don't listen? I did tell them-" "They will, just tell them that I sent you." Fluttershy nods and begins to run to Ponyville. "Rainbow!" Fluttershy yells as she remembers her friend. "No, keep running, help her after." She resumes running but can't get her out of her mind. A quick visit, then I'll tell everyone. She runs into the hospital and pushes past the nurses. She runs into her room and stands by her bedside. She finds a cord and follows it to the heart beat monitor. It's off. "R-Rainbow?" She hits the power button and drops to the ground. A high-pitched, constant, non-stop sound plays through out the air. "N-no." She whispers. Hoof steps come up from behind her. "I'm sorry Ms. Shy." The nurse that informed her about the cost says as she walks in. "I-is there any chance?" She tries to let out the tears but, she can't. "No. It's been five minutes since the monitor told us this. I left to get the morgue manager." Fluttershy looks behind her and sees a blue Pegasus in a lab coat. "I'm sorry." Fluttershy stares at Rainbow Dash and can't move. She's numb, her body feeling like a broken chair. The morgue manager turns off the monitor and takes Rainbow away, giving his apologies. The nurse escorts Fluttershy out. I-I, I can't believe it. She's... A pony puts his hoof on her shoulder. Looking behind, it's Write Holliday from the market. "I'm sorry, they told me she would be fine. I didn't know she would die." Fluttershy grows angry. "What do you mean? You did this on purpose?!" "H-he said it would start the dawn of a new age! A good age! I didn't know that she would die! I thought she would be fine, he gave me his word!" "Who?!" He looks down, clearly knowing something bad. "A-a changeling." Fluttershy stares at him, wanting to kill him for his ignorance, his stupidity, his mistake. But she knows she won't, she can't. The changeling on the other hand... "If you really feel bad then go from door to door and tell each pony to make their way to the train station." Fluttershy runs off before he can respond. After an hour of doing exactly that, there is a large mob near the station. Twilight is in front of them, ready to speak. "Excuse me everypony! I appreciate you coming out here, but that won't matter if the changelings win. We need to storm Canterlot and take it back!" "And how do you propose we get there?" A voice asks from the crowd. "Simple, we take the train!" She points over to the train that is docked a few hundred feet away. "Who's with me?!" A rush of yells and cheers come from the crowd as they file into the train and prepare themselves. As the train docks in Canterlot, a small group of Changelings go to check the passengers. Twilight rushes out and tackles one as the others run out and make their way to the castle. Fluttershy and a few others help Twilight, then join the mob. On their way up they fight off small groups of Changelings before facing a small army of them in front of the castle. "Hold!" Twilight yells, getting in front of everypony. A tense moment passes as the two groups stare at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. "Now!" A war begins, ponies and Changelings fighting, winning, losing, and fleeing. Twilight and Fluttershy run into the castle and slip past the distracted guards. They see Celestial and Chrysalis staring each other down. "You have invaded for the last time Chrysalis, leave now or else." Celestial warns, readying her magic. "You wouldn't dare square off with me, there is no love here for you to defeat me with this time, I'm here to stay." "Then there is no love for you to feed on either, meaning you are weak and powerless here." Chrysalis smiles. "Even if you strike me down, there are things far worse to fear." Her horn glows green. "Don't!" Chrysalis fires a blast of magic at Celestia as she does the same. Twilight creates a protective bubble around her and Fluttershy as an explosion engulfs the room. Smoke is kicked up and all goes quiet. "T-Twilight? Are you ok?" Fluttershy asks, cowering behind her. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?" "I'm ok." The smoke clears and a figure stands there, over the other. Twilight misses a breath. "N-no, how? This, this doesn't make sense, I don't, how?" Nightmare moon stands tall over Chrysalis, who is motionless on the ground. "But where's-" Twilight is cut off as Celestia is seen under Chrysalis's body. "No!" Nightmare moon looks up and smirks, casting a wall between her and the two friends. "Well well well, look who decided to show up. It looks like they're both dead, doesn't it? The Changelings should notice soon, then retreat. The others should mourn their precious princess, and then there's you two who know the truth." She looks at Chrysilas. "It wasn't meant to be this way, she was meant to be the queen and I the princess, but