//------------------------------// // Day 12 // Story: Alternate to Magic // by smirker //------------------------------// Morning comes and Walker, Runner, and Sprinter wake up at 6:00 AM, the three use the bathroom, take showers, and have breakfast, which Princess Cadence made, Walker looks and sees Princess Cadence's salad was a lot more decorative than Sprinter's salad, she has cut up the vegetables to make them shaped like flowers and smiley faces, while Sprinter just usually cut the vegetables into thin slices and served them, "What's with all of the flowers and smiley faces, Princess Cadence?" Walker asked, "Just make it look good, I thought it would make breakfast more fun and appetizing." Princess Cadence replied, "Oh, well, thanks." Walker said, and the three eat and wash dishes, Princess Cadence sits and eats chocolate and drinks tea. Walker, Runner, and Sprinter were about to get on with their days until they hear loud landing outside, "Walker, Runner, and Sprinter, this is Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, we wish to see you three now." Princess Celestia said from outside, "Let's go." Sprinter said, and all four of them go outside. Walker, Runner, Sprinter, and Princess Cadence head outside and they see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing and waiting for them, they go to the two, "Good, you three are here, Luna and I have read about your powers with spiritual energy and you three being able to interact with these deceased here, which, I will admit, is quite a surprising sight to see, but that is not why we're here, Luna and I would like to have a word with Spirit." Princess Celestia said, Walker, Runner, and Sprinter stay silent for a second and then turn around and light blue and white portal opens, the three go in it. A few minutes pass and another portal opens with the three walking out and the portal closes, "Well?" Princess Luna asked, "Sorry, but Spirit said no." Runner replied, "What?!" Princess Luna asked, "Why does he refuse to see us?" Princess Celestia asked, "He said that other than our family and going to other worlds to collect dead souls to send to the afterlife, he has no reason to interfere with the living." Sprinter replied, "I still wish to speak with him, I do not appreciate him giving powers to a random family that are citizens in my country without my knowledge or permission." Princess Celestia said, "Actually, Princess Celestia, at the time when Spirit bestowed our family with his powers, ponykind was still divided into three tribes." Walker replied, "I still don't appreciate that, I do not like the fact that he would just give a family his powers to interact with the afterlife with my or Luna's consent." Princess Celestia said, "We're sorry, but he said he has nothing to say to you two." Runner replied, "What do you mean he has nothing to say to us?!" Princess Luna asked while raising his voice, scaring the ponies, "He's not going to see you two, and that he has to depart to another world soon to get souls, himself." Sprinter replied, "I demand an audience with him!" Princess Luna said while raising her voice even more, the flames of Emotion Walker and Emotion Runner rise since her voice was beginning to scare them, "Should we try again, granddad?" Walker asked, "We should, I don't think she's going to take no for an answer." Sprinter replied, and the three turn around and a portal opens and the three walk into it and it closes. A portal opens and Walker, Runner, and Sprinter walk out, everybody sees someone behind them, the portal closes and everybody gasps at what they see, they see five bipedal humanoid figures, they were all wearing black business suits with a white long-sleeve shirt under the blazers, they were bald with oblong face shapes, and peach colored skin, the center-left, center, center-right, and far right men had black blindfolds on their eyes', the far left man did not have one, and his eyes were blue, the far left, center-left, center, and center-right men wore black leather gloves while the far right man did not, the center-left man had ears while the other four did not, and the center-right man had a nose while the other four did not. Everybody just stands and looks at them with dropped jaws, "Are you two the ones who wish to see Spirit?" the center man asked, "Who are you five?" Princess Celestia asked, "We are the Senses, my name is Taste, the one without gloves is Touch, the one without a blindfold is Sight, the one with ears is Hear, and the one with a nose is Smell." the center man replied, "Why can't they tell us their names on their own?" Princess Luna asked, "They cannot speak, they do not have tongues." Taste replied, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence have shocked expressions on their faces, "Wait, then how are you able to hear them?" Rainbow Dash asked, "They establish telepathic communication through physical contact, even though there's five of them, they act as one." Runner replied, "Oh." Rainbow Dash said, "What exactly do you five do?" Princess Cadence asked, "We are Spirit's personal bodyguards and scouts, we look for enemies in the Void, and we act as Spirit's last line of defense." Taste replied, "Why exactly are you five here?" Princess Celestia asked, "We came on Spirit's behalf to answer your questions." Taste replied, "No, I wish to speak to him directly." Princess Celestia said, "The only ponies allowed to see Spirit directly are Walker and the males from the paternal side of his family." Taste replied, "We are the rulers of their home, why are we denied from seeing him?" Princess Luna asked, "Because the souls of the dead are supposed to be seen and heard by only them in this world." Taste replied, "No, that is one reason why I wish to see him, my subjects being attacked and messed with by forces that cannot be seen or heard by anyone except them does not sit well with me." Princess Celestia said, "It's mainly because of the magic in this world that you cannot see nor hear them." Taste replied, "Our magic?" Princess Cadence asked, "Some of the other worlds have magic, too, but the way magic works is different in each world." Sprinter replied, surprising everybody, "Was there anything you two wanted to ask?" Taste asked, "Can we please meet Spirit?" Princess Celestia asked, "I cannot allow that." Taste replied, Princess Luna begins to grumble and growl, the others back away from her, "Why can't we meet him?!" Princess Luna asked while almost yelling, "He is usually too busy to see others." Taste replied, "But he's got these three here to do his work for him." Princess Cadence said, "A small amount of his work, Spirit sometimes leaves to collect souls on his