How My Daughter Saved Equestria

Chapters

Diamond's First Day of School
Confronting a Bully
The Burning of Ponyville
The Charred Remains of a Friendship
Grief
Death Leaves a Note
The Story of Dystopia
A Broadcast Interruption
Twilight's Speech
Hard Head's Fate
Dystopia's Challenge
A Familial Sacrifice
A Magic Gift
Friendship Always Remains

Diamond's First Day of School

There’s an old saying: “time flies when you’re having fun.” Well, soon enough, our rambunctious little Diamond Sparkle became old enough to leave the wiles of magic kindergarten behind and venture into the vast empty spaces of the humongous Canterlot Elementary School. Diamond wasn’t exactly excited at this prospect, and she begged and harangued Twilight and I to homeschool her like some of her fellow magic kindergartners.

“But why can’t I be a homeschooled pony, Daddy?” She asked me as we were preparing to go shop for school supplies, “You’ve told me how you were homeschooled for two years, and you turned out just fine!”

“Because neither your Mother nor I have the time to do so. We wouldn’t be good teachers.”

“Mommy teaches in Auntie Celestia’s old School of Magic!”

I sighed. Diamond always managed to bring up her beloved adopted grandmares whenever she felt like she was on the losing side of an argument. She referred to them as “Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna,” even though we were in no way related. But she shared an intensely close bond with the former rulers, and it was always adorable to pay them a visit in Silver Shoals and watch them light up around her.

“Yes, she does,” I told the five-year-old filly, “and that’s why she doesn’t have time. She and I are also busy enforcing laws, entertaining diplomats, and doing lots of other important stuff. That’s why you need to go to the big school with all the other foals. Who knows? You might meet some new friends!”

“But I don’t want any new friends!” Diamond complained, “I want Barrel Stripes back!”

Barrel, the filly who had been like a sister to Diamond, had recently moved to Manehattan with her family. Diamond had been so broken up about the entire affair, that she had taken to her bed and wept bitterly for hours. The two had attended magic kindergarten together, and shared a lot of the same interests. Even though they still wrote with ferocious regularity, Diamond still had a hole in her heart.

“I know you want Barrel back, sweetheart,” I gently said, “but that just can’t happen. Her family made their own decision. We couldn’t have forced them to stay here. It wouldn’t have been right.”

She seemed to accept this, but continued to harangue me for the rest of the day, and the rest of the summer about being homeschooled. The truth was, she was intensely frightened. She had never been involved in something so massive, and she ended up admitting that she was scared of the other foals. Her magic kindergarten had consisted of herself, Barrel, and one other filly, so she was highly apprehensive about attending Canterlot Elementary.

To add to our problems, there was a rather sizable media firestorm over the whole thing. When Diamond had been born, there had been paparazzi and press members all over our front lawn, trying to get the first glimpse anypony in Equestria had of the new royal foal. Poor Twilight was exhausted from the heavy labor, but she bravely faced them. We made some sporadic public appearances until Diamond was old enough to trot alongside us. Then we would go to various events, and Diamond would be the subject of a lot of attention. Unfortunately, we would have to step in and force the press ponies back so they didn’t trample her.

Now, we were dealing with the media’s coverage of her first day of school. We honestly didn’t know what the big deal was. Sure, she was the newest princess and a royal foal, but she was simply doing what every other foal was doing. Unfortunately, the entire label of regality and importance that she carried with her at such a young age dangled off of her like bait. The press became fish, and before we knew it, we had caught a lot of unwanted notice.

On the coach ride to the school, the press crowd was so thick that our poor driver could barely get through. Inside our covered cart, Diamond huddled against Twilight, shaking with fear. “Baby,” Twilight said, kissing her head, “it’s alright. Nopony’s gonna hurt you.”

“I know, Mommy,” Diamond said, “it’s…the…other foals…I’m worried about.”

I reached across and patted her head. “Everything’s gonna be fine, my Diamond. You’ll see. Ms. Cheerilee is one of the best teachers in Equestria, and you’ll love her to death!”

This seemed to perk the filly’s interest, and she acknowledged this with a cute cock of her small ears. “I will?”

“Of course, darling!” Twilight said, “she was a teacher in Ponyville when I lived there all those years ago. Now, she teaches here, and I’m delighted to be able to have you learn from her. She knows so much, and she loves passing it along to the little ponies of Equestria!”

This elicited a small smile from our daughter, but she cuddled into Twilight a little more. My wife responded by wrapping her wing around Diamond’s back, cooing into her ear a bit and trying to comfort her. I could tell that Twilight had flipped one of her many mental switches and had gone from dignified, confident princess to soothing mother in an instant. Once again I was experiencing one of the many small things that caused me to love her so much.

I smiled at her. “You’re really great at that, you know?”

“Great at what, my love?”

“Being a mother.”

Her own smile was gracious and warm, and she bent forward to kiss me. Diamond peeked out from under Twilight’s feathers and saw us. She gently scooted out and began snickering. “Mommy and Daddy, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-“

“Now, Diamond, that’s enough,” her mother said with a wry smile, “someday you’ll have your own stallion to kiss.”

“I will?”

Twilight nodded. “Indeed, but that won’t happen for a VERY long time. So, let’s keep the childish chants to ourselves. Understand?”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Good. Now, then, here we are!”

The coach rattled to a stop in front of the giant building that housed the school. Considering that it had monopolized itself on the mountain of elementary education in Canterlot, the amount of foals teeming into the school was extreme. Diamond peeked out the window and darted back into her mother’s wing. “I don’t wanna go!” She cried in fright.

“Diamond, it’s all gonna be okay,” Twilight said softly, “everything’s been arranged, and we’re gonna go in with you.”

I nudged the coach door open, and the press ponies immediately rushed us. Their flashes were bright and they shouted their questions over one another. Each of them were trying to be the first to get the best picture of the filly or the best quote from one of us. But neither Twilight or myself were in the mood, and we didn’t want Diamond to be even more frightened than she was. So we put our heads together (literally) and sent out a soft magic wave that pushed the crowd back and didn’t allow them to come closer.

I flapped my wings and flew to the top of our coach and sat there. “EVERYPONY, BE SILENT!” I commanded. Immediately, the crowd hushed. “Now, listen! I appreciate the love and support everypony’s given our little Diamond as she takes this rather important step in her young life. However, she is incredibly nervous about today and we’d appreciate it even more if she were left alone.”

“But Your Majesty-“ A black female reporter with a golden mane spoke up.

“What is it, Scoop of the Day?”

“We have press freedom in Equestria! The Equestrian Constitution says so!”

“YEAH! YES! WE DO! LET US THROUGH!” Came the varied shouts of the crowd.

“SILENCE!” I roared again, and they immediately quieted. “Now I’ve dealt with you for five years now, and I think I know The Equestrian Constitution as good as anypony. I know your rights, and I would die to defend them. Believe me, I would. But the fact is, Diamond Sparkle is simply going to school. She’s doing what any other foal would do, so we’ll just leave it at that. My daughter is off limits. Is that understood?!”

The crowd seemed to get my message and they began dispersing. But Scoop of the Day stood around a bit, hoping to get any kind of story she could. I understood her desperation. After all, my degree in the human world was in journalism. However, that did not give her nor any other reporter the right to harass and irritate our daughter. I jumped down from the coach as Twilight and Diamond finally appeared and began trotting down the front walk towards the school door. I followed them, but not before I stopped in front of Scoop.

“Scoop…I believe I made myself clear.”

“But Prince, I-“

“Go back to the office, Scoop. There’s not a good story here anyway. It’s just a little filly on her first day of school.”

“But it’s a royal filly!”

“I don’t care. She’s not to be bothered.”

Scoop huffed a bit and turned to trot back to the office, and I turned to follow my family. Scoop was a close personal friend of mine, and I hated to be so rough with her. But she was on the verge of breaking a direct command from the co-ruler of Equestria, and she had to be reminded of that. Ponies have a lot of freedom here, I told myself, and that freedom must be defended. But that same freedom does not give anypony the right to harass anypony else, especially a little filly.

Confronting a Bully

We took Diamond inside the sprawling building, and quickly found that the only thing we could find was the principal’s office. The headmaster, Chancellor Neighsay himself, smiled at Twilight and grasped her in an embrace. I smiled, happy to see that the old EEA administrator had seemingly let the past go and had wrapped himself around the finger of friendship and care. He was no longer the bigoted pony he once was, for I noticed that there was a rather large foreign exchange program there. “We invite students of all species to come here and learn,” he explained, “after Princess Twilight taught me to value every life, pony or not, I completely changed my ways.”

“That’s wonderful to hear, Principal Neighsay,” Twilight said.

“I am sorry I locked up your school back in Ponyville all those years ago,” he admitted sheepishly.

My bride smiled. “That has long since been forgiven. Now, where can we find Ms. Cheerilee’s room?”

“Ah, Cheerilee. A fine teacher, and an excellent…er…pony.”

We both noticed the blush that tugged at his cheeks, and shared a knowing smile. It seemed our old Chancellor turned Principal had something of a budding love for the dark pink teacher. I didn’t blame him for it. Cheerilee was a very pretty pony, who had a kind heart and a wonderful personality. Of course, I was biased towards Twilight, but even I had the common sense to realize just how many ponies our teacher friend had touched.

Diamond looked at him inquisitively. “Principal Neighsay?”

“Yes, my dear?”

“Why are your cheeks red?”

“OKAY!” Twilight said as a blush appeared on her face, “time for us to be going! Now, where did you say the room was?”

“Down the hall, third door on the right,” Neighsay said, pointing away with his hoof.

We thanked him and went on down the corridor, passing mountains of lockers on both sides. It reminded me of the days when I was in high school, and the locker doors would creak open and clang shut. The students were obviously bigger fans of the latter, because that meant that the day was done and they could finally return home and slack off on their homework. I’ll admit, I was one of these avid procrastinators. I felt like I had many more important things to accomplish, such as reaching the next level on some first-person shooter.

When we reached the room, we found Cheerilee outside greeting her new students. Every one of the foals had a different reaction to meeting her. Some had known her for a while, because they had attended preschool and their own forms of kindergarten there. Others, like Diamond, were brand new to the school and were shivering with fright. One by one, Cheerilee would bend down and allow the student to give her a hug in an attempt to comfort them and assure them that everything would be fine.

When she saw us, she bowed in deep respect. “Your Majesties, welcome to my humble classroom.”

We bowed in return, but then Twilight threw her hooves around Cheerilee and the two old friends laughed. “It’s so great to see you, Cheerilee! It’s been much too long!”

“Indeed it has, Princess,” Cheerilee responded.

“We were so thrilled to hear that you moved here last year. Now we know Diamond will have a wonderful education!”

“Well, I’ll certainly do my best,” she said before looking at me, “and you’re Prince Stony Tail, AKA Jeff in the human world. I don’t believe we’ve officially met.”

I smiled at her. “No, I don’t believe so. But it’s wonderful to finally be able to meet another one of my wife’s friends from Ponyville.”

I noticed right away just why many of Cheerilee’s former students referred to her as “The Foal’s Friend.” Her warm smile and bright spirit lit up the hallway, and I was immediately comfortable leaving Diamond Sparkle in her care. I never told Twilight, but I had my own fits of nervousness regarding our daughter’s first experience in school, and I had silently pleaded with some unknown force to make her teacher somepony excellent. It seemed we had found that excellence, and I silently berated myself for not trusting Twilight more. After all, she had made a choice with our daughter’s best interests in mind.

Cheerilee lit up when she saw Diamond. “Oh, my goodness! This must be Princess Diamond! Hello, there!”

Diamond peeked out from behind Twilight’s front leg and slowly crept up to Cheerilee. She was having the same shivers as some of the others, so Cheerilee bent down. “Why don’t you give me a hug? That way we can start off on the right hoof.”

“A hug?” Diamond asked.

When Cheerilee nodded and smiled, our little grey filly stepped a little closer and tentatively put a hoof around her teacher’s neck. She seemed to become more comfortable with the idea and quickly wrapped the other hoof around Cheerilee. She pressed into her, almost like she did with Twilight or I whenever she was scared. When she broke off and backed away into our shadows, she offered a small smile. “I…like you…Ms. Cheerilee.”

“Aw…I like you too, Princess. Now, why don’t you come on in to the room and get your things settled?”
Diamond’s small smile didn’t grow, but it remained and she nervously followed Cheerilee into the room. We did as well, and found that the room had been decorated flawlessly. Ponies in the first grade would have found it to be paradise. There were myriads of animal related educational posters on the walls, and a large picture of Ponyville dominated the sheetrock next to the window. Cheerilee’s desk had pictures of all of her old friends on it, and one of the biggest chalkboards we’d ever seen loomed large behind her as she took her seat.

“Alright, my little ponies!” She said in the customary greeting that many teachers gave foals, “time to begin! But first, I’ve asked Prince Stony Tail and Princess Twilight to share a few words.”

The students all gasped and their eyes grew wide. For a lot of them, this must have been their first time seeing royalty up close and I could tell that they felt extremely excited. It was even a surprise to our own Diamond, who perked up and smiled when she heard our names called.

