The Day that Everything Changed
A thousand years. That was how long it has been. In her chambers, a lavender alicorn with a navyblue mane that exhibited a purple and pink strip in it read a book incased in a magenta aura with her beautiful purple eyes. It was her old scrapbook that she and her friends put their pictures in, and still intact after all these hundreds of years, all the way to- Twilight almost growled at the thought of Celestia before pushing that thought aside. At least the treat from all those years ago was kind enough to restore it after she saved Equestria from his wrath. Speaking of her friends, most of them were dead, with the exceptions of Spike, who was a dragon with no definite lifespan, Cadence and Flurry Heart, her sister-in-law and niece respectively both being alicorns which were naturally immortal, and strangely enough, Pinkie Pie. She did have strange abilities that defy physics, but not even Pinkie herself had the idea that she was immortal. She always stood on the bright side of things. Discord was the spirit of chaos and disharmony, so that was much easier to decipher. Very little bothers him, with the exception of the threat.
As for Celestia and Luna, they've been killed by the hands of the threat. "So many wonderful memories..." Twilight quietly muttered to herself as she looked over the memories of her and her friends. She has grown a few feet taller than she had since her ascension, about the same height as Cadence is, longer legs and mane, sharper horn, larger wings, although her muzzle is not flat like hers and retained its rounded end. Memories distort over time for most, but two very chaotic beings have remembered everything as clear as glass, and she remembered everything since her ascension, and even if she didn't, the day her life changed forever certainly would've stayed put. Charging her horn, she teleported to two graves next to one another in a cemetery. "Hi Mom, Hi Dad. It's been a pretty long time since you died, and I've been making really good progress with the kingdom since your departure. Cadence hasn't married anyone, she feels like it would disrespect Shining, and I get that, no one can take his place in both of our hearts. Flurry Heart and her mother have run the Crystal Empire quite well, and Flurry is the apple to the eye of the crystal ponies. Pinkie looks exactly the same as how I've met her and had managed to keep a smile on her face, although she has been acting a lot calmer since we've last seen her. Discord looks and acts the same, abiet more controlled, heh. I wish you could see this."
In truth, Twilight would love it if her parents were immortal, she can use the advice. But, then again, she had the feeling that they were happy wherever they wound up. Over the years, she had shed her OCD tendencies as she learned how to control herself. A thousand years can really do something to you. Twilight took a deep breath and started walking around the new castle. "Home sweet home, I guess." Twilight said as she looked around. The castle was built since Canterlot was destroyed. Twilight thought back to the time, looking back at it all, metaphorically speaking.
Deep within the Everfree Forest in the magical land of Equestria, a lone Timberwolf managed to corner a couple of squirrels, as it growled hungrily at its prey. The squirrels hugged each other tightly, accepting their fate, when both they and the Timberwolf heard a loud crack echo in the air, the wind violently blew as black and gold clouds formed a vortex around Mount Canterhorn, the creatures cringed in fear, feeling that something big was coming to their world. In the town of Ponyville, a few spheres made of pure light struck the central building, Carousel Boutique, and Sweet Apple Acres among a few other places, causing the buildings to explode. The attacker was something Equestria had never faced ever before. A golden foot of light slammed down into the ground, attached to one out of two of the long, lanky legs that supported its upper body. Two arms sat crossed, one of its clawed hands tapping a finger on its arm. Its glowing head looked around with anger in its eyes. The god looked around before turning to Canterlot. "There you are." he said as he floated towards the golden city and raised his right arm, summoning a sphere of light which he hurled straight towards one of the main buildings, creating an explosion that alerted everyone who didn't see the vortex. He landed onto the main plaza as a few ponies screamed in terror at the sight of him. "Cowards, turning nature to your own favor so you can hide from the world. You'd be lucky if it was always like that here."
Meanwhile, the explosion woke up Celestia as she gasped. "What is it this time?" the weary princess slurred to herself as she and Luna looked to see a humanoid entity made of light rampage through Canterlot. "Sister, it appears that we have something else to deal. Oh, I wish this didn't happen every day now..." Celestia said as she looked at the being. It has become quite casual in this era ever since the return of the Mare in the Moon, but luckily, she had Twilight by her side on that first go, and she proved time and time again she defied the odds. If she can defeat Tirek at his height, then she can do anything.
"I concour, sister." Luna said. "Do you think that the Elements of Harmony will be here in time?"
"We're already here." the voice of Twilight said. She, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike were all there in the same room with them. "We saw the cataclysm. Naturally, I was worried and wanted to- wait, what is that thing?" Twilight asked as she looked towards the light creature.
"Wow, that was quick." Celestia muttered before clearing her throat. "I am not so sure what that thing is, although it seems to have come from another dimension by the looks of it." Celestia admitted as she looked at the creature of light destroying the city. "Did you bring the Elements of Harmony with you?" the 'goddess' of the sun asked.