not like this. If only Tia didn't get involved." "You monster!" Twilight yells, tears streaming from her face. "You killed your sister and won't even-" "She wasn't my sister! She was my distraction, and now she's gone!" Nightmare moon takes a breath and looks at Twilight. "You should know how I feel, I got rid of Rainbow Dash for you after all." Twilight goes pale. Fluttershy becomes confused. "B-but a changeling told Write to-" "A changeling sent by Chyrisalis sent by me. You have Twilight here to thank for that." "Twilight? What is she talking about?" Fluttershy asks, getting worried. Twilight grows fearful. "You, you didn't. You couldn't, you-" "I did." "What?" Fluttershy shakes Twilight. "I-I had a dream, er, nightmare, the other night that Rainbow died from a freak accident in the market. That started a series of events that led to my ruling. I figured it was ironic this happened after I dreamt that, but now..." "Pawns, it's all you ponies are, even Rainbow Dash. She was just the first domino to fall. I'm going to leave you two now, have fun finding a replacement." Nightmare Moon flies off through a hole in the ceiling, but the wall stays there, only to disappear soon after. "Should we chase her?" Fluttershy asks Twilight. It takes a moment for Twilight to respond. "No, it's useless." Twilight stares at the two bodies on the ground. "Come on, we have work to do." Epilogue"Ponies of Equestria! Our beloved princess, Celestia, has deceased. She did not die in vain, as she took Chrysalis with her. I promise, as the new princess of Equestria, that I will take this land above and beyond its potential, and we will not survive, but thrive!" The crowd cheers. "Ms. Sparkle, you have a visitor." Twilight smiles. "Thank you!" She leaves the balcony. The doors open. "Luna, how nice to see you."
The accidentThe Sun rose and Fluttershy yawns, being woken up by the light. And a bird chirping next to her ear, that could have woken her up to. She stands on all four hooves and stretches, watching her animal friends wake up one by one. After saying good morning to all of them, she fetches something to eat and drink. Feeling her thirst quenched and her hunger now subsiding, she feels energized. Out of the normal routine for her, she goes ahead and decides to fly around for a bit, enjoying the light cool breeze flow through her mane. She then gets the idea to go and see Rainbow Dash for a bit, just a nice little visit. Flying up to her cloud door step and taking a moment to breathe in the fresh, crisp air of Cloudsdale, she knocks on the door with a smile on her face. "One second!" A voice rings out from inside the house. After a quick minute of sounds of shuffling around and quite bangs, the door swings open. "Oh, hey Fluttershy! I was just going to go to the market, want to join?" Rainbow asks, strangely perky this morning. "Oh sure, that sounds like a great idea." Fluttershy happily says, looking forward to a day at the market with her oldest friend. "Great! Let's go." The two fly down to the street and begin to walk along the road, wanting to take in the scenery of the wooded outskirts of Ponyville. Fluttershy made a quick stop at her cottage to pick up some bits. "So how are you Dash?" "Me? I'm fine, could be better though, a couple of workers at the weather factory had to request time off so I'm almost working triple shifts, but it keeps me busy. I had yesterday off so I could catch up on my sleep. Same with today, then it's back to work tomorrow. How about you?" Rainbow asks, looking at Fluttershy. "Oh, well I guess I'm well. Nothing new so it's been pretty relaxing lately." Rainbow nods in acknowledgment. Reaching the market Fluttershy spots the grocer with vegetables. It's a new seller, a colt with an orange coat, combed green and red mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a scroll with a feather pen. "I need some more salad, I'll be right back." Fluttershy says to Rainbow who has already started to head over to the seller she needs. The orange colt begins, noticing Fluttershy heading over. "Good morning Ma'am, is there anything I could get you?" "May I have two heads of lettuce and a corn please?" Fluttershy asks, starting to pull out some bits. She stops when she looks up and notices who it is. "Write? Write Holliday? It's been so long, how are you?" Write looks up from grabbing the plants and widens his eyes. "Fluttershy! I've been pretty good, not much to tell of really. How are you?" Fluttershy looks around and leans in, knowing she can trust Write. Write and the mane six, including Fluttershy, met under... odd circumstances, but she remembers him completely. "They've actually been tiring, I can't go into detail but it's been a big help meeting up with an old friend." "Well, let me help you more by giving you this purchase for