And With The Dawn Of True Peace

One evening, Queen Void paces back and forth in the royal bedroom. Although the public sees an emotionally mature ruler, she is still a filly at heart and one currently embroiled in a debate with her other half. You know I'm right. You don't want to be alone for the rest of time, do you? It's quick and your friends are then immortal.

Scootaloo paces harder. "Of course I want that but I can't force that upon them. Even if they were willing, they'd have to watch thier families grow old and die around them." She looks down. "And besides, once they learn who I am and what we've done, they'll never want to see me again."

Why would they do that? We've improved everypony's life and the only ones suffering under us deserve what they get. "We're usurpers and the last time they met you was... less than ideal." Nightmare grimly recalls the Crusaders hiding and cowering during the Summer Sun Celebration.

Scootaloo sighs miserably. "This is the curse of immortality, I guess. Sacrificing your own happiness for the greater good and watching those you care about die around you." She finally comes to a decision. "We need to tell them the truth, Nightmare. They're already suspicious that I'm nowhere to be found for days at a time especially after they learned what happened to me. Whatever they think of me, they need to know."

The next day, the Crusader Tree-house

Apple Bloom meets Sweetie Belle and both of them are frustrated. "Ah dunt know about you but ah haven't sin Scootaloo in days."

Sweetie Belle looks down in disappointment. "Neither have I and it worries me."

Before Apple Bloom can reply, the door to the Tree-house opens and they turn to see Rainbow Dash beaming in the doorway. "Good morning."

The Crusaders rush over to the rainbow maned Pegasus. "Rainbow Dash! Have you seen Scootaloo? We haven't seen her in days."

The clone chuckles. "Sorry to have worried you girls but it's been a hectic few days. After the truth came out about Scoots, I decided to officially adopt her as my little sister. We've spent the last few days settling in but I left it as a surprise for her until the last moment so she didn't have time to tell you."

She worries for a moment that they won't buy it but they suddenly gain massive smiles. "REALLY?!" The Rainbow clone nods proudly before they tackle her for a group hug. "Thank you! We've been so worried about her having to leave Ponyvile."

Rainbow Dash chuckles as she gently pulls herself out of the pony mound. "It's okay to come in now, squirt."

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom's head snap to the doorway as the familiar orange and purple Alicorn steps in. "Hi, girls."

Scootaloo has barely a second to brace herself before being swamped by her friends. "Congratulations!" She returns the hug before they slowly extricate themselves from the mound.

The shadow clone of Rainbow Dash flashes a proud smile at the three before turning to leave. "Make sure to be home by 6;15, Scoots. Have fun."

With that, she flies away and leaves three delighted fillies. "So, what's the plans for today?"

Several hours later, it turns out that the answer to Scootaloo's question was "not much." They spend most of the afternoon catching up on what they have been doing for the last few days. Unsurprisingly, Scootaloo does most of the talking but it turns out that being spiritually linked to an immortal entity who has had countless hosts over the millennia gives somepony a fantastic imagination.

Just as Scootaloo finishes, they hear a knock on the clubhouse door. "Come in."

The door opens to reveal Rarity and Applejack with content smiles. "Good evening, girls." Realising the time, all three Crusaders jump to thier hooves at once. As they move for the door though, they are stopped by Applejack's hoof. "Whoa, slow down fer a second. We firs' need tah tell y'all somethin' very important." Two of the Crusaders look confused whilst Scootaloo braces herself. "We've all bin called tah Canterlot bai Queen Void and she specifically asked fer us to bring our sisters too."

Scootaloo tries not to let her heartbreak show upon seeing the terrified looks on her friends' faces. Thankfully, due to its relative isolation and low population, word has yet to properly reach Ponyvile about the Dreadified Elements of Harmony and any such murmurs have been dismissed as hearsay and fear mongering from spies to sow distrust and fear. Even so, everypony is aware of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's fates and rumour is that she is actually Nightmare Moon with a new host.

