Six months ago, local time, Reverb Hall had been the site of a trial to determine the fate of a universe, to bar it from inclusion or otherwise.
Now, Reverb Hall was the site of what could be considered the exact opposite. The final step of Unification. The Signing.
Unlike the trial, this event was broadcast live to every universe that cared. The average population still wasn’t allowed inside the actual Hall since it was already more than a little full, but the governments had made sure to allow extensive media access. Cameras were everywhere, and several news anchors could be seen addressing the masses through the devices.
The Hall itself was absolutely filled with people from every one of the eight universes. Ponies, Gems, and humans were there; but there were also dragons, changelings, Asgard, and others joining in.
Eve looked out at it all from the stage and couldn’t help herself. She broke out into a childish grin and started singing; even though she couldn’t hear her own words, it was still a great feeling.
“Together
A thread of fate has bound us in harmony
A simple song has given us melody
A friendship shared with those who cared truthfully
Together
Through all the pain the trials the horrors the tears
We have stood the test of time and suffering
And here we stand at last to conquer our fears
Together
When I heard the multiverse calling my name
I believed the destiny was singular
I did not seek the power, glory, or fame
Together
Look at us now, standing proud, against it all
Preparing to take the final step in this
The proud unification in this hall!”
Eve twirled around, looking at the banner with the newly created symbol of the unified worlds. A ‘u’ with a tail at the front end, known as the Greek letter ‘mu’ to people of Earth.
Pinkie appeared next to Eve and began to sing, twirling her squeaky hammer as she did so.
“Woah~
Together!
Standing beneath this symbol of accomplishment!
Bringing passion, friendship, the light within all!
Above and beyond the mission we were sent!”
Pinkie pulled an electric guitar out of nowhere and threw it to Vriska. She strummed.
“Yeah!
Together!
I came here looking for an old friend of mine
Haven’t found her yet, but there’s something else here
People who help me not care about the time!”
Pinkie rammed her face into Vriska’s. “Vriska, that doesn’t rhyme! Get into the flow!”
“Excuse me! It’s not like I’m used to songthings!”
“Just try your best and you’ll find you can’t say no!”
Flutterfree cleared her throat, landing between them and changing up the beat of the heartsong.
“In this world of infinite choices
We must not forget the reason we’re here
Our kindnesses made the bonds stronger
We are here to banish all of their fear.”
Toph and Corona leaped into the mix, dancing opposed to each other in time with the beat.
Toph grinned. “We have strengthened our spirits and hope.”
Corona smiled sadly. “Found a way to rekindle what was lost.”
“All the sorrow suffered among us.”
“Let’s push it aside so that we may rest.”
Nova and Renee sang as one.
“In this world of infinite choices
We must not forget the reason we’re here
Our magic enchanted millions
Let’s celebrate that with faces of cheer!”
“Together!” Eve shouted, bringing it back to the original beat.
“Together we stand, together we press on!
Together we weep, together we console!
Together we sing, together to the dawn!”
O’Neill raised a fist in victory. “Together we laugh at our enemies!”
Daniel smirked alongside him. “Together we solve the mysteries of old.”
Celestia spoke out. “Together we find the rainbow in our lives.”
Joseph Joestar chimed in with his old, scratchy voice. “Together we survive despite all the odds!”
Blue Diamond let out a line with her serene tone. “Together we learn from mistakes of the past.”
Cosmo put on a soft, motherly smile. “Together we find homes for those who have none.”
Director Storm laughed. “Together we create great storms of our own!”
Allure piped up. “Together we enjoy the endless beauty!”
Evening brought it back. “Together: Merodi Universalis!”
“Together!” the entire hall shouted, turning to another person for the next verse. They all stared expectantly.
Jotaro grabbed his hat and shook his head. “Yare yare daze…”
The music ended with a wacky drumbeat provided by Pinkie.
“Dad!” Jolyne – now a teenager - called. “You ruined the song!”
Jotaro shrugged apologetically.
“It’s okay,” Eve said, putting a wing on Jolyne’s shoulder. “We got to Merodi Universalis. I think that’s what really needed to be said. It was a good ending, regardless.”
“I carry all of you with these drums!” Pinkie shouted.
“Yes. Yes you do,” Eve chuckled.
“You still going with Merodi Universalis?” Vriska asked. “I thought the name hadn’t been decided yet.”
“It was finalized for certain yesterday,” Eve explained. “We will no longer be ‘the Alliance’ or ‘the Unified’ after today. We will be Merodi Universalis. Or the Merodi.”
Vriska smirked. “I think it works well. Too many nations are all like ‘United States of Power’ or ‘Harmonic Republic’ or ‘The Democratic Republic of Freedom’ or other generic, lame names. Glad you found something unique.”
“And meaningful,” Eve said, a smile on her face. She looked out at the crowd in the Hall. “I feel much better about this than I did Disclosure.”
“Of course,” Renee said, walking up beside her old friend. “After all, it’s not like anything’s a secret this time around. We know exactly how the public feels. Generally overwhelmingly positive.”
“You’re overstating it, Renee,” Eve pointed out.
Renee huffed. “Oh, don’t dwell on the handful that refused. The Earths had hundreds of nations each, there were always going to be some that were stuck up about it. And Tauryl was never going to even consider such a thing.”
“I… am not worried or dwelling on any of them. I’m much more relieved that Lai and the Gem Vein are completely on board. I remember when Lai used to be a constant source of problems, and the Gem Vein fought hard against changing even a little.”
“They still fight hard, Eve.”
“Not as hard as they used to.” Eve gestured at a group of Gems intermingling with the League of Sweetie Belles. “Those aren’t banished Gems there, Renee. Those are official Diamond Authority Gems. Grown and raised in the rigid system they had in place. And they’re genuinely being friendly. It just… It creates a warm and fuzzy feeling to know we helped give them that capability, you know?”
“I do,” Flutterfree said with a smile. “It’s why I’m out here, doing this. So things like that happen more often.”
Eve hugged her. “You’re doing great, Flutterfree.”
“Thank you. You too.”
The dark form of Blumiere walked up. He tipped his hat at Renee and Flutterfree. “Evening, the foreign dignitaries have arrived and are staying in the upper balcony. I believe you wish to greet them personally?”
Eve took a breath. This was going to be interesting. “Yes, I did. Sorry girls, duty calls.” She adjusted her mane with her magic and stretched her wings. “Blumiere, what are you doing right now?”
Blumiere summoned a brochure out of the aether. “Talking about the plans for Castle Bleck. People are always very interested to hear about them.”
“Ah, carry on then. Flutterfree, think you can check to make sure security is still tight for me?”
Flutterfree nodded. “Aye aye.”
