Universe 99999

The Council of Harmony. Only a few ponies or creatures knew where it came from, how it was born, and the reason for all of their actions. They were shrouded in mystery. To many, their members were benevolent rulers, ponies that surpassed all expectations and rose even above the former ruler of Equestria to become its saviors. To some, they were goddesses. However, to most, they were the biggest mass murderers in the history of Equestria.

They were feared throughout the world, and known as ruthless tyrants, willing to wipe out an entire species to protect Equestria. Regardless, there was one thing none knew: how this story started.

This story started with one little filly, as innocent as any other. Unfortunately, she had an issue no one in Equestria was ever faced with… She was born empty.

The ponies of Equestria were different from the other races inhabiting Equus, they were naturally full of life, wearing their heart on their sleeve at all times. It had been much easier for them to express their feelings. It was biological, ingrained in their DNA. Their social upbringing could change that, of course, but that genetic component was always supposed to be present. Yet, the filly’s heart was like the void, lacking all emotions. Joy, sadness, or even anger were foreign concepts to her. The most she could do was pretend, and imitate what she witnessed around her. However, she could never return the love her family gave her. Even something as pure as loving someone was lost to her.

She was simply born this way, and no one knew how to help her. The filly buried herself in studies, searching for a purpose, or to understand the mind of others… How differently they worked compared to her.

Then, one day… She had seen the light. It was a light so powerful that it chased away the darkness and coldness of the world. It made her heart flutter as if it were beating for the first time, blood rushing to her head. For the first time in her life, she felt… Joy, excitement… Love. For the first time in her life, she gazed upon Princess Celestia, and her form was majestic. If that was Equestria’s ruler, then it only made sense the kingdom was prosperous! The whole world should have belonged to her! She knew that if Celestia were in charge, everything would be perfect. She was… Flawless…

She wanted to learn from her, to be with her, to be by her side for as long as she could. She was ready to fight for her. She was willing to do anything for her. Because that emotion shouldn’t have existed in her heart, it only made sense that her love was the purest. It defied all logic. And deep down, she had hoped Celestia would return those feelings, that she would understand the weight of them. Her loyalty and devotion to Celestia knew no bounds at the time. She… Wouldn’t have let any harm come to her.

Of course, she would kill the sister that tried to hurt her. The sister who wanted to plunge the world into an eternal darkness.

Then Celestia revealed her true colors… She was but a beast, hideous and evil. She had revealed to that filly, now a mare, that she had been using her all this time. Using her to save the evil sister, using her… For her own goals. It didn’t matter that she would have become an alicorn and spent all of eternity with Celestia!

Celestia had lied to her. Her life had been a lie. Celestia… Shattered her heart and stepped on it. She dealt a pain to her that could never fade. At that time, that mare learned a new emotion: hate.

And when these other mares stepped up to protect her against the deceiver, Twilight knew that she had been chasing the wrong light all this time. They were her true lights. They made her heart beat faster than the alicorn princess ever could. She realized that her love would be returned, and it would be true. They would be by her side for all eternity, holding her anytime she needed to… Or wanted to. They were hers. Unlike the alicorn, their hearts belong to her and no one else.

But her heart was still broken by the deceiver. It was something that couldn’t be written off. It was a pain so deep it left a gash upon her soul. Twilight swore that she would destroy everything Celestia had built, that she would rid the world of any influence the alicorn might have had or anything she touched! She would remake Equestria, no, all of Equus in the Council of Harmony’s own image! She had seen what true perfection was like, and the world would only be flawless by adhering to it. When Celestia would have seen this, and what Twilight accomplished, she would have realized the mistake she had made.

Twilight knew that she was in the right. Her love was pure. Her cause was pure. She was good. She and her friends were heroes. So why… Could no one see it? Why couldn’t they just understand? Why did they have to always hurt her so much? It wasn’t fair.

Spurts of blood dropped to the floor, shaping into a puddle of red under their hooves. Minister Rarity watched in horror as Twilight’s body spasmed, coughing out a wave of blood as she still had her head held up by Shining Armor’s spell.

“Twilight!” The four other mares screamed worriedly while their leader’s lower lip quivered. Oh, she wasn’t dying, much to their relief. Instead, the lavender unicorn was clenching her teeth, shaking like a leaf with small tears running down her cheeks.

“No… My spell didn’t reach her heart…” Trixie gasped, barely standing. She was weakened even more than expected, but this wasn’t the reason why she missed. It wasn’t because of Shining Armor either. Despite his current struggle, he kept the council firmly tied up. “If only… If only she…” She panted heavily.

