CRISIS: Equestria - Divergence

by GanonFLCL

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Chronicle

Shadows and streaks of light played together across the massive expanse of the dining room floor. The room appeared like it should typically be completely dark, its tinted window preventing any light from coming in, but a thick crack through the glass had ruined some of the tinting. A solid black tablecloth covered the table, sprinkled with dust from the fractured ceiling. The table had not been set properly for a meal, but rather just had a few plates of varying types of donuts available for everypony to take at their leisure.

Twilight was not in the least bit surprised at Dawn's selection.

The table and the room in general reminded her of the dining room in the royal palace at Canterlot. It was a bit smaller, true, clearly not meant to accommodate more than ten ponies at a time for a proper dinner setting, but the table was large enough that some extra chairs made it comfortable enough for thirteen. It also wasn't as bright or friendly, but she didn't really expect it to be.

She and her friends all sat on one side of the table, with Dawn and her sisters on the other. Flathoof and Lockwood—who Dawn had collected a few minutes ago—sat at the heads of the table, which meant that Lockwood was currently seated in what was clearly Lord Silvertongue's chair. Twilight found herself wondering what Lockwood would be like if he were a lord or a prince, but couldn't really imagine it; he just didn't seem very regal.

"So, let me get this straight," Lockwood said, slouching in his seat. "Dawn and her sisters are daughters of this Silvertongue fellow, who was the Warden of Nihila this entire time. He was aware that our friends were from another world, his daughters were not. He sent his daughters on a mission to befriend Twilight and company, because he needed their help laying a trap for Nihila, who he's been deceiving for centuries, but his daughters didn't know that either. He has now destroyed Nihila and taken her power, making him a god, and as we speak is preparing to send our friends home." He took a breath. "Did I miss anything?"

Dawn shook her head. "No, that synopsis of our immediate situation was quite accurate, and succinct as well. Well done."

Lockwood paused a moment, then shrugged and took a bite from the donut off his plate. "Y'know, a part of me wants to be upset, but that'd be pretty hypocritical of me, wouldn't it? After all, I introduced some of these mares to friends of mine under false pretenses as well, did I not?"

"Darling, those circumstances were quite different, and you know that as well as any of us," Rarity noted; she hadn't partaken in any donuts, just a cup of coffee with extra cream. "If anything, I'm more perplexed that you seem to be taking this surprisingly well."

"I mean, it wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened to me," he said with a grin. "The way I see it, nopony got hurt as a direct result of this whole rigmarole, and I'll say it again, I'm not exactly sure what would have happened if Gray hadn't been there that day." He tilted his head towards Velvet. "Or Velvet, in Pinkie's case."

"Did we ever find out the reason those ponies were after my friends? Or who they even were?" Twilight asked, looking at Dawn for an answer. "Now that I know the whole situation involving you and your sisters, I'm not sure what to think about that attack any more. It seems related somehow."

Rainbow slapped her hoof on the table. "Hey, yeah! How do we know that your dad didn't put those goons up to that—"

Havoc practically leaped out of her seat. "Our dad would never pull that shit! He loves us, and he knows how much we care about you guys! I don't know who it was that put those assholes up to hurting you guys, but it wasn't him!"

Dawn cleared her throat. "Curaçao has been investigating the situation, but from all appearances thus far it would seem the assailants were working for some other entity, not our father. He was similarly vexed as we were, perhaps more so."

She sighed and shook her head. "I investigated the lead that Gray provided, but arrived at an impasse: the location proved to be a dead end. I remain optimistic that we will uncover more clues, but regret that we have not thus far."

"I don't suppose they were working for Nihila?" Twilight suggested, tapping her chin. "If she was looking to control us somehow, then isolating us from one another would be the ideal way to go about it."

"Perhaps, but there is the matter that they sought not only to abduct Fluttershy and Applejack, but to inflict far worse to Pinkie. Since Nihila was seeking to control you six, why would she desire lethal harm for her?"

"A fair point," Twilight admitted, glancing over at Pinkie.

Pinkie, to her credit, was just stuffing her face with donuts and either oblivious to the conversation or well past what happened to the point that it didn't bother her anymore. Twilight wasn't sure if she was more impressed or concerned.

"Well, alright, I guess if you guys aren't sure yet…" Rainbow muttered. She gave an apologetic look to Havoc. "Sorry for suggesting that it was your dad. That just sort of came out. This has been a really stressful couple of hours, y'know?"