“Thank you, Ms. Cheerilee,” Twilight began, “and hello fillies and colts! This little surprise was arranged a few days ago, when Cheerilee sent a message to the castle asking us to come and speak with you. As many of you know, I was once a student in this very school.” The concept that Twilight was once their size and their age seemed to blow their minds, and they all began whispering about it. “Please,” Cheerilee said, “let the princess finish.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said again, “anyway, this school was very good to me. It taught me the values of hard work and being a good student. But there was one thing it didn’t teach me: the magic of friendship. I had to learn that on my own when I was older. It was my own fault, as I was obsessed with books and knowledge, but I don’t want you to trip over the same hurdles. Fall in love with knowledge, yes, but also fall in love with friendship.”

“My dear Twilight is right,” I said when she finished, “when I first fell into Equestria from the human world, I didn’t have any friends. Now, thanks to Twilight’s stern, yet gentle lectures and teachings, I have lots of them. Please, don’t let the opportunity to make a new friend slip through your hooves. There are lots of other foals in this school, just begging to be met. Study hard, work hard, and try hard to make friends. Even if you have just one, it’s much better than being by yourself. You’ll find that life throws a lot of bad stuff in your path, but having a good friend there to help you through it makes it worthwhile.”

I turned and noticed Twilight’s eyes glistening with tears. She bent over and nuzzled me a bit, silently confirming everything I had just said. I gladly returned the nuzzle and kissed her softly on the cheek. Some of the fillies in the class were taken with our soft romance, while some of the colts made faces at it. Then there was the big colt in the back. “Twilight and Stony, sittin’ in a tree-“

“HARD HEAD!” Cheerilee suddenly roared, “that’s enough, young colt! Get up here and apologize to Their Majesties right now! Move!”

I jumped a bit. I had no idea Cheerilee could get that angry. She had seemed like such a sweet pony when we met her only a few moments before. “Twily?” I whispered as the colt began trundling his way towards the front.

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t know Cheerilee could roar like that.”

“She’s a kind soul and a wonderful teacher, but there are some lines that shouldn’t be crossed.”

We each gave the young one a stern look as he stopped and sat at our hooves. “I’m sorry, Your Highnesses,” he said with a completely unsubtle sarcasm, “I don’t know what came over me.”

Twilight bent down and stared into his eyes. “Listen, young colt. We came here to say a few words about friendship, but you seem to be missing the point. I believe you’d rather bully and tease the other foals and ponies than try and make friends.”

“Friendship is stupid,” Hard Head said with contempt, “I’d much rather play with my Action Pony figures!”

Twilight’s look softened, and I could tell she had him cornered even though he didn’t realize it. “But wouldn’t you like somepony else to do that with?”

Hard Head’s look went from angry and contemptuous to shocked and scared in an instant. It was almost like Twilight had dug into his mind with a hoof and flipped some switch that needed to be turned on. The lights of care seemingly began burning in his mind for the first time ever, and he looked back up at my bride. “Well…er…I guess…”

“Of course you would!” Twilight said with kindness, “and I bet you that there’s somepony out there who’d love to extend the hoof of friendship to you.”

Hard Head turned around and looked, silently begging his classmates to help him. But nopony raised their hoof in eagerness. In fact, they all began turning away or shuffling in their seats. It became very apparent that Hard Head had done a lot more to hurt than help, and the students were repaying him in kind. I could almost hear Twilight’s heart breaking. She loved friendship just as much as myself and Equestria, and when ponies turned away from each other, it tore her very soul open.

Then, suddenly, a grey hoof shot up and we both looked to the source. We beamed with pride when we saw that it was Diamond. She silently got up from her seat and trotted to the front of the room. “It’s all okay,” she told the young colt, whose head and tail drooped, “I’ll be your friend.”

“You…will? Even after I made fun of your Mommy and Daddy?”

“Of course! Mommy says that friendships must look past the kind of inconsiderate taunting you committed.”

“Huh?” The colt asked. It was obvious that his vocabulary wasn’t quite on Diamond’s level.

“That means friends have to stick together through anything, and I promise I’ll stick by you.”

I swear, Hard Head was nearly in tears. He grasped our daughter in a hug, much to the other foals’ collective surprise. We both realized that the poor colt must never have felt what it was like to have a true friend, and it was touching to see our daughter pass on what we had tried so diligently to teach her.

“I think she’s ready for this,” Twilight whispered in my ear.

“Indeed, she is, darling. Indeed, she is.”

The Burning of Ponyville

It was night. The stars twinkled above, and the moon cast its pale, haunting, yet beautiful light upon the many cottages that dotted the hills just below Canterlot. I stood on the balcony of our room, wanting very much to believe that the amazing white orb would come down and rest on my shoulder. After all, it was my duty to raise it each night before retiring to bed with Twilight. As far as the dreams of Equestria were concerned, Luna’s personal protégé, Dream Weaver, would wind her way through the slumbers of our citizens. She did an excellent job protecting everypony from nightmares, and we were heavily in her debt.

“Aren’t you coming to bed, love?” Twilight asked me sweetly.

“Yeah, sweetie, I’ll be there in a second.”

I forced myself away from the magical scene laid out in front of me, and to an even more amazing thing stretched out behind me: my wife. Her ever flowing mane sparkled and danced in the moonlight, and she gave me a look of love as I crawled into bed and wrapped her up. “Wanna…have some fun?” I asked her suggestively.

“Not tonight,” she said with a tired voice, “tomorrow’s our weekly sex night. Besides, I wouldn’t want to break this apart.”

She and I met and the kiss was magnificent. It drove away the minor lust I was feeling, replacing it with a soft, gentle love. Her lips were as cool as the night itself, and I felt her begin to edge her way deeper into the crook of my body. Before I knew it, she had taken both of her glorious wings and wrapped them around me, breaking our kiss and smiling with happiness. “There,” she said, “I think that’ll do.”

“Do for what, darling?”

“For everything,” she responded, snuggling even further into me and falling asleep on my shoulder.

Did you ever feel like everything in the world was perfect? Like there was one moment in your life where every single aspect of existence was absolute? This was that moment for me. I reflected on the five amazing years we had spent together, and a small thrill went through me when I realized that we would have thousands more. As Alicorns, the magic flowing within us granted us such long lives, and we were the complete beneficiaries of them.

Twilight’s soft, warm coat created a cocoon of gentleness and love, and I soon found myself lulled to sleep against her. Every breath I took was filled to overflowing with her sweet, subtle aroma. It didn’t bludgeon me, like some of the fancy perfumes Rarity wore, but rather played with my nose. It seemed to be something of a prankster, letting me almost smell its beauty, and then darting backwards just a little bit. But soon enough, it flowed regularly, and that night’s sleep was one of the soundest I’ve ever experienced…all up until about 4:00.

Everything was right. Twilight and I slept peacefully, wrapped in each other’s wings. I was having an amazing dream, and I silently thanked Dream Weaver for bequeathing it to me. It featured Twilight, myself, and our little Diamond on a boat out at sea. The water was calm and mostly still, and the bright blue sky bore a breathtaking sunlight. The tiniest of movements gently rocked the boat, creating the perfect atmosphere for our little family. We didn’t have to concern ourselves with royalty, regality, the press, or anything else. We were simply…normal. I had always chased normalcy in my personal life, and this dream reflected that. You clever bastard, Dream Weaver, I said to myself, this is exactly what I needed to see.

But then, my serenity was broken by a horrifying scream. “YOUR MAJESTIES!” Somepony shouted as they broke into our room. We were startled awake, and rose to our haunches, wiping a layer of crusty stuff from our eyes. I noticed that our forced visitor was none other than our head cleaning pony, and very good friend, Spiffy Sweep.

“Spiffy…what is it?” I groaned, unhappy at being out of my beloved’s embrace, “it’s 4 in the morning, and I was having an awesome dream.”

“I’m so sorry to wake the both of you,” Spiffy said rapidly, “but you must be on the next train to Ponyville!”

“The next train to Ponyville?” Twilight asked, suddenly very interested. “But, why?”

“Your Highnesses…Ponyville is burning to the ground as we speak!”

Twilight’s eyes went wide with fright, and she darted out of bed. I followed suit, knowing how important the small town was. Even though it had been years since Twilight lived and worked there, it still held an incredibly special place in her heart. It held the same sway over myself, as I had met and become incredibly good friends with the ponies that Twilight kept company with there. So we quickly made our way downstairs, leaving Spiffy in charge of watching Diamond.

“COME ON!” My bride screamed in fright as we raced out of the castle and to the train station. Once there, we shot on board and sat down on one of the many benches. For such an early train, there were a good number of ponies on board, and some of them wanted pictures. I gave them a look that told them, as much as we loved and cared for them, now was not the right time. They got my silent message and returned to their seats.

Twilight was hyperventilating heavily, and I pulled her in close. “It’s all gonna be okay,” I tried to comfort her, “everything’s gonna be fine.”

“No, it’s not! Ponyville’s being destroyed!” Twilight cried, “it’s not gonna be okay! It’s not!”

“Yes, it will!” I said desperately, “please, sweetheart, you’re making a scene!”

“I’ll make a damn scene if I wanna make a damn scene!” She shouted, losing control and bursting into tears, “my friends could be dead, and you wanna talk about a scene?! I’ll make a scene! I’ll make as many scenes as I want to!”

I knew I had to do something, so I grabbed her like I would Diamond and held her tight. I didn’t let her go, no matter how much she squirmed. She even nipped at my shoulder, leaving small bite marks and a good bit of pain. But I refused to release her. I knew this wasn’t the Twilight we needed. We needed the strong, confident, sensible Twilight. We needed the Princess that captivated a nation, and caused a human to fall completely in love with her. We needed the Princess that had stood her ground against a human assailant. We needed Princess Twilight Sparkle.

By the time we got to Ponyville, Twilight was still in hysterics. We could smell the acrid smokiness in the air, and a thick layer of the smoggy black stuff hung amidst the train station. We raced through it and out onto the path to Ponyville. I’ve never galloped so fast in all my life. Twilight, though blinded by her tears, was determined to make it to her old home. I was happy to see glimmers of Princess Twilight breaking through the barriers of Hysterical Twilight. It was truly a sight to behold. That’s the confident mare I fell in love with, I told her silently, we’ll make it. Everything’s gonna be alright.

We skidded to a stop at the edge of the town, and found that it was much too hot to approach. All of our worst fears were confirmed in that moment, as flames many feet high shot skyward. We saw the places we cherished being burned to the ground, including Twilight’s old School of Friendship. She could only watch, awash in tears, as the fire ponies did their best to battle the blaze. They had managed to contain a great portion of it, and now the only thing that remained was to snuff out the rest and look for charred remains.

After a couple more hours, the fire had been put to rest and we were able to walk into town. Twilight stopped in the middle of the square, spread her wings regally, and raised the sun. The new light glinted off the many tears that rolled down her cheeks, and she turned and fell into me. The sun also revealed the extent of the damage, and she had noticed the blackened rubble of the town. “It’s gone,” she whispered as she cried into my shoulder, “it’s all gone…”

The Charred Remains of a Friendship

Twilight and I looked around at the burned remains of Ponyville. Every tear my poor wife shed was a memory that she had erased from time itself. She had loved this town ever since she had first moved from Canterlot, and now that the flames of evil had come to claim it, I could tell that she felt empty. There were holes in her heart bored by the hoof of maliciousness, and I couldn’t plug them. I felt helpless. So I just wrapped her in an embrace and allowed her to cry freely.

“Tell me…please tell me we can rewind time,” she sobbed quietly, “tell me I can just go back to being The Princess of Friendship. Tell me Celestia and Luna can come and make things right.”

I pulled back and kissed her cheek. “You know we can’t manipulate time,” I told her, recalling the story of Starlight Glimmer, “all we can do is move forward and try and deal with this accordingly.”

She nodded and tried to look more confident. She knew that the ponies of Ponyville would need her strength and support in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy. I could tell that she was trying very hard to return to her regal and friendly nature, but it was tearing her apart. After all, how could anypony be happy after the ordeal that had just been thrust upon them? Her face faltered, and she fought her hardest to rein in her emotions.

“We need to see if anypony survived,” she said, choked up.

“We did,” a new voice said, and we both turned to see our fellow ruler, Starlight Glimmer, standing there. The Head Mare of the School of Friendship looked as if her entire world had been ripped away from her. The trails down her cheeks betrayed the amount of tears she had shed, and she stepped forward and hugged Twilight tightly. “It’s at times like these I’m thankful for all you taught me,” she said honestly, “the only way we’ll get through this is if we do it together.”

“You’re right, Starlight,” Twilight said, wiping her own tears away, “I just hope we have somepony to do it with.”

Starlight smiled, and we turned to see a CROWD of ponies who had escaped the blaze. Twilight’s face burst into a smile as she recognized the faces of so many she knew. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were among them, as were most of The Apple Family. Cheese Sandwich, Pinkie Pie’s husband, cuddled their small foal, Li’l Cheese close to his chest. Soarin, who had moved to Ponyville to be closer to his mare, Rainbow Dash, stepped through the crowd. One by one, ponies came forward and smiled at Twilight, silently ensuring her of their safety.

“I’m so happy to see all of you alive and well!” Twilight said, “but…I don’t see any of my close friends. Where are Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy?”

“Those were the only five we could not recover,” Mayor Mare said sadly as she stepped forward beside Starlight, “Applejack was trying to save what she could from the farm, and Pinkie was trying to save some things from Sugarcube Corner. Rarity was moving her clothes just as fast as she could, and Fluttershy was helping some animals. We don’t know where Rainbow Dash was.”

“YOUR MAJESTIES!” A voice suddenly boomed.

