Tales from the Conversion Bureau: The Last Bastion

by Sachiel

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Human, Sad, Princess Luna, Original Character, Princess Celestia, Tragedy, Main 6
Length: 26166

A slightly different take on the Conversion Bureau universe showing the shades of grey on both sides of the barrier

As the barrier advances across the earth those humans and ponies left in its path plan for the end and come to terms with their inevitable fate and the road that set them upon it. Whether the sacrifices and losses were worth it and when all else fails, falling back upon the last bastion of humanity and the magic of friendship

A/N: This is an attempt to use the setting of the Conversion Bureau to try and tell an interesting, compelling and, hopefully, good story focused on the good and bad of both humans and ponies. One aren't just saints and the other aren't just sinners, this is a tale with plenty of shades of grey

Published 2020-10-14 02:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-10-31 16:04:41 UTC

Chapter One

Second Imperial Palace, Petropolis, Many Years Ago

Slowly she made her way across the finely polished wooden floor, the bones in her legs creaking, the long bones in her wings popping as worn tendons snapped across them from old age. Even with her spells, what few she could still do it hurt to move. But while she could move she could study, while she could study she could learn, while she could learn she could try, try to fix what had gone so wrong

She could hear a few of the palace staff, the butlers, maids, the chamberlains somewhere in the grand building. She'd gotten used to the help (all one of him) while living in her own palace, that seemed like a lifetime ago but some things didn't change no matter where you went

The door glowed a faded lilac, pushed both with magic and then her own hoof, she could feel the weight of the heavy oak, is felt a lot heavier these days

She made her way across the library, noticing the dust particles hanging in the air, illuminated by the light from the moon shining above, a moon that rose and fell on its own. Carefully she sat down at her favourite desk, the chair modified just for her, she let herself relish the soft embrace of the silken cushions for a moment, then it was right to work

Hours later she looked up from the most recent tome that had occupied her to jot down some notes, the moon was higher in the sky, the stars peaking through the slate grey clouds. She took off her glasses and let them hang on the chain round her neck, rubbing her eyes while letting out a sigh, even with them it was getting harder to read, to focus, was she really getting this old? Were her last reserves of alicorn power going? She couldn't trick herself any more, she was running out of time

The others didn't have the power needed, it was just her, she was it, the final chance to stop the end of the world, and she was tired, so very tired

Suddenly Twilight Sparkle felt a warm weight drop onto her shoulders and could smell the scent of hot chocolate, she looked to her right. There was a young human, a boy really, holding a tray with a coffee pot and mug on it, his light brown hair and warm grey eyes lit up in the light from her reading lamp

“Cocoa?” the old mare nodded, clutching the wool blanket a little tighter, watching the boy as he poured, adding a dash of apple cinnamon and a tiny marshmallow to her cup, just the way she liked it
“Thank you Pedro” a smile began to light up her face, warm but sad “what would I do without my number one assistant?”

Second Imperial Palace, Petropolis, Second Brazilian Empire, present day

Dom Pedro V, Emperor of Brazil gazed outside the ornate windows of his palace, the clouds were clearing without the aid of pegasi and the sun, risen without the aid of a Princess was shining brightly. It was shaping up to a be a fine day, the latest in several, maybe one of the last fine days or days at all for that matter in the history of Earth

Outside in the gardens the newest addition was being set into place, facing across from Michelangelo's David (sent decades ago during the final exodus from poor, doomed Europe) was a larger statue, carved from black volcanic tuff the Moai stared implacably out at the statue garden and across the hills where the city resided. In the distance though he couldn't see it Pedro knew where it was, the Conversion Bureau, one of several dotted across the Empire

He wasn't sure how first contact was made, the Americans had done it and they'd never shared the details, not even their last president had told him in their final conversation. It had been a couple of centuries on this side of the barrier, in that time how long had passed on the other side? A century? Half a century? A couple of decades? No-one was sure because no-one ever came back to tell them, his top researchers could only guess

On this side the barrier had expanded from where it first appeared, slowly spreading across the world, stretching out like a viscous blob of magic, leaping out along certain avenues, creeping like a glacier along others. Slowly countries were consumed, others cut off, by the time he was born Brazil was surrounded on all sides by the barrier, only five other nations were left, kept in touch by magic-aided radio courtesy of the unicorns who'd settled there. Then slowly, one by one they fell silent, now they were alone, Brazil the last bastion of humanity in the face of the barrier slowly creeping across planet Earth. Or was it planet Equestria now?

Loyalty

Smithsonian Consolidated Museum, Washington, State of Colombia, United States of America, years ago

Marcia Coffin checked herself in the mirror hanging in her locker, suit nice and neat, or as much as it could be after a day's work, name tag stashed away, hair looking good in its topknot

“It's worth it, it's always worth it” her mantra said and done she took a deep breath, closed her locker and headed off, her shoes clacking on the marble as she made her way back out to the museum floor

In the wake of the barriers advance into the continental United States (Alaska and Hawaii were long gone sadly) things had to be reassessed, not as many people could make the time to visit museums anymore. The Smithsonian made the decision to reduce its size again, and again and again, over the centuries it had gone from seventeen museums to thirteen, then to ten, then eight, then five, then three and now, finally, to one. The Consolidated Museum showcased the very best of the vast collection, the absolute cream of the crop which had only grown as more and more nations either fell, lost communications or gave up, dissolved themselves and entered the Conversion Bureaus. It was as much a museum to the vanished nations as it was a museum to actual exhibits

The Consolidated Museum wasn't one building but a group of several clustered tightly together surrounding a big courtyard. The museum docent headed there, it was where they met groups who booked guided tours of the greatest museum left in the world (for all they knew), finding a comfy bench in the afternoon sun she sat down

Marcia was off the clock but it had been a long day, most guests didn't realize how far the docents walked giving tours and she was glad to have the time to rest her feet and get some of her strength back before heading to her volunteer job. She also liked to people watch, she saw people from all walks of life here, inner city, suburbs, rural areas, a few looked like they'd just stepped off the plane or the greyhound. All of them here to soak in the history, to learn, to see the past glories of humanity and the planet that had produced it, a final flicker before the light was snuffed out by a blazing wall of magic

“Hey, when's the next tour?” a voice called out, Marcia looked around trying to see who'd asked her the question

“Down here” she craned her head down, there standing in front of her was a pegasus, her coat a dull blue, a few crows feet snaking out from the corners of her dark pink eyes and a few great hairs of varying hue in her rainbow mane. She was wearing an old school bomber jacket with an aviator scarf, her jacket had a patch on it with six purple, yellow, blue, red, green and pink gems arrayed around a six-pointed magenta star on a dark background

Pony immigrants (equine-americans if you wanted to be technical) weren't common to start with, the US had gotten the most and since the Schism of Harmony they'd only gotten fewer, even in the nations capital Marcia could count the times she'd talked to one on both hands, both inside and outside of work. They didn't mix much, some didn't like them, trotting, talking reminders of their eventual fate

Marcia was trained to be able to talk to the Smithsonian's guests, regardless of race, gender, creed or species, she didn't hesitate

“Hello ma'am”
“Hey, so when's the next tour?” Marcia glanced around, she was the only docent in the courtyard, she checked her watch

“Next one's in half an hour”
“Can't you go now?”
“Sorry I'm off the clock”
“Just got off and you're taking it easy before heading home?” Marica smiled nervously
“Something like that”

“Man I've been there” the pegasi said understandingly, the two sharing a fleeting moment of camaraderie “I won't keep ya, thanks for the heads up” and turned to go
“Wait” the pegasi stopped “I've got some time before my volunteer work, I could show you around if you want so you're not waiting here”
“You sure?”
“It's fine, I was just going to mess around on my phone anyway”

“Thanks...uh...”
“Marcia”
“Rainbow Dash”
“Nice to meet you Rainbow” she rose to her feet, finding fresh energy from somewhere “now come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover” Rainbow suppressed a chuckle as she followed the egghead into the first building

Two hours later they exited the final door back into the courtyard

“And that's everything, the Smithsonian hopes you enjoyed this pro bono tour, feel free to visit the gift shop” Marcia finished
“That was awesome, can't believe I live here but I never came here before”

“Whereabouts do you live?” Rainbow Dash pointed out over the horizon to the far side of the Potomac
“I've got a little place over Arlington, I fly over this place when I commute in to my job”
“What do you do?”
“Got an advisor gig to the government, it's classified, sorry” the two stood in silence, unsure what to say as the sun crept lower on the horizon

“Umm listen, I've got to get to my volunteer job” Marcia said, breaking the silence
“That's okay, thanks for giving me the tour, it was really nice of you” the pegasi bent her knees, preparing for takeoff

“No my volunteer job is here” Rainbow cocked her head
“You volunteer at the same job?”
“Not on the floor, it's in the archive” she rubbed the back of her head “I'm not sure why I'm saying this but do you wanna come with me? Get a look at the behind the scenes work?”
“Sure I got no place to be, lead on kid”

Half an hour later Marica was leading Rainbow Dash deeper and deeper into the labyrinth that was the archives, set back in a series of large warehouses next to the museum site. The security guards weren't convinced by her vouching for the pegasus but after Rainbow pulled out an ID card their eyes went wide and they sheepishly let her pass. She'd shut it before Marcia could get a good look but she could make out the White House seal on the front of the card holder

Along the way she pointed out bits and pieces of the vast collection, wall paintings from the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, Teddy Roosevelt's spectacles, the death mask of Sitting Bull (Rainbow muttered something about wanting a strong heart to see it), Ashley's Sack, George Washington's sword and the hat used by Harrison Ford in the first Indiana Jones movie (which Rainbow promptly declared awesome), finally they arrived at her workplace. It was nestled in-between two large rows of storage stacks, little more than a wide table and a few chairs

“So what do you actually...do?” Rainbow asked, looking around, in front of her was the wide table with a big heavy metal arm hanging above it, on it a line of tiny brushes and scrapers, a tiny well of what looked like very, very old ink and taking up the centre was a large piece of parchment. It was old and tattered and most of it was a solid block of writing in an old fashioned style, below it she could make out signatures. Fifty six of them in total

“At the moment I'm working to restore this” she moved to pick up one of the fine bushes
“What...is it?” the pegasi asked curiously
“It's a first edition copy of the Declaration of Independence, one of the very first lot of copies made from the original, it turned up in the stuff brought by the British government-in-exile. I've got to check the wording, repair the fraying if I can, strengthen the parchment and clean the dust off it” Marcia moved the metal arm so Rainbow could look through the lens on it. She realized it was a microscope, trained on the Declaration she could see one name: William Whipple, the letters were faded but she could still make them out with the extra help the microscope provided

“Why? She asked her voice suddenly a lot heavier
“Well we need to clean it up and get it ready for viewing”
“No, why are you doing it?” now it had a tinge of anger to it
“It's one of the most important documents in our nations history, why wouldn't I do it?” Marcia replied, her dark eyes wide and weary, she'd already guessed what was coming next

“No, why are you doing this? All of this” she swept her wing around, gesturing to the entire archive “isn't going to matter”
“What do you mean?”
“The barrier's going to wash over this place and what's left will be gone”
“There's still time, we could find a way to stop it, the government's top people are work-” Rainbow slammed her hooves down on the table, rattling the ink bottle, Marica jumped back, clutching the brush

“They're not! They don't know how to stop it, I've been there, I've seen what they know, what they're tried, nothing's worked! At this rate it's going to finish off the midwest in three years, it'll be at the eastern divide in five and then it'll either drive you into the Conversion bureaus or into the sea. That's it, no more United States! You'll either be brainwashed ponies or you'll be gone and no-pony but no-pony is going to care about these old bits of junk or some old piece of paper!”

Marcia looked like she was about to cry, she felt her lip trembling, it was worth it, it was worth it, wasn't it?

Yes

Yes, it was

She took a step forward, clutching the brush like it was a protective talisman

“It's worth it”
“Why?” Rainbow's voice changed, like she was pleading, desperate to know
“Because when I finish it it will be preserved, it will last for decades, centuries, no matter what, even if some pony stumbles across it in some dusty archive in Canterlot or Ponyville or wherever it ends up two hundred years form now they'll see it. They'll see a sign of rebellion from tyranny, the strive for freedom, the desire to make something new, something better than what came before. They'll see its words and know what they mean” she took another step forwards

“It's going to remain” she waved a hand around “all of this is going to remain, the barrier won't change it, that's why we're doing it, why we're preserving it. There are plans, they're going to hide this stuff all around the country before the barrier covers it. So that years from now ponies will find it, they'll remember what humanity was all about, what we did, good and bad. Even if there are no humans to see it it will still be here, here to tell our story and until the barrier comes I'll spend every day I can here, making sure our legacy survives”

The pegasi looked at her, unsure of what to say, she didn't need to say anything, both of them knew what passed between them in the silence, finally Rainbow spoke

“I should get going, thanks for this, not gonna forget it for a long time” Marcia smiled warmly
“No problem, come on I'll walk you out”

Outside the warehouse Rainbow paused

“Look, I'm sorry I said that stuff, it's just...”
“It's worth it, we just need to remember that sometimes” the young woman shivered in the evening air, Rainbow reached up and pulled the scarf from around her neck, neither of them noticed a rainbow coloured glow that flashed in both their eyes

“Here”
“It's pretty cold up there”
“I'm used to it kid, here, take it, consider it a donation” Marcia took the scarf and wrapped it round her neck
“You could always come back, there's a lot in the archives still to see”
“I'd like that, you guys sure left a lot of awesome stuff to see and I wanna see as much as I can, thanks Marcia, I'll see you around”

With that the Element of Loyalty bent her creaky knees, flapped her wings and sprang from the ground, soaring higher and higher into the gold and red streaked sky and disappearing into the white clouds above. As she climbed she was painfully aware of how much more work it was, how tired she was getting, how much time had passed since that day all those years ago when she'd left her home behind for this brave new world

Chapter Two

Office of the Emperor, Second Imperial Palace, Petropolis, Second Empire of Brazil, one year ago

“Presenting her Imperial Majesty Princess Isabel” Pedro, seated at his desk waved her forwards, her long, straight black hair and deep blue eyes shined in the light of the sun coming from the windows, glinting off her emerald earrings. She'd come from the funeral, they all had

She dropped to one knee

“Your Imperial Majesty”

Oh great, she wanted something, she only ever did this when she wanted something

When she was six it was to meet some Ponies (the children of his Unicorn advisors were swiftly invited for a playdate), at eight a carriage, at twelve it was a yacht, at sixteen she wanted to take on royal duties. Now she was eighteen, what was it going to be this time?