Eve rolled her eye at this, teleporting to the Reverb Hall’s balcony. It was more of a closed box with a giant window than a balcony, but it served a similar purpose. The view of the stage from here was impressive enough to give the people inside a feeling of importance.
Eve bowed to all four present dignitaries. “You all honor us with your presence.”
The Grand Secretariat bowed in return. “You honor us in allowing our presence in the first place, Evening.”
Hastur shrugged, the yellow folds of his robes spiraling around him in a highly unnatural fashion. “The highers would not consider this an honor. More of a chore.”
“Then we’re lucky you’re the one here,” Eve pointed out.
“I’m the only one who was willing to go, Evening Sparkle.”
“I know,” Eve said, rubbing the back of her head. Then she turned to the third dignitary, the last one she recognized. “…Hi.”
“Hi,” Jenny said, just as awkwardly. She began to twiddle her thumbs.
“You know, I actually didn’t expect you to show up.”
“I had nothing to do today. Figured I might as well.”
Eve nodded slowly. Then she smiled. “Well, enjoy your stay, Jenny!”
Jenny gave a thumbs up. “Yeah!”
I really, really do not trust her within a million miles of any of my friends, Eve thought to herself. But we can’t continue like we were forever. This is a step toward actually interacting more.
Eve turned to the fourth dignitary, one she had never met before. “Greetings. I am Charter-Princess Evening Sparkle. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
The man with the blonde curled hair in the pink suit replied “I am Ambassador Funny Valentine, representative of the United States of the Multiverse. Froppy speaks highly of your people.”
Eve smiled. “I’m glad.” Eve really wasn’t sure what to make of the USM. They had made official contact with them only a month ago after an encounter with aliens in the E-sphere. Since Unification had been so close at that point, Eve had never made any personal trips to the USM. She knew they started out as mostly an alliance of different versions of the United States of America, but that was in their past. They were now a more inclusive democratic entity in the multiverse, though as far as she knew they only contained humans within their borders. Eve had no idea what drove them, what their values were, how they dealt with new universes, or even what their political scene was. She didn’t even know the name of their current president!
All these thoughts stayed hidden behind Eve’s sweet smile. “What do you think?” Eve asked Valentine.
“We certainly never had this,” Valentine admitted. “Back when we first came together, it wasn’t all at once. It was always one world at a time, adapted into already existing legal systems. We never had to create something entirely new, merely adjust what already existed.”
“Oh?”
“I’m rather curious to see how your new system fares,” Valentine commented. “You’ve progressed remarkably quickly from fledgeling to full society. It took us significantly longer to get to anything of this level.”
“We have gotten lucky a few times,” Eve admitted.
“Capitalizing on luck is a welcome skill,” Valentine commented.
The Grand Secretariat moved into Eve’s field of view. “Evening, I hope you do not mind. But we have invited another society to observe the proceedings.”
Eve raised an eyebrow. “It’s not the Council of Ricks, is it?”
“Good Celestia, no!” the Grand Secretariat shook her head. “It’s the power we weren’t allowed to tell you about when you first met us. They would have been upset that we revealed them to someone they had not deemed ‘ready’. They’ve decided they’d rather reveal themselves before Unification rather than after.”
Eve suddenly put on her ‘serious diplomat’ expression. “I would be most grateful to meet these mysterious individuals.”
The Grand Secretariat nodded, pulling out a small device and pressing a button. Next to her appeared an alien life form that looked nothing like any creature Evening had seen before. Its body was bright orange and consisted of five orange lumps. Four of these lumps served as leg-like limbs, while the central lump contained a single blue eye and a wide mouth. Eve turned her ears on since she definitely wasn’t going to just assume she knew how to lip read this race.
It spoke with a high-pitched whine at the back of its throat. The voice was identifiably male. Eve knew her translator had never heard this being’s language before, but she could understand him anyway, suggesting the orange being had a translator of his own. “I am called Chartreuse, of the interdimensional race Melnorme. We look forward to doing business with you in the near future.”
“What kinds of business?”
“We Melnorme value trading above all else, Charter-Princess. You are just about to pass the threshold to become a full multiversal society. You will be of use to us – and we will be of use to you. Our society is far more expansive than any party present here. We are able to procure objects and materials from universes far outside your sphere of influence, as well as information. All you have to do is find something to exchange in return for such things.”
“Huh. How many universes do you encompass?”
“That information will cost you.”
Oh. I see how it is.
“Chartreuse, be nice, she just met you,” the Grand Secretariat chided. “The Melnorme have referred to themselves as a Class 2 society, while powers comparable to our level are a Class 3. What exactly this means is apparently too expensive for a ‘mere Class 3 society to pay for’, but it’s clear they exist on a level above the rest of us.”
“So, we’re becoming a Class 3 society today?” Eve asked.
“I would assume so,” the Grand Secretariat answered.
“Confirmation is a cheap commodity,” Chartreuse pointed out.
Eve smiled at Chartreuse. “Thanks, but no thanks. I think I’ll discuss with the Census a bit more before initiating any significant trades with your people. But I’m glad you’ve taken an interest in us. I hope this is the start of a long, beautiful friendship.”
“The feeling is mutual.” Without so much as another glance at Eve, Chartreuse turned to Ambassador Valentine. “The Melnorme wish to initiate trade with your people as well…”
Valentine and Chartreuse continued discussion. Eve took this as an indication to turn off her ears.
Hastur turned to Eve. “I think I remember these Melnorme. They tried to form relations with the Embodiment. You can imagine how that went.”
“It didn’t?” Eve suggested.
“You’re learning quickly, Charter-Princess.”
“It doesn’t feel quick.”
“Speak to your Gems on the topic sometime. They will tell you the speed at which you’re able to alter yourself is terrifying.”
Eve smirked. “I am aware of this, Hastur. Have to be to be a good leader.”
“There are many Old Ones who would disagree with that, assuming they would even accept the question as worthy of their minds. By the way, I am curious, what are your plans after Unification?”
Eve looked out the window at the Hall’s stage and smiled. “After this… Just watch this nation like they were my children.”
“You have no children.”
“You know what I- actually, wait, you might not know what I mean.” Eve rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. “I forget this is all alien to you, sometimes. Have Vriska explain it to you. …Actually, that might be a bad idea. Thrackerzod maybe? No…” She rubbed her head with her hoof, a headache forming.
The Grand Secretariat smirked. “Just as we cannot comprehend some eldritch concepts, the eldritch lack some of ours. I’m sure it can be explained… With time.”
Hastur walked past them. “Another time then. I’m sure Evening has much to prepare for. The refreshments must be perfect, I expect.”
“The refreshments actually aren’t that important,” Eve pointed out
“…Ah.”