own as well." Taste replied, "I've never seen him do that." Walker said, a light blue flame floats above Walker and everybody watches it, they all look and see a colt who looks just like Walker absorb the soul, shocking everybody, "Spirit?" Taste asked, "I might as well introduce myself, since these two refuse to relent." Spirit replied, "Wait a minute, you look nothing like how I saw you in their memories." Sunset Shimmer said, "It is one of my powers, whenever I appear outside of the Void, I can take on any physical form I wish." Spirit replied, "Then change back, I wish to see what you really look like." Princess Celestia said, and Spirit changes to his original form, "Why did you give their family your powers?" Princess Celestia asked, "Because their ancestor made a deal with me to ensure his family's survival, his family was attacked the most often when you all were divided by unicorns, Pegasi, and earth ponies." Spirit replied, "What about it being only for the stallions on the father's side of the family?" Princess Luna asked, "The pony who made the deal with me in the first place was a stallion from the paternal side of their family, so it just stuck." Spirit replied, "What about the mother dying after giving birth?" Princess Cadence asked, "My powers are usually too powerful for mortals to handle, birthing a child with my powers usually destroys the mother's soul." Spirit replied, "And yet, you only give them their powers when they turn four instead of at birth?" Princess Luna asked, "It is so they do not cause havoc while they are babies, since this world does not practice using spiritual energy, along with your magic being unable to detect it, while the damage their powers cause can be seen by regular people in this world, what actually causes the damage cannot." Spirit replied, surprising everybody, Princess Celestia turns her attention to Walker, Runner, and Sprinter, "How many more residents of the Void are there?" Princess Celestia asked, "Seventeen more." Walker replied, "Seventeen?!" Princess Luna asked, Walker nods, "I'd like to meet them." Princess Celestia said, Spirit holds his arms up with dark blue flames around his hands. Ponyville changes and everybody sees new areas, the first one everybody notices what appeared to be a field full of hanging skeletons, everybody sees two big black statues, they were both wearing robes and were hooded, and had skulls for their faces, the left statue was holding a quill in its right hand, and a document in its left hand, while the right statue was holding a double-edged sword in its right hand, they turn to face the ponies, scaring them, "Look at what we have here." the left statue said in a gravely voice, "Yes, those who believe friendship always wins." the right statue said in a ghastly voice, "Who are you two?" Princess Celestia asked, "I am Diplomat." the left statue replied, "And I am War." the right statue said, "Diplomat and War? What do you two do?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Um, in a way, they're kind of our trainers." Walker replied, "Them too?" Applejack asked, "Yes, our job is to make the creatures they encounter appear here, in the battlefield, it is so they will learn how to deal with them, whether they can win them over with friendship, or have to fight and kill them in order to save themselves." Diplomat replied, "Well, a little forgiveness and some friendship, and there won't be any need for fighting." Twilight Sparkle said, "In this world, in other worlds, friendship does not work." War replied, "What do you mean friendship doesn't work?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Most of the other worlds are not powered by friendship like this one." Diplomat replied, "You don't need a world to be powered by friendship, just being friends can get you far." Twilight Sparkle said, "But for how long?" War asked, "Enough, I wish to meet the others." Princess Celestia said, "The last fifteen are over there." Walker replied as he points his front right hoof down the road in front of them. Everybody sees them and the first person they saw was a bipedal humanoid figure, he was big and muscular, he was bald and had glowing blue skin, he had a black blindfold over his eyes, he wore a black judge's robe, he wielded a sledgehammer, the right half of the hammer was blue and white, it had a feathered wing at the top, and a female angel's face carved on it, while the left half of the hammer was red and black, it had a bat wing at the top, and a male demon's face carved on it, he also had a double-edged broadsword sheathed on his left side, "Who is that?" Silverstream asked, "I am The Judge, I am the one who judges the new souls of the dead and send them to the afterlife." the being replied, "So, um, how does the judgement work?" Rarity asked, "I look into the soul and identify their gender and what world they're from, then these fourteen behind me help me judge them." The Judge replied, everybody sees fourteen robed and hooded bipedal figures behind him, there were seven different colors since two of them wore the same colored robes, the color of the robes were purple, green, red, light blue, yellow, orange, and blue, their faces were only black spaces. Sunset Shimmer looks and sees the seven figures to their lefts had feminine body shapes while the seven to their rights had masculine body shapes, "Who are you guys?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "We are the Virtues and the Sins." the female purple robe replied, "What do you guys do?" Rainbow Dash asked, "We look at the soul's actions throughout their life, and determine if they committed one of our virtues or one of our sins, their souls are weighed on the Scales of Virtue and Sin that are behind us." the male purple robe replied, everybody looks and sees the scales, the scale to their lefts was white while the scale to their rights was black, "When a soul has committed on virtue, the white scales down, a sin, the black scale goes down, which ever scale is down farther will determine whether the soul receives salvation or damnation, if they are equal, the soul's personality will be looked into to determine its fate for the afterlife, if a soul receives salvation, they go to the overworld to have a peaceful afterlife, damnation, they are sent to the underworld to be punished." the male purple robe said, "So, what do you fourteen do?