//------------------------------// // Different times, similar lives // Story: Equestria: Singular Point // by lazejovanov //------------------------------// Equestria; Present time The sun slowly rose over the land of Equestria to start a new day. But it wasn't Celestia who raised it, it was a pony that was once her faithful student: Twilight Sparkle. It has been a good long month since the defeat of the Legion of Doom: Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek. Following their petrification, Twilight Sparkle has been exalted in becoming the new ruler of Equestria after Celestia and Luna willingly stepped down to retire. Of course, with Twilight becoming the new ruler, came a list of royal duties and other tasks that she and Spike (her adopted dragon brother) had to preform on a daily basis. Many of these duties involved public appearances and smiling uncomfortably to their subjects. Other activities included addressing disputes between the leaders of different towns and lands, helping with diplomacies that involve the leaders of the other non-pony races, judging contests, and taking photographs during photo-ops at the School for Gifted Unicorns fundraiser. When it came to the night, Spike was tasked with filling Luna's job in traveling to the dream realm to observe ponies' dreams and relieving them of their nightmares. Using a magical amulet that contains the power of the former Princess of the Night, the little dragon did his fair share of royal duties when his adopted sister was resting and sleeping for the night. Needless to say, it was exhausting work. Twilight felt her cheeks hurt due to being forced to smile all day when making public appearances. Spike had to sleep throughout most of the day after being exhausted relieving ponies and other creatures of their nightmares. . "Ugh. I'm tired." Twilight muttered as she collapsed on her comfy bed, face first. "Well, nopony said that being the ruler of Equestria was gonna be easy." Spike mused, opening a nearby drawer to take out the magical amulet containing Luna's magic. "Anyway, I'm gonna start my nightly dream patrol that Luna used to do." With that, the little drake began heading for the balcony. "Maybe you should rest, Spike." Twilight got off from her bed and walked up to him. "I know today was hard, but I think can handle the dream realm just this once." She said, giving him a comforting smile. "Thanks, Twilight. But I can handle things from here." Spike gave her a smile of his own. "I mean, I've been asleep all day while you were busy keeping your cheeks together. Only seems fair I do this." The current ruler of Equestria couldn't help but smile back. Just like Celestia, she had her own sibling to do half of the royal duties — even if hers was a dragon. "Yeah, you're right." She playfully rubbed Spike on the head before moving back to bed. "Well, good luck in the dream realm, Spike." "Don't worry, I'll be fine." A playful smile appeared on the drake's face. "Besides, it's not like I'm gonna suddenly turn evil and you're gonna have to banish me to the moon for a thousand years." With a mischievous smile of her own, Twilight's horn ignited and Spike found himself levitating off the ground, heading towards the waiting alicorn. "Oh, I'm gonna banish you to the moon right now, you naughty little dragon!" She said, playfully wrapping her front hooves around Spike. "Oh, I don't think so! I will take over Equestria and rule it in an eternal night! Raar!" The young drake playfully roared and tackled Twilight to the ground, playfully tickling her with his claws. "Hahahahahaha!" Twilight and Spike play-wrestled for a couple of minutes before both fell to the floor, still laughing. Even though they've grown and matured, it didn't hurt to have a little play fight every now and then, as a way of looking back at the many adventures they had with their friends: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. It filled them both with nostalgia. Finally, after the two shared several more laughs, Twilight and Spike got up. "Good night, Spike." The alicorn softly said before heading to bed. Comfortably tucking in, she yawned before closing her eyes and falling asleep. "Good night, Twilight." Spike said before heading for the balcony, amulet in claw. Having that little play fight fired him up, and made him all the more eager to preforming his won royal duty. Equestria; 4,000 Years in the future In a small seaside town called Maretime Bay, resided a bright and optimistic young Earth pony named Sunny Starscout. The town in which she lived was filled with low-rise buildings and non-vehicular streets, and was even serviced by a short streetcar line. It had many locations, including a town square, a police department, a barber shop, and even a movie theater. Just a week ago, Maretime Bay was only inhabited by Earth ponies, who lived in fear and paranoia of the other pony races. But not anymore. Many unicorns from Bridlewood were visiting the small town, and just as many Pegasi from Zephyr Heights were walking the streets and soaring through the air. All of the ponies talked and laughed together, while foals and fillies ran around and played. Prior to