"W-w-why would she want to see US?! We haven't done anything wrong! We swear!" Scootaloo cringes as her friends huddle to her in fear.

Rarity throws her mane with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Queen Void doesn't hurt fillies and, if she tries, she'll be on a one-way trip to the Moon."

Although still scared, the two Crusaders nod bravely. "See you tomorrow, Scootaloo." Scootaloo watches them go before flying to Rainbow Dash's house where she lets her conscience retreat back into her true body.

Momentarily, Canterlot Castle

Nightmare has just finished her court for the day and heads to the dining room as she feels her other half return. "Welcome back, Scootaloo. Did you have a nice time?" Although jovial, Nightmare becomes worried when silence is her response. "Scoots?"

My friends are going to absolutely hate me and never want to talk to me again.

"Scootaloo, you don't know that." Scootaloo shows the memory of her friends' reactions which leads to a very pregnant silence. "I-I'm sorry, Scootaloo." Scootaloo sighs miserably. It's not your fault, Nightmare.

Nightmare adopts a motherly tone. "We can cancel the meeting and pretend we never had this conversation." Scootaloo shakes her head determinedly. No, I stand by my decision. I can't continue to live a lie to my friends. Perhaps this is for the best anyway; it will be easier to live without my friends when they absolutely despise me. Void wipes away some tears before heading for her bedroom, having lost her appetite.

Four days later, Ponyvile Train Station

Scootaloo climbs onto the train with the clone of Rainbow Dash close behind. As the whistle sounds, they make thier way to the fourth car where they find most of thier friends talking happily. As Scootaloo sits beside Sweetie and opposite Apple Bloom, she adopts her own nervous look as she sees that they are barely disguising thier fear. In spite of this, Sweetie Belle greets her with what is supposed to be a warm and welcoming smile. "H-hey Scootaloo, nice to see you."

Scootaloo wraps a comforting wing around Sweetie Belle who manages a small but genuine grateful smile. "Hey, there's no need to be so scared. I know for a fact that Queen Void is extremely generous to good ponies."

This visibly seems to slightly relax her friends although they remain anxious. "How do you know, Scootaloo?"

She shoots her friends a cheeky smile. "Call it a hunch. Rainbow Dash took me on a secret visit to Canterlot yesterday and things have definitely improved for the better."

To keep up the façade, the other clones lobby a harsh glare at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, that was extremely reckless and dangerous. We have no idea what Void is capable of."

Rainbow Dash recoils slightly with a sheepish smile. "Heh, sorry."

As the train speeds away from Ponyvile, Scootaloo gulps and settles in for the long train ride. She might as well enjoy the final few hours that she will ever experience with her friends.

An hour later, Scootaloo finds herself alone in the compartment with the other Crusaders after the others go to get lunch. "So Scootaloo, what's Canterlot like now?"

Scootaloo breaks from her daydreaming at the sound of Apple Bloom's voice. "Huh?"

Her friends adopt cheeky smiles. "You said that you and Rainbow Dash had a secret visit yesterday. Sooooooo, what's it like?"

Scootaloo can't help but chuckle. "It's incredible. Little about it has really changed but Queen Void has changed what is there for the better. As for what about it has changed?" She adopts her own cheeky grin. "That would be telling."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle scowl at her in frustration. "Ah, come on Scoots. Can't you even give us a hint?"

"Nope."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"Nope."
"Pleeeeeeeease?"
Scootaloo laughs at thier puppy dog eyes. "Where's the fun in telling you now?"

The two fillies pout. "You're no fun." Scootaloo lays back as the others return with thier hay sandwiches.

Much later, the others have gone to talk to Lyra and Bon Bon who happen to be travelling in the compartment next door. Alone with her friends once more, Scootaloo takes a deep breath. "Girls, would you still be my friends if you found out that I was hiding something super important from you?"

Sweetie and Apple Bloom exchange a confused look. "A small secret or..."