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "We all represent a virtue and a sin, there are seven virtues and seven sins, we are named after the virtue and sin we represent." the female purple robe replied, "What are yer names?" Applejack asked, "I am Humility." the female purple robe said, "I am Kindness." the female green robe said, "My name is Charity." the female yellow robe said, "I'm known as Temperance." the female orange robe said, "I am Diligence." the female light blue robe said, "I am called Chastity." the female blue robe said, "And I am Patience, we are the Virtues." the female red robe said, "What about you guys?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "We are the Sins, I am Pride." the male purple robe said, "I am Envy." the male green robe said, "I am Greed." the male yellow robe said, "My name is Gluttony." the male orange robe said, "I am known as Sloth." the male light blue robe said, "I am Lust." the male blue robe said, "And I am Wrath." the male red robe said, "So, you all just look into the souls and see the good and bad things they committed?" Fluttershy asked, "Not just that, us Virtues reward those who receive salvation and committed our virtues, while the Sins punish those who have committed their sins and have received damnation." Humility replied, "What are the rewards and punishments?" Princess Celestia asked, "I reward people with the joys of life." Patience replied, "I reward those who commit my virtue with true and everlasting love." Chastity said, "I reward people with success at whatever they were trying to achieve." Diligence said, "I reward people with enhanced physical abilities, and the simple joys they had in life." Temperance said, "I reward those who commit my virtue with love and appreciation from others." Charity said, "I reward people by making them all the same to one another, so they are all equal." Kindness said, "I reward people with power and authority since they do not see themselves as superior to another." Humility said, "Ooh, all of those sound lovely." Rarity said, "Yes, they do sound nice." Fluttershy replied, "What are the punishments?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "I have the angry dismembered alive." Wrath replied, "I make the lustful feel physical torment for all eternity by having them burn in fire and brimstone." Lust said, "I make the slothful and apathetic get thrown into snake pits." Sloth said, "I punish the gluttonous by force feeding them rats, toads, and snakes." Gluttony said, "I have the greedy boiled alive in oil for all eternity." Greed said, "I punish the envious by having them put in freezing water for all eternity." Envy said, "I punish the prideful by putting them on the breaking wheel." Pride said, "Breaking wheel?" Princess Celestia asked, "A torture device in several worlds where people are tied to them, and the torturer would proceed to bludgeon them and break their bones with hammers and clubs." Pride replied, everybody exclaims with shock, "That's horrible." Ocellus said, "They are sinners, the torture is their punishment." Pride replied, "You all don't offer them forgiveness?" Princess Cadence asked, "Those who receive damnation are never forgiven." The Judge replied, "How did you all become created?" Pinkie Pie asked, "The virtues and sins we represent come from the majority of most cultures of the other worlds." Humility replied, "How do we commit your virtues?" Princess Luna asked, "See yourself as equal to everyone else." Humility said, "Never be jealous of those better than you, help those in need, and accept what you have and your life." Kindness said, "Share your things with others." Charity said, "Moderate yourself, and restrain yourself from indulging in excess of anything in life." Temperance said, "Work hard and keep working, no matter how much you want to quit, keep working until the work's done." Diligence said, "Do not pursue a sexual relationship before marriage or with someone else besides your spouse after marriage." Chastity said, "Stay calm and never have episodes of rage." Patience said, "Wow, a lot of those sound hard to achieve." Applejack said, "It is easy for some." Humility replied, "What do we have to do to commit a sin?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Being proud of anything you are or what you can do." Pride said, "Wish to have something someone else has and you work to not only have it for yourself, but also make the person who has it lose it." Envy said, "Desiring money, materials, or power, and not sharing it." Greed said, "Overindulgence in anything, especially food and drinks, you consume so much, it becomes wasted." Gluttony said, "Refusal to work, and not caring about others and your surroundings." Sloth said, "Pursue a sexual relationship with anyone, along with desire for power and authority, along with desiring money." Lust said, "Lose your temper and get mad." Wrath said, "Wow, they actually sound hard to do." Fluttershy said, "Most souls have committed both, virtues and sins, if they have committed more virtues than sins, they receive salvation, and receive damnation if they have committed more sins than virtues." The Judge replied, "This may sound weird, but outright admitting you're good makes you receive more salvation, and outright admitting you're bad damns your soul even more." Walker said, "What? Why?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Because outright admitting you're either good or bad means you are aware of your actions and their effects, admitting you're good means you are aware you're doing good things, same when you admit that you're bad." The Judge replied, "What if someone who does bad thing say they're good and vice versa?" Sweetie Belle asked, "It will not affect the scales." The Judge replied, "So, does anything happen with the souls after the judgement?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Souls that receive salvation can come back to the world of the living, some of these souls wandering around this town are still here because they received salvation after being judged." Runner replied, "What is the best and worst sentence a soul can receive?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Pure salvation and pure damnation." The Judge replied, "How are they achieved?" Princess Celestia asked, "To achieve pure salvation, you must commit all seven virtues, and outright admit you're good, and commit none of the sins, achieving pure damnation is the opposite." The Judge replied, "What happens if someone receives those sentences?