//------------------------------// // Harmony Re-OH COME ON! // Story: The Thousand Year Change // by Darthvalgaav //------------------------------// “S-Sister, is that what I think it is?” asked Luna, her mouth hanging open as she stared at Ruby’s bag with continued to glow brighter by the millisecond. “It is,” replied Celestia with a smile and tears rolling down her muzzle as the room began to fill with an all too familiar energy. The energy was like an old friend that she had sorely missed, returning to cheer her up after something horrible had happened. Celestia looked down towards her sister to see that she too was crying much like her. As one, the two sisters took each other’s hoof as the ignored the countdown that was now nearing its end. “Thirty seconds till TOM impact,” said the computer in an emotionless voice. But nopony paid it any mind as they were all spellbound by the energy that was filling the room. It was so powerful, so wondrous that even the non magical users in the room could feel its power. The straps on Ruby’s saddle bags loosened on their own, allowing five orbs of stone to float upwards above the bat pony. Each orb seemed to shine a different color: red, blue, dark purple, pink, and orange. Once they were all free in the air, they instantly began to move over to where Twilight and company where. Each orb seemed to park itself above one of the Equestrians heads, glowing evermore brightly as it did to the point where some felt the need to shield their eyes. One by one, each of the five mares from Equestria began to rise up until the top of their head touched the stone spheres. Twilight also rose into the air until she was level with the others. For a moment, Twilight just seemed confused by what was happening. What were these objects and why did they go to her as well as the ponies she- It then hit her like the blast from an energy weapon. The Elements of Harmony! Princess Luna had told her in-pony that she was one of the bearers before the ponies from Ponyville showed up in the Republic. That these same five ponies that she had met were the other bearers! Her mind went into overdrive, trying to remember each Element as the power continued to flow around the room as well as trying to figure out who got which Element. Twilight looked over at Applejack who had the orange stone floating on top of her head. It didn’t take her long to realize which Element the farm mare was based on their past experiences: Honesty. Since the day they had first met, Applejack had been honest to the core. True, that honesty caused some slight friction between them when they had first met with her openly reacting with fear towards Shadow. However, she did come around quickly, sincerely apologizing to Shadow for how she had acted. Nor could Twilight forget the time when Applejack pulled her out of herself pity when Scootaloo had been kidnapped by Sunset Shimmer or the time when she had talked Gigawatt into taking her hoof so that she could lift him to safety. Both times she managed to help others with her honest words. Not to mention that, from what she had heard, Applejack’s honesty was so powerful that she fought the Truth Light to the bitter end when it tried to force her to lie. Twilight’s gaze shifted to the pony she knew was the bearer of Generosity: Rarity. While she had reacted in a similar fashion as Applejack when she met Shadow, she was quick to help them out by exchanging their gold for Equestrian bits as well as giving them a little extra. Nor could Twilight forget that she had used fabric from one of her dresses to help bandage an open wound Twilight had, despite the dress being dear to her. Pinkie Pie was next on the list and Twilight didn’t second guess herself when she thought of Laughter being her Element. She was the type of pony who wanted others to get along, laughing and smiling together rather than fighting with each other. When Twilight had first arrived in Equestria, the pink party pony had done everything in her power to help them feel welcome in Ponyville by throwing together a party just for Twilight and Shadow. While she did seem a bit…random at times and sometimes forgot to read the room, there was no denying that she lived to make others smile. That was why she always carried around rubber chickens and clown hankies. Kindness could only go to one mare and that was Fluttershy. So timid and soft spoken at times, it was hard to tell if she was afraid of doing something that might upset others or if she was just afraid in general. She only seemed to come out of her shell when animals were involved, like when she wanted to show Twilight and Shadow her animal friends as well as trying to bring them to the Republic. She was the one who calmed Twilight down with her music while the purple unicorn was panicking and was even willing to show mercy to the LBI agents who wanted to destroy her home. Even if it was wanting to make sure they were comfortable. The last of the five stones was Loyalty, which naturally belonged to Rainbow Dash. As Twilight thought back to her past interactions with this mare, it was easy to see how this could be. From what Rainbow had told her, her cousin was a bat pony and she defended the mare instead of shunning her. Not only that, she was quick to come to the defense of others she called friend. Like when she tried to stand up for Applejack during the trial or when she refused to back down when Gigawatt ordered her to. And despite the pain of Gigawatt’s attack, Rainbow still managed to get