Scootaloo clops her front hooves together nervously. "A secret that could destroy our friendship beyond any chance of repair. The kind of secret which would make you hate me forever."

Her friends look shocked before fixing her with comforting smiles. "Scootaloo, as long as you're true to yourself, we will never hate you."

Scootaloo puts on a brave face with a happy smile. "Thanks guys. I'm sorry for bringing the mood down." They give her a hug that she happily returns though she doesn't feel any more reassured. She chuckles as the irony hits her. I survived years of abuse, I'm bonded to an immortal deity, I've ascended to become an Alicorn, I've defeated the Princesses with little effort, I'm monarch of Equestria and we've been stamping out foal abuse. And yet, my greatest fear is losing my friends.

Later, Canterlot

Once they arrive, the group explore whilst they wait for Queen Void's court to end for the day. Although the Crusaders are bored by the statue garden, they are delighted to see the diversified School for Gifted Ponies and Scootaloo will never forget how hard she laughed when she pushed Apple Bloom onto the Cloud Stadium only for the terrified filly to find that she won't pass through.

Eventually though, they approach Canterlot Palace with the Royal Guards at the entrance immediately admitting them. After walking for a few minutes in relative silence, they reach the entrance to the throne room. Before they enter, Scootaloo embraces her friends one final time with visible tears in her eyes. "No matter what happens now guys, just know that I am proud to have been your friend,"

The other Crusaders look at her in surprise. "Scootaloo, are you okay?"

Breaking the hug, Scootaloo nods to Twilight who gestures to the Royal Guards at the door which slowly opens. "Let's get this over and done with." With that said, the group enters the throne room and the doors close ominously behind them.

Nightmare watches proudly as the clones walk calmly in with her other half and her clearly terrified friends. "Greetings, my little ponies." Fortunately for Scootaloo, though Void is clearly a filly, she is almost unrecognisable due to her completely black coat. Even so, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom flinch at the familiar voice of Nightmare Moon. “Welcome to Canterlot.” She looks down at the Crusaders. “And you two must be Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Scootaloo has told me so much about you.”

The two fillies in question are taken slightly aback. “She has?”

Nightmare chuckles. “Of course she has. Scootaloo told me all about you yesterday."

The two's eyes go wide. "You didn't say you met with the Queen!"

Scootaloo chuckles, starting to wish that Nightmare hadn't mentioned that. "Yeah, we didn't mean to but we caught her on her afternoon walk and she insisted that we come in for afternoon tea. Nothing notable happened so I guess I forgot to mention it."

Deciding to take the chance, even as her friends subtly back away from Void, Scootaloo doesn't move and instead calmly faces down her true self. "Scootaloo! Get back!"

The Pegasus can only sigh. Here goes. "Guys, do you remember when I asked you if you would still be my friends even if I had a devastating secret?"

"Scootaloo, what are you talking about?" With one final sigh, Scootaloo allows her cloned body to finally disintegrate and lets her conscience retreat back into her true body.

As she opens her eyes, she looks sadly at the traumatised looks on her closest friends' faces as they back away from her. "SCOOTALOO!!!"

"She's been v--v-v-v-vaporised!" They turn and run from the entrance only to find the way blocked by the clones. "What are you doing?! We need to get out of here and find help!"

Hearing hoof-steps approaching, they turn to see the Dreadified Element Bearers file in from a side-door. "W-what is this?" They watch in horror as they see the clones vanish into thin air in front of thier eyes. "RUN!"

Before they can be stopped, the two fillies bolt outside and Void stops the Royal Guards from pursuing. "It's okay, I'll go after them myself. If anypony else goes after them, they'll become even more scared."

Rainbow Dash flies in front of her. "Will you require assistance, your majesty?"

Void shakes her head sadly. "I think it would be best if I went alone since, if we all go, we will probably scare them to death. And besides, they can't do any harm to me."

Rainbow Dash nods as Void walks calmly out into Canterlot. Fortunately, Sweetie had not noticed Scootaloo place a tracking spell on her before they entered the throne room.