He motioned for her to stand

“I ask your leave to be allowed to emigrate to Equestria”

He glared at the Archer Guards, the protectors of the imperial family

“Leave us” they got the hint and swiftly made themselves scarce, now alone he spoke quietly and calmly

“Please explain to me why you want to go to a Conversion Bureau”
“You're the Emperor, I didn't feel right doing it behind your back” Pedro sighed
“I'm also your uncle, I promised my brother I would take care of you Isabel”
“Then let me go”
“Why do you want to go?”
“You know why”

The barrier had sped up, already almost all of the Amazon was gone, Manaus long since abandoned, the gulf coast to the north had been consumed and refugees were trickling south from Pará, some of whom had only been there due to fleeing from Amapá, Suriname and the last remnants of Guyana. By now it was obvious to all that the Empire of Brazil was finally feeling the bite of Equestria's devouring magic front

“There's a chance it can be stopped”
“Grandfather said that before you and great-grandfather said it before him”
“There's a chance”
“I don't want to risk a chance, other countries royals, other governments have gone through the Conversion Bureau, Celestia lets them retain some leadership over their people, our own subjects can go through if they want”

“Isabel...” he hesitated
“Why can't I go and lead them? Let some part of Brazil survive?”

That was it? She wanted to go? To abandon everything? To abandon her family, her empire, her species? To rule a mockery of the Empire?

His hand clenched into a fist

“No, you do not have my leave, as your Emperor, as your uncle, as your family I can't let you go to that place, I can't bear to lose you”
“I...” she started, he spoke firmly
“This discussion is over niece, now go, you have your duties to see to, duties you asked me to let you undertake, duties you can't just abandon”

She didn't get upset, didn't yell and she didn't glare at him, Isabel calmly said “...alright uncle” and quietly left the office

That was new, he didn't like it

In the middle of the night Pedro found himself in his pyjamas and dressing gown striding down the marble staircase of the palace, his silken slippers slapping on the stone floor, out a side entrance and across the still grounds to a guardhouse near the wrought iron fence that separated the palace from the rest of the city

The Archer Guard, one of many who served the revived imperial family met him outside and told him what had happened. How they'd caught her trying to scale the fence before she slipped and got her leg gashed by one of the ornate iron points, then he opened the door

Inside Princess Isabel was sitting on a chair dressed in dark clothes, her right thigh wrapped in gauze, a pile of bloodied dressing lying on the floor next to a small backpack, he looked at the guardsman

“Leave us”
“Your majesty I-”
“Wait outside the door” the guardsman saluted and left, Pedro pulled up a chair to sit across from her, the silence that passed seemed like an age, Isabel doing her best to avoid looking her uncle in the eye, him keeping his fixed on her, finally he spoke

“Why?” she looked him right in the eye, her blue eyes boring into his calm grey pools
“You know why”
“No, I don't” he stood “I don't understand why my niece, who I've raised as my own daughter, who was given everything she ever asked for, who has done so much good and brought so much joy to our family would turn her back on all that because for once, she was told no”

He expected her to yell, he expected her to cry, he didn't expect her to laugh

“You think that's it? You think I'm that selfish?”
“Why do you want to go to the Conversion bureau?”
“Why don't you?”
“I'm not abandoning the Empire, our people, our family, whatever happens I'll be here to see it through and not cut and run for a semblance of power”
“And you think I want to?”

“I don't know what you want to do, I thought you wanted to stay with your family”
“I know you want to stay, I know cousin Luis does, I know aunt Clara does, can you respect that I don't?” her vocative started to break “that I don't want to sit here and see everything I've ever known consumed by the barrier? Let everything end? Let myself end?”

That was it, that was why, it wasn't teenage rebellion, a lust for power or some grand vision, she didn't want to die, it was that simple

“You don't remember your father do you?”
“He died when I was five, so no, not really”
“He was a tough man, brave, my closest friend growing up, when he died I swore that I'd take care of you, see your prosper so that's what I'll do” he rose to his feet and made for the door

“Guardsman?”
“Yes your majesty?”
“Stand aside”

He looked back at his niece

“Go, it's better something survive of us, maybe over there you can lead what remains of our people so something of Brazil survives, like the others” she rose to her feet, limping to the door before she stopped and dug into the bag
“Here” she held out a single emerald earring, one of the pair she'd worn earlier that day “so you'll always have a piece of me and I'll never forget where I came from whenever I wear this one”

Unable to think of anything to say Pedro hugged his niece goodbye and watched her limp down the hallway and out the door, after it fell back closed he slipped the earring in his pocket and turned to the guardsman

“This never happened, princess Isabel ran away from home, by the time I was alerted and came here she'd already left the grounds and vanished inside the Conversion Bureau, do you understand me?” the guard knew better than to say otherwise
“Yes your majesty”
“Good, what is your name?”
“Joao Rocha, sir”
“I need good men with me Joao, can I trust you? Do you understand what would happen if word got out that I let my niece go to conversion willingly? We need to be united, so I'm asking you, in the name of whatever god or gods you may or may not have, can I trust you to never breathe a word of what happened here?”

For a second he said nothing and Pedro's heart hung in the air, then he dropped to one knee

“On my honour as an Archer Guard you have my word that I will speak of this to no-one my Emperor” Pedro placed a hand on his shoulder and bade him stand
“I believe you Joao, and I'm proud of you”

Laughter

Sugarcube Square, Altensteig, Grand Duchy of Baden, Confederation of German States, European Union, some years ago

The winters were getting colder

Since she'd come to the town in the Black Forest the winters had definitely gotten colder, her creaky knee didn't lie. The snow falling outside didn't either, Pinkie Pie took it in as she whiled away her lunch break, sipping a mug of apple cinnamon infused hot chocolate. She spied her reflection in the glass bar a couple of wrinkles and grey streaks in her mane and tail (that made her look like a candy cane, so that was a plus) she still looked good for her age. You had to focus on the good things, she'd learned that pretty fast once she'd come to Earth

After a few years as a 'consultant' to the UNHCR (refugees were always in need of parties and fun after all) she became fast friends with the Grand Duke (one of the agency's biggest supporters) after planning his sons birthday party. On his invitation she'd gone to visit the EU and ended up 'advising' its new government for awhile, keeping busy planning parties in her spare time. Soon she'd gotten enough cash together to get back to what she was best at on her own terms and Sugarcube Square was born. The bakery/confectionery was her pride and joy

She'd found Altensteig after her friend recommended it, falling in love with the place, it reminded her so much of Ponyville. It didn't hurt that the Grand Duke's son had a holiday villa in the town and that his grandson loved seeing his Auntie Pie whenever she could drop by for a visit. The boy reminded her of two little foals she'd known a long time ago and he loved seeing Sugarcube Square

They did baked delights and every kind of candy you could imagine, they also did parties, everyone from the kid down the street to the Emperor of the Germans knew who to call when they needed an epic shindig

As she enjoyed her hot chocolate she felt her back muscle pinch, it must be her lucky day. Feeling inspiration strike her she went and grabbed her hat, scarf and warm boots

“Greta!” she called out
“Yes Pinkie?” her manager called back from the front
“I'm gonna go check on the stall, be back later”
“Sure thing boss, we'll hold down the fort here!”

She downed the last of her hot chocolate and stepped outside into the snow, when it was your lucky day there was no sense hiding inside, every pony knew that, Besides, she knew her vendor wouldn't mind some extra help

Christmas Market, Altensteig

Before Pinkie knew it she was at the stall, it was more of a little wooden hut like the others at the market but she'd added her own touches. The walls looked like giant pieces of sponge cake, the roof shingles like slabs of gingerbread and the awning like runny frosting. All fake of course. Sadly.

She thought Rarity would approve, looking at her shops sign, six purple, yellow, blue, red, green and pink gems arrayed around a six-pointed magenta star on a dark background , same as the one in Sugarcube Square. She tapped some snow from the awning, put on a mane and tail net and ducked in the back

Inside her vendor was adjusting the display when she heard a “Hi Klara!” and jumped, sending a trap of cupcakes flying, Pinkie deftly caught them, balancing the tray on her poofy tail

Klara Douai had long stopped questioning how her boss could appear out of nowhere the second she turned her back, so had everyone from the cashier to the Grand Duke himself, it was just Pinkie Pie. She could not be stopped

“Oh hey boss, how's it going?”
“Great! The Square's okay so I thought I'd check up on my favourite vendor, how're you doing?”
“Pretty good so far, moved most of the stock, we should be sold up by the time the market closes today”
“That's great but I asked how you were doing, not the stall silly, it's your first time working for us”
“Long day, never worked a stall before this job, not used to the rush yet but I think I'm managing” Pinkie put a hoof on her shoulder
“If you're not let me know” Klara knew she meant it, she'd done a few seasonal jobs and Pinkie was by far the best boss she'd ever had

Just then a little boy and his mother came up to the stall, Klara was about to ask what they wanted but Pinkie jumped in

“And what can I get you little man?”
“One of the gingerbread ponies please”
“Excellent choice, that'll be two euros please”
“Here you go” the little boy said, handing the coins to the pink pony who smiled warmly as she handed him the gingerbread pony
“And here you go little man, enjoy, you got here just in time, only one more left” he smiled
“Thank you Frau Pie” he replied before turning to go with his mother, Pinkie sat there and smiled, watching the boy enjoy his treat. No prompting from mom, he'd been raised well, she hoped the Cake Twins were as polite as him

He was enjoying it so much that he that he didn't notice the pile of melted snow. He slipped and down he went into the dirty slush, the gingerbread flew from his hand. He pulled himself up looking more stunned than anything, then he noticed the gingerbread pony on the ground and began to cry. Pinkie immediately went to get the last one, just in time to see her vendor hand it to a young woman

“Honey are you okay? You're not hurt are you?” his mother asked, frantically checking him, then saw the gingerbread pony, broken into pieces and already soggy from the slush

“I'm sorry honey, we'll get you another one” Pinkie heard her and her heart sank, she wasn't looking forward to telling her they were out. So much for it being her lucky day

Then her vendor stepped in

“Here” she suddenly appeared next to the boy (Pinkie could've sworn she was right next to her) holding out a gingerbread pony. He sniffled and looked at his mother, she nodded, it was okay
“Thank you miss” he took it from Klara and held it carefully in his hands

“No problem kiddo, you enjoy the extra horsepower” she said, he giggled and took a big bite, his tears forgotten

“Thank you so much, he's been so sad since his big sister went to the bureau, this is his first Christmas without her” his mother said before they headed off to explore the rest of the market

“I thought we were sold out” Pinkie asked
“We were, I bought that one to have on my break but I wasn't gonna let that little boy be sad, we all need a reason to laugh these days”
“You know what? I couldn't agree more”

The next hour passed, in between serving the customers she and Pinkie made small talk

“...and that's how I ended up saving the Emperors birthday cake!”
“You've had quite a life Pinkie”
“What about you? We haven't talked much since you started, what's my favourite vendor get up to when she's not here?”
“Not much really, I spend most of my time at my ausbildung apprenticeship and I do seasonal jobs to get some extra cash whenever I can, especially around this time of the year. Also do a bit of freelance baking on the side if I've got the time”
“Wow” even for a pony who was a baker, party planner and element of harmony Pinkie was amazed, Klara shrugged

“You've gotta do what you gotta do when it's your family”
“You help support them?”
“I help my big brother look after my nieces, their mom remarried and went through the bureau after the divorce” she sighed “it's why I could relate to that little boy form earlier, it's gonna be their first Christmas without her too, I do what I can to make them happy” she felt a warm hoof rest on her hand
“They're lucky to have you”
“Thanks” Pinkie looked away

“I...I'm sorry”
“For what?” she moved to sit on the chair at the back of the booth, the normally energetic pony moving more slowly, wincing as she moved her legs
“We tried to stop it, to stop her, we really did, we tried so hard but we couldn't do it”
“The barrier?”
“We should have tried harder, used the Elements better, used the mirror and joined Sunset”
“Pinkie I...” tears began to well up
“It's going to keep coming on and the bureaus will keep taking people in and spitting them out as Our Town ponies and your nieces lost their mom and that little boy lost his sister and won't ever see them again and it's all because we...”
“Pinkie!” her boss looked at her, the party pony was gone, the mare in front of her stared out from tired eyes, her coat was faded, her hair even seemed flatter as she lowered her head in shame. Klara placed a hand on her hoof

“I don't know what happened back then, I wasn't born, hell my grandparents weren't, but I do know what it's like now” she motioned out the window to the rest of the Market
“Look at them, what do you see?” Pinkie looked
“People”
“What're they doing?”
“Shopping”
“No, not just shopping, look closer”
“Talking”
“And?”
“Laughing”
“They're living” Klara squeezed her hoof

“They're enjoying their lives, they're happy, you help with that, I've lost count of how many people and ponies come in to Sugarcube Square glum and sad and leave laughing and smiling. Everyone, the Grand Duke, my nieces, that little boy, they go in or they come here, they meet you and they come out happy. Even if it's just for a little while you make them feel better, help them forget about the barrier and everything else, help them escape from their burdens, give them hope. You do so much, look at that, look at what you do and did, not what you couldn't”

Pinkie was quiet for a moment, then her head jerked back up, her hair reflated and she had a big smile on her face, neither noticed the rainbow glow that flashed in the others eyes

“You're right, I do do a lot” she looked around at everyone, a few people passing by the stall even waved at her, she waved back. Looking at Klara she sighed “guess I forgot that”

“I think most creatures do, we just need a friend to remind us from time to time” Klara replied when a grumble cut through the air

“I think it's time for lunch” Pinkie said, Klara went to where she'd stashed the gingerbread pony before she remembered she'd given it away
“Oh, well I can get a pretzel or something” Pinkie reached into her hair and pulled out a lunchbox
“Wha...”
“I keep sweets stashed in case of lunch emergencies, this is a new recipe I've been working on” she handed the box to her
“Wow, thanks Pinkie” Klara replied, Pinkie smiled
“What are friends for?”

Pinkie watched as the girl ducked out the side door and headed off to explore the market with a smile on her face, she didn't mind giving up her lunch, she wasn't hungry, all she needed was a smile from a happy friend.

Chapter Three

The Imperial Palace, Second Imperial Palace, Petropolis, Second Empire of Brazil, Present Day

Tipping the spoon Pedro watched the cinnamon-apple infused sugar drop into the hot chocolate, stirring it in he added a small pink marshmallow to the top. Just the way tia* Twilight had liked it, now his favourite choice for an afternoon respite on the balcony

*Brazilian term for aunt/beloved older woman not of your family

Celestia had announced she was going to make a visit to the Empire, not could she visit, that she was going to visit. The first visit since the Schism of Harmony

He raised the cocoa and took a sip, savouring the flavours dancing on his tongue. How had it all come to this?