back onto her hooves in order to protect her friends. As these thoughts ran through Twilight’s head, thinking back to all the times there had shared together, the stones began to transform. One by one, they each took on a smaller, crystal like form of each other their bearer’s cutie mark held in golden necklaces that attached them to the necks of each mare. It was only when all five were safely attached to their owner, that the final Element appeared. Formed in the friendship that they shared, a lavender star appeared above Twilight’s head before a crown materialized around it. Slowly the Element of Magic lowered itself onto Twilight’s head as her eyes began to glow white. “Twenty seconds until TOM impact,” announced the computer. The magic in the room continued to spiral around as Twilight realized that there was more energy to gather. More types of friendships that could be used to give the Elements more power than ever before. And it was all here in this very room. All she had to do was recognize it in order to bring it into the fold. She could feel the bond between sister coming from Celestia and Luna. Despite everything that had happened between them, they still loved and cared for each other. True, they may bicker or even distrust the other from time to time, but no matter what happened between them they would always come back to the other and give that pony a second chance. Because they were sisters that still loved each other. The magic in the room turned towards the sisters still holding the others hoof and lifted them into the air. Their bodies began to glow in a color that matched their coats as they allowed this to happen. It was then that both of their anti-magic rings burst at the same time and their eyes began to glow the same white color as Twilight’s as the magic of the Elements became stronger. But it could be stronger still. Twilight could sense another bond. The bond of love coming from Shining Armor, Cadence, and the little bat filly named Midnight Blossom. She could sense their feelings for each other. The love between mother and daughter. The love between mare and stallion. It was so rich, so powerful that it called out to the Elements, begging for its energy to be used to help in this dire hour. And they weren’t the only ponies with this energy, for below Twilight was both Shadow Blade and Scootaloo, the same energy that her brother and the pink alicorn had flowed through them as well. All five of these ponies were lifted into the air, hovering above those who still had their hooves to the ground while staring at them in slack jawed amazement. “Ten seconds till TOM impact,” announced the computer before it proceeded to count down the seconds until it reached zero. As the computer emotionlessly said the word nine, the thirteen ponies were transformed into what appeared to be beams of light that shot out in the direction of the planet. They passed through walls as if they weren’t even there, moving through space faster than anypony thought possible until they reached the atmosphere of the world in danger. The beams that had once been ponies began to spin around the globe so fast that to those still on its surface the sky looked like a rainbow blur. The crystals that allowed Operation Umbrella to work tried to suppress this magic but failed and shattered into nothing. As for the Lunar pilots, they seemed unaffected by what was happening other than seeing their cockpits taking on rainbow colored hues before moving back into space. As the pilots did this, they could now see the TOM as it made its way into the atmosphere. Or tried to. Those watching on the moon and those in their fighter ships watched as the TOM seemed to stop as if it had hit an invisible wall. Everything they knew about science and magic said that this shouldn’t, no, couldn’t happen. And yet before their eyes it was. The next thing they knew was that the TOM was being pushed back as the rainbow colored blur began to change. Twelve wings began to spread out, six wings on each side of the world, as well as a unicorn's head with a massive horn that came out of the top of the planet. Those who were not so stunned as to sit there with their jaws opened began to scan what they were seeing, finding the figures of various ponies in each of the wings and Twilight Sparkle at the very top of this astral alicorn’s horn. Further zooming in showed that all of these ponies had white glowing eyes, their gaze fixed on the TOM. Despite the TOM now flying in the opposite direction, the planet alicorn lowered its horn to fire a massive multicolored beam of magic. The beam was so widespread and so powerful that it fully consumed the TOM, destroying it instantly. Yet the beam didn’t stop, veering its course so that the blast would strike the moon. Those who noticed this only had enough time for their eyes to widen slightly before the attack was upon them. Before anypony knew what was going on, the energy washed over the moon like a tidal wave until the sphere was a multicolored blur. -x- Gigawatt groaned as he opened his eyes, the sound of a siren wailing stirring him to the waking world. At first he thought he was back in his bed with his wife, needing to get up to another day of work with the rest of the Senate. However, as his eyes began to focus in on the world around him, he realized how wrong he was. He was not in his bed but on the floor of the command center in Dome Zero. Close by him was the exiled criminal Sunset Shimmer. There was also the dragon turned pony