Eve smiled. “Regardless, glad you all could make it.” She glanced uncertainly at Jenny for a moment. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. The ceremony should start soon, assuming nothing crazy happens.”
All of the dignitaries nodded.
~~~
Corona was sitting in one of the many chairs of Reverb Hall, the rest of her team sitting to her left. She was silent, her expression flat. Her eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses she had so rarely taken off since she returned from the Nexus.
They weren’t the Sombra glasses. They were just regular sunglasses now. No HUD to distract her, no scans to tell her things, no information. Just sunglasses. Sunglasses she could look out of, but others could not see into.
She found she preferred it that way, now.
…Of course Toph could ‘see’ just fine. “Whatcha lookin’ at there?”
Corona didn’t react at first, processing the question. “The stage lights, I guess.”
“Which means you aren’t actually looking at anything and are staring at something in your thoughts.”
Corona thought for a moment.
“Hope,” she said at last. “I’m thinking about hope.”
“Oh?” the General asked, clearly asking for more information.
Corona wasn’t sure she wanted to give it at first, but she reasoned that it would probably be good for her. “I… You know I haven’t been doing that great, lately.”
“You came back a different person. We all did,” Toph said. “The world had moved on without us.”
Corona nodded. “Yeah… I know. Or I don’t. I guess.” She shifted around in her seat. “Really not sure where I’m going with this.”
“Let’s go back to hope,” Toph suggested. “What exactly were you thinking about?”
“This event. What it means.” Corona gestured with a hoof. “See all this? Some think of it as a political move. Or stability. Or just the march of progress. But that’s not what it is to those of us who have actually fought for it, tooth and nail, hoof and claw. Hand too. We’ve fought… And we’ve suffered for doing so.”
Toph faced forward, grimacing slightly. “Yeah…” Corona knew she was remembering General Sunset, Fef… Others…
Corona looked back at the stage. “For us… This means something. This means that what we fought for was worth it. There is a goal. This goal has been reached. All of it… Led to this. And to the future that will be built after this.” Corona let a smile come to her face. “…This is what we’ve been hoping for. The struggle just to survive is a horrible one even if you win. The struggle to thrive… there is meaning in that struggle.”
Toph placed a firm hand on Corona's shoulder. “They’d all be proud of us.”
Tears fell from under Corona’s sunglasses. “Yeah… Yeah they would be.” She took off her sunglasses to wipe her face, revealing eyes that were a painful mixture of joyous and broken. She put them back on. “Let’s remember that.”
Corona and Toph clasped their hands together and flexed, grinning at each other.
“Bros’ moment,” Lieshy commented from the other side of Toph.
“Hm?” Lady Rarity said, looking up from her book. “Come again?”
“I just witnessed a ‘bros’ moment’ between our leader and our scientist.”
“…Lieshy, dear, none of us are bros.”
“The word ‘bro’ lacks a connotative equal in the feminine, ‘sis’ doesn’t carry the same closeness or bond with it.”
Lady Rarity raised an eyebrow. “I wonder if that’s a translation oddity, because I seem to disagree.”
“Cultural, possibly. Had I not gone with ‘bros’ moment’ it would have just been ‘moment’ and that has romantic inclinations.”
Toph raised an eyebrow at Lieshy.
“Unless I have completely misread the situation and you two really a-“
Toph punched Lieshy across the face. Lieshy, rather than yelping in pain, chuckled to herself.
Corona angled her head toward Lieshy, checking to make sure she was okay. “Toph, Lieshy was just being thorough.”
Toph grunted. “Lieshy knows precisely how to press everyone’s buttons. She knew exactly what she was doing.”
“Astute observation,” Lieshy commented, pulling herself back into her chair. “I know for a fact that none of you are interested in each other and never have been, with the exception of Lady Rarity toward Corona for a short time out of a misplaced sense of gratitude.”
Lady Rarity sputtered and flushed.
“And I was only roughly two-thirds sure of that. Thank you for confirmation.”
Lady Rarity took in a deep breath and sighed. “There are no secrets from you.”
“Very few. I could put all of your love lives in the open with little effort.”
“Don’t,” Toph cautioned.
“Please don’t,” Vivian said, finally hearing something that dragged her into the conversation.
Lieshy nodded. “Very well. Would you like me to analyze the love lives of other people?”
“That’d be cruel,” Lady Rarity decreed.
“You’re just saying that because you were ousted,” Lieshy said.
Lady Rarity opened her mouth to retort, but she caught Corona looking at her over the tops of her sunglasses. The spirid-unicorn facehooved. “Lieshy, she’s giving me the look. This is your fault.”
“Yes. Yes it is.”
“Do you have no sense of guilt within yourself?”
“No. No I do not.”
“Ugh…”
Corona sat back in her chair. “I’m just processing that I apparently had a spider-stalker next to me and I had no idea. Wonder why you didn’t make a move.”
“Why are we talking about this?” Lady Rarity wailed, putting her face in her hooves.
“Because we need to act like teenage girls at least once in a blue moon, even though we’re grown women,” Toph commented. “Apparently. Oh I know, we should talk about boys next.”
Vivian perked up. “Really? Oh there’s this on-“
“Spirits…” Toph said, facepalming. “That wasn’t serious by any stretch of the imagination, Vivian.”
“Oh.” Vivian looked at the ground, saddened.
“We’re grown women! Why would we talk about boys of all things?”
Lieshy fixed Toph with a serious glare. “You do not want me to answer that question.”
Toph wanted to disagree with her. But she thought better of it.
Then Corona’s phone rang. When the phone answered itself, everyone knew who it was. “So, Amigas, when should I plan the spider-wedding?!”
Lieshy’s amused expression vanished. “…I am so sorry, Rarity.”
“I am ruined!” Lady Rarity wailed. “My reputation, dragged through the dus-“
“I think you’re overreacting,” Corona said, pulling the phone out of her pocket and glaring at it. “It’s not like an old crush is going to ruin your reputation.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Sombra chuckled. “Well, we will see, won-“
“Sombra, I had your devices turned off for a reason,” Corona interrupted. “This was a private conversation between us. You inserted yourself into it against my wishes.”
“Corona, you need to coo-“
“No, Sombra. I’m not going to just let you sweet-talk out again. Stop listening in on my private conversations.”
“It wasn’t intentional! I was looking through the camera the guy to your left is holding! Yeesh.”
Corona checked to her left – there was in fact a man recording everything around him with a camera.
“…Sombra, do you mind deleting that video?”
“I don’t know, you were pretty short with me…”
“Sombra, please.”
“Done,” Sombra declared. “You’ve been a lot less fun since you’ve been back, you know.”
Corona’s face was unreadable. “…Maybe things are just different now, Sombra.” She hung up on her.
“Are you sur-“ Lady Rarity began.
