//------------------------------// // Those ones condemned to never forget // Story: Equestria's chain of conflicts // by Dranz_89 //------------------------------// The surprise of meeting the legendary rulers before Princess Celestia took their breath away. As Twilight raised her head, her eyes met with The Observer's, who was silently smiling, Twilight humbly bowed her head again, even lower. Princess Celestia was blushing as Platinum and all of her companions, excepting Clover, were bowing to her. "I see that your dragon friends have returned to their former selves", said Platinum as she raised her head, "I never expected that we would cross stares again with our old enemies, dragons." "This time, however, fate has set us on the same side", resonded Skyclaw, "though I admit I only joined because one of you spared my life. I can tell that Querzalcóatl and Lednik had become good friends with some of you, and Princess Celestia has already accepted to share the land with us." "Of course, of course. Speaking of wich, Princess Celestia", Platinum looked at her, and the princess gulped, as if she was being interrogated, "you have no more Elements of Harmony, not to mention you lost the kingdom to King Sombra, and a huge war just happened, all in less than a year. How are you going to explain this to the leaders of the world. They may think that Equestria is not as powerful as it once was." "I am the only one to blame", responded the princess, looking very resigned. "Yes, you are! I should have known better than to choose you as the princess!", Platinum raised her voice in an authoritative tone, and Celestia looked down while being scolded, "not only did you bring war to our land! You brought danger when you succumbed to King Sombra! And you let Discord take over too!" Hurricane was the next one to talk, but she was more relaxed than Platinum, "don't forget that the Royal Guard has become an incompetent group of foals that can't even protect themselves, being the Royal Elites the only decent unit among their ranks, but it's still experimental, and consists only of pegasi." "Your students might as well be your soldiers, since they're the ones who always end up saving the day", said Puddinghead in a tone of a joke, and laughing to herself. "Shame after shame! You are a disgrace! A disappointment as a princess!", Platinum yelled at her. "That's not true!" Twilight objected, Platinum turned her sight at her, surprised to be defied. Rarity almost faints of embarrasment. "Heh, excuse me?" Platinum raised her brows and smiled, "I'm not used to this, so let's be clear on this one, ok? ARE YOU DEFYING ME?" Twilight gulped and then she faced her adamantly, then she spoke again, "Princess Celestia is not a disgrace! She has successfuly ruled Equestria for more than a thousand years! It's been a rough walk, but peace has always prevailed! Unlike your rulership, when the three races were separated, you only brought sorrow and sadness!" "You impertinent filly!", Pansy yelled in rage, completely offended, "get your facts straight! It was Princess Platinum the one who united the three races! Your judgement is based on the story you were told! A story that Princess Platinum commanded to say in the first place! She choose Celestia to become a princess! Thanks to her, Equestria exists! Celestia is just a mere shadow of what Princess Platinum really is!" Twilight backed down in silence while everyone else watched, unable to respond anything. Platinum stared at the two princesses who were just looking down. This enraged her more, she growled to herself. "Are you just going to stand there, saying nothing?", she said, "not even an excuse? not even an apology? Some princess you turned out to be! Look at that, your student was the one to speak and defend you! Or should I say AGAIN!" And still, Princess Celestia stood silent. "Just as I calculated", said Smart Cookie, "she has matured in body, but her confidence still fades when she is in presence of you. Everything you say to her will only hurt her more. I think it's time for you to reclaim the throne, miss Platinum." "No, no, that would be a reward instead of a punishment", responded the unicorn, she turned her back to Celestia, and whispered to Clover's ear, "I didn't want it to come to this. But well, she's all yours. Destroy her." Clover smiled and licked her lips, savoring the moment, "I told you, Celestia, that you were biting more than you could chew. I told you that you were too young and too naive to rule yourself, let alone a huge kingdom. I warned Princess Platinum that she was making a huge mistake by choosing you. I just KNEW it! I was the one who was right! I've been right for