free. It's the least I could do." He pushes the three plants towards her on the wooden table. "Really? I mean, I... I couldn't, it feels wrong to do." "Hey, if anything happens, I'll take the fall." He says, a sly grin on his face. Fluttershy stands there then nods, figuring Write won't take no for an answer. "Ok, thank you Write." "Don't mention it." He leans in this time. "Especially to my boss." He winks, restocking the table. Fluttershy smiles and turns around, saying goodbye to him. She meets Rainbow at the other end of the market. "Ok, I think I'm good. Ready to head out?" Fluttershy nods. "I'm all set, thank you for bringing me. The animals have been needing fresh food for a while." "No problem Shy, it was my pleasure." Rainbow smiles, looking at Fluttershy. "Oh, do you know who I met up with at the market?" Rainbow shakes her head. "Write Holliday." It takes Dash a moment, but then remembers him and slightly laughs. "Oh no kidding, he's really hit rock bottom then huh?" She chuckles. "Nah, I'm kidding. How is he-" "Look out!" A voice yells from behind them. Write is running at full speed at the two pegasi. Each look back and see him chasing a rouge cart, heading right for Fluttershy. Rainbow jumps in front of her, taking the full brunt of the collision. "Oh no, I'll go get help, you see if she's alright." Write bolts off, yelling for help. Fluttershy, just getting out of her daze, immediately pushes the wood off of Dash after the dust cleared. "Dash? Dash are you alright? Dash?!" No response. Fluttershy frantically looks around, not knowing what to do. Looking up she sees Write and some ponies dressed in medical gear running towards her. "Right there, she's badly injured and needs help ASAP." One of the medics just nods at Write and kneels down next to Rainbow, putting her onto a stretcher. "Fluttershy, you and I should go and tell the others what happened. Ok?" She nods, tears swelling up in her eyes. Write nods and runs off, heading straight for Twilight's. Fluttershy runs, almost blind thanks to her tears, over to Applejack's. The five of them and Write are at the hospital within ten minutes.
Desperate times"What happened?" "Will she be alright?" "How could someone do this?" "Give her more medicine!" Fluttershy sits in the corner of the waiting room, holding her ears to block out her friends questions. It's all my fault, she thinks to herself. It has to be. I'm the reason she stopped to talk, I'm the reason she stayed longer, I'm the- "Excuse me, may I have a Ms. Shy to speak with?" A nurse walks into the room while levitating a clipboard. Write Holliday, who has been sitting alone in the room, gets up and walks over to Fluttershy. "Hey Shy, the nurse wants to see you." He says, putting a hoof on her solder. She only stares at him but eventually gets up and walks towards the nurse, then follows her into an isolated room. "Ms. Shy, I'm afraid I have some bad news." Fluttershy feels her heart race, ready to burst out her chest and put her in the hospital with her friend. "The operation can be done, but it'll cost a lot." Fluttershy doesn't know how to feel. Angry that the nurse is willing to let her friend die because of money? Or relief that she can be saved? "H-how much?" Fluttershy barley asks the inevitable question. "Well, it'll be one million bits." The world freezes, or at least it seems to freeze. "One million? I-I don't understand, how can-" "A pice of wood lodged itself into Ms. Dash's chest, only a centimeter from her heart. Around the same time, a piece of wood slammed into her head, propelled by the speed that the cart was going. Thus, it forced her into a coma. Now normally we'd be able to operate using purely magic, but this operation specifically requires technology. Technology that is on the verge of being created, but the bits required to make it are factored into the medical cost of the normal operation. And on top of it all, she doesn't have any life insurance, health policy, or anything of the sort. It'll have to be from a regular citizen of Ponyville, and since you're her first choice for an immediate responder, it falls onto you to get the bits." The nurse studies Fluttershy, then notices something is wrong. "Are you feeling ok Ms. Shy? You look pale." Fluttershy doesn't reply, hearing an echoed voice coming from the nurse. I can't believe it, one million bits. But how am I supposed to get that much? I'm not rich or a princess or anything of the sort. Maybe I heard her wrong, maybe it's not one million, but one hundred. That's a pretty common mistake, right? And could the hospital really ask for that much? "And it's how much?" "One million bits." Fluttershy stands there, processing everything. No, no I heard her right, one million. I can't tell the others, or should I? No, I can't, I'm solely responsible