“You hurt my friends… You hurt me… I hate you… You’re savages… And evil…” Twilight began lowering her head, fighting against Shining’s spell as she glared ahead. Another spray of blood hit the floor, but this time, it didn’t belong to the unicorn.

“If only she hadn’t been there!” Trixie shouted angrily, finally falling to her knees.

Standing in front of Twilight, having slowed down Trixie’s spell with her own body was a battered Rainbow Dash. She was covered in bruises and cuts, with disheveled fur, mane, and tail. Her head was nearly split open, blood running over one of her eyes, which looked like it had been hit with a heavy blunt impact from the looks of her swollen brow. One of her wings was even broken, hanging at her side.

“No! Where did she come from?!” Braeburn exclaimed, glaring at the cyan pegasus.

“You… Huff… Stupid… Morons… Huff… You think a bunch of rocks can… Kill me? I’m THE Rainbow Dash! I’m unstoppable!” She declared at the top of her lungs, which was quite impressive considering she just survived being crushed.

“Can’t… Hold on anymore!” Shining grunted as Twilight’s eyes glowed bright. She finally managed to lower her head just as the other members of the Council did the same, tearing through the magical bindings the stallion had created. The male unicorn yelped, promptly collapsing to the floor as Cadance caught him in her forelegs.

“You’re absolutely… Right, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight huffed tiredly, spitting out a small amount of blood still stuck in her mouth. “For a moment there, I believed my time had come. But you saved me. Thank you,” Her eyes softened as she gazed at the pegasus, who was barely standing. Despite her condition, Rainbow stood straight, holding her head high.

“As long as I’m around… Huff… I won’t let anyone hurt my friends… Especially not these filthy traitors,” Rainbow Dash panted, still glaring at the seven, defeated ponies. They seemed defeated both in body and mind, either looking down on the floor or barely standing on their hooves. They had given up and realized that they missed their last chance of winning. Of course, that didn’t mean Rainbow lowered her guard.

“You alright, Twilight?” Pinkie inquired worriedly, still smiling wide as the unicorn nodded.

“Don’t worry about me… It takes more than that to kill me,” She weakly responded before looking at their enemies. “I should have known you and Cadance would be just like Celestia… That all you sought was to use me… Manipulate me… You got your empire, and immediately betrayed me…” She spat with hate. “Though… This doesn’t hurt as much as Celestia’s deception…”

“You’re paranoid, Twilight… You know why we did what we did…” Shining lightly shook his head, too tired to argue.

“No, I don’t care anymore. I don’t need you. I don’t need anypony but my friends. They’re the only ones I can get close to. Everypony else will just hurt me… And I won’t let them do that anymore,” The unicorn whispered, her tone dripping with exhaustion. “I was too merciful. Rarity already told me that, but I didn’t listen,” Twilight added as the other unicorn placed a reassuring hoof on her back. “We will judge you with the elements now. Once the rest of your rebels are defeated, we will hunt down their families. Their friends. Anypony that has been friendly to them, and we’ll judge them too,” She decided.

“What?!” Shining Armor raised his head in horror. “Are you insane?!”

“You can’t do that! Their families have nothing to do with this!” Cheese Sandwich screamed. The original Fluttershy looked just as appalled as the rest of them, to think her friend’s counterpart could get any lower.

“They have everything to do with it,” Twilight responded calmly. “They betrayed us for them. Ultimately, they’ll be another example. Slaughtering every changeling like the filthy animals they were wasn’t enough. Maybe once the pile of pony corpses reaches the clouds, Equestria’s citizens will finally understand not to oppose us,”

“Twilight… Please…” Cadance began pleading from where she stood, still covered in the injuries of their earlier fight.

“If you have any sense left, or love for me, please… Don’t do this. If you have to punish someone, punish us, but leave innocent ponies alone,” Shining begged along with his wife. Twilight tiredly stared at them, breathing in and out as if she were attempting to control her temper. Her friends stole glances at her apprehensively while keeping their guard up around the rebels in the room.

“We are the saviors of Equestria. We are its heroes. Without us, Equestria, nay, the whole world would be doomed. You need us, so… Why does no one get that?” The lavender mare replied. “And you still…”

“Equestria faced threats long before you, and it will even after you. It still stands, and it always will. You have never been this world’s saviors, Twilight,” Shining retorted, narrowing his eyes at his sister. “All of this went to your head… You were already… Vulnerable, but now… You’re just insane. We can still help. We can still get you help,” He added as Rainbow Dash glared, ready to pounce on him, only for Applejack to hold her back with her forelegs around her neck.

