Twilight lay in her bed sleeping, the events from the Battle of Box Canyon a year ago played put in her dreams. Above the head of her bed, hanging on a nail was the necklace depicting two alicorns that Harald Irontoothson had left behind before he and Fluttershy had vanished into the mist nearly a year ago.
As Twilight twitched in her sleep between soft snores, a soft tapping on her bedroom door woke her from her sleep. "Ugh!", she exclaimed groggily as she sat up, "Just a minute!" Rolling out of bed as she wiped the sleep from her eyes, she stumbled over to the door and opened it with her magic. Twilight staggered backwards in surprise at the familiar orange alicorn. "Oranos!", she exclaimed.
"Come little sister, we have much to do and little time." The two of them disappeared in a flash.
Twilight blinked as she found herself standing on the shore a familiar silver river, flanked on each side by Phoebe and Oranos. Glancing up and down the river, she saw it was roiling and foaming over golden rocks, a roar caught her attention, looking she saw the edge of a silver waterfall with lagged gilded rocks. Nearby on a dock stood what looked like and alicorn, but made entirely out of bleached bones and wearing a black hooded robe. "What's going on?"
Oranos and Phoebe said nothing as they pointed a hoof to the landing with the skeletal alicorn. "A-am I supposed to go there?", Twilight asked. Phoebe and Oranos said nothing as they gently nudged forward.
As Twilight hesitantly walked up to the skeletal alicorn, she saw ethereal flesh slowly manifest on it slowly becoming more and more opaque, until it look simultaneously ancient and youthful.
"Greeting little sister.", the alicorn said sounding like thousand of voices and none simultaneously, "Thou may'st call us Charon. Thou may'st ask upon us one question before facing thine trial."
A million question swarmed through Twilight's mind before she finally settled upon one, "What sort of trial am I facing?"
Charon looked down at Twilight with eyes that were both hollow and full of life. "Thou art to swim the great river. If it thou art found worth, thou shalt be cast over the falls of shattering and into the pool of eternity, where thou shalt be reforged, if thou art found lacking, then thou shalt be unmade."
Twilight gulped and tried to back up, but found her hooves wouldn't move. Looking over her withers, she saw Celestia and Luna had joined Oranos and Phoebe. All along the horizon she saw tens of alicorns staring at her, humming a low song.
"Who here vouches for our little sister?", Charon said in a terrible and benevolent voice.
"We vouch for her.", Phoebe and Oranos spoke simultaneously.
"Art there any whom speakest against her?", Charon spoke. No voices spoke. Charon tipped a head to Luna, "Thou may'st offer unto our little sister one piece of advice before the great rive judges her."
Luna walked up to Twilight and spoke into her ear, "Struggle not Twilight or thy suffering will be magnified."
Before Twilight could say anything, she found herself lifted up by an unseen force and plunged into the river. Silver water flowed around her and over her. She immediately panicked, flailing in the roiling water as the current drug her under. The river bother flaming hot and freezing cold. The river slammed her against one of the gilt rocks, forcing the air from her lungs.
Twilight placed her hooves over her mouth and nose, trying to desperately hold on to the tiny gasp of air in her body. The silver water forced itself up her nose and into her mouth of its own accord, shoving itself down her throat and into her lungs. Her insides filled with ice and fire, wracking her with with excruciating pain. She kicked her legs, ascending through the silver water for what seemed like an eternity before reaching out her hooves to breach the surface. Instead of breaking through the surface, she instead found her hooves bounced off the underside of the surface like it was made of solid diamond. The current grabbed her again, slamming her into the bottom of the river, her insides felt as if the shattered and reformed in an instant, causing her to go rag doll.
Twilight stared on in horror as her flesh etched away to the bone and regrew several times over as she tumbled helplessly. "This is how I die", she though as she let her body relax to accept oblivion.
A roar filled Twilight's ears and she looked up, seeing herself careening over the edge of the falls. Simultaneously she was inside and outside herself as she bounced off the gilded rocks. The pain wracked her body/not her body on the way down, she full snapped back into herself as she plunged into a swirling and churning pool. Over the course of a million lifetimes and an instant, she tumbled end-over-end in the churning pool.
Twilight found her body coming to rest at the bottom of the pool as reality fell away into unreality. She found herself standing before two nearly incomprehensible and indescribable beings, one high above her head, the other far beneath her hooves. The gaze of the two beings caused the last shreds of her mortal mind to shred away, replacing it was a level of comprehension of the universe replaced all perception.
"Greetings daughter.", the being far above spoke in a voice deep in Twilight's mind. When she went to respond, she found she had no words.
"Lay thy soul open to us.", the being below said in Twilight's mind.