for the medical costs and they shouldn't have to worry, after all she will get better, only after the cost is covered. "O-ok, thank you." Flutteshy turns and leaves. She hears the nurse say good luck to her, then tries to ask her to sit as she doesn't look well...or something like that, it was all blurry. Nonetheless Fluttershy just keeps walking, mainly from shock. The moment she opens the doors back into the waiting room she is bombarded with questions, only to have Twilight to tell the others to be quiet. "Fluttershy, what did the nurse say?" In a moment of panic, she can only respond with positive news. "She, she said she'll be ok." A sigh of relief comes over the room. "She didn't give me a date as to how long it'll be until she recovers, but she did say it might be a long time. The main thing to focus on here though is that she will be ok." "Whew, that's a relief. Alright, ah' think we need some rest." The others, along with Write who was sitting by himself, agree with Applejack as they say goodnight to one another and exit the building, leaving Fluttershy. Twilight stops just before the door and turns around. "Fluttershy, are you sure that's all they said? It doesn't sound like a lot of news seeing as though this is life threatening." Fluttershy's heart skips, and she gives up, knowing that she won't be able to hide it from Twilight. "No. But what I'm about to say can only stay between us, ok?" "Scouts honor." Twilight says, saluting with a hoof. "O-ok, well, they said that the operation will cost one million bits." Twilight's face suddenly drops, her eyes widening. "One million? What, are they going to turn her into a vampire or something?" Fluttershy shoots her a quick glare. "Oh yeah, sorry, forgot about that." "I just don't know what to do. You wouldn't be able to ask Celestia, would you?" "No, strangely enough the princesses don't have a lot of money." They sit there, pondering. "I uh, I may have an idea." "West is it? Please, I'll do anything to save Dashie." Fluttershy practically begs. "Well, you may not like this but, we may be able to create something." Twilight says, now seriously staring at Fluttershy. "What? I don't care what it is, what do we have to create?" Silence ensues until Twilight finally says... "A new monarchy."
ConvincedFluttershy stares at her, a mix of thoughts and emotions. "A new monarchy? What do you mean?" She gives a slight chuckle. "Well, maybe monarchy isn't the word, but along the lines of it. I mean that we, you and I, no one else, plan the fall of Celestia." Fluttershy's eyes bulge, extremely scared now. This doesn't make sense, this isn't like her. "Y-you want to, but how? And why? Celestia is amazing, your mentor and friend, why would you want to-" "To make way for a new ruler." Twilight interrupts. "I can't say who, but trust me when I say that she will turn Equestria into the perfect place to live." Fluttershy stands up, ready to run. She can't trust her, not after this. "Who are you? You never used to be like this, you were never so cold. What changed?" "I saw the truth, Fluttershy. I realized that Celestia couldn't care less about you, me, or anyone in all of Equestria. But the one that will be the new ruler, they would do something with it that no one else could." "W-what?" Fluttershy nervously asks. "Purify it. They will make the land pure, rid it of any imperfections. It will be a utopia." She stares at her, smiling in an unforgiving way. "Think about the failures of the land right now, all of the things that are wrong with it. Now think about all those imperfections not gone, but turned into great qualities of Equestria. Think about a perfect land, a perfect life." Fluttershy's eyes dart between her and the ground. "I-I don't think this is a good idea Twilight. And how is it supposed to help cure Dash?" Fluttershy inquisitively asks. "I'm glad you mentioned her, I didn't know if I'd have to bring her up myself." She walks forward and puts her fore hooves onto her shoulders, locking eyesight and striking an unexplainable fear into Fluttershy's heart. "She would be the second in command and the head of any enlisted Pegasi. She would make any decisions that the ruler didn't, and a second in command isn't of any use dead." "So they'll pay off the bits." Fluttershy says, finishing Twilight's statement for her. "Exactly. You're smarter than you look Fluttershy, smarter than you look. Now regarding how we will go about this, I can't give you all the details of what I'm going to do. But you're role is simple, all you have to do is go door to door and tell them 'change is coming'. Change obviously referring to Celestia giving up her power. Once you tell them, it doesn't matter what they say. It doesn't matter if they think you're a pchyco path, a saint, or a normal pony. Just finish you're talk