“And you still talk to me like I’m a villain… A villain as bad as the ones we defeated,” Twilight sighed, still looking down at the floor. “I’m tired of talking. I’ve had enough of it. Let’s get this over with,” She looked at her friends, who all nodded in agreement and support. “Oh, and for the record… I never held a shred of love for you, brother. You’ve always known that. I suppose that’s why you had an easier time betraying me,” She added as she got into position with the others, lining up in front of the rebels, ready to blast them with the Elements of Harmony.

“I guess this is the end, then…” Braeburn whispered, a small smirk creeping up his face while Shining and Cadance embraced each other.

“It was fun while it lasted,” Cheese chuckled, only to cut himself off with a grunt, holding his ribs. The Council of Harmony closed their eyes and raised their heads, preparing themselves.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t get you home, Flutters…” Derpy apologized to the yellow pegasus, who looked ahead. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem to be filled with fear or acceptance like the others.

“It’s my fault. I wasn’t good enough,” Trixie reprimanded herself by Fluttershy’s side.

“No,” The pegasus firmly stated. The confident tone made them pause, and realize… That nothing happened.

Minister Applejack hesitantly opened an eye to look around the room, noting they still hadn’t vaporized their enemies.

“Uhm, what’s happening? Isn’t this thing supposed to rainbow blast these traitors?” Rainbow Dash questioned while tapping on her element.

“Something is wrong…” Twilight fearfully uttered while looking up at her crown.

“It’s… It’s alright, dear! I’m sure it’s only a small glitch! We can kill them without the elements!” Rarity was quick to reassure them, though she didn’t seem to believe it herself.

“It’s just as I thought… It wasn’t a dream,” Fluttershy mumbled, attracting the attention of everyone around her. Her voice was quiet, but understanding, as if she somehow knew the issue the council was currently going through.

“What are you talking about?!” Minister Fluttershy shouted.

“When I met you… I thought I heard somepony calling for help. At first… I believed it was all of you. That maybe you were controlled by something. I still wanted to hope you were good,” Fluttershy calmly explained, her eyes wandering from one mare to another. “But it was the elements. They talked to me. At least, I think so,”

“Nonsense! The elements aren’t alive! They’re mere stones! We were chosen by Harmony to wield…” Twilight was quick to refute, only for Fluttershy to cut her off.

“You’re wrong… And ever since they were created, they’ve been used out of anger, sadness, and hate. They’ve been in pain this whole time, forced to obey the ponies who represented their elements the best. At the time, you were the best candidates they had, but they don’t have to listen to you anymore,” The pegasus explained while Twilight opened and closed her mouth multiple times in disbelief. “That’s what they told me themselves,” She smiled, watching the elements around their necks and on Twilight’s head.

“This is preposterous! They don’t talk! You’ve simply lost your mind! The elements are…” The lavender unicorn argued again, only to freeze once she heard a crack. Fearfully, she slowly looked up. The element of magic suddenly burst into pieces, and the others followed suit, crumbling to the floor and turning grey as if they were robbed of their colors. “No… No, no, no… This can’t be happening…” Twilight shook her head wildly, her breathing quickening.

“My necklace! My precious necklace!” Rarity wailed, falling to her knees and trying to assemble the pieces again.

“I don’t get a single thing that’s happening!” Pinkie yelled, her smile suddenly looking strained as she nervously looked at the remnants of her element.

“Twilight… What do we do?” Applejack mumbled, watching their leader from the corner of her eyes.

“We can still kick their butts!” Rainbow Dash interjected though she didn’t look too serene either.

“The elements… They’re broken… They’re gone,” Twilight breathed out desperately.

“No. The elements aren’t destroyed. Their spirits are… right here!” Fluttershy smirked confidently, making the lavender mare widen her eyes.

“Those words…” She gulped, shaking like a leaf. “No... You’re not allowed to use them…” A rage-filled rasp came out of her throat through her clenched teeth.

Suddenly, a bright light enveloped the rebels in the room, minus Cadance, slowly lifting them off the floor as colored pieces of stones began spinning around each one of them.

