//------------------------------// // A History Lesson // Story: Rebirth Through the Planar Divide // by Gabriel Arkanym //------------------------------// We took the train to Canterlot the following morning. Luna and Celestia had departed as soon as they were both feeling up to it. The mane 6 had split up, all of them keeping their distance from Fluttershy and Angel. I went over to comfort the two of them, I still had some knowledge from my past life so I knew a little about who she really was. Angel seemed to like me, which was apparently a rare thing indeed. The three of us talked for a few minutes, about nothing in particular really. Simply sharing a camaraderie which only immortals, and those with immortal knowledge would understand. Soon after we parted ways. Fluttershy had gone back to her cottage, and I had returned to my room in the Library where a wary Twilight thanked me for my all I had done that day before retiring to bed. Now I sat with Fluttershy and Angel staring out the window as Canterlot came into view. The other girls were sitting at the other end of the car, so Fluttershy wouldn't overhear anything they said about her. Even the element of loyalty was being tested by the reality of her friend's existence. Me and angel were the only two who'd give her the time of day… out of the entire town. "I'm sure they'll come around eventually 'Shy. Its still the same you after all. Its not like this secret popped up the other day or something, you've had it ever since they first met you." I smiled across at her and Angel. She looked up at me, her eyes still watery. She had been crying all night. "The three of us know nothing has changed, but all of us have been alive longer than even Princess Celestia. Or at least have memories of those times." She sighed, a small sob escaping her. "They haven't even lived a quarter century yet! I can't expect them to accept me. I've already forgiven them if they can't you know. We're beings more powerful than any they have ever encountered, and the two of us use black magic." she glanced at Angel as she said this, and he smiled back tentatively. "You use nothing but holy and mental magic though, so it makes sense they might still befriend you." Her eyes teared up again and Angel hugged her as she weeped. "Then show them your power with green magic. I can sense it within you Fluttershy, you have a vast knowledge of nature magic." I sighed as well, cursing that I hadn't explained the colors in more detail to Twilight. "They don't understand what true evil is Fluttershy. Yes death magic is terrible in its own way, but it can be just as easily used for good, but because of its capabilities it will never reach true evil." "What do you mean? Like you said it is death magic, there is nothing more terrible." Her sobs started anew as she said this. Angel glaring at me. "You have forgotten Fluttershy." I reached over with my hoof and pulled her head up, staring into her eyes. "Death is just that, death. Nothing more and nothing less. Blue magic can alter the mind, make you believe things that aren't true, and enslave you to a cause you hated with every fiber of your being. And it will make you enjoy doing so, you will love doing atrocity whatever is asked of you. But white magic is even worse. Rather than turning your mind, it uses your own beliefs to achieve whatever end is desired. And if you do not follow the same path, you aren't killed. Instead your very soul is banished from existence itself, meaning no afterlife at all. Both are fates worse than death." I continued looking into her eyes until she nodded slightly. Leaning back I gazed out the window at the approaching Canterlot before speaking again. "Black and Green magic represent the kinder ways to kill people Fluttershy. Their souls and minds remain intact through it all, and their is no needless pain. You know this as well as I do." She nodded again, a small bit of confidence shining in her eyes. before they fell once more. "My friends will still hate me though." "It is very possible they still will, but if they are unable to forgive you for keeping this secret. Were they truly your friends?" I continued before she could respond. "Whether they forgive you or not, you still have all the times you shared together. And if they truly leave you, me and angel will always be there for you." Angel hugged her tighter as the tears ran anew. I got up and hugged her as well, and so we sat until the train came to a gentle stop inside the city's walls. The girls walked out and started towards the castle, leaving us to follow along behind. Fluttershy drew many curious and fearful looks as she passed through. Her coat and mane were no longer pure black, but they had yet to go back to normal giving her a very strange and sinister appearance. We were silent as we trotted forward. Me and Angel's faces were set and determined, while 'Shy had her normal apologetic semi-smile. The guards to the palace let twilight and her friends in without a word, but we were far enough behind that they thought us another group. They were about to stop us from continuing onward, and I was really not in the mood. I warped the light around us, and created an illusion of us turning past and walking onward. We silently passed the guards, and I dropped the spell as we entered the throne room. The doors closed behind us loudly. The Princesses sat in their twin thrones, the girls lined up next to Celestia. We moved forward and stood before them, not bowing and not speaking. Luna and Celestia seemed to accept this easily, though Twilight was obviously furious by our lack of respect. "How dare you not kneel before their majesties!" She hissed at us. I answered for all of us. "I bow to those who have proven themselves worthy of my respect, I have been here only a few short days. So neither of them has yet to earn that respect. I expect Angel and Fluttershy believe they will be banished from Equestria, so why bow before the ones who will bring and end to all they love, and even worse who used to be their friends?" The rhetorical question bit through the air hard as steal, and Twilight flinched noticeably at my response. "We would hear your stories before we pass judgement on you. Starting with you Gabriel, as I expect yours is shorter than Fluttershy and Angel's." Luna looked grave as she said this. So I told them of my