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Those who receive pure salvation can be reincarnated." The Judge replied, "Wait, people can be revived?" Sandbar asked, "Yes, but when a soul starts their next life, they have no memory of their previous life." The Judge replied, "And pure damnation?" Princess Luna asked, "The soul is destroyed and they cease to exist." The Judge replied, "Wow, that's actually kinda scary." Applejack said, the others nod in agreement, "There's somethin' that's been botherin' me." Applejack said, "What is it?" The Judge asked, "Those seven virtues are supposed to represent good things, right?" Applejack asked, "Yes, of most worlds, we represent humility, kindness, charity, temperance, diligence, chastity, and patience." Humility replied, "What about honesty?" Applejack asked, "Honesty is not a virtue in the cultures of the other worlds." Humility replied, "What about laughter?" Pinkie Pie asked, "Laughter's not a virtue, either." Pride replied, "How about loyalty?" Rainbow Dash asked, "That's not a virtue." Greed replied, "Only kindness and generosity are virtues." Walker said, "Where will we go after we pass?" Spike asked, "That depends on how many virtues and sins you have committed in your life." Kindness replied, "I'm sorry to break this to you, but how many friends you make and friendship lessons you learn will not matter when your soul gets judged." Walker said, "What kind of judging system is this?!" Pinkie Pie asked, "It appears you are judged by who you were as an individual rather than how many friendships you have made." Princess Luna replied, "How does it work?" Princess Cadence asked, Spirit walks forward and gives The Judge the soul he absorbed when he appeared, The Judge examines the soul, "This soul is from the world Equestria, male." The Judge said, "He was proud of his own achievements." Pride said, the black scale goes down, "He was friendly to everyone he met." Kindness said, the white scale goes down, "He shared his things with many others." Charity said, the white scale goes down even more, "He ate and drank more than he needed." Gluttony said, the black scale goes down, "He worked long and hard at his interests." Diligence said, the white scale goes down, "This soul is to receive salvation." The Judge said, and he hits the gavel in front of him with the angelic side of his sledgehammer, a portal opens to The Judge's right and the soul goes into it, the scales revert back to normal after the portal closes, "So that's how it works, they look at your soul and the actions of your life that is related to the virtue and sin they represent, it's about who you are as an individual." Princess Luna said, "Um, excuse me, have you all ever thought about forgiveness?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "That goes with my virtue." Patience replied, "I see." Twilight Sparkle said, "You all should go, Spirit's got souls for me to judge." The Judge said, and Spirit gives the souls in his body to The Judge for him to judge while the others leave. Walker, Runner, and Sprinter go to the arena while the others follow them, "What would you all like to fight today?" Diplomat asked, "We're just training today." Sprinter replied, "Perhaps we should call your soul friend here." War said, "Sure, the harder the fight, the better." Runner replied, "Dad!" Walker said, "I know you hate fighting, Walker, but your grandfather and I like it, majority rules, Walker." Runner replied, Walker groans while the three get ready to train. Walker, Runner, and Sprinter summon swords in their front right hoofs, Walker summons a short sword that was about eighteen inches long and had a chisel-like tip, and a square shaped hand guard, Runner summons a straight sabre that was designed for slicing and stabbing, the hilt was around his hoof, the entire weapon was about forty one inches long, and Sprinter summons a giant double-edged broadsword that was about seventy eight inches long, shocking everybody watching. Walker begins teleporting around and tries to attack Runner and Sprinter, Runner moves around quickly and dodges Walker's slashes while Sprinter just teleports around, Runner dodges Walker easily and cuts him in several places, he grunts from each cut. Runner holds his sabre in front of himself and focuses on Sprinter, he jumps and was about to slash Sprinter in his chest, Sprinter swings his broadsword down and Runner grunts as he falls into the ground, Walker teleports to Sprinter and was about to slash him across his face, Sprinter hits Walker in his left side with his front left hoof, Walker exclaims as he flies into a black pillar and cracks it. Walker and Runner recover and get up, Walker takes longer to get up than Runner, the two look at one another and nod. Walker teleports to Sprinter and was about to stab him in his front right knee, Sprinter turns to his left to dodge it and Runner teleports to Sprinter's left blind spot and slashes his front left knee, Sprinter did not flinch and just looks at his wound, he sees the two coming but he looks forward, a light blue beam comes out and Walker and Runner hear it. The three teleport away and the soul forms into a unicorn, "Training without me?" the unicorn asked, "No, just warming up." Sprinter replied, the unicorn chuckles and they all start fighting one another, the unicorn smiles and he runs to join them. The unicorn runs around while shooting beams from his horn at the three, "Who is that?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "I don't know, but I do wonder." Princess Cadence replied, the unicorn moves around from side-to-side to dodge Walker's, Runner's, and Sprinter's sword attacks, he sees Walker jump in the air and was about to cut his neck, he grabs Walker's front legs with his front hoofs, he turns to his right and throws Walker, he hits a pillar and grunts, Runner teleports to the unicorn and tries to slash his legs and chest, the unicorn jumps and lands on top of Runner's sabre, leaving him speechless, he does a back flip and kicks Runner in his chin with his hind hoofs, he grunts and flies back while the unicorn lands on his feet. Sprinter teleports to behind the unicorn and tries to cut him with his broadsword, the unicorn teleports away and Sprinter uses his spiritual powers to make the sword bigger, he swings it around like it weighed nothing and the unicorn jumps back, Sprinter does a downwards slash and the unicorn does a back flip to dodge it and shoots a beam from his horn while he was upside-down in midair, Sprinter was hit but he was only pushed back, he teleports to the unicorn and tries to slash him again, the unicorn teleports to behind him and shoots him in the back with his horn, Sprinter chuckles and turns around, "I can do this all day." Sprinter said, "So can I." the unicorn replied, and Sprinter swings the broadsword around again and destroys the pillars, Walker and Runner exclaim and duck to dodge the broadsword, the unicorn jumps and shoots Sprinter with another zap, he grunts and falls down. The unicorn lands on the ground, "Come on, get up, you three are better than that." the unicorn