“Braeburn, who believed me when everypony else was in doubt represents the spirit of Honesty!” Fluttershy declared while Braeburn slightly widened his eyes, noting the spinning stone pieces around him while he floated in the air. “Me, who represents the spirit of Kindness!” She said, still staring down at the council while the stones spun around her too. “Cheese Sandwich, who brought joy to everyone you’ve hurt represents the spirit of Laughter!” Stones continued to spin around Cheese as the stallion laughed excitedly, looking all around him. He didn’t know what was happening, but it was fun! “Ditzy, who sacrificed her own way of life for others represents the spirit of Generosity!” Derpy watched the stones curiously, her eyes barely following them. “And Shining Armor, who wouldn’t sell out his friends even in the face of danger represents the spirit of Loyalty!” Shining nervously hovered in the air, disbelieving this was actually happening while Cadance watched him with fascination.

“No… This can’t be…” Twilight shook her head in denial. That only left one element, so who would… No… That fraud?! That fraud would hold her element?!

“Twilight! Let’s cast a protective spell, quick!” Rarity yelled, lighting her horn to create a magical barrier around them. However, the other unicorn remained unresponsive. “Twilight! Hurry!”

“And finally… The element of Magic! For Trixie, who struggled, fought, and created a new spell solely for the sake of her friends!”

Trixie watched the stones with awe while the light around them brightened. In an instant, the six ponies wore the new Elements of Harmony, each bearing their respective Cutie Marks while the council was frozen in fear. Rarity continued to beg their leader to put up a barrier with her, to protect themselves as much as they could.

Yet, Twilight didn’t budge. Her eyes were wide as she watched their light. It was just like hers. It was that just like the light that stole her heart all those years ago, and that taught her the concepts of happiness and love. That same powerful light, which destroyed the darkness in the world and warmed her cold heart so deeply.

The rebels’ eyes shone bright as a beam of rainbow shot out of the orb of light they were in heading straight for the council. It shattered Rarity’s barrier upon impact, not slowing down for a second. Celestia’s form flashed back into Twilight’s mind as she stood there, frozen, with a single thought going through her.

So majestic…

The beam reached its marks, hitting the members of the council with full force and enveloping them in its light.

“NOOOOOOO!” Twilight’s anguished scream echoed alongside her friends’ cries, but there was nothing they could do. One by one, their bodies were consumed by the cold, ruthless grip of stone, leaving them frozen in silent screams and expressions of pure anguish. As the light slowly dimmed, a single tear traced its path down Twilight’s lifeless, petrified face.

“It’s over…” Cadance whispered, limping her way to the six statues while the new element bearers were lowered back to the ground. “I’m sorry it had to be this way…” She said, staring into Twilight’s lifeless eyes before she tore the pendant holding Celestia’s magic off her neck.

“So… It’s finally done? We really beat them?” Braeburn inquired, his injuries seemingly healed.

“Not yet,” Shining Armor muttered before walking to the balcony, where all of Canterlot could be seen, along with the two armies fighting each other. The other ponies followed suit, realizing what he wanted to do. The moment he was out, he took in a deep breath. “ENOUGH!” He screamed at the top of his lungs, making his voice echo with a spell. “The Council has lost! The battle is over! Stand down!” He declared, making most of the soldiers freeze, whether it was the council’s or the rebels.

“What? The council lost?”

“That’s impossible!”

“They’re trying to trick you! Don’t believe a word they’re saying!”

Many of the Canterlot guards voiced their thoughts while the rebels and soldiers from the Crystal Empire already began celebrating, cheering for the tyrants’ downfall. Of course, they were. They were the first to see what Shining Armor and his companions wore around their necks! And the Canterlot Guards soon noticed it too, widening their eyes in disbelief.

“Throw down your weapons! There is no need for more bloodshed for leaders that lost!” Shining barked.

The guards looked at one another before gazing upon the elements the rebels bore. They believed the council to be invincible, some even believed them to be deities! If the council lost, then what chance did they have? The first ones to throw their weapons down and give up the fight were the least loyal guards, followed by the more reluctant ones. Seeing they would be completely outnumbered, even the most faithful ones finally dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Shining Armor exhaled a deep breath of relief and turned to meet Cadance’s gaze. The alicorn gave him a warm, reassuring smile and a nod, silently affirming what he dared to believe—at long last, they had won.

Fluttershy wiped the sweat off her forehead. She may have sounded confident, but she had been the opposite. She was so stressed when they came so close to losing. The pegasus released a yelp as Trixie and Derpy suddenly pounced on her, nearly throwing her off her hooves in a bone-crushing group hug.

