Fallen

by Rated Ponystar

First published 28th of March, 2021

Fluttershy is captured by Equestria to use her element one last time to help save them from Humanity-NegotationsVerse AU

Two and a half years ago, I left my home, family, and friends behind to fight for humanity to save them from Princess Celestia's madness. Despite the hardship, suffering, and loss I have never once waved in my conviction in doing the right thing to prevent the genocide of an entire race. However, I have been captured. Instead of killing me, they kept me prisoner because they need me to use my Element one last time in their hopes of saving Equestria from Humanity's upcoming invasion.

Too bad I have no plans to do that.

This is a NegotationsVerse AU that ask the question of what would happen if Fluttershy got captured by Equestria so they can use her Element as a means to save themselves from humanity?

To see the original canon series, click here: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/301668/negotiations

Please help out at the TV Tropes Page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse

Captured Butterfly

Author's Notes:

So yeah, we have a new NegotationsVerse fic. I said that Warfare would be my last one, but after seeing just how well zelkova48's fanfic Choice is doing (And I recommend reading it) and seeing how many people have wondered just what would happen if the Elements of Harmony were tried again after all the horrors Equestria has done? An idea came to my head and I started writing.

This does not take place in the canon universe, this is an AU of the series. And I do recommend reading it to get an idea of what the series is about, or at least read the TV tropes page to get a general feel. Updates will happen when they happen but I'll try to get one every week. There are only 10 chapters planned.

As always, I do encourage readers and fans of this series to write their own stories in the NegotationsVerse because of so much that can be explored. I even have a blog of possible story ideas that you can do.

Hope you enjoy this. As always, please help out at the TV Tropes Page

The first thing I feel upon waking up on my cot is that I no longer feel the iron taste of blood in my mouth. When Rainbow Dash bucked me in the face, I must have cut the insides of my mouth. It honestly was getting tiresome spitting out blood every few minutes. You think out of all the wounds they healed up when they brought me back to Equestria, they would have fixed my mouth and teeth. Then again, these are the ponies who also clipped my wings and have me trapped in a prison cell with nothing but a cot and a toilet. I can recall when I took Celestia's pet phoenix to my home to try and heal her from her illness, not knowing she was just going through the regular life cycle of her species. Twilight panicked when she found out and was worried I would end up in Canterlot's dungeons for doing so. Funny how, years later, that came true but in a different way.

I'm a prisoner because I did the right thing. Fifteen years ago, Celestia told my friends and me that there was a world of creatures known as humans who needed guidance in the ways of friendship and harmony. With Twilight having solved Starswirl's Theory of Dimensional Travel, it was our duty to help spread our means of peace and love to stop them from hurting each other. I won't lie and say that I was very reluctant to go. Going to a different reality was scary, and the humans were terrifying as well. Celestia warned us of their past brutal ways, which made many of our past villains seem like chipmunks compared to humanity. Still, the others were convinced we had to help them, and so I agreed. All that has happened, the war, the deaths, the suffering that both sides are going through? This is all because of me and my friends bringing our world to this one. The powers of Harmony themselves have brought chaos to this realm, and nothing like the chaos that Discord had done.

Sometimes I wish I just said "No" all those years ago like I wanted to. But I trusted Celestia, and I trusted my friends. I should have trusted my gut.

During my time here, I got to know much about humanity, especially on Twilight's tour worldwide in promoting friendship based on the lessons we learned back home. As Discord often put it, they were a race that was such an enigma that you couldn't properly judge them. One moment they were kind, charitable, strong, and wise. The next they were cowardly, cruel, hateful, and stubborn. Did I not like aspects of humanity? Yes, but ever since I joined their side in the war, I have found a race with such a strong spirit that it overwhelmed whatever fears I had of them. I saw courage and dedication. Unity and togetherness. Love and sacrifice. Ironically, Celestia's beliefs of the worst of humanity and causing this war have caused mankind to become united and show the best of themselves.

The trap door for my food opens up as the guard announces that breakfast is served. It's stew again, but they added some extra eggs to it, which makes me suspicious. I've been here for less than a week, and all they've done is keep me trapped here and isolated from the rest of the world. By now, Lyra and the others have to know that I'm missing. Or maybe they assume I'm dead. None of us were expecting a surprise attack at the refugee center near what was once known as Rome, Italy.

My heart wept when I learned what had happened to the city, including the Vatican. I hadn't been a Catholic for long, but I, like so many others, wept for losing the Pope, the Cardinals, and all the innocent lives in Rome. Martin promised me that one day we would see St. Peter's Basilica when the war was over. Now all that remained was a single burned cross. It wasn't long after that when we learned that Mecca was destroyed as well. The holiest city in Islam was rubble, along with millions of worshipers and people.

The Crystal Cannon.

I had never thought Cadence would ever use such a weapon in the war, but I guess Shining Armor's death really affected her that badly. It was really only thanks to Discord that it was sabotaged for the time being.

"Discord..." I whispered, tears glittering down my cheek as I thought of my best friend, my most loyal and faithful friend. He stuck by me throughout all of this madness. He was the one who had risked his life to protect me when I betrayed Equestria and sided with the Resistance. He fought for humanity beside me even though he didn't need to. He risked his life to sabotage the Crystal Canon despite Cadence and Twilight nearly killing him.

And now he was dead, and it was all my fault.

I can still see Celestia's final blast that goes straight through his heart as he does what he can in his weakened state to protect the refugees and me. I sob, holding his dead body as Martin screams for me to run. I turn my head, and I see Rainbow Dash, eyes with rage, buck me so hard I lose consciousness. I didn't think I would be waking up at all since I was pretty much declared to be killed on sight for my treason. Nor did I expect to not be still alive a week later. We hear that the traitors in Equestria are publicly hanged as crowds curse them and condem them to Tartarus for the crime of daring to go up against the rules of their precious goddesses.

Yet, I am still alive and breathing. I didn't know why and I am afraid to find out.

The door opens, and I look up before turning away in disgust. Celestia, her mighty highness, walks in with the same grace she always has but with a pure stoic expression that fails to hide the contempt she has for me. I just glare right back at her with the same energy while her two guards stand by her side.

"So, finally set my execution date?" I asked, mentally going over prayers in my head.

"Were the situation not so serious, I would gladly have your execution right in front of all of Equestria for your treason, Fluttershy," Celestia said with a heavy sigh. "It disappoints me that you choose to side with humanity rather than your own kind."

"The only one who has been disappointed at all is me, Celestia," I answer back with a snort. "When I was a filly, I used to go to the Church of Harmony where there was a special foal's club after the mass where we learned about how to be kind and nice to ponies just like you. How you preached that we needed to always treat each other with respect even if we were different. Was all that just hogwash to make you seem more like a goddess to your ego, or was there a time you really believed in what you preach?"

"You will address her as Princess Celestia," one of the guards growled. "The Goddess of the Sun."

"She is no goddess, and even if she was, she is not one I worship anymore. There is only one God and his son that I have given my faith to, and they are much kinder and loving than she will ever be," I answer before standing up tall. "Nor do I recognize you as my princess. You are nothing but a bully and a murderer. So quit the speech and either hang me or get out of my room. I'd like to have breakfast."

"...Leave us," Celestia ordered, to which the guards obeyed. Once they were gone, she noted, "You've gotten quite braver since I last saw you."

"War changes us," I state before walking over to my cot and sitting down. "I'm not scared of you anymore. Not when I know that you won't last much longer."

"What makes you say that?" Celestia asked, narrowing her eyes.

I smirk. "Your guards have big mouths. I know what you and Twilight are planning. If you think that turning Equestria into some kind of fortress to prevent the invasion humanity will bring will keep you safe, you have another thing coming. You have no idea what awaits you all. I actually do pity you and I will pray for the lives lost, but this is all on you and your attempts at genocide."

"I was trying to save them," Celestia scoffed as she shook her head. "You think I wanted this? I wanted them to come to me and convert into becoming ponies of their own free will. To change them from their greedy and sinful nature into being something better. I was protecting them and Equestria with the Conversion potion. You think I like seeing my subjects have to fight a war and die to protect us? My own family? I have lost Shining Armor, Cadence, Flurry Heart, and... my sister."

Celestia closes her eyes and sheds tears that make me look down in sorrow. She then wipes them away and hisses at me. "Did you mourn for any of them? Did you not see how they died? Shining's head burst open by a single bullet. My sister ripped to shreds to the point I had to spend weeks preparing her body for a proper viewing service. Cadence and Flurry, along with millions of others, vaporized or suffered to die under painful conditions. Did you not weep for them? Those who were like family to you?!"

"I did," I answered, closing my eyes. "I wept for them when I heard of their deaths. I prayed to their souls to find peace, just as I do with every lost life in this war." Opening them, I glare back at Celestia. "Now, here is my question. Have you wept for those who died because of you? The innocent people who have melted under the power of the barrier's magic as their organs burned and bones were evaporated? The hundreds of thousands from dozens of nations who lost their lives fleeing from it? Did you shed any tears for the citizens killed in your various attacks on the major cities? How about a sob for the parents who have to bury their children and babies or vice versa? Did you even think of how a sister feels when they find that their brother has turned into something against his will and rejects his sister because she is a, and I quote, a disgusting human being?" I jump off my bed as I march over to the stoic alicorn. "Let us not forget what you have done to Rome and Mecca. Don't you dare play the accusation game with the Crystal Empire when you practically nuked it first, you hypocrite. I ask you this, Celestia, have you once ever mourn for all the tragedies that have happened in this war that you started?"

The two of us stared into each other's eyes with conviction. I knew she would never admit it, but deep down, Celestia never once cried for humanity. She loved Equestria and her subjects, but that love has been twisted into a state of fear and paranoia. And now everything I once treasured in my home is lost or will be lost soon. Humanity would not stop until they have completely submitted Equestria to their will and ensure their species' safety from annihilation.

Sighing, Celestia shakes her head before asking, "I assume you wish to know why you are still alive?"

"I have been wondering," I asked.

"You are right about one thing," Celestia mutters. "The invasion is coming. While I have faith in my subjects, I wish to leave nothing to chance. With only me and Twilight left as the ruling bodies of Equestria, it is up to us to defend our home, and we have found a way to do so."

"And that is?" I asked.

"A new barrier. One that is stronger and will protect us. It will shield Equestria from the outside world so long as it holds, and humanity will not be able to enter," Celestia explained as I raise my eyebrow.

"You realize the Thalmann Generators will just tear it to shreds as it did with the last barrier, right?" I point out.

"Yes, but there is a power source we can use that we believe can withstand the power of these...anti-magic generators," Celestia says with a curse under her breath. "The Elements of Harmony." My eyes widen. "It is Equestria's most powerful magic and the one weapon we have not yet tried. Twilight believes if we use the Elements' power, we can protect Equestria until we come up with a plan to move forward. It will not be like the last barrier, where it will constantly expand beyond our borders, but it will at least protect us."

"...and since you need all six bearers of the Elements alive to do this, that is why you captured me, right?" I asked in realization. I stared at Celestia in silence for a long time.

And then I laughed.

I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my hooves.

Celestia wasn't amused, but I didn't care because it was the funniest thing I had heard in years. I almost wet myself from the amusement and sheer ridiculousness of what I was hearing. I thought, at that moment, the crown had finally squeezed out what little sanity Celestia had in her head.

Eventually, I calmed down before I turned to Celestia and pointed out the obvious. "You expect me to help you? Me? The one who turned my back against my friends? The one who sacrificed my friendship with those I once called sisters in my heart. After all the adventures, trials, and lessons we learned that I left behind in the end? Do you think there is any harmony between us anymore?" I snorted. "I know for a fact that Rainbow Dash alone hates me for what I've done. Applejack most likely does since she's of a similar mindset. No doubt Twilight hates me too, since she's pretty much always following your example. I don't know about Pinkie Pie or Rarity, but regardless there is no more friendship between us. They hate me."

"But do you hate them?" Celestia asked, which made me hold my breath.

I didn't dare answer her. Not when, deep down, I didn't hate any of my friends. Was I disappointed in them? Yes. Did I wish they could open their eyes? Yes. Did I wish I could just go back to being a shy mare in the woods and get dragged along in adventures to save the day again? I would do so in a heartbeat. But would I want to hurt, kill, or see my friends suffer? No, never. For all the war has done to break our bond, I will never hate my friends even if they hated me.

Flying along with Rainbow Dash in the sky as I cheer her on for support in her aerial performances.

Helping Applejack feed the critters on her farm with warm apple pie waiting for us when we're done.

Partying with Pinkie Pie for whatever random reason as we giggle and dance to polka music.

Going to the spa with Rarity as we get our hooves and hair done while chatting about our lives together.

Spending time with Twilight in her library while reading books about the various creatures of legend in Equestria, both cute and scary.

I missed those times. I longed for those times. Those five mares who I shared a bond with ever since Rainbow Dash did the Sonic Rainboom that united under the powers of destiny itself. That was something you just never forgot nor let go of so quickly. It was something I long accepted that was inevitable when I left Equestria. That despite fighting my friends, I would always see them as my friends to the end. No, if I hated anyone in this world, it was the pony inside this prison cell with me. This witch caused all this by lying and manipulating us all. This monster in pony flesh who, even after all she lost, is willing to do anything to take down a race she hates for reasons I still cannot fathom. This murderer who killed one of my best friends in the world.

And I will NEVER forgive her for that.

"Twilight believes she's found a way to get around that factor," Celestia answered with a warm smile. "She always does achieve so much when she puts her mind to something. Even if it's something you personally think is impossible."

"And she deserves a better mentor than you," I said, growling. "Hay, Nightmare Moon would have been a bet-"

Celestia's magic wraps around my throat before pressing me against the wall. Her eyes glow white with rage, and I feel genuine fear for the first time in our conversation as the room gets hotter around. Flames dance around her luscious rainbow mane as she speaks softy, yet with demi-god power behind it. "Do not dare speak of my sister in such a way. I may need you alive, but that doesn't mean I don't have to keep you undamaged. Say anything about Luna like that, and I will rip your wings out, cripple your eyes, and pluck out your eyeballs for the crows to feed. My sister's death is on the hooves of you traitors and your human allies, and I will see you pay for that one way or another."

She lets go, and I gasp for breath while she backs away from me, still glaring yet with less intensity. "Regardless of the nature of your relationship with your fellow Elements, the only thing we need from you is to activate yours, and we will do the rest. Do this, and I will give you life in prison instead of having you executed. And don't even think about hoping for a rescue. You're in Canterlot under maximum security, and, with Discord dead, the Resistance has no means to teleport back to Equestria to save you."

"If you think I'll betray my friends and humanity for you, then you're wrong," I answered, shaking my head. I try not to think of Angel Bunny, who is no doubt angry and worried about me. Nor of Martin, who has won my heart in the years since we first met. I also know that my comrades, like Lyra, Flash Sentry, and Derpy, are trying to figure out a way to save me, but I don't think there is a chance they will achieve anything in time. "I'm not afraid to die, Celestia. I've been prepared for this ever since I left Equestria all those years ago. Nor will I help you in your efforts to avoid justice for your crimes."

"Perhaps your friends will change your mind instead of me," Celestia said as she got up and walked towards the door, which opened up. "They'll be here one my one to convince you. I suggest you listen to them and think of your next actions closely. Because if I have to resort to drastic measures to get you to cooperate, Fluttershy, I will do it."

The door closes, and I sigh heavily before going for my cold stew.

***

About an hour passes, and I just spend that time meditating in prayer or using the toilet to relieve myself. My thoughts are interrupted when my door opens again, and I see the first one to come and try to convince me to take up my old Element one more time. I'm not surprised to see who it is since I figured she would be the first to talk to me. She is the oldest friend I have ever had in my life, and in many ways, I consider her my sister. She defended me from when I was very little and shyer than usual. Yet, she never gave up on me and helped me find my courage over the years.

I admired her so much that I wished I could be like her almost every day. There was no more loyal or determined friend than her, nor will there ever will be. Yet, whatever bond and love we shared was shattered when I told her I was leaving Equestria. The pain in her eyes haunts me even to this day, and the guilt of breaking that friendship was a wound that never festered.

I calmly got up, took a deep breath, and spoke to her. "Hello, Rainbow Dash."

Blind Loyalist

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

Growing up as a weak flyer, I was often subject to bullying. I barely had any friends growing up until I met one specific pony who, to this day, has been my longest and faithful friend until I ended it by making my choice to side with humanity. Rainbow Dash was the most loyal friend you could imagine. She'll never choose fame, glory, or wealth if it means sacrificing her friends to gain it. Sure, she was stubborn, egotistical, and cocky beyond all reason, which ended up getting her in trouble more than once. But if you were to fight side by side with somepony, she would be the one to have your back. Even before Twilight came to Ponyville and united us as the Elements of Harmony, I have always been one of Rainbow Dash's best friends. We've hung out together, helped each other out when needed, and supported each other through difficult times. She was the first pony I ever had as a friend, and I will always be grateful to her for that.

Of all the ponies I hurt when I left Equestria with the resistance, she was the most difficult to leave behind. Even more so than my own parents and brother. I can still remember the hurt, anger, and sorrow in her eyes as I told her that I was leaving Equestria. She even tried to stop me with force, but I had the foresight to ask Discord to be there to get us away in time. I can only imagine how that pain I caused has only increased since the war began to turn in humanity's favor.

She was the one who knocked me out and is looking at me right now with such a glare that it screams to me that she personally wants to end my life right here and now. Rainbow Dash spits at the ground while huffing a storm. "I said I would bring you back."

"Yeah, I guess I should have known you always keep your promises," I say with a heavy sigh. "Even if it costs you."

"A lot of good Wonderbolts died trying to capture you," Rainbow Dash growls as she narrows her eyes to me. "Ponies who were much better in the end than you will ever be."

"If you're here to convince me to use my Element, you're doing a poor job of it," I say with a shake of my head. Leave it to Rainbow Dash to not be subtle. She just spits on the ground and starts to pace a bit while I stand with my best poker face.

The truth it's very nice to see her again. I haven't seen her or any of my friends since I joined the war. I always worried about what would happen if I had to face Rainbow, Twilight, or any other Princesses in combat at the battles I've been in. Not just because I know I would stand a snowball's chance in hell against them, but because I didn't like the idea of fighting my friends. Despite my resolve to help humanity and trained to be a combat medic, I still didn't like the idea of battling ponies I once called my best friends.

Even if what we once had is shattered.

"Believe me, if it wasn't for the fact that Princess Celestia and Twilight need you alive, I'd just kill you here right now." Rainbow Dash got in my face and snarled. "Everything is your fault."

"My fault?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"If you hadn't left, along with Discord, we would have never suffered all these defeats! We would be winning this war!" Rainbow Dash shouts, stomping her hoof. "Losing the barrier, not to mention all our dead friends and ponies we loved are gone thanks to you, that monkey bucking lover Lyra, and the rest of you traitors! Shining Armor. Luna. Cadence. Flurry Heart. Spitfire. Soarin. So many others I have fought with or knew in general? All of them are dead now because of you!"

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and shook her head. "My parents are dead because of you..."

My eyes widen as I think about Dash's parents and wonder how that was possible. As far as I knew, there was no attack on Cloudsdale. "H-How did they-"

"They were in Australia," Rainbow Dash mentioned, biting her lip. "They liked the area and...they wanted to live there...when the barrier fell, and the humans came to retake their land...my parents were among the casualties that day."

"... I'm sorry," I whisper with sincereness. Rainbow Dash's parents were good ponies, and they were nice to me. I knew that I would hear such things as I continued to fight, but hearing this makes me weep inside. "I'm sorry about your parents, Rainbow Dash."

"Buck your apologies!" Rainbow Dash shouts as she pushes me to my bed. "I don't need to hear them from a traitor like you! You're not my friend! Not anymore! You made your choice! I at least have real friends who support me! They were there to comfort me when my parents died! Where were you?! Killing your fellow ponies?! Spilling our secrets to weaken us?! Or were you fooling around with that stupid human you sleep with?!"

"...I was healing both sides during the battle," I said, getting up and staring at her face to face. "I risked my life to travel battlefields, invasions, and more to get as many wounded humans and ponies to safety so I could save their lives. I've saved both sides, Rainbow Dash, and I cried for everyone I couldn't save. Think of me what you will, Rainbow Dash, but I do care about our fellow ponies. I joined Lyra and the rest to stop us from making this mistake. From doing something so horrible that I could never forgive myself for doing nothing based on what I saw."

"How is trying to save humanity by turning them into ponies horrible?! We were trying to help them by turning them from something evil into something good!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

I shook my head and sighed. "Rainbow Dash, do you really think that every human being in the entire world is evil? Every man, woman, child, elder, and even the babies? Are they all evil? Did they do anything wrong except try to have a peaceful life? I will not deny that there are bad humans out there, Rainbow Dash. Believe me, I've seen them, and I agree that they are horrible."

There are still humans out there who think that ponies, in general, should just be wiped out from the face of the Earth. More the one human has cursed me, hated me, and wished I was dead. It's understandable, really. An alien race comes over from another dimension and decides to judge you for your entire existence before deciding you must be converted or purged. That everything about your species, from your culture to your entertainment, is seen as an abomination. That you and everything you stand for must be purified with the light of those who deem themselves superior to you.

Not to mention some still commit horrible crimes like rape and murder. Not just to their own kind but even to ponies who aren't in Equestria.

Yet, I have also seen so much good in them that I realize that I cannot judge a species simply because of these evil people. A lesson that Equestria has failed to learn. "But most humans I have known just want to live in peace. I have seen mothers tend to their children as they laugh and play, not knowing that there is an entire nation trying to force them to change into a form they have no control over or else be destroyed. I have seen enemies from opposite countries come together as brothers and sisters, united in faith and determination, to protect their homes and families from those who think they are scum the moment they are born. Those of great wealth have given so much to help others struggling when they have lost their homes, livelihoods, and limbs in this war. There are children writing poems, songs, and letters to those fighting and working hard to make sure they live to see a future. Families are taking in orphans who have lost their parents. Religious leaders are coming together for prayer and charity."

"Just because there are some humans-"

"Some? Rainbow Dash, every human nation in the world has signed peace treaties with each other. They are exchanging trade, technology, and resources. There are even talks of the U.N. planning a one-world government should they win the war. If that's not a sign of them uniting and being better, I do not know what is!" I shouted.

"But we're better than them!" Rainbow Dash shouted, flaring out her wings. "We've had a thousand or so years of peace and prosperity back home! What have the humans done in a thousand years? They've slaughtered each other, raped each other, enslaved each other, and more! They're not good creatures, Fluttershy! We're good! We're perfect!"

Perfect?

Really?

I know the propaganda was terrible, but is it really that bad? Has it always existed like this and I never knew it until recently, or was this just all new?

I sigh and just shake my head. "Starlight Glimmer. Was she good? She brainwashed an entire group of ponies into giving up their cutie marks and acting like a cult leader. In the end, she killed herself rather than accept what she did was wrong. What about Lighting Dust? She nearly got me and the others killed that one time at the academy and got kicked out because she didn't give a damn about that. The Great and Powerful Trixie had taken over our town in revenge for what Twilight did to her. Luna became Nightmare Moon and almost put us into eternal darkness, which would have taken God knows how many lives. Sombra enslaved and murdered Crystal Ponies under his tyrannical rule. Not to mention we've been at war before too with other creatures, or are you forgetting that we forced the dragons off the southern lands for ourselves in the third hundredth year of Equestria? Or that we tried to wipe out the Changelings in the fifth hundredth year of Equestria and thought they were all dead until the Royal Wedding? We were always taught that our way was better and to either fear or pity the other races because they weren't as advanced or enlightened as us. Because unlike you, I actually stayed awake in class."

"Okay, so maybe we're not perfect but-"

"We have criminals who have murdered, raped, and committed crimes in our history! If we were perfect, then we wouldn't need the Princesses, the Royal Guards, or even the damn army!" I then push forward, and she steps back as I continue. "And before Equestria was made, we were all at war with each other and hated each other with such vigor we nearly wiped ourselves out! How was that any different from humanity before we arrived?! Maybe they would have reached the point where they finally realized they needed to unite to survive instead of being divided as we did?! Have we ever thought of that?!"

"So you're saying that we shouldn't have taught them how to be better?!" Rainbow Dash flared at me

"There is a difference between teaching and threatening!" I shouted as I shook my head. "You are such a stubborn pony that you don't even think about the differences! Forcing people to follow your beliefs never works! It will always cause resistance and end up dividing people! You have to accept that some will never listen to you and accept that it takes time for lessons to be learned. We didn't give humanity that option in the end. We told them to become one of us, or we wipe you out! I couldn't live with that! I will not betray what I believe I stand for!"

"You're supposed to stand with us!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"I stand with what is right, Rainbow," I told her, stomping my hoof on the ground so hard I crack it. "You and the girls helped me find the courage to always do the right thing and stand up for what is right. Even if it hurts. I find it ironic that, out of all of you, I am the one who dared to do so when it comes to Princess Celestia and her attempts at genocide. Because the truth of all this, Rainbow Dash, is that you and everyone else who supports this war are nothing more than the very bullies who used to push us around as kids because they thought they were bigger, stronger, and smarter than us. How is that any different from your notion just now that Equestria is more perfect and better than humans, so we should dictate its fate?"

Rainbow doesn't answer me. She just stands there with a scowl on her face before turning away because she won't admit that I am right. I didn't get bullied in my youth just to become one like Princess Celestia has to humanity. No, I will not do it. Not now or ever.

"...And what about me?" Rainbow Dash whispers as she closes her eyes, and I see a tear drip down. "W-What about us, Fluttershy? You were my best friend. You were my sister. I loved you just like I loved my own family, and you just...you just left us...you left me for them! You betrayed me!"

Rainbow Dash rarely ever cried, and to see her even shed one tear was enough to make me shed one as well. "Do you think it was easy for me? You think I wanted to do this, Rainbow Dash? I love you. I love all of you. Doing this was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, and I knew that, even if we won, nothing would go back to what it once was. That you and the girls would hate me forever. Even my own family disowned me. My own mother told me she wished she never gave birth to me. How does that make me feel, Rainbow?"

After I confronted my friends about my betrayal, I told Discord to take me to my parents to tell them as well. Their reactions were somewhat shocking, considering they were never loud or violent, but I underestimated how patriotic they were. That was the first time my father ever yelled at me and nearly struck me in the face. My mother threw all my photos in the fire and told me to never come back again. My brother couldn't even look me in the eye. I don't even know if they are still alive, and deep down, I fear that they ended up like so many other families who ended up traitors.

Lyra's entire family was lynched.

Flash's family were burned in their homes by arsonists.

Moondancer's entire family was hung in public because they tried to escape later on.

Derpy's own parents were ashamed of their daughter's treason that they killed themselves.

Most who choose to resist learned of our families' fates, and they were all bad. Even though they had committed no crimes, they were judged and found guilty for just being related to us. A former North Korean soldier told me that the former Kim Dynasty regime did a similar practice before its fall. When one family member committed a crime, the rest of the family was punished as well.

How can Equestria claim to be better than humans when they were so similar in their own actions?

The two of us just stared at each other in silence as Rainbow Dash looks to be in deep thought about what to do or say. Honestly, I don't know what else there is to say because there is still nothing that will convince me to use my Element. "Fluttershy...if you just do this one thing...activate your Element...I'll forgive you...we all will...please just do this for Equestria."

"I'm not going to, Rainbow," I answered, shaking my head. "I'm not going to betray my friends and prevent myself from doing what's right."

"So you're willing to let more ponies die in this war?!" Rainbow Dash accused.

"If you want this war to end, then surrender and accept defeat, Rainbow," I answered. "You killed billions of them. Ruined their homes and destroyed their most significant landmarks. You forced their people to turn into Newfoals against their will. Do you think that they will not seek justice for that? If you really want to save Equestria, then convince Princess Celestia to end the war by surrendering. Because all actions have consequences, Rainbow Dash. Besides, I don't think even the Elements of Harmony will be enough to stop the Thalmann Generators, and even if they did, the humans would just improve it to destroy the new barrier."

"So you choose those who you've only known for three years over your own fellow Elements who you've known for far longer," Rainbow Dash mutters, shaking her head as she turns away. "You are a disgrace to your Element, Fluttershy."

She's about to leave, and I don't know what tells me to say this, but I say it anyway, "And you are a disgrace to yours."

Rainbow Dash pauses in place before snapping her head at me. "What."

"I said you are-"

"I know what you said, but what the buck does that mean?!" Rainbow Dash screams as she gets in my face so fast it's like a blur. "Unlike you, I've fought for my country! I stood by my fellow soldiers' side through thick and thin! I wasn't a coward who cracked under pressure as you did! I AM LOYALTY TO PRINCESS CELESTIA!"

"...Yes, but you are a blind loyalist, Rainbow," I answer, shaking my head as she looks confused. "Tell me, if Princess Celestia ordered you to kill Twilight and the others. Would you do it?"

"I...Well, what are you talking about?!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"If you were ordered to kill Twilight and the others because they are a threat to Equestria, and it's an order from Princess Celestia's own mouth, would you do it?" I asked, seriously.

"...If...If t-t-they end up traitors like you, then y-y-yes," Rainbow Dash answered.

"And if it was your parents? Scootaloo? Luna?" I asked.

"If it's for the sake of Equestria, then yes!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but I can see the hesitation in her eyes.

"And if it meant that we had to destroy every race back home? All the citizens, even the non-violent ones, by order of Princess Celestia, would you do it?!" I demanded.

"If it means keeping us all safe and protected, yes, I would!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but tears were in her eyes.

"...if you had to kill a foal to save all of Equestria, by order of Princess Celestia, would you do it?"

She doesn't answer, but I don't need her to. Because I know what she will say. Like all the others trapped in this mindset, Princess Celestia and Equestria cannot do anything wrong. My nation has become so self-righteous that the idea of anything else but our way being possibly good or correct is impossible to think of, especially if it comes from a set of powerful beings who are worshiped as living gods. And this is one of the biggest reasons I have betrayed my nation.

I need to save it from itself.

"The truth is Rainbow Dash, you wouldn't want to do those things, would you? You would want to not kill to protect Equestria, but you do it because you want to appear to be loyal. Loyalty to others is fine, but first, you need to be loyal to yourself and what you believe in. You have not done that. You are not acting like the Rainbow Dash I grew up with. The who protected the weak from the strong. The real Rainbow Dash I knew, the hero that protected me, would have stood up to Princess Celestia and be true to herself and done what Rainbow Dash knew was right. But you're only loyal to what Princess Celestia tells you to be loyal to, and that's mainly her own word. My heart told me that what we were doing was wrong, and if I cannot trust myself, who can I trust? If I cannot be loyal to myself, am I really loyal? That is why I say you are not loyal, Rainbow Dash. You are just blindly following Princess Celestia with no thought of your own. You just do what she says like a mindless slave."

A painful slap hits my cheek as I gently touch it before looking at Rainbow Dash, who is staring at me with a stoic expression. "You know something, Fluttershy? Even though I hated you, I still had a small part of me that thought of you as a friend." She then grits her teeth at me. "Now? You're just dead to me."

Rainbow turned around and slammed the door behind her as I sigh before slowly sitting down. It hurt to say it, but that was the truth.

And the truth is seldom nice.

***

I think an hour has passed before I hear the door open again. Looking up, I see a figure that is not looking at me with anger or disgust like Celestia and Rainbow Dash, but pity and sorrow. She still looks beautiful after all these years, and I know it's been a hard time for her. She walks forward still poised and straight like that of a noble lady, but she is not of high class save for the heart she was known for. How many times have I gone to the spa to enjoy a relaxing day of soothing warm bubble baths and makeovers? The dresses I have tried on and modeled for her just to be presented perfectly to her customers. All the times she's been there for a shoulder to cry on when I needed it while making tea to soothe my tears.

I stand up and wonder what she's going to say to me. "Hello, Rarity."

Author's Notes:

Hope you like the story so far. Remember, that this is an AU from the canon series.

Once again, feel free to make your own NegotationsVerse stories based on what you would like to see :)

Please help out at the NegotationsVerse TV Tropes Page

Broken Diamond

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

Unlike Celestia and Rainbow Dash, Rarity is staring at me with sorrow and pain. I do not know if it's directed at me or because of what she has suffered. While some defectors were content to keep track of their families and friends back home, I had done my best to avoid doing so. It's why I didn't know about the deaths of Rainbow's parents until today. It was already painful enough to be fighting them. I didn't want anything to hinder me if I had to make a difficult choice in the war. Sadly, some news I did hear about as time went on, and one of those was Rarity's loss of both her husband and her child.

Valiant Wave was one of Twilight's bodyguards ever since we landed on Earth. Celestia had been adamant about her having them since some humans didn't take kindly to us arriving even in the early years. Rarity had been utterly smitten by the handsome pegasus and soon started to woo him over. The two were soon inseparable, and I was all for supporting their relationship. I was even one of the bridesmaids at the wedding years later.

The last happy event the six of us celebrated was when Rarity announced she was pregnant. Not long after, I finally defected.

"Hello, Fluttershy," Rarity whispers with a small smile. "I'm glad you're alright...I was...worried that Rainbow Dash might actually have killed you."

"No, but she really came close," I muttered while getting up to stand face to face with her.

She doesn't look as beautiful as I remember her to be. In fact, this is the least graceful state I have ever seen of Rarity. Her mane was barely standing in its proper design, and her coat was slightly brushed instead of the usual dedication that she put into it. There was no eyeliner, no make-up, no lipstick. Even her tail was without its typical curl. However, the worst thing to look at is her eyes. I have seen plenty of broken souls on both sides during my time in the war, and Rarity has a similar look, but more so of a civilian's shattered expression than that of a soldier.

With a soldier, they are prepared at least to know what awaits them on the battlefield. They train and steel themselves for it, even if they end up losing it in the end. Civilians on the other hand? I've never gotten used to seeing them so disheartened. The average person in life, be it pony or human, wants to get up, go to their job, hang out with friends, and go to sleep the next day to do it all over again. What happens when your home is vaporized? Your family, friends, and neighbors all killed or transformed into a creature that is programmed to reject everything about you? Seeing massive amounts of terror, fear, and hopelessness as your world crumbles around you while millions die from powers you cannot understand and thought to be pure fiction just a decade and a half ago?

Despite humanity winning the war, it's still suffering even as victory draws near. And it will still have to suffer for generations. The weight of everything they once knew of their everyday life has been ruined by bloodshed, destruction, and loss. And it was never going to return to normal.

Rarity wasn't like Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Celestia. She wasn't one to fight or get involved in a war and not just because she didn't want to get dirty. I've seen her hold her own in a fight to defend herself, but Rarity wasn't a soldier. She would never take a life if she could help it or even fight to the last breath if it came down to it. Rarity was a creator, not a destroyer. This is why I knew, deep down, she hated the war as well.

She may never have said it or acted on it, but I knew she was against it. I think even Pinkie Pie was against the war, but like Rarity, she has done nothing out of fear. Yet it was me who had defected to do the right thing. Out of all six of us, I was the one—the pony who was once afraid of her own shadow. I guess we never really know our true potential until the proper time comes?

"Are you here to convince me to use my Element as well?" I ask with a heavy sigh.

"Yes, but I'm not here to force you. I am here to beg you to do it," Rarity asks, lowering her head. "If not for the sake of all us suffering from this war, then at least for me."

"Rarity, I won't do it," I answer with a shake of my head. "Not even for you. I won't risk it."

"For heaven's sake, Fluttershy!" Rarity shouts, glaring at me. "Do you hate us that much that you would see those barbarians slaughter us all?! Rape us until we're nothing but broodmares?! Foals are being told right now that if humans try to attack us, we must consider the possibility of ending our lives and joining our loved ones in Elysium! And you won't do anything to stop it?!"

"What the hell can I do to stop it?!" I scream back. I wasn't that high up the chain of command for the resistance, nor did I have any political clout with the U.N. via military or political. I might have been one of the most famous traitors in this war, but I cannot stop the burning desire for billions of people's justice. "Even if I was to do this, do you really think that the Elements of Harmony will be able to stop the Thalmann Generators?! They were able to help kill Princess Luna! One of the most powerful beings in Equestria! I know the Elements of Harmony are powerful, but they are still magic! And even if they can resist it, how long will it last? The humans will just make the generators stronger or come up with some other kind of weapon to destroy it!"

"Maybe we can just keep it last long enough to negotiate-"

"They will not negotiate until Equestria has completely and unconditionally surrendered. I know that much, at least," I answer with a tired sigh. "Besides, we both know that Celestia will never do so. Not when she's lost so much. She will never co-exist with a species that killed her family, much less the ponies she loves. She hates humanity, Rarity. I do not know why she does, but she hates them. She'll fight on until her last breath and bring everypony down with her just because she cannot accept that she was wrong nor live in a world where they exist."

"...The princess is just trying to protect us, Fluttershy," Rarity states which only makes me roll my eyes. "You saw what it was like those early years when we were here! Our embassies were attacked! We got booed and jeered at Twilight's world tour and even harassed! Some humans murdered or even raped ponies in the human lands before the war! Not to mention how barbaric some of their cultural practices are! Stoning same-sex lovers to death?! Slavery?! Labor camps?! Plus, there was all that horrible-"

"Yes, Rarity, I get it," I interrupt. "I'm not saying they are perfect. God knows I've seen that in all the time I've been on this planet. Yet, I have also seen ponies and humans playing and enjoying each other's company. Their art and music were popular before they all got banned. Even their cultural institutions were unique and gaining ground. Ponies liked humanity until Celestia made them all look like demons."

She tries to say something, but I continue. "Plus, they thought of things none of us have ever dreamed of! The idea of representatives in government for the people? That they vote to represent them so that their grievances could be hard? It would give the common pony a say in how things are run instead of just letting the elites or royals guide us! Separation of church and state? There are numerous ponies out there, including Twilight, who never believed in the Church of Harmony, but all other faiths are forbidden or ignored. They have such an influence in our government and lives we have no choice but to obey their words as gospel. The humans allowed their governments and religions to be separate by having neither influence the other. Not to mention all the significant scientific discoveries they have made that have changed their world. Advancements that we could have achieved if we worked together with them instead of teeming technology like a bunch of zealous Luddites!"

"Not all the human lands did this," Rarity points out. "China alone is responsible for countless deaths and violations of the so-called human rights that every so-called 'civilized nation' vows to uphold but never did anything to really defend it."

"That is true. I'll admit that," I say with a nod. "But over time, those ideas I talked about were slowly starting to spread and appeal to others. Yes, they had their flaws, but what system doesn't? How are other non-pony citizens of Equestria treated back when we were in our home dimension? Remember how scared we were of Zecora? Ponyville was practically the only place she felt safe even after that because there were still other cities and towns that feared her. Non-ponies like here were often treated as second-class citizens at best because we're so xenophobic about every little creature hurting us due to the past wars and conflicts. Sound familiar, huh? Plus, almost all the nobles in Equestria were unicorns with barely any pegasus or earth ponies getting high-class titles or positions. There was also a bias against those who decided to go against the standard racial expectations. Such as an earth pony wanting to study magic, a pegasus wanting to be a farmer or a unicorn who wanted to learn whether. What was wrong with them trying?"

"B-Because... it's just now how it's done!" Rarity tried to state. "For over a thousand years-"

"That's just it, Rarity," I state as I poke at her chest. "For one thousand years, Equestria rarely ever changed because Celestia only allowed changes she thought were proper. Because we all were told that Celestia was the only one who could make the decisions. Either because she had been our leader for so long, or we believed her to be a living goddess. But Celestia has made mistakes. She failed to see her sister's suffering until she turned into Nightmare Moon. She failed to see that Cadence was not acting her usual self and was a changeling queen all along." One thing that she also failed to properly apologize for now that I think about it. "And now she's made the mistake of assuming the worst about humanity, just like you, and everypony goes along with it because they cannot even think that maybe, just maybe, there are other ways out there that work instead of just kissing her royal behind!"

"Oh, what do you know!" Rarity growled as she turned away with a huff. "You haven't lost anyone to them, Fluttershy! You have no idea what they've done to us! To me!"

Despite having her head turned, I hear a soft sob that makes me close my eyes. I slowly walk over to her and put my hoof on her shoulder. "Rarity. I'm sorry about Valiant Wave and your foal. I know you loved him very much." She started to sob harder. "And I know you were excited about being a mother. Believe me, you would have been a great one with how you raised Sweetie Belle all these years."

"...Were you in Dubai when it happened?" Rarity asked.

"No, I was still training to be a combat medic. I didn't officially join the war until after Berlin was wiped out. My first battle was San Diego."

"...his legs had been blown off by a grenade," Rarity slowly closed her eyes and sat down on her haunches. Tears began to cascade down her cheeks as she continued, "They did all they could to save him, but the loss of so much blood...the doctors said that...his final words...was that he loved me so much..."

"Rarity..."

"They offered a closed casket funeral service, but I wanted an open one. I wanted to see Valiant's face one last time, even if it was as pale as a ghost and motionless as a rock. I couldn't say anything. Not at the wake, or the funeral, or even at the burial. I couldn't speak. All I could think about was how I had lost my husband, my child's father, to those Celestia damn dirty apes!" She hissed before glaring at me. "They took him from me! They stole him from me! I wanted to see every single one of your precious humans wiped off the face of the planet for what they had done! I wanted to see them all destroyed!"

I say nothing. I let Rarity roar in grief, but deep down, I sympathize. I really do wish this war never happened.

"And then what happened?! My baby decides to come out shortly after, and I'm thinking that at least I have him! At least I have my son! But when I brought him into this world, he didn't cry! Not once, and do you want to know why, Fluttershy?!" Suddenly, she slaps me as hard as she can, but I don't hit back. This is not the first time I have had to deal with a grieving wife and mother. Not when I have personally signed their time of death and gave them the news. "Because my baby was dead! Stillborn! I don't know how or why, but I don't care! I've suffered enough! I'm done! I want this bucking war to end, and you will help us do it, or so help me I will personally force you to do this! I do not deserve this! I never have! I was a good mare! I did everything right! This should never have happened to me!"

She wipes the tear from her eyes and looks at me with both anger and despair. "Do you understand what I am going through, Fluttershy? Do you? Or are your precious humans more important than my suffering?"

Rarity takes a few deep breaths as I stand there with a small tear going down my eye. Not just for Rarity, but for Valiant Wing and her child. For all the losses we have suffered from this war.