and move onto the next one." "Alright, but why can't you tell me what you're going to do?" She needs to know Twilight's role in all of this, her secrecy isn't very comforting. "Fluttershy, don't worry about me, this will be a team effort between you and I. No one else is to know. And for that matter, no one is to know that you are the one going from door to door." Fluttershy is now frightful for her own life at this point. If no one is to know that she is telling others to help the defeat of Celestia, what if she refuses to do this? How serious is he about toppling her? "I, I don't think, no wait that's not what I meant. We shouldn't try-" she is cut off by Twilight pushing her against the brick wall. "You will wear a robe that was delivered to your door an hour ago. Fluttershy, listen to me, I want Rainbow Dash to get better. Do you agree?" She nods. "You'd be willing to do anything to help her, right?" "Y-yes." "So what is the difference between doing labour work to accumulate the bits, and doing secret work to do it for free?" "O-one is illegal." Twilight shakes her head. "And here I thought you were a good friend, willing to do anything to help you're oldest, closest, most trustworthy friend. I thought you used to be the element of kindness." Fluttershy feels a pain in her chest, a strain in her head. Am I a bad friend? Why aren't I willing to do something illegal to save Rainbow Dash's life? Would I really rather have her die than be in jail? Why would I be so mean? Twilight smiles. "You finally get it, I can tell by the look on your face. Fluttershy, you and I, we are going to change Equestria for the better, forever. And in the process, save Rainbow Dash's life. Are you with me?" Twilight lets go of Fluttershy and steps back, holding out a hoof. "I, do you promise to me that she will get better? No matter what happens to either me or you, she will get better?" "On my life." Twilight smiles. Admittedly, her smile looks about as untrustworthy as you can get. But right here, right now, she doesn't care. If there's a shot that Rainbow can get better, she'll take it. "Ok. I'll help. But for Dashie, nothing else." Twilight's face lightens up into a sincere smile. "But if something goes wrong and we get caught, or you don't pull through, I swear to you, I will bring you down with me." "Fair enough. Thank you Fluttershy. I want you to go from door to door first thing tomorrow. Remember, 'Change is coming'." She nods. "We are the beginning Fluttsehy, we will rewrite history." She walks away, proud of her work. Fluttershy lies down, not wanting to move. "Oh Fluttershy, what did you get yourself into?"
ChangeFluttershy wakes up, yawning and stretching under her covers. Looking around, she notices that she is in her room, even though she fell asleep outside last night. Looking at the time she is shocked to see that she is up two hours earlier than usual. "Hello?" She asks the presumably empty house, not wanting any uninvited visitors. No response. Walking down the stairs she notices a cardboard box in the middle of her living room. On its top it reads "change is coming." She had hoped that it was a bad dream, clearly it wasn't. Opening the box she finds exactly what Twilight had mentioned; a red-hooded robe. It's a perfect fit. The robe covers up any and all color of Fluttershy, and the hood is big enough to completely cover her face as long as she looks slightly down. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this, it's not too late to back out, I can still-" She remembers Dash. "No, just do it." She steps out of her house. Walking down Ponyville without being noticed was a task, and she was barley able to get to the first. She made sure she doesn't know the residents of the house and sucked up all bravery she had. For Rainbow Dash. She knocks. "Hello?" A stallion walks out of the house, looking around until finally laying his eyes on the masked pony at his doorstep. "Oh, good morning. Would you like something?" Fluttershy stands there, trying to move her mouth. She's frozen, unable to do anything. Come on, say it. Say it, please just say it. "Excuse me?" The stallion asks, curious as to what is happening. "...C-Change is coming." She quickly turns and walks off, not wanting the wind to blow the robe upwards. "Wait! What do you mean? Hello?!" Fluttershy is gone by the time he can get another word out. She stops near a wall and darts behind it, catching her breathe. "So you did it." Twilight walks around the corner. "Twilight, how did you... nevermind, I don't think I can do it again. This is crazy, I don't even know what I mean by 'change is coming', let alone expect strangers to understand." Twilight chuckles. "Fluttershy, the first is always the hardest. From here on out, it'll be simple. Just walk up, say it, and walk away. I