"We sure did." Twilight said as she levitated six gemstones from her saddlebags as they levitated onto her friends and manifested into collars, with Twilight's element manifesting itself into a crown. "You gotta thank Pinkie for her quick reflexes for this one. The Tree was destroyed by a light sphere soon afterward." That earned a gasp from both alicorn sisters as they realized what was going to happen. "Yes, I know that the Everfree will expand again."
"We're well aware. Just a little... shocked that this thing had done such an act." Celestia said before walking right towards her student. "But I'm pretty sure that everything will reverse once we deal with this thing." Celestia said with a tone of confidence in her voice. Deep down, she was scared and didn't know what that thing was capable of, but centuries of acting practice had managed to mask most of it away, although she did slip up from time to time when she was shocked about the very unfamiliar, especially a new threat. Just then, the roof of the room flew upwards into the sky, with the light creature glaring at them angrily.
"YOU!" It shouted in a male sounding voice.
"Girls, now!" Twilight said as she charged her horn, activating the Element of Magic as the creature looked upon them in a look of mock-surprise. They were that confident? He watched as rainbow light was produced from the other gemstones and connected to the Element of Magic. They soon got engulfed in light as they transformed into their Rainbow Power forms and floated upwards. "I don't know what you are, but you have trespassed upon Equestria and destroyed it without reason." The god began to let out a burst of light from his mouth. Sure, he had a mission, but why can't he have some fun toying with them. As expected, a rainbow came through like a hot knife through butter and neutralized the attack. He laughed internally, knowing that they didn't even get what he was. "Now, girls!" Twilight said as the energy from the light went into two rainbow beams and aimed straight for him, but all he did was smirk, chuckle, and say one sentence.
"Tough luck." was all the god said.
With a swing of the god's arm, he caused the Rainbow of Light to vanish, along with the Mane Six's Rainbow Power, which caused them to plop down on the floor, with the exception of those with wings, which managed to get down safely. They all looked at that creature in shock. "But... how? Nopony could counter the magic of friendship...." Rainbow Dash said as she glared at the creature in anger. "YOU HAD CHEATED SOMEHOW, I KNOW IT!" She attempted to charge at the god with all her strength, but she had none of it to use, causing her to harmlessly plop onto the floor.
The god looked at Celestia and Luna, who looked at him in shock. "So, you must be the leaders of the planet. Throwing your own subjects instead of facing me like a man when you have all that power, talk about cowardly." the god said as he materialized a scroll. "Oh well, another thing on your list..." Adrenaline quickly returned to Rainbow Dash as she got up with all her strength and mindlessly charged straight towards him, only to be knocked down by the god's power as she was slammed towards the ground. "That one is feisty, I kinda like her, but I'm afraid that she has to go as well."
Celestia merely looked down, breathing shallowly. "How could you do that? You're evil!!" she barked. The god merely moved his head from side to side, internally laughing at her arrogance.
"It almost rattles my funny bone knowing that there are races not willing to accept their judgement."
"You have no right to judge us! We haven't done anything to you!" Celestia said as she looked at him.
"You're right about that, but it's not what I want from you, it's what I want from the purest race as a whole." the god said in a mocking tone, looking at Celestia. "Heh heh, why else would I come all the way here to judge such harsh thoughts on such an innocent race, huh? When you controlled the weather, the rise of the sun and moon, the very seasons were forced unto your slavery. Tisk tisk tisk. What do-"
"This has been all this way for as long as anypony can remember! Me and my sister are credited for being the goddesses of the sun and moon! If it weren't for us, they would fall down and collide with the world, with one side turned to fire and the other to ice!"
"LIAR! That's because you made it that way!" the god said before crossing his arms. "You and your stupid parents cast that spell so long ago! And you claimed to be gods. For that, you shall die!" Two bolts of lightning struck the princesses as they set on fire. They all watched in horror as their corpses lay lifeless, burning away. "And don't get me started on-"
"WAIT!" Twilight said as she got up before panting. "Don't we get a say on this? You said you were casting judgement on ponykind, but isn't this supposed to be a trial?"
The god looked at her and closed his eyes. "Alright, you can go..." Twilight smiled. "With only one non-pony accompanying you along with me!" Twilight sighed at this. Well, one person's better than nothing. "Who do you chose, Sparkle?" the voice of the god echoed through her ears. Twilight looked at her options and weighed them. Most non-ponies, she didn't know very well, apart from Thorax, who was busy with his kingdom, Gilda, who was working at Griffonstone, but both were very recent. Discord was a little farther back, but she still did not trust him one bit. She was starting to have doubts in who she really is, but shoved them aside as she realized that there was someone else that she knew since she was a filly. She had practically raised him since he was a baby, she nearly thought of him as a son before realizing she was still a filly.