life on earth, the receiving of my powers, and my mysterious past. Finishing with what I did during the battle with the elemental. There were many differing reactions from the other while I spoke. "Though I wish I knew more about your past, you have done nothing wrong." Celestia stood and regally declared my sentence. "You are judged to be a pure protector of the realm and there shall a ceremony to welcome you to Equestria and present you with a medal for your actions at a later date." "I thank you your majesty. However I cannot accept unless Fluttershy receives the same." I looked over at her, calm and serenely. "Hear her story and pass your judgement on her if you wish me to accept your own proposal." "Very well Gabriel I admire your loyalty to your friend." Rainbow Dash shifted guiltily as Luna continued. "Alright then Element of Kindness, let us hear your tale. I expect it will quite long, so why don't you ponies get more comfortable." Everyone shifted a little as Fluttershy began. OoOOoOOOoOOoQ (Fluttershy's Pov) I was born over 2000 years ago amongst the ancient Pegasi, long before the creation of cloud city, in the reign of Discord. My dad was a miner, he would spend his days in the last place a pegasus would want to be, so far from the sky and open air. Mom stayed at home, feeding and teaching me whenever she wasn't out working the fields. My parents didn't really care for me, they had wanted a son instead. Father would sometimes come home drunk and beat me after a particularly hard day in the mines. My mother never stopped him, and rarely cared for my injuries afterwards. I was the child of a lowly miner, and was a girl on top of it all. No one wanted to be my friend… and they would often tease and kick me whenever they happened to see me alone. My life continued like this until I had nearly come of age, around 13 years back then. On that day our small village was attacked by a raiding party of unicorns. They slaughtered everypony they found. My parents we killed before my eyes, pulled from the air with magic and beat mercilessly against the ground until they were unrecognizable, their spines snapped and bones crushed. They found me hidden in the entrance to the mines, I was terrified, and wanted nothing more than to live. As their horns began to glow I screamed. I felt a sudden tug and found myself floating high above the world, amidst the blind eternities. All I knew was that I couldn't…wouldn't go back to that horrible land. So with tears in my eyes I turned my back on my old home, never to return I thought. I had no control over my powers yet so I wound up on a random plane. It was named Innistrad. I found myself in a city unlike anything yet built back home. Around the size of Manehattan today. I had taken on the form of a human. Clothed in yellow and retaining my pink mane transferring to my hair. I stood out from the other humans, which I soon learned was not a good thing on Innistrad. The vampires ruled the city and they enjoyed a feast just like anyone, their main courses simply consisted of unique individuals, like a human with the flowing pink hair. I found myself surrounded by three of the aristocracy, their fangs dripping saliva. It was then that I received my cutie mark. I know that you all think I got it when this butterflies saved me back in flight school. But I had simply called some butterflies to assist me then, to make it seem I had gotten a new cutie mark. All i did was let the real one fade back in. As the vampires got closer, a large swarm of butterflies flew in-between us, and I quickly ran in the other direction and down a side alley. A mark of three pink butterflies had appeared on the back of my left shoulder. A pale hand reached out and grabbed me before knocking me unconscious. I awoke in a large bed, with a vampire staring down at me from his chair next to it. Obviously I panicked, but he quickly calmed me down. His name was Sorin Markov, and he was a Planeswalker the same as me. He became my teacher, and I learned the ways of black magic from him. He also taught me how to be kind and caring towards others, something I had never before experienced. Learning human and vampire customs was the hardest, they were so different from those of my home. We spent several decades together on Innistrad, we were both disgusted by how the Vampires treated the humans; a slowly dieting race on that world. So together, using Sorin's knowledge of the multiverse we created a great angel by the name of Avacyn. From her form we called forth others as well, to protect the humans and to give them hope. A war was sparked, but the vampires were eventually pushed back. Then demons joined the war. In a last desperate act to rid Innistrad of evil forever, Avacyn sacrificed herself. She sealed the demons and several of her own into the Helvault. Innistrad was finally at peace. If you could call it peace. The Vampires still lorded over the humans, but there were so few left that there was no longer a danger of humanity being eliminated. I had had enough of the horror of Innistrad - even if it did have its moments of unmatched beauty - so we left. Sorin and I traveled the Multiverse for a thousand years together. We accomplished much during that time. We sealed away beings of ancient power called the Eldrazi who sought nothing more than the destruction of everything, and then its remaking by their own design. We brought the demons of several worlds under our control, and turned their malice onto those who were truly deserving of it. I learned the powers of nature from the druids of Yavimaya and a nature spirit named Multani. I began to care for all creatures and all beings. Whether evil or not they still deserved a chance at life. Sorin found he agreed with me, but he was adamant about stoping those who abused the lives of others for their own gain, or ended them needlessly. We were as gods before the multiverse, unstoppable and controlled only by our own consciences. In our travels we came a cross one named Nicol Bolas. Though we didn't know it at the time he was by far one of the most evil beings in existence. He realized our combined power was on par with his own, and not wanting to take chances appeared to us as a benevolent friend seeking aid. He told us about a plane he had discovered a few years ago, and convinced us they were a race of evil beings