"...What you have lost hurts me, Rarity. Believe me," I answer honestly. "I liked Valiant Wave. I really thought he was a good stallion, even if he believed in Celestia's rhetoric. And your child? No baby should have its life ended before it should begin." I then sit down and shake my head. "And yet...what you have just told me I have also heard from others. Pony and human. Mothers. Fathers. Children. Grandparents. Brothers. Sisters. Husbands. Wives. Cousins. Aunts. Uncles. Godfathers. Godmothers. Friends. Neighbors. Every type of person you can imagine I have seen lose someone close to them."

Rarity says nothing, but I continue anyway. "What you feel now, Rarity? That is the pain billions of ponies and humans are going through day by day because of this war. Both sides have lost so much it has driven things to the point that both sides want nothing but total annihilation for the other. I want this war to end. I want to stop all the deaths, anger, and tears. Believe me, I do. Do you think I want to see the life of a five-year-old toddler leave his eyes as he asks where mommy is before passing on? Do you think I enjoy sawing off the arm of a grown man who is crying because his lover died in his arms? I once had to deliver a baby from a dying mother who prayed to every god out there that her child would live but died a few days later from a weak heart. I've seen hundreds of orphans who are scarred for life." I feel tears coming down my eyes as I realize that I am crying as well. "And that's just the humans. I've seen just as much from the ponies I rescued too. There are even those that try to kill themselves because they are utterly terrified and convinced that they are going to suffer fates worse than death."

I point to her and say what needs to be said, even if it sounds harsh. "Your suffering, Rarity. I get that. But so am I. So are billions of others, both human and pony. We're all suffering, and until the war ends, this isn't going to stop."

"Then...why?" Rarity asks, near pleading. "Why won't you..."

"Because this suffering was started by Equestria," I point out. "We declared war. We told the humans to convert or die. We invaded this world, and we tried to change into our image without considering the opinions or values of the other species who lived here. We tried to change this world's nature into something that it's not meant nor wants to be. Both sides may be suffering, Rarity, but in the end, it was us who started it...I helped start this by bringing us into this world with you and the girls. And I will do whatever I can to make up for that by ending it."

"And what have you lost in this war compared to what I have?" Rarity bitterly asked.

I think about my parents and my brother. The friendships that I once had. The neighbors I used to wave at. The humans and ponies in the resistance that I saw as a family over time. And...I see Discord smiling at me before he closes his eyes forever. I hear his final words. Words that I never thought about until now.

"I love you."

Love.

He loved me.

I never knew. Not once did I suspect that Discord loved me. Was that why he followed me to the bitter end? That he risked everything for me? That he sacrificed himself to protect me? How long did these feelings last? What would I have done if I never met Martin? Love him back? I don't know. All I know is that Discord was one of the most influential figures in my life, and I lost him. I lost him because I was too weak to run away and save myself.

And I cannot forgive myself for it.

It was Discord who stood by me to the very end. Someone who was once a former enemy of mine and even betrayed me one time. Yet he was the most faithful, loyal, and bravest friend I ever had. It's funny. I thought the girls and I would be friends forever. Yet it was Discord in the end who was more of a true friend than any of them. Did I love him the same way he loved me? If things were different...if I hadn't met Martin...maybe? Maybe I could have loved him in such a way, but that didn't mean Idon't love him in another way. Discord wasn't just my best friend. He was my family. He was the only old friend I had when I left Equestria, and he risked everything for me and my desire to see humanity saved from Equestria. I'm sure he had his reasons as well, but I know that, deep in my heart, it was all for me. And he will always be in my heart, for I will never forget my best friend in the world. My Discord. My Dizzy.

"I've lost everything. Including the most honorable friend, I knew in my life," I whisper and turn my back to sit back in my bed. However, Rarity then says something that makes me freeze in place.

"What? Discord? Surely you can't be serious?" Rarity says, and I freeze up. No. She would not. I know she didn't like him. Hated him even. But she will not dishonor what I had lost when I tearfully sympathized with her own loss. "Quite frankly, Fluttershy, I think the entire universe is better with him gone. Some of us were even convinced that he had tricked you into joining with humanity. If that's true then-"

"Rarity," I say her name with ice-cold steel in my tone as I slowly turn around and give her such a glare that it makes her freeze up. "If you say anything… anything… negative about Discord…"

The two of us just stare at each other. While doing so, I think about all the times we have shared together. All the fun times at the spa. The sleepovers. The pet playdates. The adventures and lessons we learned. Every hug, kiss on the cheek and laugh we have shared. The tears we've cried together both joyful and sad. How I trusted her with my secrets and she with me. Next to Rainbow Dash, she was the closest to a sister I had.

"Well, now you know how my suffering feels-"

And just like that, it's all gone.

"FUCK YOU!"

I jump on Rarity, and she screams in terror before I slug my hoof into her face. Blow after blow, I am shattering those happy memories. I black her eyes, break her nose, and destroy her teeth. Her once beautiful face soon becomes a mug shot as I go to work on it without end. Screaming and cursing at her for her betrayal.

When she mourned and sobbed about her husband and child, I had sympathized, cried, and accepted her grief.

Yet when it came to my suffering? Nothing. No sympathy. No tears. Not even a "sorry."

It takes three guards to pull her off me and a spell from another to put me to sleep.

***

By the time I wake up, I can feel somepony else in the room. Turning my head, I see a purple alicorn who is glaring at me with disgust. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I had pretty much maimed Rarity half to death, and if there was one good thing I could say about the mare in front of me, she cares about her friends.

Though, I guess that doesn't apply to me anymore. I get up and sigh before greeting her. "What do you want, Twilight?"

Author's Notes:

I hope I made Rarity well in this fic. She and Pinkie Pie are the two that I am most worried about when writing this because I rarely used them for the original series. Well, hopefully this is going well.

Also, Fluttershy saying "Fuck you" is always the best thing to write in any fic.

Remember, that this is an AU from the canon series.

Feel free to make your own NegotationsVerse stories based on what you would like to see :)

Please help out at the NegotationsVerse TV Tropes Page

Naive Magic

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

Everything in my life changed the moment Twilight Sparkle arrived in Ponyville. Destiny had taken hold, and there was no stopping it from making me one of Equestria's heroes from that day forward. I never once pictured myself to be a paragon and defender of the world, but I guess fate is strange that way. Do I regret it? No. Those days and adventures I had when I was with my friends were scary, but I would never trade them for anything.

Twilight, in many ways, was a friend anyone could get along with. She might have been the Element of Magic, but she represented all of our Elements as one. It wasn't a surprise to me that she became an Alicorn. In fact, I couldn't think of a pony who deserved it more than her at the time. If there is one good thing I can say about Celestia, she trained Twilight to be a good pony. Which makes it all the more heartbreaking and disappointing to see her like this.

Twilight loves Celestia. Maybe more than her own mother and father. After all, she practically raised Twilight and taught her everything she knew. Yet, I had hoped, really hoped, that Twilight was intelligent and wise enough to see through her love of Celestia for the monster she had become since we arrived on Earth, but sadly she didn't. Twilight is too close to Celestia and believes in her so much that there is nothing I can think of that can break the bond they have.

Yet just because I do not hate her doesn't mean that I don't blame her, in part, for what has happened. Twilight helped engineered that horrible potion that has turned humans against their very selves into something monstrous. The Newfoals are just...wrong. I do not know what to even call them, but I refuse to call them ponies. It's like looking at a soulless creature programmed to do what is told and never refuse a request. I've heard...stories about ponies even asking them for sex, and they do it. One rumor was that one pony soldier joked about ordering the Newfoal to kill herself, and she did much to her horror. I don't know if that's true or not, it may just be a lie, but it begs the question of just how flawed this potion is if it can take away basic survival instincts? I can't think Celestia or Twilight made such a thing intentionally. Not even Lyra believes that for all her hatred for the two. But even if they didn't, the fact that they still use it is wrong.

"What do you want, Twilight?" I ask while trying to wipe away the last of the sleep spell forced onto me.

"...I honestly do not know," Twilight whispers with both sorrow and anger in her tone. She closes her eyes and lowers her head while her wings flap gently behind her. "...I still can't believe that out of everypony I knew in my life, Fluttershy, that you would be the one that betrayed us. We were supposed to be best friends forever. The six of us to the very end. And you...you ruined that."

I sigh before getting off my bed and facing her with as much bravery as I can muster. Out of everypony I feared coming across, Twilight was on the top of my list. I've seen how she can fight even long before the war, and I know how dangerous she can be. It's hard to imagine that the gentle and socially awkward bookworm I knew living in Ponyville was a fierce as a dragon when enraged. There was a reason the human soldiers called her "The Purple Angel of Death." If there is one thing that Twilight holds dear, if you hurt anyone she cares about, she will destroy you.

"You don't think I wish it could have been different? That I didn't have to leave behind my home, my family, and my friends? But I couldn't just sit on my flank doing nothing, Twilight. Not when we were hurting, killing, and outright assimilating a species out of existence when they asked just to be left alone."

"How can you say that after everything we've seen from them, Fluttershy?" Twilight asks, stunned by my response. "You've seen the damage they can cause! The ruin they bring! I'm not saying all of them are evil, but we couldn't let them continue the path they were going! For Equestria's sake, Fluttershy, we were all almost killed by them during our Friendship Tour by those terrorists who thought we were demons!"

"I know, believe me, it almost made me never want to step into human lands again," I say with a shiver. The tour idea was all Twilight's brainchild. During our second year on Earth, Twilight thought to bring us and a few others around for a world tour to promote the teachings of friendship and harmony. It was about us telling our tales, showing examples of friendship, and teaching humans to be better. Some places took it well. Others didn't. Kuwait was one of them where some religious radicals believed we were demons that needed to be killed before we bring ruin to them all, and so they tried to bomb the place with suicide bombers, but security stopped them.

I wonder if they feel justified knowing what has happened since?

Needless to say, the Tour didn't do as well as we hoped, but I received letters from those who attended who liked it. It made me feel that there was a home for the humans. I guess it just wasn't enough for the others.

"I just...I get why you feel uncomfortable with what we did. I know you didn't like the idea of going to war. I didn't either!" Twilight says as she points to herself. "The Princesses and I didn't go through with the decision that easily. We thought about it for months! But we realized that there was no other choice!"

"Did you realize that? Or did Celestia realize that?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. Twilight didn't answer. She just turned her eyes away and rubbed the back of her hooves. Sometimes I think some of the resistance members all had the right nickname for Twilight: "Toollight Suckup" Because despite Twilight's ability to think for herself, she cannot resist obeying Celestia no matter what. "It doesn't matter what happened in the past, Twilight. We cannot take back our choices. And even if I knew where I would end up in the end, I would still do it."

"So even the pain of your friends means nothing to you? What we've all had to go through? As well as all of Equestria?" Twilight demands as she stomps her hoof down, and sparks come out of her horn. "Do you have any idea...what I've lost?"

"I do," I answer before shaking my head. "And my answer to you is the same as it was to Rarity. I am sorry you lost your brother, Cadence, and Flurry Heart, Twilight. In fact, the nuclear bomb was something a lot of us hated happened, and that's the one thing in the war that I really hate what humanity has done, but keep in mind you pretty much nuked their cities as well. You couldn't expect them to just not retaliate, any of them, by how you killed billions of their own people."

"Flurry Heart was just a child," Twilight sobs as she closed her eyes. Despite her angry face, tears come down in mass. "So we're so many others..."

"And you don't think there weren't children in Rome or Mecca? Or what about all those who were unable to escape the barrier as it took over their homes and fields before wiping them out in a brutal death? All those children in places like Australia, China, India, South Africa, Guam, and many more. All of them crying for their parents just before being melted into nothing but gloop? Not to mention all orphans who had to walk miles and miles for food, shelter, help, and many didn't survive halfway across the journey. What about them?" I ask with sorrow in my heart. All these souls, especially the little ones...I can only hope that they are at peace in heaven. "This war has hurt everyone, Twilight. We've all lost someone—even me. I lost...I lost Discord."

"I know..." Twilight says before glaring at me again. "But if you think I'm going to mourn him, you're mistaken. I was willing to give him a second chance after Tirek, but after he betrayed us as well? No, Discord, I realize now could never be reformed, and we should have kept him in stone all this time. Besides, if Discord hadn't sabotaged the Crystal Cannon, then Princess Luna and I wouldn't have needed to fight in Jerusalem, and she wouldn't have been killed there thanks to those damn Thalmann Generators."

"Discord was more of a hero than you will ever know," I reply back with a snarl. "Almost every human in the world loved him. Ottawa even has a statue of him back in Canada after saving them from your assault. He has saved countless soldiers' lives and helped other ponies that hated the war escape before your secret police would have imprisoned or eliminated them."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asks in confusion. "The secret police just isolate the dissenters and keep them safe while educating them on what's right."

"...you really don't know what happens, do you?" I ask.

"What are you talking about?"

I snorted. "Wow. For such a smart pony, Twilight, you sure are dumb."

"And for such a pony who used to be so kind, you've become a bitch," Twilight snarks as she shakes her head. "Did you really have to hurt her, Fluttershy?" Twilight asks while glaring at me. "She was your friend."

"Rarity told me she was glad that Discord was dead. The only thing I regret is now breaking her face more," I said, shaking my head. "Relax, I'm not going to attack you. It would do no good."

"Believe me, I'm almost tempted for you to let you try," Twilight answered, shaking her head. "Listen, Fluttershy. We want the war to be over too. We're not stupid. We know that without the barrier, the humans will come for us. There is no point to the war anymore. We want a ceasefire on equal terms."

"A ceasefire on equal terms?" I ask in disbelief. "Last time I checked, Twilight, you had lost all the territory you ever took from the humans. Most of the New foals are in their hands now after you abandoned them. The Crystal Empire is gone. All that's left is Equestria itself, and both of us know the humans are gearing up for an invasion unless you agree to an unconditional surrender. What equal terms do you even have?"

"That's why we need the Elements of Harmony!" Twilight explained before taking a few deep breaths to calm down. "Listen, originally, we had just planned on using the Elements to escape this world and go to a different one."

"Why not go back to our world?" I ask. That didn't make any sense. Why not retreat back to our world where they could be safe? Then again, it had been nearly fifteen years since we left. How much had changed?

"Because Princess Celestia said that something was blocking us. Some sort of dimensional interference or something that isn't just preventing us from going back to our world, but also to other worlds. So we're stuck here," Twilight answered with a shrug. "She says everything is fine back home, but we just can't go back at the moment. But anyway, I figured out there was a chance to make a new barrier using the Elements of Harmony's power. It would be just like the barrier the Crystal Heart made for the Crystal Empire."

"But it couldn't stop a nuke," I point out. Even with all the Crystal Heart power, it was nothing against the power of nuclear energy. "What makes you think that this would be better?"

"Because the Elements of Harmony are stronger than the Crystal Empire. They are the strongest magic known to us," Twilight explains as if this was a history lesson. "Humans are still susceptible to magic, so it would prevent them from entering our borders and protect us from any range missile attacks. The barrier won't extend itself like the original, but it will be three times as stronger so that not even the Thalmann Generators will be able to stop it...in theory."

"Theory?" I repeat before snorting. "So you don't know if this idea will even work?"

"It will work!" Twilight states firmly. "I've done all the math and magical calculations. This will protect Equestria, and then we can get the humans to negotiate with us!"

"And what do you want? To be left alone?"

Twilight nods her head. "Yes. We end the war with the humans keeping their territory and the Newfoals while keeping our borders and citizens safe. They stick to their side, and we stick to our side. Neither interferes with us, and we just leave each other alone."

"You can't really think that will last forever, right?" I point out in disbelief. "You really think the humans will just give up? Or Celestia? All you are doing is delaying another war, Twilight."

"Is it any better than letting it continue?" Twilight asks with a heavy sigh. "I'm tired of losing friends, family, and subjects, Fluttershy. If humans want to live their lives the way they want to live them, then so be it. They'll destroy themselves anyway or go back to hating each other while we rebuild and grow stronger."

"If you really think that, then you are naive, Twilight," I answer. "The humans will not stop trying to get back at you. One thing we both agree on is that the humans are ruthless, but they aren't dumb. They learn and advance with each struggle, and this will only make them stronger, Twilight. The truth is that Equestria is no longer the big filly in the schoolyard and that it's been outclassed by a race of beings who have done more technologically, socially, and military than we have in the past thousand years."

"That's not true! Equestria has always been the best and brightest nation back in our world! It's discovered the true meaning of friendship and the light of harmony! We've managed to defeat countless enemies and are an example of what it means to be united! And furthermore-"

I know Twilight well enough to know she's going to go on one of her tangents where she sprouts countless knowledge from books that fly over the average pony's head, so I just stop listening to her. However, as I think more and more about it...something doesn't add up. What interference could be preventing Equestria from teleporting back home? Just because Celestia says so? What was the real reason?

Because when you get down to it, the entire history of Equestria can really be summed to as "The Princess said so." In fact, speaking with Twilight makes me wonder why Equestria hasn't advanced so much as humanity did in the last one thousand years.

I know it sounds a bit conspiracy theory, but it was something that the resistance often wondered and discussed when we had free time. When you really looked at the history of Equestria, and compared it to humanity's history, why was it that we didn't advance as far as we could have? I've seen advanced machines like Flim and Flam's work, which is really just steam engine technology with some magic tied to it. The minotaurs discovered numerous mental crafting and smithing techniques that the humans discovered in their ancient times. It was even only in the last few decades that Equestria has recently started using trains, gunpowder, and electricity. The humans had them far longer than we ever did.

And I know that there were once discussions in school about the history of small groups and settlements talking about political philosophies similar to democracy, capitalism, socialism, and communism. However, they were always deemed as cults or threats that were wiped out or exiled. Not to mention that the religion of Equestria, the Church of Harmony, has never once changed its doctrine ever since its foundation. Even the longest-lasting human beliefs today have gone through numerous changes with the various eras of humanity.

Lyra believed that it was because of Celestia. In fearing other nations rising more powerful than us, or even internal ideas that challenged her rule and power, she restricted everything for the sake of her own wellbeing. The idea that she purposefully hindered advancement out of fear of it getting out of control or of her own power did make sense. For over a thousand years, and even longer, she and all other alicorns were worshiped as living gods with absolute authority. Nobody challenged their rule, or else you were seen as a heretic or traitor to the crown because it was generally believed they were the wisest, strongest, and greatest of us all. They had protected us from all the predator races seeking to rule or destroy us, from the griffins to the dragons to the changelings. Did we let our appreciation and love of them go so far that it went to their heads? Or were they so dedicated to protecting Equestria that they genuinely believed that they were the only ones who could do so? Ruling a nation was stressful, but for a thousand or so years? How does that affect someone?

Others, like Derpy, thought that because we relied so much on magic that it hindered our scientific progress and desire to improve ourselves because everything seemed to be so easy to fix. Magic was a powerful source of energy, and it seemed almost limitless in what it could do. Was our lack of drive and imagination in using it, because we took it for granted, what prevented us from advancing as well? The technology of humanity has matched Equestrian magic in many ways while also doing achievements never thought possible. Sure, there are some things that magic can do better, but Martin once quoted me something from a writer named Arthur C. Clark: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Was magic really just another form of technology? It was energy, after all, and energy can be used in multiple ways. Maybe it had to do with the different physics laws in our dimension? I can see that overusing it might have caused us to take things easy. Even after a thousand years, we were still the most advanced country in the world we lived in. Yet, how long does a golden age truly last?

There was also a third thought, and I know Flash has told me of this one: the lack of an equal challenger. While the griffins and dragons were once some of the most powerful kingdoms of all time, they declined as we grew in strength. They overestimated us and soon fell into ruin and never once achieved the once-great glory they had. For so long, Equestria went unchallenged as the sole superpower. Then we came here, and suddenly we faced multiple powerful nations, and an equally powerful race, that could challenge us in all forms and ways. The humans call this Thucydides Trap. In which a rising superpower and old superpower come into conflict due to the former wanting to surpass the latter and the latter wanting to prevent the former from taking over. The human race has always advanced due to the conflicts they had suffered from, but they slowly learned and got better each time. Was the lack of competition the reason we never reached the potential we could have as well? Until this war, Equestria had never had a major war for over five hundred years.

Maybe it was a combination of all three or others? Who knows. I guess it doesn't really matter right now. The only reason I think sometimes we let Celestia and Luna rule us is that they could control the sun and moon...when...nobody...else...

Oh my god.

Oh my god.

OH MY GOD!

No.

No… she wouldn't.

She wouldn't be that cruel.

For all she has done, there is no way that Celestia did what I think she did.

I have to know. I have to know!

"Twilight? Twilight? Twilight?!" I shout at Twilight, but she still goes on. Growling, I scream, "TWILIGHT SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH FOR ONCE AND LISTEN TO ME!"

I don't know if it's because I scream or cursed or both, but she freezes in place with wide eyes. Taking a deep breath, I feel my heart about to stop as I ask one question. One question that, in the last fifteen years, nobody has ever asked throughout this entire time we've been on Earth.

"Who's been controlling the sun and moon in our world since we've been here?"

There is a long silence between us. It seemed like the world had suddenly stopped in time as the question echoes in my mind. I think of every creature that wasn't a pony that we left behind.

Griffins.

Dragons.

Changelings.

Zebras.

Minotaurs.

Breezies.

Diamond Dogs.

Not to mention all the non-Equestrian ponies like Saddle Arabia.

Or all the creatures we had yet to see or know about.

All of their faces are in my mind as I wait for Twilight to answer.

"I..." Her face scrunches up in thought. "I don't know. I never asked."

And just like that, I break.

I fall to the ground, and I weep. I sob and kick the ground in anger and sorrow because I know what's happened. All those faces I see are now burning in fire and heat as their skin turns to ash and their bones melted into liquids. Others are frozen in place, slowly dying in the darkest of nights with no light or hope as their entire life is sucked out of them.

Millions if not billions of voices scream and curse and plead and beg and pray...and then are silenced for eternity.

The answer was there in front of us all, and not once until now did anyone question it.

Nobody.

Nobody was moving the sun and moon.

Fifteen years we've been on this planet, and for fifteen years, the sun and moon not once have moved from their spot last.

Dead.

Everyone back home was dead.

We killed them all. I killed them all.

The moment we used the Elements and teleported us to Earth.

What have I done?

What have we done?

God forgive me.

God forgive us all.

Twilight is asking me what's wrong, but I cannot hear her voice over my screaming. My tears and my wails are as loud as can be.

But it's nothing compared to the voices I hear in my head.

The voices of my old world dying in agony.

***

I don't know how long I cried. I don't even know if I managed to say anything. All I remember was crying myself to sleep until I woke up to a bright smiling pink pony looking down at me.

"Hi, Fluttershy!"

"...Pinkie..."

Author's Notes:

Remember, that this is an AU from the canon series.

Feel free to make your own NegotationsVerse stories based on what you would like to see :)

Please help out at the NegotationsVerse TV Tropes Page

Fake Laugher

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

There was always something about Pinkie Pie that was just… different about her compared to other ponies. And I don't mean the strange reality-breaking ways she often did or her Pinkie Sense that allowed her to sense things before they happen. It was how she viewed the world and behaved. It was unique but also scary. She could say something about yourself that you didn't know while also acting spontaneously in her emotions at the flick of a wrist. It was clear that she had mental issues. There were times when her "Pinkamena" personality was outright depressing, mean, and withdrawn to all until she managed to snap back into Pinkie Pie. I might have been a trained medic, but I was no doctor, nor was I an expert in the field of psychology. But it was clear that Pinkie had always had some kind of bipolar or personality trait that caused her to be so different.

Most of the time, it didn't really cause any kind of problems. Pinkie Pie was funny, cheerful, and did everything she could to make ponies smile which made her smile in return. So there was no reason she supported this war or at least one that I could think of. I knew, deep in my heart, she didn't support what we were doing. Because the first time the girls and I saw the Newfoals, Pinkie Pie said something that made me start to question everything seriously.

"Why are they not smiling right?"

It was very similar to the quote she said about the smiles at Starlight's Our Town cult. Pinkie Pie knew smiles. She knew when ponies were happy or not. The Newfoals were smiling, but it was not of their own free will. Something was making them smile, and when the truth came out, I learned why. They were forced to do so. They were programmed to do so.

And if I figured that out, then Pinkie Pie had to have known as well. Which always made me question one thing. Why didn't she side with me? Why did she do nothing but continue to follow Celestia?"

"Hellloooooo, Equestria to Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie said, knocking on my head before I pushed her away. "Were you talking to yourself? I do that all the time too! Only it's not just me but a bunch of other mes talking as well! How many do you have?"

"Why are you here, Pinkie Pie?" I asked with my tone teetering to the edge of outright sorrow. I was still reeling from the fact that I had learned what had to be the biggest horrifying thing that has ever happened in our nation's history. Celestia left everyone in our world to die. Not only was she trying to commit genocide on humanity, but she performed it on all the races of our old world as well. I will not deny that dragons, griffins, changelings, and a few other races scared me. But to let them all die? Including their young? No, no creature deserved such a fate.

"Well, Princess Celestia and Twilight want me to convince you to use your Element to help us end the war so we can stop all this silly fighting and get back to normal, but I also wanted to see an old friend!" Pinkie Pie happily said as she pulled out a pink frosted cake with a candle on it. "Sorry, it's not a birthday cake. I've missed like three of those, I think for you, but it's still yummy and delicious! Have a bite!"

"...Pinkie, stop," I said, closing my eyes and turning away. "I'm not happy… or hungry… in fact, I think I'm going to be sick again."

"Y-Yeah, Twilight said something about that. She looked kinda worried too and went to go talk to Princess Celestia about something," Pinkie said with a nervous laugh. "I think they were arguing at first, but then there was this flash of light from what we saw at the door, and everything seemed to be normal again. Twilight and Princess Celestia were just talking like usual, so I guess they must have patched things up."

This got my attention, and I looked up at Pinkie with both shock and horror. Knocking the cake on the floor, I grabbed her shoulders and looked at her straight in the eye. "Did you hear what they were arguing about?! Was it about the moon and sun and the state of our world back home?!"

"I don't know." Pinkie Pie said, shrugging. "The princess put up some kind of spell that stopped us from listening in just as the yelling started. We asked Twilight what she was arguing about, but she said she couldn't remember and told us to just ignore it."

That motherfucking cunt of a whore.

I fell back on my bed and cursed the day Celestia was even born. Memory spell. It had to be. On her own apprentice, who she loved like a daughter. This finally confirmed in my head. Celestia knew what happened to our world and was keeping it under wraps. Was it out of shame or necessity? Or did it even matter anymore? Even she wouldn't be able to defend herself from her own subjects if the entire nation knew what she had done...what she lead us to do on the day we left our dimension for this one.

We were told it would be a mission of enlightenment and salvation. To help a broken race find the light of friendship. Instead, we left with death in our wake and destruction when we arrived. Our entire race's history and philosophy was supposed to be one of peace and harmony. Now the blood of billions was on our hooves and souls.

If all of Equestria knew what had happened, Celestia would be overthrown in seconds. Nobody but the most rigid core of believers or zealots would believe in her lies or even not give a damn about the truth. If Twilight had her memory erased, or modified in some way by Celestia, then she didn't know as well. Did Princess Luna know? Or Cadence? Not to mention I had no idea why Celestia wanted to leave our home dimension in the first place. Equestria was the top superpower of the world and had survived against threats from numerous dangers. It had to be something that not even the Elements of Harmony could fight against.

"Hey, you okay?" Pinkie Pie asked with genuine concern.

I looked up at her before shaking my head. "No, I… I just don't feel well…" I wanted to tell her the truth, but what was the point? Either she wouldn't believe me, or Celestia would just wipe her memory like she did Twilights. Maybe she talked to all of them after they talked to me just to hear about their progress? No doubt she suspected I knew the truth now, but why didn't she have me killed yet? Too many questions and not enough answers.

"W-Well, anyway!" Pinkie Pie smiled and sat down next to me. "Let's catch up on each other! I mean, it's been so long since we talked!"

"That's because I've been fighting on the other side of this war, Pinkie," I said, glaring at her. "A war that I've had to fight on my own because I was the only one who realized what was going on or was the only one brave enough out of the five of us to challenge this madness that Celestia had started."

"W-Well, you just made a mistake!" Pinkie Pie gave a nervous laugh and smiled back at me. "N-Now that you're home, all you need to do is just fix your mistake, and everything will go back to normal."

"Normal?" I asked in disbelief. "Pinkie Pie, I committed treason. I'm never going to see the light of day again, even if I do help you girls with this crazy plan of yours. All of the girls hate me in one form or another. Humanity isn't going to stop trying to get back at Equestria for all the things that have happened to them. Billions of humans and ponies, including those we personally knew, are dead and never coming back. Nothing is going to go back to normal."

Slowly I saw Pinkie's hair start to deflate, but not to the complete downward levels when she was really depressed. "That's not true! The Princess said it would and-"

"Pinkie, stop lying." I finally say before I get up and stare at her. "Not to me… but to yourself."

She's quiet as I stare at her a bit more and then ask a single question that I've wanted to ask her for a long time. "You hate the war, don't you? You know what we're doing is wrong. I saw it in your eyes a long time ago, and I cannot believe you would side with this. Because the Pinkie that I know? The one who wants to make the world smile? She would never approve of any of the things we've done. Not the deaths, the jailing, the mobs, and chaos. You would never approve of the ESS or the potion that makes other people pretend to be happy. You would never approve of forcing others to act in a manner that they disagreed with. Laughter is about making people feel happy in various ways. Supporting this just isn't you!" I got into her face just as her hair became more and more straight while her once bright pinkie coat started going darker. "So tell me, Pinkie Pie… do you support this war?"

There was a long silence between the two of us, and then I saw it—something in Pinkie's eyes that made even my rage-filled heart stop in stunned silence.

I saw the eyes of a broken pony who had been shattered beyond belief.

"No…" Pinkie Pie whispered as a single tear fell down her cheek despite keeping her eyes wide open. "I don't. This isn't… this isn't funny… it's never been funny… Fluttershy…" She closed her eyes and looked down. "I haven't really felt happy in years."

"Pinkie…" I whispered, but she held her hoof out.

"It's just easier to pretend it's not happening," Pinkie Pie mutters, shaking her head. "I don't listen to it. Don't think of it. I just ignore anything about the war or ponies I knew disappearing for who knows what. I don't think about the ways my friends have changed into such bitter and mean ponies. All I want… all I just want is to go back to those days when we were eating cupcakes and laughing at some prank Rainbow Dash pulled. Or seeing Rarity showcase her newest dress. Or picking apples with Applejack. Or helping you overcome some silly fear you had. Or just go on another adventure with Twilight and Spike."

Covering her face, my old friend silently wept. "I want to go back to those summer days when we were all happy…."

For the first time, I felt nothing but sympathy for one of my friends who had come through that prison door. I slowly wrapped my arms around Pinkie Pie and held her close to my heart while letting her weep. If what Pinkie Pie was saying was true, did she have the doubts long before I did? How long had she been hiding this pain from the world? Did anyone in her family or friends know of this side of her?

"Then why?" I ask, getting her to stare at me. "Why didn't you say something when I… when I said I was defecting? Why didn't you join me if you knew it was wrong?"

"…because I didn't want to lose my best friends," Pinkie Pie whispered, shaking her head. "I didn't want to lose my home. I didn't want to lose my family. I knew what we were doing was wrong, Fluttershy, but I keep thinking… if I just ignore it… just pretend it's not happening. Do nothing to help or hinder the war… I'll be okay. Everything will be okay, and we can all be happy again when it's over."

"Pinkie, that's just naive," I say with a heavy sigh. "Doing nothing in the face of something wrong is almost as bad as doing that wrong action! I get that you were scared! Pony feathers, I was scared out of my wits when I did it, but I had to do it! I couldn't live with myself! How can you just sit there and do nothing?!"

"Because I don't want to be hurt," Pinkie Pie whispered, hugging herself. "You may think I'm selfish, and I know I am, but I didn't want to lose everything I've had in my life. I need my friends and family, Fluttershy. I need them so bad. Even if they're doing something wrong, I cannot just go against them. I thought if I just had those who were so important to me close by, I could ignore all of the bad stuff and focus on the good stuff...and then you left, and everything changed."

"I had to leave, Pinkie," I answered, shaking my head. "It wasn't easy to lose everything for the right reason, but I found others to become close to. Lyra. Derpy. Martin. Flash. So many humans and ponies that I came to care about. Discord was always there for me. If you had come with me… they could have been your friends too. I would have still been your friend."

But she didn't. Was it because of fear? Did she just decide to stay with the most friends she had? I don't know. I don't think she even knows. I get why she did it, but closing your ears and eyes to the world around you to pretend nothing terrible was happening was just as bad as doing the evil actions yourself.

She got up and started pacing around. "The others refused to speak your name. They burned everything that reminded them of you. I had to publicly denounce you and curse you while Twilight allowed a kill-on-site order for you. We didn't hang out anymore, and everything became about the war. I had to focus on making the ponies happy, but it was hard to do so when everypony was crying because of a dead relative or fearing the ESS. So I had to pretend that certain ponies or events just didn't exist. That they weren't 'dead, they were just on vacation. That you weren't a 'traitor,' just someone who was lost and confused. It was so much easier..." Pinkie then glared at me. "Why couldn't you just stay and pretend as I did?! Why couldn't you just ignore it?!"

"What makes you think I didn't?" I shouted back, snarling. "I ignored it too. The doubts. The fears. The hatred. I just did my best to hide away and let the world burn so long as it didn't get me, but then I saw… I saw my name, my image, being used to encourage war. Encourage the outright destruction of a species and its culture. At that moment, I realized I couldn't hide anymore. I couldn't ignore this injustice. I did it because I knew that I would regret it if I let it continue and did nothing. Maybe not then. Maybe not now. But someday I would, and I would never live with myself when I did."

I took a deep breath and sighed. "The humans have a saying, Pinkie, that "Evil wins when good people do nothing". We both hate what's going on, and we see this madness for what it is, Pinkie. Only you just continue to ignore it out of fear and a vain hope that everything will be sunshine and rainbows if you act like a good little pony. So you pretend to laugh and act happy. In truth, Pinkie Pie, you're not laughing deep inside. You are crying, but you refuse to do anything to stop it. And deep down, I pity you. But ask me this one question. If you were to do it all over again, would you? Would you pretend to ignore it all with your head in the sand, or would you join me in rebelling for what was right?"

Pinkie Pie just lowered her head and turned around before making her way to the door. She opened it before sighing and turning to me with a sad smile. "You really would have liked that cake."

She then closed the door, and I knew her answer right then and there. Leaving me not with anger, for once, but with disappointment.

***

I had just started getting to sleep when my door opened again. I groaned and wondered why Applejack was trying now all of the time to talk to me. I mean, it was clear that she was the only one left to try and convince me to use my element. Unless she was going to beat me into doing it.

I got up, but when I turned to see who it was, I was stunned. "S-Spike?"

"Fluttershy..." Spike whispered as he rushed over and hugged me. I gasped before I slowly wrapped my arms around his warm, scaled body. "I'm... I'm so sorry..."

Author's Notes:

This one was a bit harder to write. Yes, I am adding Spike to this because I thought of a good idea of how to use him so the fic is a bit longer then I originally intended.

As always, please check out the NegotationsVerse TV Tropes Page and help fill it in: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse

Friendly Dragon

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

For the longest time, I was afraid of dragons. They were big, scary, breathed fire, and the stories of how many ponies a single dragon could kill frightened me as a filly. And yet, Spike was the kindest, gentlest, and cutest baby dragon in the world when I met him. He was so innocent and friendly that I felt no fear from him, even as he grew up to be bigger and taller than us. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't know him too well despite him being one of my friends for years. He was always closer to others like Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and, of course, Twilight Sparkle.

It was hard to describe their relationship, only that it was a loving one with exceptional care for both of them. Twilight was a mother, sister, teacher, guardian, and best friend to Spike to the point that there was no creature on this world, or any world, that had Spike's eternal loyalty but her. Because of this love, I do not blame him for sticking with Twilight through all of this. I cannot find it in me to do such a thing because I know how deep their bond is. It would be like Angel Bunny abandoning me. For all the trouble my little furry pet gives me, he'll never betray or deeply hurt me…intentionally.

"Fluttershy, I'm so sorry..." Spike whispered as he continued to hold me against his warm scaled chest. "I'm sorry this is happening… I tried to tell them… that this was wrong and…."

"Shh," I whispered as I slowly stroke his face. "It's okay, Spike. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay!" Spike growled as he threw his hands up and huffed out some fire from his nose. "My best friends have imprisoned one of my other best friends, and Princess Celestia has completely lost it! She thinks that we can still win this war, but all she is doing is getting more ponies and people killed! Twilight is completely obsessed with trying to get this spell of hers to work even though I pointed out the obvious!"

"Which is what?" I asked.

Spike slowly slumps and rests his back against the wall as tears start to come down from his eyes. "That your friendship is over… that everything is just… wrong… all of this… just plain wrong." He started to hug himself while spreading his wings around his body as if he was attempting to protect himself from the world. "After you left, everything "went to hell," as the humans say it. Twilight's done nothing but focus on the war and sobs every day for all the lost lives. Rainbow Dash and Applejack are filled with nothing but hatred in their hearts. Rarity's drinking herself under the table most of the time while isolating herself from the rest of the world. And Pinkie Pie… even I know those smiles are fake."

"…and you?" I asked.

Spike looks at me with his broken eyes and chuckles. "I'm honestly somewhat broken myself. My best friends are either fighting each other or complete opposites of what they're supposed to be. My gaming buddies, Big Mac and Discord, are dead. Even if Discord was a traitor, I still saw him as a friend, and I know he went with you because of how much he cares for you. Did… did Princess Celestia even make it quick?"

I slowly shook my head and started shedding tears of my own. I could still smell the burning flesh from Discord's body as Celestia pounds him with magic over and over again with rage in her eyes until her final blast goes right through his chest. "If it helps, Spike, he always kept a few board games for you two to play when the war was over… if I ever get out of this… I'll give them to you, but I don't think I'm coming out of this alive."

"…I don't want to lose you too. I've lost so many friends and family that I'm sick and tired of funerals. And Princess Celestia…" Spike frowned before he slowly got up and turned to me with a severe expression. "She's gone so far off the deep end that I don't know what to think anymore. I always thought the war was just… wrong in some ways, but I never really saw just how much she hated humanity until Luna's funeral."

"How bad?" I asked. We heard rumors that it lasted for a whole week. Four days for the body to be viewed in public by the citizens of Equestria. Two days for the entire funeral ceremony. One day for the burial in the tomb designed for both pony sisters when they eventually passed away.

"Most of the time, Princess Celestia was in tears… sobbing and mourning her sister…." Spike whispered, shaking his head. "Then there were times when she was angry and furious…then cold and calculated. There were talks about whether or not Celestia would end the war with Princess Luna dead, and she said she would come to a decision on that. On the final day of Luna's funeral, she gave a grand speech and said they would not surrender. That all of humanity would pay for killing her. That those who do not accept friendship as the path to being saved from their evil nature will be forgotten in the new world they will build. She used Luna's funeral as a means to further support for the war, and… everyone, even the girls, was clapping and vowing to avenge her. I just… I just stood there in silence and realized just how… radical all of this had become."

"I see." I'm glad that Spike managed to see what I had seen, but I knew deep in his heart that he would never leave Twilight even if he knew this was wrong. "But I take it you couldn't leave the girls as I did?"

"Yeah, but sometimes I just don't recognize them anymore. Like they aren't the friends I grew up with in Ponyville," Spike snorted as he shook his head. "Pinkie Pie just tries to act like her old self by throwing parties every second to try and keep ponies happy, but all it does is annoy others when they just want time to grieve. I think she does it more for her own sake than the others. Applejack struggled with her farm for a while, especially since it's just her and Apple Bloom now, but that fortune managed to get reversed due to some investments AJ took in. Although I don't know what kind of investments those are. When she isn't working on the farm, she's trying to watch out for any 'traitors' or 'ill thought' ponies who are thinking of the wrong ideas about the war or Princess Celestia so she can set them straight."

In other words, AJ's become a mortal crusader. I wouldn't be surprised if she was giving info on ponies to the ESS.

"Rainbow Dash is fighting in the war and enjoys it. I think, honestly, the feeling of battle has changed her into a more bloodthirsty pony," Spike whispered, shivering. "She really has no mercy for the humans. Like she cannot stand them almost as much as Princess Celestia. And Rarity…" Spike bit his lip. "We don't… see much of her ever since Valiant and her baby died. She's just busy drinking and mourning. Sweetie's really the only one that sees her anymore."

"She won't even let you in?" I asked with surprise. Spike's crush on Rarity aside, the two were always close.

"One time she did and…." Spike blushed but sighed. "…it was a mistake. A mistake the two of us made…."

A mistake? What could he-oh…ohhhhhh.

"Oh my," I whispered in awe as Spike lowered his head in embarrassment. "You two… um… you uhh…."

"Yes, we had SEX!" Spike shouted, covering his face. "Look, it was complicated, okay? She just needed someone, and I always liked her more than a friend...but after it happened, it was just… awkward…."

"I take it things didn't progress forward?" I asked with a nervous smile.

"No… if anything, I think my crush on Rarity ended that day," Spike answered, shaking his head. "As for Twilight, she's pretty much the only pony I hang out with most of the time. Nothings changed between us save for her being more busy working and helping Princess Celestia with the war-"

Spike then paused and went silent, which made me tilt my head until he turned to me and asked, "Fluttershy, what did you say to Twilight that made her panic and… angry?"

I hesitated at first, mostly because I don't want Spike to get his memory erased or worse. If Celestia was willing to do anything to keep her secret safe, how far would she do so? I can understand memory wiping Twilight, she was essential and needed, plus Celestia loved her more than anyone save for Luna. Spike, however, was expendable if I was being realistic. He offered nothing in the war or to Celestia. I always thought Celestia allowed Spike to be raised in Equestria to help develop peaceful relations with the dragons and us. A dragon raised as a pony could be the bridge to heal both of our races' long antagonism towards each other.

Yet, if our world was gone, and Celestia knew this, what was the point of him still being here? Other than being Twilight's assistant, there was nothing else Spike was doing to help with the war effort. I knew he didn't fight in it, Twilight refused to have him do so, and at most, he just acted with her authority to help see things operational in specific departments. However, other than those, there was nothing else. Who's to say that Princess Celestia won't go so far as to just have Spike eliminated to keep the truth hidden?