It had been two hundred years on this side of the barrier since the first contact with Equestria was made. He knew the history, everyone did, one day the human race race discovered that they were not alone in the universe. One day contact was made with the strange, magical land of Equestria

When it happened some some countries banned Ponies from entering but most of the world was open and welcoming to the strange talking horses. For a hundred years human culture had been reading about aliens, writing about aliens, showing aliens on screen and now they'd finally met some most of the world were just happy the Ponies weren't the Borg.

The Principality of Equestria applied for and was swiftly granted membership in the United Nations, soon Equestrian embassies popped up across most countries. Celestia gave a speech at the United Nations after Equestria's request to join was accepted. Her sister Princess Luna, her niece Princess Cadence and Cadence's husband Shining Armour all came to see this strange new planet filled with talking apes. Luna, Cadence and Shining Armour all took turns acting as Equestria's ambassador to the UN but none of them became the face of their land to the humans

That honour fell to Celestia's most faithful student, the Princess of Friendship and bearer of the Element of Magic Twilight Sparkle. With her natural curiosity, sparkling intellect and warm, gentle nature she'd been the Princess who captured everyone's hearts, able to speak to everyone, whether king, president, wary adult or curious child on their level. And as always her fellow Elements and faithful friends were by her side

As a trickle of immigration from Equestria to Earth (mostly to the US) happened the reverse also took place, a small stream of emigrants from earth wanted to settle in Equestria. There was a problem, the barrier that separated the two worlds and the magic it was made of was lethal to humans. Luckily a solution was found, courtesy of Twilight who discovered a potion with a unique power

What became known as the Conversion Bureaus sprang up in major cities across the world, anyone who wanted to emigrate (knowing it was a one way trip) went inside a human and stepped back out as a pony. So Celestia gained more subjects, people got a fresh start in a literal new world and everyone won, for a time. Then interest died down, the stream became a trickle and then shrank to a few drops, one by one the Conversion Bureaus were shuttered, only a few remained in the biggest cities on each continent. Bar refugees seeking resettlement and willing to take the plunge there were no more mass conversions, those who wanted to go had already gone and there were few clamouring to replace them

For a while man and pony kind enjoyed a real honeymoon of co-operation, ponies attended human universities, long-range students graduated from Equestria's places of higher learning and converted ones studied there directly. There was a world first when the unicorn Lyra Heartstrings, a very pro-human pony taught at Harvard and then became Equestria's ambassador to the United States. Human scientists and unicorn mages worked together to try and meld their disciplines. Equestrian tales of Starswirl and Gusty the Great were taught in literature classes around the world as students in Canterlot, Ponvyille and Manehattan discovered the Odyssey and Journey to the West. The best of both worlds merging in a golden time of friendship and harmony

And then that golden age went to hell, Twilight Sparkle appeared at the United Nations and flanked by her brother and Cadence she delivered grim news

The barrier was advancing, growing, spreading, it might take a thousand years, ten thousand, a hundred thousand but eventually earth would be subsumed into Equestria

The world had taken it rather well at first, sure some of them blamed the ponies but for the most part Twilight was able to win those pointing fingers over, showing why she was the Princess of Friendship. With that done everyone and everypony had buckled down to try and find a solution. The best and brightest minds in Equestria, Starlight Glimmer, Starswirl the Bearded, Chancellor Neighsay, Inkwell, Sunburst, Tempest Shadow and more joined with the finest talents humanity could offer, united under the leadership of Twilight Sparkle. For years they worked unceasingly, trying to reverse it, trying to stop it, a magnificent example of friendship and harmony

It wasn't enough, nothing worked, still, no worry, they had thousands of years, they could find a way to stop it or flee the planet for another, they had plenty of time. Until they didn't

Once again Twilight took the podium at the United Nations, the bearer of worse news. The barriers advance was getting faster, where it was once millennia it was now centuries, maybe even decades. The countdown to apocalypse had started, the doomsday clock had sped up

In desperation the governments of the world turned to their weaponry, throwing bombs, cruise missiles, railguns, high powered lasers at the barrier, hoping to collapse it, to push it back, buy more time. Missiles short circuited when they neared the barrier and dropped down into the ocean, the rest were just as useless. Finally in their darkest hour the UN turned to their ultimate weapon, nukes augmented by unicorn magic were hurled at the barrier, one stretch of irradiated ocean later it continued its advance

With their greatest weapons ineffective, the nations of the world were open to new ideas, Celestia had had one, she took the stage for the second time, speaking at the United Nations in New York with the entire world watching

First, she was sorry, she didn't know how the barrier had formed but she and her ponies were unable to stop it, to save their new friends. She hung her head and apologized, asking for humanity to forgive her, to forgive all of them. The thought of anycreature suffering, facing such calamity was more than she could bear

Then she made her offer, the Conversion Bureaus would be reopened and expanded, yes they would all become ponies but their lives would be saved and they could start anew in Equestria. Her kindness, honesty, loyalty and generosity were praised, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nobel Peace Price, the Queen made her a Dame, in short she got every honour the world could throw at her for her plan.

At first there were few takers but when the barrier began to make landfall around the world people flocked to the Conversion Bureaus in droves, the Last Exodus had begun, the great flight of mankind from their own humanity

The same process took place across most of the world, the barrier would encroach on a country, that country's government would continue its research efforts in public, still hopeful the barrier could be stopped or reversed. In private they began planning for the end, setting up contingencies, preparing for displacement, negotiating with their neighbours to resettle refugees, securing their cultural treasures and readying the Conversion Bureaus. Eventually after the capital had been consumed the government would relocate again and again until there was nowhere left to go. Finally it would cross the nearest border and become a government-in-exile, eternal exile from a land that no longer existed. After a number of years of leading its expatriates it would slowly wind down as they drifted away, dissolve itself and the last of its leaders would enter the Conversion Bureaus or fade away as just another group of expatriates. Rinse and repeat

Some kept running, moving from one place to another, one nation to another, others gave up and headed to the Bureaus, it took a lot of will to keep going after being displaced time and time again. Faced with the trauma of upheaval and mounting despair at what the near future held for their entire species the will of many just gave out. You could only run so far from your end, eventually you'd have to face it, that was how many humans saw it in those times. It was one thing to sit far from the barrier and say you'd never convert, when you experienced becoming a refugee for the third, fourth, fifth time? That wore a person down, soon stability and peace seemed awfully tempting

As the end drew nearer many nations retreated into nostalgia, reminiscing about the glories of the past like a dying man might recall his happiest memories on his deathbed. Some countries went as far as to revive or restore their old monarchies, dusting off old pomp and splendour to try and compete with the serene Princesses of Equestria. It felt better to speak to them from a position of authority or higher rank, to have a Princess meet a fellow Prince, a King, an Emperor so they appeared of higher status, not the leaders of what would soon become a stateless gaggle of refugees

That had happened in Brazil, the populace looked back to the old Empire, considered a golden age of the country where its national identity was forged and decided that, the hell with it, they were bringing it back. So the Second Empire was proclaimed, the imperial regalia was broken out of the museum and Pedro's ancestor, the sitting president was seated on the throne as Pedro III, well over a century ago

Eventually the barrier had advanced so far it began to cut off communications with the rest of the world, even unicorn boosting magic couldn't help. Pedro could remember hearing the last crackled transmission from what was left of the United States. As far as they knew the Empire of Brazil was now alone, the last piece of planet earth that was left, the last bastion of humanity

It was a fact of life for him growing up, that the world was going to end, the same for everyone else now alive, you kept a bag ready in case you needed to quickly leave, when you became an adult you could choose to enter a Conversion Bureau or you could stay and take your chances

He looked out across the gardens, past the iron gates to the residents of Petropolis, going about their lives, going to work, running errands, socializing, relaxing, living their lives. For the most part people just got on with things, pushing the barrier to the back of their minds, hoping it could still be stopped. They kept up the façade even if deep down they knew that their days and that of their species were numbered

Generosity

Kinshasa, United Republic of Congo, Some Years Ago

Dikembe Mbandi stood on the busy street outside a small building in central Kinshasa, now the capital of the unified Congolese state. The building was a strange one, looking like a giant multi tier wedding cake made of stone, glass and concrete, the outside painted white with purple and blue accents. From the top hung the flag of the united republic and another with six purple, yellow, blue, red, green and pink gems arrayed around a six-pointed magenta star on a dark background. The sign hung above the door read: Kinshasa Carousel

He looked down at the slip of paper in his hand, yes, this was the address he'd been given, nothing else for it, he straightened his tie and brushed some lint from his blazer, a sapeur should always look elegant for an introduction. As he went to the door Dikembe noticed the intricate carvings on it, diamonds interspersed with apples, balloons, lightning bolts, butterflies and stars. The knocker itself was a chain of the latter five symbols set in bright brass below a window of blue glass, the pane cut in the shape of three diamonds

He was so engrossed in it he almost forgot to push it open, a bell rang out as he stepped inside, how quaint. The interior looked more like an old fashioned boutique in Paris or London than somewhere in downtown Kinshasa. A young lady manned the register, he gave her a smooth smile, ever the gentleman

“Good afternoon and welcome to Kinshasa Carousel Boutique, where everything is sleek, chique and magnifique” a chipper, eloquent voice rang out, Dikembe looked to the young woman manning the register who motioned with her head towards the back room. Then he heard the sound of hooves on the floorboards and a pony trotted out to greet him. She was sporting a white coat, a perfectly coiffed purple mane streaked with silvery grey and deep sapphire blue eyes. But Dikembe's interest was drawn to her attire, the pony was sporting a stunning pale grey gown with maroon and pink trim, a maroon bow crossed the front and the high neck was trimmed with pink

“Is...is that a Valentino?”

“Afraid not darling, it's my own take on the great designers style, I added in a few flares of my own mind you” she stopped in front of him and cocked her head to one side “I take it those are Camps de Luca, Artling, Dormeuil and Heschung?” she asked, pointing to his blazer, shirt, trousers and shoes in turn

“Blazer's the real thing, the rest are Congo-side replicas, you have quite an eye miss...”

“Rarity darling and you have good taste yourself mister...?” he bowed, bending his knee and sweeping his hand out, one never missed out on a chance for theatre

“Mbandi, Dikembe 'Pointe' Mbandi” the old mare felt a smile rise to her face, it was always nice to meet a gentleman, she pulled at her dress with her magic and dipped low in a curtsey to return the favour

“A pleasure Mister Mbandi, now what brings you here?” he took off his blazer and showed her the inside, there was a gash in the lining and the stitching was strained in several places

“I was hoping you could take a look at this, I heard from a friend that you do good work”

“You heard right Mister Mbandi, please follow me and I'll take a look right away” she turned to the cashier “Gloria please mind the front for me” the girl nodded and Dikembe followed the pony into the back

As he entered the back room Dikembe followed the pony past mannequins sporting elegant and stylish attire, clothes racks with more of the same, bolts of fabric arrayed in neat rows, corkboards filled with designs and a chest filled with gemstones. Since the ponies came over and everyone learned that they could grow and nurture gems within rocks their value plummeted. It ended up being a boon to many, shutting down illegal mines and the black market dried up almost overnight. There wasn't much point in trafficking something that had gone from being worth thousands a stone to being worth pennies a pound

Rarity stopped in front of a large desk next to a set of dress mirrors, it felt like he'd stepped back in time as he slipped his blazer off and handed it to her. She summoned a pair of red framed glasses over and inspected the jacket in detail

“An amazing piece, it must be over fifty years old”
“Sixty actually, it was on the last freighter that left Marseilles before the barrier cut off Europe”
“How did you manage to find it?”
“It belonged to my grandfather” Dikembe replied “he had it shipped over specially, he was just a mechanic so it cost him nearly his entire months paycheck but he always said it was worth it. His last chance to get genuine Parisian fashion, how could he say no?”
“Indeed, I take it he was a sapeur like yourself?”
“Yeah, I idolized him growing up, he met my grandma when he was wearing that blazer, she said it made him stand out from the others at the club, gave him ambience”

“Such a rich history!” she peered closer “and I see it's been touched up before”
“Yes my grandma did it, she used to help look after his designer clothes, she even added her own touches to them”
“And he didn't mind?”
“Not at all, he said it turned them from designer wear to true couture, true style and elegance made just for him”
“He sounds like a lucky man”
“He was”
“Oh I'm sorry darling”
“It's fine, he left me his entire wardrobe, most of it's out of style now but that blazer is the one thing I'll always wear when I go to the clubs and show my style, for him”
“I know what you mean” Rarity replied as she glanced to the roof

Rarity made smalltalk as she worked on the blazer with the sewing machine on the desk, both telling each other things about themselves. She'd come from Europe to Africa on the same freighter that brought the blazer. He worked in the Ministry of Resettlement, handling the refugees who'd fled to the Congo ahead of the barrier and helping those who were preparing to go to Conversion bureau set their affairs in order. She'd come to Kinshasa for the culture and style, the city becoming a beacon of both as the region quieted down and grew in prosperity after the turbulence of the 20th century gave way to the stability of the mid 21st onwards. He had two brothers who'd gone through the Conversion Bureau. She had an adopted daughter who'd moved out and settled in Brazzaville. His parents were retired and moved out to the edge of the city. She lived by herself but had plenty of friends in the city's fashion and arts scenes, the First Lady was a personal friend

Finally Rarity floated the blazer back over to Dikembe

“Okay darling try this on” the sapeur slipped it back on and turned to the mirror, flexing and stretching, feeling the added strength in the fabric

“Magnificent Miss Rarity, simply magnificent” as he grabbed his wallet Rarity waved it away
“Oh no darling, the joy of working on such a wonderful piece of couture is more than payment enough”

“Really? Wow, thanks”
“Think nothing of it darling, it was a simple job anyway” she turned and pulled a dress from one of the clothes racks, already thinking of her next job

As he was heading out he heard a clatter and a curse, turning back around he saw the dress, a bolt of fabric, a pair of scissors and a needle and thread on the floor and Rarity sat at her desk with an ashen look on her face

“Are you okay?” he asked as he went to pick them up
“I'm fine, you don't need to do that”
“You just gave me a free repair, it's the least I can do”
“No, I've got it” she said firmly, her horn glowed blue and the dress rose off the floor, drifting towards the desk. Then the glow fizzled out and it dropped to the floor again, she looked like she was going to cry

“Here let me...”
“I said I've got it!” she snapped, glaring at him, he stopped for a moment, then went to pick up the dress and other supplies, placing his blazer on top, a faint rainbow glow shined in her eyes and then in his
“It's okay, here” he said, gently placing them on the desk

“I'm sorry, I...” the calm, confident fashionista had been replaced by a flustered pile of nerves “...it's hard, my magic's going, it happens to all unicorns as they age” she sighed wearily “I guess I can't deny it, I'm getting old”
“We all do, my grandma struggled to sew after she got arthritis”
“How did she handle it?”
“She did what she could while she could still do it, she did as much as her body let her, I think it helped keep her going” he looked around, noticing the large amount of outstanding orders

“Hey, to pay you back for the repairs maybe I could help you out around the boutique, handle some of the work”
“You can sew?”
“My grandma taught me how to handle the machine and use thread, it wasn't much and I'm a bit rusty but I'll do my best, and you can teach me more too, if you want?”
“Well...” she hesitated “it would be nice to have an assistant again, I did love to teach before but are you sure you can manage with your job?”
“I'm only part time, I'll handle it” he held out a hand

“What do you say?” a white hoof was pressed into it, the fashionsta was restored
“I'd love to darling” she said levitated the needle and thread “now get ready Mister Mbandi your first lesson starts now, you'll do nothing in my boutique before you've learned the Rules of Rarity”

Chapter Four

Canterlot Castle, the Year of First Contact (YFC)

Twilight trotted into the throne room, kneeling on reflex, she knew she didn't need to do it, she was one Princess greeting another but despite being raised to Alicornhood Celestia was still her former mentor and Twilight was still her former student, not bowing or kneeling just didn't feel right

“I came as fast as I could Princess” her old teacher rose and descended the steps leading up to her throne

“And I appreciate it Twilight” she paused by her “walk with me”

Together the two headed out the far doors

“How was your first visit to Earth?”