Half an hour later, in an abandoned house on the outskirts of Canterlot

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom huddle together for comfort. "What do we do, Bloom? Our friends... Scootaloo... Rarity... They're all..."

Her friend sighs. "We hide 'til tomorrow and take the earliest possible train back tah Ponyvile. When we get there, we'll find your parents and Granny and hope they know wha' tah do."

Sweetie shakes her head. "That'd never work. 'Hey mom? Queen Void vaporised Scootaloo, Rarity and the others.' They'd never believe us! And what if those... things that look like our sisters come to Ponyvile as them and take us away?"

Apple Bloom gulps. "But Scootaloo said that Queen Void would never-"

"Scootaloo IS GONE, Apple Bloom! We’re the only ones left now." Sweetie's voice catches in her throat as the day begins to wear on her. "Almost everypony we care about is..." She swallows. "We'll make sure that they didn't die in vain. We just have to find Spike who can send a message to Princess Cadance in the Crystal Empire. Rarity told me that they have this Crystal Heart thing that can banish evil and can surely do the same to Queen Void and whatever those things with her were."

Just as Apple Bloom is about to agree, thier hearts stop as they hear a nervous knock on the door. "G-guys, are you in there?" The two Crusaders go dead silent; it could easily be one of those creatures using a voice change spell. "P-please, it's me Scootaloo."

It can't be her; we just saw her turn to dust in the throne room. It must be a trick to make us come out. They hear the voice sigh from downstairs. "I guess you have no reason to believe me after what you saw. I-I'm sorry for lying to you guys about everything but I was just so scared that you would hate me for my secret."

Sweetie finally can't take it anymore as she hears the voice audibly crack and is about to speak when another voice emerges from below. "It's no use, Scootaloo; they're convinced that we are using your voice to get to them." Sweetie and Apple Bloom exchange a look; why would Void say that if she and the Royal Guard are trying to lure them out?

Before they can do anything else, they hear the door open downstairs and two sets of hoof-steps moving inside; one heavy and the other light as a filly's. Reacting quickly, Sweetie Belle pulls Apple Bloom into a cupboard whilst they hear hooves on the stairs and watch the room's door open.

Despite themselves, they gawk as they see Scootaloo walk in followed by Queen Void and find themselves unnerved when they see the two staring right at thier hiding place. "Are you getting a feeling of déjà vu, Scootaloo?"

Unlike her counterpart, Scootaloo can't bring herself to chuckle and instead throws open the cupboard doors to reveal her absolutely terrified friends. As they run once again, the two Alicorns restrain Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in thier magic even as they continue trying to run.

After tiring themselves out running uselessly, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom look worriedly at Queen Void as she eyes them with intrigue. "You certainly keep company with some... interesting friends, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo sighs before releasing Apple Bloom though not before securing the door with her magic. She feels incredible pride as her friends put on brave faces and stand up to them. "Well, what are you waiting for? You have us cornered and we're the only witnesses to what you did."

Void sighs disappointedly as she gestures to Scootaloo. "Why-ever would I do that? Your friend would despise me if I ever hurt you."

The Crusaders scowl defiantly at the Queen who just looks back impassively. "You can't fool us. That's just some magical construct designed to trick us."

Scootaloo looks down forlornly as Void sighs. "I guess I have no choice, do I?" Scootaloo shakes her head sadly so Void advances on the two fillies who try to scurry away but are soon both put into magical sleeps like the Element Bearers were.

Void approaches her friend and wraps a wing around the sobbing Scootaloo. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Scootaloo. When your friends see what happened to you and all the good we've done, they'll accept us for who we now are."

Scootaloo shakes her head as she looks over at her soon-to-be-former friends. "After what we did to the Princesses, Cadance and Shining Armour, our friends but especially Applejack and Rarity... I'll be lucky if they don't try to kill me on the spot." She adopts a sad smile. "At least I won't be keeping any secrets anymore." With that said, the two prepare what to say when the fillies come to.