"Fluttershy, please," Spike whispered as he got closer to me and desperately looked at me with those curious and yet painful eyes. "I need to know. She did something to Twilight. One moment she was yelling and saying she even 'hated' Princess Celestia before things went silent, and then… there was a flash of light, and after a few hours, she came back smiling again. Twilight said they solved their issues, but she never said what those issues were or even remembers them."

"…so she did wipe her memory," I whispered in disbelief which made Spike lean back in surprise. "She really did go so far…."

"W-Wiped her memory?! Princess Celestia?! She would never do that to Twilight!" Spike shouted as he grabbed me by the arms and growled. "What was it?! What did you say to her?!"

"…Spike…" I took a deep breath and lowered my head. "Everyone back in our world is… dead…."

"…what?" Spike whispered in shock. "D-Dead? H-How could they-"

"Spike, who controlled the sun and moon back home?" I asked, which slowly made his eyes widen. “Celestia and Luna did. When we left for Earth and came here, who was controlling them then?" There was a long and painful silence between the two of us until I continued to hammer it home. "Nobody. No other creature I know of is powerful enough to wield the sun and moon. That means… it's been in the same place since we left it fifteen years ago. Every creature that has ever existed is gone. Burned to death or frozen into statues. All except those of us in Equestria."

"…oh-no…" Spike whispered, slowly going green. "Z-Zecora… Little Strongheart… G-G-Gilda… even Queen Chrysalis and the changelings… G-Garble and all the dragons… the dragons…" Horror spread across Spike's face as he let out a tiny wail like that of a wounded child. "I'm… I'm the last…."

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I started shedding tears. "I'm so, so sorry…."

Spike quickly went for my toilet and started puking his guts out while sobbing without end. I rushed over and started soothing him by rubbing his back as he continued to wail. I was surprised Spike wasn't breathing fire in rage and burning the entire room down, but I guess he was subconscious to know that I was in it. He continued to lose his lunch while shedding tears at a near endless pace before finally he turned around and grasped me with his arms.

The two of us just sat there, holding each other as the only two beings who know a horrible secret. A secret where the lives of millions or even billions are on our souls because of our actions as a nation. All in following one princess who decided to play god.

"I'll kill her…." Spike growled as all his teeth showed up in a snarl, and his eyes began to fill with rage. "I don't care if they take me down as well. I'm going to kill Celestia and burn. Her. Soul!"

"Spike, no!" I shouted as I forced him to look at me. "You won't stand a chance against her! And I'm not going to have you lose your life in something so futile!"

"But she has to pay! For everything!" Spike shouted before screaming and punching the wall so hard it left a full fist mark. "Everything we've done… I knew… I fucking knew it was wrong! Why?! Why is she doing this?!"

"…I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "It doesn't matter…what matters is that Equestria has to surrender, Spike. Princess Celestia has to be stopped, but nobody, save maybe Twilight, is powerful enough to defeat her in Equestria. It's going to take all of humanity to stop her. They need to know what she's planning with the Elements. I don't know if it will work or not, and I sure as hell am not going to use my Element of my own free will…but if they find some way to force me…or get me to do it…the humans need to know so they can counter-attack it."

"…can't I just break you free?" Spike asked desperately. "At least let me get you out of here!"

"I doubt I can just get out of here on my own or even with just your help," I state as I start to pace around. "No doubt there are so many guards, alarms, and magical defenses that we wouldn't stand a chance to get out quick enough before Twilight and Celestia arrive to stop us. We'd stand no chance against them."

"But there has to be something I can do!" Spike shouted with a huff.

"…there is something you can do, but it would mean betraying Equestria…." I whispered as my gut told me I could trust Spike now. "That means Princess Celestia and Twilight."

"Buck. Celestia." Spike snarled. "That bitch can go buck herself. As for Twilight…" Spike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Celestia manipulated all of us, Fluttershy. That includes Twilight. She wiped away Twilight's memory. She killed everything we once treasured and loved. I'm doing this to save Twilight. If not from Celestia, then at least from herself."

Taking a deep breath, I slowly nodded. "There is a member of the resistance that has been in Canterlot since the beginning. She's been our best pony for information and news. She has the means to contact us back in the human world via a magic communication mirror. If you can get to her, tell her where I am and what's going on, the resistance and the humans will know, and maybe they can do something. I don't know if they'll arrive in time, but it's our best chance." I then grab his shoulders. "After that, you need to run. Flee Canterlot. Fake your death if you have to like so many of us leaving Equestria did. Because if Celestia finds out, there will be no stopping her trying to kill you."

"…okay," Spike whispered, nodding his head. "I guess I'm part of the resistance now, huh?"

"Guess so. Welcome to the team," I said with a slight chuckle. "The mare you need to speak to is Sassy Saddles."

"Wait, the one who runs Rarity's shop branch in Canterlot?" Spike asked in awe. "She's a member of the resistance?!"

"Yes," I said with a smirk. "Sassy is one of our best informants and spies. When you go to her shop, ask if she has "Anything that's a mix of blue and green, but not purple," and she will ask, "Is this for a friend or a lover?" That's when you say, "Actually for my cousin in Van Hoofer. She's getting married soon." And she'll know that one of us sent you."

"Okay, got it. I'll just tell the others I went to go get some gems since I'm low on stock," Spike said as he drew me in for a hug. "I'll do everything I can to get you free. Just be careful… Princess Celestia says she has some kind of secret weapon to get you to comply if Applejack doesn't get through to you."

"Do you know what it is?" I asked, worried.

"No, but I do know that it's so secret that only Twilight knows of it, and she won't even tell me," Spike whispers before kissing me on the forehead. "Look, in case something happens, and I don't see you again… you're an amazing mare, Fluttershy. Maybe the bravest one ever for all you've done. And I hope, when this war ends, we can be friends again."

I wipe a tear from my eye before kissing Spike on the cheek. "We've never stopped being friends, Spike."

Nodding, Spike made for the door and left while shutting it behind him with one last look at me. I sigh and sit down on my cot. I don't know if Spike will get help for me in time, but I have to do my best to hold on. At least there is the comfort that one of my friends is on my side.

***

When I wake up, there is a knock on my door. I slowly get up and wonder if this is Applejack or my meal for the day. When it opens, I see a familiar orange pony walk inside with a stoic expression on her face. Sighing, I get up and face her to get this over with.

"Applej-"

Before I could even finish, she bucks me face first with both her rear hooves.

Author's Notes:

Yeah, I gave Fluttershy as break...and then came in AJ to break something lol.

As always, please check out the NegotationsVerse TV Tropes Page and help fill it in: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse

Angry Apple

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

I'm honestly surprised that I am not dead when I wake up. I've seen Applejack kill timberwolves with those kicks of hers, and I know for sure they can snap a pony's neck in two. That doesn't mean my head isn't hurting like it got split open. Groaning, I slowly sit up from my bed and rub my forehead. Honestly, I think Applejack kicks harder than Rainbow Dash despite her speed. Looking over to my right, I see Applejack just staring at the wall with a bottle of apple whisky in her hoof. She takes a gulp of it before handing it off to me without even looking in my direction. "Here. You only get one."

A part of me wonders if it's poison, but then again, Applejack wouldn't resort to such a tactic even if she hated me with all her guts.

Besides, I could use a drink.

I take the bottle and give myself a good taste of the warm liquor. Before the war, I rarely ever drank anything heavier than cider save for special occasions. I kinda get very happy and tipsy when I'm drunk like that one New Years' Eve after we defeated Nightmare Moon, and I got dared to take six shots of hard apple whisky. I don't remember what happened, but apparently, I had started grabbing everypony's flank and laying my head on them, saying how hard or soft they were. I couldn't show my face for two weeks in public after that. Pinkie and Dash thought it was hilarious, though.

Once I drink my fill, I give it back to Applejack, who takes another swing before smacking her lips. "Before ya ask, no, Ah'm not going to hit ya again. Though ya do deserve it. Ah just wanted to get it out of mah system for a bit."

"Here to convince me to use my element?" I ask.

"No," Applejack answers, shaking her head. "Truth is, Fluttershy, yer dead to me and Ah'm only here cause Twilight practically forced me in here. Ah'm not gonna bother wastin' mah breath on ya when ya made up yer mind already."

"At least one of you is smart enough to realize that," I reply while rolling my eyes. "So why are you here then?"

"Honestly, Ah just wanted to look at ya in the eye and spit on ya, but deep down, Ah've got a question to ask ya." Applejack puts the drink down and looks at me square in the eye. "What is it that they have that makes them so appealing?"

"Who?" I ask, tilting my head.

"The humans," Applejack grumbles as she spat on the floor as if saying their name was a curse. "What is it that's so great about them that made you, mah cousin and so many other ponies betray their own country for them? Was it the technology? Their culture? Or somethin' Ah just don't understand."

She walks over and points at my chest. "What made ya betray yer own kind for them? An alien race that has done nothin' but screws themselves over time and time again. A doomed race that has never known true peace or brotherhood and destroyed everything around them year after year. What was it, Fluttershy? What was it all worth leaving everything behind for?"

I close my eyes and think hard on that answer, but it all came to one moment in truth. "Do you remember when we were all in London on Twilight's friendship tour?" She nodded to me. "After the event on our last day, one of the attendants told me a little girl wanted to speak to me. She was six years old. She had such a bright sparkle in her eyes as she looked at me as if I was some fantasy creature that came out of a book. She told me she always loved ponies and thought I was the most beautiful creature in the world." I still remember her. Sansa was her name. "She liked what we were talking about, and she wanted to become brave and strong like the six of us on our adventures. She wanted to make the world a better place."

"...She sounds like a good kid," Applejack muttered.

"I told her it would be hard work and that humans needed to learn a lot if they were going to be better, and then she said something that has stuck with me from that day." I took a deep breath. "She told me that her daddy said that humans are like children. They've only just started entering the teenage stage of their existence and are still struggling to find who they are in life. They try certain things, succeed and fail, and figure out what worked and what didn't. Sometimes they get it right. Sometimes they get it wrong. But they're no longer children like in the old days. Now they know better and are growing. It's slow, but the reward will be worth it. Because one day, humanity will be a grownup that will know what to do when the time is right, and hopefully they will teach someone what they learned and help them grow up too."

That was the day I realized what humanity really was. It was still young, growing, and learning. I really took a look into human history and culture, and I began to open my eyes to the positives. The joys and celebrations. The wonders and achievements. The smiles and laughs. Everyone always focuses so much on the negative that they forget to see the positive. I noticed that humanity had changed so much in the past five thousand years that I only wondered what they could accomplish in the next five thousand.

It was then that I knew why Lyra liked them so much. We ponies had stayed nearly the same for so long, but humans were always moving forward despite the missteps and occasional wrong direction. There was something to admire about them. Something to learn from them.

"...I see." Applejack snorted. "That's naive, though, isn't it?"

"Perhaps, but I believe it to be true," I answer. "What we're doing is killing them, AJ. Even if they live on as ponies, you take away their culture, history, and very beings that make them who they are. That's killing them one form or another."

"Even if what they are losing is what makes them monsters in the first place?" Applejack asks, snorting.

"Monsters exist in all of us," I reply, glaring back. "And we were the monsters this time."

Applejack shakes her head and makes for the door. "Ah'm done listen' to yer hogwash. Princess Celestia will deal with you." She opens the door and pauses. "Maybe what you are saying is true, Shy. But they killed mah brother. They killed ponies I love and care about. And Ah'll never accept a world where they don't pay for that."

"...even if it means the death of an entire world?"

"Mah family is mah world," Applejack whispers before she shuts the door behind her.

***

No less than an hour after Applejack had left did Celestia come in. She looks at me with disappointment and frustration while I just sit on my haunches and say nothing. "So none of them could convince you."

"I told you," I say before shaking my head. "You're wasting your time."

"You would condemn your own kind to more war and death for these humans," Celestia asks in disbelief. "Your friends. Family. Even foals to slaughter if the humans have their way with us?"

"I'm not the one who tricked them all into thinking that we were coming into this world as peaceful teachers and not conquers," I fire back while giving her the most hate-filled death glare I can muster. "Especially since you let us commit genocide already back home."

There is a long silence between the two of us before Celestia sighs. Her horn glows for a bit, and a wave of white magical energies spread across the walls before they disappear, and I realize that she's put up a sound barrier. Turning away, Celestia stares at the wall with eyes that seem to hold, to my surprise, pain and sorrow. "So you did figure it out. I wondered if Twilight had done so on her own if you told her."

"Only after talking to her did I realize the truth," I answer while closing my eyes in disgust. "How many times have you hid the truth from others? How many memories did you wipe or lives you ended to keep it a secret?"

"Believe it or not, but this is the first time I've ever used a memory spell on anyone," she replied to me with regret in her tone. "Sometimes the devotion and trust my ponies put on me is very frightening. You have no idea what it's like to be looked up to as a living goddess and have your word taken literally at every turn. Until now, no pony has ever realized what has happened to our old world."

"But you did...and you made us leave while knowing it would kill billions of creatures," I hiss before making my way to her. "You are a monster."

"I know," Celestia admits, much to my surprise. "You think I even sleep at night anymore? I haven't slept decently since we first arrived on this stupid planet. You think I wanted to do this? I had no choice."

"...tell me everything," I demand. "If you're going to even defend your reasoning, I want the truth and nothing else."

"...very well."

Author's Notes:

A short chapter, I know, but this to me fits with AJ in how I have written her for the NegotationsVerse. She's not going to bother trying to change the mind of someone she hates and knows isn't going to budge. Going the whole "angry shouting" AJ was a route I didn't want to go with either because we already had that with Rainbow. So I went with the quiet seething anger route instead.

Now some of you are going to wonder if next chapter is going to be a lot like "Truth" in some ways, yes, but we're also going to see more of Celestia's personality and her true feelings about all that has happened and what has made her become this kind of monster to begin with.

Only three chapters remain btw.

As always, please help out at the NegotationsVerse TV Tropes Page.

Fallen Star

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

"Before you even start," I say before she can continue, "how do I even know you are telling the truth to begin with? For all I know, you could be lying to me to make me feel sympathetic."

"A fair point," Celestia points out before she asks, "I assume you know how a truth spell works?"

"Twilight showed it to us one time," I answer as Princess Celestia's horn glows and an orb of blue mystical energy appears between us.

"Test it out," Celestia orders as I look at the orb to make sure it's real and not an illusion.

After double-checking, I give an honest answer first. "My name is Fluttershy." It starts glowing green for a few minutes before going back to blue. Okay, now time for a lie. "I approve of the war against humanity." It soon becomes red.

"Satisfied?"

"Well enough." Sitting down on my bed, I stare at the princess, looking at me with what appeared to be both annoyed and yet tired eyes. Truth be told, even before coming to Earth, there were times when I saw Celestia look so old and tired that I doubted anypony else, but a few even noticed. This really shouldn't be a surprise, I guess. She's lived past a thousand years and has seen everything come and go since that time, including loved ones and friends. Discord and I never talked about his immortality and how he would remain living long after I passed away. Sure, coming to Earth removed the immortality that the alicorns and Discord had, but they were still predicted to live long lives.

Now he is gone...and I'm the one who's still alive. Ironic, huh?

Still, I should be focusing on my questions. The one thing that so many people and ponies have been asking ever since this war started is why? Why did we do all this? Why was Celestia so determined to convert or wipe out humanity? The official story is that we came here as ambassadors of friendship to provide aid and guidance to a species that needed our help to achieve the magic of friendship. Because humanity has rejected this, it was decided among all four alicorns to declare war on humanity and convert them for the greater good of themselves and the planet they were ruining.

I can still remember the grand speech made that day in Canterlot by all four Princesses. I can recall the cheers and military parade done with Shining Armor, declared Commanding General of the Armed Forces, proudly holding the fancy sword that Princess Celestia made for him, which was lost after he died. It was deemed that any humans who resisted or refused to be saved were to be mourned as lost souls while the new foals were treated as one of us. Now I know this to be nonsense, but I cannot figure out why we came here then for the life of me. Not to mention what warranted Celestia to be willing to eliminate all life in our homeworld.

"Why did we come to Earth," I ask with a heavy sigh. "What was the reason for all of this? The actual bucking reason."

For a while, Celestia just stares at the ground, looking at her hooves while her face shows an inner struggle. I didn't think she was going to do so until she finally spoke, "I'll just come out and say it. Our world was going to end in fifty or so years."

...What?

"What?" I whisper, not expecting this. "The world was...going to end?"

"Yes," Celestia answers before turning to the wall of my prison. "Hundreds of years ago, before Nightmare Moon returned, I sensed something wrong with the sun. Eventually, I realized it was dying and would eventually go out. Without the sun, all life would have perished, and, knowing this, I tried everything I could to save our world. I used every spell and ritual, even dark, forbidden magic, to try and prolong the life of the sun, but nothing worked."

I check the orb, and it's glowing green. I pale upon realizing this was true. Was the sun going to die? I nearly choke up, thinking that the giant star in the sky was slowly counting down to the final days of our end. I would have been about sixty or seventy when it happened. Still old enough to experience such horror, not to mention any children or grandchildren I had.

"W-Why didn't you tell anyone this?!" I shout in fear. "You could have warned us! We could have done something about it!"

"How do you think the world would react if they knew we had a set deadline for extinction?" Celestia snorted. "You've seen how ponies panic when things go wrong or when something happens that violently changes their natural order. This would have caused chaos on a scale that has never been seen before. It might have even broken up Equestria, which would have only made things worse. The few I did tell were those I needed to help me find a way to try and save the sun, but nothing we tried worked."

"Why not ask the other races for help?" I point out. "After all, they would just have just as much reason to help us!"

Sure, they weren't as advanced as us, but some races, like the griffins and dragons, once had kingdoms that lasted for thousands of years before their downfall. Equestria was not always the top nation globally, just the most recent in the past millennia. Many past great civilizations had ancient texts and magic that might have shown us a key to saving it. The sun wasn't always run by ponies. It had once moved on its own. Maybe they had something to help?

To my surprise, Celestia chuckles darkly. "You really think the other races would help us? The griffins and dragons were enemies of pony kind for years and have never accepted that we become the new superpower while their kingdoms and empires fell apart. That's why we've been at war with them so many times. The minotaurs might be talented in science and technology, but they have no understanding of magic. The deer isolate themselves and think of themselves so highly that they look down on other races despite having such a small kingdom. The kirins isolate themselves and refuse to do anything with outsiders. Plus, they can't speak. The goats, cows, and donkeys, while former associates of ours, were never intelligent or skilled enough to form their own societies. Diamond dogs are mostly nomads, with their few kingdoms constantly at war with one another for gems. The Abyssinians are thieves and hate magic. I might have considered the hippogriffs if it wasn't for the fact that they disappeared and were probably wiped out by the Storm King. The centaurs have been in a state of chaos and became barbarians since Tirek was defeated, not to mention I wouldn't trust them. The yak culture is barbaric, and they, quite frankly, aren't that smart. The zebras are a mysterious race I know nothing about save from your associations with Zecora. And I would sooner let Equestria burn before I trust a damn changeling. As for the other equine nations like Saddle Arabia? They have never accepted our culture or rule, preferring to always live their own way. I couldn't trust them."

Taking a deep breath after her tirade, Celestia looks at me with narrow eyes that are filled with both sorrow and rage. "The truth of the matter, Fluttershy, is that Equestria has always been its own ally. What few we have are only able to be because we dominate them culturally, economically, or militarily. You have not lived as long as I have and seen the wars they started. The ponies they raped, murdered and raided. The lives they ruined." She closed her eyes, and a tear slipped down her cheek. "You were not a little filly who saw her home burn down with her parents inside while griffin raiders laughed at the sight. All while comforting your little sister who wanted to know where her parents were, but you cannot find it in you to explain to her that they're never coming back."

"...Is this why you left them to die? You honestly didn't trust them?" I ask with mixed feelings in my tone as I saw the orb still green for truth. "I can honestly see other species putting themselves first before each other, and some species are terrible in their actions. But I believe that, when push comes to shove, they would have worked with us to find some kind of solution."

"That's naive talking, Fluttershy," Celestia comments while shaking her head. "Never before in our world's history can I recall other races helping each other. It was always a fight to see who was dominant and who wasn't. Maybe if the other races learned about friendship and harmony, I would have considered it, but after a thousand years of having to deal with them militarily and politically, I cannot see it."

"And yet you have seen it," I point out, which causes her to tilt her head. "Despite them being the same species, humanity has always fought against itself. Their entire history has been killing each other more times than I can imagine, but for the first time in their history, when faced with a threat like Equestria, they came together and put aside everything to survive. Humanity was able to come together to survive against a threat trying to wipe them out, and they have succeeded so far. Wasn't it you and Shining Armor who both said that because of mankind's constant warfare and divisions against one another that the war would be over by Hearth's Warming Eve? Five years later, I think that statement has proved to be false. If humans could come together as one to fight a threat bigger than themselves, who was to say the other races couldn't have worked with us?"

I lift my hoof and glare at her. "The truth is, Celestia, you didn't trust them. Hell, I don't think you trust anyone. You never told Twilight the truth. And I'm guessing neither Cadence nor Luna figured it out or were told as well. What gave you the right to decide who lives and dies?! What gave you the right to play god?!"

"I am no god. There are no gods," Celestia hisses in anger as she growls at me. "If gods were real, then why did so many good ponies I once knew had to suffer despite the number of prayers and pleas for help? Where were the gods feeding the hungry? Saving the dying? Helping the poor? I realized the day my parents died that gods are nothing more than fake imaginary concepts to help ease us into accepting suffering in our lives, but doing so does nothing to fix it! When I became the Princess of Equestria, I knew that I had to do what nopony was willing to do to keep us all safe and united! Did you know that Equestria almost fell apart so soon as it began?"

"What are you-"

"Before my sister and I came into power, there was a council composed equally of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, but they continued to bicker and complain and backstab against each other! Corruption was rampant. Certain ponies wanted more rights than others. Greed and backroom deals were made. Political parties who refused to compromise for the greater good. Equestria could have fallen into civil war so soon after it began if not for the fact that Starswirl saw this and found my sister and me. After we became alicorns and were given the responsibility of ruling Equestria, I had to deal with these problems time and time again, even after my sister and I ruled as well as we could. It was then that I realized that I had to make the choices for everypony else because unless someone did so, then everything we accomplished would be for naught!"

"So you made it so that Equestria only listens and answers to you, is that it? We cannot think for ourselves and decide our own fate?!" I shout in anger. "For somepony who claims not to be a god, you sure act like one!"

"You think I wanted to do the things I did? The lives I had to sacrifice? The teachings and histories I had to erase, censor, or rewrite? The laws and teaching I had to have drilled religiously and culturally? Keep us from following the same path as so many ancient civilizations met their end? You think I like having a religion made out of my image?" Celestia questions me as she points at herself and shakes her head. "Judge me for whatever reasons, but I kept Equestria safe. I protected her. I made her last a thousand years while other nations burned to the ground. I united us and focused on the lessons and teachings that other so-called wise leaders were too stupid to realize. Maybe I am a dictator, but if that's the price to pay for order and preservation, then I'll live with it."

"And you were willing to let every other race die to do that, huh?" I spat in disgust

"I didn't do it intentionally," Celestia replies, shaking her head. "I may not trust the other races, but I never wanted them to all die off. Think of me what you will, but I am not a monster. I tried finding a way to save our world, but I only managed to find a way to save Equestria in the end. By using the Elements of Harmony, combined with Starswirl's theory of cross dimensional travel, and there was enough energy to teleport Equestria, save for the Everfree Forest-"

"Why didn't the Everfree Forest come with us?" I ask not just because I was naturally curious but also home to several creatures I cared about. And a friend, Zecora, who had been like an older sister and teacher to the six of us when we were younger.

"I don't fully know," Celestia says, shrugging. "My guess is that the unnatural state of the forest was able to keep it from following us across dimensions. I honestly never cared to think about it."

"Even if someone we cared about was living in it," I say in disgust. "Zecora wasn't just a friend. She's helped us multiple times save Ponyville. She should have been spared at the very least. A lot of good creatures should have been spared."

"I tried to save everyone!" Celestia shouts in rage, which makes me lean back. "I spent years trying to do so. Even for those who I hated and despised, but there wasn't enough time! What little time I had while running the country and finding the Elements new wielders was dedicated to finding us a new home that would save us all, but the more I did so, the more energy, resources, and limit of opportunity there was for us! There was no other choice, and the longer I waited, the more risk there was! I had wanted to do it after you and the girls got the Elements, but I held back. It was only after Tirek nearly killed us all that I realized that I couldn't waste anymore time. If something happened to you, Twilight, or any of the other girls, then the Elements would never work, and we would be doomed!"

She took a few deep breaths before lowering her head. "The one thing I must always do, no matter what, is protect my subjects. Even if it means sacrificing the entire world to do so, then I will do it. This was not a choice I made easily. I can't sleep decently anymore ever since we left our dimension. So, yes, Fluttershy, I left all our fellow creatures to die in our world. Would I still try to find a way to save every creature if I had a chance? Yes. But I would make the same choice all over again if it meant we survived." She looks me directly in the eyes. "Could you have done the same?"

I don't answer that. Honestly, I don't think I can make that choice. Save what I could while letting so many die, or do what I can to try to save everyone while risking the possibility of saving nobody? It's a choice that has no happy outcome unless a miracle happens. I lower my head and shake it. "I still think you should have tried to get help from the other races… but as for making a choice? I don't know. I don't think I can make that choice. It's too big for me."

"Welcome to what I have to deal with every day, Fluttershy," Celestia states as she summons a bottle of wine from her magic that poofs into my cell. "Ever since I was a filly and turned into alicorn, I've had to make choices like this. Choices about who lives and who dies. What is best for an entire nation of millions. You have no idea the struggles, sacrifices, and regrets I've had ever since I took the crown. This crown… being the leader of Equestria. This is all that I am."

All that she was.

For a split second, I realized something. Celestia was but a child when she was thrust into this position. How would a young filly, who lost her home and family, feel if she learned that the stability of an entire nation was on her shoulder? How fast would she have to grow up from the pressures and pain that came with it? Growing up knowing that your friends would die one day? That any spouses or children would also be gone? That this was the fate you would be forced to deal with for the rest of your life all life, not just in Equestria, but the world depended on your ability to move the sun and govern millions?

I wonder… is there really a Celestia, or is there just the figure and nothing more. Was being the ruler of Equestria such a weight that being a ruler is all she can be? Every choice is a calculation for the greater good? And to do so for over a thousand years? No wonder she thought she was the only one who could guide Equestria, protect it, and decide its fate.

Celestia is still a child. A child who never grew up right. A child who thinks that there is nothing but her way of being right and others being wrong. A child who thinks she knows what's best because she was told to be the best.

For a brief moment, I think I can pity her, but soon it's gone. Because there is only so much an excuse like that to give. Taking a few moments to think, I close my eyes and shake my head. "Alright, let's move on to my next question. The war with humanity. Why?"

"Because humanity refused to convert into ponies," Celestia said, rolling her eyes. "I thought that was obvious?"

"No, I mean: why try to convert them in the first place? Why are you so determined to wipe out their culture, faiths, beliefs, and more? Everything about them you seem to hate with a passion, and I want to know why?" I point my hoof at her. "Why do you hate humanity, Celestia?"

She's quiet again for a few minutes as she collects her thoughts before she takes a deep sigh. "Do you want the personal one first or the greater scope one?"

"Personal?" I ask in surprise. "How could you have a personal problem with-"

"They killed my daughter." My eyes widen as I feel my jaw drop fully as Celestia takes another few gulps of wine. Wiping her mouth, Celestia continues, "Not my real daughter, mind you. But she was one of the closest ones I've ever had. Next to Twilight, she was the greatest pupil I ever had. Young. Energetic. Kind and...loving..."

"I… I never heard of her. What was her name?" I ask with actual curiosity. I have never heard of this mare, this apprentice of Celestia's before Twilight. Actually, I can recall that Celestia did have an apprentice years ago, but she died very young in an accident. Was this the same pony?

It takes a while, but then I hear the name that is spoken both in sorrow and in joy:

"Sunset Shimmer."

Author's Notes:

The Celestia one ended up going much longer then I wanted it to be so I split it up. The first one focusing on the issue of her leaving Equstria to die the second will deal with hatred of humanity.

As always, please help with the TV Tropes page

I am also taking One Shot Commissions.

Humanity's Sins

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

Sunset Shimmer.

I never heard of the name before, but apparently, she was so important to Celestia that she was willing to judge all humanity for her death. I know in history that Celestia only ever takes apprentices once every one hundred or so years, rarely ever two simultaneously or so close to each other. Many of them went to do great things for Equestria, while a few others were mediocre at best. One or two were listed to have died from circumstances, but all of them were given a special place in the Royal Gardens as statues when they eventually passed away.

"Why did you never tell anyone about her?" I ask with genuine curiosity.

"Because it was too painful to talk about," Celestia answers with a heavy sigh as I see the sorrow in her eyes. It was similar to the looks mothers have when they find out their children are gone forever. "I've lost ponies I was close to before. It comes with being immortal. My apprentices were always the closest ones to my heart save for Luna, yet none of them were raised by me in infancy like Sunset was. Even Twilight, who I love like my own daughter, was raised by her parents first before I took care of her. Sunset...I raised her when she was a baby."

"I see..." I whisper in understanding for once. I've taken care of baby animals who lost their parents or were abandoned by them. They saw me as their mother despite the fact I didn't look like them. It hurt each time they eventually passed away because I also saw them as my children. "What was she like?"

Celestia answers as a warm and nostalgic smile decorate her lips. "I first met her when she was just a few months old. You know how some unicorns have bursts of uncontrollable magic when they are young? Sunset ended up shining her horn so bright it was like a second sun appeared in Canterlot. When I saw this little filly with such power and kindness in her eyes, I knew I had to be the one to take her in. So I adopted her, much like how I adopted Cadence after her parents died."

For the first time in a long time, I hear the absolute joy in Celestia's tone, and there is a brightness in her eyes. Even her glow seems to be shiner like that of the one I knew before we came to Earth. I have only ever seen her act so proud and caring before, and that is with her family and Twilight.

"At first, I thought about just raising her as an apprentice, but over time I saw her as the daughter I never had. This was before Twilight, of course. All my other apprentices have been mostly students I cared for, but Sunset and Twilight? They were like my own children," Celestia said with a bright smile. "Sunset was just like Twilight in many ways, only she was more of a hands-on approach kind of learner. Rather than study books, she would go out and practice various spells until she got it right. I sometimes found her sleeping while standing up because of her dedication. She wanted to be a powerful mage and a great pony. Her power was so great that I even considered helping her become an alicorn, especially since she had a talent for using magic from the sun just like me."

"Did you trust her with the knowledge of what had happened to the sun?" I ask.

"Actually, she figured it out. I always did underestimate her," Celestia chuckles, much to my surprise. "Don't ask. It would take so long to explain, but she realized something was wrong and told me that she wanted to help. I couldn't say no, so I brought her on board. When I told her of my plan to evacuate to a new dimension, she helped me find a planet we could settle on. One that wasn't too dangerous or was capable of supporting us. Different realities had different laws of physics after all."

I nod as I remember Discord telling me about that. Having traveled to different dimensions of reality himself, Discord said to me that each dimension was always different in various ways—different laws of time, matter, reality, space, existence, and so forth. There were even dimensions even he couldn't travel to because of those laws. Now that I think about it, did Discord know also of what happened to our old world? I never did ask him to travel back to it, nor did I know if he did. If he did...did he know what Celestia did, and if so, why didn't he tell me? Was he worried it would upset me? Or was it because our world was gone that he couldn't go back?

"Eventually, Sunset and I found a world that was capable of supporting life for us. This one," Celestia sighs as she begins to get darker in her tone. "Originally, I had sent royal guards to scout out these worlds we found, but Sunset wanted this one herself." She started to openly shed tears. "To this day, I will never forgive myself for letting her go on her own."

"What happened?" I ask, dreading the answer.

"She went somewhere in Africa and traveled around, trying to get a feel of the place...we lost contact shortly after but then...when I saw her in the mirror..." Celestia growls and stomps so hard on the ground that the entire stone floor cracked. It starts to get hotter as I can see her once-glorious mane slowly begin to turn from its once-grand rainbow appearance to a sea of flames. "I saw her...dead...no worse than dead...a tribe of savages was eating her...my daughter...my Sunset...was food for these monsters!"

In an instant, I felt a wave of energy as powerful as the sun blazing in my face. Flames erupted from Celestia's body as her eyes turned black and red. "I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM! NEVER! I HAD TO WATCH HER DIE BEFORE MY VERY EYES, AND I CURSE THEM ALL!"

I soon found it hard to breathe from the intensity of her rage before it finally subsided. I took a long deep breath before reaching out for the wine and gulping it down to cool myself. There are significant scorch marks all over the prison, especially under Celestia, who is taking deep breaths to calm down. Once I have my fill, and I could speak again, I ask, "So that's what all this is? Revenge? You've tried to destroy an entire species for the actions of a few who probably didn't know she was sentient? This entire thing? The war, the conversion bureaus, all the suffering, and numerous deaths...all of it was because of revenge?"

"Not all of it," Celestia mutters, levitating the bottle from my hooves and into her own. After seeing it was empty, she tossed it away and summoned another to drink from. "Believe me, after what happened to Sunset, I wanted to stay as far away from this world as possible, but there was no other option. Every other world was too dangerous. This, of all places, was the best I could find. The very same world that my first daughter figure died on."

"...How did you explain her death?" I ask.

"Magical accident. I made it a closed casket funeral since...well...her entire body was torn apart and eaten," Celestia answered with bitterness in her tone. "It took me years to even move on from her death. Twilight helped me so much since I saw so much of Sunset inside of her. At first, I thought she was just a replacement to help me heal, but over time I saw her as a second daughter and grew to love her just as much, only this time, I was determined to keep her ignorant of everything, so she didn't suffer the same fate as Sunset." I checked the orb and saw that it was still green. "I felt guilty that I was using her over and over again. First to save my sister, then help Equestria, and finally manipulate things so that she and you girls could transport us here. Believe it or not, Fluttershy, but I never wanted my ponies to suffer. Especially you six, who I owe so much. But I guess all our plans can't work out as they hope."

"Why then? Why not later?" I ask, shaking my head. "You still had time to find another solution."

"I thought about it, but after Tirek nearly killed you all, I decided there was no more time to waste. I couldn't risk losing any of you. So not long after you returned from that village out west, I decided to enact the plan." Celestia just shook her head. "The Elements are useless if any one of you was to die. Granted, the next wielders would be chosen once that happened, but I didn't know how long it would take, and I wasn't going to lead anything to chance. So I decided to do it. I-"

"Manipulated Twilight into discovering the theory which led to us using it, combined with the Elements, to take Equestria and the Crystal Empire to Earth," I finished speaking for her while glaring. "All while leaving everyone else to die."

"Yes," Celestia answers while shaking her head with regret on her face. "I am responsible for the end of all life in our world. This I will not deny. I wish there was another way, but I will do anything for my ponies, as I said before. Even if it means dirtying my soul and becoming a monster."

Shaking my head, I just sit down and try to think of what else to ask. There had to be more to this entire story. "Was converting humanity to ponies always your plan?"

"Yes, but the barrier wasn't. Originally, I wanted to just have Equestria isolate ourselves until World War III happened, and they all killed themselves. Whatever survivors existed, we could have converted and healed this planet so we could live on it. The barrier I saw as a means to force them to convert without more destruction, but I guess I underestimated their stubbornness," Celestia answers while sitting down across from me. She takes a few sips of wine before continuing. "I will not deny that my judgment of humanity was partially based-" The orb started turning red much to her grumbling- "- majorly based on what happened to Sunset." It went green again. "But after observing humanity for many years, I came to the conclusion that coexistence was impossible with them. So I sought to convert them into us. That by turning them into ponies, peaceful and harmonious, they would be able to rid themselves of their evil and become true creatures of light."

She glared downward as I raised my eyebrow. "I saw their wars. The methods they used to kill and hurt each other. Even the innocent were butchered, gassed, enslaved, raped, or robbed of everything for such reasons as religion, race, gender, or nation, even though they were all the same people. Their technology did nothing but ruin the environment they were in nor matter how much they claimed to be "progressive." There was plastic in the water. Trees are cut down by the millions. The air is so filled with smog that you choke on it. Not to mention their cultures and beliefs are either barbaric or outright corrupt. Capitalism. Communism. Nazisim. Nationalism. Socialism. Democracy. Christianity. Islam. Right-wing. Left-wing. All the followers of these beliefs claimed they were in the right, yet all they did was lead to more destruction and suffering. None of these humans cared! Instead of caring for each other, they just care about themselves and focus on making more power, wealth, and comfort so they can be fat and happy on the back of the unfortunate while letting anyone who disagrees with them be slandered, shamed, or killed! And even if they overthrow these people, they just repeat the same mistakes over and over again?! What few good people they had were assassinated or executed by those who feared them!"

"I knew that if Equestria was to come to this land, they would seek our resources, land, and maybe even our magic. They take what they want, and they care less who they hurt or kill doing it. We would be at war with them eventually just to defend ourselves or find ourselves in a proxy war with one of the other super-powered nations to influence us like they have done so in the past to the lesser nations," Celestia continued pacing back and forth. "Not to mention that I couldn't risk my subjects falling prey to their sick and twisted beliefs. How soon until fillies and colts wanted to focus on getting the latest technology or entertainment filled with nothing but violence and sex that would corrupt them into delinquent youths? Or what if they started following humanity's religions and disapproved of things in Equestria because we don't follow some made-up god's laws? What if business ponies became more greedy after seeing how powerful and influential the corporations are in certain countries? What if I had to face worker revolutions because they read a book some nutpot made in the 19th century? How long until friendship and harmony are replaced with materialism and selfishness?"

"I've learned the truth about these humans," Celestia looked up and snarled. "Mankind is only just capable of destruction. They never learn. They never learned from the first two world wars or the Cold War. They never learned when they built the nukes. They never learned in all the revolutions, collapses, genocides, and more. They keep making the same mistake over and over again with different weapons, excuses, and methods. They are a wheel of utter hate, greed, and selfishness that never ends. When that wheel breaks, they'll all be dead by their own hands, and it will be no less than they deserve because they failed to be a decent group of people! They failed their home planet and their own societies because they are nothing but children who want more and more. Humanity is doomed, Fluttershy. Even if they defeat us, they will die by their own hands. I gave them the only hope they had to save themselves."

Her eyes started to glow white again. "They could have become like us! We who achieved total peace and harmony! We who stood against the darker natures of the past and built a better future! We were the greatest civilization in all of our world before it ended! They could have been part of this better future I had planned for us all, but even that wasn't enough, and now they come to slaughter us all because they couldn't accept the gift that I gave them! The better path! And you and all the other traitors are to blame for this!"

She took a deep breath and lowered her head. "Please, Fluttershy. You have to know that I'm right. You are smarter than you look. You've seen what they can do. Why can't you just accept that I am right?!

"Because you're wrong," I say with disgust in my tone. "You claim everything you have done is for the greater good, but all I see is a selfish mare who tried to play god. And you don't think humans have ever done that? Whatever tyranny they've done, they've convinced themselves it was for the greater good. That whatever sins they commit will all be worth it in the end. Sounds familiar? If you say the means the humans used corrupted the ends, then what about your actions? And if you say you know better, the war proved there were a ton of blind spots in your judgment. You didn't foresee the humans breaking the barrier down, disrupting the use of magic, killing alicorns, or retaliating with nuclear weapons. Who's to say what else you've blindly missed? How about the ponies who disagreed with you, rebelled, and join the other side? What about all the other races in Equestria that you tricked everyone into blaming humanity for killing when we all know you did it. Did you see that ponies would lose their minds? Their hearts? Lose those closest to them and wonder why their so-called goddess isn't doing anything? You act as if you're completely infallible, but, as I have said before, as someone who claims that they are not a god and that there are no gods, you have the EGO of one."

I close my eyes and shake my head. I have heard enough. I know now what Celestia really is, and while a part of me pities her, I cannot accept what she is saying because she is wrong. I stand up and bravely look at her. "Listen to me, Celestia, because I think it's about time someone told you the real truth. Every race that has ever existed in the history of any reality has always had problems. You think ponies were always great? We never speak about the times before Equestria, save for its founding, and learned how horrible we were to each other. From what I've heard you talk about, it sounded like ponies were the very same thing once that you accuse humanity of being. No doubt we've been to war, raped, and ruined others' homes, as well as our own, because of greed, power, and hate. How many lands did we also take over in the name of Equestria when we finally came together? How many changelings, griffins, minotaurs, diamond dogs, dragons, and more, peaceful and otherwise, were kicked out because they were deemed dangerous or because we wanted their land?" Celestia didn't answer. No doubt it was because of the orb that was glowing around us. "And how many of our own kind have sought to change things because they believe it to be better? Our history books tell us that they were either insane, rebels, or ignorant, but I bet they had many followers until you took care of them, am I right?"

"It was for the good of-"

"It was for your own selfish pride, not for the good of Equestria," I interrupted her with a snarl. "The only ones who have ever made choices for Equestria are those who are in control of it, such as you and Luna. Not the subjects. You never once let Equestria advance itself to the point where it allows the common pony to decide their fate and what direction to go, for good or ill. You always made it so that you were the one who was in charge and was the one who knew best. Maybe even more so than your own sister."

"You dare-"

"You've said you didn't trust the other races because they were greedy, selfish, and because of past wars. Is that not what humans have also done? You claim they care about themselves, but your selfishness has hurt others just like them. For all the zealotry you hate about human faith, you've made ponies so religiously devoted to you and Equestria they would rather end their own lives than live in a world where you do not exist."

Celestia went stoic as she snarled at me, but I don't care if she blasts my face off. "And there have always been bad ponies in history. Sombra was a pony until he rose to become a dictator. There was our version of Jack the Ripper two hundred years ago in Canterlot. Your own sister nearly created an eternal night which would have killed us all if it happened."

"My sister-"

"And let's talk about you giving the 'light of friendship' to the humans. Why didn't you do that with the griffins? Or the dragons? Why not try to turn these enemies into allies or friends? Because friendship is about getting others to forgive you and to forgive them. To learn about each other and accept each other's differences. To find harmony despite being so diverse and different. What you keep talking about isn't friendship. It's order. Order in which you control everything, rule everything and decide everything like a tyrant because you think you are the only one who knows best. We could have helped humanity learn better, be better creatures. Instead, you decided to wipe them out because of the actions of a few instead of a majority. Most humans want to live in peace and just go about their day without fear of anything. It's true, they make mistakes, elect the wrong people, or listen to the wrong person, but that's what life is about. It's about learning from your mistakes, and the life of any civilization or race takes a long time to learn."