more than a thousand years that you wouldn't be a good princess! Look at the disaster you have brought! This is why I decided to leave Equestria! Princess Platinum is the one and only princess I will ever bow down to! She is a true princess! You are just a mistake waiting to be corrected!" Her horn was bright and her eyes glowed with joy as she stomped on Celestia's pride. "Let's see you defend your kingdom from ME!", she claimed, she flew to the balcony, and aimed her horn at the sky. The clouds began parting, and a black hole started to form on the sky. Meteors and thunders srtriked the earth, the creatures habitating the land were invaded by fear, the remaining ponies and changelings locked themselves, and dragons began to fly away from Canterlot. "What are you doing?!" Princess Celestia gazed upon Clover the Clever, "don't you know what will happen? Are you planning to destroy everything just because of me? You can't do that!" "Can't I, Celestia?" Clover stated, "does that mean you think you can stop me?" "What the hay is going on?" asked Rainbow Dash. "The Wrath" replied Princess Luna, with a trembling voice, "everything and everyone will be destroyed, unless we can stop it. But there is only one way to do it, and only one pony who can do it." Everyone stood silent, worried and sad. Trixie, however, was confused, "why? who is the only one?" "The wielder of the Rainbow of Light" said Moondancer with a serious face. "I'll do it. It will be my pleasure and honor to..." "No! No subject of mine will pay for my mistakes" said Celestia, "this is my fault alone. And I'll be the one to stop the Core of The Wrath. Last time I wasn't as powerful as I am now. But today, I won't let the catastrophe happen again!" "You won't do it alone, then" responded Luna, "everything has been my fault as much as yours. We rule together, we made mistakes together, and even now, we'll fight The Wrath together." "You can try and stop me, Celestia" taunted Clover, "but you can't protect your land by doing so." The earth's shaking was getting stronger it felt as if the ground was going to open. "You go, Princesses, I'll hold the earth with my bare hooves!" said Braeburn, he jumped out of the balcony and landed firmly on the palace's frontyard. The princesses lifted off and flew straight to the hole in the sky, while Braeburn nailed his hooves on the ground, slowing the shake of the earth. Soon, Applejack and her sister, Diamond Tiara, Trusty Link and all the earth ponies in Canterlot joined their hooves too in an attempt to stop the shaking. Even Lickety Split, the Observer's assistance. Pinkie Pie stared at Braeburn with admiration, "I've never seen you so determined before" she said. "A stallion has to keep his priorities. Protecting the land is the first one. And the second, protecting and making happy a lovely lady." replied Braeburn, making a goofy smile at her. Pinkie Pie blushed and giggled, she stood beside him and also nailed her hooves on the ground. "They can't protect the land from the meteors!" shouted Sweetie Belle. One of the meteors was about to land on the earth ponies, but Spinwind flew, very quickly, and crashed the meteor to pieces with a punch from his right hoof. "I am not an important hero", he claimed as he kept crashing all the meteors he could, "I am not Royal Elite material. I'm not even the fastest nor the strongest in my unit. But I am a Royal Guard! If my role is to sacrifice my life! So be it!" "Hey, soldier! Your role is not to sacrifice your life" Raibow Dash joined him, along with Guardian Sword, Scootaloo, Ditzy Doo and Fluttershy, "your role is to make sure that others don't!" "If somepony tries to block" Fluttershy set her eyes on a meteor, and she striked fiercely, "show them that you rock!" Celestia and Luna passed through the hole, and everything was pitch black in there, only a red light glowing and beating like a huge heart. While flying, the sisters possitionated one next to the other, joined their horns, and began to cast a spell, but the thumping beating of the light tried to push them away, their spell was interrupted. "I'll stop it, and you cover me, sister" stated Luna, she restarted the spell by herself. and Celestia set herself between her sister and the light, she casted a barrier spell, covering her sister and herself. Meanwhile, the earth was being held by earth ponies and changelings, the meteors were being intercepted by pegasi and dragons alike, yet the disaster was just getting worse and worse. "I wonder if you can stop this too?" said Clover the Clever, her horn was glowing more intensely, and slowly, the blue of the sky seemed to get closer by each second. "The... the sky is falling