understand how you feel, trust me, I do. But I also know what's best for Equestria, and this is it. You may not see it now, but trust me, this is it." She offers a slight smile. Fluttershy can only smile back, no longer trying to understand, just doing what she is told. "How long will it take until Dash is treated?" Fluttershy asks, concerned that Twikight has forgotten about her. "Don't worry about that, it'll happen soon. Take my word for it, she will be ok." Fluttershy nods. "I have to get going, and you should get Back to work. We'll meet again soon." Twilight walks off, leaving Fluttershy with more questions than answers. The next couple of houses go smoothly, no one really taking her seriously. Some just close the door on her while others bombard her with questions, only to watch the yellow mare run off. She gets to a house that seems strangely familiar, but figures it's only a coincidence. She knocks and the door swings open. "Hi there! Wow, nice robe! It's so cool to have dressed up ponies walking around in Ponyville, it really lightens the place up! Oh, want some brownies? I just made some, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." Pinkie Pie runs into the house. Fluttershy is frozen stiff, not wanting the pink pony to know its her. She goes to walk away but can't as much move before Pinkie comes back. She drops the brownies in front of her, letting Fluttershy look right at them. She gets an idea. Fluttershy points to the brownies, then to Pinkie, all while keeping the robe over her hoof. "Oh, I catch your drift. I'll show you they're safe!" She take one and stuffs her mouth. "See? Its perfectly healthy. And really good!" She says with her mouth full. "One more can't hurt." She grabs two more and eats those. While she is eating Fluttershy runs off, staying mysterious to Pinkie Pie."Hey, wait! Your brownies!" Fluttershy rounds a corner and runs into Twilight again. "Over here, now." Twilight pulls her into a dead end with barley any light and a large trash bin at the end of it. "What were you thinking going to Pinkie Pie's friends house!? You could have been caught! If you're caught then the whole thing falls apart, meaning that celestial stays ruler, you and I go to prison and Dash never gets better. You can't do stuff like that, you need to be careful." "Twilight, believe me, I'm trying. I did all I could to avoid being spotted by Pinkie and she never knew it was me, please understand that it was an accident and I'm sorry. I don't want to get caught, because I don't want Dashie to die. I know the risks but I also know the rewards, and right now the reward outweighs the risk." Twilight smiles at her, looking almost like an evil grin. "What?" "It's started." Fluttershy blankly stares back. "What do you mean? What's started?" Twilight steps forward and pushes Fluttershy against a trash bin, holding her there. "I'm sick of you. I'm sick of you ponies, you freaks. I can't believe that Celestial would actually help you six be like this, it's revolting. Jim! Bag her!" Fluttershy sees hooves wrap around her and pull her into the trash bin, pinning her down. She tries to fight but can't, now laying still with a hoof over her mouth. She hears buzzing, a lot of it. Shadows pass over the dead end as if there is no stop to them. "Tell Twilight I said hi." Twilight peeks over, telling Fluttershy. As confused as she is, her vision begins to fade, but she manages to see Twilight's teeth. Her fangs. It then goes black.
Escape"Fluttershy? Fluttershy, can you hear me?" Fluttershy's eyes slowly open, straining to cope with the dark and dim blue light. She feels chains on her two fore hooves, and a surface under her. She is tied and being held captive. "Fluttershy." "Hello? Who's there?" Fluttershy asks the darkness, hoping for some good news. "It's me, Twilight. Am I glad to see you, I-" "Get away from me!" Fluttershy yells, scared of Twilight now. She tries to break free of her chains, but winds up unsuccessful. "Fluttershy, listen, it's me. I know you've been dealing with me above ground but trust me, this is the real me. That was a changeling." Her heart stops. "A-a changeling? As in, Chrysalis changeling?" "Exactly. She's back." It all makes sense to her in that moment, as if the pieces were put together like a puzzle. "She formulated a plan to-" "I know, overthrow Celestia. And I helped." Fluttershy feels a pain in her chest, she just brought her rule to an end all by herself. "It's not your fault, you didn't know." "Twilight, it is my fault. If I hadn't told every pony the 'change is coming', then they wouldn't have been so willing to surrendering. They would have been caught by surprise and fought them off, but instead the fear kept building and they put down their hooves before a single pony got hurt. I just began the end." She