“I… wasn’t in the mood to deal with her,” Corona admitted. “I’ll call her later. …Apologize. But let’s get through this for now.”
Toph wanted to say something, but decided not to. They should enjoy themselves.
~~~
Vriska and Alushy walked down the halls of the Hub, taking a moment to get out of the ‘overly stuffy shouting room with millions of stuffy politicians’.
“You know, I can’t believe we don’t talk that much,” Vriska said. “I mean, I see you around, and you sound like a lot of fun, but we’ve never actually talked have we?”
“Not that you remember.”
“Funny.” Vriska swiped a milkshake off a nearby vendor and tossed them a coin in payment. “…Fruity,” she observed.
“Brilliant observation. You deserve a medal.”
“I have all the medals. All of them.”
“Do you have the fudgemothering vampire medal?”
“Yes. Stole it from you, actually, while you weren’t looking.”
“Ha! Joke’s on you, that was the fake fudgemothering vampire medal! That was the ‘get bitten by Alushy for free’ medal. Bend over, I need to get to your neck.”
“You aren’t getting my blood.”
“Oh come on! Just a little taste? I bet it tastes like blueberries.”
“It tastes like cobalt shavings.”
“So what you’re saying is ‘essentially blueberry’.”
“What I’m saying is it tastes horrible.”
“So you won’t mind providing a drop or two? You certainly aren’t using it... I hear trolls have a ton of extra blood…” Alushy bared her fangs.
Vriska punched her in the face before she could jump her neck. “Sorry, not happening.”
“I’ll just wait until you’re lulled into a false sense of security…”
“I’m far too lucky for you to hi-“
Alusy performed a quick aerial maneuver and hit Vriska in the chest with her front hooves. Vriska fell back. “FALL TO MY FANGS!”
Vriska grinned, twirling onto her feet and drawing her sword. “This is going to be good…”
Alushy drew her guns, chuckling. “Prepare to explode multiple times, Vriska Serket.” Alushy fired a few times, Vriska managing to dodge every bullet. Vriska brought the sword down on Alushy’s head, hitting directly. Blood erupted from the cut like a volcano, dousing Vriska’s face and blinding her.
“Augh! Forgot about that!” Vriska muttered, wiping off her face. In this moment of distraction, Alushy grabbed her neck and bit down. Vriska’s luck ensured Alushy missed the major artery she was going for.
Shit, Alushy thought, imagining Vriska’s boot hitting her before it actually did. She went into the air and opted to stop playing miss-nice-vampire. Shadows furled off her essence, summoning horrendous eyes and mouths around her. She dive-bombed the troll.
Vriska threw her dice. A giant spider made of marshmallows appeared, attacking the shadows head on.
The Rainbow Dash with the metallic wing better known as Razor arrived on the scene to find a vampire pegasus and a troll laughing, stuck inside a mess of blood, shadow, and marshmallow.
Razor groaned. “Why do you people have to have your ‘friendly spars’ in public places!? The citizens were freaking out!”
“Fuck ‘em,” Vriska said, struggling to get out of the marshmallow goo. “We were bonding.”
“We’re still not do-“ Alushy paused. “…Vriska, what did you just say?”
“…We were bonding? Don’t tell me you’re getting all sent-“
“No, no, before that.”
“Fuck ‘em?”
“PRAISE THE BLOOD OF THE FALLEN!” Alushy shouted, flying into the air with the cheesiest toothy grin ever. “FUCK! OH IT FEELS SO GOOD TO SAY. ALL THESE YEARS… ALL THESE YEARS…” Alushy grabbed Vriska by the face and kissed her full on. “You are the best thing ever.”
“WOAH WOAH WOAH!” Vriska said, waving her hands. “Baaaaaaack off with the kissing! Yeesh! Hastur will freak!”
“Oh psh it didn’t mean anything,” Alushy said, waving a wing. “Not a fucking thing. So fucking satisfying. Fuckitty fuck fuck fudgefuck fuckmothering vampire. I think I prefer fudgemotheirng actually… But FUCK ME this feels SOOOO GOOOD.”
Nearby citizens covered the ears of children.
Razor covered her face with her wings. “Just… Go find somewhere private to smash each other to bits next time, okay?”
“Gladly!” Alushy agreed.
Vriska turned to Alushy. “You never heard fuck before? How in the world?”
“I… I really don’t know. I was born in a world where it didn’t exist. It was nothing but ‘fudge’. And then I found people who knew but wouldn’t tell me because they thought it was amusing… THE WORLD CAN BE SO CRUEL!”
“Aren’t you the pegasus who slaughters armies of the undead on a regular basis?”
“Yes, but that’s beside the point-”
“And has the highest lethality of all of Eve’s agents?”
“Potato, potahto.”
“And got beat by a version of yourself with a loud voice?”
“…Are you just here to push buttons? Because we can push buttons. And my buttons, once pushed, don’t get un-pushed, you understand. There will be consequences. Dark, toothy consequences.”
Vriska grinned. “I think we’re best friends now.”
“FUDGE YES! …Fuck yes, I mean. Fudge, that’s not going we- I mean fuck! AGH!” Alushy laughed. “This is going to be interesting.”
“Why not keep using fudge? It’s more interesting, frankly,” Vriska said. “Also means you can stick a stream of insults to kids without their parents getting in your way.”
“I like your priorities. Let’s go find something to kill.”
“I hear there’s dinosaurs in the jungle outsi-“
And then Aradia showed up between the two of them with a crazed smile on her face. “HI!!!”
“FUCK!” Vriska shouted, falling backward.
“FUDGE!” Alushy blurted, rearing up.
“Vriska!” Aradia cheered, pulling the blueblood into her arms. “Ooooooh it’s been so long!”
“Aradia… Crushing me…” Vriska muttered, flailing around comically.
“Ooooh I’ve just been waiting for this for so looooong!”
“Hey, red fairy bitch, you trying to steal my new best friend?” Alushy asked. “Because if you are, I will buck your fudging head o- fuck. You get the point, you’re fucked. Fudged. DAMMIT.”
“Oh you can still be best friends if you want,” Aradia said, releasing Vriska. “We can just be a troop of three super best friends! Woo!”
“…Woo?” Vriska said, scratching the back of her head.
“That’s right. Woo,” Aradia deadpanned. “The eerie call of a ghost escaping this world and moving onto the next.”
Alushy blinked. “I like you too. Holy hell, today’s looking great.”
“Hey, Aradia, quick question,” Vriska said.
“Hrm?”
Vriska punched Aradia across the face, driving the red fairy to the ground.
Alushy clapped. “Ten out of ten!”
“Where the fuck have you been!?” Vriska shouted. “I’ve been here for years and now you decide to show yourself?”