down!" shouted Trixie, running around in panic, "we're gonna get crushed!" But Twilight, Moondancer and Shining Armor rushed and stood firmly on the balcony, they focused and closed their eyes, aiming their horns at the sky. The sky was covered by their magic auras, but it wasn't stopped at all, not even slowed down. Rarity and Sweetie Belle joined, but to no avail. Even Trixie and Princess Cadance helped them, as the color of the sky started to change, passing from a bright pink and turning into a violent fire red color, and the meteors shower became more violent for the pegasi to control, and the earth shook even harder that the earth ponies began to feel like they were stepping on lava. "You know what's funny?" Queen Chrysalis stood next to Princess Cadance, "back then, my plan was to take your place as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. But in the end, it was you, who took my place as the Crystal Queen." "I didn't take your place" replied Princess Cadance, she smiled during the effort of trying to stop the sky, "Crystal Ponies had not forgotten their previous queen. There is a whole month of festival in her honor every year, to celebrate the magnificent queen she was. I didn't know it was you, but I have no doubts either. Your Changelings fight so hard for you, and you fight so hard for them, too. You are still the queen every Crystal Pony admires." Chrysalis smiled back, she fixed her mane pretending indifference, not realising that her cheeks were flushed. She also aimed her horn at the sky and joined forces with the ponies to try and stop it. Inside the hole, Luna was struggling to stop the Core, but her magic was not enough. Both alicorns were aware of this, and they were also aware of the disaster going on the city. It was the seventh time they tried, Luna made a last effort to destroy the Core, but her spell was backfired by a big shockwave that also broke Celestia's barrier as if it was just a glass wall. Both alicorns felt exhausted, they could barely keep their flight due to tired wings and worn magic. Their eyelids were heavy, and the breath no longer filled their lungs, their stamina was running out. "It's no use without the Rainbow of Light." said Luna, "Clover was always far more superior than us when it came to magic, and the gap between her and us is still there, and it's even wider than before." "But we have to defeat her, somehow" said Celestia, "even if this is the will of Princess Platinum, we can't just give up. I refuse to let anything happen to my little ponies. We must achieve what we couldn't do in the past! We must stop the Wrath without the Rainbows, no one will be sacrificed this time. Let's use all our magic, sister. Hold nothing back!" Luna's eyes and horn began to shine with a turquoise blue glow, and Celestia's with a golden one. Both alicorns joined their horns once again, they spread their wings and closed their eyes. From their horns, a black and white beam was shot straight toward the Core, which absorbed the spell and repelled it in the form of another shockwave. Both sisters were pushed by the shockwave, but they ignored it. The shockwave burned their bodies from skin to bone. The pain was unbearable and the effort was endless, the sky was still falling on Canterlot, the Core kept absorbing the spell, inflating like a balloon, until it finally bursted with an immense shockwave, more powerful than the ones before, like a wave from the sea pushing the intruders from the shore, Celestia and Luna were thrown out from the Wrath, and the hole in the sky slowly closed, never to be seen again. On the city, everyone were cheering and stomping in joy. The sky slowly ascended to its original distance without a trace of any cosmic disaster, and the earth was calm again, Pinkie looked up to the sky where the hole was, she spotted two dots descending quickly, "look the princesses are coming and they look really, really excited!" "Heh, yeah! Didn't know the princesses could fly that quickly", Applejack agreed. "They're not flying! They're falling! Guardian Sword, let's go!" Rainbow Dash lifted off and Guardian Sword behind her. Rainbow Dash caught Princess Celestia on her back, and Guardian Sword caught Princess Luna, both princesses were exhausted, dazed and confused. Carefully to not hurt the princesses, the pegasi landed on the Palace's front garden. "Holy hay! You actually did it!" said The Observer, walking toward the princesses as if nothing happened, not a single drop of sweat, not even a trace of tiredness, but there was definitely a tone of surprise in her voice. "Celestia, for the first time in your ancient life... at last, you have bested me... but I wouldn't