"Nah, it's cool, I get it," Havoc said with a small grin. "Hey, we learned some weird shit too, y'know? Like how our friends are aliens? Which, by the way, is badass." She offered Rainbow a hoofbump.

Rainbow hoofbumped. "Yeah, I guess that is kinda cool. Sorry we couldn't tell ya, but we were supposed to be keeping it a secret."

"Eh, it's cool, secrets all around, right? Like, we didn't know our dad was the… what was it, Nihila's secretary or some shit? Whatever, we didn't know he worked for some dumb goddess, and we definitely didn't know he was gonna kill her and go all god-mode on everypony. I mean, hell yeah, my dad's a god, but still, kind of a shocker."

Applejack adjusted her hat. "Psh, if y'all think that's somethin', back where we're from, Twilight's been the student of Princess Celestia for most of her life, and she's got wings and a horn just like your pa does."

"I don't like to brag," Twilight hastily added, looking at Dawn.

"Her foalsitter also had horns 'n' wings and married her brother," Applejack added. "Would that technically make her royalty?"

Twilight looked at Applejack with a pleading look, trying to get her to stop. "Still not bragging. All very normal. I'm certainly not royalty, and likely never will be. I think I'd have to marry a prince for that to happen."

"And believe me, you're better off not marrying the one that's available," Rarity said as she sipped her coffee.

"Speaking of wings and horns, I totally like Daddy's new look!" Insipid piped in through a mouthful of donut. "I want wings now too! Can I get wings next? That would be major fresh. Then I wouldn't have to walk everywhere and junk!"

Rarity tittered, levitating a napkin over to dab Insipid's lip of crumbs. "Well, if you're interested, one of my designs in the catalogue is intended to evoke wings. It was intended for pegasi as a wedding dress of sorts—the wings of the dress would overlay upon the mare's to draw attention—but I'm certain that Chantilly can tweak it so that you'd have a lovely pair of faux wings."

Insipid's eyes filled with wondrous awe. "Really? Oh. My. Stars. I can't wait! That's gonna be great! Then I can fly wherever I want, and—"

"You won't be able to fly, darling," Rarity noted. "They'd just be for show."

"Oh. Still, yay! Pretty wings!"

Applejack nudged Flathoof gently; she was seated closest to him. "Hey, big guy, you've been real quiet through all of this. Somethin' on your mind?"

Flathoof stayed quiet a moment longer, his gaze transfixed on Dawn and her sisters, then he leaned forward, hooves on the table. "I'll be perfectly honest, this entire situation leaves a bad taste in my mouth." He looked specifically at Gray, now, confused and a little angry. "I let you into my home. I introduced you to my family. I treated you like a friend. I trusted you, and now you're telling me that it was all a lie?"

"No, not all a lie," Gray said, her expression calm but sad. "Only how I met Fluttershy. That's the least important part, I think."

"It's beside the point," he said, shaking his head. "The point is that you tricked me. You tricked all of us into believing your story. How am I supposed to trust you, to trust any of you, ever again?"

"Because despite the false pretenses, everything else about our friendships was real," Gray said, rising from her seat and hardening her gaze. "You have no right to act as though you're without fault either. I'm aware of the truths you had to bend and break to help these girls, same as we did. The difference is that we didn't know why we were doing it; we were being manipulated all the same."

Havoc turned to Gray. "Hey, c'mon, Pops was just—"

"I know, Havoc," Gray interrupted. "He was doing it for the good of the world. That doesn't change the fact that he…" She paused, clearly in deep thought over her words. "He manipulated us." She looked back at Flathoof. "And that doesn't mean that everything was a lie. Our friendships are real. How I feel about you is real."

Velvet nearly dropped her donut. "I knew it!"

Flathoof paused, then gave a slow nod. "I hear what you're saying, and I understand it all, but…" He sighed and shook his head. "I just need some time to come to terms with all of this. This is an entirely new situation for me, and I don't think I can just let it go like Lockwood can, or like the others can."

Gray slowly sunk back down into her seat. "Take all the time you need."

The room remained quiet for a moment before there was a flash and a rush of air as Silvertongue teleported into the room. Twilight could practically taste the magical power radiating off of him now, as he seemed to possess significantly more control over his new body and the power therin than he had been a few hours ago.

She was used to being in the presence of Princess Celestia and knew the kind of power she wielded, but there was something vastly different about Silvertongue that just made her nervous. Likely because the source of that power was dark, terrible magics that he was now supposedly using for good.