I would know that voice anywhere, and we turned to see Shining Armor standing on top of the rubble, covered in soot. Three badly burned ponies lay across his back, and Twilight broke into a gallop when she recognized Pinkie’s mane, Fluttershy’s cutie mark, and Rarity’s signature curled tail. She ran up to her brother and examined her fallen friends. “No…please…” She said as grief washed over her again.

“It’s okay, Twily,” Shining said calmly, “they’re alive. They’re just awfully injured. I’m gonna take them to our medical tent and they’ll receive treatment.”

“Hurry, Shining Armor!” Twilight commanded her brother, “hurry!”

Shining nodded at his sister and quickly trotted off, being very careful not to drop one of the injured. As I watched him go, I noticed Rarity’s tail twitching ever so slightly. Come on, I silently urged her and Pinkie, survive this, damn it! You need to survive, not just for your sake, but for Twilight! She loves both of you! Hell, I love both of you! PLEASE FIGHT!

I was forcefully taken from my own grief as Twilight called to me. I trotted over to her, and we both began silently digging through the rubble, looking for our friends. Many hours passed, but we stayed silent. Sweat poured from our brows as we dug hoof over hoof. We didn’t even think to use our magic, our grief and horror were so grave and deep.

By and by, we finally managed to make it to Sweet Apple Acres. We dug through the charred remains of the flattened barn…until we saw a blond tail sticking out. I quickly tossed aside the remaining rubble and there, laying in each other’s hooves, were the dead bodies of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. They had died as they had lived, fiercely fighting to defend one another. But it appeared that, when fate had made its intentions apparent, they had taken to holding each other, disappearing into the great beyond together.

Twilight immediately screamed and hurled herself on her friends. I had not known them as deeply as Twilight, but I shed my own group of honest tears. However, my grief was nowhere near as soul crushing as hers. She wailed aloud, attracting the group of survivors, many of whom began sobbing at the sight as well. I stepped forward and put my wings around her, receiving all of her sadness in the process. Her cries and screams echoed through the wreckage, and most of the ponies turned away, unable to see their beloved leader going through something so terrifying.

Starlight, though, stepped forward and nuzzled Twilight. “Please,” she said with tears of her own running down her face, “Twilight, you’ve got to pull it together.”

“THERE’S NOTHING LEFT TO LIVE FOR!” Twilight howled as her grief became even more severe, “MY FRIENDS ARE GONE! THEY’RE GONE!”

“But don’t you see?!” Starlight asked desperately, “not all of your friends are gone! I know this is heart wrenching! My own spirit has been crushed! But you must keep going for Equestria!”

Twilight didn’t respond, but howled her never ending sadness to the mid-morning sun. The mourning she put on display reflected the deep love and affection she carried for her two fallen sisters. She cared for them like they were her own family, and I had come to know them in the same manner. Their deaths brought darkness upon Equestria, such as we’d never known, and we did not know how to proceed. Our happy home had been destroyed, and none of us were prepared. It truly was the darkest day in Equestrian history.

Grief

Shattered. That’s all I can say. The entire population of Equestria was…shattered. When the news broke on all major Equestrian television networks (yes, they have television in Equestria) of the burning and ransacking of Ponyville, the ponies feared for their lives. We had to send out a good part of our armed forces just to keep order in Manehattan, Trottingham, and Neighagra Falls. Ponies were running amok and panic and terror were spreading like a horrible disease. Rumors of other towns being burned quickly infected the vast masses, and we were the only ones who could debunk them.

The press was a constant at the Canterlot Castle after we returned. They were amassed on our front door every day, begging and pleading us for answers. But the truth was, we didn’t have any, and Twilight was in no condition to speak with anypony. She locked herself away in our bedroom, refusing all food and comfort, and wailing her grief daily. I tried my hardest to love her through this awful time, but she even seemed to shun that. She would scream the names of her fallen friends over and over again until, exhausted from her weeping, she would finally enter an extremely shaken slumber.

A few days after we returned, I decided it was time to gently let Diamond know what happened. Spiffy Sweep had watched her during our time away, and we had thanked him profusely for it. But we didn’t want him divulging this sensitive information to our daughter. I had planned on doing it with Twilight, but as my bride was currently in a state of uncontrollable agony, I knew she wasn’t in the right mental state to do so.

“Diamond, honey?” I asked as I entered her room.

“Hi, Daddy!” She chirped cutely.

I immediately smiled. Diamond was one of those ponies whose very presence just brightened up one’s day. I trotted over and gathered her up in my hooves. She gave me an odd look, but went along with it. After sitting her on the edge of her bed, I got down on her level. This was an old trick that my mother taught me for dealing with young children. “Speak with them where they can easily understand you,” she told me when learning that our first foal was on the way, “and your conversations will go much smoother.”

“Is something wrong?” Diamond asked me. She cocked her small head, and I could tell that she noticed the sad state of my eyes. “You’re smiling,” she went on, “but your eyes tell me that you’ve been crying. Do Daddies cry?”

I couldn’t help put pull her into a hug. “Yes, darling, sometimes even Daddies cry.”

She nuzzled my shoulder affectionately before pulling back and looking at me. “But why were you crying?”

I knew that I didn’t need to bludgeon the filly with what had happened, though a lot of the ponies she knew came from Ponyville. She deserved to know of the tragedy, but I didn’t want to cause another fit of wailing and weeping. I wanted her to be able to grieve, but I wanted to reassure her that everything would be alright in time. We would be able to recover from this and move forward as a family.

“Diamond, listen,” I said gently, “something terrible has happened…and that’s why I was crying.”

“What happened…and where’s Mommy?”

I sighed. “Your mother is in our room right now, sweetie. She’s going through a lot, because of what happened, and her heart is in a good deal of pain. Darling, Ponyville…is gone.”

Diamond’s face fell. “Gone? Like…destroyed…gone?”

I nodded. “Yes, sweetheart. Something happened and a fire started. Before the fire ponies could do anything about it, it had spread to the entire town. I’m so sorry, love. I know a lot of your friends and the ponies you loved came from there. I’m also sorry to say…your Aunts Applejack and Rainbow Dash…didn’t make it out.”

The tears were instantaneous, and Diamond threw her hooves around me and wept. I tried to hold back my own emotions and be a strong father for her, but it was impossible. We all cared about Ponyville way too much, and I knew of the deep love and devotion Diamond carried for her mother’s original friends. So for a few fleeting moments, Diamond and I were bound by love and grief. Her small cries echoed through her room, and it broke my heart all over again. This is awful…just awful! I thought, my poor Diamond…and my poor Twilight!

Suddenly, Diamond backed away and wiped her tears. She had a look of soft determination and rather inspiring love on her face. She didn’t say anything, but slowly got off her bed and trotted towards the door. I noticed that her lip was still quivering, but she didn’t resume weeping. I followed her out of her room and down the hall to ours. The quiet filly tried opening the door, but found it to be locked. As I watched in awe, gentle magic flowed from her horn through the keyhole and granted us access.

When we went inside, we found Twilight wailing. Her cries of anguish tore into my soul, and I had to look away. I just couldn’t bear to see her enduring this hardship. Every sharp vocal tone that entered my ear was like a knife to my chest. I could practically see myself bleeding out at the hooves of Twilight’s unimaginable pain and heartache. This is hell, I told myself, before pleading with some unknown force. Please…make her stop…I can’t take her pain! I can’t watch her like this! I love her so much, I just…can’t! Please!

As if on cue, Diamond trotted over and gently nudged at her mother. “GO AWAY!” Twilight suddenly shrieked, “I DON’T WANT YOUR FOOD, AND I DON’T WANT YOUR WATER! JUST GET OUT!”

Diamond flinched a little bit, and her eyes grew wide. She had never heard Twilight screech like that before, but she shook her small head and pressed forward. She nudged her mother again, and this time, Twilight rolled over and looked down. Her eyes were burning with a mixture of grief, heartache, anger, love, and many other feelings too numerous to mention. Her mane flowed faster than it ever had, and she honestly looked like she was about to strike down the pony who had dared to interrupt her mourning.

“HOW DARE YOU-“ She began before noticing Diamond standing there. I watched from the side as Twilight quickly switched gears from a grieving friend to a caring mother. “Diamond, my love!” She cried as she swooped our filly into bed with her. She immediately embraced her, weeping down her small back and apologizing profusely for screaming at her. “I’m so, so sorry, my precious filly!” Twilight exclaimed, before pulling back and looking at her, “you know I would never scream at you on purpose, right?”

“I know, Mommy,” Diamond said, “and I also know what happened in Ponyville. Daddy told me about Auntie Applejack and Auntie Dash. Mommy…why? Why did they have to be taken from us?”

Twilight sniffled and wiped her tears away. “I…I don’t know, my love. I really don’t. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were two of the truest ponies I’ve ever known, and some of the best friends a pony could ever want. I don’t know why they were taken. I don’t know, and I probably never will.”

“Is it…okay to cry?”

“Of course,” Twilight said sympathetically, “it’s normal to weep after somepony you love dies.”

“But Mommy…you’ve been screaming…and you screamed at me.”

The filly looked hurt by this, even after Twilight’s frantic apology. I could tell that the pain transitioned to her mother, and she bent down and nuzzled the foal. “I’m so sorry,” she said, “I should never have yelled like that. I didn’t even bother to check who it was. You’re my wonderful little Diamond, forged out of our love, and nothing will ever change that.”

She hugged Diamond and kissed her cheek before rising from our bed. She turned and looked at me, smiled, and came over and we embraced and kissed. “I’m so sorry,” she said, “I’ve been acting-“

“-normal,” I finished for her, “Twilight, you can’t blame yourself for your grief, and I don’t want you apologizing for it. Your feelings are an extension of your love for Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and I know just how much they meant to you.”

“But, Daddy, is it normal to scream like that?” Diamond asked, tugging on my leg with a hoof.

I smiled down at her. “Yes, darling,” I said, “even back in my home world, when someone dies, there’s generally a few people who take to wailing their grief. Everypony, and every human, has a different way of mourning. Your mother’s was completely fine, and nopony ever felt like she was genuinely angry with them.”

“But I do need to apologize,” Twilight said as her voice broke and she hugged me again, “I’ve been awful to everypony. You’ve been here all along, and I need to look to my support system. Like Starlight said, not all of my friends are gone, and the ones that are still here are the ones I must lean on in this time of crisis.”

“Like us?” Diamond asked.

“Yes, my love,” Twilight said as she smiled warmly at our filly, “just like you.”

We then underwent a few beautiful moments together as a family. Twilight and I both sat on our haunches and allowed Diamond to get in between us. Then, I wrapped my wings around both of them, and we just let time pass in silence. Even Diamond, who was normally rather talkative around us, seemed to understand the pressing importance for quiet. All that broke between us were our breaths, and I could feel Twilight’s warm emissions flashing against my muzzle. That playful aroma once again toyed with my nostrils, only this time I caught it and breathed its sweetness to the fullest extent.

Death Leaves a Note

The day after we buried Rainbow and Applejack was the saddest one of all. Even though we all knew we had each other, a lingering despair hung in the castle. Even our cleaning staff and guards couldn’t help but shed tears. Every time a thought ran through somepony’s mind of the honesty that Applejack displayed or Dash’s fierce loyalty, it would cause another river to squeeze its way from their ducts. We were all exhausted, physically and psychologically, and I felt as if we could use a break. So I ordered new guards brought in from Manehattan so the normal ones could rest, and our cleaning staff was given two days off.

We also declared a National Day of Remembrance for the two ponies. They were considered heroes in a lot of ways, and we felt that a proper memorial was necessary. We had attended their private funerals to comfort their grieving families, but the public memorial service was something completely different. 75,000 ponies jammed into Canterlot Stadium, and listened as Twilight and I relayed our experiences with the two. My speech was deadpan, and I am willing to admit that. I didn’t know what to say, so I just rambled on for a few minutes about the power of friendship and the deep connection our family had with the deceased. I hoped with all my heart that it would be sufficient…or at least make some kind of sense.

Twilight’s speech was heartbreaking. She had to be helped off the podium afterwards because she was crying so hard. She spoke dearly of her beloved friends, and how much they had meant to her. She lamented the fate of Ponyville, telling two or three stories of her time there. She also urged everypony to look to each other in this time of crisis, and begged them to keep the memories of the fallen alive through their Elements of Harmony.

“Friendship doesn’t die when friends do,” she said with tears rolling down her face, “friendship lives on. It has engrained itself in every single one of you, and it is at times like these when we truly must realize that. The magic of friendship is also a magic that can heal and restore broken spirits. Ours have been crushed…but I truly believe that, when we look to our friends, that is when we are able to see true improvement. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are still with us, because we can still be honest and loyal to each other. Through that, we shall keep them alive.”

That evening, when we returned home, we found the palace to be darker than usual. The idea that our friends were really gone was deep, and Twilight turned and buried her head in my shoulder. “I can’t do this,” she said, “without them…I can’t.”

“Did you so quickly forget the very things you told everypony today?” I asked her, “what about leaning on your friends?”

She nodded, wiping her tears. “I know I should,” she choked out, “but it’s so hard…”

“I know, my love,” I said, kissing her cheek gently, “I know.”

“Twily!” A new voice suddenly spoke.

Twilight and I both jumped, and we realized that the newcomer had used her special nickname. It was only reserved for myself and two other ponies, and since the new voice was male, we were pretty sure who it was. Deducing that kind of thing was an easy mystery to solve, and we turned to see her brother, Shining Armor, standing there.