"I choose Spike to accompany me in this. He's the one I'm most familiar with." Twilight said. She didn't want to pick him out of the others, but they were all very busy somewhere else if she were a guessing person, and she wasn't the type to interrupt their work.
"Very well..." the god said as he snapped his fingers, and everything except him, Twilight, and Spike went into a standstill and turned grey and static. "Don't ask, I just merely stopped time right here..." the god said. "Alright, so you have a good point here. I admit that I'm not the type of guy that thinks before he does something. The reason I said somebody who is not a pony can go with ya is that I don't trust two peas in the same pod together when I cast my judge- it's actually rather complicated to explain, sorry. Shall we travel together?"
"Wait, I though we were gonna be on trial!" Spike said.
"Fair point, I must admit. But we are going on trial here, and I am gonna show you everything about the history of ponykind that is to be offered. And so we go back." The area around them seemed to distort and warp into a strange vortex of sorts until they reached a tall grassland, in early springtime. "So, this is Equestria, 5,400,000 years ago, where the city of Manehattan will stand. Look around the area, you can scout if you want, what do you see around here?" the god said as the two answered to his response, knowing there was no turning back. The duo of pony and dragon looked to see the occasional deer and the flock of birds, but no ponies, none. Twilight gasped as she saw a small bird gather some twigs and mud along with its mate and fly up to a tree to build a nest. They then looked to see a small flower blooming near them, and above their heads, the clouds silently moved on their own.
"Spike, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"I'm not sure." Spike said. "I think we need to take a wider look..."
"Good idea." Twilight said as her friend hopped onto her back as she flew up into the sky, looking around the cloud to search for anything responsible for moving it. "There aren't any pegasi around here, not even one. Do you know what this means?" Twilight said as she looked down and stood on a cloud, only to fall over in surprise. She soon caught her momentum and flew through the valley to see a pack of sabretooth tigers stalking a wilder mammoth before rushing into the kill. "I know about this, but Fluttershy says it is wrong, so why are they doing this?"
"This is like the Everfree." Spike said.
'Yes, because it is oh so "unnatural" for you ponies. Plants grow, clouds move, and animals take care of themselves all on their very own, just as they did millions of years ago." the god said as they looked to see him stand midair. He focused his power and a cloud formed under them. This time, they can sit on it. "Pretty, isn't it?" he asked as he pointed to a beautiful pink sky. The sun was halfway through the horizon. "With Sunbutt and Moonbutt controlling the cycle, you never get to see such a beautiful sunset..." Twilight looked in awe. "You may be asking, why doesn't she want this? Well, she puts the sun at a certain angle and leaves it there, mostly because she needs to recharge her energy."
"But, she's supposed to be a goddess. How could she need to recharge?"
"Not a goddess, just immortal. If she were one, she would've tanked my attack. Alicorns are not gods, and neither are draconeqqui. I, however, am a different story. I'm a true god, with power over time and space."
"Well, what is your name, anyway? Everypon-" Twilight soon noticed her dialogue and cleared her throat. "Everybody has a name, right?" Twilight said.
"Name? Truth be told, I haven't thought of something as mudane as a name. What do you want to call me?"
Twilight looked at her options. It is not good to insult him, or she'll end up like Celestia and Luna, and Spike would wind up being stuck between time and space. "I guess, Judgement, would be a good pick." Twilight said, not knowing anything better to call him.
"That, that will do for now." the newly-named god said. Judgement looked at the sun. "You know, why didn't she or that old wizard or her parents even do this when they know how it works? It's a mystery why you dictate everything even though nature is beautiful all by itself..." the god looked straight at her. "Tell me, do griffons control the weather at their kingdom of Griffonstone?"
"No. According to Gilda, the griffons do... not... cont- What was I thinking?" Twilight asked as she banged her head with a hoof, not able to think straight after that.
"Do the changelings control the weather in their lands, or what about the dragons? Buffalo? Yak? Deer? Pseudohumans?"
Twilight looked down, closing her eyes as a single tear flowed down, and then another. How could Celestia lie about it always being this way when the evidence is piling up? The griffons never controlled the skies of their world, and it wasn't that way as well within in the Buffalo Chiefdom. The dragons have free weather because ponies are too afraid, and the yaks because of the Frozen North, as for the humans, she didn't know why the god said they weren't human, but she was not the one to judge, and they lived in another universe. It was always them. Always the ponies doing it. "It has always been like this, my flank. I'm starting to have doubts in whose side I am on. How could she say that about it when the evidence is right beside us?" Twilight raised a hoof and banged it on the cloud while gritting her teeth before looking at the god. "Tell me, is that the only reason you came here, or was there something else?"