A part of her wondered what he would do with this world once she and her friends left it behind. Winter had explained that this world's balance was based on Light and Darkness, but that was supposedly different from Good and Evil. Could somepony so suffused with dark magics be considered good? No, he'd already admitted that he wasn't good, but… did that necessarily mean that he was evil?

"The process is complete," Silvertongue said, glancing out amongst the gathered group. "Miss Glow and I have established the portal that will send you all home, and are ready to do so immediately." He turned to Twilight in particular. "Unless there is anything else you need, Miss Sparkle, I think it would be best if we move this along sooner rather than later. Say your farewells if you haven't done so."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, I agree. We've been waiting a long time for this." She looked to Dawn and her sisters. "So, I suppose this is goodbye, huh?"

Dawn nodded. "Yes, I suppose it is." She sat up straight, nose in the air. "You have been a magnificent companion in these past few weeks, Twilight Sparkle, and though it pains me to see you depart… I wish you and your compatriots nothing but the best in your future endeavors."

Twilight smiled, and set her hoof on Dawn's. "Thank you. It's been wonderful knowing you and your sisters as well, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors as well, whatever those might me."

Rarity glanced over at Insipid and smiled. "I know you'll do just wonderfully, darling, even without me here to guide you. I have taught you everything I could, and—"

Insipid leapt across the table, knocking over plates and cups, and wrapped Rarity in a hug. "I'm gonna totally miss you!" she sobbed. "It's not gonna be the same without you here! You're, like, the best friend I've ever had!"

Rarity returned the hug, gently patting Insipid's back. "There there, my dear, it'll all be alright, I promise. Chantilly and Lapel will take good care of you, and you know that if you ever need help with anything," she added, looking to Lockwood with a grin, "Lockwood will be there for you just as I would be."

Lockwood nodded and gave Insipid a smile. "I will do the best that I can to live up to such lofty expectations."

Rainbow and Havoc shared a look from across the table. "So, I guess this is it?" Rainbow said.

"Yup. This is it," Havoc replied.

Rainbow nodded, then offered out her hoof. "Take care of yourself, shortstack."

Havoc bumped Rainbow's hoof. "You take care of yourself too, doofus."

"You'd better win that championship, or I'm gonna have to kick your butt."

"Psh, we both know I was carrying the team anyway."

Pinkie and Velvet both leapt across the table at the same time to hug one another, bumping into each other in the middle and landing right on a plate of donuts; Dawn barely managed to save a few of them.

"I'm gonna miss you, Best Long-Lost Sister From Another World!" Pinkie cried as they wrapped each other up in the hug.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Best Long-Lost Sister From Another World!" Velvet cried back, pressing their cheeks together.

Gray and Fluttershy met each other's gaze across the table, and Gray just nodded. "Shy. Stay safe."

Fluttershy nodded back. "You too, Gray." She then briefly shifted her eyes towards Flathoof, then back to Gray. "It'll all work out. I know it will."

Gray's cheeks reddened. "Yeah, thanks."

Applejack, without one of the sisters in particular to say goodbyes to, just turned to Flathoof. "Take care of the family, y'hear?" she said with a small smile.

Flathoof nodded. "Eyyup, I will."

She pointed at Lockwood. "Especially that one," she said; Lockwood's expression turned innocent, as though he had no idea what she meant. "Make sure he stays outta trouble."

"Oh, I'll try," Flathoof replied with a grin.

Twilight then stood from the table and made sure that she and her friends had all gathered their things. "Okay, everypony… it's time." She turned to Silvertongue and nodded. "Let's go home."

*****

At the top of Pandora Tower, Twilight saw that Silvertongue's claims had been utterly genuine. A portal had opened, one that resembled the one she'd seen back in Everfree Forest all those weeks ago: a vast expanse of star-like dots spread against a void of ethereal darkness, with ribbons of colorful magic spreading outwards into the world around them.

She took one last look over New Pandemonium City. From up here, the city seemed bigger, but in a different sense. Rather than intimidating and sometimes frightening as it was from the ground level with all of the imposing buildings and noisy crowds, the city looked quiet and almost peaceful, spreading out as far as the eye could see like a field of wheat.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Silvertongue asked, stepping alongside her. "Centuries of work put together the largest civilization known to ponykind. Millions of lives over the years, beginning and ending all in service of a single unifying principle."

"Defeating Nihila," Twilight finished.

"No. Though that was my personal endgame, true, the prevailing purpose of this city was to prove the value of strength through adversity. Not just to survive in the harshest conditions, but to thrive. Many have failed along the way, yes, but many more have succeeded." He smiled. "My daughters will ensure that that mission carries on, greater than ever before. They will usher in a new age. A better age."