this, the Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns used to live in separation, blinded by fear and mistrust for one another, and thinking ill of the other pony tribes. But thanks to the valiant efforts of five brave ponies, Sunny Starscout herself, Izzy Moonbow, Hitch Trailblazer, Zipp Storm, and Pipp Petals uniting three magical artifacts and bringing the three pony tribes together, magic and harmony were restored. Standing atop a grassy hill, and with a bright smile on her face, Sunny looked around the thoroughfare of Maretime Bay. Her greatest dream in life was now an every day reality, and she wouldn't have it any other way. "If only you were here to see this, dad." She sighed softly, thinking back to her father and his passing. He would have been so proud of her and her friends' accomplishment. He would have gotten along so well with Queen Haven and Alphabittle. Still, she knew it wasn't healthy for her psyche to dwell into the past for too long. Putting the uncomfortable memories aside, Sunny walked down and headed for the town to meet up with her friends. . "What is up, everypony? This is Pipp Petals streaming live from another amazing day here in Maretime Bay with my friends!" The pink pegasus happily said, holding her mobile phone in her right hoof and facing the camera to herself. "Today, we are going to the movie theater! To watch a movie called 50 Shades of Purple! This is the newest and latest film to be released since us, the unicorns, and Earth ponies became friends!" "Hi, Pipp!" Izzy suddenly popped up from behind the pegasus, giving Pipp quite the fright. "Ah!" The Pegasi princess yelped and jolted in surprise. "Izzy, don't sneak up on me like that!" She scolded before recomposing herself and turning back to the viewers on her phone. "Sorry about that. My friend here, Izzy, is just so excitable. Izzy, say hi to our wonderful viewers!" "Hi, everypony!" The lilac unicorn happily waved to the camera. A chain of smiley faces, hearts, and other friendly emojis flooded the bottom-right corner of the phone's screen. "Hey, guys!" Pipp and Izzy turned to see Hitch and Zipp approaching them, accompanied by two seagulls and a crab that have been following Hitch around as usual. "Where have you two been? We're gonna be late for the movie!" Pipp scolded. "Sorry abut that, Pipp. Sheriff over here just got some... company." Zipp smiled playfully, gesturing to the little critters near Hitch. "Frankly, I'm surprised my cutie mark isn't that of butterflies or something." The sheriff of Maretime Bay rolled his eyes. "Maybe your ancestor was an expert on animals." Izzy happily inquired. "That's what my parents used to tell me." "It's a possibility." Hitch shrugged. "Hey, guys!" The unmistakable voice of Sunny caught their attention, prompting the four ponies to look up ahead to see said Earth pony racing to meet them. "Sorry I'm late. I was just thinking about... something." She delayed the last part of her sentence. While Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp were a little confused, Hitch looked at her sympathetically. "You were thinking about your father, weren't you?" He asked gently as he walked up to her. "Yeah..." Sunny looked down sadly. "I just wish he was here so he could see what we did. He would have been so proud." "He definitely would have." Hitch gently wrapped his hoof around Sunny's neck before giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry for not believing in those ancient tales that your father researched." "It's alright, Hitch." Sunny said with a light chuckle. "And at least you didn't do what Sprout did." "Yeah." Hitch agreed. "Honestly, I never knew he was capable of such madness." "Where is he right now, anyway?" Zipp asked curiously. "Well, I was planning on arresting him and putting him behind bars, but Phyllis convinced me to let him go. He's now grounded and living in his mom's basement." Hitch explained. "Come on, everypony! We don't wanna miss the movie!" Izzy suddenly exclaimed, catching their attention and reminding them of their original goal. "Oh, right! The movie! I completely forgot about that." Sunny laughed lightly. With that, Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy began racing for the movie theater, eager to get there as quickly as possible. Once they left, Hitch turned to Sunny. "If you ever need to talk, me and our friends will always be here for you." He gave her an another encouraging smile. "I know." Sunny smiled back before hugging him. "But thanks anyway." Smiling, Hitch hugged her back. After finishing their hug, the two ponies turned and went to catch up with their friends to the movie theater. Equestria; Present time "Twilight. Pst. Hey, Twilight." Spike gently poked at the alicorn's face with his claw. The Princess of Friendship groaned and rolled over, covering her head with her blanket. "Five more minutes." She said, half-asleep. "Twilight, wake up! You're suppose to rise the sun!" In an instant, the alicorn shot upwards, inadvertently knocking the little dragon to the side. Without missing a beat, she leapt from her bed and raced towards the balcony. Once there, she quickly activated her magic, and watched as the moon slowly descended