“It was amazing, everyone at the UN was so welcoming, the Secretary-General and his husband were very friendly, they seem nice” she looked up at the older Alicorn “don't you think so?”

Twilight saw Celestia do something she’d never seen her do, she hesitated. From the very first time she saw her raise the sun as a little filly the one thing that always struck Twilight was how completely unflappable Celestia was, she always had an answer for everything. She was always patient, she was always calm, she always had a plan and she always knew what to do. Her dad said she had the best poker face in Equestria. Even when Chrysalis, Tirek and Discord appeared she’d been shaken but she had a plan, she never let on that she was at a loss. Now she didn’t seem to know what to say and that worried her far more than it probably should

“Tell me Twilight, did you ever read the legends about humans when you were a filly?”

Twilight realized what she was getting at, the myths of the hu-mans were old, very old, they predated the Royal Sisters, the Three Tribes, even Dusty and Grogar. They spoke of hu-mans hunting ponies, of enslaving ponies and working them, sometimes to death, to build things and farm the lands, in some parts of Equestria they were still used as bogeymen to keep little foals in line

“Yes but those were stories, myths”

“All legends have to start somewhere “ she replied quietly

“Princess...” Celestia quickly turned to smile warmly at Twilight

“I'm not saying I believe them, I went there too, the humans I met were very nice but as Princess I need to consider everything, we need to know more about the humans” she looked down at her former student “Twilight, there is no pony whose opinion I trust more than yours, I sent you to Ponyville once, now I'm asking you, will you go to Earth and meet the humans, as many as you can, study them, learn everything you can about them so I can put my fears to rest?”

“Of course Princess” the Sun goddess smiled

“That's my Faithful Student, I'm proud of you Twilight”

The Imperial Gardens, Second Imperial Palace, Petropolis, Second Empire of Brazil, Present Day

Luis, Prince Imperial of Brazil stood at attention outside the Palace, flanked by Joao Rocha and another Archer Guard, the rest of the welcoming party and the press. He'd made sure he looked perfect, his brown hair neatly combed, he was dressed in the formal uniform of the heir to the Empire, with a sash across his chest, a present from his tia to her Number One Assistant. Only his deep blue, almost purple eyes portrayed any hint of nerves

Celestia wasn't coming alone, she'd bring her bodyguards, her retinue, her court, no royal travelled without an appropriate entourage even one with power over the sun. Pedro had prepared, the grounds were set up to host them, a reception to keep them busy while the Emperor and the Princess discussed whatever she'd come to discuss

As far as the history books said Twlight's defection was for unknown reasons, one day she'd appeared at the UN with her friends and requested Brazilian citizenship, the world called it the Schism of Harmony. The Elements spread out, taking in as much of the world as they could and finally settling down across it, followed by some of their other friends in Equestria. No-one knew why they'd left, no-one living but him and the imperial family, the keepers of her final secret once they reached the right age to learn it

He knew why his cousin had left though, his father had told him,said he needed to know, needed to understand why those sorts of decisions had to be made when you ruled. Personally he thought his dad was more interested in having someone to justify it to than anything else. He got why, he understood, that didn't mean he had to like it

“She made her choice, we made ours” he muttered under his breath, noticing the gates swinging open, the delegation had arrived. Celestia at the front, flanked by her Royal Guards, no sign of Luna or Cadence, it was just her. Good.

The anthem of the Empire played out as he stood ready to receive them, statesmanship 101, everything was a show of power, especially to a hostile realm. Pedro wasn't meeting the Sun Princess outside, he was letting his son and heir do it, greeting a Princess with a Prince, not an Emperor. Also showed continuity, that Luis would one day become a leader, an Emperor, showing the future as well as the present of the Empire. Even if everyone there knew there would be no empire soon, no more emperors, no future, Luis was a Prince and a Prince he would likely end his existence as

Still, the game had to be played and neither Pedro or Luis were going to let her claw another victory from them and what was left of humanity

The white alicorn stopped in front of him and the Archer Guards, she bowed politely, showing the respect due to a foreign royal

“Prince Luis” he bowed, making sure to try and match how low she'd dipped, treating her as an equal, the journalists snapped picture after picture

“Princess Celestia, welcome to the Empire of Brazil, I trust you had a safe trip?”

“Quite safe, thank you” he turned to match her speed, walking her in, as was only fitting, their respective guards fell in behind them

“how is my Most Faithful Student?” that was a low blow, he wouldn't rise to it, for tia

“She died a year ago”

“Oh” she didn't lose her pace but the flawless visage faltered for a moment, something crossed her face, shock? Grief maybe? Relief that she wouldn't have to face her? Could have been anything, royals had to learn to mask their feelings from their subjects, he'd been doing it for all his eighteen years, his dad had been doing it for forty, she'd been doing it for more than a thousand

“I'm sorry for your loss” maybe on some level she was, he stopped by the door

“My father awaits Princess”

“Thank you Prince Luis, I'll leave my party out here with you if you don't mind”

“Quite alright Princess” she paused at the door, her back to him

“I'll also be leaving you with my new student” with that she trotted inside and the heavy doors slammed shut, all things considered a successful reception, they'd done well

Luis turned to see a unicorn standing in front of him, sporting a pale blue mane, straight black hair and deep blue eyes, her cutie mark was an astrolabe with a sun to its upper right

“A pleasure to meet you miss...?” the unicorn cocked her head to the side

“Come on Lou, you can't recognize me?” only one person had ever called him that, he thought those eyes looked familiar

“Isabella?”

“I go by Dawn Splendour now”

“Okay...Dawn, how's it been in Equestria?”

“Oh it's great, I'm one of the Newfoal nobility, you're talking to the first Countess Campolina”

“You're not a Princess?” she laughed

“Oh no, gave that title up after I left the Bureau, only three of them over there, you've gotta earn that and I didn't” she said cheerily, Luis looked at her ears, her unpierced ears

“Where's your earring?”

“What earring?” she tilted her head “you mean the old emerald one?”

“Yes, like the one you gave to my dad and said you'd wear to remember where you came from” she looked confused, then shocked, then her head twitched to the side and her smile was back

“Oh, that, not sure, I might have given it to my fiancée as part of my dowry”

“Your fiancee?” this coming from the girl who'd swore she'd never marry

“Yeah, the Princess is integrating us into the old families, you gotta do what you can to to fit in, it's the least we can do for them giving us a place to live, they've been so good to us. Maybe you've heard of him, Prince Blueblood?”

“I...” for a split second he froze, then regained his composure “I haven't, you want to tell me about him? I'd like to get to know my future cousin-in-law” he offered her his arm, she took it

“We were introduced by Celestia after I became her personal student, we were in her private chambers when he walked in, first thing he said was...” he led her to the other guests milling around in the gardens, trying to shake the cold, dead weight he now felt forming in his stomach and the chill that ran up his spine

Honesty

Baqsa, Khanate of Kazakhstan, a number of years ago

Applejack slowly opened her eyes at the crowing of the rooster, shaking off the lingering effects of sleep she donned her hat and staggered down the stairs towards the kitchen, she rubbed her eyes as she called out

“Morning y'all, how'd ya sleep?” oh, right, the kitchen was empty, they weren't there

How many years had it been and she still couldn't stop? How deep was that reflex ingrained she wondered as she placed apple slices in the toaster and poured some orange juice. She'd never have admitted it on the other side of the barrier but damn if it wasn't a good way to start the day

When the Elements had last met...Faust, so many years ago now, they'd gone to where they felt they were needed. In Applejacks case she'd been surprised where that had been, she'd wanted to go to the USA, she'd visited the vast orchards of Virginia, Washington and California, the ranches of the midwest and great plains. It reminded her of home but...maybe a little too much. For a mare who'd lived, breathed and been willing to die for her family it was more than she could handle

That's why she wasn't expecting much when the new Khan of the Kazakhs had invited her to see his nascent Khanate. Plenty of new kings and queens were donning crowns and lots of them felt like having an Element or Elements visit made it somehow more legitimate, that they counted as higher ranked than Princess Celestia. The girls knew that, so they'd done the rounds and one by one, they'd known where they should go when they got there

For Applejack part of it had been the genuine warmth and frank honesty of the Khan when they'd met, the respect shown by not going through the same old motions she'd seen elsewhere and had to put up with (her parents and granny hadn't raised a filly without manners). He'd seen past the Element and the legend to a lonely soul who was without family for the first time in her life. He hadn't made big offers, just asked what she wanted and it was pretty straightforward, as fresh a start as she could get

The main thing that had made her stay was outside the window, the vast, rolling grasslands of the steppe and the chance to build her own farm, close to home but not enough to revive old ghosts. Most of the time anyway

She caught her reflection in the window, her eyes had crows feet and her straw blond hair had some white to it now, getting more each year. Whatever had kept her going was losing its touch. She couldn't begrudge it too much, it had given her plenty of years, long enough to make her fresh start, to make a new family to replace the one she'd lost.

She hadn't meant to, just wanted a fresh break but a mare couldn't run a farm on her own, not one as big as hers. For some reason the barrier hadn't made much headway into the Khanate, stopping pretty much right at the border and in every family who decided to try their luck with the Conversion Bureaus there was usually someone who wouldn't go. So there were plenty of people looking to build something new and plenty of space to put them. She'd welcomed the first group of seasonal hands and agri-science students the following year. Plenty of them came back the next year, and the year after that. Graduates were ready to set up shop and many were eager to be near their old teacher, she found she didn't mind so much, the loner thing wasn't for her. Slowly more and more put down roots near her, the little community grew. The Khan had jokingly called it the Baqsa, the Orchard the last time he'd been through to visit his old friend, or was it when she'd been to visit him in Astana? She couldn't remember

One day the Khan introduced her to his pegasi adviser Sterling Cuirass and before she knew it they were hitched and expecting their first. Sadly he was her only one, still she'd raised him as best she could, he'd grown, left home and started his own family and Sterling had passed years ago. Without them old habits had crept back, the ghosts returned with less to distract her in her old age. But she wasn't alone

With her orange juice and apple toast in hoof she trotted outside to the swing seat set up on her porch, enjoying her breakfast while looking out at what she'd managed to build. She saw past the fields and rows to the closest farm. The Tulayafs had been two agri-science students in her first class, one was the Khans nephew, the other the child of refugees who'd fled from abroad. They'd loved the farm, the outdoors and in time, each other. They'd gotten hitched, settled down next door and had a bevy of young'uns, they'd come over so much she'd practically helped raise them. Their eldest ran their farm now but their second oldest had left home. He hadn't gone far though

Sanzhar Tulayaf's footsteps crunched in the gravel as he walked out the door of the farm manager's house, a mug of coffee in his hand

“Mornin' Sugarcube”
“Morning Grannyjack” he replied, the old mare smiled
“Been a while since I was called that”
“You said my family were honorary Apples years ago”
“Oh yeah, near plum forgot” she laughed, tapping her head “guess the old apple's getting overripe, come on, have a seat” she tapped the bench next to her and he sat down. Next to him a flag hung on a bracket consisting of six purple, yellow, blue, red, green and pink gems arrayed around a six-pointed magenta star on a dark background

“What flag is that? It doesn't look like any of the Equestrian ones I saw in my history class at college” Applejack smiled sadly
“Maybe one day I'll tell you about it” she tipped the last of the orange juice down her throat and hoped off the seat “now what's on the to do list for today?”
“A few fences need fixing and I need to check the sunflowers in the eastern field for leaf rot”
“Pretty easy day for us then” they both locked eyes, having an unspoken argument, the same one they had every morning

Sanzhar pretty much ran the farm for her these days and he knew she had total faith in him, she wouldn't have taken him on if she hadn't. She knew she didn't have to tag along all the time, she could kick back and enjoy her golden years. There was just one problem: She didn't want to, apparently she'd always had a problem with taking time off. He knew it was a battle he could never win, though he never stopped trying, he didn't want his honorary granny wearing herself out doing work she didn't have to and she didn't want to sit around doing nothing. So an impasse. Then he blinked. Today was another defeat, oh well, she never seemed to get tired anyway

“Hang on, I'll bring the truck round” Sanzhar replied, heading off to get the truck warmed up, Applejack savoured her little victory as she ambled down to the mailbox, pulled out the mail and looked through it, spying a letter with the familiar scrawl of her son Bright Macintosh. She opened it, read it and the rest of the mail fell from her hoof, hitting the ground with a flutter. Her legs felt weak and she started to sway, grabbing the mailbox to steady herself when she heard a horn honk

“Come on Applejack” Sanzhar called, looking up she forced a smile
“Coming kiddo” and ambled off to the truck, trying to wish that letter never existed,

An Apple couldn't not keep a few apple trees but they weren't her main crop, she'd diversified (as Rarity would've put it) into a few other things, chief among them sunflowers, she'd always like the plants but the soil around Ponyville wasn't really suited to them. But out here they grew like weeds, and fetched a good price too, enough,to put her kids and grandkids through college...