With all the memories that they have to go through, totalling just over a year and a very busy one at that, it takes until the next afternoon for Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to wake up. Once they recover from the grogginess, they exchange a disturbed look with each other. "Apple Bloom? You didn't just happen to have a dream about Scootaloo having one hay of a year, did you?" Apple Bloom responds with a slow nod.

"Good morning, my little ponies." The two jump and spin around to find themselves staring at Queen Void as she beams down at them. Now that they can properly look at the Queen without recoiling in fear, they notice just how much she resembles Scootaloo except for being slightly bigger and her fur being black. "I take it you found that trip down our memory lane enlightening?" The two Crusaders nod sadly. "One question at a time, please."

Apple Bloom raises a hoof which makes Void chuckle. "We thought you were defeated in Canterlot Castle."

Void ponders how to put in understandable terms for a filly. "I'm neither good nor evil, merely neutral. The Elements of Harmony merely purged me from my hosts and left me extremely weak."

"Why did you defeat Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

Void can only look down in shame. "I wish I didn't have to but they refused to listen. Celestia has been too accepting of atrocities in favour of maintaining her sparkling clean image and Luna was kept in the dark and attacked us. There was no reasoning with them so I gave them some alone time to consider my proposal."

Apple Bloom's is next. "If you are so kind then how did you end up corrupting Princess Luna and Rarity?"

Void groans at the memories. "I am drawn to the creature that needs me the most and, unfortunately, one of my hosts was Luna whilst she was angry at her sister. My sudden influx of power simply amplified her power and drove her completely insane."

She turns to gaze sadly at Sweetie Belle "Truth be told, I was truly gone after the Elements purged me for causing the initial corruption. The strain from the initial forced rejection was just too strong, When the Nightmare Forces freed me, they forced me into your emotionally unstable sister and Nightmare Rarity was the result. I am truly, deeply sorry for everything that we did in that body."

As those revelations sink in, Sweetie Belle raises a shaky hoof. "You mentioned that you will someday fully merge with Scootaloo. What happens to her?"

Void considers the question. "I honestly have no idea but my guess is that our personalities will merge with Scootaloo becoming the core of the new pony. She will still be Scootaloo the ways that matter but with all of my knowledge and memories. I'd functionally cease to exist but continue live on in a way through Scootaloo. My legacy won't be one of corruption, evil and terror but one of peace, tranquillity and prosperity."

The fillies exchange a very worried look. "If she's bonded to you, doesn't that make Scootaloo immortal?"

Queen Void nods. "That is unfortunately the price that she is willing to pay for the sake of Equestria. Watching everypony that she knows and loves slowly die around her whilst she will never age is a truly horrible fate but she knew the consequences when she agreed to make our merge permanent."

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom look crushed. "But if Scootaloo is immortal, she'll be lonely. That's horrible!" Void nods dejectedly, deciding to keep the solution for the problem to herself like Scootaloo asked. "C-can we see her?"

Smiling, Void leads them out of the house and points towards the School For Gifted Ponies. "Whenever she's especially stressed, Scootaloo takes time to visit the School and watch the lessons. She finds it incredibly calming and the others are used to her presence by now. Lessons should be ending for the day very shortly." The Crusaders nod at the Queen, nod at each other, and race away up the road as the Queen heads back to the Castle.

Presently, Scootaloo calmly walks out of the school and begins her journey back to Canterlot Castle to have some time alone. "Hey, Scootaloo!"

She stops abruptly as the other two Crusaders reach her. "H-h-hey guys, what's shaking?"

Apple Bloom shakes her head pitifully at the emotionally exhausted Alicorn. "We know everything, Scootaloo."

The filly nods as she turns to leave but finds herself stopped by Sweetie Belle. "Scoots, we know everything that happened and everything you've done but we don't mind. You're still our friend and you never really hurt our sisters despite everything. We don't and never will hate you."