“Shiny!” Twilight said happily as she ran to greet him.

I smiled. The love between these siblings was legendary, and it was what all brothers and sisters should strive to realize for each other. When he was around, Twilight turned into a filly once again, and she was happy. Which, in turn, meant that I was happy. Seeing her bounce into her brother’s waiting embrace was wonderful to behold. It also drove away the awful grief she had been feeling and replaced it with a warm affection. She needed this, I told myself as I trotted over to where Twilight was letting Shining up.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “it’s just…been so long since we’ve seen you.”

“I know,” he said as he brushed himself off, “and it’s beyond amazing to see you as well. But I didn’t come here to shoot the breeze.”

He trotted past us and into the throne room. We followed him, and I’m fairly sure that, for the first time in our marriage, we were both just as curious as each other. When we arrived there, he used his magic to pull a note out of the saddlebag around his back. “I’ve been helping with the investigation into the Ponyville fire.”

“We know,” Twilight said, “we asked you.”

Shining sighed. “What this note contains is rather disturbing. We now know that the Ponyville fire was no accident. Somepony did this awful thing on purpose, and they may just strike once more. This piece of parchment was the only clue left behind, but…it holds something dark.”

Twilight magically took it from him and unrolled it for us both to read. Our mouths fell open at the words, declaring death and hatred and eschewing the peace and friendship we tried to teach. The letter was awful to read, and I should warn you that the following is incredibly disturbing. The note read as follows:

Ponies of Equestria,

I’m not going to mince words. I’m not going to tell you some sweetly saccharine thing about the power and magic of so-called friendship. I’m not going to lie to you like that bitch Twilight Sparkle. What I am going to do is bring you truth. Why? Because truth, like fire, runs through the land and forces you to answer questions about the actual state of affairs. Truth, like fire, burns at the heart and melts at the very foundations of the soul. I will bring you this truth in my own special way. This burning is only the beginning. Truth lies in the arms of death himself, and I am his messenger. Be prepared, my little ponies, for your reckoning is nigh. You’ve never dealt with somepony like me. Nightmare Moon? Foal’s play. Chrysalis? Forget her. Tirek? An ANT compared to me…no…less than an ant. A DUST PARTICLE! Yes, truth will come to Equestria, whether you like it or not. Have fun being scared, you worthless pieces of undeserving flesh. May you all rot in your graves.

Signed,

The Future Queen of Equestria and Empress of Death,

Dystopia

Twilight was shaking by the time she finished. She looked up at her brother. “She…she…who…who’s…Dystopia?”

"Nopony knows,” Shining said, “we’ve sent forces throughout the land searching for her, but we’ve come up empty hooved so far. We have no earthly idea who this mare is or why she has it out for Equestria.”

My mind went to work. I ran through a list of all the mares I knew, wondering if one of them could be masquerading as a good pony by day and moonlighting as the evildoer. Let’s see…Starlight? She’s been a villain before. No, now she’s a princess and she’s demonstrated her friendship over and over to us. Trixie? No. She’s annoying, and a pain in my ass, but she’s also a damn good guidance counselor. She wouldn’t do something so awful.

I just couldn’t come up with an answer, but my mind suddenly clicked to a pony who might be able to solve the problem. Twilight’s must have done the same thing, because we both turned to each other and yelled, “CELESTIA!”

“Of course!” Twilight said, smiling, “Celestia would have to know about this! She knows every single villain in the book!”

“Yeah!” I concurred, “and this would give us an excuse to take Diamond to see her and Luna again.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Shining said, “you two go on ahead. I’ll stay here and watch over things while you’re gone.”

“Thanks, BBBFF,” Twilight said, hugging her brother, “you know, it feels weird to hug you now that I’m a good shoulder taller than you.”

Shining chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so. But go on and find some answers. I’ll be waiting for you when you return.”

With that, I ran upstairs and told Diamond where we were going. She squealed in delight, for she loved Celestia and Luna deeply and was always excited whenever we went on a trip there. She tossed all her necessities into her small saddlebag and trotted off. I followed her down the hall to our room, where Twilight was hurriedly packing our things. Once this was completed, Diamond hopped on my back and we flew off towards Silver Shoals.

The Story of Dystopia

Celestia’s mouth hung open. Her pink mane, which had stopped flowing perpetually years before, seemed to flow once again. Her cutie mark flashed, and her eyes grew as wide as the pots used on Hearth’s Warming Eve. We had just shown her Dystopia’s threatening letter, after sending Diamond out to play with Luna, and she had not exactly had the greatest reaction. To be frank, it surprised us completely. We didn’t realize that showing her something that seemed so unfamiliar would spark such an emotional breakdown.

“I…I…where…did you say…this was found?”

“Shining Armor found it at the Ponyville burn site,” Twilight reiterated, “and I take it, at least by your immediate reaction, that you know this evil?”

Celestia nodded with great vigor. “I do,” she declared, “but I will need my sister’s help to tell the tale fully.”

With that, she got up from her seat and trotted over to their back door. They lived in a wonderful retirement cottage in Silver Shoals, with everything they could ever want. They finally had a chance to live life away from the spotlight, which was exactly how they liked it. No more constant begging for interviews, no more royal advice, and no more ruling. Celestia even told me once that, as much as she loved everypony, it would get a little tiresome having to deal with all of Equestria’s problems. She often dreamed of retiring to Silver Shoals, and now that dream had become a reality.

She opened their sliding door with her magic and called out to where Luna and Diamond were playing a popular foal’s game called “Little Filly Says.” In it, the caller (or the “little filly”) shouts a command at the player, and the latter has to perform the action. But it’s only to be done if the caller says “Little Filly Says.” It’s incredibly similar to the human game “Simon Says.”

“Hop on two hooves!” Diamond yelled.

Luna didn’t move. “You didn’t say, ‘little filly says!’”

Diamond laughed. “Oh, alright. You got me. Little filly says hop on two hooves!”

We joined Celestia and watched in amusement as Luna attempted to hop on her back legs with her front ones stretched way out to the sky. She looked completely ridiculous, but we held our tongues for Diamond’s sake. To her, Luna took this game completely seriously, and it needed to stay that way. It helped refresh the bond between our filly and her adopted grandmares, and we were delighted to assist in any way possible.

But Celestia’s look soon turned dour as she remembered Dystopia. “Luna, would you mind joining us for a few minutes?”

Luna finished her awkward bouncing and looked at her sister. “Of course, my sister. Diamond, let’s go in.”

“Aw….!” Diamond pouted, “but I was having so much fun!”

“I know, my little filly,” Luna said kindly, “but Aunt Celestia needs me. We’ll have some more fun later.”

Diamond smiled at this prospect and trotted inside obediently. I smiled and nodded at her as she went by, silently praising her for listening to Luna’s instructions. We had always tried to teach her to hear and respect her elders, no matter which pony it was. Seeing this played out in real life made me proud to be a father, because I knew that these small things could turn bigger and better later in Diamond’s life.

When Diamond went upstairs to play in our guest room, Luna and Celestia sat down in front of us. The deep blue mare, whose mane had also quit flowing years before, sipped a glass of tea as Celestia unrolled the scroll in front of her. As she read it, her own eyes grew wide and she began having an awful time holding her mug. Her magic went awry, and she spilled the tea all over the floor. “Um…I’m sorry…I’ll clean that-“

“No,” Celestia said, “forget the tea for now. We have much more important matters to discuss.”

“You’re right, dear sister,” Luna said, “for it is not a glass of spilled tea that could destroy Equestria and everypony in it.”

“Please,” Twilight said, “who is Dystopia, and why does she want us all killed?”

Celestia sighed a moment, collected her thoughts, and began the story:

“Dystopia is a cruel, vicious, vindictive, murderous pony. When she says that the other villains in Equestrian history are mere peons compared to her, she means it. She burned down our first palace just outside our home village, and we had to move to The Everfree Forest. But, she didn’t start that way…”

Luna continued:

“Dystopia began life as a small filly named Mountain Mist, and just like the cool natural phenomenon for which she was named, she was a gentle and kind filly. She had the best interests of everypony at heart, and she knew how to satisfy them. She was a friend to all, and we watched her grow in this way. After all, she…was our sister.”

Now it was our turn to experience a widening of the eyes and locking of the jaw. We gave each other a shocked look, and then turned back to the Princesses Emeriti. “You mean…you had a third sister?” Twilight asked. When Celestia and Luna nodded, Twilight looked genuinely hurt. “Why did you keep this from me? I mean…was it really that big a secret?”

“We did what was best for everypony,” Celestia said softly.

“YOU LIED!” Twilight suddenly exploded.

“Calm down, Twilight!” I said, grabbing her and forcing her to remain seated. She looked like she was about to tear out their eyes. I knew how important honesty was to Twilight, and she looked as if her very heart had been torn from her chest. The ponies she had loved and trusted for so long had not been straightforward with her, and her eyes betrayed the pain she felt at this.

“Twilight, we did it to protect you,” Celestia went on, “and as we continue the story, you’ll see why…

Mountain Mist was indeed our sister, and she represented a kind of mediator between myself and Luna. When we would have spats and fights, she would always be there to stand between us and calmly talk us off of our soapboxes. When there would be disagreement, she would try and work out compromises between us. In short, she was the best of us. She exuded love and wonder, and we always strove to make her happy.”

“So, then, why did things go so wrong?” I asked.

“We were all around the same age when Celestia and I discovered our power to raise the sun and the moon. Thanks to this, as you know, Star Swirl created the position of princess and crowned us the first rulers of Equestria. But Mountain Mist did not discover her talent, and remained a blank flank. We could tell that our new position and influence was creating a barrier between us and her, and we did our best to knock it down. She was hurt that we were made Alicorns and she was not, and she had good reason to be. After all, she had spent her entire life making the lives of others better.”

“We begged Star Swirl to make her a princess as well,” Luna went on, “but he would not. He told us that our powers to raise the sun and the moon were what gave us the royal right to rule. She had not demonstrated such power or ability, so she was not granted the title. This revelation tore our souls in twain, and we spent the next few days in grief. We wanted our little sister beside us, helping to rule and create better lives for everypony.”

“So, because Star Swirl refused to crown her, we decided to create the position of Prime Minister,” Celestia said, “that way, she could still have some type of influence and remain beside us. She might not have been on the same level as us, but she was still our second-in-command, and she was very happy with this. She also discovered that her special talent was, indeed, being a comfort and joy to others. Her cutie mark of a motherly figure watching over the lives of everypony reflected this.”

“Life was beautiful once again,” Luna said, “until the seeds of hatred and doubt were planted in Mountain’s heart. Somepony, we’re not sure who it was, told her that Celestia and I were collaborating and plotting against her. They said we wanted to have her killed so that we could rule Equestria with iron hooves. When she broke into our throne room angrily one day and demanded that we answer these accusations, we vehemently denied them. Of course, we wouldn’t plot against our own sister! We loved Mountain Mist, and we loved having her as our Prime Minister!”

“But she didn’t believe us,” Celestia said, “so she donned a black outfit and a blood red cape. She drew a symbol based on her cutie mark, only this time the motherly figure was a monster, murdering everyone and destroying everything that dared stand against her. That is the symbol found at the bottom of the scroll here.” She pointed at the demonic signature at the base of the parchment.

“We didn’t think it was possible, but here it was happening,” Luna said, “our sweet, wonderful Mountain Mist turned into the deranged and destructive Dystopia. She swore off her kindness and vowed that the blood of ponies would stain the cobblestones of our village. She made good on her promise, as she went out and began killing ponies left and right. Nopony was safe, so we evacuated the village. Then, to top it all off, she stood on a high hill and shot a magic blast into our palace that set it aflame.”

“We didn’t know what to do,” Celestia admitted, “our village was destroyed, ponies were dead, and our palace was gone. So we set off on a journey with the ponies who had made it out and wound up in The Everfree Forest, where our friends helped us build The Castle of the Two Sisters. From there, we sent out forces to capture Dystopia and they succeeded. We brought her in and, with tears in our eyes, banished her to the frozen wastes of Siponia. We figured that she couldn’t hurt anypony there, and she would end up dying sooner or later. I guess…we were wrong about that last part.”

Twilight wiped tears from her eyes. I could tell that she had seen the error of her ways, and now knew just why Dystopia had been kept a secret. If word that a pony like that existed got out, there was no telling what kind of damage it could do. Ponies running amok, fear spreading like wildfire. It would be utter chaos.

“I’m so sorry I exploded,” my beloved said, “I just didn’t know…”

“It’s alright, Twilight,” Celestia said, bending forward and hugging her former student, “I understand your anger. I would be angry if somepony I knew and was close with was dishonest with me. But this time…honesty was not the best policy.”

“If Dystopia came to light, there would have been a mass panic,” Luna said, voicing my own thoughts, “ponies might have trampled each other in their haste to escape, and small foals might have been seriously hurt or worse. Keeping Dystopia locked in the prison of our hearts was the best thing.”

“But now…she’s back.” Celestia said, “and I have no earthly idea how, or what to do to stop her.”

A Broadcast Interruption

Author's Note

So...being the curious individual that I am, I've seen a lot of videos of famous times when television signals were interrupted by the strange and the bizarre. The Captain Midnight Incident, The Max Headroom Incident, The Vrillon Incident. You name it, I've seen it. So, I thought it would make an interesting facet within my story. Keep reading and find out just what I mean. Enjoy!