She shook the letter from her mind as the truck pulled up to the fences, she hopped out, ready to focus on the job at hand. It was a pity that two of her agri-science majors were already there finishing it up

“Hey boss!”
“You...” she pointed to the fence
“Saw it needed doing and we were passing by to the vineyard, no problem, we'll take a later lunch today” Sanzhar stepped forwards
“Nicely done guys, you saw a problem and you handled it without being told to, when you're running your own farms that's what you're gonna have to do, shows me you're learning what you need to learn while you're here” he turned to his boss

“Don't you think?” she startled, the letter had come back
“Yeah, nicely done sugarcubes, take an extra hour for lunch, you earned it”

“An extra hour?” Sanzhar asked as they climbed into the truck, she looked at him with dull eyes
“Gives us plenty of time to take care of the sunflowers, on our own” she replied, something was wrong, the pony he'd known his entire life was sounding weird, she sounded...tired

Sanzhar hopped out of the truck and headed over to the sunflowers, they had to check every leaf of every plant for any sign of leaf rot, a long and tedious job at the best of times but it had to be done. Miss one and it could infect the entire field. Applejack trotted off and disappeared into the rows of stalks without a word, almost dragging her feet in the dirt

He said nothing and focused on the closest plants, checking each leaf in turn, the good thing about long, tedious jobs was that they gave you plenty of time to think

He knew something was wrong, he didn't know what but he knew something was. Every summer when he was a kid he'd follow his parents over when they helped her with the harvest (by then she just had a couple of grandkids staying with her for the summer). Applejack would always scoop him and his brothers and sisters up in her hooves and fawn over them like they were her own. She told them stories about her adventures in Equestira, even showed off her apple bucking on an evening. She'd even do her work with one of his little sisters on her back if they wanted a rest. She always radiated warmth and care, her eyes were always bright and welcoming, even if she was grumpy you knew she was glad to see you. The world could end (and it was going to) and she'd be right there with a smile on her face and light in her eyes slogging through her chores

Which is why the muffled sob cut through him like a knife

Before Sanzhar knew what he was doing he was sprinting through the sunflowers, finally he spotted a small orange form on the ground, her hat pulled down over her eyes. He skidded to a stop, kicking up a cloud of dust. She raised her head slightly and spoke in a faint voice

“Oh, what didja go and do that for? Hope you didn't trample too many of them” she sounded annoyed, it was almost convincing
“Applejack, what's wrong?”
“No...nothing sugarcube” she held out a hoof for him to help her up, he didn't budge

“You've been an awful liar ever since I've known you, you haven't gotten any better”
“Nothing's wrong” she replied coldly
“Appleja-”
“For bucks sake I'm fine!” she snapped, pushed herself to her hooves and then her legs gave out sending her sprawling into the dirt with a cry of pain

“Granny!” he was by her side in an instant, she lifted her hat up, her big green eyes shimmered with tears, wordlessly she pulled something from her hat and handed it to him, the letter from earlier, Sanzhar looked up with disbelief

“He...he's taking his family to...” she started to shake
“...the Conversion Bureau, says they need to have a future” she put her head in her hooves “how does that even work? They're already ponies! Do they just go through or do they get Celestia's potion too?”
“I...I'm so sorry grannyjack”
“He's a stallion grown, he's gotta protect his family, gotta think of their future” she began to shake “but I...I thought that future would include me, we're family too aint we?”
“I...”
“Why am Ah losing them again?!” her voice broke before collapsing into more sobs, not knowing what to say Sanzhar embraced her and waited for her to get it all out

“Sugarcube” she finally asked
“Yes granny?” she looked up at him with a haunted look
“It was worth it right? Coming here, doing everything we did, we couldn't stop it, couldn't save you all, what was I thinking starting a new family after I lost my first one? It's all gonna end, what was the point?”
“I...” Sanzhar began, faltering, how was he supposed to answer that? He was just a kid in the Khanate, not some high flying element of harmony

Then all of sudden he knew the answer, as he spoke a rainbow gleam flashed through both Apples eyes, honorary and not

“Because you chose to be honest, you knew what might happen with the barrier, you faced your fears and you decided not to let them control you, to not let the barrier control you, to let it run your life” he waved his arm around the field “you made all this, you made a new start because you wanted to live your life, to make it your own, to preserve hope” Applejack smiled, she pointed to an apple tree at the edge of the field

“Wouldya mind taking me to that tree over there? Feeling a bit tired”
“Sure granny” he picked her up and carried her over, she smiled as she lay on the grass, feeling the warmth of the sun ahead

“Thank you kindly sugarcube, here, you'll need this, keep the sun off” she handed him her hat as she looked out at her farm and the ones visible past its borders, everything here because of her
“This is a nice place I made here, reminds me of Sweet Apple Acres”
“If it's anything like this I bet it was an amazing place”
“It sure was sugarcube” she settled deeper into the grass and began to sing softly, Sanzhar joining her as she drifted off into a sleep she'd never wake from

“We're Apples together”
“Apples forever”
“We're family, but so much more”
“No matter what comes, we will face the weather”
“We're Apples to the core..”

Chapter Five

The Emperors Office, Second Imperial Palace, Petropolis, Second Empire of Brazil, Present Day

The Emperor remained in the chair behind his desk (not rising when she came in, another calculated little power play) while Celestia took a seat on a large fluffy cushion that had been set up beforehand. Her hair shimmered in the light from the sun outside and her fur seemed to be unnaturally white. Everything about the Sun Princess seemed alien to Pedro, in all his forty years on (what was for the moment still) this Earth. He wondered why, Twilight had never been like this

He remembered the fantasy books he'd read as boy, the ones that had elves in them. Elves weren't real (as far as he knew, if the ponies were who knew what else was out there) but a big part of what made them so interesting to read about was how they were so human-like in their looks but almost too perfect, too flawless. He looked over the desk at the creature on the cushion, superficially she was a horse, albeit one with wings and a horn, but there was something...off about her. Too flawless, too perfect, like a porcelain doll that moved and talked

It could be the magic, a concept, substance, power, whatever you called it it was so utterly alien to humanity. Maybe as the most magical pony it was why Celestia felt so utterly alien. That was part of it he thought, but it wasn't all of it

Everyone who’d met her going back to her appearances at the UN and visits to foreign countries gave off a sense that something just wasn’t...right about her despite how nice she was. Something about her being almost too serene, a disguise that failed because it was too good, they should have seen that as a warning. Too often in nature beauty and splendour hid something much worse beneath the surface, in her case Pedro knew for a fact that that was true

The sun Princess turned to look at the photo hanging on the wall beside them, it was of the royal family on the day of his coronation, when Crown Prince Pedro succeeded his father Joao II as Pedro V, Emperor of Brazil. He was there in his royal uniform, the Imperial Crown on his head, next to him was his wife Clara of Orleans, next to her his mother Mary of Windsor. On his right side, sporting her court dress, wearing the royal sash of Imperial Advisor and beaming with pride was the family's oldest friend, Twilight Sparkle

“She looks so happy” Celestia noted

“She was happy, more than I was back then, my father dying and making me emperor at 19? I wasn't ready to take over the Empire, I couldn't even drive, I was a nervous wreck. She helped me, coached me, let me confide in her, she knew all about having royal power suddenly thrust on you” he looked to the photo “I wouldn't have managed without her”

“She looks so proud”
“She was” he replied, happiness and pride creeping in as he spoke, his coronation going off without a hitch was one of the proudest moments of his life. It had to go right, it was going to be the last one. He'd come to terms with that a long time ago, that he'd be the last, that as much as he'd groomed his son Luis to succeed him he never would. Still, it wore at him, the happiness faded from his face, watching him Celestia thought she knew why

“I miss her too, she didn't deserve to end her life here” what was an attempt at sympathy went the wrong way
“Then maybe you shouldn't have driven her away” he replied dryly, letting it linger before continuing, not wanting her to get a word in he switched tack, forcing the emotion out of his words with some difficulty “but since she's not here let's get down to business, what was so important you had to come here to tell me in person?”
“I think you already know”
“It's going to finish the job isn't it?”
“Yes, sometime this week in fact according to my mages”

There was a sense of dread sure, but also relief, now he had an end date, it was strange, he'd spent his entire life growing up expecting the end, now it was just around the corner. Humanity had received its last notice, the doomsday clock was down to its final seconds

“Let me guess, you want us all to go to the Conversion Bureaus don't you?”
“Actually my mages have told me the barrier may mutate in its final push when all the energies converge, you might get converted regardless” 'mutated', that was a good one, sure, the unstoppable inching wall of magical annihilation would 'mutate' right at the end when the final holdouts would rather die than convert
“And if we don't get converted?”
“What always happens when humans get near that much pure magical power” so they'd get their wish, some of them anyway, death before conversion

“I'm sure you'd love that, less guilt for you right?”
“Please, I beg you, urge your people to go to the Bureaus before it's too late, save as many as you can”
He didn't have an answer to that, he just sighed, she'd never get it, Twilight had, despite what had come first

Canterlot Castle, several years After First Contact (AFC)

Celestia looked on grimly as Twilight summed up her Friendship Report, it hadn't been good

“So it's that bad then?”

“Yes, from what I’ve been able to study with help from the newfoals humans are every bit as bad as we feared” Twilight began re-showing images and evidence from her report to get her point across

The first was an old print taken from an engraving, it showed humans that were very gaunt, almost skeletons dressed in rags, shambling along

“Their most powerful nations starved those they ruled for greed and profit, in this case the British Empire starved Ireland, hundreds of thousands died and hundreds of thousands more had to leave to survive. Even today the population of the country isn’t up to what it should have been, many just didn’t care” she’d known from her history books that ponies had gone through hardships in the past but they'd never been wilfully starved, Celestia would never have allowed it

The next one was a black and white photograph, a young girl was holding up her arms, not her hands but her arms, which ended in uneven stumps

“They hate those who aren't like them, they use that to justify doing horrible things. Belgium's king took over the area they call the Congo and bled it dry. If your village didn't deliver its quota of rubber he sent his soldiers to punish you. The soldiers weren't allowed to waste bullets so for everyone, they had to bring back a hand to show they'd killed someone. Villages who delivered hands had their quotas cut so they'd go to war to get enough, it led to men, women, children having theirs cut off and they weren't always dead when they did. They turned severed hands into currency princess” Celestia felt her stomach turn

The next was a church made of red brick in a tropical region, bones and bodies putrefying and dried into mummies by the hot sun were scattered outside, one spread out in a perverse mockery of their god Christ on his cross. The red soil of Africa was stained a dark brown by the gallons of blood that had been spilled there

“They kill each other based on ethnic hatred, in this place, Rwanda, they murdered up to a million humans in four months, even women and children, they chopped them up like apples for crab-apple salad” having said that, Twilight knew she’d never be able to fully enjoy dinner with the Apple family again

The next few were a series of grainy black and white photographs, one showed a massive pair of industrial chimneys similar to ones that had begun popping up in Fillydelphia, Stalliongrad and Detrot, both were belching smoke, others were of mounds of shoes, glasses and hair, the final one was of a gate with the words ‘Arbeit macht frei’ on it

“They commit genocide on industrial scale. The Nazi party killed over six million people in an event the humans call the Holocaust, those piles all belonged to people they gassed at this camp the humans call Auschwitz, six million Princess”

The final image was of a cloud, one shaped like the mushrooms Celestia enjoyed grilled and served with a nice side salad, it was jet black and though she couldn’t be sure how, she could feel immense power behind it

“And they possess weapons that could wipe Canterlot off the face of Equestria,if they saw us as a big enough threat...Princess ,I don’t know how to say this but they’re bad, bad to the bone, what are we going to do?”

Celestia moved forwards, she placed her forehooves onto Twilights shoulders and pulled her into a hug

“I'm so, so sorry I made you do this Twilight, I hope you can forgive me for having to learn...this”

“Someone had to do it Princess, but what are we going to do?”

“There is something we can do” she pushed her away, Celestia's horn glowed and the walls, windows, floor and ceiling of the room began to be covered by a pale golden aura “Twilight what I’m about to tell you must never leave this room, you are my student and I trust you greatly but I need to know you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, promise me, my most faithful student, not your friends, not even my sister or Cadence”

“I swear Princess”

“As you know, the barrier is slowly expanding, turning more of Earth into Equestria”

“It’s moving at a glacial place, half an inch a year, probably less” Twilight parroted the study that Celestia and the UN had commissioned, since it was so slow there was no panic, no urgency, they had thousands of years, tens of thousands to come up with a solution

“That might not be true, from what I've seen and studied, it's possible that that pace could be...accelerated” Twilight couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, Celestia...lying?

“Princess humans can’t survive in Equestria, they can’t take the magic levels here”

“I’m aware of that, we’ve accepted and transformed a few humans into ponies, we can expand that program and any who are willing can be converted, Equestria will get bigger and it will have plenty of space to spare” she laid a forehoof on Twilights shoulder and looked down into her eyes

“I can do this on my own but I'd rather have your help to make sure it goes right? Can I count on you? If we do this we end it all, their war, their strife, we save them from themselves, friends are meant to help one another. In the name of friendship and harmony, can I trust you to help me, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship?

“I...” Twilight trailed off, in her mind she saw the images and reports of the great evil lurking behind the happy welcoming veneer the humans had put on, she’d found plenty of examples of their capacity for evil and the few newfoals they’d already taken in were all too happy to help her find plenty more. Also, Celestia was treating her, well, more maturely now, since she’d gone to the human world she’d been representing Equestria, she’d grown up and now the Princess was treating her like the mature pony she’d become, like an equal

What if she said no?

What if Celestia was disappointed in her?

What if she thought she wasn't mature enough to take the necessary steps to protect Equestria?

Was she willing to give it up? Give her new friendship with her mentor up? And with what she'd learned about them...

Twilight?”

