What if.
A very simple question, and it’s one that everyone is guilty of asking at least once a day, if not more.
Of course, with all the possible, and, indeed, impossible, answers one can come up with when asking it, you really can’t be that surprised at it. It simply is up to the person asking it to decide the outcome.
And, in the process, make a few dozen new alternate universes/realities.
From the seemingly mundane questions:
“What if I had the tomato soup instead of the grilled cheese?”
“What if I wore the salmon color shirt, rather than the white and blue shirt?”
“What if I used red ink rather than the blue ink?”
“What if I didn’t do my homework today?”
To the questions that could change everything we know:
“What if Luke’s torpedo was faulty?”
“What if 1+2=5?”
“What if the government wasn’t corrupt?”
Each one will be given their own story, own reality, and own destiny.
And not a single place, item, or person is exempt from this question… It can be applied to anyone and everyone.
Including a group of 6 friends, bound by harmony, strengthened by friendship, who have saved the world time and again from certain doom.
Everyone knows the stories: Twilight Sparkle, protégé to Princess Celestia, came to Ponyville to make friends. In doing so, she managed to defeat Nightmare Moon, became the Element of Magic, and gained 5 new friends from the ordeal.
Later on, she once again, with her friends, showed what friendship could do when she faced down Discord, the god of chaos. And, once again, assisted in the defeat of Queen Chrysalis during the Invasion Of Canterlot.
Soon after that, the Crystal Empire returned, as did its former king, King Sombra. Twilight and her friends were sent to save the empire, but almost failed… If not for the actions of a certain dragon, they most certainly would have failed.
Soon after that… Twilight then faced off with an old rival, reformed an old foe, created a new spell, and in doing so, ascended to become Princess Twilight Sparkle.
But what if that wasn’t her destiny?
What if she was unable to fix the problem caused by the spell?
What if they couldn’t reform Discord?
What if they were supposed to be injured by the tornado?
What if she couldn’t best Trixie, possessed by the Alicorn Amulet?
What if she banished the wrong Pinkie?
What if they were never meant to save the Crystal Empire?
We travel now, to a point just shy of the climax of the Crystal Empire event. Twilight, in her haste, discovered the location of the Crystal Heart, but, triggered a trap set by King Sombra.
Trapped inside a crystal prison, she is left with the choice that will define the fate of a world…
A choice that won’t end how she, or indeed, anyone, would hope for it to end…
Author's Note
Wrote this while bored, depressed, pissed off, and during a move to a new place.
None of you will give two shit, but oh well.
Thanks to Monki ( http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Monki ) for the pre read.
And also Ruirik ( http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Ruirik ) for the title suggestion.
I'd thank the artist for the artwork, but I ain't got any.
Also... I own jack with MLP or Hasbro (unless stocks count). All of this is used without permission.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Twilight wasn’t having a very good day so far. One could even say it was quite stressful. But, then again, most don’t normally save an entire empire from a mad stallion that only growls a lot. Nevertheless, she found herself, and her Number One Assistant Spike the Dragon, travelling up a very, very tall spire, in the hopes of finding the ever-elusive Crystal Heart.
She was quite glad she learned those gravity spells when she had the chance.
Arriving at the top, she could already see she was right, the Crystal Heart hovered in the center of the chamber she was in. Running toward it, she touched the Heart and knocked it away, but before she could find it again, a ring of black crystals trapped her in the center.
Looking in her small prison, she looked for the Heart, “The Heart…! Where’s the Crystal…” but got cut off by Spike.
“HERE! It rolled over to me when you dropped it!” He made to move toward Twilight, but stopped short when the black crystal started to shoot toward him.
Spike fell back with a grunt as Twilight called out “Don’t move!”. Staying stock still, he tried to wrack his brain for a solution. “You can move,” said Twilight, “But not toward me.” Her face fell, “How could I have been so foolish…? I was just so eager to get it! Then I saw what was going on outside, I…”
“You have to get out of there, Twilight! You have to be the one who brings the Heart to Princess Cadence! If you don't, you'll fail Celestia's test!”