"I know that they have done horrible things. Things that I wish I never learned were possible. But for every horrible thing I see, I also see hope. I see children who want to make the world a better place. Adults who fight to give their children a future where they do not starve or go cold. Humans out there work as hard as they can to end war, suffering, and greed. And elders who give their knowledge to the next generation so that they can make better choices in the future. And they have. They've improved so much since their ancient days. Yes, there are new problems here and there, but they also fixed old ones."

I then think about something Discord told me once about all the races he's seen since he existed. Those who have come and those who are gone. He's lived far longer than anyone thought possible and knows how various races rise and fall in time. "A good friend once told me that a race is like the lifespan of a single being. It starts in infancy, becomes a child, grows up before reaching its final stages, and ends with either a glorious final breath or a whimper. Discord had seen the various races of our world start and end, including ours, and do you know what he told me?" He pointed at Celestia. "He told me that ponies were still just children. We never grew up compared to the other races. We lived in a fantasy setting and refused to move on from it because someone didn't want things to change and tried to deny our potential because they were afraid of pain and suffering. Two things that you need to learn so you can grow up as an adult."

"And humanity wasn't a child?" Celestia growls in disgust.

"And Equestria isn't? No, humans were like children, but you then changed everything," I point out. "You forced them to realize that their past grudges and petty arguments were worthless in the face of outright annihilation. They pushed aside everything and came together for the greater good of their people. They finally saw themselves as humans and not the various tags they've given each other. They finally wised up because of you. You made them grow up, and that's why they are winning." I sigh in sorrow as I think about how we've evolved since Equestria was founded. "We could have grown up too. I don't know if you're to blame, the council you talked about, Starswirl, or all of the above. But even though Equestria was united, we didn't grow up. No, we refused too, and part of it is on you, but also on us for allowing it to get this far. We're so scared of things changing that we just refuse to let anyone change out of fear. Not just us or humans, but the other races as well back home. As one human I know has commented on it, it was a sugar bowl world, but all sugar rots eventually, or the bowl breaks from decay. What we had wasn't going to last forever, and someday we would have fallen apart, or someone bigger than us would have taken over."

"No, that's not true!" Celestia desperately says with determination. "Equestria will always survive! It will always be pure and true! I will never let it become anything less!"

"And that's the problem, Celestia," I say with a shake of my head. "You. You. You. I realize what you are now. You are not a demon. Or a monster. You are a broken child who was forced into power at a young age and never grew up. You are afraid of losing this power because, deep down, you are nothing without it. You've made your entire life all about being the ruler of Equestria to compensate for your losses. While I think there is a part of you that cares, loves, and is kind, there is also a large part of you that is selfish, paranoid, and hateful. In the end, you're just a brat. Nothing more and nothing less."

There is a long silence between the two of us. Celestia stares at me with wide eyes, and I just stare back at her with nothing but content that I've said all I needed to say. I figure there is no going back at this point, and she'll either just kill me right here and now or make it a public execution. Yet deep down, I am smiling because I won. I rejected them all and kept to my principles.

Celestia sighed and dismissed the orb. "It seems I really do have no choice but to do this." I tilt my head in confusion as her horn glows and chains appear on my limbs. "Come. It's time to see what your stubbornness has cost you."

Author's Notes:

2 chapters to go! Next one is going to be my favorite to write :)

As always, please help with the TV Tropes page

I am also taking One Shot Commissions.

Kindness Caves

Note, this was originally going to be a longer chapter, but I split it in the middle for dramatic effect.

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

For the first time since I've been captured, I was afraid. My instincts were telling me something was wrong and that whatever Celestia had planned would be horrible. She said that whatever happened now was on me, which had sent warning bells in my head. I'm chained up and escorted by Celestia and three guards as we head down into the lower levels of the dungeon. This surprises me because I thought for sure I was going to be executed. Maybe burned at stake or something painful like that. But this can't be because Celestia would want my execution to be public.

Maybe she intends to torture me? I've heard some horror stories about what the ESS does to ponies to get them to "confess" their crimes when they are arrested. What few survivors we were able to save are traumatized for life, and some of them just end up killing themselves weeks after due to the suffering they went through. I can recall when my friends and I were trapped in Starlight's village and forced to listen to her constant recordings about how cutie marks were evil until our escape plan. God, was that annoying and mind-numbing. I never did learn why she hated cutie marks so much before she committed suicide in prison.

Eventually, we stop not at a torture chamber but in front of another cell. Celestia looks at me with a sinister glare before she opens the door, and I feel my heart sink into my chest upon seeing who it is.

"Martin!" I scream, trying to get to my lover, but I'm forced back in place by the chains held by the guards. "Martin! Answer me!"

"Flutter...shy?" Martin whispers as he raises his head. I nearly fall to my haunches in shock at how damaged he is. They stripped him of nothing but his boxes and hung him from a tied rope around his arms. He's no longer wearing his glasses and instead has a black eye around his right eye socket along with a bleeding and broken nose. His entire chest is covered with hoof marks, no doubt from ponies bucking him in rage, to the point where he's completely black and blue.

My eyes begin to water as I want nothing more than to rush over to him and hug him. Kiss every wound these monsters have given him before kissing his lips. I never thought I would see him again, and each night I prayed I could tell him I loved him one more time, but now I'd give anything to see him far and away from here. My tears are soon replaced with utter hatred as I snap and try to launch myself at a stoic Celestia like a wolf upon a lamb. "You fucking bitch! I'll kill you! You touch him again, and I will break your fucking horn and shove it down your throat!"

"...He really means so much to you?" Celestia asks while looking at Martin with disgust. "How you can love such a thing I cannot understand."

"Because you're a heartless bitch who doesn't know what love is, Celestia!" I scream before taking a few deep breaths. "Martin has nothing to do with this! Let him go! He's innocent!"

"He's a human," Celestia muttered, shaking her head. "No human is innocent."

I turn to Martin and keep trying to reach him, even to the point where I feel the chains tighten around my limbs and neck. "Martin! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I promise I'll get you out of here!"

Martin raises his head and just smiles at me, he tries to say something, but all he can do is cough. Even just hearing that makes me fall to my stomach and weep while my strength leaves me as I am powerless to do anything.

Martin.

The one human who treated me with such kindness that my heart fell for him not long after. The living proof to me that humans were capable of such goodness. We were each other's strength in these dark times. Because of him, I got to smile and feel joy in life again. Whenever I cried or found myself struggling in this mad world where I fought against my own country, he was there to hold me and support me like a rock. On days when he failed to save a life and took it hard, I sang to him as he lay his head on my shoulder.

I can remember when I finally confessed my feelings for him after a lot of encouragement from Lyra, Discord, and Angel. I thought he would reject me for sure, but instead, he held my hoof and said he felt the same way. I can remember our first kiss. The first time each of us said, "I love you." And the first time we made love. I was always a romantic growing up, and I once believed that I would find the soul mate that I would spend the rest of my life with one day. I never thought it would be a non-pony, much less a human.

We had so many plans after the war was over. Getting married, seeing sights, raising a family in North Carolina. All of these I dreamed of, and it kept me going because I wanted this future. Now I see it crumbling before me as the human I love lies before me, broken and beaten as a prisoner of Celestia just like me.

"Why....why are you doing this?" I ask, looking up at Celestia.

"I said I would do anything for my ponies, and that includes being a monster," Celestia said as she poofed something into existence that made my soul freeze. It's a potion. Specifically, a rainbow-colored potion that is swirling inside the glass. I know it because it is the fear of every human in the world.

The Conversion Potion.

"No..." I whisper in horror.

"This is a different potion," Celestia proclaims as she levitates it close to her. "One of the many prototypes we invented before the real one. The fault of this one is that it causes one to only go through a...half transformation. One that is painful and sometimes fatal."

My mind flashes back to the times I have seen humans turn into ponies before my eyes. The Conversion Bureau had proper magical equipment to help transform a human through a painless process that was a hundred percent safe. Without those, just having it splashed upon you will cause you to feel the entire changing process from start to finish. Every part of your body, from bones to organs, changes the moment it touches the skin. The whole process takes about thirty minutes to be done thoroughly. Yet those thirty minutes, your bones shink, grow, and modify themselves for pony anatomy. Your entire skeleton is reshaped along with your organs which are squeezed and stretched inside you like playdough. You develop new limbs like tails, horns, and wings, with extra hair growing all over your body. You feel your blood burning inside you like lava as you develop magic in your system. It's like your entire being is being slowly being molded and transformed by the burning hands of the devil himself as your complete structure is rearranged like a rubix cube. My mind only thinks of the horrors a half transformation could possibly do.

"This is your last chance, Fluttershy," Celestia states as she inches the potion closer to Martin's face as he looks upon it with worry. "Use your element to help us, or I will make your boyfriend into a freak."

I stare at Celestia and then at Martin, who is shaking his head.

"Even if I activate my element, the shield will still kill Martin because he's human!" I point out.

"The means of which to create the shield isn't going to be activated around Equestria for some time. It needs the power of the Elements to function, but we can ensure that it doesn't activate while Martin is in Equestrian borders," Celestia stated. "Should you agree to do this, I swear, on the lives of all my subjects, that I will release Martin back to the human lands."

"And if I don't?"

"Then Martin will turn into an abomination that will be in constant pain that I will ensure he lives through even if humanity were to invade right now. And then you will be placed in a cell right next to him so you can hear his endless cries of suffering and pain. Knowing that your stubbornness caused this and it will be your fault. So what is it going to be?"

...

...

...

God forgive me.

"Yes," I whisper in defeat as I lower my head in shame.

"Yes, what?" Celestia asks, and yet I can hear a sense of satisfaction in her tone.

"Yes...Princess Celestia."

***

For the first time in what had to be weeks, I can see the sky. Not a day has passed since my surrender to Celestia's demands, and already I am being escorted through Canterlot in a jail carriage with my Element on my neck. At least four guards are surrounding me and giving me looks that could kill. No doubt they think I'm the living incarnation of Queen Chrysalis or something because of my rebellion. I look at the necklace on my neck that shows a bright pink butterfly jewel connected to a golden frame. I curse this damn thing, and I wish I was never the Element of Kindness. I honestly wish I could throw it into the biggest volcano in the world and let it melt into nothing. Because right now I don't feel very kind. I'm betraying humanity and my friends by doing this, but I couldn't help it. I lost Discord. I didn't want to lose Martin. It would break me, and he doesn't deserve to suffer for this.

Celestia told me that I would not be executed after using my element but rather placed in solitary confinement for the rest of my life. I'd rather take death, but if it means Martin gets to live as a human, then so be it. Not that I suspect I'll still live long enough anyway. One day she'll find a means to get rid of me, and I'll just be buried in an unmarked grave somewhere.

A fate I hope for her one day as well.

"We're here," one of the guards says as he opens the door and allows me out. There are other royal guards there as security as I walk outside, adjusting to the light before seeing where I am. Canterlot Stadium. I guess Celestia wants to make this into a show.

It's not long before I am in the stadium itself where I am immediately hit with boos and curses from those attending. I look around and notice how full it is. The stands are practically filled with ponies of all kinds and ages. I see their hatred, their fear, and their disgust at me. Even the foals are mocking me. Yet they are the fools. They are the sheep.

I see my so-called "friends" waiting for me in the middle of the stadium with Princess Celestia and a large tarp covering some kind of tower-like object that is as high as a house. All of my friends have their Elements on, and each has various expressions centered at me. Applejack and Rainbow Dash's are glares that look like they could kill, but there is a certain smugness in the latter as if she's taking pride that I've given up. Rarity is looking at me with a bit of fear and disgust, and I can't help but smirk as I see that her left eye has some black and blue on it despite her attempts to hide it with makeup. Pinkie Pie is giving a sad smile, and Twilight just stares at me with a slight frown.

"I'm glad you decided to do the right thing, Fluttershy," Twilight says to me as I reach the girls. "I know that this is hard for you, especially since you-"

"Twilight, shut up," I say. I don't even care if she had her memory erased anymore. I'm too pissed off to care. I look at all of them. These five girls who I once treasured as family. "I just want you five to know… that whatever we had. Whatever we once were. It's over today. You choose to follow a megalomaniac driven by paranoia and hate. One whose caused the deaths of billions both before and after we came here." The five of them look confused by this, and yet I just continue. "Out of everypony here, I am the only one who really followed their Element in the end. The rest of you are a disgrace. I never want to see you again after this. Never. So let's just get this over with."

I turn away and do not bother to look at their reactions. I don't even bother listening to Celestia's speech, but I'm sure it's filled with nonsense. I take this moment to pray that God forgives me for doing this. I pray that Martin will be okay. I pray that Lyra and the others will find a way to stop this. And I pray that humanity wins so that Equestria can be saved by this madness.

"...and now, Princess Twilight Sparkle will reveal our salvation!" Celestia finishes before Twilight uses her magic to remove the object. The towering thing didn't look all that fancy like I thought it would. It was a giant monolith made of some kind of metal I didn't recognize but was a shiny dark blue kind. It was designed much like an obelisk and held runes on it, but six grey crystals stood out. Most likely to save the stored energy of the Elements.

"Alright, now since Fluttershy wasn't here for this, I'll repeat it again," Twilight said as she looked at all of us. "We just need to be in the proper position, activate our elements, and the Harmony Pylon will do the rest. It will absorb the energy and store it until we're ready to use it for a test run."

"Are we going to activate a shield around Equestria?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No, Princess Celestia said we're to hold on creating that big of a shield for a few days for some reason," Twilight said with a shrug. "But we can test it out by making a shield around the stadium."

I say nothing before being pointed to by Twilight where to stand. I take a deep breath and walk to my position as the entire stadium goes quiet. Celestia smiles with satisfaction at the machine that she thinks will save them all, but I know she is just delaying the inevitable. The girls are all in their position, and I get ready as we all start closing our eyes one by one. To use an Element of Harmony, one has to remember all the memories and feelings they have inside based on their element. For me, as the Element of Kindness, I think about all the kind things I have done in my life. Once upon a time, those were memories I had with my friends, but now all I can think of are the memories after I defected.

I think about the time I helped Derpy put her daughter to sleep after a nightmare she had about Celestia taking her away from her mommy.

I think about helping Flash come to terms with his feelings for Lyra and helping him move on from Twilight.

I think about the days I spent comforting patients, ponies and humans, while giving them hope that the future will be better.

I think about Discord and our fun times together. How my best friend was there for me to the very end of his life.

I think about all the times I sang all the orphaned children to sleep.

The times I helped the captured enemy get food and proper treatment.

And the animals I helped shelter in my new home with Angel Bunny taking charge.

I think about my love for Martin and my desire to spend the rest of my life with him.

And it comes out. The familiar, powerful energy is coursing through my veins as my eyes began to glow with power. I could see and feel the familiar energy of the others floating in the air with me. Naturally, I can feel the energy, but I cannot connect with it. When we were friends, I could combine my power with the others, and we could use it to unleash the power of the Elements together. We were one. Our hearts and minds were united by our shared friendship and love for each other. Now, I cannot feel them. Nor can they feel me.

It really proves that our friendship is over.

There is something tragic in that statement, and yet I feel nothing. Because I have long accepted it. I don't know what the girls are feeling about this, but I guess it doesn't matter since all that was needed was to activate our elements, and that was it.

Sure enough, the Harmony Pylon is starting to turn itself on as the runes glow with various colors. I feel a pull of energy from the tower as the magic inside me from my Element reacts to it. Six beams of energy, each from us, hit the Harmony Pylon, and the crystals begin to fill up. Once each one is wholly colored in the respective Element colors, we start to power down and soon land back on our feet. I take a deep breath and sit down to fight the exhaustion kicking it. I haven't done this in fifteen years. Christ, I'm getting old.

Twilight rushes over to the machine with joy on her face like a kid at Christmas. "It works! It really works!" Hearing her say this has ponies celebrating in the stands. I just stand there, away from it all, feeling bitter that I caved in, and yet there is no point in worrying about it now.

"Great, let's have a party!" Pinkie Pie shouts, spreading confetti everywhere.

"Actually, Twilight, I would like us to test this first to make sure it's really working," Celestia states as she looks at the machine tower with wonder. "Can you create a shield around the stadium?'

"Of course, just give me one minute," Twilight says as she goes to work on the controls. After doing what I assume to be calculations, she presses a big red button, and soon the crystals that have our stored magic start to glow. The runes blink in and out as everypony stands back in awe. I can't help but look at it with wide eyes.

And then, just as it starts to power up...it goes dead.

I'm even a bit surprised by how fast that happens, and there is a long silence upon everyone staring at the Harmony Python. "Uh, Twilight," Applejack asks as she points to the thing. "Did ya break it?"

"What?! No, I thought I-"

Suddenly, it turns on again, only the lights are blinking faster, and the crystals are glowing so bright that I'm forced to cover my eyes. The girls ask Twilight what is wrong as she tries to give answers, but nobody can hear her due to the roaring and rumbling of the machine. Ponies in the stands are starting to panic as Celestia orders everypony to step away.

Suddenly, there is a burst of energy followed by an explosion that knocks me off my hooves. I open my eyes upon landing on my back and gasp at the sight before me. A massive pillar of multi-colored magic is shooting up into the air as storm clouds form around it. Lighting ranges from every color in the rainbow, from red to violet, as it flashes in the skies. My heart beats as I know what this energy is as I have felt it multiple times in my life and used it. It's the Elements of Harmony.

No, as I focus more on it, it's more than just that.

I'm not the only one stunned as everypony around me, from my ex-friends to Celestia, stares at the pillar that has completely taken over the center of the arena. I look at how high the energy is going, yet I cannot see past the darkened clouds. I bet it can even be seen from space, and I wonder what the rest of the world is thinking upon seeing it.

The pillar then begins to take form as it shapes itself into something slowly representing a creature. The lighting and magic swirl around it as six mighty feathered wings made out of pure rainbow energy emerges, followed by four large limbs with golden halos around them. A tail is formed out of the end of the center. Followed by a large head with a horn on its head. Its entire body is like a living rainbow mixed with a golden aura as the formation of stars, constellations, swirls, and more galactical wonders move about its surface like leaves on a pond. An alicorn? No, something else. Even if it is taking the shape of such a creature, I feel that this is something else. I fear it might even be beyond Discord. My theory is soon proven as I gaze into its eyes for a split second and turn away as the feelings beyond comprehension enter me for that split moment.

Power.

That is the closest that I can describe what I felt.

A feeling of unlimited cosmic power that has no end.

In that one split moment, I felt like I was an ant against a titan the size of a galaxy. Maybe even bigger.

Once I collect myself, I turn back to this giant glowing being far larger than any dragon I have ever seen. It lands on the ground, and at once, the entire earth shakes with a quake that makes everypony fall to their knees. The sheer power and might that it eminates is nerve-wracking. I look at the others, and they two are staring at the giant being with utter fear and awe. Even Celestia is in utter shock and horror upon seeing such a thing. I cannot blame her for not even Discord or Tirek having such power and might before them. It oozes it, and I feel like this is not even a fraction of its strength.

It's mane of ethereal wonder flows in the air as its horn lights up and a voice is heard echoing across all of Canterlot, maybe even beyond it. It speaks despite there being no voice, yet it roars like an earthquake.

"YOU DARE? YOU DARE TO USE MY OWN POWER AS A MEANS TO RUIN MORE OF THIS WORLD? I HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND WILL END THIS NOW. YOU WILL NO LONGER CONTINUE TO USE THE POWER I BLESSED YOU WITH AS A MEANS TO CAUSE MORE CHAOS AND DEATH. I END THIS WAR THAT YOU DECLARED TO FIGHT IN MY NAME, BUT LIKE SO MANY BEFORE YOU, YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO WORK IN MY NAME."

It is a voice of many voices and yet always united. Many genders and yet always one. Every letter is like hearing a tsunami clash with the earth, a volcano erupting, or a star exploding. These words are enough to force me to my knees.

"W-W-Who...Who are you?" Twilight mutters in terror as all is silent for a while before the being speaks again.

"I AM THAT I AM. I AM THAT IS. I AM ALWAYS WHAT WILL BE. I AM THE BEGINNING, AND I AM THE END. I AM THE CREATOR AND THE DESTROYER. I HAVE MANY NAMES IN YOUR WORLD, THIS WORLD, AND WORLDS BEYOND YOUR COUNTING. THE DRAGONS CALLED ME BAHAMUT. THE DIAMOND DOGS CALLED ME SIRUS. THE GRIFFINS CALLED ME GRANDIUS. THE CHANGELINGS CALLED ME THE GREAT MOTHER. THE SIRENS CALLED ME SHE WHO BRINGS WATER. THE BUFFALO CALLED ME THE GREAT SPIRIT. THE ANCIENT PONY RACES CALLED ME FAUSTICORN, YNOP, GAEA, AND MORE. THE HUMANS CALL ME ANU, RA, AMATERASU, BRAHMAN, ELOHIM, JEHOVA, ALLAH, AND MORE. YET I NEED NONE OF THEM, FOR MY EXISTENCE IS WHAT I AM, AND ALL IS ONE WITH ME. BUT I AM KNOWN AS ONE WORD TO YOU. A WORD YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT AND YET HAVE FAILED TO DO SO."

And with a mighty voice, all of us realized who this was.

"I. AM. HARMONY."

Author's Notes:

Okay, so I know this was originally supposed to be longer but that cliffhanger was so good that I had to cut it off here. I promise that there is only two chapters left, but yeah. I kinda had fun with this one.

Let me make one thing clear with this one. This is an AU of the series. In the series, I never made it so that there was proof that god or any gods were real because I wanted readers to come to their own choice on that. But in this AU? God is real. Or should I saw a divine presence that is all gods in existence itself is real.

But yeah, next chapter. Retribution comes.

Please help out at the TV Tropes Page

Ending 1: Divine Justice

Author's Notes:

Normally, I do this at the end of every chapter, but I'm going to do it in the beginning this time. Now I know some people do not like the ending I have given with a god/harmony coming to fix this issue. Please keep in mind this is an Alternate Universe idea I came up with. It's not canon to the original timeline of the NegotationsVerse series. I've done my best to have Harmony explain who and what he is, but I understand if people still won't like it. Please keep in mind that this really isn't also my personal belief, I'm Catholic, so I don't think this is how God really is. This is a fantasy series when you get down to it. It's fiction, so I can make God or the concept of God different from real life.

That being said, I am creating a non-harmony interfering ending for those who do not like this or want something different. I had always planned on this since I knew people wouldn't like this sort of twist and I wanted to see what other endings I could do. The ending will be called "Operation Rescue" and you will see guns. Lots of guns.

As always please check or help out at the NegotationsVerse TV Tropes Page at: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse

Also, it was a pain in the ass doing this color thing with the text. Ugh.

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

Harmony.

This was harmony?

This divine creature that claimed to be not just the God I worshiped, but all gods worshiped everywhere in all worlds was this being? At first, I didn't know what to believe, but now that I see it, hear it, and feel the power emanating from it? I believe it.

I have faced the powers of Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, Tirek, and even Celestia in my life, and none of them, even combined, can stand a candle to this aura that is before me. It is brighter than the sun and carries a weight that not all Earth could hold. I realize that this is no lie. This is A god. This is THE god. This is ALL the gods. This is Harmony, and I don't know if I should start kneeling or praying.

Honestly, I can't even move. I don't think anypony else can. Nopony is making a sound, and all are just stunned to the core by what Harmony has proclaimed. Why wouldn't they? They were raised to believe Celestia and Luna were goddesses. Even Twilight, Cadence, and Flurry Heart were thought to be ones in the Church of Harmony. Now comes a being even they cannot match that claims to be the virtue Equestria has claimed to stand for since its foundation.

And it didn't sound happy.

"That's... that's impossible..." Twilight is the first to speak after a long period of silence. "You can't be...harmony. Harmony isn't a god. It's just a concept. An idea. There are no-"

"AND YET HERE I AM," Harmony answers as it looks down upon Twilight, who squeaks mouse as she cowards quickly before the being. None of the others can stop shaking in fear while it continued to tower over us all like the Statue of Liberty I saw in New York once. "THE ARROGANCE OF MORTALS IS THAT THEY BELIEVE THEMSELVES TO KNOW EVERYTHING WHEN THEY KNOW SO VERY LITTLE. WISE AS YOU CAN SOMETIMES BE, YOU FAIL TO TRULY UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU, NOR CAN YOU IN YOUR SHORT LIFETIMES. BUT I AM INDEED HARMONY. I AM INDEED YOUR CREATOR. AS I AM THE CREATOR OF ALL LIFE IN ALL WORLDS. NOT JUST IN EQUUS OR EARTH, BUT OF WORLDS BEYOND YOUR COUNTING."

"But...if you are THE God of Harmony...where were you?" Applejack asks before growling. She stares at harmony with such anger and rage that I was almost surprised by how she even has the guts to do so. Then again, Applejack has always been braver (and dumber) than most. "Where the buck where ya when we were dying out there by the humans! Why didn't ya just come out and stop them from killing us?! What kind of god does that?!"

Harmony turns to Applejack. "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I SUPPORT WHAT YOU DID?"

"...What?" Applejack whispers as her pupils shrink. I'm sure she's not the only one as one by one, the faces of my friends turn pale. Even Celestia's is whiter than usual.

"DO YOU REALLY THINK I WANTED YOU TO LEAVE YOUR WORLD AND COME TO THIS ONE TO COMMIT GENOCIDE? YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT THAN THE HUMANS HERE WHO SLEW COUNTLESS OTHERS IN MY NAME." Harmony speaks as I just realize it has shattered the entire war's excuse in less than ten seconds flat. When the embodiment of your reasoning for war tells you that you were wrong, I guess there is no defense for it at that point. How many times did I hear speeches and propaganda telling us that it was our duty to bring harmony to humanity? The average Equestrian believed it was their destiny to bring such a thing to humanity, lost in chaos and despair. Now they were being told by the living concept of their most treasured virtue that they were in the wrong.

Twilight tries to say something but the voice in her throat dies out. Even Rainbow Dash, zealous as she is, has her wings drooping in shock while others complete similar aspects of disbelief. I look around and see the other ponies in attendance expressing similar emotions. A few have even fainted at this point or look ready to have heart attacks.

"ALWAYS THERE ARE THOSE WHO CLAIM TO FIGHT AND KILL IN MY NAME. RARELY HAVE I EVER ASKED OF SUCH A THING, BUT WHAT TIMES I DO SPEAK TO MORTALS, IN THE MANY METHODS I HAVE, OFTEN GET TWISTED OR CHANGED BY OTHERS. SOMETIMES OUT OF GREED AND OTHERS OUT OF MISUNDERSTANDING. AND WHILE SOME WARS HAVE JUSTIFICATION AGAINST TRUE EVILS, MOST OF THE TIME YOU MORTALS FIGHT FOR YOUR OWN REASONS. BUT I WILL MAKE THIS CLEAR RIGHT NOW. I HAVE NEVER SUPPORTED YOUR WAR AGAINST HUMANITY. I HAVE, IN FACT, BEEN SUPPORTING THEIR RIGHT TO EXIST."

"You've been supporting those monkies over us?!" Rainbow Dash shouts in disbelief and fury. "But we're Equestria! We-"

"DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU ARE THAT SPECIAL? YOU ARE ONE OF THE BILLIONS OF RACES I HAVE CREATED ACROSS A NEAR ENDLESS SEA OF DIMENSIONS AND WORLDS. YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST PONIES OF EQUESTRIA I HAVE CREATED, NOR ARE THESE THE FIRST HUMANS OF EARTH I HAVE CREATED. NEITHER OF WHICH WILL BE THE LAST EITHER. BOTH YOUR WORLDS HAVE DIED AND BEEN REBORN MULTIPLE TIMES. I CARE ABOUT ALL MY CREATIONS, BUT NONE ARE SUPERIOR OR INFERIOR TO THE OTHERS."

"But the Elements of Harmony-" Rarity started, but Harmony interrupted again.

"I GAVE YOU MY POWER IN THE FORM OF THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY TO GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE EVILS IN YOUR WORLD. JUST AS I HAVE GIVEN HUMANITY WISDOM IN MANY SAVIORS, TEACHERS, AND PROPHETS TO HELP UNITE THEMSELVES. YET, I ALLOWED YOU ALL THE FREE WILL TO DO WHAT YOU WISH WITH THE POWER AND WISDOM I HAVE GRANTED TO YOU TO SEE IF YOU COULD GROW UP AND ADVANCE YOURSELVES. I ONLY INTERVENE WHEN IT IS NECESSARY. TOO MUCH CONTROL OVER YOU ALL, AND YOU DEPEND ON ME TOO MUCH. TOO LITTLE OF IT, AND YOU DESTROY EACH OTHER. I INTERFERE WHEN IT IS PROPER, AND I HOLD BACK WHEN IT IS THE RIGHT TIME TO DO SO. THIS MEANS ALL THE BENEFITS AND CONSEQUENCES FROM WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IN YOUR LIVES ARE OF YOUR OWN DOING. SADLY, OTHERS SUFFER IN THESE ACTIONS AS EVEN A SINGLE RESPONSE FROM A LEADER OR A SPECIES CAN RESULT IN THE DEATHS OF BILLIONS."

And then Harmony glared at Celestia, who walked back in horror while looking ready to fly in fear, yet her wings refused to open. "SUCH AS YOU, SUNNYVALE."

"I-I-I am Princess Celestia and I-" Celestia, or Sunnyvale, apparently, was soon dwarfed by Harmony, who lowered its head before her and made her whimper like a filly.

"YOU ARE SUNNYVALE. PRINCESS CELESTIA IS THE NAME THAT STARSWIRL GAVE YOU WHEN YOU BECAME A PRINCESS. JUST AS MOONCLOUD WAS THE TRUE NAME OF YOUR SISTER. RARELY HAVE I EVER SEEN FEW MORTALS MATCH SUCH SELFISHNESS AND IRRESPONSIBILITY AS YOU, BUT YOU HAVE DONE WHAT FEW EVILS HAVE DONE. YOU HAVE DESTROYED YOUR WORLD, AND YET DEEP DOWN, DESPITE KNOWING WHAT YOU HAVE LOST, YOU WOULD STILL DO IT AGAIN."

"D-Destroyed our world? What are you talking about?" Twilight Sparkle asks as ponies in the stands start whispering and questioning each other. Every eye is on Celestia as she sweats and looks around in terror. If it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation, I would laugh. "What is… he… she… it talking about?"

Harmony looks at me, and I gulp in fear at first, but then I feel… comfort. I feel at ease. As if a warm blanket spread over me while washing me with the warm rays of the sun. My injuries feel like they don't exist as I gaze upon this being of energy. Unlike how it's eyeing the others, it's not staring at me like a bug to be crushed but as a loving parent. I think about how my parents used to love me and care for me when I was little. This feeling is similar to that, and I don't want it to stop. Was it because I miss my parents' love, deep down, or because it just felt so good? "WHY DON'T YOU EXPLAIN, FLUTTERSHY? TWILIGHT WAS SUPPOSED TO FIGURE IT OUT FIRST, BUT IT SEEMS CHOICES WERE MADE THAT PREVENTED SUCH AN OUTCOME AND NOW WE ARE IN THIS ONE."

Immediately I feel the eyes of everypony in the entire stadium looking down at me. The old Fluttershy would have run away and cowered in fear, but I am not afraid anymore. The war has changed me, and I think for the better. Sometimes I wonder if I would have remained that scared little pony who was frightened of her own shadow, but having seen such horrors and injustice in my life, I realized that fear cannot control me. I must control my fear.

Princess Celestia looks almost ready to attack me to silence me, but with Harmony around, I doubt she can do anything. The biggest secret she's been hiding from everyone, even from her own student, is about to come out, and we both know that it will utterly ruin her.

However, I know that this is going to hurt everypony. Equestria might have been prejudice, blind, and zealous, but I still believe there is some good in us. The idea that we left behind a dead world, even in ignorance, is something that even the most blinded pony will feel horrified for. The truth has to be told. They have to know of our sin. What Celestia did to us. And what we did to all those back home.

"Our world? It's gone. Completely. All life there is dead." There are some gasps, and I see the others staring at me in horror with Pinkie's mane deflating like a balloon. I find it strange that they are willing to believe me, but I guess the giant god alicorn has something to help with that. I can see the hesitation in their eyes in asking what I mean until I finally ask the question that made me realize the truth. "Girls? Who has been controlling the sun and moon since we left our world?"

My question echoes across a still stadium. For a brief second, there is nothing but silence.

And then, at long last, the illusion is shattered.

Shouts of horror and screams of denial, not just from my friends but all around the stadium, erupt across the stadium as it finally clicks in their heads. Tears are shed as ponies fall to the floor in sorrow and guilt while others are throwing up in their place. Now I think ponies really are having heart attacks as some are clutching their chests as medical ponies rush in but trip along the way in confusion. However, a rainbow glow surrounds those ponies who suddenly stop panicking from their internal heart problems and look at Harmony, whose horn was glowing in awe.

A few guards are so shocked that they drop their weapons while one particular one starts to put his blade to his throat before the others stop him. All around me, I hear and see the despair as the truth is finally dropped upon a nation guided by a lie. No matter how much they try to deny it, they know it's true because of one thing. We've been told that Celestia and Luna were the only ones who could move the sun and moon in our world for all our lives. So what happens when there is nopony there to move them? We just assumed everything was okay because Celestia said so, but when do you finally stop and think?

It honestly just shows how dumb and brainwashed we were as a species.

"That's not true! It can't be true!" Pinkie is screaming as her hair entirely goes down, with chunks of it even coming off. I don't know if she's ripping it off or if it's done by itself, but it's disturbing, to say the least. Her sobbing eyes are twitching in a panic, and she's running around like a headless chicken while Rarity looks ready to faint while sobbing. "They can't be dead! They can't all be dead!"

"Gilda…" Rainbow Dash whispers in horror as her eyes go wide and she sits on her backside. A few minutes later, she turns her head and throws up while crying her eyes out. Rainbow Dash rarely cries, especially in public, and to see her in such a state shows that she must be in terrible pain as she screams to the heavens in despair.

Applejack is just frozen like a statue in horror. "Zecora… Little Strongheart…mah family outside of Equestria..."

"This can't be...wait, no… if Celestia and Luna really were here all this time and…why didn't…." Twilight's reaction is one of confusion, horror, realization, and finally fury as she turns to a quiet Celestia and yells. "You bucking monster! How could you?!"

Everypony soon focuses on Twilight, who is glowing with rage and hatred. She roars in anger before shooting the biggest blast of magic I have ever seen her cast at Celestia, who summons a shield of magic to protect her. It barely manages to hold off against the attack before it ends. Even I am in disbelief as I have just seen Twilight, Celestia's most loyal supporter, attack the princess with the intent of killing her. The others are soon joining her and glaring at Celestia with such hatred that, if looks could kill, Celestia would be dead seven times over.

"How could you do this?!" Twilight screams both in disbelief and rage. "You lied to us! You lied about everything! All those lives! Even the ones here?! Was it all a bucking lie?! Why?! TELL ME WHY?!"

"BECAUSE THERE WAS NO OTHER CHOICE!" Celestia screams with the full power of the royal voice. It was so loud and powerful that it had to have echoed all across Canterlot. The intensity was so loud that the six of us were knocked down from the blast alone. I gaze upon Celestia's voice and nearly wet myself with how angry and insane she looks. Her mane is floating around as she spreads her wings out and continues to scream endlessly, and her eyes are nearly pulled out. I can see salvia and blood emanating from her mouth, and her horn is building up such magic it looks ready to blow. She looks at us, the ponies in attendance, and even Harmony itself while speaking in a rampage. "EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER DONE WAS FOR ALL OF YOU! I HAVE SACRIFICED EVERYTHING BECAUSE I AM WHAT KEPT YOU ALL FROM KILLING YOURSELVES! YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE SURVIVED AS A NATION WITHOUT ME! THE SUN WAS GOING TO DIE! I DID WHAT I COULD TO SAVE IT, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO! I HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE! I HAD TO SAVE YOU ALL AND IF IT MEANT ENDING THE WORLD, THEN SO BE IT! WHAT MATTERED WAS THAT WE SURVIVED! WE LIVED! AND NOW YOU TURN AGAINST ME WHEN I WAS THE ONE WHO LET YOU AVOID UTTER DOOM?! I LOST EVERYTHING TRYING TO PROTECT YOU, BUT YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN CHILDREN WHO UNDERSTAND NOTHING!"

She then turned her gaze on Harmony and, with utter hatred in her voice, screamed, "AND YOU! YOU CLAIMED TO BE A GOD, BUT IF SO, YOU ARE THE WORST GOD EVER! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN MY PARENTS DIED?! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN OTHER RACES WERE SLAUGHTERING PONIES?! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP DISCORD?! OR SAVE SUNSET?! OR STOP MY SISTER FROM TURNING INTO NIGHTMARE MOON?! WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER STOP HUMANITY FROM KILLING EACH OTHER?! OR EVEN STOP THE SUN FROM ENDING?! WHY DID I HAVE TO BECOME A PRINCESS WHEN ALL IT EVER DID WAS BRING ME PAIN AND SUFFERING?! YOU CLAIM TO CARE ABOUT US, BUT ALL I SEE IS A SELFISH, ABUSIVE BEING WHO PLAYS AROUND WITH MORTALS LIKE WE'RE TOYS! BUCK YOU! BUCK EVERYTHING!"

I was surprised that Harmony just didn't burn her into ashes the moment she finished cursing at a living god while taking deep breaths yet keeping that crazed look on her face. I think something has finally snapped in Celestia. Whatever she was holding back? It's now unleashed for all to see. I gaze over at Twilight, who looks near broken herself upon seeing her idol and mother figure act like this. I feel pity for her for a moment, but I can't help but still feel she should have seen the signs. I wasn't as bright as her, and yet I saw it. So many of us did. Or did Twilight just not want to believe that her mentor was capable of fault?

"...why?" Celestia whispered as a few tears fell down her cheek. "Why did you do this to me?"

"I DIDN'T KILL YOUR PARENTS, SUNNYVALE, THAT WAS GRIFFIN RAIDERS WHO CHOOSE TO DO SO. I DIDN'T FORCE THE RACES OF YOUR WORLD TO ATTACK PONIES. THAT WAS THEIR CHOICE. THE SAME AS IT WAS FOR HUMANS TO ATTACK EACH OTHER. THAT WAS THEIR CHOICE. YOUR SISTER CHOOSE TO BECOME NIGHTMARE MOON IN HER ANGER AND RAGE, THAT YOU WERE BLIND TO SEE. I MAY HAVE BLESSED YOU AND YOUR SISTER WITH MOVING THE SUN AND MOON, BUT IT WAS STARSWIRL WHO MADE YOU INTO PRINCESSES. YOU ALSO COULD HAVE STOPPED AT ANY TIME, FOUND A WAY TO HAVE EQUESTRIA BE RULED WITHOUT ROYALTY, BUT YOU NEVER DID SO. THAT WAS YOUR CHOICE. DISCORD CHOOSE TO USE HIS POWERS AS HE DID. FOR SUNSET, SHE CHOOSE OF HER OWN FREE WILL TO GO. AND YOU CHOOSE TO ABANDON ALL OTHERS TO DIE WHILE STARTING A WAR BECAUSE YOU ASSUMED THE WORST OF HUMANITY."

There is a loud sigh from Harmony like that of an old man.

"YOU CLAIM I DO NOT CARE FOR MORTALS, BUT YOU ARE MISTAKEN. I COULD EASILY BE A TYRANT AND ORDER ALL LIFE TO OBEY MY WILL, BUT I DO NOT. IF I REALLY WAS UNCARING, I COULD JUST LET YOU MORTALS DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES, BUT I DO NOT. I WANT TO SEE MY CREATIONS GROW AND SURPRISE ME, BUT I WILL BE THERE TO HELP WHEN NEEDED. I WANT TO SEE THEM EVOLVE AND CHANGE INTO BEING BETTER BEINGS WITH AS LITTLE INVOLVEMENT FROM ME AS POSSIBLE, BUT WHAT INVOLVEMENT I GIVE WILL ALWAYS HAVE MEANING. A PARENT HELPS THE CHILD GROW, BUT IN THE END, THEY MUST LET THEM FLOURISH ON THEIR OWN. IT IS UP TO THAT CHILD TO CHOOSE TO DO WITH THE POWER AND WISDOM A PARENT GIVES. I GIVE ALL LIFE THE TOOLS AND GUIDANCE, BUT I DO NOT FORCE THEM TO DO WHAT MUST BE DONE. SOMETIMES THEY EVEN FIND WAYS BETTER THAN I INTENDED. I DO NOT CURSE THE WORLDS THAT STOP WORSHIPING ME OR CLAIM TO NOT NEED ME ANYMORE. I AM PROUD OF THEM. FOR THEY HAVE BECOME WHAT THEY NEEDED TO BE OF THEIR OWN FREE WILL. SOMETIMES THEY FAIL AND DESTROY THEMSELVES, BUT I START IT ALL OVER AGAIN WITH THE HOPE THEY WILL LEARN AND BE BETTER."

That makes me wonder what all life would be like if we had to obey one person repeatedly with no thought. It doesn't sound like an exciting life. It sounds almost...mechanical. Maybe there are problems with free will, but I'd instead choose what is right and wrong than always being told what to do with no say in my life.

"WHAT YOU HAVE LOST IN THIS WAR IS A RESULT OF YOUR OWN CHOICES, SUNNYVALE. YOU CHOOSE TO TELEPORT EQUESTRIA TO EARTH, RESULTING IN THE DEATHS OF YOUR WORLD. A WORLD I HAVE HAD TO REBIRTH SOON AFTER WITH NEW LIFE. YOU CHOOSE TO WAGE WAR. YOU CHOOSE TO HIDE THE TRUTH. THE SUFFERING YOU AND EQUESTRIA HAVE DONE IS BY YOUR CHOICE AND YOUR CHOICE ALONE. AND THE CONSEQUENCES ARE YOURS THAT MUST BE LEARNED."

"You claim that, but what about the sun! It was going to die!" Celestia shouted. "Why didn't you give me the means to save it?!"