feels tears welling up, but tries to hold them back. "But you don't know that Fluttershy, maybe they didn't surrender and instead did fight. But even if they did surrender there is no proof that they wouldn't have done the same without your warning." Silence engulfs the air. "By the way, where are you?" "I'm to your left, but it's too dark to see. I'd do a spell but there are creatures surrounding us form the Everfree. If I show any light they'll attack, we're kind of stuck." More silence. Fluttershy stares into the dark abyss as she is lost in thought, scared of, well, everything right now. "Twilight? What will happen if they take over Canterlot?" Twilight sighs. "Honestly, I don't know. I'd hate to imagine it but I'd have to guess an, an oppressed Equestria. No freedom, no hope, no nothing. Just, an endless fog over Equestria." Twilight shakes her head. "But that won't happen, because we're getting out of here." "What? How? I thought you said-" "Yes, there are creatures around us. And by creatures, I mean animals. Animals that you can communicate with." "Oh, Twilight, I don't know if I can get through to them. Not all animals are always willing to listen." Twilight's horn slowly grows a light. "I'm going to cast the light spell. When I do, you're going too convince them to not attack. I know you're reluctant to but it's either that, or we stay down here forever." It's Fluttershy's turn to sigh. "Alright, I'll try. I'm ready when you are." "Ok, in three, two, one." A light shows the creatures' eyes, not what they are. Their red eyes stare at the two ponies. They don't move, don't make a sound, just stare. "Wait, they attacked last time I did this spell. Whatever, it doesn't matter, Fluttershy, do your work." Fluttershy swallows every last bit of courage and talks. "H-hi little buddies, I'm sure you're really loyal to Chrysalis, but you look like nice friends. Me and my friend would really appreciate it if you were to go and play with each other and uh, you know, be happy somewhere away from here." She smiles but doubts it helps at all. The red eyes go from triangles to circles as a happy panting is heard. They disappear while the sound of running is heard to their far right. "Perfect Fluttershy, perfect. I'll get us out of here." Twilight casts a spell that undoes her chains and does so to Fluttershy's as well. "So what do you say we go save Equestria?"
Lifeless Sand (finale)Twilight and Fluttershy walk out of the darkness and come out somewhere near Ponyville. Twilight pounds the ground. "Darn It! We won't be able to get to Canterlot fast enough from here. Ok, think Twilight think." She paces on the grass while mumbling to herself. "We could just fly there." Fluttershy suggests. "No, we can't. The air is filled with changelings, we'd be lucky if we would make it to the boarder of Canterlot." Twilight stops and stares at Ponyville. "That's it, that's it! Fluttershy, go back to Ponyville and tell everyone to meet me at the train station." "But what if they don't listen? I did tell them-" "They will, just tell them that I sent you." Fluttershy nods and begins to run to Ponyville. "Rainbow!" Fluttershy yells as she remembers her friend. "No, keep running, help her after." She resumes running but can't get her out of her mind. A quick visit, then I'll tell everyone. She runs into the hospital and pushes past the nurses. She runs into her room and stands by her bedside. She finds a cord and follows it to the heart beat monitor. It's off. "R-Rainbow?" She hits the power button and drops to the ground. A high-pitched, constant, non-stop sound plays through out the air. "N-no." She whispers. Hoof steps come up from behind her. "I'm sorry Ms. Shy." The nurse that informed her about the cost says as she walks in. "I-is there any chance?" She tries to let out the tears but, she can't. "No. It's been five minutes since the monitor told us this. I left to get the morgue manager." Fluttershy looks behind her and sees a blue Pegasus in a lab coat. "I'm sorry." Fluttershy stares at Rainbow Dash and can't move. She's numb, her body feeling like a broken chair. The morgue manager turns off the monitor and takes Rainbow away, giving his apologies. The nurse escorts Fluttershy out. I-I, I can't believe it. She's... A pony puts his hoof on her shoulder. Looking behind, it's Write Holliday from the market. "I'm sorry, they told me she would be fine. I didn't know she would die." Fluttershy grows angry. "What do you mean? You did this on purpose?!" "H-he said it would start the dawn of a new age! A good age! I didn't know that she would die! I thought she would be fine, he gave me his word!" "Who?!" He looks down, clearly knowing something bad. "A-a changeling." Fluttershy stares at him, wanting to kill him for his ignorance, his stupidity, his mistake. But she