“You should be happy. Not just anyone gets a hug from Trixie!” The blue unicorn grinned pridefully, earning a small chuckle.

“I know,” Fluttershy simply responded, snickering before looking back at the castle. Well, now, all that was left was to get the stone…

“Can’t you see you’re letting your emotions cloud your judgment?!”

“I know it may look like it, but I’m not! You have to trust me on this!”

Fluttershy watched on the sidelines as Shining Armor and Blaze, a member of the Wonderbolts, argued. They had found the stone she was looking for in under an hour, hidden away in the lower floors of the castle. Of course, she held it, but nothing happened. She was aware that she needed to hold it at the same time as her best friends, so she supposed some of them didn’t get to their respective stones. She wasn’t worried. No, she was certain it was only a matter of time for them to find the stones. Besides, she doubted they were in more trouble than she was. She had to fight evil versions of them, after all!

She had been carrying the stone under her wing, waiting patiently for it to turn on, for more than an hour now. She used that time to help her friends from this world to organize everything. They kept their elements with them, but she removed hers and gave it to Cadance in case the stone activated and transported her back home since she didn’t want to take the element with her. Not only did they decide they should throw a kingdom-wide celebration, but they had also been deciding on a provisional leadership until they could agree on something more permanent. However, there was nothing concrete yet. Another issue was the Council’s loyalists, who were still present everywhere in Equestria. They hadn’t figured out what to do with them either, which was understandable since they seized power barely three hours ago.

Unfortunately, they didn’t go over those issues for too long since they had been arguing about something else for two hours now. The Council of Harmony’s fate.

“Rainbow Dash killed the captain! Soarin and Fleetfoot too! They deserve justice! They and everypony who’s been hurt by these monsters! Let’s break those statues! Reduce them to dust to make sure they don’t come back!” Blaze demanded, stomping the floor with righteous anger.

“You want us to start a new reign with an execution?!” Shining Armor barked back, still shaken up by the earlier events.

“What Shining Armor is trying to say is that if we kill them now, we won’t be any better than they are,” Derpy interjected.

“What? That’s ridiculous! They deserve this! How would we be as bad as them? Makes no sense!” Another rebel retorted, glaring at the stone statues. Shining sighed, getting tired of this argument already. Unfortunately, Cadance wasn’t present since she needed to be treated for her injuries.

“Don’t you think that’s exactly how the council thought too when they started those executions?!” Shining shouted, silencing everyone. “How long until we start executing anyone that disagrees with us? Wake up, for Celestia’s sake! You even talked about executing their loyalists! We dethroned them because we wanted to STOP the bloodshed!”

The ponies looked down shamefully. While they didn’t fully agree with what he said, they couldn’t refute it either.

“What should we do, then?” Cheese inquired. Again, they looked uncertain. Fluttershy wondered if she should speak up; however, someone beat her to the punch.

“Just leave them like this,” Trixie shrugged, making everyone turn to her in confusion. “Being turned to stone should be punishment enough. It’s not like they can escape or do anything. It’ll be like a prison sentence,” She suggested.

“I guess that can work…” Blaze muttered, joined by the quiet murmurs of many other ponies in the room.

“What do ya think?” Braeburn asked Fluttershy, who gulped in surprise at being so suddenly addressed.

“Well… I think it would be appropriate. Discord was trapped the same way for a thousand years, and I doubt they can escape as he did,” Fluttershy shared her opinion.

“Alright, but what about the sun and moon?! What do we do about that?! How was the council even making them move?” A pony suddenly questioned.

“We will deal with that in due time,” Shining groaned, unwilling to deal with multiple problems at once at this moment.

“Maybe we should take a break…” Derpy offered when a white light suddenly burst into existence behind her. All ponies shielded their eyes hurriedly, reaching for their weapons as they looked at the source of light.

The stone that Fluttershy had been carrying under her wing all this time suddenly hovered in the air, shining like a beacon.

“I… I think it’s time for me to go!” The yellow pegasus exclaimed, feeling a weak pull on her back.

“What?! But we didn’t even have time to say goodbye!” Cheese remarked as a portal opened behind the pegasus, trying to pull her inside. However, much to their surprise, Fluttershy clenched her teeth, resisting its pull.

“We still can…” She gasped. She knew she needed to hurry, but she couldn’t leave so quickly either! Fluttershy still needed to talk to them! To share proper goodbyes!

“Hey, Fluttershy,” Derpy softly called out to her. “It’s alright, you can let go,” She reassured the other pegasus.