With that single sentence, Scootaloo's heart stops beating for several moments but she shakes her head nonetheless. They must be bluffing. There is no way they'd ever forgive me. Not after everything. When she tries to leave though, she finds herself pulled into a tight hug by the others much to her shock. This can't be real. And yet, as the hug tightens, she can feel deep in her heart that this is no dream or joke and she finally lets some tears out as she returns the hug.

Two hours later, Canterlot Castle

After the revelations at the school, the three sit in the antechamber within the Princess Suite of Canterlot Castle. What was originally just a storage room for Princess Celestia's suit of armour and an emergency planning room in the event of crisis has been converted into a comfortable bedroom for Scootaloo.

As Scootaloo lies back relaxed though, finally able to stop worrying after almost a year, she sees the other Crusaders exchange a look. "Is something wrong?"

Sweetie Belle chuckles before turning serious. "You're immortal, Scootaloo."

The young ruler rolls her eyes. "No duh, I'm an Alicorn."

Apple Bloom crosses her hooves. "What Sweetie means is that you'll be forced to outlive everypony, including us, and live a lonely life."

Scootaloo groans; way to ruin a thoroughly good mood. "I know and it hurts but I've already made peace with it."

The two fillies look at her sadly. "Scootaloo, we hate the idea of you being alone for thousands of years. Isn't there anything we can do?"

Scootaloo takes a moment to considers telling them the truth but it is already too late when she sees the Cheshire grins on thier faces. "So there IS a way!"

Scootaloo's eyes go wide. Uh oh. "N-no, not that I know of. I was just asking Nightmare if she knew of any ways." The other two clearly aren't convinced as they give her a suspicious glare. I already regret showing them my memories. "Fine, it's called Dreadification and you've already seen what it can do. It extends your natural lifespan to make you effectively immortal."

The two fillies look at each other, nod in mutual agreement and turn back to Scootaloo. "When can we do it?"

With that answer, her brain completely shuts down for a few moments. "No, no way!"

The two fillies look confused. "But why?"

"You saw what it did, didn't you?" They nod. "Then you know why I can't do it. It's horribly painful and I have no idea if it will have any nasty effects on you."

The two can only give her reassuring grins. "We don't care, Scootaloo, We want you to be happy and being immortal can't be so bad."

Scootaloo tries to think of a way out of this. "I at least need permission. It's not going to be easy for your families." There, that'll stop this. There's no way that Granny Smith, Big Mac, Hondo or Cookie would ever let them go through with this.

As she allows herself a cocky grin, she sees her friends move towards their beds. "Uh, what're you doing?"

The two turn back with smiles. "It's nearly bedtime, silly, and we have to get up early so we can get to Ponyvile. After all, the sooner we get back, the sooner that we can get permission."

As they settle down for the night, Scootaloo shakes her head in bewilderment before allowing herself to re-enter Void's mind just as she finishes court. Due to watching over Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, she had a lot of work to do so ended up working much later than usual. "Good evening, Scootaloo. Did you have a good time?"

Scootaloo sighs. They want to undergo Dreadification.

She can feel Nightmare's sheer joy at the statement. "Amazing! When do we start?"

Scootaloo groans at her friend's enthusiasm. I told them that they have to get permission from Sweetie's parents, Big Mac and Granny Smith before we'll ever consider it. They'll never allow it.

She feels the disappointment wash over her. "Why? I thought we talked about this, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo chuckles sadly. You said it yourself. Immortality is a curse and we agreed to never force it onto another being.

Nightmare chuckles. "They sounded pretty willing to me."

Of course they would. We're friends but this isn't deciding what to do today. This is the difference between living a normal life and having to watch countless generations of ponies die around you. I've had to make peace with that and I can't let them make a decision that they will later regret.

Even so, Nightmare smiles bemusedly. "And what would you do if thier parents said yes?"

Scootaloo laughs hard at the idea of that ever happening. Yeah, right. They'd never even tolerate the idea. They're much too sensible.