"Actually, now that you mentioned it, there are a lot of things littered about here and there." Space began to distort around the three again, this time, the cloud stayed with them. "Now let's go into another history lesson, this time a few million years into the future." Spike looked to see Twilight, and quietly hugged her. He did not know why Celestia would lie about something, but he took it a bit more calmly than the mare he saw as a sister, mostly because he had been through fearful situations before. This time, Twilight was the one who was in need. What they saw next was a land filled to the brim with snow. "Come for a walk with me, or, a fly in this case."
"But I don't have any wings yet..." Spike said. The god took notice of this and Spike began to feel a short, but very painful pain on his back. He focused his light around Spike, and from his back, a pair of batlike wings emerged. "Nevermind, but they are now there, so I don't know how to fly."
"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash can help. She's more experienced with it than I am." Twilight admitted as they flew around the land. "When are we now, Judgement?"
"We are in Equestria, in a medieval Hearth's Warming Eve. I mainly came here for the festivities." With that, the god came onto the ground, and a pony handed him some cookies just like that. "Don't worry about them, I have my ways around time and space, I'm a god, after all." Twilight breathed in and out. She doubted it, but with the death of Celestia and Luna and the showcase of his powerful abilities, it looked like she was wrong. "Come now, would you like something to eat around here?" Judgement offered them something to eat as he conjured up some plates. "Nice festival, I must admit, but is this the truth? The eat is good, although I don't require substance, heh, sucks for me, I guess." With another flash of light, they were sitting in the table while Spike adjusted his brain to his new wings. "Did you know that this was not what it seemed. There were no ice horses. There were Wendigos, however, but they were a different story. The names may look similar, but the word WINDigo is just a bad pun of the latter." Judgement stated as space began to distort around them for a third time, but this time, the table and a circle of the surrounding floor, along with some food were taken across time and space along with the three travelers. "Ah, this is a juicy one here." he said with a laugh as Twilight and Spike looked down to see ponies waging war with bipedal, deer-like humanoids wearing tribal clothing and carrying iron armor and weapons and siege weapons in the thick blizzard. "This is the first Hearth's Warming Eve, give or take a few days. Isn't this scene wonderful?" Twilight almost vomited in horror? Ponies, killing? This was not the Hearth's Warming Genisis she was taught back in class. She saw something else, and was even more horrified. Leading then was none other than Celestia herself, accompanied by her sister and both draped horn to hoof in ornate armor. "Are they Celestia and Luna, you may ask yourself? Yes, yes they are." Judgement said plainly.
"But why are they doing this?" Twilight asked. "Why would Celestia and Luna even kill somepony, or rather somebody?"
"Watch and see..." Judgement replied. Twilight looked to see six familiar gemstones around the necks of six ponies she recognized. Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, Commander Hurricane, and Clover the Clever are the names of four of them. So they were the ones that bore the Elements before her and Luna? "Actually, this happened a good while after Discord was stoned by the Princesses." Judgement said as the blast of the Elements was met by a blast from a massive tank. "They didn't accept that the elements would lose, so..." Celestia and Luna charged their horns with magic and combined the blast with their own, destroying the machine and most of the Wendigos. "They had cheated." he stated as they killed off the rest of the Wendigos before casting a spell, expelling all the frost from the area. "And they weren't just content at there, no-oh-oh, they wanted to bend nature to their whim to protect their little friends. But unfortunately for them, they couldn't do it all on their own, so they had to employ their own to do the hard work for them while they go play pretend with the sun and moon!"
"Hey, that was not what Celestia told me!" Twilight said in a slightly angry tone of voice.
"But did she tell the entire truth? She'd never lie to you, unless it was a universal one, or so you thought. I'm not gonna get on the heavy details, and Discord's reign wasn't bad. The ponies actually LIKED all the chocolate rain and the cotton candy clouds and all of that. It was like a shower of yummy goodness for their tummy tum tummy, so to speak as how a child would say it." Judgement said. "Chaos is a necessary part of harmony, not its exact opposite. Celestia and Luna failed to see that, and went to their old mentor's creation: the Tree of Harmony, and extracted the Elements from it to defeat the draconeqqus. Admittadely, it was a little bit too much, but he didn't deserve to be stoned for that, even literally for some odd reason."
"But why was everyone screaming in panic when Discord last attacked?" Spike asked as he took a bite from one of the cookies from the table as space began to distort around them once again.
"Because they forgot all about it. They've become so intuned with what was 'right' that they forgot that that chaos was a necessary part of harmony to begin with. Celestia is lucky to have the brilliant idea to brink Discord back, but what else did she give him? N O T H I N G! Seriously, true friendship is when both sides have their backs, not when one uses the other for their personal gain." Memories flashed to what Discord told about Tirek. He helped the centaur gain enough magic before Tirek backstabbed him on the last second. "Tell me, did it ever come to you that Spike was legally some kind of hybrid between a pet and a slave? Or maybe one or either?" Spike almost chocked on his own cookie, and Twilight was just as shocked as her brother of sorts.
