//------------------------------// // Chapter 49 – When the World Healed // Story: The One True King // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// Chapter 49 “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair.” — C. S. Lewis Canterlot, Equestria There was much to do for Princess Twilight when she returned home. So many days had passed. And yet, it felt like yesterday. On a day where they almost believed the sun would not rise. But Twilight made it so, ensuring light returned to their world and they rose together in victory. They all rose with the sun to face the new day and breathe it in, knowing that they had survived and their extinction never came. Not like Sombra had wanted. Not like Ghidorah had wanted. They survived because Godzilla and Mothra deemed it so. They deemed it right. They deemed them worthy. The world recovered, but it was not a simple process. Aiding in the rebuilding, T.I.T.A.N. also finally revealed themselves to the world. Not just to the rulers new, but to the people. To the nations. Hiding nothing any longer. By Twilight’s orders, T.I.T.A.N. gave the world the truth that was hidden for over sixty years. For even so much longer than that. Monsters were real. Great, majestic, primordial beings. And now they lived together. Nation after nation had suffered immensely. Hundreds of the Titans had awakened and left countless cities and civilizations devastated. T.I.T.A.N. utilized their efforts with each kingdom to aid in the reconstruction, building back to whatever could have been considered normal life at one point. It was the least they could do, and with Twilight leading them now, she ensured that the world would heal to its original state. Not the state before. Not the one without the Titans. But today, in her throne room, gazing out into her sunlight and witnessing the lands before her thrive and live, she made a promise to share it with its original rulers. And it was so. And it worked. Her friends returned home, returned to their old lives to hopefully readjust to the new status quo. With the destruction of the Crystal Empire, most of the kingdom had become a radiated wasteland. It was impossible for Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, or the Crystal Ponies to return. Instead, they were relocated and readjusted to Ponyville, lengthening the town’s borders and empowering it with the Crystal Heart. Ponyville today was truly a sight to behold. Discord retired for a long rest, and time to reevaluate himself and what he experienced in the Crystal Empire. He didn’t fully explain, but Fluttershy mentioned he didn’t want to talk too much about it. Something just didn’t sit right with him, Twilight pondered, but he deserved the rest. They all did. Bon Bon and Lyra retired to their home in Ponyville for a much-needed and well-deserved rest. As did Twilight and Spike return to Canterlot, where so much had changed in the worst possible way. So much death and destruction. Rebuilding Canterlot was still in its early stages, but it was necessary work. One that Twilight ensured would take priority, to show the world that they remained standing even in the darkest of days. Spike practically slept for days, and Twilight didn’t blame him. She may have slept in a day or two. Rarity went back to the Carousel Boutique to try and catch up with her old clients and any other order she put on hold while she was away. Applejack got back to the farm with Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. Rainbow Dash got back with the Wonderbolts, training recruits, setting up drills, living the dream. Pinkie Pie returned to the partying life. Never once missing a beat. As for Fluttershy… things didn’t really go back to normal for her, not the way she wanted it to be. Fluttershy wanted to join T.I.T.A.N., to be far more involved in their future endeavors. Particularly, any Titan-related incidents that she believed she had the best jurisdiction to deal with, and she wasn’t wrong. Twilight was more than happy to let Fluttershy join the organization as the group’s first ever “Titan Whisperer”. Not her official title, but a lot of ponies liked to call her that. Neither Twilight nor Fluttershy seemed to object to it, either. T.I.T.A.N. still existed, now openly in the public eye, now funded across the board from every nation to watch and defend their world. Though, defense was not really necessary. Sure, towns and settlements would get the standard Titan visitor every now and again, ponies gazing in awe and snapping pictures while the creature merely wandered about on its daily routine. Coastlines and luxury cruises would see a beast beyond imagination lurking around their waters, but they rarely turned violent. They had a reason not to. Godzilla kept the Titans in check. Any beast that tried to go rogue was met quickly with the fury of the rightful King of the Monsters. They were few. The many reigned in the peace that had been restored to Equus, living in a somewhat stable harmony with ponykind and every other species. As close as you could have harmony with the Old Gods. It was a fragile balance, one that would constantly teeter again and again, but that was a battle for tomorrow. For today, Twilight just let herself breathe in the peace. She let the rays of her morning sun wash over her face and spill into her throne room. It was warm. It was comforting. The world was so, so quiet. Even when so much had changed around her, and was constantly changing before her eyes. Twilight more or less ran T.I.T.A.N. now. Celestia and Luna helped when she was away or was busy with princess duties, but for the most part—and as much as she could tell—T.I.T.A.N. was at her command. At least, the Equestrian side of it. Each faction of T.I.T.A.N. had their own hierarchy of sorts, depending on which nation they were stationed in and which Titans they were watching over. It was so much different letting the creatures roam free instead of containing them, but Twilight made sure that was the first thing to change now that a new era had begun. It was a change Fluttershy especially appreciated. It wasn’t the only change that would come. The storms controlled themselves. Forests flourished. Oceans were reborn. What was once dead had become alive. Entire ecosystems, triggered by the creatures’ radiation, had returned. Though Twilight raised the sun and moon, the world around them was alive, living on its own, without their full involvement. Earth ponies still cultivated, they still made a living, but never before had their world felt so alive. Every doubt, every misconception, none of it ever mattered. What they had fought for, what Mothra had constantly told them, it had all finally returned. The Great Rebalance. Harmony between the old and the new. The Titans had restored the world to its natural and original peace. And with Godzilla as their king, all was well. The day had just begun. There was still so much for Princess Twilight to do, to accomplish. Having finally experienced one last slice of crazy of her old life, Twilight felt somewhat relieved to return to the life of royalty. Of politics. At least in this realm, she felt somewhat in control. She felt that her decisions alone could have led them all to something close to world peace. The reconstruction would be difficult. The trials ahead would not be easy, especially factoring in their new neighbors. But that was her duty, her job not only to herself but to countless of her little ponies. For every species to know and experience and embrace the magic of friendship, and because of the efforts they had accomplished, now every species was able to enjoy it. Every species knew the magic of friendship. The war was over, the evil was vanquished, and they came out of it stronger, not broken. Sombra, Ghidorah, what they believed had died with them. Only… Twilight didn’t really believe that. She couldn’t truly believe the evil was dead. Would it return one day? Would another take up the deathless ideals of evil that could never truly be destroyed? Maybe. Twilight understood the dangers that lurked in the shadows. She knew evil, had experienced it in its rawest, truest form, and still she was not worried. The life she lived before had conquered evil many times, and the life she lived now would only continue that fight. The war they had won, the battles that lied ahead, it was all something to learn from. To build to. To live. It was an adventure, life was. One she would never forget. Not for sentimental reasons, but because it would be impossible. Practically all the world had changed because of it. A change, Princess Twilight promised, would lead to a greater tomorrow. She believed that. She believed every last bit of it and left her throne room, left the sight of a Canterlot slowly in the process of rebuilding, and left the stained glass window of Godzilla and Mothra in the Crystal Empire. Roaring loud and mighty to all the earth he claimed.