//------------------------------// // 21. The End of a Long Journey // Story: The Trouble With Time Travel // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// Amethyst sighed heavily. "Your Majesty," she began. The Solar Princess chuckled. "Amethyst, there is no need for you to refer to me like that anymore. We are equals now, so you may address me by name." "If it is your wish that I serve as the new Princess of the Night, then I shall be honored to accept that request and fulfill that role to the best of my ability," the dark purple Alicorn stated sullenly. "I only wish I had known that was going to happen when I wrote the finishing part of that spell. I wouldn't have done it if I had known --" "Amethyst Shadow! I understand your regret, but you now have a new role ahead of you. You must set aside your reservations, for my sake. Truthfully, there was a part of me that knew you were capable of doing this -- I just wasn't sure if you'd be able to do so. That having been said, I shall need you, Twilight, and Galaxy to accompany me back to my Castle. There is much work to do to prepare you for your new roles as Alicorn Princesses." "Princess, would it be possible for me to bring my friends along as well? They are every bit as responsible for helping me become an Alicorn Princess just as Galaxy and Amethyst! I cannot bear to leave them behind," said Twilight, expressing some degree of worry. "You go on ahead, Sugarcube, we'll be fine without ya," Applejack stated. "We can have a great big 'Ammy, Galaxy, and Twiley became Alicorn Princesses' party when ya get back!" Pinkie chirped. "Or we can hold that party in the Castle," Amethyst mused. "Celestia? What say?" "You know, it has been several years since we had happy occasions in my Castle. Very well then, I shall allow for a big party in the Royal Ball Room. It will be nice to hear the sounds of happy ponies once again," the Solar Princess mused. ------------------------------------- There was a grand coronation ceremony for the three new Alicorn Princesses. All three were beaming broad smiles, their wings fully extended as a display of their state of happy excitement. Amethyst's smile was somewhat muted, as she was pondering her future as the new Princess of the Night for the future timeline. She knew there was a lot of work ahead and getting accustomed to having wings would prove to be somewhat difficult. The party after the coronation was a massive event, causing a little discomfort for the dark purple Alicorn who seemed to keep somewhat distant from everypony else. She was approached several times by various ponies to engage in certain games, though she politely refused. She found that her appetite seemed to have diminished as well, though she did drink her fill of punch, allowing the buzz of the alcohol to take the edge off her nerves. Her daughter tried to get her a little more involved in the party, but once again she politely declined the request, informing Galaxy that she had quite a lot on her mind. EJ was quite shocked to see what had happened to his mother and sister, though he was very happy to be reunited with them once again. ------------------------------------- The next several weeks were spent teaching the new Alicorn Princesses on how to fly, certain new magicks they could perform as Alicorns, certain matters of state and how to deal with them, along with other duties and responsibilities they would be entrusted to undertake. The three new Alicorns were trained in the art of raising and lowering the Sun and Moon, though Amethyst was given more opportunity to perform those tasks. Galaxy expressed an interest in placing the constellations in the night sky, though seemed rather crestfallen when Celestia informed her that doing so was the responsibility of the Lunar Princess. Amethyst asked Celestia if it would be possible to share those duties, allowing her daughter to engage in the proper placement of the constellations, a request Celestia begrudgingly accepted. Twilight was allowed to return to Ponyville, being christened the Princess of Magic. Being reunited with her friends made her extremely happy, and Spike was overjoyed to find out that he would not end up outliving his surrogate sister, though he would need a larger house as he continued to grow. With the reunion, Twilight and her friends renewed their bonds of friendship, each of them pledging to help whenever help was needed. A new renaissance of happiness had spread across Ponyville, and it showed as the residents, who seemed to be disappointed or depressed most of the time had once again returned to a state of cheerfulness with Twilight's presence. It seemed as though the lavender Alicorn radiated confidence and even love, joyfulness seeming to permeate the entire town. Amethyst had come to accept her role, though she wasn't too happy about it. Even so, she did her best to keep herself mentally occupied as best she could. Since she had accepted the title of Princess of the Night, she had to change her schedule. She had even taken to using Luna's bedchamber for the purpose of sleeping during the day, noticing that the chamber had been redecorated for her. She developed a close relationship with Celestia, generally trying to learn everything she could from the Sun Goddess. She followed the advice given, doing what she could to atone for her past sins. Galaxy had taken the title of Princess of the Stars, and spent a lot of her time researching everything in the Royal Archives, doing her level best to master every bit of magic she could learn. As an Alicorn, her extended lifespan allowed her to fulfill that desire, along with quite a few more. She had taken to designing eccentric patterns for the constellations, engaging in whimsy from time to time for her personal amusement. She asked her mother for a copy of the video game system so she could play some of the games she had witnessed, a request Amethyst happily obliged. Mother and daughter would engage in raucous guitar duels in the game, the two having practiced for such a long time that they had mastered the games, even in expert mode. Amethyst took to programming her own songs into the game, making them as challenging as possible. Celestia was happy once again -- and instead of having nopony her equal, she now had three new arrivals with whom she could have lengthy discussions. She truly enjoyed their company and it seemed to remove a heavy load from her withers. Amethyst introduced her to properly made pizza, which she couldn't get enough of. The Solar Princess would even engage her junior Alicorns in playing the guitar game, though she didn't have the proficiency -- she resorted to cheating in order to win, sometimes breaking out into full laughter at her antics. Amethyst chided the Solar Princess about cheating, stating that if she wanted to be as good, she needed to practice, whereupon Celestia complained about the fact that she was too busy with affairs of state to practice. Amethyst simply chuckled at this response and allowed her to have her fun. Amethyst had been worried about returning to a future timeline -- her reticence had proven to be unfounded, as the destiny of four Alicorns had come to pass, though not in the fashion Celestia had imagined. Amethyst would occasionally visit with Twilight to catch up on events in Ponyville, or just because she wanted to see her former housemate. Life had become good for her, and even though she wasn't in her original timeline, she had finally discovered that happiness comes from within. She had made new friends and it was their friendship which eased her burden somewhat. Eventually, the dark purple Alicorn came to accept her fate and never used a time travel spell again. FIN