and disappeared over the horizon, allowing for the sun to rise and turn night into day. "Whew. Thanks for that, Spike." The princess breathed a sigh of relief. Spike, still a little dazed from the impact, got up on his feet. "Okay, we definitely need to do something about you being late to rise the sun." After dusting himself off, the dragon pulled the 4-meter long checklist. "Anyway, you're first royal duty for today. You have a meeting with—" He suddenly stopped and almost fell over as he continued to read further. "No way..." He said with a tone that was mix of surprise and excitement. "What? What is it?" Twilight asked as she approached the drake, hoping it's not something too serious. "Did a dangerous creature escape from Tartarus? A friendship problem, maybe?" Even with all these various possibilities running through her head, nothing could prepare the princess for what her adopted brother said next. "You have a meeting... with Fluttershy!" In an instant, all nervousness and tension in Twilight's body washed away, replaced at first by utter shock, and then by sheer joy and excitement. Spike found himself facing his adopted sister's now-excited face, his snout inches from her muzzle. "Did you say Fluttershy?!" She practically screamed. "Yup." He confirmed, showing her the checklist. "You have a meeting with Fluttershy. I'm not sure what the meeting is about, but knowing Fluttershy, it's probably something involving animals." He surmised. It has been quite a while since Twilight felt this happy. After such a long time, she's finally meeting one of her beloved friends. It was almost too good to be true. Granted, she was probably not here just to catch up on their past adventures and the time they spent together, but the mere fact that one of her beloved friends wished for an audience with her was beyond exciting. "Oh, my Celestia! Or should I say... Oh, my me?" Twilight chuckled. "Anyway, I better get ready." In what could only be described as 10 seconds, the Princess of Friendship raced to the bathroom with blinding speed to brush her teeth, brush her mane and tail, spray herself with perfume, and anything else that she thought would make her look more presentable. "What do you think, Spike? Do I look good?" The only response she got was a loud snore. Looking back, Twilight saw the little dragon laying on the ground and sleeping soundly. Having to keep everypony safe from nightmares was hard work. Smiling, the alicorn gently levitated the little dragon on his bed so he can have his rest. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." She smiled before exiting the room and closing the door behind her. . Sitting on her throne, Twilight made sure to remain clam and composed. After a little while, a Royal guard opened one of the doors and entered. With a respectful bow, he said "Your Majesty, she is here." "Send her in." The princess ordered. With another humble bow, the guard turned and ushered her in. Not long after, the yellow pegasus entered the throne room before the Royal guard closed the door. Once the two ponies were alone in the throne room, Twilight wasted no time spreading her wings and flying down from her throne, landing right in front of Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, it's so good to see you again!" The two ponies embraced each other. "It's nice to see you, too, Twilight. Oh, I mean... Princess Twilight Sparkle." Fluttershy quickly bowed her head in respect. "Fluttershy, I may be the ruler of Equestria now, but I'm still just your friend. Feel free to just call me Twilight." The alicorn assured her with a soft giggle. "If that's what you like." The pegasus smiled brightly. "Sorry Spike couldn't make it. He was busy last night protecting ponies and other creatures from their nightmares." Twilight informed her. "He's sleeping in our room." "Ahhh, he's such a sweetie!" Fluttershy cooed. "In fact, you should thank him when he wakes up. He did such a great job giving me and my animal friends a goodnight sleep, without any nightmares!" "Oh, I definitely will." Twilight smiled and nodded. "Anyway, what brings you today? Do you need help with something? I won't even mind if you just came here to spend some time together." "Actually, there is something that I could use your help for. If you don't mind, of course." Fluttershy bright expression turned into a concerned one, matching the uncertainty of her tone. "What is it?" The princess asked eagerly. "Well, yesterday when I was working at my animal sanctuary, something happened to the stream that the animals drink from." She said, not quite sure how to put it. "What happened? Are your animals okay?" Twilight asked, getting a little concerned. "Oh, they're fine." The shy pegasus quickly assured her. "But I think you should come with me to see for yourself. Again, if you're not too busy, that is." "Well, I don't have as much royal duties for today as I usually do, so why not!" The ruler of Equestria happily said. "Great!" Fluttershy's expression immediately brightened. . After a little while, Twilight and Fluttershy friend arrived at her friend's animal sanctuary. There, Twilight saw all kinds of animals that would normally be hostile to