Spike and a few bat ponies from the planet. All of them were stirring as well as the noise, whatever it was, being the cause of this. As Gigawatt got to his hooves, he looked over at the control panel and what he saw caused all the color on his face to vanish. He could almost feel his heart stop as he saw the warning lights flashing and the screen in front of him showing an alert of multiple Dome breaches. Not bothering to see how the others were doing, Gigawatt began to press various buttons quickly to see how bad the damage was. Breath escaped him and he felt all was lost when the computer told him that all of the Domes had been shattered. Before despair could overtake him a thought crossed his mind. If all the Domes had fallen how was he still alive? If, as the screen seemed to indicate, all of the Domes had fallen then there would be no air. Right now, whatever remains of his body that survived explosive decompression should be floating around the room with the others! So how was it he was alive to ask such questions? Silently, Gigawatt began to use the computer to try and figure out what was going on. He ignored the questions of the others in the room, knowing that they didn’t comprehend the possible danger they were in. When he saw the results, his eyes widened. Without a word to the others he rushed out of the room and raced towards the entrance of the castle to confirm the results with his own eyes. He could hear the hooves of ponies behind him. He didn’t know if they were the other ponies that had been in the control room with him, castle staff, or LBI agents. And right now he didn’t care. Gigawatt eventually passed by the wreckage of the shuttle Shadow Blade had used to get in with and galloped down the hallway towards the open entrance. He crossed the threshold only to stop and stare in awe. All around him, as far as he could see, were fields of green grass so tall it went up to his knees. A breeze blew by bringing with it fresh scent of floral, meaning that there would be flowers somewhere close. He could see trees growing rapidly here and there, reaching for the now blue sky above him. His ears perked as when he caught the gentle sound of splashing water. Perhaps there was a lake nearby, just beyond the remains of what had been the Dome in one of the craters. Or perhaps it was a, oh what was the word? A moat? “What happened?” came a voice behind him. Gigawatt turned to see various ponies behind him, staring at what he had just seen with a mixture of wonder and fear. “Where are we?” asked another pony who was backing away slowly. “Where is our home?” “This…is our home,” said Gigawatt slowly as a tear appeared in his eye. “The scans say that the moon has been terraformed completely.” As he then wiped away the tear, he returned to look at the sight before them. Long had he desired to see this happen, for the ponies of the Republic to have what Equestria took for granted. They no longer would have to fear daily that a Dome might break, killing all inside. Colts and fillies could now play freely without having to travel to the only forested Dome. To Gigawatt, this was paradise. As the other ponies murmur behind him, a glowing white sphere appeared in the sky above the castle. Slowly it descended to the ground, revealing Princess Luna and the others. When the sphere vanished, it was Princess Luna’s turn to look confused as she looked around her. “What…what is all this?” she asked as Gigawatt and the other approached their beloved leader. “How did this happen?” “I think the Elements of Harmony did this,” said Twilight as she too looked around. “But why?” “Perhaps they did this to help ease the fear of the ponies who live here,” answered Princess Celestia with a smile. “Or perhaps to take away something that makes us so different so that we may relate to each other a bit better. So that we may one day be friends.” “I fear the Lunar Republic has much to do for that to happen,” said Luna as she stared at the green ground below. “We…have done the world we originally came from much harm. I doubt they will welcome us with a parade, singing songs, and placing crowns of flowers on our heads after all of this. I believe it would be more likely that they will fear us more now than ever before.” “Perhaps not,” said Celestia in a low tone. Around them, the others were looking around at this changed world and not paying much attention to the two princesses. Yet she did not want to take any chances for what she was about to suggest. “We could…shift the blame and make it easier for you to be forgiven.” “What?” asked Luna, her voice slightly raised. “While it is true that those in Equestria will fear you, there is a chance that we can make it so that the rest of the world will never know what really happened,” said Celestia. She saw Luna eye her in a way that made it clear that she couldn’t see how that was possible. So Celestia quickly elaborated. “We can tell the world Discord was responsible for everything that had happened. Magic vanishing. The rock that almost hit the world. But thanks to the combined efforts of both counties, Equestria and the Lunar Republic, we were able to make everything right again while making sure Discord will never be a threat again. What do you think?” Luna looked at Celestia in shock. What her sister proposed…might work. Any creature that had heard of Discord would know that this was the sort of thing he might find amusing in some twisted fashion. Not only would it smooth things over with races like the griffons, this