"What will you do with Lockwood and Flathoof once we're gone?" she asked, though not turning to face him.

"Nothing," he replied, as if it were obvious. "They played their roles the same as the rest of you in this final hour, and they will be rewarded in turn, though I will leave that decision to my daughters. This city isn't mine anymore; it's theirs."

Twilight stood silent a moment, then nodded. "I trust them to do better for the ponies of this city than you did." She looked right at him. "Just because you're doing this for us, doesn't mean that I think you should be forgiven for all that you've done. The amount of atoning you need to do is just… astronomical."

He looked right back at her. "And I do not ask for or expect forgiveness, Twilight Sparkle. I have done terrible things to accomplish my goal, some of which are absolutely unforgiveable. So I do not consider this power within me to be a reward for a job well done, but yet another burden to bear. With it I will bring peace and balance where once there was none, even before my time." He took a light breath. "I have always stood by my principles, and will now do so for the rest of eternity."

"I hope you're right."

There was really nothing more to say.

She and her friends approached the portal now, where Winter was waiting for them, her pocket watch—her Timekeeper—in her hoof and glowing green. "Alright, ladies, in you go," she said, gesturing into the portal as she kept her eyes on the watch. "We made good time but there's no sense in wastin' any more of it. Stay on the path, don't dawdle, and take care of yourselves, eh?"

Twilight's friends thanked Winter for everything she had done as they walked through the portal first, one by one, as if they were just walking through a doorway, without so much as a yelp of surprise.

When it was Twilight's turn, she paused a moment to look at Winter, whose focus was still on the Timekeeper. "Winter, I—"

"You should get goin', Twilight," Winter said without looking up. "Your world needs ya."

Twilight stood still a moment, then swiftly moved to hug Winter. "Thank you. For everything."

Winter took a moment to return it, though Twilight could feel the hesitation. "Yeah. You're welcome…"

After breaking the hug, Twilight and Winter shared a brief look between each other; she could see in Winter's eyes that there was a sense of… anxiousness? Confusion? Worry? Regret? She couldn't really tell; she'd never been terribly good at reading ponies. She wanted to say something, to maybe try one last time to figure out what had happened between them, whether it had been an accident or mistake, or if it had actually meant something.

More than anything she just wanted to kiss her again.

"Winter..." She paused, and sighed. "Goodbye…"

It was all she could manage.

She then simply turned to the portal as her friends had done, took a deep breath, and then stepped inside without another word.

The experience of going from that other world back to her own home was a rather different one, Twilight found. Rather than being swept along rivulets of magical energy that twisted and bent every which way, unable to control the direction in which she moved or even keep track of where she was, there was just a long, narrow path leading from the portal off into the distance.

The portal sealed itself up behind her most of the way, until there was only a hole the size of an apple remaining; enough to keep the portal open, but not enough to let anypony through. She couldn't even tell what was on the other side anymore.

She caught up to her friends relatively quickly, and they proceeded to walk along the path forward, until another window came into view. Twilight gasped in delight when she saw the slightly blurry image of what was surely the throne room at Canterlot's royal palace. With a destination in sight, she and her friends ceased their simple walking pace, and broke into a gallop.

The sensation of moving through the other side was like leaping into the pool on a sweltering hot day, the sudden rush of a completely different environment. No longer were her nostrils plagued with the stench of smog and stuffy air; no longer did the chill of a metropolitan winter nip at her coat; no longer did the sounds of gathered crowds lash at her ears.

The throne room at the royal palace in Canterlot was exactly as she remembered it, right down to the tiniest detail. Morning was still at least an hour away, so she could see the nighttime sky and stars outside the nearest window, with Luna's moon just getting ready to move beyond the horizon.

Princess Luna herself sat on the throne ahead of her, two royal guards at her side; all three were stunned at the sudden appearance of Twilight and her friends, though the former was more ecstatic than surprised.

They were back. They were home.

The portal sealed up behind them immediately. "And there we have it!" exclaimed a nearby pegasus mare, holding a pocket watch identical to Winter's; this had to be Summer Rains, Winter's counterpart in this world. "Six mares, as ordered, and ahead of schedule as well by my count. I knew Winter could do it."

Princess Luna gestured towards one of the two guards. "Go and fetch our sister immediately."

The guard saluted. "Yes, Your Highness." And off he went.