"But... Celestia said it was not the case. How could she even lie?" Spike said as he looked to Twilight. "How could she even lie to her and to me?" the dragon asked as he shook his head.
"Well, we're getting to that. Welcome to Canterlot High, everybody!" the god said as space manifested an all-too familiar school to both Twilight and Spike. "This is when Sunset Shimmer stole that snazzy crown of yours Twilight. And here you come..." Suddenly, the mirror flashed a bright color, and a purple dog and a lavender-skinned girl were thrown into the ground, unconscious, but alive. Spike thought it was just a quirk of the portal that all dragons were dogs on the other side of the mirror, but the god's words were starting to make sense, but what about the other dragons. "Yes, about these other guys..." Judgement gestured to a cyan-skinned girl with dark blue hair and a white ponytail walking by a few minutes after they went to the school, her clothes looking a little bit like armor.
"No, just no." Twilight said. "This can't be how it was written down!"
"So says the Princess who keeps paying taxes and stuff like normal ponies. Tell me, who asked you to take Spike's bits away from him when he does all those odd jobs?" Judgment asked as he looked onto the duo as space began to distort into a vortex once more.
"But, why would she ask for it, anyway? She said it was to avoid greed, but..." Twilight's eyes widened as she put all the pieces together. He had to think of others to avoid that growth, no matter how much stuff he gets. Aside from that kind of growth, most dragons at the Dragon's Lair still acted like humans and ponies would. "HOW!" she yelled in the Royal Canterlot Voice in a sudden act of anger, and Judgement was actually a bit shocked at it. How could this have happened in this or any twisted reality? Celestia LIED!?
"Yes, it run down her family, all the way to the Bluebloods. Although they do often conflict with eachother. Come on, you were supposed to be the Princess of Friendship, and all you get is a tree house? No new castle in Ponytown, no guards to protect you. What are you, a mere figurehead? Another pawn in the chessboard? You love studying and being loaded with lessons, don't you? So why no paperwork, huh? Answer this and weigh your feelings afterward. What do you say?"
As the last words echoed into Twilight's mind, she began to put the pieces together. Normally, her spell would detect if it is fake or not, but everything he showed them was as real as she, Spike, and he were. Sure, the pony handed him a cookie and no one ever noticed, but he had abilities similar to Starlight Glimmer's time travel abelites with the spell, but to a much greater extent. But that didn't mean he was lying. Every piece fitted in smoothly, and it went together so nicely. The lack of princess paperwork, the smiling and waving, and Spike's status as a pet/slave. It all fits. "How? W-why?" Twilight said as she looked at herself "I never felt any more powerful, but to... to..." She collapsed onto the table.
Judgement's nonexistent eyes widened. For the first time since a thousand judgements, he actually felt pity and realized what had just happened. Usually, a race does it as a joined effort. The humans did many bad stuff, but they suffered the exact same fate the ponies have had in some countries, but at least they were getting better on their very own. But with young Twilight, that was all she ever knew. And her only major source was from that no-good liar. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have came in and rampaged. If I didn't do this, she wouldn't be stuck in this internal crisis."
"Don't you dare blame it all on yourself. We all were at fault right here." Spike explained plainly. Judgement looked into his feelings with her, and found a few things here and there, including shock. It was always this and that.
"She left a scar that might never wash out, but, I can do what I can to help you all. I was born practically omnipotent at time immemorial, but eventually, as the eras passed, I slowly lost my power over time. Even a god needs rest from time to time." Judgement admitted. "Fortunately, I can go through time, but unfortunately, it has its bounds. Your friend Starlight to her scroll, and for me, my limits to my very own power." he explained before space manifested a white void dotted with colored squares.
"Judgement, what about Twilight? Will she be okay?" Spike asked with both looking at the unconscious alicorn. "She was the only friend I ever had, could you help her?"
"Yes and no." Judgement said. "She will be able to recover, but at the cost that she will never be able to think of her world the same way again. You seem pretty calm about this, why?"
"I've been beaten and broken by all the tasks that have been put upon me, and if you've been in my situation for as long as me, then you would need to grow fast..." Spike said before looking down. "Does Rarity have a crush on me?"
"Unfortunately, no. But hey, it's not the end of the world if just one is not interested. I do not care which species on this world you date, so long as they love you back, then that is fine." Judgement admitted. "I guess I better snap your friend out of her little trance, shall I?" the god said as he snapped his fingers, causing Twilight to jolt awake.
"I'm pancake, I mean awake..." she said with an awkward grin before shaking her head. "Where are we?" Twilight asked as she looked around. "What happened, am I dead now?"