A Broadcast Interruption

I felt the rustling next to me, and silently rolled over to find a pair of wide purple eyes staring back. They betrayed the fear that my beloved mate was feeling, so I wrapped my hooves around her and pulled her close. Her soft coat brushed against mine, but I didn’t feel the loving warmth that normally abounded within those brushes. Instead, I found a chilling fright and an anxiety unmatched by anything. Sweat poured down her brow, and I knew something was terribly wrong.

“Twilight, love,” I whispered as I cuddled her closer, “please calm down! You’re scaring me!”

“She…she’s here…” Twilight’s voice was at my level, but it seemed so much louder due to the rasp that infected it, “…this…Dystopia…is here…and we can’t do anything about it!”

“Twilight,” I said, “I know that it’s frightening, but you aren’t an overanxious, scared pony. You’re Princess Twilight Sparkle, Daughter of the Sun and Ruler of Equestria! I mean, for Celestia’s sake, songs are written about how brave you are! Ponies speak of your friendship from Canterlot to Applewood and back! You cannot let somepony you haven’t even met spark such fright. We have to be brave, for the ponies we all care so much about, and especially for little Diamond. We have to show her that it’s okay to be scared, but it’s not okay to back yourself into a corner and squeal like a small animal!”

Twilight’s look turned angry. “You sit there, spouting that nonsense, when I’ve had the most terrifying dream ever! Do you not care for me anymore?”

“Of course I care for you!”

“If you did, then you’d agree that this is the most unnerving thing to happen in Equestrian history! You’re playing it off like ‘oh, it’s just another villain, and the magic of friendship will defeat them in the end.’ But what if it doesn’t? Hm? She’s already managed to kill two of my best friends! The other three might be next on her hit list! Did you think of that?!”

“Twilight, you’re being unreasonable…and for you, that’s incredibly difficult!” I whispered desperately, “it was just a dream, my love. My care and affection for you will never die, you know that. But I believe this Dystopia character has gotten to you. I thought you were gonna stop the mental breakdowns.”

“You know I still…have them periodically.”

I looked back at Twilight as I realized that she was right. Her frazzled, grief stricken mind couldn’t bear the thought of her other friends being forcibly taken from her. The dream world had given her an awful scenario, and I was not prepared to ask her to relive it. I recognized that my small speech about bravery had fallen on ears that needed to hear something completely different, so I pulled her in even closer and lovingly nuzzled her cheek.

“I’m sorry, darling,” I told her honestly, “I should have been more comforting.”

“No,” she said softly, “you’re right. I’m nothing but a coward. Even Fluttershy is braver than me.”

“You know damn well that isn’t true,” I said as I kissed her face, “you’re the bravest pony in Equestria. But even the bravest can get startled. Hell, I’m startled. This is somepony who could very well bring our way of life and our nation to a grinding halt. She could kill everypony, and it feels like she could do it with one flick of her horn. It’s only natural to be scared of something so deadly.”

She smiled at me and returned my nuzzle. She pulled me into a kiss and, once again, the whole world felt in order. Her mouth opened to me, and I was able to explore it properly. The love I felt while engaging in such an interaction was absolute, and when we broke apart, our very bed felt like it was floating. “It feels like we just made love” Twilight said bluntly.

“I think we did, in a way. Any time I’m able to commune with you, it’s a form of lovemaking. We don’t need to actually mate in order to make love, and I believe that firmly. Just one kiss is all it takes for our love to flow…”

The rest of the night was so peaceful that you could have heard a pin drop. We slept in each other’s warm embrace, dreaming sweet dreams of our love and what we wanted for the future. When we awoke, Twilight told me that her nightly thoughts had taken an amazing turn for the better. She said that her dream had gone from a nightmare of Dystopia to a beautiful field where the ponies of Equestria were happy and thrived. Dystopia had been erased, and everypony was satisfied with life. But most of all, our small family was there as well, and Diamond was growing in both knowledge and beauty.

We trotted down to where Celestia and Luna had breakfast stirring on the stove. I had refused to give up my meat eating humanness, and had brought a lot of carnivorous leanings into Equestria. Thus, I became the first meat eating pony in its history, although I tried not to do it in public. But Celestia and Luna were very accommodating, and had cooked up some of the frozen turkey sausage I had brought along for the trip. It was easy to keep it frozen on the way there. Magic can do wonders, my friends, and one of those wonders is keeping frozen food from spoiling.

The rest of breakfast looked scrumptious. Fluffy eggs sat next to a bowl of nicely colored gravy. Celestia was pulling some biscuits out of their oven, and she gently laid the tray next to the bowl. There were apples and oranges for the fruit lovers in the home, and some small granola bars were laid out next to them. Luna poured each of us a glass of orange juice, and then she poured some tea for herself and her sister.

They had the television channel E1 playing, and the national morning news reports were blaring. Their lead story was the continuing investigation of the Ponyville fire. We noted that the knowledge of Dystopia’s letter had not been made public just yet, and we were very thankful for it. I certainly didn’t want to start any type of mass panic, and it seemed that things were going just fine. The ponies went about their daily business, and nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Now, for our ‘Feel Good Story of the Day,’” the anchor pony said as she smiled, “two foals have started a small charity to help the poorest ponies among us, and three wealthy philanthropists have gotten involved. Bright Sparks and Aurora Beams, two fillies from Manehattan, began helping the less fortunate when they were very small. Now Rarity, the official Royal Fashion Designer, Fancy Pants, the pony known as the richest outside of the royal family, and Carneighgie Rockhoofeller, the savvy business pony, have all agreed to contribute to their charity.”

“Aw, that’s so wonderful!” Celestia exclaimed, “it certainly does one a great deal of good to see their fellow ponies helping each other, no matter what kind of life they’re living. That’s a great tenet of true friendship.”

“Indeed it is, Celestia,” Twilight said approvingly.

“Sources say,” the anchor went on, “that Bright Sparks and Aurora Beams are-“

Suddenly, the screen went black and static met our eyes and ears. Little Diamond became frightened and leapt into Twilight’s embrace, quaking. “Mommy, what happened to the nice anchor pony?”

“I…don’t know, sweetie,” Twilight said, “we’ll just have to wait and see.”

The static persisted for a few more seconds before a new broadcast cut in. This one was grainy and looked as if it had been filmed by amateurs. But the message was clear. The pony on screen wore black and a blood red cape. You could tell that it was a mare, and that she was very angry. Her scowl reached through the graininess and slapped us all square in the jaw. Diamond quaked even more and hid her face under Twilight’s wing.

“PONIES,” the dark figure said through a bit of a garbled, manufactured voice, “THIS IS YOUR WARNING. I AM DYSTOPIA…AND I AM COMING FOR YOU. FOR TOO LONG, YOU HAVE BEEN HIDING UNDER THE ROCKS OF THE MONARCHY. I AM HERE TO BRING TRUTH TO YOU, AND REMOVE THE DEBRIS OF YOUR PETULENT, MISERABLE LIVES. I SET PONYVILLE ABLAZE, AND YOUR SO-CALLED LEADERSHIP IS TOO SCARED TO TELL YOU. I SPREAD TRUTH, AND TRUTH ALONE. YOU CAN CALL IT OPINION ALL YOU WANT, BUT KNOW THAT IT IS THE UNABASHED, UNASHAMED TRUTH. SOON, CANTERLOT ITSELF WILL FALL AND EVERYPONY WILL KNOW TO FEAR AND TREMBLE AT MY NAME. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WILL EITHER BE ENSLAVED OR DESTROYED, AND BLOOD WILL RUN IN RIVERS! I AM THE EMPRESS OF DEATH ITSELF, AND MY REIGN WILL LAST FOREVER! NOPONY CAN STOP ME, AND IF YOU EVEN THINK FOR ONE SECOND THAT YOUR FRIENDSHIPS CAN CRUSH MY PLANS…THINK AGAIN. I AM DYSTOPIA…AND I’M BRINGING HELL.”

The screen went black again and returned to the news anchor, who had an absolutely shocked look on her face. She gulped a bit and tried to smooth things over. “Um…uh…we here at the E1 television network do apologize for that interruption. We do, however, wish to state that this was not our doing. We have been hacked by somepony. If you know who this pony is, please contact our main office or your local police department. I am being told that, because of this, we are going to cut our news show short and end our broadcast day very early so we can investigate. As always, thank you for tuning in and continuing to make E1 your number one source for news, weather, and sports. Good day, everypony.”

With that, the screen turned blue and the message “E1 will no longer be broadcasting at this time” was displayed. I turned to Twilight with a devastated look on my face. Not only was Dystopia sending written threats, but now she had managed to hack into the biggest television network in the country. “We have a situation on our hooves,” I managed to get out.

“Yes, we do,” my bride replied, “yes, we do.”

Twilight's Speech

We raced back to Canterlot as quickly as possible and burst into the main offices of the E1 Television Network. What we saw was chaotic. Since nothing like this had ever happened in the history of televised programming in Equestria, nopony knew what to do. Everyone was running around screaming at each other, and nopony was actually accomplishing anything. Some of them were on their computers, busily trying to figure out just why they’d been hacked. Others were rushing around proclaiming that the end of the very world was nigh. Some tried to end their lives, but were thankfully saved by their friends.

Papers flew around the room, and chairs were knocked over. The cups of coffee that had been calmly consumed only moments before had their partial contents scattered over the carpet. The small cubicles that everypony worked in were trampled under hoof, and everything that was normally said in a very subdued voice was now shouted at the top of one’s lungs. I decided I had heard enough of this nonsense. “SILENCE!” I shouted in my Royal Canterlot Voice. It shook the very foundations of the building, and everypony stopped and bowed to our family.

“Arise,” Twilight said softly, and everyone did, “listen, everypony. This is no way to behave or react to a crisis! We must ensure that everypony is evacuated from Canterlot safely and orderly. We don’t want foals or older ponies to get hurt in this. If we begin panicking, then Dystopia has won. We must stay calm and show her that we aren’t going down, we’re simply regrouping for a counterattack. It’s time for all of Equestria to understand that fear is not the response we need right now.” She turned to Filly T. Farnsworth, the mare responsible for bringing television to Equestria, and the head of E1. “Filly, give me a camera and a microphone, and for Celestia’s sake, watch out for another intrusion!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Filly responded, and then turned to her crew, “well, you heard the royal mare! Chop, chop!”

Instantly, a flurry of organized activity reverberated around the room. The ponies each knew their responsibility, and it was refreshing to see that they had taken Twilight’s encouraging words to heart. They no longer looked like the disorganized, tumultuous group that we had encountered when we arrived. Rather, they looked every bit of the part they had been chosen to play. It took a few moments, because they had ended their broadcast day and now had to quickly reset everything for Twilight, but they got it done.

In the meantime, I spoke with Inside Story, the anchor mare who had been interrupted by the frightening broadcast, and her partner, Breaking News.

“Inside, I’m so sorry that things happened the way they did,” I said sincerely.

“It’s quite alright, Your Majesty,” Inside responded, “I’m just happy to see everypony working together again. Right after Dystopia went off the air, it was sheer chaos around here. Everyone was running amok and nopony was listening. Poor Filly was trying to rally everyone and find out just what happened and why we’d been interrupted, but she was drowned out. I’m very thankful you and Princess Twilight showed up when you did.”

“As am I,” her older stallion co-anchor said, “what we feared came to reality, and not only here. We’ve gotten reports from all over Equestria of panic in the streets and violent outbursts from ponies. It seems that everypony has forgotten the lessons of friendship and trust that you’ve tried to teach us. Instead of working together to find a solution to the problem, most ponies are just tossing each other out of the way in a mad dash to escape.”

I trembled as horrifying images of small ponies getting trampled by the bigger ones flashed through my head. This is exactly why Celestia and Luna kept Dystopia a secret, I told myself, but now Dystopia has chosen to reveal herself, and nopony’s safe. I can understand their fear. I’m scared, too. But like Twilight said, being apprehensive and fearful is NOT the way to deal with this. I just hope she’s able to get through to everypony.

“Your Majesty,” Breaking said, “I believe your wife is about to begin.”

I looked up and saw a rather beautiful sight. There sat Twilight behind a small desk that had a small print out of the Seal of Equestria on it. She looked absolutely regal and confident, and I fell in love with her once again. I smiled as my heart thudded against my chest, and she looked to me and nodded. I nodded back, silently conveying every drop of love my being had to offer, and I could tell that she received it. She smiled at me and then looked back at the camera as the floor operator pumped his hoof three times before pointing to her. The following is an exact transcription of one of the most gorgeous speeches in pony history:

“My fellow Equestrians. I bid you peace and harmony, wherever you might be in our wonderful nation on this day. Earlier today, Equestria was attacked with great malice aforethought by one of our most dangerous and powerful enemies. I am not even going to speak her name, because I do not wish to give her that satisfaction. In truth, she has nothing to be satisfied of. She has endangered the lives of many, and slaughtered two of my closest friends in the Ponyville fire. She has caused many to be sent into a state of insanity such that we’ve never seen before. She has nothing to be satisfied of, and everything to be ashamed of.

But my subjects, I implore you to show her that Equestria is strong in the face of this adversity. I beg of you to show just why friendship is such a core tenet of what we believe here. Help, don’t hinder. If you see a small foal who has been separated from its parents, help them. If you see an elderly pony struggling to move, help them. Do not panic or flee your homes in a mass exodus of blood and violence. Instead, look to yourselves and each other for guidance and protection. We will do the same. Please, keep friendship and harmony in your hearts, and do not fall to the fear and anguish that this enemy has tried to instill. Instead, show her that we are unbreakable as a nation. Show her your individuality, and show her that individuals standing together cannot be stopped.