cover story might help patch things up with Equestria. Being told by their beloved Princess that Luna and her ponies saved the world from such a threat might help the healing process between their nations. But was that the right thing to do? That was the big question Luna had for herself. She had made serious mistakes that hurt many lives, most likely ending more than a few when Operation: Umbrella was activated. She had been the one to throw the world into more chaos and confusion than Discord ever did. It was a trusted member of her Senate who had tried to end all life on the planet. So, should she pass the blame off to one who could no longer defend himself in order to escape the blame? Not just for herself but for her nation as well? And hope no one ever found out what really happened? “No,” said Luna, slightly shaking her head as she did. “We cannot clean the slate that way. I think it would be best if we earn forgiveness while acknowledging we what really happened.” Celestia let out a sigh. “Very well then,” she said as Gigawatt stood before the two princesses. “Princess Luna,” said Gigawatt. “I believe that there will be some confusion as to what has just happened across the moon. It would be in everypony’s best interest if you made a public statement as quickly as possible.” “I agree,” said Luna with a nod. “Contact all studios telling them that there will be a royal announcement within the coming hour. Everypony within the Republic will soon learn that what has transpired, both the horrible and the miraculous. Then, once you have done that, contact every member of the guard as well as our entire medical staff with the order that they are being deployed to the planet. I am sure that there are many who are injured and areas that are in need of protection. Especially Equestria. We are directly responsible for their military losses.” “Very well Princess,” said Gigawatt with a nod. He then turned to look at Princess Celestia. “I never thought I’d see the day when our two countries could benefit each other by working together. Never before have I been so happy to be proven wrong. Thank you, Princess Celestia.” Then, before a flabbergasted Celestia could say anything, Gigawatt turned and went to work at his princess’ command. Meanwhile, not too far away from the royal sisters, sat Twilight and the others. While Scootaloo and Midnight were off playing in the newly created landscape, Twilight leaned into Shadow as they took in the sight. Shining Armor was trying to do the same with Cadence, but the Equestrian bat ponies had pushed him out of the way to make sure their beloved pink princess was ok while the rest of the Equestrians watched in amusement. “So, what do you think’ll happen now?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Don’t rightly know,” replied Applejack honestly. “I reckon things will start calming down a might. I mean, it’s over…right?” Everypony there turned their attention to Twilight and Shadow. The couple blinked before giving each other a look. “Well,” began Shadow. “There is still a lot to do. I mean, there will be a cleanup and I’m sure Princess Luna will want to try to smooth over tensions between us and the planet. I’m also sure that there will be some fallout after ponies find out what Land Share and the LBI did. While that’s going on, I’ll be busy trying to set up a remembrance ceremony for those who have lost their lives during all of this. Light…Lightning Dust especially, given how she gave up her life to give us more time. Without that, I don’t think we could have done…whatever magical thing we just did.” At that, Twilight, Shadow, Shining Armor, and Rainbow Dash lowered their heads. Grief had not left them over their loss of the pegasus. While there was some new comfort in knowing that her death hadn’t been pointless, knowing that they would never see her again (in Rainbow’s case race again) stung at their hearts as tears threatened to appear in their eyes. However, grief would have to wait for another time. Now was the time to celebrate what they had achieved. “And I’ll make sure to talk to Senator Gigawatt and have Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle returned,” added Twilight as she looked at both Applejack and Rarity. “I know his wife and colts pretty well, so I know they were well taken care of. Most likely they’ve been spending this time trying to get their cutie marks.” This got a laugh out of all of the mares. “Ah guess some things are the same, no matter where ya come from,” said Applejack after she had calmed down. “But, ah, does this mean all the scary stuff is over?” asked Fluttershy. “I think so,” said Twilight slowly. Fluttershy gulped. “Then does this mean we’ll never see you again Twilight?” she asked. Twilight responded with a smile. “Of course not!” she exclaimed. “After everything that’s happened, I would never cut any of you from my life. I have a feeling I’m going to be making plenty of trips down to Equestria to help Princess Luna establish better ties with its ponies and foster some good will. And a good place to start is with all of you in Ponyville! We can even fix it so that you can come up here whenever you want. In fact, I would be honored if you girls would be there for our wedding.” “A wedding!” shouted Rarity as stars appeared in her eyes. “Oh darling, you simply must let me design the dress! Free of charge naturally. Oooh, and I can make Shadow a rather stunning tuxedo that will match perfectly.” “And I’ll bring some of my animal friends,” added