"Not in the slightest. At first I was thinking about killing your kind and going over it, but a bit of an adventure with you not only opened YOUR eyes, but also my eyes as well. You can't judge an entire race over the actions of a few, especially if it is their leaders responsible for all of it, they'd have no choice in the matter..." Judgement said. "I have seen the trail over and over again, and I have reached a verdict. You, your friends, and everyone good you know can live! But as for nobles by the likes of the Bluebloods and Neighsays, they're as good as gone, racist jackasses, why did Celestia not stop them when she hated them so?" he rambled. "Anyway, I haven't just been with you. Due to my, you can say, unique nature, I was able to communicate with the other five just as easily and without distractions. Like one of the two I killed, I can split myself into many different copies like how she handled the dreamscape, which was unfortunately hers to control. But I have seen everything and tallied the numbers, and you, my friends, have passed. C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S."
"Why do you keep saying it like that?" Pinkie asked as she popped into the void.
"How did she get in there?"
"It's just Pinkie being Pinkie, even I haven't figured it out." Twilight said with a smile.
"Oh, I just like doing it like that. Oh, and one last thing for you, o Princess of Friendship..." He snapped his fingers, and the lavender pony felt her magic grow and change, flowing into her horn, wings and hooves. She felt a bit stronger than she did beforehand. She was stronger than her own student and her former mentor in terms of power, she felt almost as strong as Discord. "You have truly earned your title here, accomplishing the ultimate challenge that those who like making friends would have: going through the shell of a god. You did not learn any new spells since you became a princess, and although others were going on their adventures instead of you. I actually feel a bit sorry for you, you have earned your keep, but never got it, so I'll give it to ya. Congratulations, you are a true alicorn now." Judgement said.
Twilight gasped as she looked at herself, even if her appearance did not change at all. She wasn't quite as strong as the princesses in terms of power. Celestia said that she'd grow into her power eventually, but she didn't feel any stronger since then, but she took her word. Now, she felt new power. "Be careful, choose your path wisely, and don't let your power cloud your mind like Sombra did and lead your kind into a better path."
"Hey, what about me. Do I get anything in this?" Pinkie asked.
"Oh, right. You are an interesting specimen, Pinks. You get to be President of Shipping."
"What, that's not what I wanted!"
"Just kidding around here. Can't a guy have any fun?" When he was not judging people, Judgement was actually a pretty good fellow. It was shocking that Twilight and Spike managed to befriend that creature in a matter of minutes, maybe even an hour or so. From an angry god to a good friend, it all took both sides to find that out. But soon, the god regained his composure. "You have taught me not to judge a race solely by their actions as a whole, but look at every individual action to see if the race is good or evil, all seven of you did."
"I forgot you took the other five here!" Twilight said as she facepalmed.
"It's not your fault to forget, but your fault to do, remember that, will ya?"
"You don't act like that judge guy anymore. Do you want think you'd want a new name?" Twilight asked.
The god looked at her. "A new name? I'll look into that. Travelling across the universe may even give me some inspiration on who to call myself. Until next time. But before I go, I have left a surprise for each of you at your homes. I cannot tell you however, it's a secret. But before I go, there is one more thing I have to say. Do you know what your true journey really is?" the god asked.
"No."
"Not really."
"Tell us."
"Alright. Your true journey is not mapping new lands and studying new people, but charting the unknown and extending your reach into the unknown possibilities and meet new friends. It is pretty ironic that I, despite my power, have only learned this lesson now. Even a god makes mistakes, I presume." Space began distorting around them once more as a the chair the god sat on manifested into a throne which slowly went into the vortex. "In any case, I'll be watching. And if you are very lucky, I might drop by to say hello, from time to time. See you... out there!" With that final word, the god's body began to glow, and everything went white.
Twilight remembered that after that, they woke up in a grassy field. Canterlot was still destroyed, and Celestia and Luna were still dead, but other than that, Equestria was, on the most part, undamaged. The god was not joking when he said he had confronted the rest of her friends. Fluttershy was so drastically traumatized by what she had seen that she hadn't got out of her college for weeks before her friends finally coaxed her to get out. Inside, Fluttershy had found a stuffed bear that also acted as a backpack. It was humble, and that was something she wanted. Applejack was shocked that she had been believing lies all that time, and it took her willpower not to buck the nearest cliff and wind up in the hospital. What the god gave to her was a bunch of fruit seeds from extinct plants that she might enjoy growing. Ever since learning that her mother was a Pear, she had found that other fruits had their uses as well.