Luna then nodded appreciatively at Summer, and rose from the throne. "We did not doubt thee or thy friend's capabilities, Miss Rains, and we thank thee for thine assistance in these matters. We shall see to it that thou art rewarded for thine efforts in returning our missing ponies to us."

"Psh, just part of the job there, doncha know," Summer said, waving the praise off with a hoof. She turned to Twilight and her friends and held up her Timekeeper briefly, tapping the screen a few times. "Now then, let me just make sure there weren't any cross-dimensional complications there, and you girls can move right on with your business."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Cross-dimensional complications?"

Summer nodded but stayed focused on her Timekeeper. "Oh yeah, can never be too careful when Void magic gets involved with things. You don't want to end up with some Void-related illness or somethin', believe you me. It's all just part of the procedure, sweetie, nothin' to worry about."

Luna approached Twilight; Twilight immediately bowed, as did the rest of her friends. "Princess Luna, it's so good to see a familiar face again after all these weeks."

Luna smiled and gestured for Twilight and her friends to rise. "There is no need for such cordial displays, Twilight Sparkle. We hath all been plagued with worry since thy departure, and 'tis a wondrous occasion to have thee and thy friends home. We will not have thee bowing in our presence."

"Well, we're just glad to be home, Princess," Twilight replied with a grin. "So I'm guessing that if we're not bothering with etiquette, we should all be putting aside the other pleasantries for now too, right? I bet we've got work to do!"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Work?"

Twilight blinked. "Yeah, work. Wasn't Discord in danger of being released because we were gone? We have to reseal him, right?"

"Oh no, nothing like that," Summer chimed in. "Since you and your friends got back in time, the Elements of Harmony will have immediately reestablished their connection to you and the seal won't be weakenin' anymore. It might need a bit of a touch-up or somethin' at best, but there's no rush to do anythin' like that, doncha know."

"So, wait, that's it?" Rainbow asked, scratching her head. "We just showed up back home in time and… and Discord's seal is back to normal?"

"She is correct," Luna said with a nod. "Once we were informed of the situation, my sister and I ensured that Discord's statue was placed somewhere safe, such that he could not harrow the seal and more hastily break free. We have also been sharing duties in hindering the influence of his Chaos magic."

"Really? Well, that seems a bit anticlimactic if you ask me," Pinkie said, tapping her chin. "This doesn't sound like the final chapter to the story at all!"

"Yeah! I was ready for some sort of big, epic showdown!" Rainbow agreed.

"Right? Where's the explosions? Where's the villainous monologue?"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "I believe that we've already had enough excitement for one morning, don't you think? Frankly, I'm glad if this was all so easy. I'd rather not have to deal with Discord's shenanigans right now, not after everything we've been through with our friends and that ghastly Nihila creature."

Pinkie blinked. "Oh. Hey, yeah, we already did get that with her, didn't we? I mean, technically we didn't do much…" She tapped her chin again. "Oh, wait, I get it. I totally get it."

"Get what?" Rainbow asked. "What're you talking about, Pinks?"

Pinkie shook her head and giggled. "Nothing, Dashie. You'll see. Besides, this wasn't supposed to be like some grand, epic adventure. We spent all our time in the big city hanging out with friends and learning lessons and stuff. Completely different genre."

"Speaking of our friends, I hope that everypony is going to be okay…" Fluttershy murmured, glancing back at where the portal had been. "Everything just happened so fast that… that I'm worried about leaving them like that."

"I'm sure they'll be just fine, Fluttershy," Twilight said with a small smile. "No, I know they will."

The doors to the throne room then popped open, and Twilight saw Princess Celestia enter through, unaccompanied by any guards.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed, rushing forward to greet her mentor. "It's so good to see you again! I have so many things to tell you and ask about, and friendship lessons to write, and—"

"Calm yourself, my faithful student," Celestia said with a glowing smile. "There will be time for all of that later. What's important now is that you're home, and that you're safe." She threw one hoof around Twilight to pull her in for a hug. "I was so worried when I learned of what happened."

"I've missed you so much," Twilight said with a wide smile, returning the hug. "I'm so glad that we're home. You wouldn't believe the things we've seen and learned while we were gone."

"And there will be time enough to hear it. For now, though, I think you and your friends all need a good rest, perhaps some breakfast, and to get back to Ponyville as soon as possible to be with your friends and families after all this time. I'm certain Luna has already informed you that Discord will not be a problem now that you've returned?"