Twilight felt the gaze of the two beings penetrate her from every angle, making and unmaking her. A great silver river flowed from the two beings and into all things. She saw gods, elder dragons and alicorns spring from the river. She saw a great wheel descend and rest itself gently upon the world. She saw herself, Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Flurry Heart standing upon the center of the wheel, two elder dragons held the wheel up from below. She saw gods, elder dragons and alicorns walk along the spokes and rime of the wheel. The wheel became both separate from and part of all things.
Reality snapped violently as Twilight found herself tumbling end-over-end in the swirling and churning silver pool. Her flesh and bone etched away in the churning silver pool, leaving only her core of magic.
The core of magic dimmed slightly, before it pulsed in bright magenta light. Twilight reformed herself from the magic core into multiple simultaneous forms, all inhabiting one body. She found she could ascend and descend through the pool at will.
Breaking the surface of the pool, Twilight strode effortlessly to the shore. Her eyes shone with power and her ethereal mane blew on unfelt winds, half of it shown in a light purple, the other half shown in a midnight blue with stars twinkling in it. She looked upon the alicorns, seeing all their true forms.
"Speak thy true name oh sister Invictus.", Charon said.
Twilight lifted her head to the heavens and spoke in a voice that sounded like thousands singing at once, "Danube!"
As the river, pool, Charon, Oranos and Phoebe faded away, Celestia and Luna embraced their new sister.
As Equestria slowly faded in, Celestia and Luna bowed before Twilight.
"We welcome thee sister Twilight Danube Invictus.", Celestia said, "Our name is Celestia Rubicon Invictus."
"We welcome thee sister Twilight Danube Invictus.", Luna said, "Our name in Ister Luna Invictus."
The three alicorns slowly floated down to the ground in Sweet Apple Acres. Granny Smith was sitting on the porch and she leapt to her hooves and skipped around like a filly in springtime as she cackled in joy. She ran into the farmhouse with energy she hadn't felt in nearly two hundred years.
Granny smith whooped for joy waking every pony from their sleep. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Applebloom staggered out of their rooms to see what the ruckus was and gaped at Granny skipping around like a filly.
"Granny? What in th' hay is goin' on?" Applejack asked shocked.
Granny sprinted up the stairs joyously, "Somethin' wonderful! Ah have witnessed the ascension o' Twilight." She placed the recipe zapapple jam into Applebloom's hoof, taking the scarf off her head, she tied it around Applejack's neck, "Th' prophesy Princess Celestia tol' me bearly two hun'red tears ago has come true!" She leaned down and kissed Rainbow on her belly, "Now you make sure my great-gran'colt grows up tuh be a strong pegasus, Ah won't be aroun' physically tuh teach 'im."
AJ and RD blinked stunned. "Uh Granny...", Rainbow said stunned, "Me and AJ haven't even told anypony that we're having a foal yet. It's only been a month since we were at the fertility clinic."
Granny Smith scampered down the stairs as she gestured for the three ponies to follow her. AJ, RD and AB followed Granny smith in stunned silence as she ran over to Big Macintosh's house and knocked on the door.
Light came on in the house as Big Mac walked out onto the porch, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Granny? Wa's the matter?"
Granny Smith pressed the deed to Sweet Apple Acres into Big Mac's massive hoof, it had his and Applejack's name signed on it. "Now Ah dun want neither of you two tuh be fightin' over it."
Celestia, Luna and Twilight walked up to the farmhouse.
Applejack and Rainbow stared at the recently ascended Twilight. They both blinked in disbelief, their friend stood taller than ever on long graceful legs, her mane blew on ethereal winds looking like the sky at dusk and her violet eyes glittered with brilliance in the darkness. "Twi?", Applejack asked
Twilight stared at two of her friends smiling. "Yes, it's me."
Granny Smith made her way over to her rocking chair, her legs trembling and her breath breath becoming labored. Sitting in the rocking chair, she leaned back taking one last look at all three of her grandchildren as her vision slowly faded. A weak smile spread slowly on her lips. "Take good care o' each other." Her eyes slowly closed as her body went limp, a last slow gasp escaped her lips.
Big Mac, Applejack and Applebloom ran over to their recently passed grandmother with tears in their eyes.
Applejack Laid her head on Granny Smith's lap crying. Rainbow Dash gently laid a hoof on her wife's wither, tears trickling down her cheeks, Applejack turned and the two embraced each other crying. Applebloom leaned into her sister crying. Sugar Belle held her mountain of a husband as he blubbered. In the sky above Sweet Apple Acres two shooting stars streaked by, joined by a third leaving sparkling trails across the night sky.
The three princesses looked at the grieving family with tears glittering in their eyes.