“I...I agree Princess, this is the right thing to do” she looked at the ground

“I sense a but coming on”

“But what about those who don’t want to convert to being ponies? The ones who don’t want to embrace our society, we can’t, I can’t let anyone or anypony die because of that”

“Don’t worry Twilight they’ll be the same as they once were, only ponies, they’ll be welcomed into Equestria, I give you my word”

“Alright, I’ll help however I can Princess” Celestia beamed at her

“I’m glad Twilight, and proud to have you by my side on this” at those words Twilight beamed back

Pedro V's Office, Present Day

Celestia's ear picked up the sigh

“You doubt my sincerity”

“You've given us little reason to trust you, what with how you sped up the barrier so instead of ten thousand years we'd have a couple hundred” he didn't let up and delivered the next bombshell, he'd been playing this out in his mind for years, he was almost working on reflex

Pedro reached down to the bottom drawer on his desk, he'd been waited years for this, as had his father before him and his grandfather before him. Slowly he pulled out a heavy file, one that had rested in the desk of the presidents back when they led Brazil, now in the desk of the emperors. He tossed it into the air unceremoniously, the file glowed yellow as Celestia caught it in her magic

“Or how you shift our minds to be your prancing peons” bombshell dropped he watched Celestia for how she'd react to the skeletons in her closest being exposed

She knew, she had to know they knew he thought, after Twilight defected to Earth, after what she and her friends had tried to do there was no way they wouldn't tell the humans. Celestia had to know, had to have worked with that assumption, assume the worst and plan accordingly. It's what he would have done

He’d not been sure what he’d expected from Celestia once he’d told her they knew what she’d done, maybe she’d get angry, sink into denial and storm out. Maybe she’d begin a big villain speech and show the demon they knew lurked beneath the veneer of a saint. Maybe she’d just destroy the palace with her magic, he’d imagined it a hundred different ways like his predecessors had. What she did do was something he’d never expected her to. Her saintly veneer remained, she kept her composure, aside from a twitch that he thought might have been the makings of a snarl or grimace her happy sunny demeanour didn’t change. She could have been discussing the weather or what to have for lunch except this was her copping to genocide

“So you know, I assumed you did after Twilight came here” there was no emotion in her voice while she talked about Twilight, no warmth, no sadness, sure as hell no guilt. It was the default, cautious, guarded, borderline monotone regal voice all monarchs used when talking in public

No, she didn't get this, he wasn't going to let Twilight, the Princess of Friendship, the mare who'd been like a grandmother to him growing up, who'd worked herself half to death trying to reverse what Celestia had twisted her leg into doing, be remembered like this. Not as a dissenting footnote in the eyes of the one who'd betrayed her. The emotion crept back in, the anger coated in silky soft tones

“You have no idea how much Twilight suffered because of you”
“She chose to do what she did, I never made her do anything” she was surprised when Pedro let out a bitter laugh, all regal decorum gone, Honesty must have been the element she'd given up first
“That's a lie and you know it, she was your 'most faithful student', she idolized you, worshipped you, she thought the sun revolved around you. Hell on your side of the barrier it actually does, you knew she'd jump if you asked how high. You took a brilliant person and twisted her into helping you commit genocide, to carry out mass murder”

“You're free to think whatever you...” he slammed his fist on the table, he thought he saw her flinch

“No, I don't think, I know, I know because I spent years with her, she was my mentor far longer than you were hers, I knew her like you never did, she trusted you” and because of that he couldn't let her off the hook, she could vaporize him in an instant but it needed to be said, she needed to hear, even if it was too late to make a difference

“You abused that trust, used her up and then tossed her aside when she tried to defy you” he looked her right in the eyes “how very human of you, your highness”

The emperor felt the rooms temperature begin to rise and saw the Princesses eyes shift to black and gold, burning with white hot fury

“How dare you...”

Chapter Six

Pedro V's Office, Present Day

The Princess wasn't a god

Despite what some of her ponies (and some humans) thought she wasn't a deity, she was the one who controlled the sun on her side of the barrier. She had great magic that let her do it but she was a flesh and blood being, not a flawless goddess, she got hungry, she got tired, she got sad and she got mad. She wasn't a god. His father, grandfather, all the emperors before him, they'd all known that, growing up with Twilight around made it clear, Alicorns were powerful creatures but they weren't gods

It was easy to know that when you'd go your entire life without setting your eyes on her. It was a bit harder to remember when the temperature in the room continued to rise. When you could see the candles on the shelf start to sag and melt and she was glaring daggers right at you, when fear shot through your body

She rose up off the cushion, standing as tall she could, flaring her wings out wide like an angry swan as far as they would go, so wide they filled most of the room. Her face twisted from regal serenity to a mask of cold fury. He could feel it, closer to her body, there was a wall of heat far, far greater than what was rolling over him, it was like sitting at an angle to an open furnace door. She was holding back, holding it back. If she willed it that terrible heat wave would surge forwards in every direction, reducing every living thing in its path to charcoal and ash. How far could it go? Would it burn him? Burn the room? Burn the palace? Burn the city? Burn the empire? Burn the world? In her gaze, in that terrible fury he could see it, she knew he knew she was holding back. She was enjoying this, this show of her power, showing what she could do, how easy it would be, how no-one could stop her, he'd pressed a button, well here was what that button did, was it worth it?

No, Celestia wasn't a god but with the power at her command it felt like he'd angered one

Pedro just sat there, he knew there was nothing he could do, knew she knew that he knew that. If she unleashed her power...well he knew he was going to die one way or another very soon anyway. He'd known that for years, he'd made his peace long ago, so had most of the country. The last dinosaurs had been taken unaware, hadn't known the asteroid was coming, the last humans in their last bastion knew their asteroid was on its way. So a volcano would get them a bit sooner than expected instead? So they were losing a week? So what?

He stayed calm, not getting angry, not showing any joy at having touched a nerve, just sat there, silently telling her that her outburst wasn't working, you made me jump but that was it, that's all you're going to get. So either follow through on your threat or give it a rest

Slowly the heat began to recede like an ebbing tide, Celestia furled her wings and sat back down, letting out a low sigh. She put her head in her hooves for a moment and took a deep breath, evidently trying to calm down before continuing. Her eyes were back to normal

“It's going to happen, I can't stop it now”

“Even if you wanted to?”

“You think I enjoy this?”

“No, you don't” he looked to the photo, the wallpaper was discoloured and peeling from the heat but the photo and Twilight's smiling visage was untouched

“At least I don't think you do”

Canterlot Castle, several more years AFC

Twilight steeled her nerves, this was it, she'd been up all night practising, preparing, everything had to go perfectly, nothing could be left to chance, even by her standards she'd been thorough, meticulous, choosing the best examples. It had to work, a world rested on it, she could feel her anxiety beginning to rise

“Twilight?” Celestia's voice was gentle, calm, soothing, she'd seen her most faithful student like this countless times before, she knew how to diffuse it. It worked, Twilight closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then another, and then another, slowly calming herself down. She didn't know why Twilight had asked her to meet in the throne room and put up all the sound-blocking spells, but she could make a decent guess

Twilight trotted forwards to stand before the throne, setting two files down on the carpet, her teacher sent her a look, silently telling her: You can do this, she cleared her throat and began to speak

“Princess...you know what I found in my Friendship Report”

“And I thank you for it Twilight, it showed what needed to be done”

“That's just it Princess, I think we've made a terrible mistake”

Celestia's face switched, locked up, gone was the friendly face of her teacher now she was looking at the guarded mask of the ruler of Equestria

“We heard what the newfoals had to say about how bad the humans are”

“They're hardly an impartial source”

“Twilight you showed me your Friendship Report, there were countless examples of the humans at their worst”she raised a file, much thicker than the report she'd complied before

“But I've found so many more of them at their best”

“And everything you showed me? Does it cancel that out?” Twilight sighed internally and lifted the other file, preparing several photos from within it

It wasn't a question so much as a challenge in her mind, Twilight knew this was a battle, an argument, a test she could pass like all the others her teacher had set her

“I'm glad you asked Princess”

“The famine, their greatest empire let a country starve out of apathy and greed” Twilight pulled a photo up and enhanced it with magic so Celestia could see it. It was of a portrait of a man in elegant clothes, wrapped in a regal cloak and with a red feathered fez atop his head

“As one Empire was starving them another was trying to save them, the Ottoman Empire's Sultan Abdülmecid sent a fortune to help them when his own empire was in decline. The British wanted him to send less, so he did” she could see Celestia preparing to speak so continued “but he sent ships full of food as well that helped to feed those starving”

“Twilight it's just one man”

“No it's not” she called up other photos, showing ships bearing the stars and stripes, of men and women with darker skins and flowers in their hair and many more “people and governments from around the world sent money or supplies to help, the Cherokee, the Pope, one empire didn't care, lots more nations and plenty of people did”

“Well what about the Congo? You told me yourself that they used severed hands as currency”

“And the entire world was disgusted when they found out” Twilight pulled up three black and white photos “Edmund Morel, Roger Casement and George Washington Williams all helped expose what was happening and helped lead the campaign to get it to stop. One king ordered it all done for his own greed and ego, the rest of the world made him stop and now he's known as the monster he really was”

“And Rwanda?” Twilight had already pulled up the next photo, this one in colour showing a determined looking man with a thick moustache, sporting army fatigues and the blue beret she'd become so used to seeing during her time at the UN

“People tried to stop what was happening, General Dallaire did, he didn't have much but he did everything he could to stop the madness, it nearly killed him but he did everything he could” she lifted another one, this one showing a dark skinned man in the same fatigues, a blue UN cap and sporting a wide, toothy smile “and so did this man, Captain Mbaye Digane, he saved a thousand people on his own, he couldn't even use his weapon, he did it with words” Celestia looked at the photos and felt her heart soften, Twilight knew she was winning

“The holocaust?”

“Even before it started humans saw the dangers and acted to save others” she lifted more photos “this Portuguese consul saved thousands of lives, so did this Japanese one” she showed the picture of a man wearing black clothes with a huge beard “this Greek Bishop was threatened with death if he didn't stop protesting what the Nazis were doing, he kept doing it anyway” she held up another of a demure looking man and one of a kindly looking, overweight old man in papal attire “Raoul Wallenberg helped save thousands of Jews in Hungary, the future Pope John XXIII saved them too”

“And the atomic bomb? The thing they made that could destroy their world and ours?”

Twilight pulled up a final photo, one of a naval officer decked out in medals,

“It should have done, during the Cuban Missile Crisis Vasily Arkhipov made sure it didn't, he was willing to sacrifice himself and his submarine to make sure it didn't”

“For everything bad one of them does there are lots more who are do good, who are good, who help, who step up when they're needed” she held up the folder and floated it over to the Princess “there's more examples in here, a lot more, so many more, because of all that...Princess... we've made a horrible mistake, we have to try and stop the barrier, slow it back down. Give them time, give them a chance”

“Twilight...”

Celestia's horn glowed as she took the folder in her magic, then set it down before the throne, unopened

“...I know”

The Princess of the Sun's heart broke as she saw her Most Faithful Student's face crumble

Celestia stepped forwards, coming down off the throne

“I know, I had to know, I looked, the humans aren't like the old myths, they're far more complex, there's a lot of good along with the bad”

“Then why?” Celestia swept her forehoof towards the window

“Because of this”

“I don't understand princess” not a question, more a statement, Twilight couldn't understand why

“Equestria Twilight, that's why, I'm responsible for my little ponies and Equestira” she lifted the file “not for these humans or their planet, unless they choose to become my little ponies and make a new life here”

“But all those examples, the good people...”

“I know the good they can do and I know all the bad they've done, in the long run, sooner or later they'll turn on us, or enough of them will to make it matter. I wish it didn't have to be this way Twilight, really I do but I can't risk it” she raised her head looking down at her Most Faithful Student “that's what being a Princess is about, sometimes you have to make a choice with countless lives in the balance and hope you're right” she looked at the folder “and find a way to live with yourself”

“But Princess”

“Enough” Celestia said firmly “it's over and done with, we probably couldn't stop it now anyway” her horn glowed and the folder began to smoulder and then ignite “we just have to live with it”

Twilight looked at the burning folder as it slowly turned black

“Alright Celestia, I won't bring it up again” her student said calmly, and then turned and trotted away

Celestia's mask of composure never slipped as she tended to the ashes, deep down she wondered if it was even a mask anymore, to stay on so well for so long

Pedro V's Office, Present Day

“Won't you consider it?” Celestia asked “go to the Bureaus, save what you can”
“We wouldn't be saving anything or anyone, we'd be committing mass suicide and leaving you everything we have left, you'd twist it like you do the minds of the newfoals”

“It helped them acclimatize, after the Last Exodus started there were problems, they couldn't handle it, something with the magic, maybe it knew they didn't want to be there in Equestria. Half went mad, most took their own lives, it helped me save them, now hardly any commit suicide” she looked down at the ground, looking for all the world like a sinner in confession, the regal tone was gone, now it was the jaded one of a bitter soul

“I had to make a choice and I made it, maybe it was wrong but it's too late now, I have to live with it, that's the price of the crown, you're a ruler, you know that”

“I do” he said “and maybe if I'd been in your place I'd have done the same thing” Celestia looked up “maybe”

“So you understand?” desperation, she was almost pleading, he knew why she'd really come here now, she wanted someone to understand, she wanted someone to know and she wanted forgiveness, that what she'd done wasn't so horrific, that anyone would have done it, that it was a price of the crown she wore. She wanted absolution

“Maybe, I would have waited, given you a chance, tried to save you, extended a hand in friendship, a real hand, maybe I would have taken a chance” he sighed “but we'll never know, will we?” the mask was gone now, so was the anger, there was a desperate look in her eyes

“Please, convert, go through the bureau before the barrier expands, make your people go”

“Can you spare us from the newfoal mindset? Let us choose”

“It's magic is infused into the potion, I can't change it in time, please, just go, for your people”

“I'll tell them what's coming, all of it, they can decide themselves, they deserve one last chance to choose how their stories end”

“Go through, please” now she was begging, begging him to save himself from what she'd set in motion. Pedro looked out the window, seeing his son entertaining the Equestrian dignitaries, he saw the sash he was so proudly wearing

“In honour of Twilight Sparkle I can't do that, I'm sorry”

Celestia rose to her hooves and turned to go, then she turned back, her eyes those of a haunted mare

“You understand, right? Why I had to do it?”

Pedro looked at her and said nothing, there was nothing left to say, finally the Princess of the Sun left the room, dragging her hooves across the floor, the weight of seven billion and six souls around her neck

Author's Note

Every example Twilight found is worth looking up, it's always worthwhile to learn about some of the good in human history as well as the bad

Kindness

Everfree Research Station, Stewart/Rakiura Island, Kingdom of Aotearoa/New Zealand, several years ago

She'd been up since before the dawns golden rays crept over the horizon, she'd remained in her favourite spot on the island, the top of the research station as the blazing orb rose higher in the sky. The newest building on the island had been raised to serve as her research post, a tall conical tower with a wide, flat top. Small cottages dotted the lower slope of the hill where her research staff slept. It offered amazing views of the entire island, including the abandoned town of Oban. When the barrier advanced the few remaining inhabitants of the island fled to the mainland and left the town behind, now it remained, despite the buffeting of the winter storms and the summer heat. It brought back memories of the Castle of the Two Sisters, abandoned by those who'd raised it but holding its own against the forces of nature that sought to reclaim it

The early morning breeze that blew in off the sea tugged gently at her mane and tail, both now a rose so pale it was almost silver and pulled back in a looped ponytail. She flexed her wings out into the wind, feeling the chill lessen the stiffness and rheumatism of her old aged bones and tendons

Fluttershy could feel it in her bones, there was only two of them now, she'd lost touch with the girls as the barrier expanded across the earth and communication was cut off, the last time they'd met together had been...by Faust, had it been so long ago?