one another living in harmony. Everything from koalas, squirrels, and rabbits, to bears, wolves, and snakes were present. And that's not even getting started on the countless species of birds and insects present. For the most part, everything seemed alright. That is, until Twilight's eyes landed on the small waterfall that was continuously pumping water throughout the entire sanctuary. Instead of being crystal clear and enticing, the water that was flowing from the waterfall and throughout the entire sanctuary was crimson-red and almost resembled kool-aid. "The water was like this when I came here yesterday." Fluttershy explained, looking at the unusual phenomenon with concern. "I was worried, so I told my animal friends to keep away from the water. Do you think pollution caused this?" The shy pegasus asked in concern. Twilight said nothing as she walked up to the water's edge. She levitated a nearby stick and submerged half of it in the crimson water. After some time, she lifted the stick and examined it carefully. "Do you think it's poisonous?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. "Well, it's not acidic. Otherwise this stick would have disintegrated." Twilight concluded. Putting the stick away, the princess summoned a small test tube. She submerged the tube and took a sample of the water. "I need to figure out what this is. Unfortunately, I have too many royal duties and not enough time to study this. But fortunately, I know a friend who lives in Canterlot who does have the time to study and figure out what this is." She then turned to face Fluttershy. "Until we know for sure if this stuff is harmful or not, you should keep your animal friends away from the water for the time being. But don't worry, I'll have my Royal guards bring you fresh, clean water from Canterlot to your sanctuary every week!" "Oh, thank you so much, Twilight! I don't know how I can ever repay you!" Fluttershy smiled happily and hugged her friend tightly. "Your company and happiness is all the payment I need." Twilight assured her, hugging her back. "After all, what are friends for?" . After making sure to inform the Royal guards to bring clean water to Fluttershy's animal sanctuary, Twilight headed to a house where an old friend of hers still lives. After a gentle knock with her hoof, the door opened and out came... "Moon Dancer!" "Twilight!" Wasting no time, the two ponies hugged each other with affection and nostalgia. "Oh, Twilight. It's so good to see you again." Moon Dancer happily said. "Do you want me to still call you Twilight or Princess Twilight Sparkle?" "You can call me however you like, Moon Dancer." Twilight assured her with a bright smile. "With you now being the ruler of Equestria, I didn't think you had time to visit me." The unicorn couldn't help but note. "True. In fact, you could say that me visiting you was kind of connected with one of my royal duties." The princess said before revealing the test tube containing the sample of the red water. "What's that?" Moon Dancer asked curiously. "Yesterday, the water in Fluttershy's animal sanctuary turned red for some unknown reason. I've determined that it's not acidic, but I'm not sure if it's a natural phenomenon or something serious." The princess explained, handing the tube over to Moon Dancer who telekinetically held it. "So I was hoping you could do some research on it to figure out what it is. I wish I could join you, but being ruler of Equestria means I don't have a lot of free time. I'm sorry." "It's alright." Moon Dancer assured her, gently placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I've pretty much learned all there is to learn about magic. If this is something new, something that we've never seen before, it would sure make my day." "Thanks, Moon Dancer." Twilight smiled happily. "I really want to spend a little more time with you, but I have many other royal duties to attend to." "I don't mind. Good luck with your rule, princess!" Moon Dancer smiled to her friend. "You can just call me, Twilight. I really don't mind." The alicorn smiled back. "Exactly." Moon Dancer replied. "Nicknames are one of the best things about having friends, and 'princess' suits you." "Alright. That's a pretty good nickname." The alicorn playfully rolled her eyes and giggled. With that, Twilight waved her friend goodbye before flapping her wings and taking off. Once the princess left, Moon Dancer looked at the sample her friend collected with curiosity before heading back to her house and closing the door. Equestria; 4,000 Years in the future After a little over an hour and 45 minutes, Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy came out of the movie theater after they finished watching 50 Shades of Purple, a movie about a female unicorn filling in for her journalist friend and interviewing a purple Pegasi stallion, who is a businesspony. As they begin a relationship, she discovers that his life was influenced by his dark past. Thankfully, all the previous not-so-unicorn-and-pegasus-friendly posters were removed by the time this new movie came out. "Oh, wow. That movie was just beautiful~!" Pipp sang to herself as she flapped her wings lightly. "I know, right!" Izzy