Fluttershy. At this all of the other ponies turned to look at her so fast that one would think that a few heads snapped. Their eyes were wide in absolute horror as visions of the last time Fluttershy brought an animal to the Republic played in their heads. Thankfully, Fluttershy seemed to read their thoughts. “Um, don’t worry. This time I’ll bring something I know more about and not something given to me by a stranger. Like a fluffy bunny or this tortoise I’ve been trying to find a home for.” “But do you all know what we should do before any of that?” asked Pinkie Pie wearing the largest smile anypony had ever seen in the history of time itself. “We need to throw a party!” “Ah Pinkie,” began Applejack as she placed a hoof on her pink friend to try and calm her down. “Ah think we’d better check on our kin first. Celestia knows that our families are probably worried sick right now.” “But we need to have a party!” insisted Pinkie as she began to bounce up and down. “Because all the bad stuff is over and nothing like this will never, ever happen again!” “Pinkie,” said Rarity in a warning tone. “Don’t you dare jinx this.” “But what could possibly go wrong?” asked Pinkie innocently. “Equestria and the Republic are going to be nice to each other from now on, there’s not another TOM falling towards our home, all of the meanies who have been having their super secret conspiracies are gone, and we’re finally going home! If all of that isn’t reason enough to throw a party that it’s all over without anything bad ever happening again, I don’t know what is.” At that very moment in the sky above their heads there came a sound like glass being shattered. All the ponies there raised their heads to see what it was and their jaws dropped. In the sky was a crack of unimaginable size hovering above their heads. The inside of the crack was pale white, letting out an unnatural glow as several smaller cracks began to grow out of it. For a moment, nopony said nor did anything. They just stared at it as if there were trying to process what was going on. Then, eventually, movement did begin to occur from them. It started with a twitch in Luna’s eye while Celestia covered both of hers with her hoof. After that, others began to get eye twitches followed by their bodies shaking in anger. Eventually, none of them could sit there any longer. “OH COME ON!” they all shouted in unison. “Ok big mean all powerful pony, I’ve had just enough!” screamed Pinkie as she shook a hoof to the sky. “First you mock me, making sure I couldn’t keep my pinkie promise to the Cakes by keeping all the tasty treats from the Republic away from me. That was mean, but this is too much! I want you to come down here this instant so I can have a few words with you.” As Pinkie Pie said this, she slammed a hoof onto the ground. When she did this, several of the smaller cracks coming out of the larger one began to move. They snaked through the air as if it were made of solid matter as the cracks made their way to the mares below them. Seeing this the mares began to run away and spread out. This, however, only seemed to cause the cracks to increase their speed as well. Each one seemed to split off in pursuit of one of the six Bearers. The first three to be reached by the cracks were Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. The cracks did not touch them, but instead seemed to move around them as if they were cutting a hole beneath their hooves. And, indeed, this seemed to be the cause for as soon as all three mares had been surrounded the ground beneath them vanished in a brilliant white light taking the screaming mares with it. Rainbow Dash was next. She had tried to out fly it while believing that, since she was in the air, she was safe. This hope was proven false rather quickly as the crack that had been following her zoomed past the multi mane colored pegasus before forming a hole right in front of her. Before Rainbow could register what it had done the sky in front of her vanished and so too did Rainbow Dash. Applejack ran with all her might, keeping an eye on the crack following her. Sweat dripped from her brow as it soon began to circle her. Thinking quickly, she tried to jump over it before the hole could form. However, it was as if there was an invisible wall directly above the cracks keeping her in place. She turned around and tried her best to buck it, but before she could lift her hind legs she vanished into white light as well. Now there was only Twilight left. She was backing away slowly as she and the two royal sisters tried blasting the cracks in an effort to save the last Element Bearer. Yet for all their power, their attacks didn’t even slow the cracks down. Twilight watched as Shining Armor put up a barrier that the crack passed through as if it wasn’t there as it increased its speed towards its target. Both Celestia and Luna moved to stand in front of Twilight, read to protect her with their bodies from this strange threat. Yet the crack simply moved in between the two as it headed for its target. Seeing that nothing was going to slow this thing down anytime soon, Shadow moved to pick up Twilight. As they got into the air, the crack moved into the space between them and split them apart. As the crack began to surround a now helpless Twilight, Shadow shot towards her with all his might only to slam against the unseeable wall. But he didn’t stop. He pounded on it with both hooves as he called out her name. And as Twilight turned to look at him, her world vanished.