get used to it if I were you." "Just why?" Twilight confronted The Observer, "I know you broke your bonds with Equestria, but is that reason enough to try and destroy it? why even the three leaders are ok with this?" Platinum reached the scene from the throne room, with a smile of satisfaction. She approached Twilight, very imposingly. "Because I wanted to see how the princesses would do against an opponent they couldn't defeat. If we wanted to destroy Equestria, Clover would have just done exactly that in a mere blink, and you wouldn't even have had a chance to realise what happened. But in order to push Celestia and Luna to their limits, a real risk was necessary." "But what if we had failed?" said Celestia with a mere panting, she could barely raise her sight to meet Platinum's face. "You didn't" Platinum smiled at her. "But what if...?" insisted Celestia. "You didn't, Celestia" Platinum palmed Celestia's back, and the alicorn felt a small pain, "with this test, not only you proved that I made the right call when I choose you as the new princess, but you also proved that you have grown stronger, just as your love for other ponies. And your subjects, they're just as willing to give their lives for you, the same way you would do for them." "That's a one sided deal, if you ask me", added Puddinghead, laughing to herself, as she usually does with her own jokes. Then the sky turned dark, and from the heavens, a couple of mysterious entities landed before the ponies. One of them was a tall figure wearing a brown worn out cloak, his posture was calm and peaceful. The other one, was shorter than the first, a woman with long golden hair, her country clothes and the red ribbon around her hair were easily recognized by Fluttershy. "Megan!" the pale yellow pegasus gasped in joy, she went closer to her, but she was immediately intimidated by the man next to the young woman. "No, no, no!" Platinum yelled in anger at the man, "you're not supossed to be here, you have NO reason to be here! We did nothing wrong! We checked and double checked the rules! I'm sure, certain, POSITIVE that we broke none of them!" "Is that a way to greet an old friend, Platinum?" said the man, as calm as a tree standing on top of a hill. His deep voice revealed an ancient age, even older than the cloak which Rarity couldn't even look at. "Who are you? What's goin' on?" asked Applejack's, very confused. "I am known only as The Judge" said the man, "I am the one who watches the universe and its inhabitants, and I make sure all beings follow the Rules, or face the consequences. I can see everything that is, and everything that has been." "Ohhh! Can you see everything that will be, as well?" Pinkie jumped with excitement. "Of course not, Pinkie Pie" he responded, "no creature can, that's the main reason I am watching and judging in the first place. If I could see who is going to break the rules in the future, I could prevent such events." "What's the big deal with the rules?" Trixie seemed annoyed, "I mean, there's nothing wrong in breaking small rules once and a while, right?" "I represent this rules!" the Judge lost his calm and turned into a raging storm of authority, "if you disrespect the rules, then you disrespect ME! An universe cannot exist without the rules, and the world cannot exist without an universe! The rules keep the balance of the universe! If there is a creature that breaks a rule, then that creature is breaking the balance, and so, a punishment must be served as retribution." "How can you break the rules of the universe?" Twilight wondered, as confused as the others, "who on earth can be capable of such a thing, and how bad can a punishment be?" "Behold..." the Judge waved his arm presenting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and the leaders as well as their assistants, and even Megan, "they are living proof of what kind of punishment awaits when the rules are broken." "Rarity..." Platinum was the first to speak, "I said I took a wrong decision, I wanted to outsmart the laws of the universe, and so I did. I dragged my friends and the sisters to my plan of conquering Equestria from the dragons, and we used the magic of Harmony without the Elements, so we simulated the Elements by catching their essence in some rounded stones." "But it was wrong" added the Observer, "the Elements of Harmony is not just the essence, it's a spirit that must be alive, a group of creatures that truly represent each element. For this foul, the princesses and us were punished by the Judge. We were punished with eternal life." "Eternal life? Is that a bad thing?" questioned Rarity, "I mean, I would be grateful if I could be young and glamourous