“Huh?” The element of kindness uttered in confusion.

“You don’t need to say anything. We already know whatever you’re thinking of,” Cheese added with a small nod. “After all, we’re friends, right?”

“What he said,” Braeburn grinned. “Besides, why would we need goodbyes in the first place? How do ya know we’ll never see each other again?”

“We’ve suffered heavy losses, but ultimately, without you, we wouldn’t have succeeded. Thank you, Fluttershy,” Shining smiled wholeheartedly. “I know my sister and your Twilight are different, but please… Take care of her, will you?”

“I… I promise! Of course! She’s one of my best friends!” Fluttershy assured him, finally feeling the pull to be too much! Just as her hooves were pulled off the ground, Trixie suddenly wrapped her forelegs around her, keeping her from being thrown into the portal.

“I guess Trixie can give you another hug,” The blue unicorn whispered into Fluttershy’s ear. “Trixie doesn’t need postcards or for you to visit, just promise you won’t ever forget about me, alright? If you do ever come back… You’re welcome to one of Trixie’s shows!” She grinned before looking around, then leaning down again to make sure no one else would hear. “Oh, and thank you, of course. Trixie never believed she would have close friends before, but you proved her wrong,”

“Trixie… You guys…” Fluttershy weakly murmured while the blue mare finally let go of her, allowing the pegasus to be pulled back. “Even if we’re from different worlds, you’ll always be my friends!” She swore as she passed the portal, which slowly closed, allowing her one last look at the ponies she befriended in that world. The pegasus could only sigh before gazing ahead, passing tens of thousands of mirrors as she was pulled forward. “Even if I’ll miss them… I hope I’m finally coming home,” She whispered, closing her eyes. She felt like she could finally relax.

This world had lost its saviors, or perhaps gained new ones… Who could tell what would await them? Who could tell how that universe’s future would turn out? The battles fought, the choices made, and the scars earned had all led to this moment, a fragile peace, stitched together by courage and hope. The journey had changed them and carved lessons into their soul that would never fade. This story started with a simple heartbreak, but it ended with a newfound friendship and the beginning of a new journey. The tides were always shifting, and so only the future could perceive whether these new saviors would be the hope of Equestria, or its downfall.

One shy pegasus personally believed… that they would be just fine.

Author's Note

It's done! Fluttershy's side of the story is over, friends! Now that was something else! The Council of Harmony has been defeated! I think I've hinted at Prime Minister Twilight's condition once with one of Celestia's dialogue? She never truly understood what love entailed or how to interpret it. To her, it was absolute devotion, regardless of your morals. This chapter kinda reveals how she ended up that way, but as you can see, she was already different from our Twilight from the start. Killing Luna wasn't the only difference.

Of course, it's the same for the rest of the Mane 6. They all have been distinctively different mentally from their original counterparts. It's something I would have love to explore more in detail, but it's not really the focus of the story. Still, who knows, I could always write about it in the future.

Anyway, here are a few glimpses of their differences:

In this world, Rainbow gladly accepted her parents' over-cheering, in fact, she loved it. Because of that, she thought herself the absolute best... Until reality hit her. When she actually went to school or participated in competitions, she realized she was far from being the best. Of course, the bullying and mockery only made it worse. It nearly destroyed her self-esteem, but made her bitter. When she meets Twilight, and becomes friends with her and the others. Twilight actually praises any of Rainbow Dash's actions, and considers that she can do no wrong. RD finds the same feeling from her childhood again when her parents would cheer and praise anything she did. She felt strong again. She felt unstoppable again. She believes she's perfect again and gives absolute loyalty to the Council of Harmony, the only ones who would make her feel that way.

For Fluttershy, she was a troubled filly, who would sometimes lose her mind and hurt other pegasi when she would see them harm innocent animals. Those bouts of anger and violence were something she couldn't control, not that she tried to control them. There was nothing more precious to her than her animal friends, and she would give them absolute kindness, which to her translated to protecting and nurturing them no matter what. When she meets her friends, and see that they accept her despite what others saw as flaws, she begins seeing them the same way as her animal friends, especially since Twilight would let her set up any law benefitting the fauna that Fluttershy wanted. Ever since then, she would have urges of violence every time she would see her friends harmed or disrespected.

Anyway, I'll stop here, but basically, they already all had issues when they were fillies. Of course, I want to pinpoint those are issues that could have been dealt with, but weren't. They weren't BORN evil, just to clarify. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that universe!