intent on conquering the multiverse. He then shared some select memories designed to convince us of his sincerity. We saw torturous acts and fleets of airships arrayed across the land. Portals to another plane were ready to be opened as soon as the invasion was ready. He asked us to destroy as much of the army as we could while he prepared the other plane for the incoming invasion. We were enraged by what we had seen and charged recklessly to the plane. Within a week of our arrival the entirety of the invasion force was dead and gone. Their king, the last of them alive, stood before us and sobbed. He told us the truth of what we had done, they were a force of allied beings preparing to destroy the roots of a great evil called the Phyrexians. We had slaughtered the planes only hope of survival, and allowed the evil to expand beyond its home. At that moment the portals behind us opened up to reveal a vast army of horrors streaming through to desecrate this plane. A laugh sounded from above us. Bolas looked down upon us, a hideous smirk on his face. He said that though he didn't much like the Phyrexians, he was intrigued by what they might accomplish. So he had lied to us and set us to do the dirty work for them and give them a foothold in the grand Multiverse. We planes walked away with the king before he could stop us, knowing we had been defeated. The plane was known as Rethasha, and fell in mere days before the Phyrexian advance. We had slaughtered millions of innocents and left their families to be slaughtered. The king was more forgiving than we deserved and became our only other friend. His name was Angel. We swore vengeance against Bolas if we ever met him again, but our paths have never crossed. We aided a plane named Dominaria in its defense against the Phyrexian scourge. Though we were rarely seen, our fight was on the sidelines against powerful magics and machines the likes of which most on Dominaria never saw. We protected them from the worst, and in the end they overcame the threat. When Angel neared the end of his life he asked Sorin to turn him into a vampire so he could stay with us. Sorin compiled and bestowed the dark gift upon our friend. Nothing really happened after that. We lost control of the demon's on many worlds to one known as Malfagor. About twenty years ago me and Sorin parted ways for awhile. I had decided to return to my birth plane. Angel accompanied me and together we entered Equestria. I reverted to my original form as a pegasi, though I haven't really been one for the vast majority of my life. I turned angel into a rabbit so he could easily be near me without drawing suspicion. I then entered the Cloudsdale flight school, shrinking my body to that of a young pegasi. You all know the rest. OoOOoOOOoOOoQ "I still don't feel entirely comfortable around unicorns to this day" Fluttershy ended her tale. "No offense to you and Rarity, Twilight." Angel hugged her again when she stopped, I walked over and did the same. Sharing another of those moments like after the fight. Celestia interrupted us with a voice of barely controlled rage. "You have brought pain and suffering to millions, caused the destruction of an entire plane, and make decisions as if you were a god! I cannot allow one such as you to exist in this land!" Fluttershy looked positively shocked by Celestia's outburst. Looking at the others I noticed the girls were huddling together beside the throne, unable to even look in Fluttershy's direction. Luna however was as shocked as Fluttershy by what her sister had said. Before Luna could say anything though, Fluttershy and Angel were gone. I could sense where they had gone, but I had no intention of following just yet. "What is wrong with you ponies?!" I menacingly glared at Celestia and the girls who had turned to stare at me in turn. "Don't you dare speak to me in…" I forced her mouth closed, seeing shock on her face. Luna looked on, obviously with no intention of interfering. "You accuse her of acting like a god Celestia, is that not what you do yourself? You are an immortal with power unmatched by nearly anyone of this world. Your decisions are final and there is no way to counter them." I walked forward a few steps, my body increasing in size and wings once sprouting from ice and gems. "Unless someone with more or equal power arrives to combat them." Her eyes widened and she glanced over at Luna, but her sister only stared back coldly. "You will hear him out sister. I performed acts of evil as well, yet you gave me a second chance. Fluttershy is no different." "She's right Celestia." I turned to look at the girls as well. "All of you knew her better and longer than I did, so I ask you to answer me this question. Has she ever been anything but kind and forgiving to any of you?" Applejack looked up and gulped. "…no" "Exactly miss Element of Honesty. She doesn't have a single evil bone in her body, and her mind is in the right as to what is and isn't evil." I let my anger show. "You all seem to have forgotten that not only is she your friend, she is the Element of Kindness." They flinched, but Rarity spoke up. "But she did all those awful things dear. To think she could slaughter so many innocent lives." She shuddered. "Nightmare Moon was going to cover the world in darkness, thus killing everything on the plane." Luna nodded as I said this. "Yet you have forgiven Luna. Fluttershy has forgiven all of you for your own faults and actions as well. I can't make you forgive her, but everyone deserves a second chance." I released my hold on Celestia, and turned to walk away. "Wait." Luna came trotting up beside me. "Gabriel I wish to accompany you for a time. I think Tia needs some time to think over what you said." "I was going to give Fluttershy a few days to get settled and calm before going to her." I told Luna as we walked out of the palace to the gardens. "I was actually going to go explain everything thats happened to my family back on Earth." "I wish to accompany you when you see Fluttershy. You have done much for us though Gabriel, if I can help to convince your family of the truth behind your words, then I shall go with you there as well, I already left the moon in Tia's care." So I grabbed her wing in my hoof and we 'walked away, leaving behind a very sad, confused Princess and 5 young mares to decide the truth for themselves.