forever." "At first it wasn't so bad" stated Pansy, "our lives went on as if nothing happened, and the years passed by, until you finally realise that your musician neighbor died of elderly a few days ago, she was a very dear friend of mine, and she was fifty-three years older than me." The Observer sobbed as the tears began to drop from her eyes, "and you see everypony around you taking their last breath. Friends, family... even the pony you loved. As our lives grew longer, time lost importance... we didn't care anymore. We all found a way to deal with our punishment. Puddinghead, Smart Cookie, Pansy and I banished ourselves from civilization, from everything. Princess Platinum sells away everything that reminds her to her royal life. And Hurricane is always asleep, avoiding all the deaths around her. We all wanted to be left behind, we wanted to pretend that our lives have ended. But Princess Platinum, she always finds a way to come back, she convinces us to do the right thing. She is the only pony that has earned my eternal loyalty." "What a terrible price to pay" Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hoof, feeling pity for the mares, "so this was the punishment Megan was talking about, for using the Rainbow of Light with no darkness. Isn't there a way to undo their punishment just like yours, Megan?" "I'm afraid not" responded the Judge, "if I can summarize the graveness of their foul, they fooled the nature of a spell by creating artificial casters. To put it in more common terms, they tried to bake a cake using tea leaves instead of sugar." "That's WRONG!!!" Pinkie Pie seemed really disturbed. "My punishment was different, it was conditional" said Megan, "when you used the Rainbows of Light and Darkness, my punishment was settled. Now I'm just the spirit of a dead woman, but even like this, I found a way to help you. Since I am dead, I can contact the spirits of the dead, but it's up to them if they want to help or not. Pinkie Pie, I called for your grandma, and she was happy to be able to talk to you, even if it was through dreams." "So it WAS Granny Pie!" Pinkie Pie hopped with joy, "I knew she was watching over me!" "And Twilight" continued Megan, "I called for the real Flash Sentry. He didn't even talk to me, he just rushed to your aid. I'm glad that everything turned out well." "Flash..." Twilight looked down for a bit, "thank you, Megan. I really, really needed that. But your intervention makes me scared, Judge. Why are you here? Did we broke a rule? are you here to punish us, too?" "No, Twilight Sparkle" said the Judge, "I show myself because you deserve to know the truth. You would have found out about my existence sooner or later. The rules are clear, I must reveal myself to those who are involved with the balance of the universe. However, I'm not on your side nor I am your enemy, if you find yourself in fatal danger, I am forbidden to intervene in the course of history, I won't provide any help. And if you ever break a single rule, even the smallest one of them, you will wish you had never met me." "How are we involved in the balance of the universe?" asked Rarity. The Judge returned to a humble form as he responded, "Platinum and her friends are the main responsibles for the creation and misuse of the Elements of Harmony. Now that you have met them, you are now part of all this mess, wether you like it or not. However no rules were broken this time, Platinum. I hope this was the result of careful planning, and not just a foal's luck." "How dare you? how dare you?" yelled Platinum. The judge laughed and slowly began to fade, "It is time now, Megan, our job here is done. Farewell ponies, I hope you understand the importance of the rules. Maybe we'll meet again, and if we do, let's hope it's a casual meeting, and not a business one." "Bye-bye, everypony!" Megan waved her hand, she was fading too. "Wait! I still have more questions!" Twilight tried to stop him, but Megan and the Judge returned to the heavens without a warning. The sky cleared again, and around them, the creatures were still celebrating as if nothing happened. "Let it go, Twilight" the Observer palmed her back, "knowledge can be a curse as much as a bliss. Somethings are better left unknown." "Cheer up, everypony" Moondancer noticed the mysterious faces of her friends, "we did it! We saved the day! And all just happened to be a test for the princesses, which by the way, they passed! You know what this calls for?" Pinkie Pie gasped in excitement, she met Moondancer with a great smile as they both took a deep breath, and then shouted as loud as their combined voices echoed through all the corners of Canterlot. "A PARTY!!!!"