chimed in. "It was a true love story! Ah! So romantic." "I hope you're ready for more, 'cause I have a feeling we'll be seeing more movies like that as time goes by." Sunny happily stated. "I've never really been into romance stories, but this one definitely took the cake." Zipp agreed with a smile. "Is that a bird?" "Looks like a pretty big bird." The five friends abruptly stopped when they heard two nearby ponies talking out loud about something whilst looking up at the sky. Curiously, the Mane 5 turned to see what the two ponies were looking at. In the distance, at an altitude of roughly 200 meters, the five ponies spotted something flying in the sky. At first, they assumed it was a pegasus or a bird flying around, or even a kite. But when the thing started flying in their direction and began approaching Maretime Bay, it quickly became clear that it was neither a pony nor a bird, and most definitely not a kite. As the thing drew closer and began flying lower, the ponies could finally make out what it looked like. It was a creature that somewhat resembled an avian; possessing two wings and two hind legs, as well as a long beak and tail, but that was where its bird-like traits ended. The creature's head was roughly the same size as its body (barring the wings and tail), and its wings were membranous and looked more like those of a bat rather than a bird, with three claws located on each one. It had a long upward-curved beak and a blue-colored crest atop its snout, with sharp teeth visible on the upper mandible of its beak. In between the top and bottom of the upper mandible was a row of blue scales starting a quarter of the way from the tip of the beak and ending at the eyes. A single, backward-facing crest was present on the back of its head, covered in a yellow and white pattern which ran along its back and to the end of its long tail. Underneath the creature's long neck was a blue dewlap, where the color spread along the lower mandible. Its long tail terminated in a blue-colored tail fin, similar to the crest atop its snout. A row of spikes were present along the creature's chest, coming to an end at its stomach. The creature was primarily light red in color, with a few blue highlights and white and yellow back patterning. By now, almost every pony in Maretime Bay stopped their daily activities and fixated their eyes on the sky as the flying reptile continued descending towards them. Within fifteen minutes or less, the creature was soon soaring 25 meters over Maretime Bay, looking down and observing its surroundings. After soaring for several more minutes, it decided to perch on a nearby billboard advertising Phyllis Cloverleaf's newest unicorn-and-pegasus-friendly products. "That's... definitely not a bird." Zipp deadpanned, gazing at the flying reptile that was now perched on the billboard with astonishment and wonder. "I've never seen anything like it." Hitch muttered before turning to Izzy. "Have you?" "Nope. If I did, I'm pretty sure I'd know." The unicorn innocently stated, but was nevertheless fascinated by the presence of the flying reptile. Pipp quickly pulled out her mobile phone and pressed a few of the buttons on the screen while the camera was turned to herself. When her phone turned on, she spoke with excitement. "Hey pippsqueaks! This is Pipp streaming live from Maretime Bay! You. Will not. Believe what me and my friends a looking at right now!" She then turned the camera so that the pterosaur (still on its perch and observing its surroundings) was visible on-screen instead. "Yup! That's a real creature perched on that billboard!" A chain of astonished, gasping, and fearful face emojis appeared on the screen of Pipp's phone. The monster — still busy observing and studying the town, and the countless equines who were gazing at it in astonishment — didn't notice the billboard's column cracking under its own weight until it collapsed, sending the kaiju falling to the ground. When the creature landed, it kicked up a small dust cloud, and caused the nearby ponies to flee from the area where it landed. As the ponies fled, a young, cream-colored unicorn filly accidentally tripped and fell to the ground. Seeing this, Zipp Storm immediately spread her wings and rushed in to help the little filly. As soon as she got there, she gently wrapped her forelimb around the filly and helped the little unicorn up. Just then, however, both ponies heard a deep growl, prompting them to look ahead and see the flying reptile standing only 3 meters from them, looking down at the two ponies. Much like a bat, the creature folded its wings and stood on all fours as it turned its head to the side, curiously studying the equines that were before it. Seeing the pterosaur up close and personal, Zipp realized that this creature was big enough to swallow a pony like her in one bite, let alone the small filly that she now protectively pressed against her chest. "Zipp!" Pipp cried out, while Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch silently looked on in horror and anxiety. Just like that, what was supposed to be a beautiful day had turned into a horror film in the blink of an eye. Zipp Storm was face-to-face with Rodan.