Just because we may leave our homes behind does NOT mean she’s broken us. We are simply regrouping. In order to accomplish this task, I am ordering an organized evacuation of all major Equestrian cities. I am NOT ordering a retreat and I am NOT ordering you to flee. I am simply asking that we get all of our foals and elderly loved ones to safety should something occur. Everypony within the sound of my voice is ordered to do so. My husband and I will send out forces to help with this. We shall be leaving the Canterlot Castle as well and going to an undisclosed location for Diamond’s safety. Until we meet again, may the light of Celestia’s sun shine and light your path. Ave quod Mannulus. Hail Equestria.”

Hard Head's Fate

Remember Hard Head, the foal who made light of Twilight and myself and bullied others earlier in the story? Well, he plays a rather big role in all of this, and it all started when we arrived at our evacuation site. Cadance, Shining Armor, and the teenage Flurry Heart met us there, albeit with some fussing from their filly. She had recently become enamored with a member of their castle guard, and she saw no reason why they had to evacuate The Crystal Empire when the fire had been in Ponyville.

“But, Mom,” she complained as they walked into Celestia and Luna’s home in Silver Shoals (our “undisclosed location”), “Valorous Swift and I were just about to kiss!”

“You were NOT going to kiss that stubborn young stallion!” Cadance said, “you’re too young to be thinking of such things.”

“Didn’t you fall in love once, Mom?”

Cadance rolled her eyes, and I had to keep from laughing. “Yes, sweetheart, I did. But I was much older when I met and began loving your father. Now, why don’t you go play with your cousin?”

Flurry huffed and pouted a bit, thinking that her entire future had come crashing down around her ears. I heard her mutter something about “stupid evacuation” and “that HUNK Valorous” as she trotted off down the hall to see Diamond. She truly loved her cousin, and Diamond reciprocated the love fully. I just hoped that our filly’s sweet and gentle affection would be enough to pull Flurry out of her bad attitude.

“Hi, Cadance,” I said as I embraced my sister-in-law, “I would normally offer the traditional assumption that everything is well in your home, but…”

She pulled back and smiled sadly. “You’d do well to avoid that assumption right now. Everything went to absolute hell when Dystopia made her television debut. Ponies were scrambling over each other, and Shining Armor and our forces had to become violent with some in order to keep some kind of structure.”

“It was terrible!” Shining said as he trotted up next to his wife, “The Crystal Ponies were in a panic, screaming that Sombra had returned and a new millennium of darkness was upon them. I felt awful about having to become physical with one or two of them, but they would have attacked others just to escape. We needed to create at least the illusion of peace and order.”

Twilight came up beside me and hugged her older brother and sister-in-law. “I wish we could meet under happier circumstances,” she said as she pulled away.

“Me too, Twilight,” Cadance said, “I keep telling you that we need to get together when Equestria isn’t on the line.”

The two chuckled, finding comfort in each other. I loved watching them interact. The love that they had shared from the time Twilight was a filly had continued, and it was unbreakable. They had faced so much together, and they were not about to surrender to this evil. I noted the determined glint in each of their eyes, and I felt peaceable about the whole situation. We’ll make it through, I told myself, I don’t know how, but I just feel like we will.

Suddenly, a small knock was heard. We all gathered against each other, preparing for the worst should Dystopia come barging in. We knew that we had kept our evacuation site a classified secret, but we also knew that things have ways of leaking out. So we readied ourselves for disaster. “Alright,” Celestia said, “Cadance, you open the door and we’ll cover you.”

Cadance nodded and weaved her magic over the handle. After a moment of thought, and perhaps to reflect on her entire life, she opened it…and the small colt, Hard Head stood before us. We were shocked, to say the least. We had no idea how he’d gotten there, nor where his parents were. But Celestia, kind soul that she is, gently stepped forward and bent down to nuzzle and comfort the young one. “Little colt,” she said, not knowing his name, “how did you get here?”

“My aunt dropped me off,” Hard Head managed to squeak out.

He looked absolutely terrified, like he had just seen the world’s most grotesque apparition. Celestia took great pity on him and shielded him with her wing. Even though she was no longer a Princess, her Alicorn abilities and powers had not been removed. She would remain that way until she was entombed. She trotted Hard Head over to where we were, after shutting the door and locking it with a very powerful magic.

“Do you know this young pony?” She asked us.

“Of course we do!” Twilight said happily, “this is Diamond’s friend, Hard Head. My only question is…how did his aunt know we were staying here?”

“She just said she knew,” Hard Head said, “and then she plopped me on the front porch and took off. Oh, she left this note that I’m supposed to give to you.”

Here, he turned and pulled the small parchment out of his saddlebag. Twilight magically took it and opened it. As she read it, I could see the chills running down her spine. I managed to peek at it from over her shoulder, and I felt the same reverberations. This is what it said:

Royal Fools,

This pitiful colt is now yours. Do whatever you wish with him, because I don’t care now and I never did. He was thrust upon me by the hoof of fate itself, and he’s been nothing but a nuisance and a hindrance. Hard Head is a very fitting name for such a dumb colt. He’s worthless to me, but I figure…worthless ponies ought to be put together. So he’s yours. For the record, I hate all of you, but especially that brat. I would have killed him, but he wasn’t even worth the bloodshed or wear and tear on my horn. I hope you all rot in hell.

Dystopia

Twilight immediately bent down and wrapped the colt up in an embrace, trying desperately to show him that somepony cared. “How awful!” She cried, “to treat a young foal this way is the most despicable evil anypony can commit! Hard Head…or is that your name?”

He shook his head. “My real name is Silver Blaze, but my aunt took it away and named me Hard Head.”

“Listen, Silver,” I said, using his real name and eschewing the insulting old one, “that pony was not your aunt. She was-“

“-Dystopia, I know.” Silver finished, “She killed my Mommy and Daddy in front of me, but I was too scared to go for help. I was forced to help her intrude on the E1 broadcast, and I was forced…to…help her set Ponyville on fire!”

The poor colt began sobbing, and Twilight tightened her embrace. Love and friendship, like a magic aura, wafted off of her and infused itself into him and he grasped her back. “Nopony cares about me!” The young one cried, “I have no friends!”

“That’s not true!” Twilight said in desperation, “Diamond’s your friend!”

“She won’t want to be that anymore when she learns what I’ve done.”

Cadance smiled and bent down to nuzzle the foal. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Silver Blaze,” she said kindly, “you were forced into it by that horrible Dystopia.”

Suddenly, we heard a small gasp from the other side of the room. Diamond and Flurry had come in and found us all trying to console Silver. Diamond trotted across the room and gave him the sweetest hug I’ve ever seen. Tears played with the corners of my eyes as I watched our beloved filly bring friendship and harmony to somepony else. Twilight arose and stood next to me, and I noticed the same liquid in her eyes.

“It’s okay…Silver Blaze,” Diamond said. It became apparent that she had heard most of the conversation, and was now willing to call him by his new moniker. “I’ll always be your friend,” she went on, “no matter what. That’s what friendship is. We can’t let it die in the face of this evil. Mommy taught me that, and now I need to act upon it.”

With that, she tightened her hug, and Silver returned it. The two friends sat motionless for a while, and I could tell that they were just enjoying the feeling of being together. You’ve done a hell of a lot of good, my love, I silently told Twilight, but this might be your greatest accomplishment yet. Just seeing friendship abound between these two is amazing. If this kind of amiability can be fostered within everypony, then Dystopia wouldn’t have a chance in hell.

Twilight must have read my thoughts. “I’m so proud of these two,” she said, “for they are embodying the true spirit of friendship. It is their innocence that we must defend against Dystopia and all of the evil she brings. We must fight to the bitter end for Equestria, and we must not allow ourselves to waver from the things we’ve taught ourselves and each other. Friendship must reign supreme, both now…and forevermore.”

Dystopia's Challenge

One of the darkest times of our lives had quickly turned into one of the happiest. For, you see, after Diamond showed her care and friendship to young Silver Blaze, we decided to make him a part of our family. The adoption was met with great enthusiasm by everypony present in the room, and I swear Cadance, Celestia, and Luna were shedding tears of joy. But nothing could have topped the excitement of our new son, who bounced around our hooves in delight. “I can’t believe it!” He cried, “I’ve got a family! I’ve got a sister! I’ve…got…ponies who care about me!”

Diamond grasped her new brother once again, and my smile somehow stretched even further. I noted that Silver wasn’t excited about the royal connotations his name now held. I don’t even think he cared. He was simply thrilled to the core to have ponies in his life who loved and cared for him once again. We had invited him over to the castle on numerous occasions, and he had gladly accepted, so we knew him very well, and had begun to love him in the process. We had always considered him to be our son, and now we had the opportunity to make that title a reality.

Our filly was just as excited as Silver was, and she wouldn’t stop holding him. The two foals gleefully jumped up and down, squealing their excitement to the ceiling above. Twilight picked Silver up and set him on her back. “Now, then,” she said, “if you’re going to be our son, you need something you don’t have right now. It is a mark borne of bravery, friendship, and harmony. It is the same symbol that your new father, myself, Diamond, and pretty much everypony else in this room has. Silver, as the newest Equestrian prince, you’ll need these.”

With that, Twilight set Silver down and gently weaved magic over him. He cried out as the transformation took place, and I was reminded of the day I became an Alicorn. But after a few seconds, the pain ebbed away and he stood, spreading his new wings and admiring his new horn. “Whoa!” He breathed before turning to Diamond, “I feel…different.”

“That’s because you’re an Alicorn now!” She squealed happily, “you can do magic and fly with me!”

“I can?”

Twilight nodded, placing a wing around Silver. “Of course, my Silver. You represent the crossroads between the three pony species: Earth Pony, Unicorn, and Pegasus alike. With these new implements, you are also charged with new responsibilities. When Stony Tail and I pass into our graves and sleep forever, you and Diamond shall take over Equestria.”

The small colt’s eyes grew wide. “I…I’m gonna help rule Equestria someday?”

“Indeed you will,” Twilight said, “as our son and daughter, it is up to the two of you to ensure that friendship and harmony are upheld in all aspects of Equestrian society.”

As the smiles continued to abound around the room, and Diamond and Silver explored their new status as brother and sister, a sudden static noise was heard from the television set. The screen still displayed the message that had been put up when E1 went off the air a few days before, but the tranquil blue screen was suddenly broken into by yet another intrusion. This time, Dystopia made herself plain, and she was filming it live from Manehattan.

“PRINCESS TWILIGHT,” Dystopia said fiercely, “I NO LONGER NEED TO HIDE AND I NO LONGER NEED TO RACE ABOUT IN THE SHADOWS. IT IS TIME FOR YOU AND I TO SETTLE THINGS BETWEEN US. THE FUTURE OF EQUESTRIA IS ON THE LINE IN ONE FINAL FIGHT. I DON’T WANT YOUR FRIENDS INVOLVED, NOR YOUR FAMILY. I WANT YOU, YOU PUTRID PURPLE PAIN IN MY ASS! THE CLOCK OF EQUESTRIA IS TICKING THROUGH ITS FINAL HOURS, AND IF YOU’LL LOOK OUT THE NEAREST WINDOW, YOU’LL SEE EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!”

Dystopia’s broadcast didn’t end, but she launched into another fit of evil cackling. Twilight nervously walked over to a window…and broke into tears. Her lips quivered, and the happy atmosphere that had blanketed the room only seconds before was shattered. I joined her at the window and saw a horrifying sight. The beautiful blue skies of Equestria had turned an evil black and orange. Fire after fire burned through the country’s exquisite cities. From the quiet homes of Silver Shoals, one could see most of the country spread out like a carpet, only that carpet had been set ablaze.

“Take our children to their room, now,” Twilight silently said, “they don’t need to see this.”

“Mommy, what’s happening?” Diamond asked.

“Go to your room, Diamond,” Twilight said, “and know that I love you, no matter what.”

Celestia and Luna ushered the foals back to their now shared room, and I turned back to Twilight. “Twi, what are you gonna do?”

“I’m answering her challenge…” were the words that emanated from a now royally pissed off Twilight. I had never heard her growl that way before, but it was rather attractive. I loved being married to a mare with such confidence in herself and her friends. She was never arrogant about it, but she always carried an air of quiet tenacity about her. But this was an angered Twilight I had never seen before. Gone was the frantically grieving Twilight, and now she was more than willing to fight and die for her friends and Equestria.

“OKAY, YOU BITCH!” Dystopia suddenly shrieked from the television, “I’M HEADING TO CANTERLOT! IF YOU AREN’T THERE IN THE NEXT HOUR TO FIGHT ME, I’M GONNA SET THE DAMN THING ON FIRE! UNTIL YOU ARRIVE, I’M GONNA GO HOUSE BY HOUSE AND KILL EVERY LAST PONY I FIND! THE EMPRESS OF DEATH’S REIGN BEGINS NOW! LONG LIVE EQUESTRIA’S NEW QUEEN!”

With that, the broadcast went completely black. Twilight ground her teeth together and magically removed her crown. “Keep this…” she said with venom in her voice, “…until after I destroy her.”

“I’m coming with you, Twilight!” I said firmly, “there’s nothing and nopony that could ever separate us.”