Twilight settled in South America, advising their new emperor, Dash had done likewise in North America, being “Senior Equestrian Consultant” to the White House. Fluttershy had had plenty of offers but it wasn't for her, she wasn't anyone to advise or consult. She told New Zealand's government as much, both before and after the Maori King had been chosen to replace the royal family who'd been cut off by the barrier. They respected her isolation, her exile from her exile. She was content to remain here, on her little island sanctuary in the middle of the vast blue ocean

The soft notes of birdsong drifted from the trees all around the station, the birds were awakening to begin their day, it brought back such happy memories. Like she'd done so long ago at her cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville, she began singing back, her calm, clear melody joining theirs, the birds changing their song to match hers

The morning chorus was beginning to pick up as she heard steps getting closer, feeling the faint reverberation as the hatch swung open behind her

She smiled as Riley Hudson handed her a cup of hot green tea and took a seat beside her, sitting cross-legged on the roof. With a handle modified for pegasi wings she lifted the cup and took a sip, the tea warming her. He was one of the newer additions to the little community on the island and so far he was settling in nicely

“Thank you Riley”

“Don't mention it, I was up early and figured you'd like a cup, the carrot extract gives it a whole new level of flavour”

“A friend gave me the recipe a long time ago” she replied, unable to keep a tinge of sadness from her voice

“On the other side?”

“Yes” they sat in silence for awhile, watching the sun rise and the leaves of the trees sway in the wind

It usually went the same way with new arrivals, they get off the boat all eager to start their field assignment from their universities on the mainland. Then they meet her, one of the Elements, a living legend, someone who was there at the start of it all, they can't do enough for her, they get chatty, ask a ton of questions about what happened, she gives them a ton of answers. Their curiosity sated the novelty wears off and their interest starts to dim. She's a living breathing reminder of their eventual fate and coupled with her 'living legend' status they begin to keep their distance, they're still friendly, still polite but it's not the same, too nervous, too eager to please, too worried they'll offend. She didn't mind, it's just their nature, something she'd known for a long time, if their roles were reversed she would probably be the same way, she understood

In the decades since she'd settled on her outpost there had been a few who rose past that barrier and weren't intimidated or worried and walked on eggshells, who were still friendly, still warm, still...kind

“Who were they?”

“His name was Angel”

“Was he a pegasi?”

“He was a bunny” he'd seen her make small talk about the weather with kiwis so he wasn't surprised that she'd been friends with a rabbit

“What was he like?”

“He was a hoof-full”

“Is he...”

“He was still alive when we left, now I don't know” she trailed off, the pangs of homesickness rising again

“I'm not originally from New Zealand, I was born in a little town in Ohio called Willshire. My family moved here ten years ago and I had to leave all my friends behind, I still miss them, especially Ahmed. He was my best friend, a great guy, we used to go camping in the woods, fishing, birdwatching, you name it and we did it together, him, me, Jody, Kyle, Mitsuki and Natalie. I still think about them, wonder how they're doing, if they're in what's left of the US or if they entered the bureaus and they're making a go of it on the other side”

“I'm sorry” Fluttershy said softly, Riley looked at her with his bottle green eyes, the wind ruffling his sandy blond hair

“For what?”

“For not being able to stop it, to stop her”

“You did what you could, I can't speak for everyone else but for me that's enough” the old yellow mare managed a small smile and took a deep gulp of tea, feeling the carrot extract revitalize her, below the research station began to come to life as researchers, both human and pony stumbled out of their huts. Fluttershy rose to her hooves

“Come on, we've got work to do” she said before jumping over the side of the tower and gliding down gracefully to the ground. Riley made for the hatch, noticing the design Fluttershy had painted on the roof, six purple, yellow, blue, red, green and pink gems arrayed around a six-pointed magenta star on a dark background

Hours later found them in the empty town of Oban, empty of humans anyway. After the people had left the birds had moved in, not wanting to pass up ideal places to shelter from the elements and raise their young. One species in particular had been very keen to set up shop

Fluttershy listened as the kakapo in front of her chirped away

“Okay, don't worry, we'll take care of it” she looked up “Riley, have Julian and Henrietta take a look at the incubators, Mavis is struggling with three chicks, we'll need to make some space”

“On it” he jotted a note down on the paper, the short, squat parrot made a soft trilling noise and looked down at the ground like she was ashamed, he knelt down and spoke softly

“It's okay, you're not a bad mom and no-one thinks you are, you've just got more than you can handle and you're making sure your chicks are taken care of. That's not being a bad mom, that's being a great one, your chicks are gonna thank you for it when they get older” the kakapo raised her head and her eyes seemed brighter. Behind him Fluttershy smiled as the bird chirped

“She says thank you”

A hoarse squawk cut through the air and both turned to see a fluster of brown feathers rushing towards them

“Agatha, what's wrong?” the little kiwi stopped to catch her breath and then squawked again, this time more slowly and (Riley guessed) clearly

“There's a whale tied up in fishing nets?” another squawk confirmed it, the pegasi looked to her intern

“Riley, get the boat ready and meet me out there, I'm going to take a closer look”
“Yes ma'am” she took off and her intern ran towards the dock, already reaching for his walkie talkie to let the crew know he was en-route

She headed out over the bay, the green shallows morphing into a deep blue so dark it was almost black as the coastal shelf fell away. A spout of white water shooting into the air guided her way

The small rigid inflatable boat bounced up and down as it hit the waves, making its way out of the harbour into the deeper water off the islands coast as Fluttershy flew in closer. As far as anyone knew the animals weren't affected by the barrier, no-one knew if they could cross back and forth since tracking tags were shorted out when they went near it but the animals they were put on usually turned up sooner or later. Fluttershy said she was sure they could cross, no-one asked if that meant Equestrian creatures could cross over to Earth. Sailors had reported seeing strange things near the remaining shipping lanes but sailors had been seeing strange things in the water since humanity first took to the waves

The boat loomed up, inside was Riley and the crew consisting of another student intern and the boats pilot, her old friend Tree Hugger. It pulled in alongside the whale, a massive humpback bobbing in the waves, trying frantically to keep her blowhole above the water

She flared her wings, briefly hovering before dropping the final few feet into the boat

“She's wrapped up pretty tight” Tree Hugger sighed

“Bummer”

“Damn fishing nets, they were banned years ago” the other student muttered

“Nets last for ages in the ocean remember? They could be from before the ban” Riley piped in

“Where they're from doesn't matter, what matters is that the poor whale's tangled in them, she's getting tired, we need to cut her free before she sinks too low to keep breathing” Fluttershy insisted, Riley went for the equipment locker and opened it, he cursed under his breath

“What's wrong?”

“Only one wetsuit” he immediately began putting it on

“There's supposed to be two” Tree Hugger held up the other one, the deep gash down the right leg was clear as day

“Rock reef accident last week, remember?” Fluttershy was so angry she could just swear

“...Darn it” another spout of water, the whale was losing time, no time for them to go back, no time to get anyone or anypony else out here, they were the humpbacks only hope

“What now?” Riley asked

“Give me a dive knife, I'll do it myself”

“What? But, the water...”

“Pegasi manes and feathers are good at keeping the cold out” Riley handed her the knife and began setting up the scuba tank and mask

“I'll be right in after you Professor” she tucked the knife under her wing

“Please Riley, call me Fluttershy” and with that she took off, rose up in the air and then shot straight down, plunging into the cold water of the south Pacific ocean

It was a little known fact both on Equestria and on Earth that Pegasi were as good swimmers as they were fliers, their wings able to wrestle with and master air currents and winds could move through the water too, albeit with more effort. Their manes were insulated against the cold of flying up high and protecting their wearers from having their heat sapped away by the icy winds of the upper atmosphere. The feathers and fur were also waterproof, all the better at keeping the rain off their wings and bodies in flight. She remembered the shock at revealing to the UNESCO conference that the closest match to Pegasus feathers on earth was a seagull, specifically a gannet. Similarly they could hold their breaths for far longer than unicorns or earth ponies and their blood held more oxygen. You never knew how high you might need to go or how thin the air might be up there

She rode her momentum downwards, the cold water feeling nice on her aching limbs and bones, when it ran out she beat her wings, pulling herself along in the water until she reached the whale. Underneath the surface she could see the extent of the problem, the netting was wrapped around the humpbacks tail and both pectoral fins, cocooning her in plastic

Without any hesitation she got to work, grasping the diving knife she began hacking away at the net, a big splash signalling Riley coming to help. He joined her, and after a few minutes they'd gotten most of one pectoral fin free, her lungs were beginning to burn, even pegasi couldn't hold their breath forever. Riley pulled the regulator out of his mouth and passed it to her, she slipped it into hers, exhaled and took a deep breath, feeling the oxygen rush into her, revitalizing her, pushing away the nausea she was feeling

They kept up their routine, hacking away at the net and Fluttershy sharing a breath whenever she was running out, with one pectoral fin finally freed Fluttershy left Riley to work at the other and moved to the tail. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the pectoral fin swing free. Riley moved backwards out of the way but only just, the force of the swing ripped his dive knife out of his hands, he grabbed for it but it plummeted down, quickly beyond reach as it sank to the depths

His fist clenched in anger and frustration but she swam up to him and handed him hers, silently saying 'take it', he didn't argue and dived down to finish cutting the whales tail free

She floated there in the water column watching him as he removed the net, he had potential, he was smart, he was friendly and above all he cared, he was kind. That was something that was far rarer than it needed to be, especially in these dark times, there needed to be more kindness in the world

Suddenly she felt a shooting pain up her left foreleg, her wings seized up and she began dropping in the water column. The stations doctor had warned her not to overexert herself, that at her age, even with her magic her body, her heart wasn't as strong as it had once been. She saw a red light and a flurry of bubbles as Riley swam up to her, shooting off the distress flare, he stuck the respirator in her mouth, grabbed her behind her forelegs and began swimming for the surface

Fluttershy grasped him back, turning to look over his shoulder, he followed her gaze, the whale was still trapped and was almost completely submerged, she passed the respirator back to him and said silently

'I'll be alright, go' she noticed a rainbow flash in his eyes (but not in hers) as he nodded and swam back down, she tried to kick upwards as she heard another big splash, felt strong legs grab her and everything went black

Fluttershy opened her eyes to the sound of the waves and the sea breeze blowing on her damp fur, she was back on the boat with a soaking wet Tree Hugger looking down at her, her heart still felt funny

“Thought we'd lost you there” Tree Hugger said, tears of relief forming at the corners of her big purple eyes. She felt the boat bounce softly, they were moving back to shore, the other intern must be piloting it

“Riley?” the Element of Kindness weakly called out

“I'm right here Fluttershy” he said, the diving knife she gave him sheathed and tucked into his dive belt

“The whale...”

“See for yourself” he gently lifted her up in the boat, tilting her upright, the boat bounced in the waves, picking up speed as they headed for the station and the doctor. She could see the whales great dark and white form rise out of the ocean as she breached and landed back down with an almighty splash and spray of water

“She's showing us...” she said weakly, the pressure on her heart got stronger, tighter

“What, she's showing us what Fluttershy?” Riley asked desperately, Tree Hugger was blinking away salty tears and the other intern removed their hat. Fluttershys eyelids felt heavy

“...that she's free” her vision grew darker and darker, the last sight she ever saw was the whale breaching, revelling in her newfound freedom, the freedom Fluttershy had helped give her. It was the last feeling the Element of Kindness ever knew, she thought it was a good one

Magic

Library, Second Imperial Palace, Petropolis, Second Empire of Brazil, one year ago

She was the last one now

She felt it, one by one, five magical presences she'd known for centuries had blinked out, now it was just her. It had been many centuries since she'd known the feeling of loneliness, not since she was a bookworm shut away in her little library tower in Canterlot

Luis, Prince Imperial appeared from out of the stacks clutching the volume she'd been looking for...among others, he set the stack down on the table and handed one to her

“That's a lot of books”

“Getting some light reading for tonight” she only raised an eyebrow, mares in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

“Well...at least you're not making book forts anymore”

“What?”

“You don't remember? As a kid you used to come in here to see me, take the ones I'd finished reading and stack them up to make a fort”

“Well tia Twilight, you always said this place was a fortress of knowledge” that got a laugh out of the old mare, making her ancient sides ache as she levitated up the book he'd brought

“Maybe you can take your sense of humour and go track down the next volume for me?”

“Sure thing” Luis turned to go and then heard a heavy thud, he spun back around, Twilight was slumped over the desk, half the books on the floor

“Tia!”

She slowly pushed her eyes open and the world swam back into view, she was in her bed, in her room, the Imperial family surrounded her bedside

“Tia?” Luis asked

“I'm here Luis” she said softly, struggling to sit up

“Wait Twilight, the doctor said you have to be careful” Pedro warned her

“What happened?”

“The doctors think it's some kind of stroke, Silver Suture thinks something went wrong with your magic, she said it happens a lot to...” he didn't need to finish, when unicorns got to a certain age their magic would start going funny, it was like humans being prone to falling, she'd burned through too much of her alicorn power

“Both our human and unicorn doctors agree you need to take it easy”

“I've got too much to do”

“Twilight..” Luis started, she looked at him, she thought it was time

“Pedro, would you mind?” the emperor nodded, taking his wife and niece by the shoulders he led them out of the room

“Tia? What's going on?”

“This is something all future emperors have had to do once they're old enough, there's one final secret you need to know, to know the truth”
“What is it?”

“It's something I've got to show you, I hope I can still do the spell” she beckoned him closer and leaned forwards, the tip of her horn glowing she pressed it to his forehead and the princes eyes burned with white energy

Suddenly he was floating in a vast white void, the old alicorn next to him and a row of doors on either side of therm both

“Phew, still got it”

“Where are we?”

“In essence, my head, these are my memories” she waved her foreleg and the doors sped by at lightning speed until stopping at a battered, old looking door

“Do you know why the Elements and I came over to earth?”