said, Walker, Runner, and Sprinter get up, Walker teleports to him while growling and begins tries to slash the unicorn with his sword while snarling with rage, "You always did hate losing, Walker." Runner said, the unicorn grabs his front right hoof and throws him over his own head, Walker screams as he flies through the air and lands on the light blue ground, he growls and teleports to the unicorn and tries to slash him again, the unicorn slaps Walker to his left with his front left hoof, he screams as he flies through the air and hits a broken black pillar, his front right leg hits it first and a loud banging sound was heard, Walker grunts loudly and the others look. Runner, Sprinter, and the unicorn look on and see Walker's front right leg was injured, he grunts and pants as he stands up, "Can you still fight?" Runner asked, Walker stands but falls back down immediately, he shakes his head, "Let me see." Runner said as he trots to Walker and looks at his leg, "You're just hurt a little, you should be fine after several minutes." Runner said, Walker sighs with relief since he thought his leg was broken, "You all want to stop here?" the unicorn asked, "Yeah, let's call it a day." Runner replied, "We'll be waiting for you at home, Walker." Sprinter said, "What?! Wait! No!" Princess Cadence said as she runs to Walker, "You two are just going to leave him here?!" Princess Cadence asked, "It's nothing serious, he'll recover soon." Runner replied, "Still, you two can at least help him home." Princess Cadence said, "Nope, Walker needs to learn how to recover and fend for himself, since we most likely won't be around to protect him when he gets older." Sprinter replied, "We'll have lunch ready for you when you get home, Walker." Runner said, "Alright, thanks dad." Walker replied, and the two walk home. Walker grunts and he stands up while Princess Cadence checks his leg, "Take it easy, Walker, you're hurt." Princess Cadence said, "Cadence, I've had worse injuries than this before." Walker replied, "Still, come on, Walker, let's go home." Princess Cadence said, and she helps him go home. Walker arrives home and he sits and has a salad for lunch, "Don't you two ever think about giving him something else?" Princess Cadence asked, "The salad is usually enough to keep him full." Runner replied, "Don't you two ever give him fruits?" Princess Cadence asked, "He usually doesn't need them to stay full." Sprinter said, Princess Cadence looks at the two with disapproval, "Here, Walker, have a sandwich." Princess Cadence said, and she takes a hay and lettuce sandwich out of her saddlebag and gave it to Walker, and he tries to eat it but got full, "Sorry, but I'm full." Walker said, and Sprinter puts the leftover in the refrigerator. Walker goes on to continue painting while Runner stays with him and watches his front right leg to make sure it was alright, Walker paints a little and finishes the picture, "It's beautiful, Walker." Princess Cadence said, "Thanks, I'll need to find inspiration for my next painting before I start." Walker replied, and Runner puts it up on the wall for it dry, "How's your leg, Walker?" Sprinter asked, he stands up and saw he was able to walk and move it fine, "I'm fine." Walker said, "Good, you should still take it easy, though." Sprinter replied, "What are you going to do next, Walker?" Princess Cadence asked, "I'm going to go see that unicorn ghost." Walker replied, and he trots outside while Princess Cadence follows him. The ghost unicorn makes wooden targets appear with his magic and he breaks them with his hind hoofs, the others watch him and he stops when he hears trotting, he turns around and sees Walker and Princess Cadence, "Ah, Walker, here for your next training lesson, I assume, I'm impressed you already recovered." the unicorn said, "Thanks, and yes, I'm ready to train." Walker replied, the unicorn smiles, "Let's get started, then." the unicorn said, and he makes five wooden targets appear in the air, "Try to break all five of them before you touch the ground." the unicorn said, "Oh, that's easy." Walker replied, and he walks forward, he jumps in the air and does a counterclockwise spin with his body, he kicks the five targets with his hind hoofs and breaks them and lands on the ground perfectly, "Impressive, let's see how you're doing on your high jumps." the unicorn said, and he makes one wooden target appear high in the air, Walker jumps as high as he can and he lifts his hind right leg up above his head, he kicks the target and destroys it and lands on the ground, "Alright, let's see how you're doing on your acrobats." the unicorn said, and he makes three targets appear, Walker does a somersault and kicks the first target with his hind hoofs, he does a back flip and kicks the next target with his hind right hoof, he does another back flip and kicks the last target with his hind left hoof, he drops to the ground and lands while the broken targets fall onto the ground, "Very good, now your strength test." the unicorn said, and he makes a royal guard helmet appear, much to Princess Cadence's surprise, Walker jumps and tilts his body to his right, he kicks the helmet with his hind left hoof and shatters it into pieces, much to Princess Cadence's shock, "Whoa! Did you all see that?!" Rainbow Dash asked, "Yeah, he destroyed the helmet in one hit." Applejack replied, "That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash said, "Still, one kick is enough to destroy a royal guard's helmet? That's actually kind of scary." Twilight Sparkle said, "Okay, last one, your accuracy." the unicorn said, "Actually, I think there's already a target for that." Walker replied, "Alright, show me." the unicorn said, and Walker walks to Princess Cadence, "What are you doing, Walker? Walker?" Princess Cadence asked, Walker jumps and does a counterclockwise spin in the air, he holds his hind left leg out and hits Princess Cadence's tiara off of her head, she exclaims and looks to her right to see her tiara flying through the air, she grabs it with her telekinesis and brings it back to herself, "Walker! No!" Princess Cadence said as she holds her tiara up with her telekinesis, "Do not hit my crown!" Princess Cadence said, Walker just stands there and sweats, she put her tiara back on her head, "I'm ready to continue training." Walker said, "Alright, I got a new one for you today." the unicorn replied, and he makes sixteen wooden targets appear, "This is the wall climb, your training is to jump and touch the boards with your front legs, then jump and touch the next board above you, keep going until you get to the top." the unicorn said, and Walker starts. Walker jumps and presses his front hoofs on the