"WHO SAID YOU WERE THE ONE TO SAVE IT? THERE WAS A PLAN TO SAVE YOUR WORLD. THERE ALWAYS WAS UNTIL YOU, AS THE HUMANS SAY, FUCKED IT UP." Harmony explains, which makes Celestia's mouth drop down as low as it can get. "THERE WERE SIX OTHER SOULS WHO WERE DESTINED TO BE HEROES. THE SUCCESSORS TO THOSE SIX WHO LIE IN THIS STADIUM. UNITED BY FRIENDSHIP, THEY WERE TO BE THE ONES TO SAVE YOUR WORLD AS THE NEW ELEMENTS OF HARMONY. THEY COULD HAVE LET THE SUN AND MOON MOVE ON THEIR OWN AND FINALLY FREED YOU FROM YOUR BURDEN. THEY WOULD HAVE HELPED BRING PEACE TO EQUUS."

"W-Who were these ponies?" Celestia muttered in disbelief. "Tell me! I must know!"

"PONIES? WHO SAID THEY WERE PONIES? ONE WAS A LONELY GRIFFIN WHO WANTED NOTHING MORE THAN A FAMILY. A CHANGELING WHO SOUGHT TO LEARN ABOUT THE WORLD AROUND HER. A YAK WHO WANTED TO BE THE BEST OF HER KIND AND FILL HER FAMILY WITH PRIDE. A DRAGON WHO WANTED TO LET OUT HER SOFT SIDE AND BE HERSELF IN PUBLIC. A HIPPOGRIFF WHO WANTED TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF LIFE WITHOUT FEAR OR TERROR. THE ONLY PONY OF THE SIX WANTED TO BE JUST LIKE HIS HEROES BUT NOW CURSES THEM FOR MAKING HIM A KILLER. NOW FIVE OF THEM ARE DEAD, AND ONE IS BROKEN EMOTIONALLY FROM THE WAR YOU FORCED HIM INTO."

"But I… I…" Celestia tried to speak, but she fell to her haunches. "But we ponies..."

"ALL RACES ARE CAPABLE OF GREAT THINGS. NOT JUST PONIES. HAD YOU OPENED YOUR MIND MORE TO ACCEPTING THE OTHER RACES, THINGS MIGHT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT. INSTEAD, YOU ARE BLIND FROM WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST THAT YOU DO NOT SEE THE FUTURE. YOUR ARROGANCE IS ASSUMING THAT YOU KNEW BEST AND YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD SAVE YOUR WORLD. YOU EVEN MANIPULATED YOUR OWN STUDENT AND HER FRIENDS INTO DOING WHAT YOU THOUGHT WAS RIGHT INSTEAD OF LETTING THEM BE WHO THEY NEEDED TO BE. YOU ARE NO GOD, SUNNYVALE. YOU ARE A SELFISH MONSTER WHOSE ACTIONS, AND THE ACTIONS OF THOSE WHO BLINDLY FOLLOWED YOU, HAVE LEAD TO UNTOLD MISERY."

I slowly feel something cascading down my cheek, and I touch it to feel it wet. Tears. I was crying, but why? Was it because I realized just how thoroughly damaging Celestia's actions were? Was it because I wanted to know who these six new Elements were who would have been our successors? Or was it because what sounded like a bright and happy future was torn away by this witch? Celestia whimpered as she, the once-loved and worshiped pony of Equestria, was now glared at with hatred, sorrow, and heartbreak by everypony in the stadium. Even my former friends look at her with nothing but utter disgust, including Twilight, who has gone so far as throwing her element crown away.

"I WAS CONTENT TO HAVE HUMANITY DEFEAT YOU IN THE WAR AS WAS THE OBVIOUS OUTCOME, BUT THEN YOU DARE TO TRY AND USE MY POWER TO WIPE THEM OUT AGAIN."

"What? The Elements of Harmony were going to be used as a shield around Equestria!" Twilight proclaimed.

"THAT WAS YOUR PLAN. SHE HAD NO INTENTIONS OF LETTING THIS WAR END. SUNNYVALE HERE WANTED TO FIND A WAY TO SPREAD THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AS A WEAPON TO WIPE OUT ALL OF HUMANITY AFTER THE SHIELD WAS DONE. NOT NOW OR EVER."

I knew it…" I whisper, shaking my head. What else did I expect?

"You bitch! I don't...I just..." Twilight threw her hooves in the air and just continued to curse while her hair started getting all unwind.

"Twilight, my faithful student, I-"

"Don't call me that! Don't even speak to me!" Twilight screams as she glares at Celestia. "I reject you! I reject everything about you! You used me! You used everypony for your selfish gains! How many died because of you?! Not just the other races or humans, but ponies as well?! My brother, Cadence, Flurry Heart?! They're all dead because of you! Even Luna died, your own sister, because of your bucking actions! I didn't believe it when Lyra told me! I didn't believe it when Flash told me! I didn't even believe in one of my own best friends! Even my parents told me they had doubts about the war, but I ignored it all because I worshiped you! Maybe not as a goddess like everypony else, but you were everything to me! I loved you, but they were all right! Fluttershy was right! I am the stupidest pony in the world because I was so blinded by you that I couldn't even think for myself! I couldn't see what a selfish, hateful pony you really are! Well, buck you, Celestia!"

"It was...It was..." Celestia starts weeping as she lowers her head as her own ponies began cursing her loudly in the stadium. Some were even throwing trash and screaming at her. The guards all throw their weapons down and even take off their helmets in utter rejection of Celestia. A few even leave. Even my other friends couldn't help but look at her in disgust.

"I MADE THE MISTAKE OF NOT INTERFERING THE FIRST TIME WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO USE THE ELEMENTS TO TELEPORT EQUESTRIA TO EARTH. I WILL NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE AGAIN." Harmony proclaims as their voice rumbled as their horn began to glow. "FOR YOUR CRIMES, SUNNYVALE, YOU WILL SPEND AN ETERNITY IN STONE. YOU WILL NEVER BE FREE BY ANY FORCE IN THIS WORLD OR ANY OTHER. NOT UNTIL THIS WORLD ENDS WILL YOU KNOW DEATH. YOU WILL ALSO BE BANISHED DEEP INTO THE EARTH WHERE YOU WILL SEE AND FEEL NOTHING, AND YET YOU WILL BE AWAKE FOR IT ALL. THIS IS YOUR PUNISHMENT AND YOUR OWN PERSONAL HELL!"

A bright rainbow-colored light shone down upon Celestia, who screams in horror and agony as her entire being is engulfed in the god's power. I have seen this before with Discord, and yet I never thought I would see this happen with Celestia. Her entire being is slowly encased in stone that slowly works its way up from her hooves to her legs. She starts shrieking for help from anyone. Her guards, her subjects, even Twilight, who she begs to help her. Yet none of them move. None of us care. Even Twilight just stares at her mentor with a broken expression before turning away with tears in her eyes. Upon realizing that there is no hope for her, Celestia starts sobbing uncontrollably as every part of her body slowly turns to stone save for her head.

"It's not fair! I did everything for you! I did it all for you! I loved you all, and this is how you repay me?! I AM YOUR PRINCESS! I DON'T DESERVE THIS!"

And thus were the final words of Celestia before her entire body was turned to stone. It was done, and I still couldn't believe it. Princess Celestia, the divine ruler of Equestria, was defeated just like that. She was there as still as stone, and yet from what Discord told me, she could still see everything and was as awake as normal. Her stone body was gone with a flash, and I remembered what Harmony said would be her fate.

Alone forever as a stone figure underground with nothing but an eternity of darkness.

I honestly couldn't think of a better or more deserving fate than that.

"AS FOR YOU FIVE," Harmony said as he turned to my former friends, who looked up in terror. "YOU ARE NOT GOING OFF LIGHTLY EITHER. YOU FAILED TO REPRESENT YOUR ELEMENTS. YOU, APPLEJACK, LIED TO OTHERS AND SOLD YOUR FELLOW TOWNSFOLK OUT FOR MONEY TO THE SECRET SERVICE. YOU, RAINBOW DASH, BECAME A BLIND LOYALIST WHO LUSTED FOR INNOCENT BLOOD. YOU, RARITY, BECAME SELFISH AND PUSHED AWAY ALL WHO WANTED TO HELP YOU. YOU, PINKIE PIE, SIDED WITH THOSE WHO BROUGHT SUFFERING INSTEAD OF SMILES. AND YOU, TWILIGHT SPARKLE, WHICH I HAD GIVEN SUCH A GREAT DESTINY ONCE, YOU FAILED TO USE THE LESSONS YOU LEARNED ABOUT FRIENDSHIP WHEN THEY WERE NEEDED MOST. THE ONLY ONE OF YOU WHO MANAGED TO KEEP TRUE TO THEIR ELEMENT WAS FLUTTERSHY."

Harmony turned towards me. "SHE SACRIFICED EVERYTHING FOR THE SAKE OF KINDNESS. SHE DID THE RIGHT THING BY STANDING UP AGAINST WHAT WAS WRONG, AND EVEN AFTER BEING HATED BY HER OWN KIND, SHE HELPED THEM IN BATTLE. THEREFORE, I LEAVE YOUR PUNISHMENT IN HER HOOVES."

"M-Mine?" I ask in surprise.

"THEY HURT YOU. WERE WILLING TO EVEN KILL YOU AT ONE POINT. YOU CAN REQUEST ANY PUNISHMENT FOR THE FIVE OF THEM. IT IS NOT BEYOND MY POWER."

My choice.

I could do whatever I want. I looked at my five former friends, who were huddled together in terror. I think about all the suffering they have done to me. The words that have hurt me. The physical and emotional abuse. How they accused me of being a traitor and disowned me as a friend. I think about Discord and how some of them were glad he was gone. I think about how I was accused of being a failure of an Element until now, when it was clear I was the truest of them all. I could have Twilight's horn and wings for myself. I could make Rarity into the ugliest creature in the world. I could have Applejack never be able to make or taste apples again. I could make it so Rainbow Dash couldn't fly. I could have Pinkie Pie never smile or laugh again. Or I could just have them all killed. Or even given the same fate as Celestia.

Deep down, I really did want to hurt them so much for hurting me. Especially these past few days.

I could have revenge.

...But that's not me.

That's not who I am.

I can't do it. Not just because it would go against everything that I am, but because I once saw these five as sisters.

We were once best friends.

Maybe I really am too nice for my own good?

"I don't want them punished," I answer, which surprises not just my friends but also the stadium as well. "I'm not going to be like them and want revenge or further bloodshed. I want this war to be over. I want the fighting to stop. Whatever consequences my friends will get for their actions will not be from me, but by whatever awaits them after this." Harmony tilts its head as I smile up at it. "So no, thank you. I will not be asking you to hurt them. I want you to leave them as they are. Because now they, and everypony, knows who they really are now. They're not the Elements of Harmony. They are just ponies who made bad mistakes that they need to live with now that they know they were wrong all this time. Nothing more and nothing less."

For a while, Harmony says nothing. Then he lets out a small chuckle and a laugh. "YOU REALLY ARE A KIND CREATURE. EVEN AGAINST THOSE THAT HURT YOU. VERY WELL. HOWEVER," He then looks at Twilight, who is nervously gulping, "TWILIGHT SPARKLE, YOU WILL COMPLETELY SURRENDER TO HUMANITY. YOU WILL LET FLUTTERSHY AND MARTIN GO SO THEY CAN BE HAPPY TOGETHER. AND EQUESTRIA WILL WORK TO REPENT FOR ITS SINS. UNDERSTOOD?"

"Y-Yes," Twilight whispered, lowering her head in shame. "We will...surrender and make up...for what we've done."

"GOOD. NOW I MUST PERFORM SOMETHING THIS WORLD HAS NOT SEEN IN A LONG TIME. A MIRACLE."

A giant halo of golden energy slowly began to appear above Harmony before growing in size and brightness. I slowly covered my eyes until it was unleashed in the air as it spread out across the sky and continued to travel further and further until there was not a trace of it. "What was that?" I ask.

"THAT WAS ME TURNING THE NEWFOALS BACK INTO HUMANS," Harmony says, much to my shock. "EVERY HUMAN THAT WAS TURNED INTO A PONY IS NOW, PAINLESSLY, BACK TO THEIR HUMAN FORM WITH NO SIDE EFFECTS."

Harmony then stood tall and looked at all of us. "HEAR ME NOW, EQUESTRIA. YOU MUST REPENT FOR YOUR SINS AND WORK WITH HUMANITY FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE. YOU WILL SUFFER ALONG THE WAY, YOU BE CURSED, BUT IF YOU DO THINGS RIGHT, THE NEXT GENERATION AND THE ONES BEFORE THAT WILL LIVE BETTER THAN THEY DREAMED. IT IS UP TO YOU TO FIX THE MISTAKES YOU HAVE MADE. MAY THE FUTURE YOU CREATE BE ONE THAT YOU CAN BE PROUD OF."

And just like that, in a flash of light, I saw the giant alicorn turned into a small ball of light no bigger than that of a basketball. It glittered around for a while until it floated away into the heavens and disappeared. When it was all over and done, everypony reacted. Some ran like hell, others began sobbing uncontrollably, more than one was just sitting in horror as the realization of what had happened finally hit them.

At long last, the truth had been given to them.

Equestria was the bad guy.

I turned to my friends. Pinkie Pie had started laughing and not in a good way. It was like she was broken as she slowly walked away into a wall before banging herself on the head. Nopony made a move to stop her even as she started drawing blood. Rarity had finally fainted by this point, and Applejack just looked down at the dirt before walking away like a shammed puppy. Rainbow Dash stared at me but turned away before just as I started to see the tears in her eyes. She then flew as fast as possible into the air and was gone a split second later. That left only Twilight.

Twilight looked like she had aged twenty years as she slowly turned to me. Her eyes were full of pain, and her face looks pale as death. I wait for her to say or do something until she closes her eyes and uses her magic to unlock my chains. I rub my hooves before turning to Twilight and ask, "And Martin?"

"...Both of you will be released. The war…it's over…." Twilight whispers, both bitterly and sorrowfully. "I'll…I'll make a statement…though chances are all of Equestria will know soon enough."

"And then what?" I ask.

"...I don't care," Twilight sighed as she wept. "My mentor was a liar. I have the blood of who knows how many on my hooves. You were right. I was an idiot. Equestria has no need for an idiot princess."

"So you'll just step down? That's it?" I ask, narrowing my eyes. "You'll do nothing?"

"I've done enough," Twilight whispered as she turned away, dragging herself forward.

I open my mouth to say something but then I close it. No, I'm done. I'm not talking about this anymore, and quite frankly, I don't care. I want to see Martin.

And then I want to go home.

***20 Years Later***

I take a moment to sip my tea before looking back at the biography I had been writing for the past three years on my computer. After the war, I had a lot of free time on my hooves despite being praised as a hero. When one was credited as the one who ended the war, even if you really never did anything in your mind, the bills sort of paid themselves. Despite this, I felt that I needed to do something in my life, and writing was a talent I only discovered later in life. At first, it was just children's books. The same ones I used to make up for my children to help them get to sleep. I smile, thinking about them and how they've grown up to be such fine boys while gazing at the photo of us at Disney World on our vacation that year.

Peter, Taeyong, and Feathershy. My pride and joys. I remember adopting them and welcoming them to their new home here in Cary shortly after Martin and I finally married. Sure, it was hard at first since almost every press around the world wanted to have interviews with me, but all I wanted was to live in peace, and eventually, they respected that. Martin continued to be a doctor while I took care of our children at home. Helping them move on from the horrors of the war was difficult, and there were many nights I had to hold them and whisper to them that nopony was going to hurt them anymore, but I'm proud to say that they all turned out to be the best sons possible.

Like his father, Peter decided to become a doctor, but he wanted to be in pharmaceuticals and was now discovering new drugs for humans and ponies. Taeyong became a pop singer with a boy band called Fuzion since he loved hearing me sing and he had the voice of an angel. And Feather Shy was training to become a priest for the United Church. Once the revelation of Harmony had become known, religions worldwide started working together to make a unified religion that took all their good aspects while ignoring the bad ones. It wasn't perfect, and I guess no religious organization ever is, but for the most part, it's been peaceful.

A knock on my door distracts me from my thoughts as I turn around and see Martin, grey in hair and beard, smiling at me. "Come on, honey. We're gonna be late."

"Just let me finish a few more pages, dear," I say to him, to which he nods and leaves. I sigh before returning to my book and start typing:

"After the war was officially declared over, Twilight Sparkle stepped down as Princess of Equestria and allowed herself to be tried for her crimes while pleading not guilty. Despite all that she had done, Twilight's defense ruled that she had been manipulated by Celestia into doing the things that happened before and after the war. While a part of this was true, a jury still found her guilty, but she was given a life sentence instead of execution. After she was sentenced, Spike and her parents were the only ones to visit her for a long time until I decided to visit a few times. The first seven years were rough on her, knowing that everything she believed in was a lie and that the one she treasured most was using her. I only see her once in and while, but she rarely talks to anyone anymore. It's also the only time I ever get to see Spike, who's doing what he can to help Equestria repair itself now that it's under U.N. occupation. He's also gotten a lot busier ever since he became mayor of Ponyville and married Sweetie Belle."

"Speaking of occupation,after twenty years of it, elections being finally being held for the new democratic government in Equestria. I've had no interest in politics personally, but I hope Lyra wins as President. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more since she led us all in the darkest of times. Plus, I think with my endorsement as her friend, she'll be more than likely to win and finally guide Equestria to a better future. More so than the so-called "Real Equestrian Movement" tried to do fifteen years ago." I shake my head at the stubbornness of some ponies. Even after everything that was revealed, from a higher being no less, some ponies refuse to really step down. They all took over one upper northern part of Equestria and held it for two years until the U.N. finally ended their short reign. "Sadly, even some ponies like Rainbow Dash cannot accept defeat. Even when it's clear as day it's over."

I can clearly remember mourning Dash's death when they found her body among the rebels on the final day. Dash had been once my sister, so losing her was a heartache that still hasn’t healed. Dash was always a fighter who would never accept defeat. I honestly think she just had nothing left but the fight itself and wanted to die fighting even though she knew she would never win. Her expression in her casket was one of utter peace like she finally had found what she wanted for years ever since Harmony's revelation: death. I hope she's finally happy wherever she is. Her funeral was also the last time I saw Rarity. Thinking about her, I started typing again.

"Although not all of my old friends ended up in tragedies. Spike and Sweetie Belle finally managed to get Rarity to stop drinking, and she tried to turn her life around. Sadly, some ponies blamed her for what had happened, and Harmony's words for her had only hurt that. Her original career was essentially over, and she had to start fresh. Thankfully, Sweetie Belle didn't suffer any negative feedback and found a singing career that led her to become a teacher. Rarity, a good singer herself, became Sweetie Belle's assistant in helping the fillies and colts with their vocals while also working at charities to help heal the wounds between humanity and ponies. Mostly in making clothes for refugees on both sides. When we met after Rainbow Dash's funeral, Rarity apologized for everything, and after a long talk, we buried the hatchet. From what Spike tells me, she's doing much better, but she'll never be the once fabulous pony I knew her as. Just like Pinkie will never be able to smile again."

If there was any former friend, I felt pity for it was Pinkie Pie. What happened that day finally broke her, and she was forced into a mental hospital. Even after years of treatment, Pinkie was never the same again, but she was able to finally leave just a few years ago and go live on the rock farm her parents owned. Spike went to see her just once, but he could never do so again. He told me that looking at Pinkie Pie was too sad because of how far she had fallen from the once party-loving pony I knew into everything opposite of her. I just hope she can smile one last time someday.

"Still, I suppose it was foolish to think that my friends could just get away with what they had done, even if I had refused to punish them. Applejack was proof of that. The revelation that she had sold her fellow ponies out for money left her to be disinherited by her own family upon learning what she did. No matter how much she pleaded or begged, they considered her an Apple no more while Braeburn, his human husband, and their adopted kids were welcomed back. Even Apple Bloom wanted nothing to do with her sister and punched her in the face when she tried to show up for her and Scootaloo's wedding. Nopony mourned for her when relatives and friends of those who died under the ESS, because of Applejack, lynched her. They hung her from a tree and left her body to rot for three days before undertakers finally buried her in a lone grave in a graveyard. There was no funeral. No ceremony. Not even flowers, from what I hear. And honestly? Considering how many died because of her selfish lies? I hope she rots in hell."

I look at the clock and realize I need to leave soon. So I soon enter one last thing, "While I am grateful the war is over, I still feel the scars of it. Not just from the friends I lost, but what I've had to deal with inside all these years. It's my hope that the future humans and ponies learn from us and build a better future. It's also my hope that whatever new world Harmony has made from the ashes of our old one does better than we did. I suppose all I can do is have faith."

I save my file and shut the computer off before hurrying out the door to catch up with Martin.

Guest Ending: Rejection (Written by zelkova48)

---

Fluttershy is forced to utilize the Elements of Harmony against her will. Unfortunately for everyone else, they work.

---

Fluttershy hung her head in defeat.

Celestia had successfully coerced her into utilizing the Element of Harmony and the fruits of her labor were coming into play. The Harmony Pylon that Twilight built pulsed with an immeasurable ancient power as a result of the arcane ritual, and the crowd of ponies that had gathered in Canterlot Stadium cheered with an overwhelming sense of euphoria knowing that Equestria's doom had been averted. They cheered for the loyal bearers unwavering dedication to their country and verbally abused Fluttershy for her betrayal.

For the first time since the destruction of the Crystal Empire, hope had been rekindled once more. And while the war had not gone the way they had expected it to, with Equestria triumphant over the scourge of humanity, what mattered most was that Equestria and her people were safe.

Safe from devastation, safe from the corruption of human taint, safe from the wild world beyond their borders.

Soon, a stronger, more powerful barrier will envelop the whole of the country and the world as they know it shall be like a ship in a bottle. Isolated, contained, completely cut off from the outside world.

At least, that was the intention.

Officially, the masses were told that the new barrier would be used to bargain a ceasefire on equal terms. Humans and ponies will still live together on Earth, but as segregated neighbors. Everything after was up in the air when determining the fate of the world's inhabitants.

The best case scenario was that the humans will go back to killing themselves, preferably wiping themselves out in the inevitable third world war they'd incur and Equestria moving in and converting the survivors of the cataclysm.

But Princess Celestia had no intent of using the elements to simply shield the country.

There will be no negotiations, no talks of a ceasefire or even an attempt at a facade of amicability. The only thing that awaited the human race was its imminent destruction, crushed beneath the unyielding magical might of the Elements of Harmony.

"Don't think you've all won yet," Fluttershy finally spoke, earning glares from the others. "Do you honestly think this changes anything? Equestria will still lose the war."

"You still cling to that foolish notion even as the evidence against it is right before you. Such impertinence," Celestia sneered. "We will not be losing anything, not anymore. The Elements have been activated, the barrier will soon save Equestria, and we have you to thank for it, Fluttershy. Now, this doesn't make up for your treachery, but your cooperation has earned you a measure of leniency in spite of those crying out for a more severe punishment. Maybe I agree with them, maybe I don't. But, never let it be said that I am not fair and accommodating even to dissidents."

"Don't patronize me, you unrepentant monster," Fluttershy hissed. "I see you for what you truly are now, Celestia. I don't know what you're planning to do after shielding Equestria, but whatever you have in mind is nothing more than a pipe dream." She concluded and promptly received a swift buck to the side from Applejack that sent her sliding across the ground.

"Where do you get the gall to talk like that to the princess even after everything that's happened." Applejack spat, looking down on Fluttershy. "All that time you spent cavorting with the monkeys while they were busy slaughtering your kind have twisted you into something wicked, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy hacked up a glob of blood and forced herself back onto all fours as she leveled a weary glare upon the girls. She wished she could tell the truth about everything, the death of Equus and all its inhabitants, but couldn't risk Martin's life for her own selfishness. At the very least, she wasn't going to just take Celestia's victory lying down.

"I know the truth," Fluttershy started. "Maybe not all of it, but enough to know that you're all fools for going through with this insane ploy. And even if there wasn't some ulterior motive, are you all honestly content to live like this?" She paused, gauging her former friend's reactions.

Applejack was unimpressed, so was Rainbow Dash. They wanted nothing to do with her or whatever logic she was going to throw at them. Right or wrong, the security of Equestria was absolute even in the face of doubt. Pinkie Pie and Rarity couldn't look her in the eye, there was already too much on their conscience to receive another assault on the mind. But Twilight, mind wiped and fiercely loyal as she was, could never pass up a moment for debate. If only to prove Fluttershy wrong.

"Speak, then, if you think you know better," Twilight goaded, putting on airs. "What's wrong with wanting to live?"

Fluttershy chuckled humorlessly. "You call this living, Twilight?" The response caused Twilight's smirk to fade. She clearly wasn't expecting it. "Look at you!" she looked up and addressed the entire stadium, "look at all of you! You call this living?!" The crowds grew silent, more angry than shocked at Fluttershy's outburst. The hurled more vitriol at her but she remained unfazed. "You're not ponies! You're all fish! Fish living in one gigantic bowl! That's what you all are!"

"You need Celestia in your life! You can't function without her! It's all Princess Celestia this! Princess Celestia that! Hail Princess Celestia! Venerable Celestia! Celestia, changer of diapers, tucker of beds!"

Celestia remained impassive, bit inside she was furious at Fluttershy's continued resistance. "Make your point, before you are dragged away to a cell along with that pitiful primate you little freak." Her voice was low and full of thinly veiled malice.

Fluttershy turned her gaze at Celestia, eyes full of fury.

"You! This is what you want! For everyone to live under your rule! If you can't win over humanity you could still consolidate your power over every single brainless individual in this entire Tartarus damned country! They can't live without you! They can't do a damn thing without you looking over their shoulders and you prefer it that way! With the barrier, all their lives will be put under a microscope for you to probe and dissect and exploit as you please! It'll be one giant bubble with your hoof on the surface!"

"I am their princess!" Celestia retorted. "I am the rock of which Equestria's is lain upon! Were it not for my wisdom and guidance they would all be lost! Your pointless gibbering are the words of a mad pony!"

"If you were half the princess you claim to be Equestria wouldn't even be in this situation! Broken, demoralized, teetering on the brink of destruction! None of this would be happening!" Fluttershy roared. "No one had to die! No one! But you made the decision to start the war! You convinced everypony to convert the human race! You rallied the masses into a war we had no business in all over your petty grudge!"

"Fluttershy, if you don't shut your damn mouth in the next two seconds I'm gonn-" Rainbow Dash huffed furiously but was cut off at the last second.

"You'll what!" Fluttershy snapped, causing Rainbow Dash to reel back in surprise. She swept an accusing glare across the girls. The sheer rage she carried in her eyes was palpable. "I've seen horror! I've experienced it! But that's not the worst of it! It's the fact that you've all done everything you could in your power to convince me to use my element! You preyed on my kindness! You threatened me! You groveled! All of it was done with selfish intentions, to placate Celestia!"

"W-we did it for Equestria!" Rarity argue. "We did it for our home and our people! How can you accuse us of being selfish!"

"Equestria! Celestia! They're one and the same!" Fluttershy retorted. "She built everything! She controls everything! We live under the shadow of a megalomaniacal ruler who can't let the past go!"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Celestia boomed, causing the very foundation of the stadium to rumble. There was a moment of silence and it felt as if the whole world had stopped turning. Regaining her composure, Celestia narrowed her eyes upon Fluttershy, eyes brimming with barely repressed rage. it was a miracle the pegasus didn't burst into flames when she did. "I have been nothing but patient with you. I have stayed my hoof throughout this entire ordeal and turned the other cheek, but it appears that you must be taught a lesson."

Celestia turned to face Twilight, her expression was professional but equally full of spite. "Twilight, perhaps a demonstration is in order."

"A demonstration, princess?" asked Twilight.

"Put up a small barrier around the stadium," replied Celestia. "Show Fluttershy the pointlessness of her caterwauling. Show us the fruits of your labor and raise your people's spirit, remind them all of Equestria's unyielding resolve."

"Twilight, don't," Fluttershy pleaded. "This is not the way. You're smarter than this. You're the Princess of Friendship. Isolation is not the way, it will only prolong Equestria's suffering. Think about your lessons. The things you learned, the things you taught others."

"I don't know why you're talking to me like I would listen to what comes out of your mouth," Twilight coldly rebuked. "And even if I did, what makes you think there's any chance at coexistence? We tried before, we failed. And the war destroyed whatever we could've had."

"We failed only because Celestia forcibly put the brakes on everything," Fluttershy argued. "She did everything she could in her power to make sure humans and ponies would never integrate, not unless they were all converted into newfoals. She manipulated you, Cadence and Luna into carrying out her will. Everything you've helped to do was explicitly meant to drive a wedge between pony human relations. Didn't you question the bans? The crackdown on human contraband? You didn't want to, but you willingly gave up all your human literature simply because Celestia told you to. I remember you being all broken up about it, but you claimed it was for the best."

"Because it was!" Twilight shouted. "H-humanity is a poison that's slowly killing the Earth! T-they're wild and reckless, unpredictable to the point of madness! Conversion was the only way!"

"....Twilight, deep down, you know that's not true," Fluttershy spoke sincerely. "There was a way. We had the time. We always did."

Growling, Twilight turned away with her eyes squeezed shut. "I've heard enough!" She snapped in front of Fluttershy's face before circling over and pouring magic into the pylon. "I'll show you! This is the way to make it all right!"

Sighing heavily, Fluttershy backed down and let it all play out, however it may go. "...You fool."

As Twilight imbued the Harmony Pylon with her own magic, the magic of the element within began behaving strangely. Crackling sparks danced across the surface of the pylon as the runes and other cryptic carvings glowed with luminescent polychromatic light, culminating in a beam of pure energy into the sky. It reached a certain point above and then dispersed, spreading out above and around the stadium and enveloping it beneath a shimmering bubble of an impregnable shield. This new barrier, while small, was indeed far stronger than the previous one.

As the spell finished an uproarious applause filled the air. Twilight let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in as she and many other looked up at Equestria's salvation. But just as things were finally starting to look up, the barrier began to lose its shine. It starting flickering like a candlelight in the wind. Whispers of panic and fear replaced the raucous cheering moments earlier which grew louder and louder everypony looked on concernedly.

"Something's wrong," Celestia muttered in disbelief.

"W-what's going on?" Pinkie stammered. "Twilight! Do something!"

"I'm trying!" Twilight hopped to and started utilizing the pylon again, but felt her control over it slip away almost immediately. "I... I can't control it! Princess Celestia, help me!"

Almost immediately, Princess Celestia turned to aid Twilight as the barrier's power steadily faded away. Small, imperceptible cracks began webbing out from the source of the beam, widening with each second as despair overtook hope once more. Twilight and Celestia strained with all their might but little did they know their efforts were futile.

Snarling, Applejack grabbed Fluttershy and pulled her close to the point their noses were touching one another. "Grr... What did you do?!" She roared.

"I-I didn't do anything!" Fluttershy replied and subsequently received a punch to the face. Fluttershy yelped, blood pouring from her nose, but remained steadfast even as the situation went from bad to worse.

"Lies!" Applejack cried, tightening her grip. "You did something, didn't you?! Tell us, before I mangle those wings of yours!"

"You tainted the Elements of Harmony with your corruption!" Rainbow Dash accused. "That's what you did!"

"Everypony, look!" Rarity pointed towards the barrier. The cracks that showed had begun breaking away like frail flecks of eggshell. There was a sound of shattering glass that reverberated across the air and bigger chunks of the barrier broke apart and dissipated into glittering nothingness. The sounds of panic had increased ten fold that moment forward.

"No! NO!" Celestia screamed, her face contorted into one of desperate rage. She halted her magic and angrily stomped towards Fluttershy, demanding answers. "STOP THIS AT ONCE! STOP IT BEFORE YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!"

"I'm telling you, I don't know what's happening!" Fluttershy grunted through gritted teeth. "Maybe they rejected you all! Maybe the powers of Elements of Harmony decided you weren't worth the trouble of protecting! Huack!" A swift blow to the gut from Applejack knocked all the air out from her lungs.

"S-shut up! Just shut up!" Applejack snapped, a tone of fear laced in her voice in spite of her seemingly unshakable stoicism. "Th-this is wrong! This i-is all wrong! We're Equestria! We're in the right! W-we're in control of the elements! We're just trying to survive!"

"News flash, Applejack! I don't think the elements care for ponies who're guilty of committing genocide!" Fluttershy huffed. "You've the blood of innocent billions on your hooves, and now you're all paying for it! This is judgement, plain and simple!"

With that defiant shout, the last of the barrier crumbled away, leaving the stadium bare and defenseless. But that was not the end of it. The beam that created the barrier descended back down onto the pylon and began overloading it with more power than it could hold.

The runes of the pylon blinked and flickered at a psychopathic pace before glowing with a light so blinding it looked like a miniature star. A cacophonous explosion rocked the stadium as the pylon erupted in plume of dust and loose stone fragments, forcing those near it to shield themselves from the blast.

The resulting magical backlash from the pylon's destruction echoed out and resonated with the Elements of Harmony. One by one, save for Fluttershy's own, the jewelry that once housed such an awesome power began to blacken and corrode with unnatural haste. As if age had finally caught up to them, the jewelry rusted right before the baffled bearers, who silently watch with incredulity as the very power they commanded rotted away like ordinary fruit.

"No..." Twilight whispered brokenly, clutching onto her tiara as it grew rusted and brittle. "No... This can't be."

Pinkie Pie said nothing. Her hair had completely deflated and all she did was sit on her haunches and tried in vain to fit broken ill fitted pieces of her necklace back together in silence like a child attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Rarity broke down completely. She couldn't take it anymore. The strain of living through this increasingly nightmarish life had destroyed her inhibitions and all of the emotions she bottled up since the death of her husband came crashing through like a tsunami as she wailed in despair. She tore the necklace off her neck and furiously threw in upon the ground where it shattered into dusty remnants.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in denial about the whole thing. They played off their entire predicament as a joke. A sick twisted joke that had gone on for far longer than it had any right to be. They began laughing. It started off as a hollow chuckle, then steadily it devolved into wild hysterics as their laughter became hard to distinguish from sobbing or angry bellowing.

As for Fluttershy, even after everything, there was still a twinge of pity in her heart from seeing all her former friends so crazed and broken because of the war. She tried to speak, but a rainbow streak blindsided her and she was tackled to the ground. Rainbow Dash had her hooves around her throat and murder in her eyes.

"Gah! Rain... Rain-bow!" Fluttershy strained through a strangled windpipe. "S-stop!"

"This is all your fault! All of it!" Rainbow raged, tears streaming down her face. "You've killed us! Are you happy?! Equestria is doomed!"

"Y-ou..." she gasped, "don't k-now that! It... I-it doesn't have to end... in b-bloodshed!"

"We will not surrender!" Rainbow tightened her grip. "Equestria cannot! We'll lose everything if we give ourselves up to humanity!"

"S-so, you'd ra-rather die?!" Fluttershy's rasped as her eyes widened incredulously. "A-are you so afraid of being w-wrong about e-everything that'd y-you sooner die than accept your m-mistakes?! You're t-the one always t-telling me that life i-isn't fair! Th-that you've just gotta r-roll with the pun-"

"I know what I fucking said!" Rainbow screamed, straddling the line between denial, sorrow and anger. "But this is different! It just doesn't make sense! Nothing makes sense anymore! The humans are close to defeating us! The elements have rejected us! This isn't our destiny! This isn't how it was supposed to be! Well if that's how it's going to be then I don't want to live this life anymore! I want to be in Elysium! I want to see my parents again! I want everything to go back to the way they were before this madness started!"

Fluttershy's vision starts to go dark as she was slowly being choked to death. From out the corner of her eyes she could see Celestia loom over her just behind Rainbow. She had dropped all pretense of being centered and focused, now that the mask of calm had slipped off as a result of the plan's failure her true face was revealed for all to see.

"Hmph. Our deal is void, Fluttershy," Celestia coldly stated, staring down upon the pegasus with a terrifying expectant gleam flashing behind her eyes. "Because of this sudden turn of events whatever safety I guaranteed for you and your pet monkey is forfeit. Rainbow Dash, do as you please with her."

"It... It should've never came down to this, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash cried. "...Maybe we can be friends again when we meet in Elysium."

Fluttershy tried to retort but couldn't as her consciousness had finally begun to slip away. She maintained her struggle, but Rainbow was too strong and she was too weak after being mistreated for so long. There was no way out, no way to escape. This was it, this was the end for her and Martin. She'd weep if she could. Closing her eyes she accepted her fate as her mind drifted to comforting thoughts.

She thought of Martin, the man who had won her heart, of the happiness they shared and of life they were going to start together.

She thought of Angel Bunny, that grumpy old rabbit had been more loyal to her than Rainbow Dash. Despite being cantankerous and unreasonable at times, Angel truly cared for her in the end.

She thought of Lyra and everyone else in the Resistance, they were all great friends and even greater supporters of the true Equestrian ideal, of friendship and harmony. Were if not for them Celestia's insane plan might've actually succeeded.

And lastly... She thought of Discord.

Fluttershy never could've imagine in her life that she would be the best friend of the spirit of chaos. But the day they reformed him was the day he started living. He was the black sheep of the group, but it fitted him. Discord lived life in his own way free of care or troubles and she loved that about him. Despite being complete opposites, they're lives had became intertwined the likes of which could only be best described as a fairy tale.

She missed him dearly.

"...He loved me," Fluttershy whispered beneath her breath right on the cusp of death.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

---

"...I still do."

---

Right as Fluttershy was about to breath her last, a strong gust of wind forced the two apart, knocking Rainbow Dash away and reinvigorating Fluttershy. With a hearty gasp, Fluttershy regained consciousness and felt herself refreshed and more energetic than she had been in the past few days.

"Whauh?!" Rainbow Dash cried. "What is this?!"

Twilight gasped, dropping her tiara and pointing to the shattered remains of the pylon. "The Elements of Harmony! Their magic is still here!"

True to her words, the ruined remnants of the pylon pulsed with latent powers. The crowd of ponies began to mutter among themselves in panicked confusion as the smoke that bellowed from it's foundation danced and changed shape as it was charged with harmonious energies. The two began mixing together, intermingling into a tangible force of polychromatic light that vaguely resembled a long majestic serpentine creature.

It's appearance cowed those in attendance, forcing them to tremble in fear before its immeasurable might. Even Celestia was given pause to the raw power displayed before her.

The serpent creature danced and twirled in the air like a kite before returning to the ground and circling Fluttershy. As it did, she felt relaxed by its gentle caress and she could've sworn she heard it giggle mischievously as it passes her ear.

"How?! How can this be?!" Celestia's eyes widen and a scowl formed on her lips. "YOU ARE EQUESTRIA'S POWER! YOU EXIST TO SERVE US! YET YOU DARE TO SIDE WITH THE BETRAYER?!" Flaring her wings and her nostrils, Celestia impetuously took flight and charged straight for Fluttershy, horn alight and ready to deliver a powerful magic blast. "IF I CAN'T HAVE THIS POWER, NO ONE CAN!" She lets loose a massive fiery bolt that resembled flaming meteor directly at Fluttershy and the serpent. "I WILL UNMAKE YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO, FLUTTERSHY! SUFFER FOR YOUR CRIMES!"

Frightened, Fluttershy turned away and closed her eyes, completely oblivious to the casual swipe of the tail the harmony serpent delivered that deflects the meteor back like a baseball star hitting a home run.

The meteor flew straight back towards Princess Celestia in the blink of an eye, she could barely even open her mouth to curse right as her own spell collided with her. The result blast caused an earsplitting boom to thunder throughout the stadium, rattling the seats and stone as Celestia was sent flying through several brick walls and tearing a deep trench into the ground at least four feet deep and half a mile long outside of the stadium. The ponies watching paled from the sight and began fleeing the building in a literal stampede, injuring many unfortunate enough to be trampled underneath underhoof.

As for Fluttershy, the serpent began to whirl around her a high speeds, flying as if it were swimming and cloaking her in a veil of glimmering light. The light enveloped her in a warm bright cocoon and she felt herself slowly rise from the stadium floor. She floated in mid-air, curious as to what might happen all the while her former friends threatened to stop her from escaping.

"Oh, no you don't!" Applejack snarled and took off alongside Rainbow Dash in an extreme frenzy. They both charged at Fluttershy headfirst, hoping to get revenge for her perceived sabotage of their last ditch effort at saving Equestria. "I should've killed you when you were still locked up in that cell you traitorous bitch!"

"You've ruined everything!" Rainbow Dash screeched. "You've doomed us all!"

But they never got their chance at revenge. Fluttershy vanished in a brilliant flash of white light, leaving behind little more than a perfect ring of freshly grown wildflowers. The vengeful mares collided with the ground, cursing their own failure as they were left to wallow in the wake of Equestria's inevitable destruction. Before they could do anything drastic, however, a searing ball of fire descended from the sky and erupted in the center of the stadium, bathing everything in a blinding red glow and sweltering heat.

Princess Celestia's disheveled form emerged from that ball, and judging from the enraged expression plastered across her face she was not at all pleased to be made a mockery of in her own city. She looked like a wild animal ready to lash out at anything unfortunate to provoke her wrath, with her wings flared, her mane set ablaze and her chest heaving up and down with each strenuous lungful of air. She scanned the floor, wide redden eyes frantically searching for her target.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" She seethed hatefully. "WHERE IS FLUTTERSHY?! I WILL IMMOLATE HER WITH THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRES OF THE SUN UNTIL SHE TURNS INTO GLASS! I WILL IMPOSE HER REMAINS UPON THE STAINED GLASS WINDOW WITHIN MY THRONE ROOM AS MY TROPHY FOR ALL TO SEE!"

"...She's not here," Twilight began, causing Celestia to simmer down. "The elements, they must've teleported her somewhere... I can't believe it, the elements betrayed us. The whole world's gone mad."

"This isn't our world," Rarity grumbled, her face stained with mascara.

"...I want to go home," Pinkie muttered. "I want to go home. I want to go home. I want to go home! I WANT TO GO HOME! I WANT TO GO HOME!"

"Ignore her, she's useless," Rainbow callously brushed Pinkie aside. "...So, now what?"

"..." Celestia turned away from the group, her flames settled but not fully smoted. "...Rally the populace." She began lowly. "I want every able bodied mare and stallion to grab the nearest weapon they can reach and have them march to the north. We will make our stand there and fight to the last. We will show humanity that we will not go quietly and that Equestria's final cry of defiance will ring out in their deafened ears for eons to come! They will know that good will always stand against evil no matter what!"