Aradia stood up, not at all offended by the punch. “Ah, well, few reasons I couldn’t show myself until now. The first is I decided that I wouldn’t make myself available to Eve and the Alliance until after Unification. They would have grown large enough that my actions wouldn’t hopelessly corrupt their fate. The second was so you could get to know everyone around here a little better, and stay even though you’d already found me!”
“Why wouldn’t I stay?”
Aradia pointed at Vriska with the finger guns gesture. “See? It worked! A week after being here, you would have made this a waypoint just to visit me and gone out searching for Earth C again.”
“I… I… Why do you have to be such a manipulative bitch about it though?”
Aradia winked. “I learned from the best.”
Vriska blinked. “I deserved that.”
“Yep!” Aradia summoned a milkshake to her hand from another time and sipped. “Anyway, who cares much about when I wasn’t here? I’m here now and I’m here to stay, and I decided to show myself to you first! I’ll catch up with the others later. Haven’t talked to Celestia in a while… Nova could use some pointers…”
“So we’ve passed your test?” Alushy asked.
“Yep!” Aradia grinned. “The Alliance will become Merodi Universalis, and I won’t be a background manipulator anymore! Just thinking about not hiding all the time gives me goosebumps…”
“So it goes well?” Vriska asked.
“Been through it three times, all good,” Aradia declared. “Bit boring, even the first time around.”
“No surprise there,” Alushy muttered. “Hey, let’s watch a bunch of bigwigs sign a piece of paper! Brilliant! Riveting!”
“Alushy! You’re understating it,” Aradia declared. “What is happening today is nothing less than monumental!”
“You and I both know this place is still small fish compared to what’s out there,” Vriska pointed out.
“Psh. You and I both know they have a powerful destiny.”
“Psh, you two know too much,” Alushy said.
“Regardless,” Aradia said, lifting her hands high. “Let’s go to one of the party scenes instead of the actual signing! I’ve seen the after-party rumor mills, I know where the wildest scene will be.”
“Pinkie?” Vriska asked.
“Not the one you’re thinking of!” Aradia giggled. “Pielight is going to go crazy.”
“Pielight...” Alushy scratched her chin. “How crazy we talking?”
“We will get to witness how a cross between Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle would confess her undying love to a bowl of punch.”
“Sold,” Vriska said. “To the party!”
Aradia accelerated the time around the three of them so they could arrive instantly.
~~~
Eve, Renee, Nova, Pinkie, and Flutterfree were gathered on the stage in Reverb Hall, talking amongst themselves before the show actually started.
“By the way, Applejack just went into labor,” Pinkie said, suddenly. Nopony asked how she knew this. “Bit of bad timing though, none of us will get to be there to see another little adorable Apple!”
Renee shook her head. “I don’t know how she does it… Come to think of it I don’t know how any of the Apples do it! Between her and Big Mac there’s like ten foals now!”
“Apples. Very prolific,” Nova said. “Unlike the rest of us.”
“Wouldn’t work well with our jobs,” Renee pointed out. “I don’t know how Jotaro does it.”
“Pure badassery,” Nova answered.
“That’s not an answer.”
“Yes it is!” Pinkie said, smirking.
Eve chuckled. “Not a good one.”
“What? Half the stuff I see Jotaro do is all based in pure badassery. The guy does not experience pain!”
“So, basically Alushy?” Flutterfree said. “But Alushy wouldn’t make a good mother…”
“You know I wonder if she has any foals out there,” Renee said. “She’s definitely the type to have them… She’s also ancient. Triple-digit age at least.”
“Probably, given what I know about her,” Eve said. “Not that I can know for sure. You’d have to ask her, and getting a straight answer out of Alushy is like explaining the concept of a family to Gems.”
“Not as hard as you think it is, Eve,” Renee pointed out.
Flutterfree raised an eyebrow. “I think you just have a knack for talking with beings made of crystal.”
“Eheheh… Probably.”
Pinkie’s tail twitched and her midsection twisted like a corkscrew. “Oooo! That’s a new one!”
The various Pinkies in the Hall all experienced the exact same manifestation of the Pinkie Sense. Calls of “doozy incoming!” and “wonder what that means?” rang through the auditorium.
“Have any ideas?” Eve asked Pinkie.
Pinkie shrugged. “I’ve got a nervous feeling in my stomach, though it’s hard to tell if that’s just anticipation or a sense of something foreboding. Probably the former. I mean, all the Pinkies and all the oculi agree that this event will go through without disaster.”
“We shouldn’t dismiss your gut feeling,” Flutterfree pointed out.
“Hrm… Well this is an important moment,” Pinkie mused. “There’ll probably be a conflict of some kind. Perhaps internal? A bit of drama upsets the ceremony or something.” Pinkie shrugged. “Well, I know two things. I know the ceremony finishes. I also know there’s something going to happen. I don’t have that deep of a pit in my stomach, so…” She paused, catching herself.
“Pinkie, what is it?” Flutterfree asked.
“…I’m trying to convince myself there’s nothing to worry about,” she realized. “That’s… Not a good sign, actually.” She turned to Eve. “How much security do we have?”
“The entire auditorium is dimensionally locked courtesy of the Sparkle Census,” Eve answered. “Nobody can get in or out directly. The Enterprise is in orbit, along with a significant portion of Cosmo’s fleet. We’ve got scrying spells everywhere, and will know if anyone uninvited shows up in an instant. Plus we’ve got several dozen of the most powerful entities in the multiverse here. Even if blue, metallic, and ugly shows up I think he’d have an issue.”
“We couldn’t beat him,” Pinkie said. “But I’m sure it’s not him. …Or am I just telling myself that…?”
“Pinkie, you’re second guessing yourself,” Renee said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “We’re doing all we can to make this safe. And if something goes wrong… We’ll deal with it when it does.”
“Yeah,” Pinkie said. “You’re all right. Just be on guard.”
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Eve encouraged her.
~~~
Nautica.
The Prison world for the Alliance.
There were many prisoners on the world. They had formed several different camps on different parts of the planet. There was one camp composed entirely of Ba’als, while there was another camp composed of militant, angry Gems.
However, there was one camp all the others feared. The first camp. The technologically advanced abode of Brutalight Sparcake and her friends.
When they had first arrived, a human spaceship called the Aurora had crashed, all inside perishing. They soon found one survivor who had ejected before the crash. They had turned that survivor into their slave, forcing him to tell them all he could about the technology of the Aurora and how to use it.
He had been an effective slave, but he didn’t last that long. The sea monsters got him. Such was the brutal truth for simple humans.
Of course, the Alliance never threw prisoners into Nautica who were simple humans that could be easily contained… The beings thrown into Nautica were too much trouble to contain, or had angered someone particularly high up the chain of power.