“While I appreciate your thoughts and reciprocate them to the fullest extent, this is something I need to do with nopony else there,” Twilight said, “I need to kill her…and that’s not easy for me to accept. Friendship won’t solve this problem, and neither will our love.”

“But…Twilight…I…I love you!”

She turned and threw her hooves around me. Before I could say anything, she pulled me into one of the deepest kisses we’d ever shared. When we broke for air, she smiled at me. “I love you so very much as well, Stony Tail,” she said sincerely, “but even I can see where the limits are. This isn’t Tirek or Chrysalis or anypony else where my friends and I or you and I can just sing a song and fire rainbow lasers at them and beat them. Baby, this is a pony that will KILL others just because she can. The other villains wanted Equestria. This villain wants the lives of the ponies who inhabit it, and I CANNOT allow that to happen! If I don’t make it back here in a day’s time…then assume the worst and come to Canterlot, but leave Silver and Diamond here. Until then…I must be alone. I cannot allow other ponies to watch me spill blood. Please…tell the foals…I love them.”

With that, she kissed my cheek and flew off to Canterlot.

A Familial Sacrifice

I was broken as I watched my beloved’s beautiful flowing tail disappear into the distance. She was flying so fast that I hardly had time to call out after her. Tears once again toyed with my retinas as she faded further and further off. Be safe, darling, I silently said to her, and return to us…return…to me.

Suddenly, I felt a small tug on my leg. I looked down to see Diamond and Silver standing there. The new siblings looked a little bit guilty for disobeying the directive to stay in their room, but they also looked genuinely concerned. At a time like this, I knew I needed all of the love and support I could get, so I smiled down at them and allowed both foals to scramble onto my back. They tucked themselves in beside my wings and Diamond bent forward to whisper in my ear.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Where did Mommy go?”

I didn’t know how to answer. Obviously, allowing the young ponies to know just where their mother had gone and with whom she was preparing to do battle was out of the question. It would frighten them to the core, and plant the seeds of nightmares in their heads. But on the other hoof, I couldn’t lie to them. I couldn’t tell them that “Mommy’s gone to the store” or “Mommy’s gone to get her mane done,” or anything like that. They could see the vicious skies burning just as much as I could, and they knew Equestria was in trouble.

I sighed and gently set them on Celestia and Luna’s couch. I took up residence in between them and they cuddled into my coat. I looked down at them and thought of how precious and important they were to me. Their wide eyes that once spoke of wonder and laughter now spoke of a great fear, and I could feel the vibrations of their trembling. Everything rippled up and down my coat, which exacerbated my own nerves, and I wondered just how I was going to answer my beloved filly’s question.

“Well, sweetheart, Mommy’s gone to…try and help everypony.”

That answer was honest and it also masked the blatant brutality their mother was flying into. I smiled to myself as I thought I had successfully dodged the question by not dodging it. But then Silver opened his mouth. “Did she go to fight my old aunt?”

Of course. The colt just had to ask. Now I was cornered, and the two foals looked at me with silent requests for knowledge. Their wordless pleas could be heard from there to Manehattan and back…or at least, that’s what I thought. I sighed as I realized that full disclosure was what the foals deserved, but what I didn’t want to do was bludgeon them with it. So I got up and knelt before them, taking each of their faces with one hoof.

“Listen, you two. First of all, I want to say that there’s no reason to fear. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

“Fine?!” Diamond asked in a sudden panic, “Daddy, how can you say that?! The skies are burning, and Equestria’s on fire! How can you sit there and think that everything’s gonna be fine?! What’s worse, Mommy’s gone to try and beat Dystopia all on her own! You don’t have to say it, I know it! It’s easy to ascertain that kind of knowledge when it’s written all over your face! Why didn’t you go with her? She’ll never be able to beat Dystopia! She’ll die, Daddy! She’s gonna die!”

I suddenly grabbed my filly and looked straight in her small purple eyes. “No!” I said firmly, but calmly, “your mother is NOT going to die, do you hear me?! Your mother is NOT going to die!”

“Yes, she will!” Silver suddenly cried, “I just gained a mother and now I’m gonna lose her!”

The two foals began crying on each other and I was at a loss. I understood their fright and worry, but I also didn’t want them to lose hope. So all I could do was shelter them with my wings and try my best to calm them. “Sh…” I told them, “…I promise you everything will be alright. I know that this entire situation is scary, but I need for the two of you to be strong and brave in the face of it.”

I turned to my new son and wiped the tears off his cheek. “Silver, buddy, I need you to trust me on this. I’m your new Daddy, and I would never tell you something if I didn’t believe in it with my whole heart. I understand your worry, and I know that you have first hoof experience in dealing with the violence your old ‘aunt’ perpetrates. But I also know the heart that beats in the chest of Twilight Sparkle, and we must be there to support it, even from afar. We’re the stallions of the family, which means we have to uphold standards of bravery and courage. But that doesn’t always mean we get our hooves dirty. Sometimes supporting close friends and family when the hurricanes of evil arise takes just as much bravery as fighting.”

I saw Silver’s look brighten just a little bit, though he still looked worried. I then turned to my filly. “My precious little Diamond,” I told her, “I need you to believe the same thing. You are just as beautiful and confident as your mother is, and I need you to tap into every ounce of that energy you have for her. She may not be able to see or hear us right now, but she can feel us. You’ve studied friendship and harmony all your life, and you know this better than anypony, and we need to believe that right now. Your mother may be in the fight of her life down there, but she’s not alone. We’re all in this together.”

“You’re right, Daddy,” Diamond said as she suddenly matured very rapidly. She was still the same filly, but her eyes now glowed and her body seemed to float above the couch. “I must believe…for you, my precious mother. My entire life you’ve nurtured me and cared for me, and now I must repay the favor. You’ve taught me friendship, and because of that, I have gained my beloved brother. I have to repay it…my life will not be complete until I do.”

I watched in shock as Diamond floated out of the nearest open window and shot off towards Canterlot. I had no idea whether or not she was controlling herself, or if something had gotten ahold of her. I grabbed Silver Blaze and put him on my back before taking off for Canterlot myself. Please, let her be alright, I silently begged, let my darling be alright. Don’t let me find her bloodstained carcass on the ground…just let her be alright.

I heard flapping behind me, and I turned and noticed that Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor and his family were all hot on our metaphorical heels. I nodded with gratitude at the ex-raiser of the sun, and she smiled back at me. She flipped a bit of her pink mane out of her eye and flew up beside me. “What are you gonna do?” She asked me.

“If we get there and Diamond has been harmed in any way, she’s gonna be our number one priority. If Twilight is hurt badly, then I’ll do my best to intervene and hold Dystopia off until you all can help her. But at this point, I have the two most important mares in my life locked in a deadly battle, so I might shout some stuff that doesn’t make a lot of sense. If that happens, I want you to take over, Celestia.”

The wise pony nodded and we all descended towards the burning city. Oh, no! I said to myself, Twilight didn’t make it in time! I saw the beautifully constructed buildings of the grand city topple over on each other as the flames licked up the walls. I saw the remains of Rarity’s beloved boutique, charred beyond recognition. Restaurant Row was decimated, and Diamond’s favorite place to eat, The Tasty Treat, was gone. Only a damaged sign and a few burned tables remained. I hope to Celestia that everypony got out. We saw the magic blasts from afar, and we saw Diamond’s small body hurtling through the air towards them. “COME ON!” I screamed as we raced to the battle.

When we arrived, the sight horrified us. Blood was splattered against the stones of the once magnificent city. Twilight and Dystopia were both reeling, but it still terrified me to see the evil sorceress in the flesh for the first time. She had removed her cloak and cape and now fought hoof to hoof with my bride. I could also see her cutie mark, and the memory of Celestia and Luna’s story broke my heart. It was the same beautiful motherly figure watching out for everypony, only it looked as if the evil one had used all her faculties to try and rid herself of it. But cutie marks, just like the fingerprints of a human, are special and unique. She could never truly be rid of it.

Now, the slashes between the powerful mares grew even more intense. Dystopia charged forward with teeth bared and bit down on Twilight’s shoulder. My bride howled in pain and I felt some jet through my veins as well. But I put on a brave face and fought back my tears. After all, if I broke down sobbing now, my new son would think I was a coward and a hypocrite. My speech needed to be substantiated, and I was determined to create the same determined atmosphere I demanded of him.

“This is what it all comes down to,” Celestia said, “two forces duking it out for the fate of a nation. Only this time, blood is involved. Oh, how I always wished ponies would never spill each other’s blood on Equestrian soil…or anywhere, for that matter!”

“Aunt Celestia,” Silver said, “my new Daddy says we need to be brave in the face of this evil.”

I smiled. My speech had gotten through after all, and I was very proud of him. It took a lot of guts to address Celestia this way, but I could tell she respected him for it. She bent down and nuzzled at his cheek. “You’re right, young Silver,” she said, “and I am very proud to have you in my family now.”

As I looked back to the fight, I saw Twilight get magically hurled through three buildings in a row. She got up with a look that would scare the devil himself and bolted after Dystopia. Now the two mares, one floating magically and one beating her ferocious wings, fought a devastating midair battle. I knew that, whoever fell out of the sky first, would be the loser. Fight, Twilight, I silently urged, fight!

Twilight unleashed a giant magic attack that sliced one foreleg away from Dystopia. Blood poured from the wound, but the tyrant didn’t stop. She flew at Twilight and chopped off a wing. Twilight howled in unimaginable pain as her former appendage fell uselessly to the ground below. My bride soon followed. She fought and fought to keep herself in the air, but to no avail. Her tattered, torn, and bleeding body fell and smacked the ground with such force, it left a small crater.

Dystopia lighted rather gracefully and slowly stepped toward my bride. “So…” she said, “…this is how it’s going to end for you, little pony. Trapped underneath the very one whom you fought so desperately to defeat. Watching your body go limp and lifeless will be a sheer delight. Allow me to end your petulant, miserable existence.”

She stood over Twilight, and I saw my bride give her a defiant look. For a moment, I thought she was going to fight back, but she was too tired. I saw her relax and accept her defeat. My mouth fell open and fear fixed my hooves to the spot. I wanted so badly to intervene on her behalf, but it just never happened. Fright gripped every aspect of my being, and my body wouldn’t obey my mind. Life moved in slow motion as Dystopia raised her horn, aiming for Twilight’s jugular vein.

But then, a purple blur shot out from somewhere and Diamond suddenly stood before Dystopia in a rage. Her mane flowed, and magic lightning seemed to shoot out of every single pore she had. “Dystopia,” she growled in a voice that sounded like thunder, “I will protect my mother with every fiber of my being. You can burn down our buildings, and kill our friends. But the power of family shall always endure. If that means I die and she lives, so be it!”

“As you wish…” Dystopia said and then, before either of us could do anything, she ran her horn straight through our daughter. “NO!” I cried, “DIAMOND!” But, I could only watch as our little filly convulsed on Dystopia’s horn and then was still. The breath had left her, along with the longevity magic. Our Diamond Sparkle was dead.

A Magic Gift

Author's Note

Hey, everyone! I hope you've enjoyed the story! Tomorrow, I'm gonna post the final chapter (and then do a comedic one chapter follow-up), but I truly hope that this has been an interesting tale. For those of you who read the first one, thank you for tuning in once again. For those of you who've only read this story, thank you as well. Now, it's time to see...well...where cutie marks come from.

A Magic Gift

My veins bulged. I had never been so angry. I screamed at the top of my lungs and finally broke free of my position astride the battlefield. I stormed across the bloodstained stones and leapt at Dystopia, hurling her off of Twilight and stabbing her over and over with my horn. The curses I called down upon her were terrifying, and I shocked myself with how angry I was. Her blood flowed, but every successive strike caused a perverse sense of pleasure to run through me. I was a vengeful father, reigning down hell upon the pony who had dared to harm my little princess.

Suddenly, I felt a strong pair of hooves pull me back. I shrieked and tried to get away. “LET ME AT THE BITCH!” I yelled, not realizing that small ears were still present, “LET ME AT HER! SHE TOOK DIAMOND FROM ME! SHE TOOK HER! SHE TOOK MY LITTLE FILLY AWAY! LET ME AT HER! LET ME AT HER!”

“Stony, stop!” An urgent voice sounded, “you don’t want to stoop to her level, do you?”

I stopped struggling as I recognized Twilight’s sweet voice. I turned and gazed upon her battered face and collapsed into her embrace. There was nothing to do now but cry as our filly’s body rested peacefully beside us. Our tears were many, yet they did nothing to take away the heartache. For the first time in my life, I considered suicide, although those thoughts were brushed away by the remembrance of my new son. He would still need a good father and mother to guide him through life, even if he no longer had a sister.

“She took our baby girl…” I choked out.

“I know,” Twilight sobbed, “and this hurts worse than Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s deaths put together. Our sweet filly…gone!”

“I’ll never get to…to…”

I couldn’t finish. My mind flooded with so many things I would never get to experience. I’d never get to guide her through her school years. I’d never get to watch her proudly graduate from Twilight’s School of Magic. I’d never get to take part in her wedding, and see her loving eyes grace the stallion she wanted for a mate. But the thing that hurt the most was the recognition that I would never get to see her grow up.

In our despair and heartbreak, we didn’t notice Dystopia rise behind us. Blood dripped from every pore as she hobbled on her three remaining legs. “Now…” she said, “…allow me to push you through the open gate so you might join your daughter in death.” She raised her horn, and we turned and held each other as we realized that this could be it. But suddenly a magic blast rang forth from somewhere, striking Dystopia back and shielding us from her violence.