Twilight visibly balked at the order. Celestia was, in no uncertain terms, effectively calling for a suicide run. There was no strategy or plan. She was expecting everypony to listen to her and fight to the death against overwhelming odds with absolutely no chance for victory.

"E-everypony?" Twilight stammered hesistant. "Everypony, i-including the fo-"

Celestia immediately snapped her head over to Twilight and screamed right at her face. "EVERYPONY! THIS IS HOW IT MUST BE! IF WE ARE TO FALL AND BE REUNITED AT THE FIELDS OF ELYSIUM THEN WE MUST MAKE OURSELVES BE KNOWN IN MIND, BODY AND SOUL BY SACRIFICING IT ALL IN THE NAME OF HARMONY!"

Twilight's pupils shrank to pinpricks. Celestia was going to do it. She was really about to have everypony march to their deaths just like that. "B-but, Princess Celestia. There are still tactics we can fall back on, w-weapons we've yet to utilize! There is a wealth of-"

"I'll leave that all to you, my faithful student," Celestia replied, but it was clear from her flippant tone of voice that she could care less about whatever Twilight had planned. It was all going to end the same way: with Equestria and it's loyal citizens annihilated in a hail of heavy ordinance.

"Your highness!" A gruff voice shouted in the distance, drawing their attention. A couple members of the Royal Guard sprinted towards the group, panic their eyes. "The prisoner, he's escaped!"

Celestia narrowed her eyes upon the guard, who could've sworn he saw his life flash right in front of his eyes the moment her's met his.

"Which. Prisoner."

---

Lyra couldn't sleep, hasn't been able to for a couple days now. She laid awake in her bed at the Equestrian embassy in the United Kingdoms, one of the few that wasn't burned down or razed to the ground during the initial outbreak of the war, her mind aflutter with worry and stress.

Fluttershy and Martin's capture had really rattled her. It rattled a lot of people honestly, probably not as much as Discord's death did but while his heinous murder was tragic there was plenty of reason to be worried about Fluttershy and Martin's being taken by Equestrian forces.

She knew one of them: Celestia was trying to coax her into activating the Elements of Harmony and planned on using her lover Martin as a bargaining chip.

Now, she didn't know if this insane plan would work or not or what would come of their use, she just knew . The elements had been inert since they jumped dimensions, but the possibility of them being reactivated for Celestia's schemes were very real and very likely. Magic was finicky like that sometimes.

It was killing her inside. Fluttershy was the nicest, most gentle pony you could come across, and Martin was a doctor with a heart of figurative gold. Buddha knows how much they were suffering at the hooves of her kinfolk. And for what, to win and unwinnable war? Lyra wished more ponies listened to her when she broke the truth of the royal's deliberate attempts at sabotaging pony human relations.

And now, countless innocents were dead on both sides.

...There was going to be no rescue.

The UN had made it clear that planning the full scale invasion of Equestria was paramount to total victory. They could not spare any additional resources to save them, assuring her that they knew the risk when they were involved with the war and that they can only hope for a miracle to bring them back alive.

Lyra, reluctantly agree with the council's assessment of the situation, even their assessment of the elements. If Celestia and the bearers couldn't get them to work before, what are the odds of them activating them now?

Growling, Lyra cursed her worrying and got out of bed to use the bathroom. Maybe a hot bath would calm her down, she'll try anything short of knockout drops just to get some shut eye. Putting on her robe, she trotted over the bathtub and started drawing some hot water.

"Fluttershy, Martin," Lyra sighed beneath her breath. "I wish you guys were here right now."

As if on cue, her attention was immediately turned to the sudden draft that entered her room. It was strange. This was the UK, who in their right mind would open a window during the rainy seasons? Turning the water off, she trotted back to her room and was immediately assaulted by a flash of bright light.

Falling onto her haunches, she blinked away the spots dancing about in her sight and beheld the shocking appearance of Fluttershy and Martin laying in the center of her room. Fluttershy and Martin looks surprisingly well for someone she assumed would be tortured or mistreated, although the latter was unconscious.

"Oh my gosh. My wish came true!" Lyra smiled and pumped her hoof in the air. "Yes! Er, uh, I mean, Fluttershy, Martin! What happened?! H-how are you here? You got captured and er, wait, is that your element, Fluttershy? Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on-?!

Fluttershy quickly brought her hoove up and quieted Lyra. In spite of her healthy condition her mind was frayed like old rope. "Lyra, please get Martin some help."

"Uh, what? I mean, right! Right! I'll call up some help right now," Lyra immediately ran over to the telephone as started making some calls. She didn't know who exactly to call, so she just called everyone important. The receptionist, security, the hospital, the UN, the president of the United States.

After making almost a dozen phone calls she ran back to Fluttershy and Martin, and came across her holding him in her gentle caress. It was a touching scene, and Lyra couldn't help but smile at it.

"...I called, well, everybody," said Lyra, catching Fluttershy's attention. "They'll be over in a jiffy, get this whole thing squared away. I, er... I noticed the, um," she gesture around her own neck. Fortunately, Fluttershy understood what Lyra was implying.

"I guess there's a lot for me to explain, don't I?" replied Fluttershy, stroking Martin's cheek.

"You don't have too right now," said Lyra, seating herself at the bed. "I don't know what they did to you or Martin over there. The wound's too fresh to start picking at it so soon."

"No, no," Fluttershy interrupted, placing her hoof at her side. "It's just..." tears began welling up at the corner of her eyes. "I tried, Lyra... I t-tried so hard to prevent the invasion, to make the others see differently. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, all of them! But then, I learned something I probably shouldn't have and... a-and, then I saw Martin and then I had to u-use my element and, and..." She began weeping openly, clutching onto her necklace. "Lyra, I've learned things. Things I-I still haven't been able to process o-or speak about since... What I know destroyed me... And it will destroy you too."

Lyra was taken aback by the seriousness in Fluttershy's voice.

If she meant what she meant, then Lyra was terrified to ask.

---

[LEVEL FIVE ACCESS REQUIRED/ PLEASE INPUT ACCESS CODE]

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[GREETINGS: LYRA HEARTSTRING]

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[INVASION OF EQUESTRIA: SELECTED]

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[Ten years ago, during the final year of the Conversion War, the united army of humanity invaded Equestria in what is still regarded to be the greatest military assault throughout Earth's history.

With a force of over forty million strong Equestria's shoddy coastal defenses were immediately overwhelmed in a matter of days with the opposing force suffering grievous casualties of upwards to six hundred thousand ponies, the number of which is still being disputed, in the first twenty four hours alone. Within forty eight hours the casualties increased to over one and a half million. Within a week, Equestria's remaining princess, Princess Twilight Sparkle, surrendered after having lost just under three-quarters of their entire populace.

The cause of such terrible losses were the result of Princess Celestia's final stand, which was coined the March of Fools by historians as it was her disastrous attempt to counter the invasion by utilizing wave tactics and suicide attacks. Collected statements had confirmed that this reckless strategy and pointless loss of life was a result of Celestia's growing madness and fear of losing control of the country, which many had agreed peaked by the sixth year of the Conversion War, shortly after the tides of war turned.

As for Princess Celestia herself, she was killed in action along with several thousands of her fanatical subjects after charging headlong into a small fleet of Leviathan-Class omni-directional battleships and was promptly decimated within a matter of minutes, resulting in Twilight Sparkle stepping up as leader and calling for a momentous surrender.]

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[Fluttershy retired from active duty as a combat medic shortly after the end of the war where she married Dr. Martin and adopted three children who were orphans as a result of the war. Fluttershy has since become an author and has published several books, the most famous of which is her autobiography which details key events from the Conversion war as well as her time spent as a prisoner of wa-]

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[Ambassador Twilight Sparkle of Equestria retained the throne after the end of the war and strove as its leader to undo the crimes of her predecessor, Princess Celestia, with the help of her partner Spike. The driving force behind her tireless crusade to restore her home's reputation stemmed from the horrible revelation of what happened to the former Equestrian homeworld: Equus. She is currently in the process of stepping down as leader in order to consolidate Equestria's transition into a democratic state while she dedicates the majority of her time to find the cure to the the conversion po-]

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[Rarity was killed during the March of Fools along with her family. Collected statements revealed that Rarity suffered depression as a result of her husband, Valiant Wing, being killed in action and her foal being a stillborn. She joined the masses during the day of the invasion and was killed during the first twenty fo-]

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[Pinkie Pie vanished after Equestria surrendered. It is unclear whether or not she died during the March of Fools or if she is in hiding as the body was never found. Rumors say that you can hear jovial giggling around the spot in New Ponyville where Sugarcube Corner used to be. Popular theory suggests she died and is haunting the spot where Sugarcube Corner used to be leaving treats in random spots and trying to brighten people's moo-]

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[Applejack was assumed dead during the March of Fools along with her sister Apple Bloom but it was later revealed that she had survived, albeit with crippling injuries. Wheelchair bound and half blind, she reemerged in the public eye two years after the surrender as a hard-line member of the Equestrian Reclamation Movement which actively protests the cultural integration of ponies and humans. She still claims to be a devout follower of the True Princess Celestia and is adamant that she will return one day to set things right.

Currently she is still with the ERM but in the time since the movement has largely been discredited by the public as a radical if incompetent group of extremist seeking to restore a defunct order. There are rumors floating around that she was connected to the ESS before they were dissolved, though she has denied any form of involvement whatsoev-]

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[Rainbow Dash survived the March of Fools but disappeared from the public eye shortly after the surrender. She was found dead several years later during a failed assassination attempt on Equestrian politician Fancy and was unceremoniously gunned down by his bodyguards. Gathered evidence revealed that Rainbow Dash was the Blue Bolt, a serial killer infamous for murdering high ranking politicians and officials who actively supported the reconstruction of Equestri-]

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[GOODBYE: LYRA HEARTSTRING]

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to zelkova48 for making this ending. It was really good and I was happy to put it in.

Please note that this is not Ending 2: Operation Freebird. I was going to put it up this week, but with this cool ending up, I'll save it for next week so it can get proper attention.

To check out their NegotationsVerse story, Choice, Click here: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/488286/choice

You can even check out the chapter I wrote for their story as a guest.

And as always, please help out with the NegotationsVerse tv tropes page

Ending 2: Operation Freebird

Special Thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read this chapter

***

I watch in silence as Twilight tries to turn on the Harmony Pylon over and over again. Technicians and mages are trying to help her as Celestia paces back and forth with a look of annoyance on her face. The others are equally bored, confused, or upset as I just sit down in silence. Looking at my chains, I just only wonder how long I'm going to be here until Twilight screams in frustration and blasts her magic against the ground in anger. A small dust cloud passes over me, but a second later, I have Twilight, eyes twitching, glaring down at me as she looks this close to blasting my head off. I gulp as she drags me by the chain around my neck to her face.

"What. Did. You. Do?!" Twilight demands as I stare into her eyes and realize just how little sleep she's been getting. "The Harmony Pylon is not working! I've done every possible test and procedure! We had all six Elements magic inside of it! It should have worked, but now the magic is gone! What did you do that forced it to just leave like that?!"

I raise my eyebrow and decide to give the truthful answer. "Nothing."

"Horseapples!" Twilight shouts as she throws me to the ground. "You must have done something! Maybe you used the Element wrong?! Or maybe you're not really Fluttershy! Or maybe-"

"For fuck's sake, Twilight!" I shout, which makes her step back. Maybe it was because of the cursing, or perhaps it's because I'm yelling, but everypony focuses on me. "Have you ever just realized the obvious answer? The one that I have been saying all this time, and why this plan was doomed from the start? I am not your friend anymore!"

I take a few deep breaths while I just shake my head. I wondered last night what would happen if the Elements failed. Obviously, both Martin and I's fates were sealed since there was no point in keeping either of us alive if this idea didn't work out. The Elements of Harmony just cannot work anymore because of one simple reason: The six of us aren't friends anymore. I've sacrificed everything when I left Equestria, and that included the bond I shared with these five mares. I would have gone to the ends of the planet for them. I would have gone to the grave with them. I would have stayed by their side to the very end for any reason whatsoever...except for the wrong ones. Even friendship is no excuse to sit back and let something evil be done without doing anything to stop it. Even though I once loved these mares, they just aren't the ones I used to know.

Twilight just can't open her eyes to see that Celestia is not perfect. That she made mistakes and wasn't the all-knowing paragon that she worshiped in her mind. That she was just like any other leader with faults and problems, only, in this case, she was willing to kill off an entire species or force them to change into beings like us. And Twilight would never once question why or if it was right. Granted, she did temporarily before Celestia erased her memory, but the fact that it took this long prevented even that excuse.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were filled with too much hatred in their hearts against humanity. Both for their losses and seeing their way of life fail to defeat an opponent that was stronger and better than them. Their pride was wounded, and they couldn't accept that perhaps it was better to just end an unwinnable fight. They were also so devoted to Equestria and Celestia that they would rather die than admit defeat or any form of wrongness. It was zealotry at its finest.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie, ultimately, we're just selfish. The former just focused on her own losses and suffering without thinking that there were others in just as bad or worse conditions. Pinkie Pie knows this war is wrong, yet she refuses to say it out of a selfish need to control her own version of reality. While perhaps they had the least amount of damage to this war, they still refused to do anything to even halt it.

And Celesia? She is just a spiteful brat who couldn't accept that she can't control everything. That's all there was to her, and she is willing to drag everypony down with her in her madness.

"The Elements of Harmony worked before because we were friends, and we cared about each other," I answer before pointing to Twilight. "Do you really think just activating the Elements is enough? Don't you remember what happened with our fight with Discord? We weren't friends. It failed. This is the same thing, only I've chosen to not be your friend instead of being brainwashed. The truth of all of this, Twilight, is that our friendship died a long time ago. You cannot use the Elements to save Equestria because I don't have the same feelings as I had for you five." I sigh and shake my head. "And if you want me to finally nail into your head, here is what I have to say to all five of you."

And then I said three words I never thought I would ever say in my entire life. Even the girls just stared at me in shock. I can't blame them because I have never said these three words in my whole life, but it was the only way to finally make them understand. But after everything I have just gone through, everything that has been said, and everything I have learned? I cannot deny it any longer. Not once did I feel this way until the past few days, but it's time to finally say it.

"I. Hate. You," I say before giving them all a moment to come to terms with what I've said. "But more importantly. I hate what you've all become."

"...but you're Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie whispered, hair now thoroughly soaked down and grey. "You're not supposed to hate."

"...That was then. This is now," Was all I said before keeping my mouth shut. I looked towards Celestia, glaring at me with such a cold expression that it felt like it got sixty degrees chiller.

"Then I see no point in keeping you or your boyfriend alive," Celestia stated as she nodded to her head, and the guards quickly formed up around me. "Tomorrow, you and Martin will be executed in public at dawn. Your bodies will be burned and your heads placed on the walls on spikes. Your name will forever be cursed in Equestria and forbidden to even be spoken about. You will die as the worst traitor in Equestrian history, Fluttershy. I hope it was all worth it."

"If I had to make the same choice, knowing where I would end up?" I say with a snort. "Yeah, I would, but you are wrong about one thing, Celestia." I glared back at her just before the guards took me away.

"I didn't betray Equestria. You did."

***

It's near midnight as far as I can tell, and I'm still awake. I don't think I'll need sleep since I'll be sleeping for eternity soon. I'm honestly not scared despite knowing these are my final hours. Maybe it has to do with being religious, or perhaps I was just content knowing that Equestria's last-ditch plan had failed. There was no way of avoiding the invasion of humanity now, and anyone with a brain could see that Equestria has no chance of winning. Eventually, be it months or a year from now, this was going to end. I just wished that so many lives weren't going to end up lost because of it. All I could do was hope for the future to be better. A world where ponies and humans got along well and didn't hate each other. That's all I could pray for anyway.

I wish Celestia put Martin and me in the same cell together, but then again, I doubt she'd grant my request. I just want to hold and kiss him one last time before our end, but even if I'm not going to see him one last time on Earth, I'll see him for eternity in Heaven.

Then, just as I am finishing my final prayers, I feel something wash over me. I had my eyes closed, but I could feel a chill going through my body like I was just dipped into ice-cold water. Suddenly, I feel tired, like my energy disappearing in a split second. Despite being dizzy, I try to get my bearings straight while feeling...off. No, this is familiar. I've felt this before. I feel a sense of emptiness inside of me, like there is a part of me missing. An inner part of me that has always been there but now isn't.

It takes me a while to realize what this is. I've felt it many times on the battlefield because they were essential to helping humanity fight against Equestria. The one weapon that turned the tide of the war instantly and led defeat after defeat for Equestria. A weapon that could kill a pony as powerful as a living god, shatter the barrier that protected Equestria, and was the fear and bane of every pony on Earth.

They called it the "Magic-Killer," but its real name was the Thalmann Generator.

My ears perk up, and at first, I just think it's loud banging from above, but it's getting louder. Then I hear rumbling and feel some dust fall down my mane. Looking up, I see a few rocks above my ceiling shaking, which is making me nervous. Then I hear screaming, shouts, and what sounds like gunfire. No, it couldn't be...

I rush to my cell door and try to hear or see what's going on, but all I can pick up is nearby guards shouting in fear. Then there is a hail of gunfire and screams before silence. Gulping, I step back and wait for whoever is arriving as I soon hear the sounds of footsteps against my door. Someone speaks to me in English but with a French accent. "Madam Fluttershy, step back from the door and take cover!"

"O-Okay!" I shout before rushing towards my cot and ducking underneath it. A few seconds later, the door is blasted open as two armored figures with assault rifles check the area. "Clear!"

The dust settles, and I look up in awe at the figures before me. Humans. They're humans. They're dressed in some kind of dark blue and black body Kevlar armor with armored helmets that protect their faces and identities. Depending on the soldier's use, the armor has various patches and other added equipment, such as grenades, knives, sidearms, or other weapons shouldered behind their backs. The helmets look tough enough to take an ax head-on and stop it while the mask visors are light blue and glowing. The guns they were using were unique too, but I realize what they are. Flash showed them to me one time. Some held Gauss Assault Rifles, others used Laser Rifles, and one or two had Plasma-based ones.

They had been in the prototype stage for a long time, and we're finally being allowed for use in the upcoming invasion, but I didn't think I would be seeing them so soon. One of the soldiers walked over to me, and I noticed he had a red arrow on the opposite side of his helmet that made him stand out from the rest. I also noticed his patch on his arm. It looks like the U.N.'s logo, but there are seven stars and a sword in the middle. I see the letters of this unit on the outside: U.N.S.F.C.

"Are you Fluttershy?" The human asks, the one with the French accent. I nod, and he nods back. "I am Captain Aiden Caillat of Team Quail of the United Nations Special Forces Coalition. We're here to get you out of here."

"Wait, how did-" I pause before remembering Martin. "Martin! We have to-"

"Team Seal already has him. We're extracting you both and making sure the Elements of Harmony cannot be used against us," Captain Aiden answered before motioning for one of the other Team Quail members to start freeing me from my chains.

"But the Elements failed. Twilight's machine didn't work," I point out as my bonds are loosened.

"We know, but command has ordered that all remaining Elements, save for Twilight Sparkle and yourself, are to be eliminated to prevent such a possibility from happening." I felt my insides turn upon hearing this. My friends were targeted for elimination? "They don't want to leave anything to chance," Captain Aiden answered, which made me gasp.

Rarity.

Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash.

Applejack.

All of them were going to die?

For a split moment, I wanted to shout no. I could see the reasoning behind it. Just because it didn't work now, what was to say something couldn't happen later? Why not get rid of the problem before it could become one. But these were once my friends. My best friends.

Yet, I shook my head. No, they made their choice, and this wasn't the time for thinking. I had to get out of here and Martin as well. "I...I understand, Captain. Let's go..."

"Roger," Captain Aiden handed me a radio earpiece that I put in my ear. He then ordered his men into position as I was covered from all sides while we exited my cell. I made sure to stick close and follow their orders. "This is Team Quail. Package One is secure."

"This is Team Seal," the voice on my radio reported in a southern accent, "Package Two is recovered. We're heading up."

"This is Team Lion," A British voice answered. "Element of Generosity has been eliminated. She was trying to hide in her closet, but we took care of her. Sending photo evidence now."

Rarity...

I'm so sorry...

I'll remember you from before we came to Earth. The one I cared about like an older sister. I hope you're with your family now. I'm so sorry...

"This is Team Wolf," a Russian voice this time, "We're still searching for the Element of Laughter. We're dealing with heavy resistance, but we're holding down fine."

"Team Eagle here," American, but more mid-western sounding, "Distraction is doing well. Almost too well. Along with Falcon, Tiger, Zebra, and Mongoose, our team is holding back most of the armed forces here. Not much of a fight since they don't have their magic with them."

"Team Dragon here! We're dealing with Princess Celestia in the south hallway on the third floor, "a Chinese accent cried out. "She's just not going down! Even with the Thaalman Generators, this 婊子 is still fighting hard!"

"Team Dragon, this is Team Fox; we're on our way to assist. Ending pursuit of the Element of Honesty," That was Japanese this time. Just how many teams and special forces were there in this unit?

"Who are you guys?" I ask, unable to keep my curiosity sated.

"We're all members of every Special Forces unit in the world. All working together as one military force combined to defend humanity by orders of the U.N.," Captain Aidren explained. "Delta Force. M.A.R.C.O.S. S.S.G. GIGN. Sayeret Matkal. JTF2. S.A.S. Navy Seals. G.I.S. Alpha Group. GROM. Snow Wolf Commando Unit. Special Boat Service. EKO Cobra. N.Z.S.A.S. G.S.G. 9. S.W.A.T. S.A.S.R. Shayetet 13 and many more. All of us have trained for months for missions like this."

"How did you find me?" I ask as we move down the prison hall.

"Your resistance friend, Sassy Saddles, got in contact with us after Spike told her what was happening," Captain Aiden said, leading the team. "You were assumed dead all this time. When we learned what was happening and what Equestria was planning to do, the U.N. decided to activate our unit for the first time since our formation a few months ago. Our mission is to rescue you and Martin. Extract Princess Twilight Sparkle. Eliminate the remaining Elements of Harmony. And, if possible, eliminate Princess Celestia as well."

"But why go through all this for me?" I ask in disbelief. "I'm just one pony."

"One pony who's helped numerous people," One of the soldiers, with a Canadian accent, said while looking at me. "Everyone knows of the tales of your deeds, Fluttershy. How you flew through bullets and magic to save innocent lives. How you saved others from death as best as you can. Some children and mothers were at your memorial service, which talked about how you kept them smiling with your kindness even in the darkest times. Soldiers and politicians who honored you because they got to see their families again thanks to you. You and Discord were the most talked about and prayed about figures in every social media when your deaths were announced with constant candle vigils worldwide. Your friends at the Resistance made sure everyone knew how much you sacrificed to help us. They wanted to let the world know how much of a hero you were, not just to them but to all of us. Do you know what they call you now? The Golden Angel of Hope. Because you were the hope in the darkness that we needed in these dark times."

One by one, all the humans look at me as a female one puts her hand on my shoulder. "You've done so much for us. For humanity. It's time humanity does something for you."

I suddenly feel my tears burst out, and I cover my hooves in an attempt to stop them. This isn't the time to be crying, but I cannot help it. To hear such words is just...it makes me want to hug them all. At this moment, I know that I made the right choice. Humans are flawed, this is true, but they are so special. The fact that these people are fighting for me, and so many are behind them, is just so heartwarming that I feel something I haven't felt since I got captured.

Happiness.

Because I know that I was right.

Humanity was worth fighting for.

Washing away my tears, I smile at them. "Thank you, but I think we should focus on getting out of here."

"Copy that," Captain Aidren replies as he has us double time it.

***

We enter the first floor of the palace, and the sounds of battle are even louder here. I notice a few dead pony guards and one or two dead humans, but I do my best to ignore it as we rush down the hallway. Reports are coming in from the other squads, but I'm too focused on keeping myself ready for anything. I wish my wings were working, but I just hope we don't get caught in any trouble.

"This is Team Seal. Package Two is being picked up right now. We're waiting for you, Team Quail."

"Team Seal, we'll be there any minu-"

"Hold it right there!"

I gasp and turn around just as Team Quail aims their guns at the one who yelled at us. I gulp upon seeing the rage in her eyes and the blood covering her entire body. However, there are struggles of a battle all over her form. Her wings are dirty, and some areas are ripped apart. I see a bleeding bullet hole in her side, and there are scars and burn marks on her barrel and haunches. Yet Twilight is still standing with all the power she can muster, even though her magic is mostly cut off. This is the first time I have seen Twilight look like she has ever killed someone with her magic, and it looks so wrong to me. Twilight had fought many enemies before we came to Equestria, but she never killed them. The war quickly changed that.

"You...are not...going anywhere!" Twilight shouts while in a state of sweat and exhaustion. "Do you know how many...how many ponies you killed?! Even one of my best friends is dead because of you!" She points at me. "Because of you, Fluttershy!"

"Twilight..." I whisper grimly.

"Rarity is dead! I found her bucking head filled with lead! She was one of my friends, and you killed her! You and the rest of humanity! My brother! Cadence! Flurry Heart! Luna! I don't even know if the others are dead or not?! And this is because of you! YOU!" Twilight's eyes are filled with utter hatred, and her horn is glowing on and off as if she's trying to burn me alive with her glare alone. "You're right, Fluttershy! We are not friends anymore! So I'm just going to do what I should have done all those years ago when you said you were defecting! I'm going to end this once and for all!"

I wonder why Team Quail hasn't started firing at Twilight as she stomps closer and closer to us, and then I remember their orders. They were told they had to take Twilight alive, but why? That's when I see a figure flying down behind Twilight, and my breath holds. Twilight turns around, and I see her turn from rage into joy. "Spike, there you are!"

"Twilight," Spike whispers as he looks at her stoically. He doesn't even react when she wraps her arms around him and hugs him. I notice that he has a large backpack on, which only makes me tilt my head. "I was looking for you..."

"I was too!" Twilight shouted with joy as she had tears in her eyes. "I was going to come to see you when I heard you returned, but when the attack started...I thought you might have been killed like Rarity!"

I could see Spike close his eyes and a few tears drip down his face. "Twilight..."

"But we can avenge her!" Twilight shouts as she glares at us again. "Together we can-"

Suddenly, much to both my and Twilight's shock, Spike quickly jams something into Twilight's neck, making her look at him with wide eyes. It takes me only a second to see that it's a syringe of some sort that he's jammed into her vitals. Twilight pushes him away, but it's too late. I can tell whatever drug it has is affecting her since she can barely stand while wheezing.

"S-Spike?" She tries to move forward, but she collapses until Spike is holding her gently. His expression is one of remorse as more tears start to cascade down his face. Her eyes slowly closing, Twilight reaches up and touches Spike's face as she whispers one last word before she goes still. "W-Why?"

Once her eyes close and her hoof goes limb, I feel my breath leave my body, seeing that her chest is still rising and falling. One of the members of Team Quail goes forward and checks her vitals. Turning to us, he nods. "She's unconscious, sir."

Spike picks up Twilight and starts walking to us while carrying her bridal style. He stops in front of Captain Aiden and mutters. "Is our deal still good?"

"It is," Captain Aiden replies. "She'll be allowed to live, but it will be a life sentence. You have all her notes on the Conversion Potion?"

"In my backpack," Spike motions to the luggage on his back. He takes it off and hands it over to one of the other special op soldiers while another soldier takes Twilight's body. "Let's get out of here. Last I saw, Princess Celestia was finishing off your other squads, and I don't want to be here when-"

Suddenly, two large explosions make the entire palace rumble as another wave of energy envelopes us. I blinked for a second as the numb feeling disappeared, but this only makes me realize that if I have my magic back...everypony else does as well.

"Shit! What happened?!" Captain Aiden shouted into his radio.

"Attention, all teams! Some of the Royal Guards managed to blow up the Thalmann Generators using some of our grenades! They're getting their magic back!"

"All teams, this is Overlord! Orders are to retreat! Full force! Reinforcements are on their way to help you out! Team Pony will also be assisting now! Get in your birds and get out of there!"

"You heard the man! Move it!" Captain Aiden shouted before there was an explosion nearby.

An entire wall is blown apart as three armored humans are tossed through and crumble like broken dolls. Slowly walking out of the wall, covered in blood, was a lit-up Celestia. If Twilight was bad, Celestia was even worse. Her entire mane is on fire, burning with orange and hellish red flames like that of an angry sun. Her eyes are no longer pure white but pulsing with a black and purplish aura that makes me realize she's using dark magic. Her entire body is covered in bullet wounds, scars, burn marks, and even one side of her flank looks like it's melting. It's honestly frightening how she's still alive despite all the damage done to her. And there is blood everywhere on the body like a serial killer as her horn alone is wholly covered in crimson liquid. But the worst thing is her expression like someone who has finally snapped and is ready to burn the whole world to the ground. I have no doubt if Celestia had access to the sun in our world, she would just summon it upon the surface of the planet and destroy everything in a blaze of rage.

“FLUTTERSHY!!!!!!!” Celestia screams as she roars with the Royal Canterlot Voice. I almost pee myself from the sheer hatred she is giving me. "BUCK TOMORROW! YOUR EXECUTION IS NOW! DIE, YOU FILTHY TRAITOR! DIE!"

A giant blast of fire erupts from Celestia's horn as three of the humans push me out of the way. Spike gets in front of the group and takes the blow, managing to protect everyone with his wings. Thank God he's a dragon. However, some of the members of Team Quail are too far away and are instantly turned to ash by the power of Celestia's magic. They don't even have time to scream before their nothing but burned bones and melted armor. One of them held Twilight's body and fell to the ground, limp and still unconscious, but to both my and Spike's horror, Celestia unleashes another blast of flames at us. Twilight's body is caught in the middle of the explosion, and I watch as she's wiped out from the fire. There is nothing but a burned skeleton of Celestia's former apprentice by the time the attack ends.

I... I've lost another friend, and I don't think Celestia even noticed as she continues screaming and attacking. She's lost all sense of reason. She doesn't even know that her most loyal subject is dead and now a smoking melting pile of ruin on the ground. Twilight, who was once the best of us is gone, and at the hooves of the one she loved the most.

"YOU BITCH! YOU MONSTER! I'LL KILL YOU!" Spike shouts as he spreads his wings, breaths a fire equal in size to Celestia, and tackles her. The two are thrown through another window, and already I can hear the sounds of their battle roaring outside.

Captain Aiden grabs me and shouts at me to move. I take one last look at Twilight's...remains, and I run with tears in my eyes.

Twilight...

God, Twilight...

I'm... I'm sorry...

I don't know how I am managing to cry and run simultaneously, but I'm doing so. It feels like I'm in Hell. This is a nightmare, and I'm unable to escape. I want to go home. I want to go back to our home. I want to go back to the cottage I lived in, with the animals I love, with Discord, and my friends before everything went wrong. I wish I never came here. I wish...I wish this never happened.

By the time we reach outside, I can hear helicopters coming in, pushing myself further to get out of here. However, the fighting seems to be all around us, and I cannot help but wonder how many are dead. I've lost two of my former best friends. Spike might also be dying because I don't know how he can go up against a full-on powered Princess Celestia. Granted, she looks like she was significantly wounded before the generators went down, but because of the state, she is in...

Suddenly, we're ambushed by another set of guards around the corner who are firing at us with magic. I manage to duck to the other side of the hall, but I'm on my own as Team Quail fires against the soldiers. The new guns have been doing wonders. Gauss rifles easily break apart any armor from a charging Earth Pony and leave them filled with holes on the floor. The Laser Guns are just as fast as a unicorn's blast and leave devastating results on the flesh as they're burned alive one by one. The Plasma ones are the most destructive. Not even magic shields can stop them as they obliterate the ponies entirely into piles of goop.

I turn away from the fighting, trying to erase the images from my head. Suddenly, I'm grabbed by the neck and dragged off of my hooves into the air. I barely have time to register what's happening before I'm tossed out of the palace through a window. I try to use my wings, but I cannot do anything because my wings were clipped days ago. I land hard in a bush and cry out from the feeling of my left rear leg hitting the ground with a heavy crunch. I don't know if it's broken or not, but I'm not going to be standing any time soon. I take a moment to clear my head before looking up and seeing who it was that knocked me out of the palace. I gulp and see a glaring Rainbow Dash floating downward as she stands a few feet from me.

"...You did this," Rainbow Dash growled with a lone tone, but there was rage behind her voice. "Everything is coming apart...my home...my friends...you killed Equestria, Fluttershy. You and your filthy monkeys!"

I try to say something, but Rainbow Dash interrupts me. "And you know what? I don't care anymore. The only thing that matters is that I end you myself. So consider this my final farewell to you!"

Rainbow Dash charges at me, and I close my eyes, but suddenly I hear a loud thumping noise. I open my eyes and see that I'm surrounded by some kind of golden energy shield that Dash must have slammed into because she's rubbing her bleeding head in agony. She must have really flown hard because I can see her forehead split open.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Dash perks up and look to her right, and suddenly her face is blown off. Blood and skull matter suddenly decorate not just the ground and plants nearby but also the energy shield. I watch with wide eyes as the half-decapitated body of Rainbow Dash plummets to the ground like a puppet with no strings. Cocking her shotgun with her magic, Lyra Heartstrings, dressed in similar battle armor as the U.N.S.F.C. glances down at Dash's dead body and spits on it. "Crash in Hell, bitch."

"L-Lyra?" I whisper in shock as she ends her shield spell. She then helps me up and starts guiding me down what appears to be the outskirts of the palace. A part of me is still reeling from the fact that Rainbow Dash, my oldest friend, is now dead with half her face missing, but all I can say is, "What are you doing here?"

"How do you think the rescue team got here? We teleported them," Lyra said with a grin. "We figured we'd take a page from Equestria's book on how they sent their armies to the human cities, only we did it with a much smaller group. We teleported in not too long ago and started this little rescue operation. Me and the rest of the resistance are the backup in case shit goes wrong. Looks like it did."

She then spoke to a communicator in her ear. "This is Lyra of Team Pony. Element of Loyalty is KIA. I repeat. KIA. I also got Package One, and we're making it for the EZ."

I wait to hear any response from the other teams, but I only now notice my radio in my ear is gone, most likely knocked out by Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash.

My best friend.

My sister.

The one who always protected and supported me. Rainbow's dead. Killed by the mare who's helping me get out of here.

I don't know if I should cry or if I should scream or both.

All I can do is just move and remain silent.

***

We finally reach the LZ, which is the front of the castle. It's surrounded by human soldiers and pony resistance fighters either getting into the various Osprey helicopters coming and going or taking care of the wounded while guarding the waypoints. Lyra guides me to one of the nearby ones before I notice someone talking to me. I look up and, to my surprise, it's Captain Aiden.

"Madam Fluttershy, good to see you in one piece," He says with a nod.

"Y-You're okay?" I ask in surprise.

"Yeah, we've handled worse. The rest of us are already inside. We should get-"

Suddenly, he's interrupted by another explosion, only this one is far enough not to knock anyone down. The front doors of the palace open, and every soldier raises their guns, and I soon can see why. A figure is slowly walking through the flames, ignoring the fact that her entire body is bleeding out so much blood that it's a river behind her. Another creature lies on her horn, one that makes me let out a cry of horror as my heart is broken by the sight of it. It's Spike, eyes closed shut, and his chest pierced through the heart via an alicorn horn. His corpse is soon tossed away and left to rot on the ground.

Spike... he's gone.

He risked everything to save me.

The last dragon.

Another species is now gone forever.

My teary eyes soon gaze away from his lifeless body towards the murderer before me. There is nothing but anger, tears, and madness in the eyes of Celestia. Spike may have died, but he gave his all in dealing damage to Celestia. Half of her body is burned, a surprise to me since she is powered by the sun, but I guess even she can be lit aflame. Her right eye is bleeding out of her socket with a large gash across, and her entire body is covered with all kinds of wounds both from humans and Spike. Her left wing is half gone, while her right one is entirely ripped out. She looks to be barely standing. In fact, I think she's this close to passing out due to the blood loss she suffered.

Every human, Resistance fighter, and the helicopters above are aiming their guns at Princess Celestia, who ignores all of them and is focused solely on me. I feel as if the reaper itself is looking at me with those glaring hateful eyes. I can see that there is nothing left in Celestia but hatred. Hated directly at me.

She roars like a demon and charges forward as I turn away, closing my eyes. The sound of gunfire echoes in my ears as I cover them with my hooves. I don't know who's winning or who's not. All I know is that I want this to be over. I want to go home. I want to never fight in a war ever again.

It seems like hours, but in reality, I can tell it's only been a few minutes before orders are for everyone to stand down. Slowly, I open my eyes, and I see only one casualty. I cannot describe what remains of Princess Celestia because it's just a giant pile of mush full of lead, laser burns, and plasma. The only thing not burned, broken, ruined, or shredded is her crown which lies a few feet from her body and is covered in her blood.

She's dead.

After all these years...all this chaos...Celestia is dead.

There are no more princesses.

No more alicorns.

Equestria has no leadership.

The war is, for the most part, over.

And this time, I cannot take it.

I blackout. I hear Lyra calling my name, but I just can't open my eyes.

I want to go home.

Please...please just take me home.

***

This is the first page of my new "Counseling" Journal that I've been suggested by my doctors on keeping updated since my therapy sessions have ended. It's been ten years since the war ended, but it's been twelve since I finally found myself feeling any sense of peace. After my rescue, I was diagnosed with PTSD and a few other things that have...not been easy to overcome, but slowly I have with the help of Martin and my friends. Martin and I did manage to get married as I wanted us to, but we held off raising kids. I was still broken inside from the war and what I witnessed that day. We focused on pets instead and still do. Bunnies, cats, dogs. I love them all. It's been...helpful.

But it's not easy.

Watching your former friends die, even if your friendship ended a long time ago, is something you can never forget. Discord getting shot in the heart. Twilight going up in flames. Rainbow's head exploding. Spike's body hanging by Princess Celestia's horn. I still get nightmares from time to time, but I've stopped screaming in the middle of the night, at least. Martin, God bless him, is always there for me, and I'm forever grateful for it. There are times when I felt like I was such a burden to him and made him unhappy, but every kiss from him reminds me of just how much he loves me.

After being rescued, I just resigned from the Resistance, mostly because I just couldn't take it anymore and because there was no need to fight. With Celestia and Twilight both dead, Equestria fell into chaos. Military leaders, nobles, politicians, and some religious figures tried to take control, and soon the nation fell apart to infighting and insanity. What was once the greatest nation in our world suddenly became multiple nations fighting each other for control. The U.N. held off its invasion, seeing no point in wasting more lives of their own when Equestria was toothless for all intents and purposes. There was still a shipping blockade around the nation, mainly to prevent anyone from going in and pick up refugees fleeing from their homes.

Eventually, five years later, General Valkyrie, who had the biggest territory, finally contacted the U.N and asked for their help ending the chaos and saving everyone from the madness that had come after Equestria's downfall. It took only a few months to do, even when various territories fought to the death, but in the end, Equestria, or what remained of it, was taken over at last by humanity. There wasn't even a bother for restoring the monarchy or uniting the country anymore. Thanks to the infighting, too many groups hated each other and wanted nothing to do with each other. So Equestria was balkanized.

There are now three separate nations:

-The Kingdom of Valehoove: A monarchy ruled by the noble family known as "The Golden Leafs" and is run by the remnants of the Canterlot Nobility.

-The Republic of Canterlot: A federalized republic where you serve the nation to be guaranteed to vote.

-And The People's Republic of Stalliongrad: A very self-isolated communist nation.

Of all the three, the Republic is doing its best to play fair with the human nations, while the other two refuse. Honestly, I don't care anymore. Equestria is gone. Everyone I knew there has either left for new homes and a new future or...is dead.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie are dead.

I don't know how or where, but I know in my heart they are gone. I guess it doesn't matter now. I just...I don't think I'll ever move on. I really don't. But that doesn't mean I'll be unhappy.

I have Martin. My friends like Lyra, Flash and such. And I have my animals who love me. There is no more war. Just peace and a desire to move forward. All I want to do is enjoy the life I have with that peace. Maybe someday, I'll be able to stop thinking about what happened to me and all of us during those dark days. All I can do is hope that the next generation, both human and pony, learn from our mistakes.

And I hope one day to ask forgiveness to all those left behind in our old world.

I think this is enough to write for now.

I'll write more tomorrow.

-Fluttershy.

Author's Notes:

Yeah, I changed a lot from what I originally was going to do until it represented something different. Yeah, not a happy ending, but is there really ever a happy ending in war? Anyway this ends Fallen, and I'm not sure if I'll do another NegotationsVerse fic or not. I really want to focus on my next two fics that I promised would be out this year, one of them being the follow to my SpikexEmber story and the other the rewrite of Assassination of Twilight Sparkle.

As always, you are free to make your own stories in the NegotationsVerse like some I know are planning to do so. I hope you overall enjoyed this fic, for all its faults.

Once again thanks to Shadowsaint007 and Alphamon_Ouryuken for helping pre-read the story. You guys helped a lot

Please help out at at the TV tropes Page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse

Ending 3: Harmony's Chosen Part 1

Author's Notes:

Alright, here is a third ending from me for Fallen. I kinda was reluctant to do this type of ending a long time ago, but I decided to give it a shot and found myself making it in passion. It's so long that I have to split this up into two parts. Enjoy.

As always, please help out at the NegotationsVerse TV Tropes Page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse

It's funny. The sounds of cheering and celebrations were not something that would typically make my stomach turn in on itself. Sure, a surprise party was always scary at first, and a sudden loud cheer made me jump in fright once in a while. However, when it was all said and done, I did like being at a party. I just didn't like it when the party was focused on me. I never wanted the attention; I still don't. Even my birthdays had me hiding in the closet whenever somepony (Usually Pinkie Pie) did a surprise party for me. Yet, I always smiled and enjoyed myself afterward with cheer and jubilee. However, this celebration only fills me with dread, and everypony else is just focused on Twilight as she and Princess Celestia are shaking hooves.

The joyful occasion is because Twilight's plan for her Harmony Pylon to be powered by the Elements of Harmony has succeeded. I can see it glowing with the various runes lit up like Christmas lights while the machine connected to it is beeping steadily. Ponies around us in the stadium are cheering and clapping their hooves while my former friends look relieved that Twilight's plan seems to be working. I wish it wasn't. Because I am the only one here who still has any sanity in their brain. Yet, despite all my efforts, I've caved in. I joined in helping make this celebration possible because someone I love would suffer if I didn't comply. I would have stayed strong if it was just me who could be facing utter beatings and even death.