And on Nautica all prisoners would find that Brutalight was at the top of this ocean world.
With magic, technology, and ingenuity, she had managed to enchant their base to affix to clouds. They were the only inhabitants of the ocean world to command the skies. They had tried to leave the world once… but Eve’s satellites had put an end to that.
The base was square, with five buildings: one on each corner, rising above the central square platform, with the fifth building of a significantly larger size containing lower portions that protruded from the square’s underside. The structures were smooth, white, and clean. There were many large windows around the structure, alongside blue and orange highlights plastered on several of the rounded edges.
Not many people lived on the base. There was one human, one Gem, and five ponies. Four of the ponies where what remained of the Elements of Insanity, defeated at Esefem so many years ago. Fluttershout, the Fluttershy with an unbelievably dangerous voice. Rarifruit, the greedy Rarity with magic hands. Rainbine, the robot that was Rainbow Dash. And Brutalight – the leader, the brutal dark purple alicorn who most certainly could hold a grudge for over a decade.
The fifth pony was a Fluttershy, known as a cult-leader in her home universe. She was the Summoner of the Smooze who now went by Gaea.
The Gem had never given them a name – all they knew was that she was pitch black. So they called her Jet. She never corrected them.
The last member…
“Focus,” Brutalight said, standing on the edge of their flying base. “Reach deep into your soul and your mind – usually you just find the strongest emotion you can. Anger is a very useful and powerful tool, but it should not be your only one. Try to tap into your excitement, or something else to use your ability. Focus it on the water below for me. No anger, understand?”
The young woman nodded. She was tall for a human, and thin, but she was far from weak. Her arms had visible muscles and her form was well toned. She wore a black skin-fitting suit that ran from her shoulders to just above her knees, leaving the leg joints room to bend and her arms free of obstruction. Her eyes burned with the fire of an intense spirit, and around her chest she wore the tatters of a yellow raincoat like a belt.
Her name was Six.
Six took a deep breath, forgetting her anger for a moment. She felt around inside herself, deciding quickly not to rely on fear. Never again. What else… What could she base this on…
Pride.
She would succeed just because she had to.
She extended her hand over the waves and twitched one of her eyes. Clouds of dark energy shot from her fingertips, drifting into the waters below.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then a fish floated belly-up to the surface. The rest of its school followed, giving the surface of the ocean a silvery sheen.
The predators of the ocean took only a few seconds to arrive and chow down on the free food. The sea became red with the blood of death.
“Very good!” Brutalight cheered, beaming. “How’d you do it?”
“I thought about how much I wanted to impress you,” Six said honestly.
Brutalight smiled warmly. “Aw… Sweet. Beyond cheesy, but still sweet.” She rubbed Six’s hair with her hoof. “Come on, my apprentice. Dinner awaits.”
The two of them returned to the rest of the group. Jet, as usual, was standing wordlessly to the side, staring off into the horizon. She refused to even consider eating, sleeping, or really do anything other than stand guard and be ready for an attack. Even though nobody ever attacked them anymore. They attacked the other prisoners when they felt like it.
“I hear you’re doing pretty well,” Rarifruit called over to Six, though her voice was unusually quiet as almost always. “Becoming the regular powerhouse!”
Six smiled. “Yep! I could kill so many with but a thought now. Think we could finally get rid of all those pesky Ba’als with it, Brutalight?”
Brutalight shook her head. “More Ba’als are always thrown on Nautica. Plus, killing them doesn’t really do anything at this point. I think I much prefer them quaking in fear, willing to bend to our every whim should we show our faces.”
“It’s so boring though!” Rainbine declared in her signature synthetic voice. “We either control them to do nothing, or kill them and get nothing. Ever since we killed that big fish god thing this place has had nothing!”
Fluttershout rolled her eyes. “I’m happy just sitting here, eating fish.” She bit down on the fish they had cooked on their plates. “I love fish…”
“Not healthy for pony digestion, dear,” Rarifruit said with disapproval. “You need to eat more orangishes.”
Six held up one of the round, elongated fruit they had dubbed an ‘orangish’ because it was definitely orange, but it wasn’t actually an orange. She bit into it, letting its thick juices flow across her face.
Rarifruit facehooved. “Manners, Six.”
“What is this, prissy pony central?” Rainbine muttered. “We can do whatever we want Rarifruit, you can stop nagging.”
“Or she can keep nagging and we can keep calling her a little bitch,” Fluttershout ribbed.
Rarifruit rolled her eyes. “Ugh. You’re all impossible. Later today, I need an expedition to go kill a giant sea monster of some sort. There’s no way we’ve hunted them to extinction. There’s only six of us.”
“Seven,” Gaea corrected.
“Six. Jet never does anything but look scary.”
Gaea glanced at Jet. “Jet, do you mind that we do things without you?”
Jet glanced at Gaea with narrow eyes. “I am loyal to your cause but I shall not engage in frivolous organic activities.”
“Stick in the mud,” Rainbine declared.
Jet’s eyes suddenly widened. “Something’s happening.”
“I sense it too,” Brutalight declared, spreading her wings and summoning her swords to her side. “Be ready, girls.”
Everypony took positions, preparing for a fight. A black portal opened, revealing a tall four-armed being. Many present knew instantly.
“Siron,” Brutalight said, standing up tall. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Siron nodded. “I do not have much time, so I need your answer quickly. Will you come with us to crush the Alliance?”
Brutalight smirked. “You don’t even need to ask. All of us have quite the grudge against those who put us here. I will warn you, we’re fans of… brutal, deadly murder with extreme cruelty.”
Siron pointed at Six. “I am told she has a power that will be pivotal to our plan.”
“Told? You’re not running this operation?” Brutalight raised an eyebrow. “From what I heard, you were the big bad on the block out there.”
“I have found a benefactor,” Siron said. “A man by the name of Randall Flagg. I think you will like him.”
Fluttershout sneered. “Oh, is he too brutal for your little idealistic mind, chief Siron?”
“It matters not how brutal or empty of honor he is. They need to fall.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Brutalight said. “Six, it looks like we’re going to get some revenge.”
Six, long ago, had considered the ponies her friends. They had saved her, helped her get through the horrors of the Maw, and given her the power that she wielded.
Now?
Brutalight had taught her much over the years.
Including the fact that those ponies needed to suffer.
The group followed Siron through the portal, leaving Nautica behind.
~~~
Aradia, Vriska, and Alushy arrived at the location of the party.
It was completely empty.
“Oops,” Aradia said, flapping herself in the forehead. “I think I got us here too fast.”
Vriska rolled her eyes. “I thought you were always so precise with your time control?”
“I know! This never happens to me! Thi-“ she stopped herself. “This is the right place at the right time. Something’s changed.”