"She did." Twilight nodded eagerly. "But yes, you're right, we need to get home home. I know we got some updates and all, but I'm still worried about how Spike and Owlowiscious are doing, and—"

"Not to worry, everypony, I made sure Ponyville stayed in good shape while you guys were gone," Summer said as she used her Timekeeper to examine Pinkie. "Things might be a bit different when you get home there, but it'll be easy to get back to normal, hopefully. Everypony's safe and sound, and they're all gonna be glad to have you back, believe you me."

"That's good to hear," Rarity said with a sigh. "I'll be glad to get the boutique reopened, and to be with my lovely Opalescence, and of course to see my dear Sweetie Belle again." She turned briefly to Applejack. "And I'll have to give so much thanks to your family for taking her in, darling."

"And Spike, too," Twilight added.

"I'm just looking forward to seeing all of my animal friends again…" Fluttershy said with a wistful sigh. "Angel Bunny must be absolutely heartbroken that I've been gone so long." She turned to Summer. "Thank you so much for making sure everything was taken care of for us while we were gone."

"Yes, I think plenty of due thanks should go to Miss Rains as well for all that she's done," Rarity added.

"Indeed. We really can't thank Miss Rains enough for the help she's given us," Celestia said with a wink to the Chronomancer. "With her timely advice and her dedicated actions to keeping things calm and contained, we were able to prevent Discord from growing stronger. The worst it got was a few random pranks around the palace, and a few… colorful words directed at my sister and I."

Summer blushed. "Oh, c'mon now, everypony, you really don't need to thank me for just doin' my job. I'm sure any Chronomancer worth their salt would've done the same as me and my counterpart and gotten this all done just as easily, doncha know."

"Though I will say, the fact that this happened at all has made me quite worried about the potential for similar occurrences in the future," Celestia noted, giving Twilight a serious look. "Until this whole situation, I had never considered what might transpire if… if something were to happen to you, or to any of your friends."

"What do you mean, Princess?" Twilight asked.

"What I mean is, your connection with the Elements of Harmony makes you and your friends critically important to the safety of Equestria, even in ways we don't yet know or expect. Over the past few weeks in my interactions with Discord, I have begun thinking on potential solutions to such events should… should something terrible happen."

Twilight frowned. "I really am sorry that we worried you, Princess."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Twilight," Celestia said with a soft smile. "But rest assured, I will be speaking with my sister on some potential avenues we may want to pursue so that something like this never happens again, or at least not to this degree. We may require the aid of you and your friends, as well."

"And we'll be happy to help!" Twilight said, turning to her friends. "Right girls?"

"Right!" they all said in unison.

Celestia smiled. "Well then, now that we've all gotten this settled, why don't you girls head over to the dining room and I'll have some breakfast sent your way, hmm? A little bite to eat before we get you all back to Ponyville should do you some good."

"Sounds great, Princess," Twilight said with a bow.

Celestia bowed to her briefly in turn. "It's good to have you and your friends home, Twilight."

With a sigh of relief, Twilight replied, "It's good to be home, Princess."

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Will this story be as long as the original CRISIS: Equestria?

[GanonFLCL]

10641894
I can't go too deeply into thing because of spoilers, but it is highly unlikely that Divergence on the whole will hit the original's length (especially factoring in its sequel), even taking into account things that I know. The original CRISIS was a bit unnecessarily wordy at times, mostly due to elongated fighting/action scenes; no such wordiness anymore.

But I think that the proper answer to your question is that Divergence is far from finished.

[hamster wizard]

I liked this chapter. It served as a nice turning point where just about every character invoked Murphy's Law.

...And by jinxing fate so thoroughly, we shall generate infinite problems!

[RoboRed]

...Still waiting for the other horseshoe to drop.

Somewhere. Sometime.

[Victor07]

10641960
funny you said that, now that the divergence trilogy is 200,000 words longer than the original story

[My name is R]

Twilight found herself wondering what Lockwood would be like if he were a lord or a prince, but couldn't really imagine it; he just didn't seem very regal.

I'm certainly not royalty, and likely never will be.

And once more Twilight, I say to thee:

Luna smiled and gestured for Twilight and her friends to rise. "There is no need for such cordial displays, Twilight Sparkle. We hath all been plagued with worry since thy departure, and 'tis a wondrous occasion to have thee and thy friends home. We will not have thee bowing in our presence."

That thee sayeth such things, both of familiarity and thy antiquated speech, often considered formal, in the same paragraph, nay, sentence. It doth tickle mine bone of frivolity.

11526761
But if you include New World Order the original is almost 100 k longer.