//------------------------------// // What Was, What Is, And What Will Be // Story: Hearth's Warming Evil // by Tortfeasor //------------------------------// Hearth’s Warming Evil Disclaimer: For the last time, I don’t own My Little Pony! Epilogue: What Was, What Is, And What Will Be Their trip back to Ponyville was long and arduous despite their victory. The goings on of the pony world meant nothing to the denizens of the Everfree Forest who regarded all interlopers as simply food dropped on their doorstep. Nor did victory do anything to heal Fluttershy. By the time they made it out of the mountains they were grimly certain that she would lose her wings when they got to Ponyville. As they went through the Everfree Forest they began to wonder if Fluttershy would make it to Ponyville alive. Sombra’s attack had caused trauma enough. Then Fluttershy had to endure her wings slowly beginning to die without being able to lose them. By the time Rainbow Dash could see the edge of the Everfree Forest from above the trees, Fluttershy was starting to go delirious from pain and likely from infection from her dead wings. Without the training or tools, however, all the others could do was to have Twilight and Rarity cast simple healing spells and a lot of pain numbing charms. By the time they reached Ponyville itself, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were taking turns carrying an unconscious Fluttershy. They’d all expected to have to forcefully wave off a deluge of celebrations at their return, but the arrived to a subdued Ponyville very much still licking its own wounds of war. They made their way to the distressingly crowded hospital, and then waited several achingly long hours while the doctors worked on Fluttershy. At long last one of the doctors came out to them. It had been a close thing, but Fluttershy would live. Like they’d all known, though, her wings were a lost cause. Only then did it start to truly sink in that despite the price they’d paid, they’d really won. Fluttershy spent more than a month recovering from the loss of her wings and the resulting infection. In that time the civil war that Sombra had started played itself out. Without a leader, his forces turned on each other as much as they fought their enemies. And as word trickled out that Sombra was dead while Rarity remained very much alive those ponies still on the fence fell entirely on Rarity’s side. Ponyville gradually rebuilt itself as well. It took months, well into what should have been winter, but summer and autumn lasted, and the scars on the town faded. The old library, tomb of so many, was rebuilt with the aid of all three tribes. Lyra and Bon Bon, proud owners of their own cafe and theatre, ended up having no trouble finding acts to draw ponies. In addition to Lyra’s own musical talents, Octavia decided to put on regular performances both as a favor for her friends and as a show of gratitude for the magnificent cello Lyra had indeed built her. Vinyl Scratch’s music kept ponies partying well into the night, even if Lyra and Octavia never particularly enjoyed it. And Trixie, the unicorn they’d saved during Sunset Shimmer’s attack, decided to make Ponyville her new home as thanks to her saviours. She would never admit just how much the destruction of her wagon had to do with that decision. The Doctor did indeed show them the large blue box in his basement. Afterwards, they would occasionally disappear for an hour or two, yet they always returned festooned with strange and exotic souvenirs. For some reason Lyra never failed to grumble about her lack of success at discovering strange creatures called ‘humans’ upon returning from one of those expeditions. Derpy, the town mailmare, continued on in her role. Reminded of a certain slight once more, she again ‘misplaced’ the mail of a certain pony who had committed unspeakable acts to an innocent blueberry muffin. Upon returning to Platinum City the first act of the new Queen was indeed to rename the country to Equestria, and to grant to the earth ponies all the rights that had been denied to them for so long. Scarce few earth ponies were left in Platinum City, however, to take advantage of their new Queen’s benevolence. The destruction of earth ponies had been Sombra’s priority, and his lieutenants had continued the massacres even after his death. Indeed, right up until Loyalist forces forced their way through the gates earth ponies had been being marched to their deaths. The extermination was no so complete in those extended areas that had been loyal to Sombra, but their populations of earth ponies had likewise plummeted. The survivors could only guess at how many of their fellows had been murdered. But all agreed that it would probably be easier to count the living rather than the dead. To give the new era of harmony between the three tribes a physical representation, it was ordered that the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters be refurbished and completed. With all three tribes working together towards a common goal progress was better than had dared been hoped for. It’s silhouette rose between Platinum City and Ponyville with remarkable speed, a monument to what so many had fought and died for. All, however, was not well within Equestria. The treacherous Sunset Shimmer, who had escaped following her failed attack on Ponyville, used plans she had drawn up to overthrow King Sombra to instead fouly murder Rarity in the hopes of renewing the war and making herself queen. It was not to be. The revelations of Sombra’s atrocities had sickened nearly all the unicorns and pegasi in whose names they had been done. No more than a few other escaped diehards rose with her, and before long Sunset Shimmer died, screaming defiance and hatred to the very end, on Rainbow Dash’s sword. The funeral was magnificent, as befit a princess beloved by her subjects before ascending to the sort of status only martyrdom could grant. Ponies from across all of Equestria flocked to Platinum City to pay their last respects to the princess who truly had given all so they might be free. The ornate casket, Rarity would have refused to depart the world in anything less stylish, was displayed in the great courtyard in front of the royal palace. The mourners, however, filled the streets down into the hollowed out remains of what had been Dirtville. On the platform with their deceased friend were the other five ponies who had worked together to save Equestria. Each a hero in her own right, it was all they could do to keep from breaking down in tears at what they’d suffered after their battles should have been over. The five surviving heroes each gave a speech of how the departed princess had impacted them, and together they recollected their adventures in saving pony-kind. As they reached the climax all the onlookers were amazed as the moon moved in front of the sun in a glorious eclipse. To the ponies standing in the plaza, it was a piece of theatre unmatched in the history of New Unicornia or Equestria. To the ponies on the platform who had organized the funeral and to the unicorns who moved the sun and the moon it was a terribly alarming event. Each and every pony in Platinum City, however, was awestruck as two bright points of light began to descend from the covered disc of the sun. -FIN-