Then, from out of thin air, a beautiful cloud of magic descended. It lighted softly, dropping off what appeared to be the spirit of a small filly. Now, I’ve never believed in the paranormal, but in my desolation and desperation I begged it to be Diamond’s ghost. But as the filly turned, my heart sank. “It’s not her…” I said.

“If you were looking for the dearly departed, I am not she,” the filly said in a soothing voice, “but perhaps I can alleviate your problem.”

She turned and fired a magic blast at Dystopia. “Arise, Mountain Mist,” she said kindly, “for you are not worthy of death. You have been found to be a pony with an excellent heart and a wonderful spirit. You shall not die, but you shall live out the rest of your days in service to your fellow pony. For that…is the lot in life I chose for you.”

As we watched, the dark and evil Dystopia melted into the ether, and in her place stood a very beautiful young mare. She had a bright green coat, with a mane of the purest turquoise. I assumed that this was Mountain Mist, and my thoughts were confirmed when Celestia and Luna burst into radiant smiles. They ran forward and grasped their sister. “Oh, Mountain Mist!” Celestia cried with happiness, “how we’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed you, too!” Mountain said as the tears came, “every single moment I was trapped inside Dystopia, I missed you. The evil forces of greed and avarice took over my heart and transformed me.”

“Just like me,” Luna said, “but I’ll tell you that story later.”

“Oh, I don’t care, it’s just so wonderful to see you after so many years!”

“Please…how did you keep yourself alive?” Celestia asked.

“I would have been dead had I remained Mountain Mist,” the unicorn responded, “but I was transformed into that wretched character, and her magic was what kept me alive. It rivaled that of yours, and I was given the same lifespan as an Alicorn. Essentially, I became an Alicorn without actually becoming an Alicorn.”

She then turned and looked at the destruction her hooves had wrought, and the dead filly that lay beside us. I could tell that her heart was back in the right place, and she stepped over to where we were and hugged both of us. “No words I say can erase what I did,” she said as she pulled back, “I shall take the shame to my grave for the crimes I committed as Dystopia. I despise every fire I set, and every death I caused. I was trying my hardest to come back, but the gates of life had been shut to me, and Dystopia ruled supreme in my heart. I allowed the avaricious seeds that were planted in my soul to germinate and grow into festering flowers of ugliness and evil. I hope…someday…you might be able to look upon me without anger, but for now, I would not blame you if you killed me right here and now.”

Twilight and I looked at each other, and we saw the deep pain in Mountain’s eyes. She was truly sorrowful and remorseful for everything she had done, and Twilight was the first to return her embrace. “I’ve learned a lot about friendship in my life,” my wife said as she winced from the pain of her wounds, “and one of the most important things…is to give everypony a second chance. I…forgive you, Mountain Mist.”

Twilight looked at me with longing eyes, begging me to do the right thing. I sighed and stepped to face my daughter’s killer. “Mountain, I can tell that, just as with Celestia and Daybreaker and Luna and Nightmare Moon, Dystopia wasn’t you. You would never wish harm upon anypony else, and that’s plain to see. I’m in terrible pain right now. I’m in the worst pain I’ve ever been in. I wanted to kill you in return for what you did, but…I can see now that…it wouldn’t solve anything. It would only brand me with the same murderous title. So…with that being said…I…forgive you as well.”

“I’m pleased to see that you all have recognized the spirit of friendship,” the filly’s spirit said as she glided to us, “and now, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Gift.”

“Gift?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, and this is the first time in eons that I have made myself known to ponykind. But in this case, I felt it was necessary. I knew that Mountain was Dystopia’s greatest prisoner, but I also knew of her determination to free herself. When that did not happen, I had to intervene.”

“So…where are you from, Gift?” I asked.

“I’m from nowhere, and I’m from everywhere,” the filly said cryptically, “and I am always young, because I represent the spirit of pure friendship and innocence that wafts off of every last stone, tree, crevice, and pony in Equestria. I am also responsible for cutie marks, and the bestowing of special talents on ponies.”

Twilight and I looked at each other. This was an amazing discovery! Nopony had ever been able to explain cutie marks nor where they came from, but now we had an answer! This ancient filly was the bearer and distributor of the mysterious markings. This is a bittersweet moment, I told myself, here is the giver of talents…and I no longer have a daughter to be able to present to her. Diamond will never know her special talent.

“Not so fast,” the filly said. I looked up. Had she read my mind? “Yes,” she said, putting a hoof up, “I can read your mind. It’s part and parcel of being an extension of the Original Magic that has populated the universe since before the dawn of this world. Your daughter has shown the ultimate tenet of friendship, that of sacrifice and the putting of other ponies before one’s self. I am prepared to raise her to life once again, and bequeath her with her special talent. You might consider her a close friend, Mountain Mist, for her talent shall be closely connected with your own.”

With that, Gift weaved beautiful, wondrous magic over our filly and gently restored her. The awful, bleeding hole in her chest disappeared and new life flooded through her. She also received a cutie mark of somepony showing the true value of friendship by laying down their life to help somepony else. “You are sacrifice and love incarnate, my Diamond Sparkle,” Gift said as Diamond opened her eyes again, “and you must take your special talent and use it to better everypony’s life.”

Twilight looked as if she’d seen a ghost and then raced forward and threw her hooves around Diamond. She didn’t say anything, but wept tears of absolute joy. I was not far behind her, and we cradled our filly close, never willing to let her go ever again. “Oh, Diamond!” Twilight cried, “my precious little Diamond! I love you so much!”

“I love both of you equally as much,” Diamond said as tears poured down her face, “but when I saw Dystopia and her mean spirit attempting to destroy the very thing that Equestria was built upon, I had to disrupt her plans. I’m sorry you had to see me die, Mommy, but I’m so glad to be back!”

“I’m glad you’re back too, my sweet filly! I’m glad you’re back too!”

Friendship Always Remains

They both grew up so fast. Silver Blaze became a wonderful friend to all the foals in their class, and he absorbed everything his foster mother had to teach about the subject. Twilight, for her part, was thrilled to be able to relive her days as The Princess of Friendship and bring somepony new into the light of its wonder. She would quiz him and lecture him, yet still he’d return for more. He once told me, “Daddy, I wanna be the best friend I can be. I’m so happy Mommy’s teaching me!”

He took to us as parents like a fish to the waves of the ocean, and we were very proud of him. Our love for our colt grew, and soon enough, it was time for him to come of age. His transition from colt to teenage stallion was rough at first, but we were able to create an atmosphere of love for him to return to when things looked their darkest. He met a young mare named Floral Pattern, and they began a relationship. She was a very pretty equine, with a pink mane and sharp green eyes. Her smile lit up his life, and I could tell.

In the beginning, it was simply puppy love between teenage ponies, but as the years went along and they grew into their collegiate selves, they found a deep affection that had previously been unseen. Their friendship and romance blossomed, and soon enough, he came home and proudly announced their engagement. Twilight and I didn’t know what to say, so we just wrapped him up in hug after hug. Everypony in the palace was excited for this wonderful news, and I prepared to call myself a father-in-law for the first time. We also readied ourselves to welcome a new princess to the pantheon.

But Silver wasn’t the only pony experiencing friendship, romance, and enjoyment. Our little Diamond Sparkle had many friends throughout her teenage years. She loved life, and she made sure to experience every last drop of it. From gaining knowledge to trying new, and often rather dangerous, adventures, she was known as the “Princess of Life.” Her sacrifice had been made known over and over, and it was told as a legend to the foals that came after her. She grew into a beautiful, confident, regal pony, and she reminded me in so many ways of that same pony I fell in love with all those years ago.

It took her longer than her brother, but by the time she was in her mid-20s, she had found a stallion named Sharp Eye, and they had taken to each other rather well. As his name suggests, he was well known in Canterlot for his proficiency in archery and other such sight based sports, and Diamond would attend his practices with furious frequency. Soon enough, she came home with the news of her own engagement, and once again the celebration was on. Pinkie Pie, old and rather feeble though she was, still managed to throw a spectacular party. “That pony won’t stop until she’s laid in the grave,” I joked to Twilight as we watched Pinkie attempt to dance.

“Even then, I imagine her funeral will be quite the colorful happening.”

“You’re damn right it’s gonna be colorful!” Pinkie said as she hobbled over to us, “I don’t want my last moments with everypony to be sad and depressing. I want them to be filled with SMILES!”

We promised her that they would. But unfortunately, we did not have to wait long to keep our promise. Pinkie died not long after this of natural causes. She had lived a good, long life, and had impacted everypony in ways that she did not realize. Her philosophy of living every day with a smile and a laugh had created such merriment and joy in the lives of so many sad and depressed ponies. Her funeral was the only one I’ve attended where balloons were used, and a special 21 Party Cannon salute was executed. We laid her to rest alongside Applejack and Rainbow Dash in the Ponyville Cemetery. Her tombstone, like the other two, carried her name, date of birth, date of death, cutie mark, and a quote specially selected by Twilight herself. Applejack's was: "an honest apple is a good apple." Rainbow's was: "fly with the speed of an eagle, and live with loyalty." Pinkie’s was: “I wanna see you SMILE!”

It was so difficult for Twilight to say farewell to another dear friend, and she shed many tears. But she also smiled at the wonderful memories she had of Pinkie. We also ordered another National Day of Remembrance for the pink mare, and we noticed that special parties were being held in her honor. When we asked one pony why they were celebrating when they should have been quietly reflecting, they said, “because that’s the way the pink one would want it.”

Soon enough, Rarity followed Pinkie in death, suffering a heart attack in her Canterlot home and being found there by her housekeeper. She died alone, having had numerous sexual and physical flings with stallions around Equestria, but never committing to just one. Out of all of the ponies we had lost so far, Rarity was the most heartbreaking, because she truly felt alone. On her bedside, we found a note. Though she had not committed suicide, it was an eerily similar situation. The note was short and simple. It read:

“My friends and family. I am feeling creakier in my old age. The hooves that once sewed together beautiful gowns and luscious suits have ceased their needling forever. My magic is a dim shell of what it was. I feel I may pass this night. If I am found, please…tell Prince Stony, Princess Twilight, Prince Silver, and Princess Diamond that I love all of them. Also, lay a rose at Spike’s grave for me, for he was the only one I truly loved. Fare thee well, darlings. May your stars shine brighter than mine ever did.”

To answer a question long since received, yes, Spike had died years before. He actually died before I came to Equestria to begin with. Twilight told me he had done so defending Rarity’s honor in a brutal fight with another dragon. This assailant had attempted to take advantage of the pretty white mare, and Spike wouldn’t allow it. He fought to the bitter end, taking the other dragon’s life before finally succumbing to his wounds. She told me his funeral had been horrifyingly sad, and Rarity wouldn’t stop wailing. She said her fashionista friend always blamed herself for Spike’s death, and I imagine she never stopped.

At first, her funeral was a lavish affair, and she was laid in a gold plated coffin. Her family paid for the entire thing, even offering the Ponyville Funeral Parlor a thousand bits in advance to hold the ceremony there. But when we arrived and Twilight saw the scene, she became angry. She stomped her hoof and everypony fell silent. “This…isn’t right!” Twilight said, “Rarity represented the Element of Generosity. She was always willing to help out anypony, and she never reveled in excess. True, she loved all that glittered, but I believe she loved her fellow pony even more. I do not wish to seem petty, but having her buried in such a hedonistic fashion seems so unlike her.”

The ponies all agreed, and her family apologized to Twilight. They had completely overlooked Rarity’s generous spirit in their preparations, so they removed her body and placed it in a simple casket. The gold plated coffin was melted down, and the proceeds from that went to three of Rarity’s favorite charities. In all, 500,000 bits were raised to help the sick, poor, and needy ponies of Equestria. It felt like we had done some good by Rarity, and we buried her with honor and dignity alongside the other three. Her quote: “Darling, if you have something to gain, you have something to give.”

The final pony to be laid to rest out of Twilight’s original group was Fluttershy, who outlived them all. She died at the age of 105, and her funeral was held in the forest. Her animal friends surrounded her coffin, mourning the loss of their dear companion. The four great royals, as we had come to be known, also surrounded the coffin, weeping tears of memories. Twilight nestled beside me, but I noticed that there was a small smile on her face. We had known Fluttershy to be in a great deal of pain lately, and we were both happy that she was no longer suffering.

Diamond, Sharp Eye, and their small filly were perched beside us, with Silver, Floral, and their colt on the other side. We silently said goodbye as a family, and we honored her final wish by having her coffin placed on a boat in a small, still creek. She did not want to have a huge ceremony, and she did not wish to be buried in the Cemetery. She just wanted to rest amongst her animal friends for as long as she could until she reached the sea. But we erected a marker for her in the Cemetery as a memorial. On it, the quote, “sometimes we all need a little kindness,” was written.

The point of telling you all this is to say that friendship never dies. Twilight remained wonderful friends with everypony until their deaths. We watched as our family grew in love and the same ways of friendship for the next thousand years. It was a millennium of bliss, and a millennium in which many things happened that would fill up many, many books. As I write this final story, I am watching my beloved Twilight slip away beside me. She has served Equestria with every ounce of her being, and I only hope I am not long behind her in death. I want to rest beside her forever. I am confident leaving our kingdom in the hooves of Diamond, Silver, and their families. So…until we meet again…per aspera ad astra…and may your friendships last forever.