But Martin. My love. The human who I have given my heart and soul to. I cannot let him suffer anymore at the hooves of Princess Celestia and her hatred against humanity. Even though I knew there was a significant chance she would just have us killed anyway, I still wasn't strong enough to stand my ground. Everpony has a weakness, and losing those I love is mine. I already lost Discord, my best friend. I can't stand the thought of losing Martin.

I look at the Harmony Pylon and snort upon hearing Twilight and Princess Celestia speak to the crowd as if this was their salvation from utter doom. Rather, it's another vain attempt to prevent themselves from facing justice for their crimes. I highly doubt this will stop humanity's upcoming invasion of Equestria to end the war they started in the name of "Harmony." At most, it might slow it down, but I've seen the humans' determination to avenge all that they have lost these past years. Nearly five years of major loss of life and the utter devastation of nations is enough to make me sink. Even Equestria has the scars of this war. So many of her sons and daughters are dead, while up north, there is a radioactive graveyard of lost souls.

And that's not even coming close to the fact that billions of lives died in agony back home when we left it. Princess Celestia is a monster for what she has done and the lies she used to justify her actions. Even if the sun was going to die in our world, it's not a valid excuse for what she did. And while a part of me knows that everypony else here is ignorant of the truth, it is also no excuse for blindly following her crusade of utter evil and going to the lengths they did for victory.

"Hey, Twilight? Why don't you give the Harmony Pylon a good test run?" Rainbow Dash suggests. "I wanna see how it works."

"I also would like to test it as well," Princess Celestia says with a smile to her student. "Just to make sure there are no mistakes."

"Sure! Let me start it up," Twilight replies as she goes to the control panel.

I stay silent in the back, watching as everypony steps back to give her space. I admit I am curious to see what will happen. Although, I honestly wish nothing would happen as it would mean that all their efforts went to waste. Of course, that will mean that Martin and I will be executed since we would have no more purpose, but I feel like that's an inevitable outcome anyway.

After she puts in what I assume are calculations, Twilight presses a big red button, and we all wait for something to happen...only it doesn't do anything. There is a long silence as we stare at the Harmony Pylon that just sits there dead as a doorknob despite still glowing with the power of the Elements of Harmony.

"Uh, Twilight," Applejack asks as she points to the thing. "Did ya break it?"

"What?! No, I thought I-"

Suddenly, it turns on again, only the lights are blinking faster, and the crystals are glowing so bright that I'm forced to cover my eyes. The girls ask Twilight what is wrong as she tries to give answers, but nobody can hear her due to the roaring and rumbling of the machine. Ponies in the stands are starting to panic as Celestia orders everypony to step away. The crystals explode into tiny bits, and the magic inside of the pylon bursts out like a dam being opened. It soars high into the air like a beam of pure rainbow energy and twists around like a tornado. Everypony watches in awe as the energy swirls around in the air.

"Oooh! This is pretty!" Pinkie Pie says before turning to Twilight. "Nice light show, Twilight! When did you add this feature?"

"I didn't!" Twilight shouts in a near panic. "This is supposed to happen! I don't know what this is!"

"Well, can ya stop it?!" Applejack asks as she tries to keep her hat on her head from the wind blowing around.

"I don't know! This doesn't make-"

Twilight cannot finish as the rainbow light beam then curves downward. Everypony gasps as it slowly changes shame into that of a smaller beam with the head of an arrow aiming downward...

...towards me.

I gasp in shock as the harmonic energy makes for where I am standing. The guards by my side quickly scatter out of fear, but I cannot move. It comes into direct contact with my body, and I close my eyes out of instinct. I feel my entire body wrapped in some kind of warm cocoon, and then I black out.

***

When I come to, I feel...lighter. In fact, I feel better than I have ever since I got captured. Like every injury I got was healed out of nowhere. I even flap my wings, and they feel unclipped. Slowly, I open my eyes and see that I'm not in the stadium anymore. Actually, I don't even know where I am to begin with. I see a great black void with light green and blue mist surrounding me. There is no surface that I am standing on, yet it feels solid despite nothing around me. There are twinkling stars that glitter in the dark void while a rainbow aura gently flies by. It's so quiet and peaceful that I hear nothing. Just an absolute state of stillness.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I ask as my voice echoes across this seemingly endless realm. "Where am I? Am...Am I dead? Is this Heaven?"

"No, you are not dead. This isn't Heaven, but it is quite a peaceful place." A voice states from all directions. The voice makes me 'eep,' and my wings flare out while I walk back with a gulp. Its tone oozes with utter power, and the sound is coming from all directions. It's like hearing a dragon's roar, yet it has the softness of a dove's cry. "Do not worry. You are safe here. You will not be harmed. We have brought you here."

Despite the almost ethereal voice speaking around me with no face associated with it, I slowly began to relax. I have a feeling...that I've heard this voice before. Like I know it. It's on the tip of my tongue, but I cannot figure it out.

"That is because you do know us. We have been with you since you were born, Fluttershy. Deep inside, when I choose you and the other bearers," the voice continues as I look around. "We were there when you gained your cutie mark. We were there when you and the others faced Nightmare Moon and all the other times you needed our power to defend Equestria. And even in this broken world of war and death, we are still here."

Hearing this makes me gasp, and my eyes widen. It doesn't take me long to realize what the voice is saying. It couldn't be true, but I had no other answers. "Are you...Are you the Elements of Harmony?"

"Yes."

I couldn't believe it. The Elements of Harmony? But it all made sense.

"I...I didn't know you could speak," I say while looking around to find them, but I feel they do not have a physical body.

"Normally, we do not. Not in the way you mortals seem to do so, but occasionally, we will speak in whatever manner possible when necessary," The Elements of Harmony say to me.

"Okay, but I can't see you..."

"That is because we technically have no physical form, but we can make something to represent us in this realm."

A flash of light erupts out of nowhere in front of me, and I cover my eyes for a few brief moments before it fades away. I slowly lower my hoof and gasp while my eyes start getting teary-eyed. I was almost unable to speak by seeing who was before me, but I gasped a single word. "D-D-Discord?"

The smiling figure of my best friend looks at me warmly before lowering their head apologetically. "Sorry, but we are not him," Discord says in the same voice as the Elements. "We took the form of a figure you trust so much in your heart. Ironic that we are in the form of the Spirit of Chaos, isn't it?"

If Discord was here, he'd laugh his socks off at such a feat. I cannot hold myself back any longer and rush to him. I hug the body of my friend. Even if it's not him, just seeing him alive is enough for me to sob and hold him like there is no tomorrow. The Elements do not try to stop me but instead embrace and let me cry out my sorrows.

Discord...

There was so much I...

I wish I could...

I just cry. I cry so hard my echoes are everywhere in this void-like realm. The Elements slowly stroke my mane, and I see them smiling as I look up. "It's okay. You have suffered so much. We know you miss him, but Discord is at peace. We felt his spirit leave this world and into the next. He will be fine, and one day you will see him again beyond this mortal world."

I guess the confirmation that there is an afterlife gives me enough strength for a weak smile. Rubbing my eyes, I slowly step back and ask, "So...where are we?"

"This is the realm between all realms," The Elements answer as they spread Discord's arm around. "All dimensions of reality are forged in this infinite space. It has no beginning, and it has no end. It is eternity in its purest form. We bring those worthy of our power and accession here so they can become their truest potential."

Harmony then sighs and shakes its head. "Sadly, those we have chosen in the past have fallen into disgrace. Sunnyvale and Mooncloud, who you know as Princess Celestia and Luna, have become tyrants and were lost to their own power and pride. Cadence, who was to represent love, committed a terrible crime when she ordered the deaths of millions with the Crystal Canon. Even Twilight, who we had hoped to unite your world with love and friendship, has learned nothing in the end and follows Celestia's evil without a doubt. All of them we believed in and gave them the strength and wisdom to help your world. Yet not only has it become ruined, but Equestria invaded another world and caused untold amounts of chaos. We weep for not just the lives lost but also the path they have taken in disgrace."

"...Is it really gone? Our world? Was the sun really going to die?" I ask as I look at The Elements in despair. "How could you let it all happen? Aren't you a god?"

"We are not a god," Harmony states with a heavy sigh. "We are powerful. We have been around for a long time. But we are not one of the various gods that exist. There are others more powerful than us. We were merely one of many forms of power in your world, but we are no deity. Despite what some think of us as."

"What about the sun? Was Celestia telling the truth? Was our world doomed?" I demand with almost a flurry of speed.

"Yes, it was dying," The Elements answers. "This is not the first time it has happened. It has happened before, and it happens every so often. Provided it is stopped at that time."

"I don't understand," I comment with confusion.

"Every world has a beginning and an ending." The Elements wave of their hand as a flower appears in its palm. It starts to grow strong and beautiful but then ages and dies before becoming dust. "At some point, an end must come. Much like this world, your world has been part of a cycle of birth, life, and death. Sometimes by accident, other times on purpose. And more than once, it has happened by the actions of the residents of that world. They sometimes lead to their own destruction. You would be surprised how many times that's happened on Earth from what the powers of its world have told me. As for your world, it is gone, but slowly it will be born again. Life will begin once more. A new direction. A new chance."

"So there was nothing that could have been done," I mutter with sorrow. Was it really going to be the end of the world? Was the massive amount of death unavoidable regardless of whether Celestia manipulated things or not?

"I did not say that," The Elements point out which makes me perk up. "There were many ways to save the world from this end. Even I had plans for those who would succeed after you and your friends passed the Elements of Harmony to your successors."

"We had successors?" I ask with awe. "Who are they?"

"Sadly, they are mostly gone now. The moment Equestria left your world behind, it didn't take long for most of the life on your planet to die off. Only one of the six still lives, an earth pony who was in Equestria when you traveled between dimensions. The rest were a griffin, hippogriff, changeling, yak, and dragon, but now they sleep for eternity in the warm embrace of the afterlife."

I wish I knew them. Even more impressive is that most of them weren't even ponies. I never heard of hippogriffs before, but a yak? A griffin? Dragon?! A changeling of all things?! Half of those were long-time enemies of Equestria. What future was there where all of them were not only friends but the successors of the friendship my old friend and I had? It's a future I wished I could have seen.

And one I wished Celestia could have seen, considering her thoughts on the other races.

"... They weren't going to be ponies...I have...so many questions," I whisper but then sigh. "But I guess it's pointless to ask them since they're...gone." Then I blink before raising my eyes to face The Elements. "Wait. Why am I here? Why did you bring me here?"

"We have brought you here because we wish to end this war. This suffering that has happened in this world must end for all sides," The Elements said with a growl. "Our power is to be used to heal and protect. Only punish when it needs to be; even then, we still find a means to grant redemption if possible. We did not know Sunnyvale's true intentions when she manipulated Twilight and the other Elements into transporting us into this world. By the time we realized what was going to happen, we were too late to do anything. We felt...the deaths of so many innocent lives back in our world...we wept..."

A tear drips down the face of The Elements before they wipe it away. "Since then, we have remained silent. We refused to answer the call of our bearers because they have each shamed us. Rainbow Dash has fallen into fanaticism to the point that utter bloodlust is all she desires. Applejack has lied to many for her own selfish reasons that cost the well-being and lives of innocent ponies. Rarity only cares about her own suffering and not the suffering of others. Pinkie Pie has forced herself to ignore the destruction she hates because she fears losing her friends. And Twilight? She has forsaken every Friendship lesson she has ever learned in the hopes of continuing to please her teacher. A teacher who has long since been consumed by fear, hatred, and pride."

"So Twilight's Harmony Pylon wouldn't have worked?" I ask with hope.

"Not in the way she intended," The Elements answer while rolling their eyes. "They believe that We caused the original barrier, and in some regards that is true. However, the barrier was also combined with the excess energy of dimensional travel. Traveling between such planes of existence is dangerous. Combined with our magic, the exposure was dangerous for humans who have no magical resistance in their being. However, what nopony knew was that the barrier would have eventually stopped expanding and died out."

"Wait, it wasn't going to consume the entire planet?" That had been the biggest obstacle in the war. The barrier had protected Equestria from any human counter-attack until the Thalmann Generators destroyed it.

"No, eventually it would have stopped and faded away over the course of a few years. It would take a long time. Perhaps years, but it would fade," The Elements explained. "Twilight seeks to do the same with the Harmony Pylon, but it will do nothing. While our power can be summoned and moved into it, our will is what decides the effect. And we refused to be used for war any longer. However, we do wish to end this war. And we have chosen you to do so."

I feel my heart nearly leap out of my chest as my mouth drops as low as it can. I stare at the smiling expression on Discord's face as I step back in shock. "M-M-Me?"

"Yes, you," The Elements state with pride. "Out of all the Elements, Fluttershy, you have stayed true to your own. You were and always have been Kindness itself, but you have also grown into the roles of the other Elements."

Suddenly some of the stars around us in this great void start moving and changing shape. They slowly turn into squares that remind me of TV screens as they show me and my actions ever since the war began. The first shows me telling my friends I was defecting to join humanity. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done. I wasn't just betraying the best friends I ever had. I was betraying my family and my home.

"You stood up to your friends by telling them the truth. Not just what Equestria was doing, but what you felt deep inside of you. You were willing to stand up for yourself and live by the morals you have always treasured inside. You showed Honesty."

The next one showed me learning my medical training while helping out various patients during the middle of one of the battles I was a part of. I risked my life during various attacks to ensure I was giving whoever needed medical help, whether human or pony.

"You hated war. You hate fighting. But you were willing to sacrifice your own wishes for the greater good of others to make sure that they were protected and healed. You risked your life for the sake of others. You showed Generosity."

Then I saw Angel Bunny, my darling pet, and other animals as I showed them to some human children in a hospital. They were all orphans who had lost their families, and I brought my animals for them to play with. I remember seeing the smiles on their faces and the warm tears in their eyes as they hugged and played again like they were supposed to. Not live in fear and horror from the nightmares they saw at their age.

"You made sure to make the little ones smile. You showed them light and joy in the darkest of times. So many people lost hope because of what was happening in the world, but you? You made them feel better. You showed Laughter."

Then I saw myself during those times I was locked up in the dungeons. My friends are arguing about why I should help them with their plan with the Harmony Pylon. I even saw my arguments with Princess Celestia.

"And when you were locked away, facing uncertain pain and possible death, you stood your ground. You refused to back down from doing the right thing and fought to the end to keep to your vow to help humanity. You showed Loyalty."

"But I caved in the end," I pointed out with a sorrowful sigh. "I gave in...they had Martin..."

"Yes, but that is understandable. You love him. And he loves you. Nopony is perfect, and we understand the need to protect the ones you love," The Elements said as they patted me on the shoulder. “Those who have become your truest friends in the end.”

The final one showed me with all those in the resistance playing cards and laughing. There was Discord who was dressed up as a blackjack dealer. Derpy was betting everything she had while also putting in a tray of muffins at top. Flash Sentry and Lyra, side by side, doing their best to avoid each other's gazes while blushing. Carrot Top and Dinky Hooves shaking their heads at the latter’s antics. And I was there with a big smile on my face without a worry for the war. And then came in Martin, who tapped me on the shoulder and kissed me on the lips before I melted in his embrace.

“I know losing your friendship with the others was hard, but you gained new friends. Friends who have helped you in many ways become stronger.” They smiled and said, "You are so kind to so many. Both friend and enemy. We rarely find someone as kind as you in any world. But you showed through all your actions that you are the greatest representative of the Element of Kindness we have ever had the pleasure of knowing. And because of this, we have faith in you to end this war."

"But how?" I ask, tilting my head. "How can I do this?"

"We wish to ascend you into alicornhood."

For a second time, I was shocked beyond belief. I fell on my haunches with my wings flared out and my tail straight in shock. "A-Alicornhood?"

"Yes, we believe we have made the right choice this time," The Elements explain. "It is rare that we give one pony all six Elements, but we believe you are worthy of it. You can become an alicorn with great power. One that we believe you can use responsibility for. Equestria needs a true and kind leader to guide her into this world. We believe that is you."

"B-B-But I don't know if I can do it!" I shout while shivering in fear. "I... I'm not..."

"You are worthy," The Elements say as they put a hand on my head, and I instantly feel a calming relaxation. "There is no other in Equestria more worthy than you, but we will not force you into this."

"...What if I say no?" I ask, curious.

"We will merely use our power to teleport you and Martian away back to the human lands. Equestria's fate will be on its own, and we will merely wait until those worthy of our power to come one day. Be it pony or maybe even human," [/i]The Elements answer. "If you accept our power, you will become an alicorn, and we will be with you all the way to assist and guide you."

I bit my lip before a question came to me. "What will I be an alicorn of? Celestia is the sun. Loona was the moon. Cadence was love. And Twilight is a friendship. What will I be? Kindness?"

"No, you will be nature itself." An Alicorn of Nature, The Elements answer. "What this world needs most is not a warrior, scholar, or queen. What she needs is a healer. A healer is what you will be. A healer and protector of nature itself. This is what you will be if you accept our power. The choice is yours."

A healer.

A healer for the world.

I think about all the suffering and destruction. Not just on the human lands but also in Equestria.

The cities obliterated.

The forests that have burned.

The fields that have become bare.

The waters that are polluted and dried.

The massive amount of graves in the dirt.

I close my eyes and prepare to take the most giant leap in my life.

And I won't lie. I'm a bit nervous.

"Yes."

Suddenly, everything becomes clear as a bright light overtakes me.

No words come close to what I felt as the Elements of Harmony enveloped me with their power. It's not even close to what I usually felt whenever I used them with the girls in the past. I could feel as if my entire body was being changed inside and out, yet in a way that made me feel like I was stretching myself out for the first time after being asleep for so long. I suppose the closest feeling I could give is that of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon to spread its wings out for the first time. Knowledge was implanted inside of me like that of a download from the internet. I almost was afraid my head would explode, but I just calmly breathed and took it all bit by bit. It almost felt like a lifetime was passing before my eyes, yet in truth, it was just a few seconds. I wonder if this is how Twilight felt when she turned into an alicorn all those years ago.

Slowly, as I learn rapidly with the help of the Elements, I feel no longer afraid. Not just of what is happening to me but what will happen when this is over. The Elements tell me what to do and to trust them as they are now a part of me. I can feel them inside and around me as if we are one. Normally, when I had just the Element of Kindness, I could only feel its power, and it reminded me of a soft, warm meadow with gentle breezes and grass tickling.

Loyalty feels like a powerful storm, ready to thrust itself into the unknown with no fear.

Laughter feels like a series of tickles and kisses on your face that make you smile.

Generosity feels like a blanket of comfort while having a hot, warm tea inside your belly.

Honestly feels like a suit of armor that can take any blow and strike back twice as hard.

And Friendship?

It feels like you are connected to every living thing in the universe and can feel the hearts of all living things.

And I can feel it all. All six are inside of me.

I am ready now. To end this war and save two races from further destruction.

To finally bring back peace.

***

The rainbow-colored light fades away from me as I feel myself returning to the real world once more. Slowly I raise my head, spread my wings, and let my new horn pulse with yellow aura magic. It feels strange having a horn, yet it also feels no different than having wings all my life as a pegasus. I slowly open my eyes and look at my figure. I'm only a few inches taller than I was previously, but that's not the only thing that has changed. My hair is longer, but streaks of white and green flow through my name with an ethereal feel to it. They sparkle a bit, like diamonds in the sky, and, I'm embarrassed to say this, I wonder if Martin will like them? I'm also no longer in chains. They've turned to dust with my power. Instead, I'm clean and bruise-free, with my wings fully restored after they were clipped to prevent me from flying. God, it feels good to have them whole again.

But the most apparent change is the regalia I am wearing. My four hooves are covered in white armored shoes, similar to Princess Celestia's, but they have four unique gems. The Elements of Honestly, Generosity, Loyalty, and Laughter are on each of my protective regalia. They no longer are in the shape of their past users but instead look like mine: a butterfly. On my chest, covering my furry barrel is the Element of Friendship, also in the shape of a butterfly but surrounded by smaller ones carved into the whitish armor. Finally, there is my crown. The crown is my original element, Kindness, displayed in the center of it all.

Naturally, I look at those around me, and their expressions are as I expected: utter disbelief and shock.

The entire stadium is staring at me, but I am not nervous anymore. In fact, I feel stronger and braver than ever, knowing that the Elements are beside me.

All six of them.

Speaking of Elements, I turn to my former friends, who look paler than I've ever seen them, as each of them focuses on the Element they each lost to me. Rarity looks ready to faint, her eyes twitching every second while Pinkie's mane has wholly deflated, and a look of horrible realization hits her. I guess she figured out already what this all means. She's always been brighter than most ponies give her credit for. Rainbow Dash has collapsed on her rear end and is pointing at me, trying to say something, but nothing is coming out of her mouth. Applejack is similar, with her mouth so low a massive hoof can enter it. Twilight is the worst of them all. She's outright babbling nonsense while looking at every part of me in complete shock.

However, the best expression comes from Princess Celestia.

She's scared.

Utterly scared because I have done something impossible in her mind, and I can also see rage and horror in her eyes. Her wings are flared out, and her horn sparks every five seconds as if she were a bomb ready to go off. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she did at this point.

Finally, Twilight shouts what everypony is thinking: "WHAT THE FLYING BUCK IS GOING ON?!"

"I think it's obvious," I say, making the silence quieter. "The Elements of Harmony have chosen me to be the bearer of all six. They have rejected you. All of you. And in turn? They have ascended me into alicorn status. I am Fluttershy, Alicorn of Nature. And I am here to end this war."

"LIAR!" Princess Celestia screams in the Royal Canterlot Voice. "LIAR! YOU LIE! THIS IS A TRICK! A DARK MAGICAL EFFECT! OR SOMETHING DISCORD DID TO YOU! THERE IS NO WAY THAT THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY WOULD ALL CHOOSE YOU! THIS IS A TRICK!"

"This is no trick. This is the truth," I point to Celestia and glare at her. "You have disgraced The Elements of Harmony with all your actions. You have shamed Equestria and killed billions for your greater good. You are a monster, Princess Celestia. Harmony itself has decreed it."

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Princess Celestia screams as her hair becomes frizzled and her eyes glow black and green. I quickly recognize it as dark magic and realize she will attack me. No doubt seeing me has finally broken whatever little sanity she has left. Being told by the Elements of Harmony, representing what you built your entire homeland around, that you were no longer worthy must have shattered her mind. "GIVE BACK THE ELEMENTS, YOU BITCH! I AM THE PRINCESS OF THIS NATION! NOT YOU! AND I DECREE THAT YOU MUST DIE!"

Levitating upward, Princess Celestia screams as a blast of unholy fire and lighting burst out of her horn and heads straight toward me. The old me would have ducked for cover or said my prayers in the face of such an overwhelming assault. However, I am different now. I merely activate my horn, and all six of my regalia begin to glow. In an instant, a bubble shield of rainbow-colored magic surrounds me, and the dark magic slams into it, but there is not a single scratch on my shield or myself. The Elements guide me in my head on how to properly use this magic. It's not like hearing voices in my head but a feeling of instinct inside my heart.

Princess Celestia roars even more and continues sending her stream of dark magic at me, her horn glowing with the intensity of the sun she used to control. She then glances at Twilight and screams. "TWILIGHT! ATTACK HER!"

"But...But..." Twilight looks almost ready to pee herself by the tone Princess Celestia is ordering her around.

"DO IT!"

This seems to snap Twilight out of her fear, and she soon attacks me with her own magic. However, my shield is strong enough to block them both. Plus, I could feel Twilight not putting her all into the attack. I'm unsure if it's because she's reluctant to attack me or is not in a clear state of mind, but it doesn't matter. I narrow my eyes and focus more on my magic before my eyes begin to glow white. A pulse of rainbow-colored magic, mixed with white and pink, burst out, and two large waves of energy head toward Princess Celestia and Twilight. Both are slammed by it and are thrown back before crashing onto the ground next to each other. My former friends scream their names and rush towards them. I look to the guards around the stadium, who are too scared to move and just standing there, unsure of what to do.

Slowly marching forward, I light my horn as my eyes continue to glow. Flapping my wings, I rise up and stare down at the seven who look at me with horror-filled eyes. My mouth opens, but it's not just me that is speaking. It's also the Elements.

"SUNNYVALE AND TWILIGHT! YOU HAVE BOTH DISHONORED THE NAME OF HARMONY! YOU HAVE ABUSED AND FAILED TO USE THE POWER GIVEN TO YOU RESPONSIBLY! OUR BLESSING TO YOU WAS TO BE USED FOR GOOD! INSTEAD, YOU HAVE USED IT TO DESTROY, MURDER, AND GENOCIDE NOT JUST THE HUMAN RACE BUT ALL OTHER RACES OF YOUR WORLD! YOU HAVE TRIED TO USE US FOR WAR WHEN WE ARE MEANT FOR PEACE! WE HEREBY DECLARE YOU UNWORTHY TO BE ALICORNS, AND PRINCESSES OF THIS NATION, THUS, WE SHALL TAKE OUR BLESSINGS BACK!"

Power flows through my veins, I raise my hooves, and all six of my Elements begin to glow. Two large tendrils of white energy whip themselves towards Princess Celestia and Twilight, who aren't fast enough to escape. They scream in agony as they are quickly wrapped in the white energy and start to glow while struggling as much as possible, but it is futile.

"Let them go!" Rainbow Dash shouts as she finally makes a move. I've been waiting for her to do this. She streaks right at me, but she's as slow as a fly in my eyes. I wait until she's close enough, and then I do something I never thought I would ever do to my first best friend.

I punched her right in the face.

And I did it with the great strength of an earth pony.

Needless to say, I broke Dash's nose and sent her flying back down like a meteor as several of her teeth came loose from the impact. She coughs up blood as Pinkie Pie and Rarity help her up before looking at me with disbelief that I punched her. I disregard her for now before turning back to Twilight and Princess Celestia, slowly morphing in the bright white light. Slowly, my magical tendrils remove themselves and fade away while the two alicorns slowly begin to return. Or I should say, former alicorns.

Twilight lands on her stomach, groaning as she tries to get up. There is a large gasp as it's revealed she doesn't have her wings anymore. She is no longer an alicorn but a Unicorn once again. However, the bigger surprise is for the pony next to her. She has a familiar white coat and sun-designed cutie mark, but her mane is no longer the rainbow design that flows like the sea. Instead, it is a darker shade of pink, no longer in size than my own. Princess Celestia is no more. She is what she was before: Sunnyvale. A simple unicorn.

"What...have you...done?" Sunnyvale whimpers as she slowly gets up, teary-eyed and voice cracking. "You...How could...how could you do this? You...took it all..."

She then begins to cough and collapses. Twilight is instantly at her side, like the loyal student she was. Then something happens that is, even to me, depressing to see. She's getting older. Her face and skin slowly start to change and grow old. It matures into that of a young adult, but soon there are wrinkles and paler hair. Twilight, with tears in her eyes, tells the aging Sunnyvale to hold on as she glares at me. "What did you do to her?!"

"WITHOUT HER ALICORN POWERS, TIME IS CATCHING UP TO SUNNYVALE. SHE HAS LIVED FOR NEARLY A THOUSAND OR SO YEARS BUT NOW HER TIME IS AT AN END."

"No! No! She can't die! She can't!" Twilight shouts in denial as she holds onto the dying unicorn who's already starting to look in her late elderly ears. "Princess! Just hold on! Don't go! We need you! I need you!"

"Why...all I did...I did..." Sunnyale coughed.

"YOU DISGRACED EVERYTHING WE STOOD FOR. YOU LET HATRED LIE INSIDE YOUR HEART. THIS IS YOUR PUNISHMENT, SUNNYVALE. MAY YOU FIND PEACE IN DEATH."

"Twi...light...help...me..." Sunnyvale, looking thinner and paler, croaks before there is a final gasp from her mouth. She clutches her chest and twitches a bit, coughing blood before going limp. Her eyes roll in the back of her head, and she breathes her last.

And so passed Sunnyvale, aka Princess Celestia.

And honestly? May she rot in the most bottomless pits of Hell.

Twilight screams her name repeatedly as tears drip down her face. She and the girls watch in horror as the body of the late princess quickly becomes nothing more than rotten skin and bones before crumbling into dust. Twilight tries in vain to catch the fading ashes as they are blown away by the wind, but there is nothing she can do.

Covering her eyes with her hooves, Twilight whimpers as the other girls look ready to cry just as much as she is. I don't say anything, but I feel some sorrow for them, yet none for Celestia. Twilight then slowly looks at me with despair. "How could you?"

Slowly, I lower myself down, and the magic of the Elements fades away to let me speak. "Even after all this, you still can't believe that what she did was wrong, Twilight?"

"She was the Princess of Equestria!" Twilight screamed.

"And now her reign is over," I reply before walking up to the five, gulping in terror. "This war is over. Equestria will make peace with humanity, and I will see that things are changed around here so that what happened before never happens again."

"You cannot do this! Guards! Place Fluttershy under arrest!" Twilight shouts.

However, the guards do not move.

"Guards?! Do you not hear what I just said?!" Twilight screams. "I said-"

"Twilight. Stop."

My ears perk as I turn around, and I see Spike walking towards us from the entrance with a detachment of military guards, including a high-ranking officer. It takes me a moment, but I soon recognize her as General Valkyrie.

"Spike? What's going on?" I ask.

"I guess you didn't know?" Spike asks before pointing to the stadium's top level, where I see a small booth. "The entire show was being reported via radio. Princess Celestia wanted to use this as a means to boost morale in the entire nation. Practically everypony has heard what has happened. I rushed over here and met General Valkyrie along the way. She told me she was coming over here and-"

"Spike! General Valkyrie!" Twilight shouts with joy before pointing at me. "Arrest this traitor now!"

"...You hear her. Arrest the traitor," General Valkyrie ordered, to which her guards quickly rushed forward and past me. Before the girls knew it, they were in chains, much to their protest. They were forced down to their stomachs. Twilight and Rarity had their horns neutralized with anti-magic collars, and Dash's wings were quickly wrapped before she could fly. They did try to struggle, but there was no point due to the number of them. One or two Royal Guards looked ready to intervene, but I glared at them, and they soon stood down and bowed their heads.

"What are ya doing?!" Applejack shouted as she was forced down to the dirt. "She said to arrest the traitor!"

"The only traitors here are you five," General Valkyrie snorted as she looked at me and pointed. "Do you really think you five or Princess Celestia have any defense after what just happened? The Elements of Harmony just choose Fluttershy to be an alicorn! The very same pony that has been saying that not only was the war wrong but that you were responsible for the deaths of all those back in our world! Spike told me everything, and I'm this close to having you all executed right now for what you've done!"

"What are you talking about?!" Twilight screams before looking at Spike with an utter heartbreaking expression. "How could you do this, Spike?! You're my brother!"

"Twilight," Spike bit his lips before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. Not after learning the truth."

"What truth?!" Applejack demanded.

"Nobody is wielding the sun or moon back home, girls," I reply, snapping their attention to me. In fact, I think there is nothing but silence as I speak. "The Princesses were the only ones who could move the sun and moon back in our world. What happens when you take that away, and nopony is there to move it for fifteen years."

"...No..." Rarity whispers in horror as the realization dawns on not just her but the others as well.

"Everyone back home is dead, girls," I reply as I shake my head. "Zecora. Little Strongheart. Gilda. Every griffin, changeling, dragon, and so forth. Even the ponies outside of Equestria. They are all...gone. The Elements told me themselves."

"...I'm the last of my race," Spike whimpered as tears dripped down his face. "Tell me, Twilight? Why should I continue fighting for the side that has made me the last dragon?"

Twilight couldn't say anything. She was too stunned to speak. She just zoned out as if her mind was utterly shattered. The others weren't too far off as well.

General Valkyrie then turned to me and saluted. "Princess Fluttershy? What are your orders to do with these traitors?"

It only takes me a minute to realize she is talking to me. "P-P-Princess?"

"You are an alicorn. By right, you are eligible to be the ruler of Equestria as such by the laws of our land," General Valkyrie points out.

Me? A Princess? A ruler of Equestria? Most girls dream of becoming such a thing when they are younger. I never did. Yet, I can feel everypony's eyes on me as they await my decision. I almost want to shout that I don't want to be a princess, but seeing as everypony is willing to listen to me, I might as well play along for now.

"...Put them into the dungeons for now. There will be a trial in the future for them, and we will decide their fates then," I order, making my former friends all stare at me with terror. "However, I want you to clip their wings. Remove their horns as well. And make sure they have no contact with their families. Not until I deem it so."

"Yes, your Majesty."

I look at my five friends one last time before they are carried off by a squad of military soldiers. I take a deep sigh and try to control my inner emotions. There will be a time to mourn and cry later. For now, I have to focus.

"Spike?" Spike is at my side at once. "I...I need your help..."

"Whatever you need, Fluttershy," He says as he puts his claw on my shoulder.

"Send a message to the human lands about what has happened and that Equestria wishes to negotiate for peace. Tell them that Princess Celestia and Twilight have been removed and that I am...currently in charge," I state before turning to General Valkyrie. "I also want an order for all forces to stand down. The war is over as of this moment."

"I advise that we use the military to keep the peace. There are going to be ponies disturbed by what's happened. Some radicals might try something, or riots could be started," General Valkyrie states before sighing. "Not to mention, once word gets out of the truth behind our leaving of our old world, ponies aren't going to take it well. If it hasn't already"

"See to it, but make sure we do our best to see everypony unhurt if possible," I calmly state. "Also, arrest all the scientists and ponies involved in making the Conversion Potion. We still need a cure. It's one of the reasons why we need Twilight alive as well. Find out where all their notes, documents, and anything hidden from the public about the potion are kept. Princess Celestia's quarters should also be searched by those you trust."

"Yes, your Majesty!" General Valkyrie salutes and goes off to give orders to her troops.

"The nobility is also going to want answers," Spike warns.

"Tell them I will see them in a few days. Right now, I need to focus on ensuring humanity accepts our peace and prevent more lives from being lost for...my subjects." I then sigh and shake my head. "It's going to take time to get used to saying that. I don't even know if I want to be a princess."

I then turn to Spike and bite my lip. "Do you think...do you think I can do this, Spike?"

Spike smiles warmly at me before hugging me as tight as possible. "I trust the Elements, Fluttershy. And right now? I can't think of a better pony for the job. Whether you do this full time or until we can settle a new government, I'm will you a hundred percent of the way."

A large smile spread across my face as I slowly hugged him before I realized something. "Actually, I need to head back to the castle."

"Why?"

"Someone is waiting for me."

***

I practically blast the door open and rush into the prison my love is in. Before Martin can say anything, I break his chains with my magic and hold him close to me. He's in shock before he relaxes under my touch. Our lips soon meet, and I feel that warm kindness he has always held in his heart, fueling my body with passion.

Oh God, I missed him.

I missed him so much.

"F-Fluttershy?" He whispers as we end the kiss. "What happened to you?"

"It's over, Martin," I whisper with happy tears as I nuzzle his neck. "It's finally over...the war is over..."

"Really?" He asks, dazed and yet happy. "It's...over?"

"Yeah," I reply, kissing him on the lips. "I'm in charge now."

"...I can see that," Martian says with a grin. "I like the new look."

"T-Thanks," I reply, blushing as I hide behind my name. Heh, I've taken down two alicorns, yet I'm like a shy little mouse whenever my boyfriend compliments me."

"Well...I guess this is a weird time to ask this, especially since they took my ring," Martian then holds my hoof, and I feel my heart pounding. "I promised I'd ask you this after the war was over. But after everything we went through? I think it's best to do it now. Fluttershy, will you marry me?"

"...YES!" I scream in the Royal Canterlot Voice for the first time as I hold him tight and kiss him on the lips again. "YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES, YES!"

"Oww, ears!"

"Sorry!" I quickly apologize before kissing him on the lips again. "But yes, Martin, I will marry you."

"You will?! Great, I-rrggh," Martin winces as he hugs his ribs. "Ow, that smarts."

"I'll make sure you get the best medical treatment possible," I quickly say as I motion for the doctors to come in and levitate Martin onto a stretcher. I put a hoof on his chest and smile. "I promise things will be okay."

Martain nods to me, and I watch him get carried away. Spike comes in a few minutes later and smiles at me. "I heard you from upstairs. Congratulations, Fluttershy."

"Thanks, Spike," I say with a sigh. "And the girls?"

"Mostly silent," He answers with a frown. "Pinkie is the only one making any sound, and it's...laughter. But not the good kind. I think we should get a psychologist to check her out."

"Agreed," I say before realizing that I'm quickly falling into this role. "Spike? Do you think...that I should become a Princess of Equestria? I don't want the position, mostly because I'm afraid of getting power-hungry, as Celestia did over time."

"Honestly, I think we need a new government overall. Monarchy or not," Spike admitted. "Equestria can't continue as it has been. It needs to change."

"True," I admit with a nod. "But we can't do this alone. We need humanity to help us."

"You sure they'll be willing to do so after everything we've done?" Spike asks.

I smile warmly at him. "Yes, because I have something that can be useful to them and make them want to work with us."

"What's that?"

"I can heal this world."

Ending 3: Harmony's Chosen Part 2

The past few weeks have been perhaps the most hectic moments in my life. I'm starting to see why Twilight had stressed out a lot when she was a princess because I feel ready to fall asleep every night and not want to wake up for days. Only I have to drag myself out there to keep Equestria from falling into chaos and do everything I can to ensure we can fix what has been broken. I am grateful that Sunnyvale (I refuse to call her Celestia except when needed) had the entire incident at the stadium broadcast via radio to all corners of Equestria. It made my official degree as the new ruler of Equestria a lot easier as my transformation, not to mention the Elements of Harmony speaking themselves, solidified my claim. Even if I still am hesitant about being an actual royal leader, I've come too far now to stop.

The good news was that most of the population had fallen in line rather quickly. Our society's near worship of Alicorns had worked in my favor. That or everypony was afraid of me because I had assisted in killing Sunnyvale. Or both. The army quickly stood by my side as I dismissed the more radical officers, with General Valkyrie helping tell me who could be trusted with orders and who couldn't. A few smaller groups refused to acknowledge me as the true princess of Equestria, so we had to reign them in. I was not too fond of using more violence, but Spike and Valkyrie assured me it was for the best, as I couldn't have anyone hindering my efforts to bring peace.

The Church of Harmony was also quick to be reigned in, but that was because it was trying to get into my good graces by proclaiming me the "true" goddess of Equestria chosen by Harmony itself while declaring the others false idols. Even though they had been worshiping Celestia and Luna for a thousand years, I was suddenly the "real goddess" that was supposed to be worshiped. I tried to get them to stop and even publicly stated I was not a God. Thankfully, nopony was buying the Church's proclamations, and while most were still unsure of what to believe, the Church was losing power, and they knew it. Playing nice with me was the only reason I didn't outright demand the dissolution of their organization.

The nobles were more complex. Many didn't like the idea of me, a non-noble pony, being their new leader. Twilight, at the very least, had come from a middle-noble family with a history of involvement in Canterlot society, so she didn't have to worry about such things when she ascended. Not the same for me. It didn't matter that I was a former hero of the nation. I was commoner blood. This is why I took Spike's advice and summoned Fancy Pants back to Canterlot along with other powerful nobles that exiled themselves because they disagreed with Celestia. They still had a powerful influence in Equestria, even during their exile. Once I managed to get my message out to the world that I had taken over and was now the leader of Equestria, a ceasefire was quickly declared, and plans for the invasion were halted. Once Fancy Pants and his group arrived, they were quick to help me reign the nobility in, though a few tried to hire assassins to kill me, and I had those arrested before they could do anything.

This is the only reason I'm even talking to this E.S.S. agent before me. His name is Silent Step, and he is the one who gave me the information about the nobles and their assassins seeking to kill me. He is a brown stallion with a black trenchcoat, pants, and dark blue eyes like ice. His mane is a lighter black covering one part of his face, heavily scarred with red burn marks.

I sit on my throne with the Royal Guards prepared to do anything should this E.S.S. agent try anything. The staff had wanted to change the decoration of the throne room to suit me as the new ruler, but I told them they could wait. There were more pressing issues to worry about than the imagery of the castle. Though I did order them to start taking down anything resembling the princesses. All five of them.

Spike is also by my side, having been named my Royal Advisor, and looks just as ready to attack as they are. The E.S.S. was infamous even among those who supported Sunnyvale. They were known for being beyond ruthless in their actions. When I was part of the resistance, we rescued what ponies we could from their prisoner camps, detention centers, torture sites, and even one or two experimental labs.

I hate the E.S.S. The things they did were abysmal and evil to ponies. All in the name of national security and praise for the princesses.

"So, Agent Silent Step," I state calmly but deep down, I'm in a mix of fear and rage. "Why would the E.S.S. send one of their agents here when I ordered the entire organization to be dismantled, and its members hunted down for judgment for the crimes it has done against pony kind?"

"First of all, those crimes were orders from the Princesses at the time," Silent Step says, sighing. "I don't deny that we went above and beyond in our methods to obey the Princesses' will and protect Equestria from traitors, but the ironic thing is that the real traitors were those we took orders from. If there really is a Hell, I'm sure most of us are going there."

He pauses for a bit before I motion him to continue. "I'm here because some of us wish to offer our services to you in helping restore Equestria back to an honorable nation."

"You wish to offer your services to me?" I growl in frustration. "After everything you did? The lives you ruined? The families you separated? The horrible things you did to our people? Why should I even consider this."

"Because we were wrong, and we want redemption," Silent Step answers. "I won't deny that a majority of us are zealots. However, some of us joined because we thought we were doing the right thing. We were raised to believe Celestia and Luna as our goddesses and that we were doing what was right for our nation. We thought we would all die at the hands of humans if we did nothing. That's what I and many others believed until you proved everything wrong. Nopony can deny the will of the Elements of Harmony. Harmony is what made Equestria, and if the living embodiment says you are right, what other proof do we need that we were the bad guys? Do you know how many of us have already taken our lives out of guilt or shame? Most of us are even worried about our families and how they will be treated if news comes out about us. Our sins shouldn't have to be reflected in our families, even if we deserve to be mistreated."

"Feeling sorry is one thing, but you still have yet to tell me why I should even take you in?" I point out.

"You are going to have a lot of enemies," Silent Step counters with a severe expression. "Not just those nobles, but business ponies, religious ponies, commoners who were radicalized, and other members of the E.S.S. who refuse to think you are right."