knows she won't, she can't. The changeling on the other hand... "If you really feel bad then go from door to door and tell each pony to make their way to the train station." Fluttershy runs off before he can respond. After an hour of doing exactly that, there is a large mob near the station. Twilight is in front of them, ready to speak. "Excuse me everypony! I appreciate you coming out here, but that won't matter if the changelings win. We need to storm Canterlot and take it back!" "And how do you propose we get there?" A voice asks from the crowd. "Simple, we take the train!" She points over to the train that is docked a few hundred feet away. "Who's with me?!" A rush of yells and cheers come from the crowd as they file into the train and prepare themselves. As the train docks in Canterlot, a small group of Changelings go to check the passengers. Twilight rushes out and tackles one as the others run out and make their way to the castle. Fluttershy and a few others help Twilight, then join the mob. On their way up they fight off small groups of Changelings before facing a small army of them in front of the castle. "Hold!" Twilight yells, getting in front of everypony. A tense moment passes as the two groups stare at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. "Now!" A war begins, ponies and Changelings fighting, winning, losing, and fleeing. Twilight and Fluttershy run into the castle and slip past the distracted guards. They see Celestial and Chrysalis staring each other down. "You have invaded for the last time Chrysalis, leave now or else." Celestial warns, readying her magic. "You wouldn't dare square off with me, there is no love here for you to defeat me with this time, I'm here to stay." "Then there is no love for you to feed on either, meaning you are weak and powerless here." Chrysalis smiles. "Even if you strike me down, there are things far worse to fear." Her horn glows green. "Don't!" Chrysalis fires a blast of magic at Celestia as she does the same. Twilight creates a protective bubble around her and Fluttershy as an explosion engulfs the room. Smoke is kicked up and all goes quiet. "T-Twilight? Are you ok?" Fluttershy asks, cowering behind her. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?" "I'm ok." The smoke clears and a figure stands there, over the other. Twilight misses a breath. "N-no, how? This, this doesn't make sense, I don't, how?" Nightmare moon stands tall over Chrysalis, who is motionless on the ground. "But where's-" Twilight is cut off as Celestia is seen under Chrysalis's body. "No!" Nightmare moon looks up and smirks, casting a wall between her and the two friends. "Well well well, look who decided to show up. It looks like they're both dead, doesn't it? The Changelings should notice soon, then retreat. The others should mourn their precious princess, and then there's you two who know the truth." She looks at Chrysilas. "It wasn't meant to be this way, she was meant to be the queen and I the princess, but not like this. If only Tia didn't get involved." "You monster!" Twilight yells, tears streaming from her face. "You killed your sister and won't even-" "She wasn't my sister! She was my distraction, and now she's gone!" Nightmare moon takes a breath and looks at Twilight. "You should know how I feel, I got rid of Rainbow Dash for you after all." Twilight goes pale. Fluttershy becomes confused. "B-but a changeling told Write to-" "A changeling sent by Chyrisalis sent by me. You have Twilight here to thank for that." "Twilight? What is she talking about?" Fluttershy asks, getting worried. Twilight grows fearful. "You, you didn't. You couldn't, you-" "I did." "What?" Fluttershy shakes Twilight. "I-I had a dream, er, nightmare, the other night that Rainbow died from a freak accident in the market. That started a series of events that led to my ruling. I figured it was ironic this happened after I dreamt that, but now..." "Pawns, it's all you ponies are, even Rainbow Dash. She was just the first domino to fall. I'm going to leave you two now, have fun finding a replacement." Nightmare Moon flies off through a hole in the ceiling, but the wall stays there, only to disappear soon after. "Should we chase her?" Fluttershy asks Twilight. It takes a moment for Twilight to respond. "No, it's useless." Twilight stares at the two bodies on the ground. "Come on, we have work to do."
Epilogue"Ponies of Equestria! Our beloved princess, Celestia, has deceased. She did not die in vain, as she took Chrysalis with her. I promise, as the new princess of Equestria, that I will take this land above and beyond its potential, and we will not survive, but thrive!" The crowd cheers. "Ms. Sparkle, you have a visitor." Twilight smiles. "Thank you!" She leaves the balcony. The doors open. "Luna, how nice to see you."