first wooden board, he jumps and turns around in midair and touches the next wooden board with his front hoofs, he keeps going until he gets to the eleventh one, he tries to push his front hoofs on it, but he goes over it and falls behind it. Walker stands up and looks back, "What the?" Walker asked, he saw his targets got smaller and farther apart as he got higher, "They look smaller." Walker said, "They are, the higher you get, the smaller your targets get." the unicorn replied, and Walker walks back and tries again. Walker tries jumping from target to target but he keeps going over the higher targets and failing, he growls as he tries again and monitors his own jumps, he goes over another target and lands on the ground. Walker begins to growl and breathe hard, "Walker, calm down, you can try again anytime." Princess Cadence said, "No, I wish to pass it now." Walker replied, "Walker, you'll tire yourself out if you act like that, take a break." Princess Cadence said, Walker exhales heavily and he begins walking to the west, "You will have time to catch your breath and recover if you rest now." Optimist said, "You will postpone the inevitable of having to do this training course and make yourself constantly worried about it." Pessimist said, Walker thinks for a minute and stands up and walks. Princess Cadence looks and sees Walker going to four pillows, he arrives at them and Body Walker appears on the center-left pillow, he was standing on it, Mind Walker stands on the far left pillow, Spirit Walker stands on the center-right pillow, and Emotion Walker stands on the far right pillow, "What would you like to train in?" Body Walker asked, "My body." Walker replied, "Hot environment or cold environment?" Body Walker asked, "Cold." Walker replied, and Mind Walker, Spirit Walker, and Emotion Walker disappear. Only a part of Ponyville changes and Walker was now in the cold mountain environment again, there was snow on the ground and a blizzard going on, Walker inhales and exhales sharply for a few minutes to let his body adjust, he runs and jumps into the water, he swims while breathing heavily, his swims as fast as he could while his hoofs and ears become numb from the cold, he makes to the end faster than usual and pants, "I made the water shorter today, we'll be doing wall jumps today, front hoofs only, your goal is to reach the top of that entrance there." Body Walker said as he points his front right hoof to it, Walker sees he was in an ice cave environment and the exit was high and far, and there were icicles hanging, "Your job is to jump from icicle to icicle and make it to the end, but be careful, the icicles are fragile, once when you press on them, they will break, so make sure you jump before it falls." Body Walker said, Walker nods, "Alright, go." Body Walker said, and Walker runs forward. Walker jumps and presses his front hoofs onto the first icicle, it breaks and begins to fall while Walker uses his front hoofs to spring himself into the air and he turns around in midair and jumps to the next icicle, Walker jumps from icicle to icicle and went faster as he went farther, everypony watches nervously as Walker keeps going. Walker was near the end and he keeps going, he was getting more and more nervous as he got higher since the icicles were getting smaller and thinner, Walker keeps going and makes it to the end, he pants heavily while the environment changes back to normal and Walker stands on the ground, "Good work, Walker, not bad for first time, but you need to work on your speed." Body Walker said, Walker looks down, "Let's call it a day, it's a little late." Body Walker said, Walker nods and he walks back to the unicorn, he does the wall jump and makes it to the top, "Yes! I won!" Walker said as he jumps up and down, "Perhaps, but you'll need to do it again, try to do it without needing practice." the unicorn replied, Walker nods and he makes the targets disappear, he sees Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack walking to him, "You're not bad at this Walker, you, your father, and your grandfather would've served well in my army." the unicorn said, "Wait. Army?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Who are you?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "It doesn't matter now, but I was going to spread friendship throughout the land, but Celestia said no and put a halt to my plans by putting me in jail." the unicorn replied, "Wait, what?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Just as I thought, you're Genghis." Princess Celestia said, "We could've had friendship spread throughout the land if you let me have my way." Genghis replied, "No, Genghis, your method was too ruthless and wrong, I couldn't allow friendship to spread throughout the land your way." Princess Celestia replied, "You were going to make us have more enemies if you did have your way." Princess Luna said, "How so?" Genghis asked, "Destroying one's culture and replacing it with our own is wrong, Genghis." Princess Cadence replied, "Wait, just who is this?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Name's Genghis, I was going to raise a military with earth ponies as my army, Pegasi as my air force, and unicorns as my magic unit, I was going to conquer and unite Equestria under one culture, then I was going to conquer the other countries, I was going to conquer Seaquestria, Mount Aris, and Kirin Grove first, I was going to add hippogriffs into my air force, have the seaponies serve as my navy, and the kirins as my fire unit, I was going to spread friendship throughout the world by conquering the other countries and destroy their cultures so I could replace them with our own cultures, but Celestia said no and put me in jail while I was raising my army." Genghis replied, shocking the six mares, "That would've caused more problems for us." Twilight Sparkle said, "Not cool, Genghis." Rainbow Dash said, "But I was going to spread friendship." Genghis replied, "Spread friendship? You would've made us the most hated country in the world if you had your way." Princess Luna said, "That's right, Genghis, this is a land of tolerance and forgiveness, I will not have friendship spread throughout the world by having one of our kind conquer their lands, destroy their cultures, and force them to adapt our culture." Princess Celestia said, "Um, Genghis, we are friends with the other creatures now." Fluttershy said, "What took you all so long?" Genghis asked, "You can't rush friendship, Genghis." Princess Celestia replied, "Why do you see him for anyway, Walker?" Princess Cadence asked, "He's my hoof-to-hoof combat instructor." Walker replied, "What?!" Princess Luna asked with shock while opening up her wings, "He's right, but not just him, I trained Runner and Sprinter as well." Genghis said, "Wait, there's something that's bothering me." Twilight Sparkle said, "What would that be?" Genghis asked, "Why aren't you mentioned in any historical documents or books?