“Dad said you tried to help us after Celestia wouldn't stop the barrier and you got banished for it”

“That's...technically right” Twilight's horn glowed and the door opened, she motioned for Luis to step inside

Below them it played out, the doors to the room flung open, the Elements charged in with determination, forming up as their necklaces and crown glowed, loyalty, laughter, generosity, honesty, kindness and magic calling forth their power. The different coloured light shooting forth from each, merging into a rainbow and rushing at the newest threat to harmony

To Celestia's credit she looked shocked as it raced towards her, unable to believe her most faithful student and her friends had turned against her. Then a wall of white flame rose around the throne, a split second before the rainbow power could reach her and it shattered, even the power of the Elements paling before the barely contained might of the Princess of the Sun

The white flames parted and Celestia strode forth, her eyes now golden yellow and black, blazing with a terrible, ancient rage, the fury of betrayal. She bellowed for the guards to seize them with a true Royal Canterlot Voice, so full of power that it almost cracked the castles walls. Twilights determination morphed into horror, it hadn't worked, her horn began to glow as Celestia took another step forwards, the carpets burning from the heat of the solar fire

The other Elements clustered next to her as her purple magic coated them, but a brilliant white magic began to swirl around each necklace and the crown, fighting with the purple. With a bang the six friends vanished from the room, the necklaces and crown remaining in place for a second, caught between the swirling, battling magic of mentor and student, then cracking and exploding in a blinding array of rainbow light

As the pieces scattered onto the floor Celestia raised her head and let out a furious shriek, waves of white flame bursting forth, the magic in her voice shattering every window in Canterlot Castle in her fury and anguish

“You tried to use the Elements against her” Twilight hung her head, even now ashamed

“I tried to convince her to stop, she didn't listen, she'd written you off as monsters. She wasn't going to stop. So I...I had to stop her, I had to try. The girls agreed with me, it was the only way, none of them were willing to give you up either” Twilight sighed bitterly “she sent me to Ponyville to learn about friendship, at some point she forgot what that means”

“You gave up everything for us”

“We couldn't go anywhere else in Equestria, she'd have been able to cast spells to block my teleporting, we had to go then and there or...I don't know what she'd have done and I don't want to know. So we left everything and came here, to help on this side”

“It's a lot to take in but thank you for showing me” Twilight shook her head

“No no, this isn't the secret” her horn glowed and in a flash they were back in between the rows of doors, in front of one with all six of the Elements cutie marks etched into the wood

“This is” Luis didn't know what could be worse than what he'd just seen but he reached for the door and opened it

Once the stepped inside he was floating above another room with his old mentor beside him

“Luis, you know how Alicorns can live forever, right?”

“Yeah, your magic is special, different from those of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies, it slows your ageing down so it's basically non-existent”

“And yet...” Twilight gestured to herself, waiting for her number one assistant and pupil to put the pieces together, like his father, grandfather and past emperors and presidents had done before him, she didn't wait long

“You gave it up somehow, you sacrificed your immortality, sent the alicorn magic somewhere else. No, to someone else, someones else, someponies else”

She hung her head low as below them past Twilight moved towards her friends and her horn began to glow with a deep royal purple, far darker than her usual magic

“You sacrificed your immortality for them, to prolong their lives”

“I lost everything and everypony I ever knew, I...I couldn't lose them too” she looked down as the deep purple magic spread from her horn into the other Elements, for a second their eyes glowed with the magic

“That's it, the final secret” in a flash of light they were back outside in the hallway of doors

“Thank you for showing me Twilight, I know it can't have been easy to do this for every ruler in Brazil since you came here”

“I asked each of them the same question and now I need to ask you” she lowered her gaze “do you forgive me?”

“I...what?”

“By sacrificing my magic I shortened my own life, the time I had to try and stop the barrier, the magic at my disposal to try to use against it, all for my own selfish reasons, because despite everything, I still felt friendship was magic. Maybe if I had more time I could had done more, I could have hep you more, saved you, atoned for what I did. So, I have to ask you, do you forgive me?”

Luis stood there for a second, then a rainbow glow shined in his eyes and hers and he moved forward to embrace her

“You did so much for us, you never gave up on us, you fought for us, you sacrificed everything for us and you keep trying to help save us. I can't forgive you because there's nothing to forgive tia Twilight” he let go and looked her the old mare he'd come to see as a mentor and a friend

That old mare slowly began to smile

“All these centuries, every time, you all say the same thing” tears began to well up “and every time I remember why we did it and why I know all six of us would do it again. When you weigh the good along with the bad you're worth it, you're worth fighting for” her horn glowed and a sash appeared. It was made of a repeating design consisting of six purple, yellow, blue, red, green and pink gems arrayed around a six-pointed magenta star on a dark background

“Here, I want you to have this” she levitated it over to Luis

“What is it?”

“Kind of our unofficial flag, the Elements I mean, we all made one so no matter where we went, where we ended up we'd always have a reminder of how important we are to each other and of the magic of friendship. The magic that brought us all together and made us realize you were worth fighting for” Luis took it and slipped it on

“I'm honoured Twilight”

She smiled as her horn glowed again and suddenly they were back in her room in the palace, looking down Luis saw he was still wearing the sash, somehow

He didn't say anything about it, there was nothing he needed to say

“Luis, I'm tired, would you mind reading me something until I fall asleep?” she tapped the book lying on the table next to the bed

“Sure” he reached for the book

“Thank you, my most faithful student” she whispered softly, Twilight made herself as comfortable as Luis settled into a chair next to her bed and opened the book, bound in purple with a golden horseshoe on the front cover

Hm, it was written like a journal...

Chapter Seven

Second Imperial Palace, Petropolis, Second Empire of Brazil

After that, there was nothing more to say, to do, the Ponies quickly left, worried what would happen after the truth came out, what the humans might do

Pedro made an address, every TV station, every radio frequency, every digital device in Brazil broadcast the final speech an Emperor would make to his people. True to his word he told them everything, what had happened, what was going to happen, the bureaus were open, they could go as newfoals or they could stay as humans. The end was coming, their stories were coming to an end, it was up to each person in the Empire of Brazil to decide how the final pages of their tale would be written. Then he retired to the palace to spend the last days of mankind with his family

He was surprised at how calm everything was, some sporadic riots that petered out by the following evening, calm was settling across the Empire. Some went to the Bureaus, the rest stayed, order didn't break down, police, army, doctors, all volunteered to come in if they could, if they were needed. By and large they weren't and went home, content they'd done their duty to the end

Sitting on the balcony outside the imperial bedchamber Pedro wondered why, maybe it was stoic acceptance of the end, maybe hope that somehow, some way it could be stopped, maybe they just didn't want to give into anarchy and go out on a high note. Maybe it was a mix of all of that

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder

“Pedro, come to bed” his wife, Clara of Orleans

“Do you think I did the right thing telling them?” the both looked out, Petropolis was quiet and sleepy, it seemed like any other night in the imperial capital

“You gave them the choice Celestia never did, the truth she never told them, they seem to be doing okay so far” he put his hand on her own and gave it a squeeze

“What did I ever do to deserve you? Luis?” he gestured to the capital “all this?”

“Because you still ask me if you did the right thing”

They spent the following hours talking, reminiscing on everything they'd known and done, hours later they retired to bed, finally, somehow, he drifted off to sleep

He knew he was dreaming because there wasn't usually a tear in the fabric of reality in the middle of the throne room. He made his way to the throne and sat down, even in his dreams he wasn't free from greeting visiting royals

Slowly she emerged from the portal

“Princess Luna, welcome” the dark blue princess bowed her forelegs, more than the brief dip Celestia did, this was one of real respect

“Your imperial majesty”

“You really don't need to do that, since I'm in your realm I should be bowing to you I suppose” she held up a hoof

“We are quite sick of dealing with formalities when we are in the waking world, may we drop them?”

“Agreed” they both breathed a sigh of relief

“So why are you here Princess?” she looked at the ground

“I...I know what she did”

“I thought you might”

“And...I wanted to come and say I'm sorry”

“For what?” Luna looked shocked “Twilight told me everything, I know you had nothing to do with it”

“If I had known...”

“Celestia made sure you didn't until Twilight made her move so don't go down that road, don't torment yourself with it” she'd come to comfort him, now it was the other way around

“I also...I hoped I might convince you to go to the Bureaus, there's still time”

“Can you guarantee my family won't become newfoals, that we won't have our minds messed with?”

“I could try a few spells, maybe if I...” he cut her off

“So that's a no” she sighed

“I had hoped to convince you”

“Why?” her eyes glowed white and specs of white flew from her mane, expanding into white orbs, each showing a dream that a certain purple alicorn had had

“I know how much she loved your family, I wanted to do it for her so something she loved would survive”

“If you knew her as well as I did you know why I can't accept that, why we can't”

He expected her to resume begging, pleading, instead Luna smiled sadly

“You humans...I can see why she chose to fight for you after getting to know you” Pedro smiled, remembering the old mare one final time

“She always said friendship was magic” the dreamscape began to tremble, Lunas eyes went wide and she bowed her head

“Farewell Your Majesty, I swear I shall watch over those of your line that endure, for her and for you”

He sat up in bed, he didn't need her to tell him what that was about

It was coming

It was time

Asteroid o'clock

He and Clara rushed to the balcony, he heard the door to their bedroom fling open and Luis joined them. He could hear it, he could feel the palace begin to shake, it was coming

“This is it” he pulled his wife and son into an embrace

“I love you Pedro” the horizon erupted into a burst of white light with a pallid green tinge

“Me too dad, mom, I've proud to be your son”

“I love you both, I love you both so much” he held them tight as the barrier washed over Petropolis and the last of the Empire

And, finally, the Earth was gone

Epilogue: The League of Harmony

The Belfry, Canterlot, 6 AB (After Barrier)

Sterling Brigand, Duke Pampa trotted into the restaurant, glancing around he spied a blue hoof being waved in the air by a fellow unicorn and member of the newfoal nobility. He cast his dark blue, borderline purple eye around the place as he made his way over to the table.

The Belfry was the hottest new restaurant and bakery in Canterlot, founded by another newfoal, the eponymous Bright Belfry. Because of this it drew in a lot of newfoals from across the vast new realm of Equestria and his pale blue coat and brown mane were a common sight there, he even knew her suppliers off by heart. Like Rough Spirit, the pegasi she was currently chatting with by the kitchen

As he passed by he nodded to a brown earth pony, Storied Sentry, one of the new curators at the Canterlot Museum, he enjoyed the fundraising soirées the place hosted and the earth pony always pulled out all the stops when she was running the show. A few tables down he noticed a pegasi call over a waiter to ask for some carrot extract, that'd be Feather Breeze, despite his name one of the toughest ponies Sterling knew. The impeccably dressed unicorn stallion by the window was Ambient Sapeur, owner of the most in demand tailors in Manehatten, probably here on business, the waistcoat Sterling was wearing was one of his. Finally he reached the table where Dawn Splendor was waiting for him

“Hey Sterling”

“Hey Dawn, long time no see” he replied warmly, despite everything, he was glad he still had his cousin

Her husband on the other hoof...

“Where's Blueblood?”

“The Princess has him working on something for the Summer Sun Celebration, you really should come by the estate and see him sometime, he's always going on about how you'd be a good fit for his dinner club”

“Oh, I'd, er, I'd love to Dawn but I'm gonna be pretty busy from now on”
“You mean...”

“Yep, I said yes, you're looking at Princess Luna's personal protégé” she squealed and threw her hooves around his shoulders

“Oh Sterling that's amazing! Praise the Princesses!”

“This calls for a celebration” she called the waiter and he returned with a bottle of something bubbly and filled their glasses

“To the Princesses!”

“Praise the Princesses” Sterling replied, clinking the glasses, thanking the stars he was a good actor

“Do you ever, you know, miss it?”

“Hmm?”

“Before, Brazil”

“Do you?” he asked curiously, she looked unsure

“I...” her eyes flickered “it was pretty bad there, all that war, suffering, wasn't it?” her head twitched sharply as the potion did its work “no, it's better here, far better”

“I'll drink to that cousin, to our new start in Equestria”

“Here here” she replied gleefully as they clinked their glasses together

All too often Luis got a reminder of what the potion had done to her, that he was less glad about

Mansion of Sterling Brigand, Duke Pampa, outskirts of Canterlot

“Are you practising as you should Sterling Brigand?” Luna asked sternly she walked side-by-side with her most faithful student later that night, the two of them flanked by her guards

“Sure thing Princess, magic's taking some getting used to but I'm getting better every day” Sterling replied chipperly, keeping in lockstep as they went down the hall to their training area

“I am glad, to be my personal student is no minor role, you are a symbol of the integration of the newfoals into Equestria, just like your cousin is with my sister” she proclaimed loudly as she stopped in front
of the doors, turning to her guards

“Leave us, return to the Royal Palace, the teachings of the Princess of the Night are for her student alone” the guards saluted, turned and walked back down the hall, once they were out of sight Luna and Sterling went inside

“One moment” Luna pulled the doors shut with her magic and a bright glyph appeared on them “there, we are secure”

“And Celestia doesn't suspect anything?”

“No, my sister believes I am teaching you as she is your cousin” she replied, watching Luis levitate rocks and teleport around the room “although in truth I don't think you need it, you've taken to magic quite well”

“Thank you Princess, she doesn't think it's weird you've picked me?”

“She knows I went to see your father, I told her I promised to look out for you, she thinks that's what I'm doing...” she looked down at the ground “and I suppose technically I am”

“Thanks Luna, I can take things from here, you've done plenty for us already”

“It feels right you are here Luis, to be the one to carry what was hers forward” she said as she turned around and began attending to her own duties, he didn't push her, to say she was torn about, well, everything would be the understatement of the century

Luis walked across the training room and down the staircase at the far side, heading deeper underground, deeper and deeper until he reached the cellar, then heading to the fair side, his horn glowed and another glyph appeared on the wall in front of him, that section retracted back revealing a secret passageway. He went in, closed the door and headed down it, finally he came out in a large room

Inside a large pale blue table took up the centre, taken from the now abandoned Castle of Friendship (Spike had gone to live with the dragons, too many memories in Ponyville), on it was a large piece of parchment and atop it a crown of silver, holding a magenta gem shaped like an astrolabe. Dotted around the room were old artefacts, retrieved from caches by one of those who'd helped hide them there. Around the table were six thrones, five of which were empty

“You took your time” Klara, or as she was known outside the room, Bright Belfry said

“I got held up 'celebrating' my mentorship with my cousin” he replied as he slid into the empty throne “anyway, I call this meeting of the League of Harmony to order”

As he did each throne pulsed, the cutie mark at the top being replaced by that of the pony sitting in it, the friendship map responding to the new Elements who were wearing their new necklaces around their necks. Luis placed the crown on his head, not the one he'd grown up to wear but it'd do

“How's she? Any better?” Sanzhar, otherwise known as Rough Spirit asked him

“Fraid not, the potion's still doing its stuff, she's definitely not one of us”

“Have you heard anything about more being immune to the potion?” Dikembe asked “Ambient Sapeur hasn't heard anything from anypony coming into his shop”

“Hard to believe the potion wears off in one in a thousand newfoals, although since these things protected us we don't really count towards that” Riley said, the erstwhile Feather Breeze tapping the necklace around his neck “you'd think Celestia would've figured it out by now”

“Luna's helping keep it secret”

“Just her?”

“Let's just say Twilight and the Elements had lots of friends, some of them pretty powerful friends in high places, who have scores to settle with Celestia for what she did”

“So we're really doing this” Storied Sentry, known to her fellow elements as Marcia said “we're really gonna overthrow her”

“We're human, not giving up is kind of our thing” Luis placed his hoof above the table“ you can take away the human form but the human spirit? That can never be erased. It's our last bastion”

One by one the others put their hooves on his, united in their vow, below one name on the parchment stood out: John Hancock

And that's it, thank you all for taking the time to read it, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it