“I found a sign,” Alushy said, pointing at a window in the empty room. The text was backward, but they could read. PARTY MOVED NEXT DOOR.
“This isn’t right,” Aradia said. “This is…” out of nowhere; she yelled out in surprise and grabbed her heart.
“Aradia! What is it?!” Vriska said, panic evident in her tone.
“Time… Changed… Watch out…” Aradia said.
A bullet whizzed toward Vriska – but Alushy caught it in her teeth and spat it out. “AMBUSH!”
Vriska and Alushy examined their enemy – a white alicorn composed of cyborg components.
“Who the fuck are you?” Vriska asked.
“Blackjack,” Blackjack said, aiming her gun right at Vriska’s head. “And I’m here to stop you from gathering too much power.”
“You just challenged the wrong group, toaster,” Vriska grinned. Aradia, I’m getting bad vibes from this one. A time jump would be a good idea.
Aradia didn’t send a telepathic message back. She just spoke. “The temporal physics of this universe have been altered from the outside. Traveling through time in jumps is no longer allowed.”
“What!?” Vriska blurted. “That’s a thing?”
Aradia took a few steps toward Blackjack. There was no smile on the troll’s normally cheerful face. “It isn’t uncommon for time travel to be impossible in any given universe. Some just aren’t designed to handle the paradoxes. Some have other limitations that must be learned every time. But universal laws don’t just change without great power…” Aradia stared right into Blackjack’s eyes. “Who did this?”
Blackjack pointed her gun right at Aradia. “Yeah, not telling you.”
“ZA WARUDO!”
In an instant, Vriska, Aradia, and Alushy all felt a punch in their gut. A tall, blonde man stood where before there had previously been none, the smuggest of all smug grins on his face.
Vriska spat blood out of her mouth. “Right, now who the fuck are you?”
“Dio,” Dio said, smirking. He summoned his Stand. None of them could see it clearly, but the three of them had senses that were able to tell them where it was, generally speaking. “I’m with Blackjack.”
“And you won’t be leaving this room,” Blackjack said, pulling out a shotgun. “Not taking any chances that you can find a way to undo our time shenanigans.”
They drew their weapons – whip, sword and dice, guns. Blackjack levitated a few more guns to her side, ready to fire them all at the same time. Dio needed no weapon – he just moved his Stand in front of him.
“You’re like Jotaro,” Vriska commented. “Stop time, punch hard, resume time.”
“The power of The World is beyond that of Star Platinum!” Dio spat. “The World is stronger, faster, and able to stop time for longer!”
Vriska threw her dice.
“ZA WARUDO!” Dio shouted, freezing time for everyone.
Everyone except Aradia. She’d been expecting it. She pointed a finger at Dio. “You are not all-powerful, Dio. Without your temporal trick, you are nothing.” She accelerated her whip, lashing it hard enough to cut a gash in his arm down to the bone.
The gash slowly began to heal itself. Dio laughed. “You aren’t anything without your temporal tricks, either…”
Aradia could not see The World. It punched her in the chest, tossing her out the window and into a crowded street of the Hub.
“And time resumes,” Dio said.
~~~
The Hall fell silent. There had been a few speeches for the media prior to this moment, to give the public something to listen to about the momentousness of the occasion, but once the clock struck two, no time was wasted.
All the representatives of every universe lined up on the stage. Each universe had a representative of the world as a whole, and a representative of each individual nation that was participating. Most of these representatives were the respective leaders of their worlds – queens, princesses, presidents, prime ministers, Diamonds – all present for the signing of the document. Humans notably outnumbered non-humans on the stage, though it was well known this was because there were significantly more human nations on any given Earth than the generally unified worlds that existed elsewhere. The stage was rather crowded, but it was able to hold all of them comfortably.
The document – the Unification of Merodi Universalis – was a large piece of paper placed on top of a podium. The words on the paper were simple, but held a powerful message of unification, only going on for a few paragraphs about what it meant and what other documents were going into effect with the signing of the document. Half the page was blank, ready to accept hundreds of signatures.
In silence, the signing began.
Gem Vein went first. Blue and Yellow Diamond signed together. White Diamond did not make an appearance, but had given the two of them a stamp so her name would grace the document. Despite the events at the Trial, Yellow Diamond wasn’t angry about what was taking place. Her expression was difficult to read, but it was not her normal, sour expression. If one were asked to describe it, it would be with the word satisfied.
Earth Stand took the second spot. Unlike the other Earths, who had opted to use the Secretary General of the United Nations as the signer for their entire world, Earth Stand had chosen Joseph Joestar, the unofficial representative of the Stand users. He shakily walked over to the podium and scrawled his name on the page. “Heh… Never imagined I’d be doing this… Your next line will be laughter, followed by ‘wait a minute’.”
A few people in the crowd chuckled – then went ‘wait a minute’ as they realized he’d called it out. It didn’t get everyone, but it got enough for Joseph to feel satisfied. He went back to the stage, allowing the leaders from his Earth to begin to sign.
At this point people began to realize this was going to get somewhat boring.
Equis Cosmic was next. Only Princess Cosmo herself needed to sign, and she did so with her magic. Earth Tau’ri had sent their UN Secretary General, bringing on another series of bored shuffling from the audience. A handful of aliens signed as well – the Asgard, the Ori Reform, and a handful of other non Earth-based nations.
The Elemental Nations came after. Avatar Aang, now a fully grown man with a square jaw and wise eyes, signed for his world. He shot the audience a smile and winked, giving them encouragement to sit through to the end of the show. Representatives of Republic City, the Earth Kingdoms, and the Water Tribes, signed as well. Firelord Zuko scrawled his name for the Fire Nation, a rare smile seen on his features.
Queen Luna signed alone for Lai, but her signing brought forth a few cheers from the audience – more than a few of them had been a part of Lai’s rocky history.
Earth Vitis went second to last, cycling through a more colorful version of Earth Tau’ri’s signing procedure.
At the end, Equis Vitis. Unlike the other seven worlds, the representative of the whole did not sign first. Eve stayed back – all had agreed she would be last, so she could give some closing words. Novo… Ember… Thorax… and a handful of other beings from Equis Vitis signed.
Celestia left Eve’s side second to last, giving her once student a warm smile. She grabbed the pen and signed for Equestria, returning to the rest of the leaders.
Eve walked up to the podium last, holding the pen in her magic.
She turned on her ears. For once, she didn’t wince.
“When I touch this pen to the paper, the Alliance we have found ourselves in will cease to exist.” She looked over the crowd, taking in all the Gems, humans, ponies, and others sitting in anticipation, waiting for the biggest event any of them had ever known. She glanced up at the glass balcony in which the foreign dignitaries sat, all watching expectantly. Eve took some pleasure in Jenny’s boredom. “From the ashes of the Alliance will rise Merodi Universalis.”