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "I had all historical records of him destroyed." Princess Celestia replied, "What? How come?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Think about it, Twilight, our country had our own version of the Storm King rising and planning to invade them, that would be a black mark on our country's history and reputation." Princess Celestia replied, "I actually kind of like that, all historical records of me destroyed? It makes it sound like a planned sneak attack on other countries." Genghis said, "No, I had records of you destroyed because your actions are an embarrassment to our country's reputation of tolerance and forgiveness." Princess Celestia replied, Genghis remains silent and turns to Walker, "Do you wish to continue training?" Genghis asked, "No, I need to rest." Walker replied while shivering, "Alright, then, I'll be here if you wish to see me." Genghis said, and he walks away. Walker shivers while Princess Cadence warms him up by hugging him and Rarity uses her magic to get her heavy winter coat again and puts it on him, "I wonder how much calories you're burning." Twilight Sparkle said, "I never bother to think to about it." Walker replied, and he stops shivering, Princess Cadence lets go of him and Rarity takes the coat off, "I'll go meditate now." Walker said, "No, Walker, that's enough training for today, let's do something foals your age do." Princess Cadence replied, and the two walk together. Walker was on a swing and Princess Cadence pushes it forward with her front right hoof, there was a swing to his left and a swing to his right, Apple Bloom was on the swing to his left with Big Macintosh pushing it, and Sweetie Belle was on the swing to his right with Rarity pushing it, Walker just sits on the swing with a bored expression, "Aren't you having fun, Walker?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Not really." Walker replied, "Why not?" Apple Bloom asked, "It's just... I find everything in this world boring when compared to the Void." Walker replied, "Just be a normal foal for now, Walker, you're still a child." Princess Cadence said, Walker looks down while he stays on the swing, "How often do ya go to the Void, Walker?" Apple Bloom asked, "I used to go every day after school before I came here." Walker replied, "On your own?!" Rarity asked, "Yeah." Walker replied, "That's too dangerous, Walker, you should travel with your guardians." Princess Cadence said, "Eeyup." Big Macintosh said, "Dad and granddad traveled the Void all by themselves when they were my age." Walker said, "What?" Rarity asked, "Still, why don't they accompany you for?" Princess Cadence asked, "Because the worlds I go to are where Spirit is admired and respected the most, so I'm usually not attacked by the natives." Walker replied, "Still, they should accompany you." Rarity said, "Can you ask for those harpies, vulcans, and onis to come here one day, Walker?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Well... I'm not sure on that, they're not like the creatures of this world." Walker replied, "Well, if ya don't, Twilight might ask Spirit for 'em to come here." Apple Bloom said, "She might regret that." Walker replied, and he sits on the swing silently while Princess Cadence continues to push it, "Where's Scootaloo?" Walker asked after remaining silent for a while, they all look, "There she is." Apple Bloom replied, and Walker sees her and Rainbow Dash being trained by Genghis in hoof-to-hoof combat, "So Genghis has decided to train them as well." Walker said, "Maybe they'll be as good as you one day." Sweetie Belle replied, "Actually, Genghis once said to me that he has different trainings for unicorns, Pegasi, and earth ponies." Walker said, "How so?" Princess Cadence asked, "Actually, I don't know, I only do his earth pony training." Walker replied, they all look and see Genghis was shooting big beams out of his horn and Rainbow Dash flies around to dodge them, "Yeah, it is different." Walker said, and they all continue to remain on the swings. A portal opens and Runner and Sprinter walk out and the portal closes, "Dad? Granddad? Where you were two?" Walker asked, "We were just getting souls for The Judge." Runner replied, "Yeah, several people died in the other worlds recently." Sprinter said, "When did you two leave?" Walker asked, "While Genghis was training you." Runner replied, "Oh." Walker said, "Well, we'll be going now, we'll be heading home to make dinner after this, Walker." Sprinter said, Walker nods, and the two go see The Judge, "Let's go, Walker, I'd like to see how this judging works." Princess Cadence said, Walker gets off the swing and walks to The Judge while Princess Cadence follows him. Walker, Runner, Sprinter, and Princess Cadence go to The Judge and they see he was waiting for them, "I am ready to receive the souls." The Judge said, and Runner and Sprinter have them float out of their bodies, Runner had seven souls while Sprinter had nine souls. The Judge takes the souls from Sprinter first and begins his job, he holds the first soul in his hands, "Male, from the world Larvaka." The Judge said, "He had a bad temper." Wrath said, the black scale goes down, "He never did any physical activity." Sloth said, the black scale goes down more, "This soul is to receive damnation." The Judge said, "Wait." Princess Cadence said as The Judge was about to hit his gavel with the demonic side of his hammer, "What about the other twelve?" Princess Cadence asked, "He did not commit our virtues or sins, there is no need to mention them." Humility replied, "Oh." Princess Cadence said, The Judge hits his gavel and a portal opens to his left side and the soul floats into it and the portal closes while the scales revert back to normal. The next soul floats to The Judge and he holds it, "Female, Styx." The Judge said, "Styx?" Princess Cadence asked, "The name of the soul's home world." Runner replied, "She was a noble but saw herself as an equal to everyone." Humility said, the white scale goes down, "She had a bad temper." Wrath said, the scales revert back to normal, "She did not indulge in excess pleasures." Temperance said, the white scale goes down, "She only loved one person." Chastity said, the white scale goes down more, "This soul is to receive salvation." The Judge said, and he hits his gavel with the angelic side of his hammer, a portal opens