But she was unable to do so, the dark magic of Sombra forcing her to remain trapped within the circle. Seeing her predicament, she did the only thing she could think of. “King Sombra is already attacking the Empire. He could reach the Crystal Ponies at any moment... reach Princess Cadence, my brother, my friends... there may not be enough time for me to find a way to escape. You have to be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to the faire.”
Spike’s eyes went wide. “Me? But Twilight-“
“Go!”
“But-“
“GOOOOOOOO!”
The tiny dragon fled, and soon found himself stranded on the spire. With only one option to him, he did what could only be described as a leap of faith.
Over the wind howling around him he yelled out to the others “UP HERE! I HAVE THE HEART!” Repeating it over and over like a mantra. The others looked up and saw him, and with him, the small glimmer of hope for the empire.
But Sombra wasn’t going to just stand by. He saw and heard what Twilight said earlier, and as soon as the word left her mouth, he was already in motion. Slamming his shadowy body into the ground, he travelled toward the palace, causing black crystals to spring up and mark his path. When he got close enough, he split the ground apart, causing a great black crystal to erupt in the fissure he made. As he got closer, he felt his body take a solid shape and he smiled at this. ‘Soon...’ was the prevailing thought in his mind.
Spike strengthened his grip on the crystal and fixed Sombra with what he hoped was a steely look showing his determination. And, for a moment at least, he looked quite surprised at the dragon. Sombra cracked a smile, and vanished only to appear right on top of the dragon himself. With one foreleg wrapped around his throat, the other ripped the Heart out of his grasp, only seeing the large object flying toward them a few seconds too late.
Shining Armor, a few second prior to this saw that Spike wouldn’t make it. He made the quick calculations several times (which would no doubt make Twilight happy) and every time he got the same thing: Spike wouldn’t make it. There was no way. So, doing what his old staff sergeant taught him, he hefted his weakened wife, and threw her at them both.
Sombra saw this far too late, and instinctually extended his one free foreleg to stave off the blow… The foreleg holding the Crystal Heart, no less… His eyes went wide; he had no time to correct the mistake.
Spike began to furiously squirm and shake in a vain effort to get away from the impact. ‘This is not going to end well…’
Cadence saw it moments before she hit. She saw the eyes of Sombra, wide with surprise. She saw the eyes of Spike, trying to will the impending collision away. She could see the eyes of every last crystal pony upon the scene. And she could do nothing to stop it. Closing her eyes, gritting her teeth, she braced for the moment when her horn pierced the Crystal Heart…
Twilight heard, rather than saw, the explosion take place. The detonation of raw unrestrained emotions was so powerful, the foundations of the palace itself shook and the black crystals binding Twilight shattered. Twilight, who had taken to covering her eyes in shame and fear, glanced up after the shockwave passed.
As an eerie silence descended upon the whole of the empire, Twilight glanced at the remains of her prison. With a tentative step, she took a step outside the ring.
Nothing happened. No sudden teleport back to the inside of the ring, no sharp pain in her mind. Just… Nothing.
She took a few more small steps away from it.
Not wasting anymore time, Twilight burst into a full run, hoping everything would be all right. Reaching the bottom of the spire was easy given that a number of the stairs were broken; she stepped through the Dark Doorway, and paused.
Biting her lower lip she strained to hear anything at all, but only the rumbling of thunder could be heard.
“Cadence…?” No response.
“S-shiny…?
“Applejack? Rainbow Dash? Rarity? Fluttershy? Pinkie Pie…?” Still nothing. Not a single sound apart from thunder could be heard.
“S-s-spike…?”
Running up from the pit, she entered the throne room, the stillness of everything unnerving her further. Just what had happened? Taking slow, measured steps to the entrance, she pushed open the door. And with wide eyes, and a jaw hanging open, she beheld the devastation.
But before she could act, before she could call out to anyone, a voice spoke from right behind her ear.
It was a simple voice, cold and regal.
It was as loud as a whisper, but with the force of Luna’s Royal Voice.
“And you must be Twilight Sparkle.”
The distinct crack of a hoof sticking the back of a neck was all she heard afterward. As the darkness took her, she thought she saw a small purple blot in the middle of a crater.
Then she knew no more.
Author's Note
I wonder if anyone will notice the glaringly obvious reference in here? Or is it just glaring to me?