Pinkie Pie was very appaled when she found out about it, and very angry as well. At first, she became depressed and her hair straightened, but according to her, the god felt sorry about it and cheered her up by telling her that she should not let herself worry, she was the Element of Laughter. He was also quite impressed on her mysterious abilities, even going as far as breaking into where he was talking to Twilight. He did not know how she got there, and was marveled by the pink earth pony. When Pinkie returned to Sugarcube Corner, she found a brand new portable fanfare just waiting to be activated and used. It took hours to hunt her down, and it was very tiring. Rarity had taken her classic drama queen reaction towards the whole events, but managed to keep her chin up and posture high, metaphorically speaking. When it came time for her to return to Carousel Botique, she found a bunch of fabric samples and the directions on how to obtain said fabrics. She bounced up and down and left and right in a very Pinkie-esque manner.
Rainbow Dash admitted she was being a bit stubborn, even as he showed her event after event, even going as far as to attack him every once in a while, but to no effect, especially since he forced her to the ground, twice and broke her wings at the second time, angry at the fact she'll never fly again. But eventually, she began to listen and find out that she did not get anything in return, no medals for saving the world, and one of the biggest blows was the fact that Spike was a dog in the human world. Ever since that, she started to slowly but surely realize what had happened. The god said he had given her a surprise, but it was not just an item. Her wings were completely healed and twice as strong as ever, even saying that the god admitted so. However, she was about to brag how awesome she was and how she kicked his butt, Applejack just noogied her with no signs of mercy until she cried uncle and told the truth. Her new item was a new scarf designed to capture the light and flow in a very rainbow-like manner, but hey, she wasn't the type to brag, well, not anymore.
As for Twilight, she remembered it very well. Since Canterlot was destroyed, she was slowly getting a new castle since her old one was demolished in the attack. His present to her was the Golden Oak Library, completely restored from its wear and tear, looking good as new, even better than before Tirek destroyed it. She squealed for ten minutes straight before literally slapping the sense into herself after finding some instructions for new spells. As for Spike, at first, he wasn't very happy that he hadn't had anything to get, but there was a note laying on the floor that said that Spike's gift is on the other side of the looking glass. At first, he didn't know what it meant, but they soon found out that it was the gateway to the human world the note was talking about.
When they went through, there was not Spike the dog, but a lanky, purple-skinned child around age 12 with a full head of dark green hair. He wore a dark purple hoodie over a lime shirt with a stripe pattern that matched his underbelly's own pattern, and a pair of jeans and some sneakers. His pupils, unlike the other humans, were catlike slits much like the pupils of a dragon and even had a set of adorable-looking fangs that looked outright cute on him. He still wore that collar, but its purpose was just for style. He had never felt that excited since Rarity gave him that long kiss, but he had a real reason to be excited now. The other Spike had also become human along with him, and Canterlot High's Twilight stated that she woke up to see him that way, and he was eventually adopted into a good family, she didn't say who it was, and no one else remembered a thing about Spike the dog. Sure, Rarity still did not accept his proposal, but he at least felt content that he was no longer a pet anymore. He still worked with Twilight at the library, but only when his new parents were out of town or busy, which was pretty frequent, and Twilight actually liked being with him on those times, it also served as a school for him, which he also liked. The god was very thoughtful of them it seems. He also left a surprise for them all, leaving notes for them to look at in their private rewards.
What they all saw, right where the Tree was supposed to be, a new set of Elements, resembling their cutie marks even more, with a seventh element in the shape of a green fireball sat in a wooden case. They were still known as the Elements of Harmony by all means, but instead of the old ones, there's now Integrity, Charity, Kindness, Bravery, Honor, Justice, and Hope. Each of the new elements may seem like a bit out of place at first, but when you think about it, it fits well. Pinkie Pie showed charity to the god by offering him a cupcake in her judgement early on, and he accepted. Fluttershy acted out of kindness, putting the lives of her friends in front of her own, even saying so in his face. Rarity kept showed integrity to the god, admitting that she cared more about her little sister than even she did fashion. Applejack showed justice when she realized she had been lied to by the beacon of hope they knew so dearly. Rainbow Dash showed bravery by never giving way to sadness and powering her way through what the god had to show her, only stopping at the very end. Spike showed honor by staying by Twilight's side all that time, even in the most backbreaking situations. Twilight kept holding onto hope, the thing that keeps us bound together. Hope that there was a bright side somewhere over the rainbow. Twilight was now the sole princess of Equestria, the Crystal Empire being an allied kingdom along with Griffonstone, the Dragon's Lair, the united tribes that made up the Buffalo Chiefdom, and a bunch of other countries. As the new castle was slowly being built upwards, Twilight and her friends came on adventures throughout the world, meeting new creatures and such, leaving the princess's parents to look after things while they were gone.