to his right and the soul goes in, the portal closes while scales revert back to normal. The next soul floats to The Judge and he grabs it, "Male, Niflheim." The Judge said, "He was willing to share his things with others." Kindness said, the white scale goes down, "He was jealous of those superior to him." Envy said, the scales revert back to normal, "He gave things he wanted to those who needed them more than him." Charity said, the white scale goes down, "He had a bad temper." Wrath said, the scales revert back to normal, "He was very proud of his own status." Pride said, the black scale goes down, "He worked hard to get to where he was at before he was killed in battle." Diligence said, the scales revert back to normal while Princess Cadence watches nervously, "It is a tie, his personality shall determine his judgement." The Judge said, and he looks into the soul, "A spoiled child, born into the upper-class of his species, while he has committed those virtues, he was unhappy about doing them, since his parents forced him to, and he fought in the battle he died in in the name of glory." The Judge said, he lets the soul go and it floats in front of him, "This soul is to receive damnation." The Judge said, he hears the ponies complaining and sees them running to him, "No! Stop!" Twilight Sparkle said, they arrive while Princess Celestia and Princess Luna fly to him, "How old is that child?" Princess Celestia asked, "Eight." The Judge replied, "You're sending a soul of a child to the underworld to be punished after death?!" Princess Luna asked, "He has sinned several times, and he has a rotten personality, so damnation." The Judge replied, "What if he didn't know better?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "That doesn't change the fact that he has sinned." Pride replied, "So, you can't redeem yourself by making up for it?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "No, once when you commit a sin or a virtue, that is it, it is weighed upon your soul for your entire life and until you come to us." Humility replied, "Look at me, I did bad things, and I was forgiven." Starlight Glimmer said, "In this life, but when you die and when I judge your soul, that won't matter." The Judge replied, "What if they behave the way they do because their culture teaches them to be like that?" Princess Cadence asked, "That doesn't matter when I judge your soul, either." The Judge replied, "What?! That's not fair!" Rainbow Dash said, "Judgement is very fair, your race, gender, species, age, and social class don't matter when your soul is judged, and it doesn't matter if you're forgiven for bad deeds or if your good deeds have bad consequences, all that matters is that you have committed a virtue or a sin, and if it's tied, your personality will determine your judgement." The Judge replied, "I'm sorry to say this, but your judging system is very flawed." Princess Celestia said, "What is flawed about our judging to you?" Patience asked, "Excuse me?" Princess Celestia asked, "There are some creatures in the other worlds who think our judging system is perfect, and some who think it's corrupt, so what's flawed about to you as an individual?" Humility asked, "First of all, you're sending a child to be punished in the afterlife, I think he deserves a second chance." Princess Celestia said, "Well, it's too late now, he's dead." Greed replied, "Can't souls wander around being judged?" Princess Luna asked, "Only if they receive salvation, but since he is receiving damnation, he will be trapped in the underworld to be punished for eternity." The Judge replied, the people of Ponyville protest about it, "Ain't there some area in the afterlife to teach him the errors of his ways?" Applejack asked, "No." The Judge replied, "Still, how can you send a poor little child to be punished after death? I think a little teaching and discipline can set him straight." Rarity said, "As we said, it will not undo his sins." Envy replied, "There you go, now, I must send his soul to the afterlife." The Judge said, and he hits his gavel with the demonic side of his hammer while the ponies complain and protest, the soul goes into the portal some of the ponies cry while the scales revert back to normal. The Judge gets the next soul and was about to judge it, "You all don't need to watch me, this takes time, you all should go on with your days." The Judge said, and they all leave while Twilight Sparkle walks to Spirit, who was behind The Judge and was sitting in a black throne, the Senses were standing to his right, "Excuse me, Spirit." Twilight Sparkle said, he focuses on her, "Can you open the portals to the other worlds?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Why?" Spirit asked, "So I can spread friendship to their worlds." Twilight Sparkle replied, "You do realize how risky that is, right?" Spirit asked, "What are the risks?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "First of all, what Walker said about friendship is true in their cultures, friendship is just a term you use to refer to someone or people you're on good terms with, it's not magic to them, the other risk... well, it will bring... other creatures to this world to attack Walker, Runner, and Sprinter." Spirit replied, "More skeletons and ghosts?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "No, completely different." Spirit replied, "Well, bring them here, I wanna spread friendship." Twilight Sparkle said, "Maybe tomorrow, I'll only bring the natives from the first three worlds Walker, Runner, and Sprinter went to." Spirit replied, "Thank you, it's a start." Twilight Sparkle said, and she walks away. Walker sleeps after having dinner and he was outside, he goes to where he trains and his four trainers appear, "Spiritual training, please." Walker said, and Body Walker, Mind Walker, and Emotion Walker disappear. Walker and Spirit Walker sit together and meditate, "Wait a minute, Walker." Princess Luna said, Walker opens his eyes and sees her flying down, "What are you doing out here?" Princess Luna asked, "I always go to the Void when I sleep." Walker replied, "Wait, this is where you've been going to every night when you sleep? No wonder why I haven't been able to see your dreams." Princess Luna said, Walker blushes and smiles, "What do you do here at night?" Princess Luna asked, "Train." Walker replied, "Train even more? No, you should be resting." Princess Luna said, "He is, his body's in bed right now, he'll have full energy when he wakes up tomorrow." Spirit Walker replied, "He better, or I'll have a talk with your ruler tomorrow." Princess Luna said, and she flies away while Walker sits and meditates for the rest of the night.