Eve gestured at the symbol hanging above her – the Greek letter mu overtop a darkened yellow background. “Merodi Universalis. It is a name spliced from many languages and meanings. Merodi can be said to mean melody, song, or music. Universalis: of the spheres, of universes, or of our worlds. Our name is indicative of what we are to become, what intertwining our lives means. We are the Melody of our Worlds. Songs of the Spheres. Music of Universes. Merodi Universalis.”
She lowered the pen to the paper, looking closely at the empty space left for her. It was larger than the space allotted to most the other signatures. “Ten years ago, Equis Vitis time, many of our worlds participated in Disclosure. That event was the biggest thing any of us had imagined at the time, but now it seems to be so long in the past. Because we are about to become Merodi, my friends. And we will spread the bonds we share between us through the boundaries of reality itself with what we start here today.”
Eve slid the pen across the paper, scrawling her name across the blank space. She made it just as small as all the other signatures, leaving a blank space for something else. With her magic, she fused a golden imprint of the Merodi Universalis symbol to the paper. Then she cast a spell on the document to ensure it would never tear, never burn, and never fade. It would last for eons to come.
“We are now Unified!” Eve declared, lifting the paper into the air. She rolled it up and handed it to Spike, who ran down the aisle to place it at the center of the Hub in a specially designed room near the Mirror Portal itself, where it would be displayed for all to see.
Cheers erupted from the crowd as the dragon ran down the aisle.
A tear came to Eve’s eye.
This moment was worth everything she had gone through. She didn’t even care how the noise of the applause hurt her, it was beautiful to actually hear.
The applause lasted after Spike had left the Hall – but not for as long as it should have.
The TARDIS appeared in the middle of the auditorium a few feet in the air. It fell to the ground and tipped over onto its side, the loud crash bringing the applause to a sudden stop. The Doctor pulled himself out of the TARDIS, his face that of panic. “EVERYONE! GET O-“
“Too late, Doctor,” a voice most had not heard before echoed throughout the room. The voice was male, and for all intents and purposes was normal for a human. However, when they heard it, chills ran down their spines, the sound shaking them to their cores.
A flash of darkness placed two figures on top of the TARDIS. One was unmistakably Siron, wielding his staff Juju. The other was an unknown human man – though everyone who looked at him was certain he couldn’t be human. He wore a simple black suit and had a smile on his face that would have been considered warm if it had been on anyone else.
“FLAGG!” The Doctor shouted.
“Yes,” Flagg decreed. “But this is not my plan. Siron?”
Siron nodded, ignoring the Doctor and turning to Eve. “You have finally achieved the power you have sought for so long. Revel in it, Charter-Princess. It will be the only time you taste the power that none should have, for now it all comes crashing down.”
“I don’t know what you have planned Siron, or how you teleported in here,” Eve said. “But yo-“
Eve didn’t get to finish. Flagg held up a sphere of darkness in the air, shifting a spot in reality to open remove all the protective spells. “Have a nice day!” He declared, vanishing into an entirely different world.
The tear he had created unleashed a young woman first.
Pinkie recognized her. “No…” she said, knowing instantly what was about to happen. “NO! EVE, USE SERAPHIM! PROTECT TH-“
Six moved too fast. Eve barely had time to summon her Stand before Six unleashed the magic of her life drain on every individual on the stage. The three-ringed form of Eve’s Stand protected her – but the majority of those on the stage were helpless. The Diamonds poofed, dropping their gems to the ground. Cosmo screamed as the Tree of Harmony within her pumped more and more energy into her body, burning much of her flesh off her bones as a result. Thorax turned himself into a rock just in time – but Eve saw the others of Equis Vitis fall. Ember barely let out a puff of flame before going limp. Joseph Joestar grabbed his heart, Hermit Purple unable to do anything for him. Avatar Aang… Firelord Zuko… Queen Luna… So many humans… So many leaders…
Of the hundreds who had stood tall only seconds before, maybe ten had found a way to survive Six’s honed power over death.
Eve’s eyes froze on Celestia. Eve hadn’t noticed her fall. She… She had to be fine. Her life force was strong enough, Eve was sure of it. Definitely sure. A hundred million percent sure.
The second wave came after Six. Brutalight, the Elements of Insanity, a Fluttershy, and a deep black Gem unlike any Eve had seen before. They moved to finish those who had survived the first attack.
Eve’s mind stopped processing – something in her knew that if she processed anything, everyone was going to die. She flew into the air, blasting the attackers with her magic. Cosmo joined her – somehow still able to move despite being little more than a flaming skeleton at this point. The princess of a galaxy fought with the power of harmony within her.
Many in the audience joined in: Gems summoned their weapons, Stand users summoned their spirits, mages unleashed spells, and humans fired their weapons.
Brutalight strained to just deflect the initial shots.
“EVENING TWILIGHT SPARKLE! LOOK TO ME!”
It was the unmistakable voice of her Princess Luna. Eve winced at the noise, the pain forcing her to look. Luna stood over the form of her Sister, tears flowing down her dark, stern face. An orb of light floated in front of the dark alicorn.
Eve knew what it was.
It was Celestia’s power.
No longer able to inhabit the body that had contained it for many, many centuries.
Luna didn’t bother to say anything else – she threw the essence of Celestia at Eve. She was always the one meant to inherit it, should this day ever come. And it had.
The Bloodbath.
Eve absorbed the energy of her former teacher and ruler. She felt the essence of her – of her sweet smile, her serene laugh, and her strength. The fiery strength that had burned so brightly within her. It fused with Eve’s own power, forcing itself into every part of her soul.
Evening Sparkle’s mane flowed with the magic of the world. A bright orange streak appeared on her mane and tail, signifying the power of the sun, the new hairs alight with a soft flame. Her eyes became miniature suns while her horn extended and her wings grew. Her Stand – Seraphim – appeared around her in the form of three smooth, white-blue metallic rings lined with eyes, enveloping her in a holy light.
She saw Siron – using his Staff to unleash an Eldritch power, banishing the attacks on the Elements of Insanity.
Eve knew the people in the Hall could take care of the Elements of Insanity and Six. She wasn't sure about Siron.
Furthermore, he was the one responsible for this Bloodbath.
“SIRON!” Eve roared. “I AM THE CHARTER-PRINCESS OF FRIENDSHIP, MAGIC, AND THE MULTIVERSE, EVENING TWILIGHT SPARKLE. YOU HAVE COMMITTED CRIMES AGAINST MERODI UNIVERSALIS. YOUR PUNISHMENT IS DEATH.”
Siron took a warrior’s stance. “Come and kill me then, Evening.”