And the adventures were not just outside of Ponyville. The group has changed since the god's judgement. Rainbow Dash became less of the type to brag, becoming more honest and even admitting she wasn't that awesome until she met the rest of the bearers. She became the new captain of the Wonderbolts, marrying Soarin several days before. She no longer cared about stuff like the weather since she began to see the god's point. Applejack and her family have gotten a bigger orchard since their old one was burnt by a sphere of light. The new one was at a flatter land, and they now had a wider variety of not just apple trees, but used the seeds the god gave her to grow all kinds of crops. Pinkie Pie and her new husband, Cheese Sandwich, have opened their own party planning business in Ponyville. With support from Twilight and her friends, they were going along very nicely, and Pinkie was having a foal. Fluttershy was more confident ever since she emerged from the cottage, and a little more adventurous, but still very kind to the animals around, even if she was not in charge of them anymore, the only animal that remained in her cottage was her rabbit/miniature demon, who was just as scared when the fireball hit the Everfree. She has married Discord around the same time Rainbow married Soarin, give or take a few days. Rarity and her husband, Fancy Pants, were busy with the fashion industry, and have opened the outfits to other races such as the dragons, deer, and even humans because they were feeling creative. Spike was still a kid in pony years, and was just as mature as his friends now were. He was still to young to experience the outside world without his adoptive parents, so it was dulled until he reached adulthood, where they kept their promise. Twilight had a lot more responsibility as the ruler of Equestria, she was actually pretty happy about all this paperwork in which she can exercise her mind on. She practiced her magic and adjusted to the power she had. She put the sun and moon in a more gradual cycle, allowing them to see a beautiful sunset and sunrise every time between day and night, not even having to focus any attention to it, which was also a part of the god's present towards her. Twilight's parents survived the destruction of the city along with a few hundred others, and Twilight let her mother and father stay with her in the library until their house was being built, but they declined, saying they wanted more time with their daughter. After the castle was finished, the couple stayed in the Golden Oak Library and maintained it very well.
The future progressed, and Spike eventually grew into a fine young dragon, and accidentally kissed Twilight when they tripped on a wire and she fell on him. It was awkward, yes, but it eventually evolved into a romantic relationship as the two became a happy couple and married a year after the accident they had at the temple. Flurry Heart grew up in the post-judgement world quite well, mostly because that was all she knew. Speaking of the Crystal Empire, Sombra came back and terrorized it, but with the power of SEVEN Elements of harmony, it was too much for him to handle as he faded into oblivion, not even his horn was left behind as it seemed. His cape and armor did remain, and since the crystal ponies were too afraid to even have the armor near them, it was taken somewhere else. Tirek had escaped from Tartarus, but he did not expect seven Elements, and for Discord to stab him in the back, literally, and with a knife, too, but he managed to flee before any fatal injuries could come. Chrysalis came back as well, and was defeated. Everything was good for a year or two, but all three came back and joined forces with one another to exact revenge, knowing that Twilight was pregnant and nearly unable to fight. Key word: nearly. She was still able to cast the spell for the Elements, although having a baby in your belly made it pretty hard. Fortunately, Discord was at their side, and Twilight and Spike's foal was born just after the defeat of the joined forces, which Tirek absorbed before they were killed, growing into a hybrid form reminiscent of a giant winged scorpion of shadow more than a centaur. It was an epic battle between the Dark Scorpion, who had lost all form of its own contents. Everyone was there to help her, and their combined power defeated the beast and ended the lives of the threats of Sombra, Tirek, and Chrysalis.
A month after the fierce battle against the alliance and the Dark Scorpion, Twilight and Spike's foal was a purple creature with the build and fur of a pony, but with a dragons tail and wings (which were feathered like a pegasus's were), as well as two deerlike antlers protruding from its head as well as a spiral horn in its forehead. A year after Iodine was born, a new threat emerged from what it claimed to be a limbo devoid of time and space. A humanoid being in black and green armor known as Massacre emerged, and it was revealed that he was the one who killed off Discord's race and nearly did out the alicorns, and at his release, Fluttershy was slowly changing into a draconeqqus. Massacre was the final major enemy that they faced together, and he was much more demented than even Sombra, and proved to be much tougher. But in the end of it all, her BBBFF sacrificed himself to kill the genocidal monster, taking his life in the ride. When Massacre emerged from the rubble, he was beaten senseless by Cadence, Flurry Heart, and Twilight over the loss of Shining, and Discord because of the loss of his race, before leaving him to die.
After the death of Massacre, Equestria had entered an age of peace. One that lasted up until the future, where Twilight had just finished talking with her parents. Fluttershy lived on as well, now a draconequus with Discord, and the two could live together forever now. Spike was also immortal, but they didn't find out until later. Twilight walked across the halls of her castle, thinking back to that fateful day when everything changed before a voice she heard interrupted her train of thought. "Come on, Twilight. You're gonna miss the party!" Pinkie said. Twilight smiled, knowing that she had to do the most of everything, because life doesn't last forever, but memories will if you are an immortal.
THE END
Author's Note
Just a little AU going on with darker secrets with the princesses. It is not against the two sisters in any way, it is just an imagination exercise.
And Happy New Year and to all and to all a brand new year.