"I thought you said that you wanted to work for Fluttershy?" Spike points out in suspicion.

"I said that some of us do," Agent Silent Step repeats. "The truth is the E.S.S. is divided thanks to the deaths of all the Princesses save for Twilight Sparkle, whose no longer even one. When the truth about what Celestia did to our world came out, many agents committed suicide either in despair of what we had done or believed that Equestria had fallen and refused to be without Celestia in life, so they joined her in death. Others are on the run, fleeing to avoid persecution or face punishment for their actions. The rest are split between two groups: Those ready to place their lives in your hooves and those who wish to see you dead."

"I take it you're leading the ones wanting to work with me?" I ask.

"Yes, my opposite is Agent Sweetie Drops. She has already taken what followers she can to start a rebellion against you. She would go underground and try to restart the war or overthrow you to continue fighting for Equestria in a dead tyrant's name. I'm trying to prevent Equestria from falling into further despair than it already is," Agent Silent Step answers. "The truth is, Princess Fluttershy, is that you changed everything in a single day, but Equestria won't just become united just because of what you did. There will be those in denial and those who will hate you because you cut away the power and privilege they had. They will come at you with smiles and stab you in the back. Do you really want to risk a thousand knives in the dark coming after you, your friends, and those you love? We can be that shield for you. We're not asking for forgiveness but for redemption. We're asking for a chance to work for the right side this time."

...Damnit.

He's right.

I look at Spike, he's already telling me with his expression that Silent Step is right. Much as I wish he wasn't, his words had a truth. Despite being held quickly, my rule is still fragile and needs to be solid if I am to bring real peace between us and humanity. My death could start the war all over again, or any group of radicals could do something to start it again out of fanaticism. Plus, if I knew this Agent Sweetie Drops by reputation, she was the best they had and the most devoted to the E.S.S.'s original mission.

"You make a fair point," I mutter hesitantly before thinking about this more. "I will consider your proposal but want something in return in good faith."

"Anything," Silent Step replied.

"I want the names of every single E.S.S. agent and their actions. Living or dead. I want all the locations of E.S.S. activity, including the prisoner camps, so we can start freeing these ponies-"

"We've already started doing so," Silent Step added with a nod. "They need better medical treatment than we can give them, but we've started freeing them and helping them. It helps that they're really too weak to hurt us anyway..."

"Tell us where they are, and I'll see if they get proper treatment," I reply before continuing. "I also want the names of every pony who provided names to the E.S.S. to be arrested because I'm sure there are many innocent ponies betrayed by those they trusted. Furthermore, I want a list of all willing to seek redemption, as you put it, and those who have already decided I am their enemy."

"Everything will be provided for, I promise," Silent Step vowed as he bowed.

"One last thing," Spike interrupts as he looks at me. "I suggest we assign guards we can trust to watch Silent Step at all times to ensure that he stays true to his word."

"I don't object to this," Silent Step second. "Whatever it takes to earn your trust."

"Very well, we'll see to it," I say before pointing to the door. "Wait outside, for now, Silent Step."

He bows before me one last time before being escorted out of the throne room. Once he's gone, I sigh and turn to Spike. "Thoughts?"

"You're the one with the Element of Honesty," Spike points out with a smirk.

"Yes, and I have a feeling he's telling the truth, but I want to know your thoughts as well," I reply.

"He seems genuine," Spike answers while crossing his arms. "Plus, he has a point. It's a miracle we've managed to keep order this well for the nation despite a few riots and violence here and there. General Valkrine is doing a good job of keeping the peace, but it will take more. Not to mention this is just the problem in public. If E.S.S agents or other splinter groups are out there seeking to kill you and restart the war as those nobles tried, then we will need some spy and information service at our disposal."

"I hate that we didn't need one. You are right. I wish it wasn't the E.S.S."

"You can find out which agents to punish, pardon, or put into service after we get all the necessary information." Spike then pulls out a small list near his seat and looks at it. "Right now, there are a few other things we need to worry about."

I can see why Twilight always had him around to help with her duties. How Spike can do this so well, I'll never know. "Such as?"

"Well, we finally caught the last scientists working on the Conversion Potion. The ones that didn't kill themselves anyway," Spike mutters before continuing. "Most of Celestia's hidden chambers have been found, but some are still magically locked and require a special means to get into. We don't know yet what is required, but hopefully, it doesn't need her magical signature, or we're screwed. As you requested, most of our funds and what's left in the treasury are being used to help refugees and distribute emergency food, but we really need to find a way to fix the pollution and damaged lands to start growing stuff again. Economics-wise, things are bad, but that's not your fault. The war was killing the economy slowly."

"Can the fortunes of the traitor nobles be used to help?" I ask.

"Considering that any noble caught committing treason forfeits their fortune to the Crown, we can do that to help. All their assets, lands, and such can be liquidated, but that would leave their families with nothing."

"Hmm, I don't want them to pay for the sins of their other family members if they had nothing to do with their actions," I whisper. I also fear breeding more hatred between them and me which could cause problems down the road. However, I couldn't just let this go unpunished. "Silent Step can help us if he's genuine, we can have him, and those siding with him in the E.S.S. find out how involved their families were, and we'll deduct their fortunes in a certain percentage based on involvement. But no higher than seventy percent. That way, they still have something. What we gain can be used to help the economy."

"I also suggest getting Fancy Pants to help us. Maybe even make him officially the Minister of Commerce and Coin," Spike suggests as he writes things down. "Not only is he trusted and loyal, but he's brilliant with money. If anyone can help us bring the economy back, even if it might take years, it's him. However, that's just one thing. We'll also have to focus on rebuilding our towns, homes, farms, and other areas damaged by the war and the productions we used to make those weapons. In many locations, we got poisoned rivers, dried-up farms, and polluted skies. The only reason Canterlot isn't like that is that is because the nobles protested having their capital damaged in any way."

"Don't worry, I can fix all that," I reply confidently.

"Yeah, you still haven't said how you're going to do that," Spike points out with a confused expression.

"Because I need to show Equestria and Humanity this simultaneously," I reply with a nod. "Trust me. As soon as the U.N. representative comes to discuss peace, I'll be able to show everyone what I can really do."

"Well, he's coming in two days, so I hope you have something planned," Spike says.

"I do. Trust me. The Elements and I will make sure that peace can be achieved by offering both sides something they desperately want."

"What's that?"

"A healing of old wounds."

***

Even though Sunnyvale was done and I was in control of Equestria, the U.N. was still on edge just in case the war started again. It took Lyra and the rest of the resistance, plus a few human delegates, to come over and see that things were mostly in control save for a few issues. Lyra was happy to see me, as were the others, and she agreed to be by my side when the U.N.'s official ambassador came to visit Canterlot. It would be the first time a human of representative power would be in our nation, and I ensured that security was top-notch. I didn't want anypony doing anything that could jeopardize the talks.

Of course, I had to make a show of it and prepare a formal diplomatic ceremony in which the human ambassador, and his armed security, all came in an Osprey and landed on one of the large helipads commonly used for airships. There was a band, reporters, and a few questions taken, but mostly we kept things quick and straightforward. The ambassador, Anthony Doyle, had agreed to do this to show a means of unity as a majority of humans wanted peace as well, but only if it was assured that Equestria was serious. After all, Sunnyvale had deceived them before, and while I was more trusted, they didn't want to be played for again.

Once the ceremony was over, and we had a short speech about seeking to end hostilities and move to a brighter future, I had us all escorted back to the castle. I had refreshments set up in the meeting room with me, Spike, Lyra, General Valkyrie, Anthony Doyle, and his bodyguards all in the room, ready to finally get through the severe discussions.

"Before we begin, I'd like to say that, on behalf of all of humanity, we are grateful that you ended the reign of the worst mass murderer Earth has ever seen in her history," Anthony Doyle says as he holds out his hand, and I shake it. "While we would have loved to judge Celestia before the world court and hold her accountable for her crimes, we are happy to know that all the lives lost from her madness have been avenged and that justice is done."

Nodding, I motion for everyone to sit around the table. Clearing my throat, I begin. "Ambassador Doyle, as the new Princess of Equestria, I hereby formally announce that Equestria wishes to end the unjust war that was started on your people by my predecessors. We seek a complete end of hostilities and wish to develop a peaceful co-existence like there should have been at the start. I know that we ponies have a lot to make up for based on our past actions and that it will take years, maybe generations, to be forgiven for our mistakes. However, we have to start somewhere, and I assure you that we will do what we can to earn that forgiveness."

"I thank you for your words, Princess Fluttershy," Anthony Doyle nods while sipping some of his water before clearing his throat. "Most of the human race does want peace, but you must understand that there will need to be consequences for what Equestria has done. Thankfully, a large enough group of our leaders have also come to recognize that your people were victims of a lie caused by Princess Celestia. She deceived you all into abandoning your homeworld, where billions are now dead from her actions. You were manipulated into war, but there still is a responsibility on your part, regardless. What the means to do to make up for it is what we will discuss."

I made a quick glance toward Lyra, who was smirking at me. Lyra had convinced the U.N. members that Equestria was just as much a victim in Sunnyvale's actions to help lighten the consequences of our actions in the war. She pointed out that such activities were similar to their political leaders in the 2020s, who had manipulated and lied to their populations to cause chaos for their political and financial gain until they were overthrown, voted out of office, or killed by various groups seeking retribution. While we would still have to pay reparations for the war, they wouldn't be as harsh as they were initially planned.

Nobody wanted to see Equestria become another Weimar Germany and give possible rise to something worse later on.

"Yes, we will do what we can, but also, please understand that our nation needs to heal and change due to all that has happened," I say firmly, but deep inside, I'm sweating my heart out. What is decided here will decide how well off Equestria recovers. I wish Martin was here, but he was still recovering from the time he was in prison. "This conversation is to find a middle ground that suits both of us."

"Indeed," Anthony Doyle says as he puts his hands together on the table. "Let's start with the biggest one. We want a cure for the Conversation Potion. We want our people to be human again. I understand you already have a good portion of the scientists who worked on it captured and a good portion of their notes and data?"

"Yes, some killed themselves to avoid prosecution, and some of Celestia's hidden storages are magically sealed, but we're working on that," I answer.

"The scientists can be handed over to us," Anthony says with a darkened look. "We have ways of making them talk."

I didn't pity the scientists after this conversation.

"As for the data, our scientists and ponies working with us look at it. One of our unicorns, Moon Dancer, has been valuable in helping us combine magic and science to solve issues that have plagued us for a long time. She and her team have wanted to try and solve the issue of the Conversion Potions for some time, and they believe the information from the original team that made it will be helpful."

"Of course," I say without hesitation. "However, I also wish a request about the Newfoals. We need to keep them in a safe location and make sure no harm comes to them. I propose we keep them in Australia for now, if that is okay?"

"That's up to the remains of the Australian government, but I don't see where else we can put them until they are cured," Anthony Doyle said with a shrug.

Now it was my turn to make a demand. "We'll need food and resources to assist our ponies in Equestria. Our economy is damaged, and it will take time to restart our businesses, including farming. Though there is a means I have to start that up again, I request that we get shipments of food, clothing, medical items, and other necessary goods that the human nations can provide for us."

"How do you intend to pay for that?" Anthony Doyle asks with a raised eyebrow. "We also suffered losses in our economies thanks to the war."

I nod to Spike, who takes out a series of maps and lays them down on the table. Anthony Doyle and the other humans look at them with interest. Pointing to them, I say, "These are all hidden locations of various rare earth minerals, oil deposits, gold and silver veins, and other resources that Equestria found while taking over the lands occupied by us thanks to the shield. You missed finding them, but we have spells that can help us find these valuable locations, and Celestia marked them all. We believe she had plans to use those resources during and after the war. We can give you these locations to help pay for your services, but we also request twenty-five percent of the resources as payment."

"...Ten percent."

"Twenty."

"Fifteen."

"Eighteen."

"Deal."

I really am thankful I took actual bargaining classes after that whole Iron Will incident.

We shook on that agreement, and Spike started getting to writing more deals that were made. We agreed to start refugee camps and accept charity aid from both sides. We also agreed to have humans have a military presence in our nation, but we were still allowed to have our military in cooperation. We decided in what circumstances whose authority reigned over the other in particular manners. Any incident involving ponies only would be Equestria's to handle, while anything involving humans would be theirs. Incidents involving our kind must be investigated before deciding the next course of action correctly. With the threat of the remaining E.S.S. in play, General Valkyrie proposed a joint task force of both Ponies and Humans to deal with them and bring further cooperation between our races as a means to heal. According to her, friendship on the battlefield is fastly made. Ambassador Doyle stated it would have to be decided by the military, but he didn't see the harm in it, provided the ponies were all cleared by their personnel first.

We also agreed to a limit on immigration and travel to and from Equestria. While I knew that many ponies wanted to reunite with their families, we also couldn't risk wanted criminals trying to leave the nation or allow any revenge-driven humans to try to commit acts of terror slip in. Over time, we would open ourselves more, but for now, things needed to be as limited as possible.

And then came to the matter of Twilight.

"While Twilight Sparkle might not have been as zealous or active in the war as her fellow princess, she still was responsible for assisting in creating the Conversion Potion," Anthony points out quickly. "She needs to answer for the creation of that weapon. She is the only living member of the old regime that allowed the war to happen in the first place. Humanity needs someone to judge for the crimes of the previous alicorns, and Twilight needs to be publicly judged."

I look at Spike, who is squirming in his seat. Whenever Twilight's name is spoken, he looks away with sorrow and guilt in his eyes. I know he feels terrible for betraying Twilight, who is practically family to him, but even he knows that arresting her had to be done to end all this madness. With a heavy sigh, I reply, "I understand, but I wish something to be kept in mind. Twilight, despite her crimes, is also more useful alive than dead. She can help find a cure for the Conversion Potion."

"What makes you so sure that she'll do it?" Anthony Doyle asks before I levitate a piece of paper. After reading it, he looks at me with surprise. "She's already pled guilty before the trial?"

"Yes," I answer with a nod. "Twilight has agreed to plead guilty before her trial with the other former Elements. While Pinkie Pie has been declared legally insane and unable to stand trial, only Twilight, out of all my former friends, has agreed to a plea deal. In return for life imprisonment, she agreed to help find a cure for the Conversion Potion. She's even accepted being held prisoner in human lands with only one request."

"Which is?" Anthony Doyle asks.

"That she gets to see her family at least once a year," I reply before shaking my head. "Putting her on a show trial is pointless since she'll just plead guilty again."

"Very well," Anthony concedes with a sigh. "Now I wish to talk about this special event you wish to show me? A means of improving the lives of both Equestria and our lands."

All attention is on me as I nod with a smile. "Yes. As you know, the entire Earth has suffered massive ecological damage due to the war. Entire mass areas of land have been scorched and are practically dead both from battle or from the means on which we were using to sustain ourselves during the war. I can provide a means to fix all that."

"How?" Lyra asks, curious. "How do you intend to do that?"

"First, we need to make a trip."

"To where?" Spike asks.

"Rome."

***

I remember the first time I came to the city of Rome with Martin. It wasn't that long after I converted to Catholicism. While the religious element was beautiful, it struck me how much the city felt like living history. It was here that so much of the western world had been shaped by a single nation of conquers who would be the blueprint for many other kingdoms and empires long after its downfall. Art, philosophy, architecture, culture, government, virtues, and more were all spoken in every crack of the city's streets. When I saw it again after it had been destroyed by the Crystal Canon, I felt as if the world had lost more than just a city. It lost a part of itself in general.

The place still looks like something out of a doomsday scenario with gray dead soil that was still rotting even after the event. Rubble was everywhere, with only half of it cleared properly for service members to maneuver. They were still finding what was left of bodies, so it wasn't uncommon to see a blackened skeleton bone. All planet life was practically gone, and the rivers and streams that once flowed through the city were dried up or black as sin. Even the clouds were dark as night, with the air full of nothing but the stench of decay and death. By some miracle, the cross from the top of St. Peter's Basilica still stood near where the Vatican once was. Flowers and prayer cards surrounded it; even after all this time, it still stands as a sign of hope.

It was here that I decided to perform the power I had been given by the Elements of Harmony. I stand near the cross, nervous as a ladybug, as various humans and a few ponies surround me. Those from Equestria are some reporters, but most are guards and Spike, who is there for support. Humanity has a bigger group. Not just reporters and soldiers but also politicians of Italy, Europe, and the U.N., plus the new Pope, ordained by the surviving Cardinals after the Catholic Church recovered from the devastation, and his entourage. Ambassador Anthony Doyle is also there, curious and waiting for what I will do next. With one last prayer in my heart to the cross, I turn to the large group and hold my hoof up to let silence reign so I can speak.

"Delegates of the Earth, my fellow ponies, your Excellency, and all other friends who have come today, I greet you on behalf of Equestria," I state, remembering the speech Spike helped me write while on the way here. "Today, I seek to right a wrong done to a great city and its people who suffered under Equestria's cruel and heartless attack during the war. An attack that led millions to die, a religion that suffered a great loss, and the destruction of a city that once had great historical and cultural importance to many. Were it in my power, I would bring those lost back, but I cannot. Not even as an alicorn am I able to do this. However, I can give you, and other lands damaged in similar means, a chance to be reborn and start anew."

I flare my wings up while lowering my head. "I know many out there hate and fear Equestrians like me because of the actions of our past rulers. While we were deceived and suffered by those we once trusted and loved, we must still seek the means to redeem ourselves and bridge a new trusting future for our species. We are stuck here with you, unable to go home, and while it will take many years for us to truly be united, I am here to start that path to unity."

Lighting up my horn, I continue, "Many have wondered what kind of ruler I aim to be for Equestria. I tell you now that I still don't even know if I will be a ruler permanently, but I am to do what I can to help my people and humanity. This planet has been wounded by hatred, fear, and war."

Levitating slightly above, I smile warmly. "Now is the time to heal it."

Closing my eyes, I let the Elements of Harmony take control and feel the power of all six of them coursing through my veins. The means of which to perform the great spell flow through my mind, and instantly I know the means of how to perform the magical feet. Around me, the rainbow colors of the Elements glow like an aura as they lift me higher into the air. Pictures and cameras roll with their lens focused on me while others are even taking their cellphones out. Most are in awe of what I am doing, but some are scared. No doubt afraid of the sight of magic being performed before them, but I am not deterred by this. Once I gather the proper energy needed for the spell, I take a deep breath and fall down with all four hooves glowing.

When I touch the ground, a ring of pink and green energy spreads from my hooves and shoots across the dirt, passing under everyone's feet and hooves. A few jump, gasp or react in other fashions, but soon they calm down. The ring extends past my line of sight as I mentally command it to continue until it has spread to every corner of Rome. Once this is done, I release the energy, and in an instant, the effects begin.

I can already feel the new grass beginning to form under my hooves. It's warm, fresh, and alive. Someone notices it and points it out, but soon everyone can see fresh grass and flowers blooming in all directions. The once dead and gray soil is now a healthy brown and soon popping up fauna of all kinds. Many are gazing in awe before something appears above, narrowing their eyes and covering their faces. It's the sun. The clouds, now turning white, are breaking apart and letting the blue sky appear above the city once again with the bright warm sun shining down upon it. The air is also fresher, as if it was never stained by pollution in the first place.

More and more, I see the surrounding area turning healthier, greener, and even spreading its vines and greens over the ruins. The water of the nearby ruins of the fountains soon flows with water again. Clear blue water as fresh as mother nature intended as the rivers spark with the planet's lifeblood, washing away the past. Everyone's gazing attention is now on the wondrous miracle before them. Some or so shocked they drop their devices as the one dead city of Rome is starting to come back to life as nature returns to its former glory. While I cannot bring back the dead or restore the buildings, I have given humanity a means to rebuild it and the surrounding areas. Tears are running down some of the faces of those watching, and soon we hear cries of shock and jubilee around us. There is cheering and prayers from the refugees still living here as if they have seen hope restored. Their once-great city has started the means to be reborn, and I am proud and happy to have given it to them.

Ambassador Anthony Doyle rushes over to me with a big smile. "This is...This is amazing!"

"Yup," I say with a smile of my own. "Imagine all the farmlands, nature preserves, parks, forests, lakes, and other damaged cities. I can do this too. Both for your lands and Equestria. I can restart agriculture, and other production means to start feeding and supplying people and ponies. I can help start fresh new cities over the ruins of the old ones without worries about side effects from the war's aftermath. I could even fix the ecological damages that were damaged by the war. And only I can do this. This is my power as the Alicorn of Nature."

"Surely, you would want something in return for this?" Anthony Doyle asks.

"The main thing I want is peace and prosperity," I reply. "But I know that's not going to happen overnight. I wish to use this ability as a means of trust and forgiveness."

"I can tell you right now that many are going to trust you because of what you've done," Anthony says before looking above with awe.

I look above two and smile with joy upon seeing something that hasn't been seen in Rome in so long: a bird. Specifically, it's a white dove. It flies over us, chirping with joy as it beats its wings. Many are in awe, and some are even on their knees, praying as it passes above. The latter only increases as it lands on the cross of St. Peter's Basilica itself as if to say God has given his blessing to this occasion. The Pope is already raising his hands and speaking in Latin, his ministers and attendant bowing as he prays while others join. I lower my head in prayer while looking up at the dove that seems to be smiling at me.

It may not be just Harmony looking after me after all.

***

It's now late at night, and I am drained. Not physically, but emotionally and mentally. The past week's events play in my head on fast forward as a mix of emotions fumble around in my heart. I practically am ripping off all my regalia before tossing it away and landing on my bed with a sigh. Sighing, I summon a nearby wine bottle and pop the cork open. Usually, I am not one for drinking, but there are times when I need to get relief from it. I had a feeling I would need it when this was all over, and sure enough, I was chugging it down. However, I want to be better than Sunnyvale was rumored to have been during the last year of the war, so I make sure that this will be my only one of the night.

Sitting up, I think about my former friend's final verdict for the trial today.

The trial went on for a week. Save for Twilight and Pinkie Pie, all three of them tried to go for a "Not Guilty" plea. I had Pinkie Pie placed in a proper mental asylum for treatment. The few times I saw her, Pinkie was either dead in the eyes, near void of all color, and staring at the wall without any spark of life or laughing like a mad mare, banging her head against the wall while tears came out of her eyes. It was so bad that her sister Maud, who was always one for not expressing herself, looked horrified and saddened to see her sister in such a state that she was openly crying. Clearly, the revelation that she played a role in eliminating all life on our home planet broke Pinkie and dissolved herself into insanity. I don't know if she'll ever recover, but I hope she does one day.

Meanwhile, Twilight was the only one who agreed to plead "Guilty" and did so long before the trial. She still asked to see the trial to be there for her friends, and she looked defeated when I saw her. It was like looking at a broken puppy that wished it could die. She lost everything and was now seen as a monster instead of the hero she had been for so long. More than one pony or human tried going after her, but I ensured security did its job.

Because of my once close connection to my friends, I dismissed myself as a judge. I couldn't be hampered in my judgment by my emotions, so I watched. I made it so that a group of ponies was selected as a jury with a fair enough judge in charge of the trial. It was hard finding defense attorney's for my friends, but I was able to do so at the last minute. The trial was basically to see if the girls had any significant role or impact in the war that they needed to be judged on or any crimes that could be considered wrong based on what we now know.

The one crime they were all being judged for, even Twilight and Pinkie, was whether the girls or not deserved to be evaluated for delivering us to this world and letting our home world be destroyed. However, they were quickly found "Not Guilty" on that since it was done out of ignorance, and they were able to convince the jury they would never have done the Dimensional Travel Spell if they knew the consequences. It didn't help that all of Equestria was ignorant of the spell, including myself. Sunnyvale lied to us; none of us would have done this if we knew the truth.

In fact, there were very few "war crimes" that the girls could be blamed for. Rarity was a civilian who didn't fight in the war, nor did she really do anything criminal in action. Throughout the trial, Rarity looked drained and embarrassed of her state of being. Her mane was a mess, and her coat looked like it hadn't been to a spa in years. Yet, she was constantly crying silently in shame during the trial. I guess it didn't help that she was also sober for the first time in a long time. You didn't really have access to alcohol in prison. Of all three girls, she got off the easiest: Ten years of community service. However, everyone knew that Rarity's career was done for. Already her shops were raided, ruined, and graffitied. There was very little chance that her outfits would be sold for anything due to her name and reputation being destroyed. Her only comfort was that her family was quickly willing to take her back in, and she sobbed into her arms as they embraced at the end of the trial. When the two of us looked at each other, eye to eye, Rarity muttered the words "I'm sorry" before turning away in despair.

I still cannot forgive her for what she said about Discord.

Maybe one day I will, but I cannot right now.

Rainbow Dash was the next one to get her judgment. She had been a soldier in the war and fought in the battles. Her defense tried to state that, as a soldier, she had followed orders like everypony in the military. Still, the prosecution revealed the mistreatment of ponies captured as POWs who sided with humanity. A few witnesses stated that Rainbow Dash, along with other members of the Wonderbolts (which I plan on reforming later), had beaten them up, denied them meals or bathroom breaks, and even tortured them not for information but as punishment for their disloyalty to Equestria. When put on the stand, Rainbow Dash tried to make it sound like it was a necessary action to win a war for their survival, but the jury didn't buy it and found her guilty. Not only was she fined heavily as compensation for those she had mistreated, but Rainbow Dash would be serving five years in prison while forced into sixteen years of community service afterward.

However, none of that was as damaging to her as what was said afterward. Not only would she be dishonorably discharged, but she was banned from ever entering any military service again, including the Wonderbolts. Her name would be stricken from the records, her accomplishments erased, and she was to also lose the statue made of her in Cloudsdlae. Rainbow Dash's appearance when all this was announced made it seem like her life was over. Her dream of being a great Wonderbolt was forever ruined and destroyed. She would no longer be seen as a hero but as a bully and a disgrace. Rainbow Dash practically collapsed to the ground in tears and had to be dragged out of the courtroom afterward.

However, the one pony who deserved the "Guilty" plea the most was Applejack.

Applejack was always a devoted and patriotic pony. I knew of her hatred for humans since Big Macintosh died fighting them in Osaka. However, I didn't think she would be found guilty of any significant crime since she was a farmer and a civilian like Rarity.

I was wrong.

God above, I wish I was wrong.

Because Applejack's name was on the list of ponies who had sold out members of their community to the E.S.S given to me by Silent Step.

It has always been a mystery to everypony how the Apples were able to keep their farm going despite the hardship the war gave everyone else. Now it was all but revealed to Equestria. Not only was the name of every pony she ever sold to the E.S.S. listed before all, but the reward numbers as well.

Applejack sold out her fellow ponies for cash.

Many of whom she lied about being traitors or spies or even just assumed they were because of their backtalk.

All of that money was paid in blood.

Because every single pony that Applejack sold out died in the prisoner camps.

Everypony, all but innocent save for voicing their opinions, was dead because of her.

It took practically all the guards I had to prevent a rioting group of outraged family members, friends, and regular citizens from running over to a terrified Applejack and tearing her limb from limb. Even Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight looked at her with utter disgust and horror as the reveal of Applejack's crimes were made to light. There was no single pony in the room who wasn't glaring at her or wishing her dead. All Applejack could do was shout out that she was trying to save her family and farm.

That's when Apple Bloom, attending the trial in secret, screamed at her sister. She called her a monster, a whore, and a bunch of other things I never thought I'd hear Apple Bloom shout at Applejack. She wished that Applejack had died and not Big Macintosh because even he wouldn't allow this to happen. At the end of the tears, rage, and insults, Apple Bloom declared Applejack no longer her sister and stormed out. But not before taking Applejack's hat and stating she didn't deserve it.

I felt no pity for Applejack upon seeing how utterly devastated she was upon hearing this. Spike had checked up on Apple Bloom, and she was taking comfort in the hooves of her lover, Scootlaoo. Mostly because she no longer had a home now. The entire town razed the farm when the news of what Applejack did reach Ponyville. They burned every tree, farmhouse, and plot of land they could in a state of anger. Despite some protests, they even passed a law outright banning any Apples from living in their borders, even Apple Bloom. However, Scootaloo already had a house in Clousdale and would take care of Apple Bloom there instead. Even the remaining Apple Family had gone on record stating that Applejack had been kicked out of the family for her actions. The entire family legacy of Ponyville was gone in a single day.

That was perhaps the worst punishment Applejack could have ever gotten. All her efforts to help her family resulted in her being exiled from them permanently. It didn't even matter if she was sentenced to life in prison with no possible means of parole. Her life was already over. The only reason she didn't get a death sentence was the jury thought it was more fitting for her to live with the consequences of her actions.

Finally, Twilight was also sentenced to life imprisonment for her crimes, but unlike Rainbow Dash or Applejack, she would be doing her time in France in a state-of-the-art prison built only for her. It was also where she would help with trying to create a means to cure the Conversion Potion. As promised, she would be given visitor rights from her family once a year, but it would extend if she delivered on her promise to help make the cure. Twilight would never see the light of day again, but as she told us at the trial: "It's what I deserve."

Once the trial was over, I didn't even bother speaking to my former friends. I didn't know what to say. How could I? These were the girls I saw as my sisters once. The ones I saved the world with. The ones where destiny tied us together. I would have died happily by their side in any scenario, and now I want nothing to do with them anymore. Not just because of what they did but what they became over time. The ponies they used to be had died long ago and were replaced by strangers. I could have blamed Sunnyvale, but the truth was the war brought out the worst in my friends and erased the best things about them.

Pinkie Pie had chosen to side with injustice out of fear of being unhappy but was now permanently insane and lost in her mind.

Rarity had focused on her own suffering and placed it above others out of selfishness and now had lost everything, including her good name.

Rainbow Dash became lost in bloodlust and zealotry that saw her dreams crushed and her reputation ruined beyond repair.

Applejack lied, manipulated, and betrayed innocent ponies to their doom for the sake of large amounts of cash to keep her lifestyle.

Twilight had forsaken every Friendship lesson she had ever learned and blindly followed a misguided mare into destroying our home.

Now that beautiful bond we had is dead.

And deep down? I miss it so much.

My door opens, and I look up to see Martin walking toward me with a sad smile. He closes the door and walks over to me without saying a word. Sitting down, he put his arm around my neck and brought me close to his chest before embracing me.

No words need to be said further as I sob my heart out and cry forever into the night.

Author's Notes:

Can't talk much. Need to shower and get to work. Part 3 to come sometime in November. Once I finish that I'll continue Regeneration in Choice.

Hope you enjoyed.

As always, please help out at the Negotations-Verse TV Tropes Page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse

Ending 3: Harmony's Chosen Part 3

It's funny how much Equestria and Earth are similar in many ways, from having similarly themed holidays to cities being identical save for the equine-sounding theme we have. Not to mention how many similar inventions humanity and ponies have developed despite being in separate dimensions. One of those is chess which I am playing right now in a secure meeting room with the former Princess of Equestria and my old friend, Twilight Sparkle. It's been ten years since Twilight has been in this prison, and she's changed a lot. For one thing, she's a lot thinner, and her face finally shows wrinkles after reaching the mid-life stage. Her mane is a bit paler, and she keeps it short regularly instead of long like she used to do.

Moving my knight to take her bishop, the two of us continue to play silently as the sight of us playing this game might make for an exciting photo or painting. I, the new Princess of Equestria, standing tall, bright, and regal with so much to be blessed with. She, the former hero of Equestria, as a shell of her former self who lost everything. Ten years ago, I felt very little pity for Twilight, who had made her bed to lie in with her actions. After numerous visits, with many talks between us over the years, I almost wish she wasn't sentenced to life. Yet, there is nothing that can be done.

"Checkmate," Twilight says with a small smile as she moves her rook. "I win again."

"Well, it was a good game," I say while knocking down my king. "Want to play again?"

"I think maybe you should head back home, Fluttershy," Twilight says as she picks up the pieces to put them in the game box her parents got her for one of her birthdays when they visited. "But thank you for visiting again."

"You're welcome," I reply while glancing at the magic nullifying ring on Twilight's horn. Unless under specific supervision, Twilight is not allowed to use her magic anymore, save for when she's helping the various scientists and mages make the cure for the Conversion Potion. "I heard you had a breakthrough, by the way?"

"Yes, we did." Twilight gives a small smile in my direction. "If things go well, we should have the means to give the newfoals their old personalities again by next year."

"Still can't give them back their bodies?" I ask with a sigh.

"We've tried everything, Fluttershy. This might be the best we can do for them. As much as we've advanced by combining magic and technology, we lack the enzyme needed to stabilize a cure," Twilight whispers as I can feel her tone's regret and guilt oozing. Something I've grown used to hearing from her ever since I started making visits here five years ago. Twilight closes the box before she pauses and looks at me. "How are the others?"

"Pinkie Pie is...doing better," I reply while thinking about the one pony who had lost her mind. For the past few years, Pinkie's psychosis had changed, and now she was living in a pure delusional fantasy where we were still in Equestria, being the best of friends and saving the day. I've seen her once or twice, and she asked me how the kids were doing. I thought she meant my children with Martin, but she meant my kids with Discord. Apparently, in her fantasy, we married and had children. I couldn't bring myself to tell the truth, so I lied and said they were good. I stopped seeing her after that, but I can't help but wonder if living in her makeup world is better for her in the long run. Reality was too hard for Pinkie Pie, and I feared it would only worsen her situation if her fantasy world was broken. "At least she's smiling again."

"But it won't be a real smile," Twilight mutters with disappointment, and I can't help but agree. Even if you see a smile on Pinkie's face today, you know it's not the one she used to have. The one that made everyone in Ponyville feel better despite whatever horrible day they were having. But I do not think the old Pinkie Pie is ever coming back.

Nor do I think she wants to.

"How was Rarity's honeymoon? That was a few months ago, right? Spike told me about the wedding, and he said it went well," Twilight asked with a small smile.

"Hawaii was good for her. I think she and Johnny are planning on living there when they get the chance," I reply with a pleased tone. Out of all my friends, Rarity got a better ending after her trial. Rarity had requested that her community service be aimed at helping humans to make up for all the things she had done in the past. Along the way, she ended up befriending many humans who gave her a chance and befriended them despite knowing who she was. One was John Smith, a Mormon missionary helping in the same area as Rarity.

Like with Martin and me, John had won over Rarity's heart and helped her be "reborn" as it was by becoming a Mormon. She even moved to Utah and started a new tailor business, thanks to him and the Mormon community. She was much happier than I had seen her in years, and we continue to stay in contact. It wasn't like the old days, but seeing each other happy and well was enough for us to slowly rebuild our bond into something better than it had been for the past decade.

And I had forgiven her years ago for her comment about Discord.

"And still nothing from Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked with a huff.

"No, she's not seeing anyone still. Even Scootaloo's given up," I reply with a disappointing sigh. After Rainbow Dash finally finished her time in prison and started doing her community service hours, she became a hermit who pushed everypony away. She let herself get overweight, dirty, and often was seen drinking in bars with a bitter look on her face. Scootaloo was the only one who tried to connect with her over the years, but even she couldn't take Rainbow's sour attitude anymore and just dumped her. I still kept tabs on her just in case she tried to do anything since I knew she was still angry at the new peace, but since practically most of the country had accepted the changes, she kept her opinions to herself.

When she's sober that is.

It was a sad sight, seeing Rainbow Dash fall from such grace. However, she could have changed her life at any moment. Instead was too stuck in the past of her glory days. None of her old Wonderbolt comrades were around anymore, as most of them joined Sweetie Drops's Freedom Fighters group that we quickly wiped out two years after it started. Very few ponies wanted to keep fighting with all the revelations that came out, so they were more of an annoyance than anything. I feel that, if they still existed, Rainbow Dash would have joined them if only to go out fighting instead of having to live in a world she hated everything about.

There was also no point in talking about Applejack. In her third year in prison, Applejack broke a spoon for her meal and used it to stab herself multiple times in the neck. Nobody mourned for her when she died, and the family she once had wanted nothing to do with her body. Apple Bloom was the only one to see her confirm the body, but all she did was spit at AJ's face and left without saying a word. I had the body cremated and the ashes tossed into a river.

"Well, I guess I better get back to my cell," Twilight says as she puts the game box under her foreleg and smiles at me. "It was great to see you again, Fluttershy. Tell the family I said hi. Oh, and good luck pushing for the bill next week in parliament."

"Thank you, Twilight. Good luck with your recent findings," I say back to her before armed guards arrive to escort her back to her cell. I sigh and pull out my cell phone to let Martin know I'll be home soon. While part of me is glad to have spent time with Twilight, I am even happier to leave this prison and return home.

Because every time I see Twilight, I see the past that was lost, and my heart still weeps for what we once were.

***

Despite living in the palace for over ten years, I'm still finding it hard to believe that I live here now. I don't hate living in it, but I wish for the days when I lived in my warm cottage with all my animal friends on the outskirts of Ponyville. A place of solitude where I had my own little world protecting me from the scary dangers of the outside. Funny enough, I lived right next to the Everfree Forest which meant there was always the risk of trouble coming to me.

Canterlot has become quite different with a combination of pony and human architecture, with humans walking among the streets of the great city now an everyday occurrence. Everything has been modernized with new means of power, transportation, business, technology, and more. It's more like seeing the cities of the European nations combined with the old medieval touches of their castles here and there.

The most enormous building is the one I am passing by while on my chariot being carried by two of my royal guards: The Hall of Concordat. After two years of working with various humans and ponies, a new government was finally formed. The Kingdom of Equestria was no longer an absolute monarchy but a constitutional monarchy. I was there to help sign the new constitution that limited the powers the royal family would have going forward, as power would be given to the common people to vote for representatives in Equestria's new parliament system. I still had powers that allowed me to have a certain level of authority, but it was no longer as autocratic as it was during Sunnyvale's reign. It was done to prevent what happened with the alicorns from happening again. At the same time, the parliament system also needed to be limited to what powers it had as well. An equal balance of power between the two sides forced cooperation for both groups to get something done. Thankfully, Spike, my Prime Minister, and I quickly saw eye to eye with each other to avoid any severe problems.

I am curious if it will work forever or if it will have problems down the road, but things are going as smoothly as possible so far. The economy has been picking up, ponies are slowly recovering from the terrors of the war, and most of those threatening the peace has been taken care of to the point that we face very little threat save from some die-hard radical occasionally. Most of all, I feel a sense of peace and accomplishment for all my work. Using my powers, I've been able to heal most of the world's lands from the scars of the war so that new life can be rebuilt in its wake. It helped bridge the trust between humanity and my ponies so that past grievance could be set aside. It will still take a generation or two before full trust is given, but despite the slow start, it is a good start. One that I will probably spend hundreds of years working on until I can finally rest.

But I've prepared myself for such a fate.

Landing on the palace's balcony, I get out of my ride, and I am instantly nearly tackled by two flying figures who wrap their hooves around me and shout, "Welcome home, Mama!"

Whatever negative feelings I was having are instantly washed away as I hug my two precious children, Apollo and Artemis. Perhaps the biggest shock of my life was when Martin and I discovered I was pregnant. For the entire time, Equestria has been on Earth, no foals were ever conceived between humans and ponies because we were thought to be too biologically different to breed children. However, be it because of my new alicorn biology or a blessing from the Elements of Harmony themselves, I was now the proud mother of two alicorn foals.

Apollo was the oldest by two minutes as he looked at me with his bright blue eyes that held the passion of adventure inside of them. His coat was pure yellow, and his downward mane was white as snow with a few streaks of pink. He wore a red and golden royal jacket for his status as a prince, golden hoove regalia, and a small red crown on his head. It was hard to believe that Apollo was my child, considering he was always energetic and wanted to explore and fly around doing exciting things. Yet there was no pony the animals loved more than him, and he loved to chase them around while feeding them as he sang songs with his incredible voice.

Artemis, his twin, was dark blue in her coat with pure red eyes that were shy yet held deep intelligence. Her mane was light brown, like her father's, and she had more of his facial features than Apollo while also being closer to her father while Apollo was closer to me. Yet Artemis inherited my shy nature while being just as bookwormish as Twilight. She even dreamed of being a healer one day like Martin and me. Artemis wore a similar outfit as her brother, only it was blue with silver, and her long mane was held by a silver diamond-encrusted bow that made it loop around while a blue crown sat on her head. Thankfully, Artemis wasn't as shy as I was and had many human and pony friends that made her a natural leader, even if she didn't like being in the spotlight like her brother.

The two of them were still young, so they didn't have their cutie marks yet, not that it didn't stop them from trying to find it "CMC" style. A headache of its own that I blame the originals for based on the number of times they babysat them growing up. Regardless, I love my children to death and kiss them both on the cheek. "I wasn't gone for long, little ones."

"Yeah, but you promised we'd go to the park with Papa when you got back," Apollo points out as he flaps his wings with eagerness. "It's been days since we've done a family activity! So can we go?!"

"We got all the toys and food ready and even picked the guards to come with us!" Artemis replies before rubbing her hooves together. "I mean, if you need to shower or something first, that's fine too."

"But I thought you wanted to go now?" Apollo huffs.

"Well, yeah, but I want Mama to be comfortable as well," Artemis argues.

Giggling, I put my hooves on both of their heads and ruffle them a bit. "I'm perfectly ready to go to the park. Let's find your father and go out as promised."

"Yes! Bet you I can find him first!" Apollo shouts as he flies off without warning.

"Wait up, bro!" Artemis shouts before focusing her magic and teleporting in a blink.

Shaking my head in amusement, I look outside to where my kingdom lays before me as the sun shines upon us all. It's hard to believe that the world used to be full of war and hatred, but now there is a bright future for all of us, including the children born into this world, without knowing the horrors of war. I vowed to see such a time as the Conversion War never happen again.

Once, we were a nation that had fallen into darkness.

Now we are a nation rising to a new hope.

I flap my wings and give chase to my children with a big smile on my face.

And the joy in my heart.

Author's Notes:

Okay, this time I swear this is the last ending for Fallen. I wanted to give as happy of an ending as I could and here you go.

Now, in case you haven't heard, the Regeneration Chapters that I've been doing for Choice will be removed after the new year and I will be making that its own story going forward. I never meant for it to be so long (it's a bad habit of mine) and I made it to help promote Choice itself which is a great fic. I didn't mean to take so much attention and cause controversy, so it was decided between me and zelkova48 to make it its own fic.

I hope you enjoyed this Fallen Ending. Please check out my other NegotationsVerse fics and help out at the TV tropes Page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheNegotiationsVerse