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Russia, Moscow -

A large crowd has gathered around the local Triforce Church where the mother goddess of the goddess Sunset Shimmer is within. She had brought with her the cosmonauts in their spaceship down to Earth instead of taking the long way. She had waited for them to finish their mission before hand before bringing them all home. 

Once on Earth everyone was taken aback by the goddess before them. From the stories of the goddesses of the Triforce faith, they were tall but weren't the towering figure standing before them. The goddess Celestia stood at least over 11 feet tall, taller than the tallest man ever, Robert Wadlow who at his death was at 8'11". She was dress in a light purple bodysuit, with a light orange coat and boots. Long flowing multiple colored hair of light blue, pink, purple, and green. Large bird like wings on her back and an orange gem on her forehead, and has pale white skin. A prefect match for the picture of the mother of the goddess Sunset Shimmer. 

The goddess in Russian simply asked where can she learn about her daughter and her friends. Where one of the followers of the Triforce pointed her to the church, where she entered and been inside for nearly an hour. Celestia has been reading through the books kept there to learn about the fates of her daughter and her friends. 

Finally Celestia step outside where the army and police held back the crowds as the government officials were waiting for her. 

"You all have questions but, I have no time to answer them. I need to know what happen to my daughter and her friends," Celestia said as she spread out her wings and flew off. 

The governments did their best in tracking her, using any means they could to do it. They all quickly figured out where she's heading to, Rome. 

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The Past -

Pompeii was an ancient city located in what is now the comune of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. And where the last of the 3 goddesses, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkles, and Trixie Lulamoon, fell saving as many people as they could.

The 3 goddesses first appeared during the aftermath of the Great Fire of Rome, it was an urban fire that occurred in July, 64 AD. The fire began in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus, on the night of 19 July. After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before the damage could be assessed, the fire reignited and burned for another three days. In the aftermath of the fire, two thirds of Rome had been destroyed.

While emperor Nero was talking with the senators with what's happening was when they showed up, appearing before the emperor. They offer to restore the entire city in exchange to be made the official goddesses of Rome replacing the old ones, seeing how the other gods are offering nothing in helping their followers. They used their magic to restore a single building that was destroyed by the fire to show everyone what they could do. Seeing that they can restore the city Emperor Nero accepted the offer and the 3 were made into the official goddesses of Rome.

They used their powers to rebuild the city, block by block and they worked with the city planners to design a city that will stand for ages. First they gave the homeless people temporary homes which are just hovels but better than nothing, they were built outside the city walls to allow the goddesses to work on rebuilding the city. 

The goddesses gathered the building materials they needed for the rebuilding of the city, gathering the wood, stones, and other building materials they needed. When asked why they couldn't just make things appear, the goddesses explained that while they are gods it's not like they can just make something appear out of nothing. They need materials to work with before they can use their powers. 

In a year with the goddesses working everyday, either all together or as they call it in shifts so that they could take a day off for rest. The first thing they did was improve the aqueducts and sewers for better supply of clean water supply and better sewers to have better sanitation for the city. They even built what they call a sewer treatment plant where instead of just having all the waste of the city to flow into the waterways, it would be filtered first. The waste could be used as night soil and what's left be a whole lot cleaner than it would had been otherwise.

They then improved the roads of the city so that it's easier to get around. They began building new homes from single homes, to apartments all of which have running water and flushing toilets. They built schools, libraries, hospitals, parks, indoor market places which they call shopping malls. They built guard stations for the soldiers who keep the city safe, courthouses, temples to themselves, bathhouses, storehouses and warehouses. For entertainment they built taverns, theaters, race tracks, and a massive coliseum. (1)

The 3 goddesses after they completely rebuilt the city could be seen around the city. Each doing what they are the goddess of, Twilight Sparkles the goddess of knowledge, Sunset Shimmer the goddess of power, and Trixie Lulamoon the goddess of dreams. Their symbol is a triangle made up of three smaller triangles, the top colored purple, the left blue and the right red. The triforce of power, wisdom and dreams, for power needs wisdom to be used, wisdom needs dreams to inspire, dreams need power to make real and so on. 

Twilight could be found in the schools teaching and spreading knowledge. Sunset could be found in the senate or at the army barracks, teaching both how to govern and battle tactics. Trixie could be found at the theaters and coliseum, putting on shows for the crowds and teaching others how to be dreamers. 

All three would put on musical shows as they call it, the songs they did while playing musical instruments. Their shows were nothing like the Romans had ever heard before or seen. Soon there were many people forming bands, having been inspired by the goddesses. 

That wasn't the only thing they did as they invented the sandwich. A very simple meal item that no one had ever thought of making before. Cutting a loaf of bread in two and putting meat, cheese, or something else between them to eat. It changed how people ate, as a meal could be fitted between two pieces of bread instead of having lots of plates. Shops began popping up selling sandwiches, which people could buy and eat on the go instead of eating at the stall. 

Their frame spread through the empire as they goddesses lived and help mortals, like the stories of old. They explained that gods roles are to serve mortals not to rule over them. Unlike the old gods, they're teaching them how to think for themselves and be self reliant, instead of falling to their knees and pray for help. Which doesn't work with them as they can't hear people praying to them. They're powerful not being able to see and hear everything. And yes they're more than happy to help someone if they could but it doesn't mean they can grant wishes or do anything. 

The stories of gods being all powerful and knowing is just that, just stories that people tell and make it bigger then what really happen. They explained that while gods can live forever, it doesn't mean that they can't die, they're just much harder to kill then humans. They can't just do anything they want they have limits and they do need to rest, eat, and sleep like all living creatures. Twilight even gave out copies of her friendship journal for people to learn from and show that gods are flawed as they are. She even engraved the words 'Perfection Is Impossible, There Is No Such Thing As A Flawless Being. Thinking Me And The Others Are And Expecting Us To Be What You Think We Should Be Is An Insult'.

Then came their visit to Pompeii where, all of them died. 

As the volcano was erupting they were attacked by a Christians sect with the leader claiming that the goddesses are really demons sent by the devil to led humans to evil. This led to a purge of Christians through the empire for the deaths of the goddesses. Which the Christians viewed as evil for saying that no God is prefect or flawless, as they viewed their god to be prefect and flawless. 

This led to a splintering of the goddesses followers, with many high ranking members saying that their version of the teachings of the goddesses is the right way. Once Rome fell many of their teachings were lost of suppressed by the Christian church, the two faiths became bitter enemies and rivals through the centuries. With the church of the three goddesses becoming a main religion in the modern times, as unlike the Christian faith women always had equal power in the faith, known as the Triforce Church. But one thing remain the same the core belief of the 3 goddesses faith, 'The greatest power is to make friends out of enemies.'

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Rome -

Celestia flew to the eternal city where the main Triforce church is located. Built by her daughter and her friends, that served as their home. The main building serves as the gathering place for the faithful to prey to the statues of the goddesses. In front of the temple is the Lulamoon stage grounds where the goddesses would preform shows for their followers for special events. There is also the Sparkle Library that houses ancient books that people from all over the world come to seek knowledge from. And in the garden stands a lone Sequoiadendron giganteum, giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, Wellingtonia or simply big tree. The tree was planted by Sunset Shimmer from a seed and in the over 1,800 years since she planted the tree, it has become the tallest living thing on Earth. With the height of 289 feet, 109 feet girth at the ground, and volume of 53,352 feet, no other tree matches it. Far from the tree that is fenced off is a bronze statue of Sunset holding a copy of the seed she planted. With a plate with the words, 'With time, effort, and will you can make the smallest things grow'. (2)

The ancient walls of the temple ground still stood where they were raised so long ago, still guarded by the Tri Legion. The Legion was formed by emperor Nero who gave the goddesses their own legion to guard them and their temple. After the deaths of the goddesses, with none of soldiers that escorted the goddesses to Pompeii survived to tell what happen. With only a few accounts of survivors who fled, reporting them fighting the Christians sect trying to recover the bodies of their goddesses who were cut down from behind as they were trying to save as many people as they could from the volcano. The remaining guard left to guard the temple, have continued to stand guard, keeping anyone who tries to damage the temple from doing so. 

There Celestia went through the records that survived, with the high priestess recognizing her as the mother of goddess Sunset. Using her magic Celestia open up the rooms that have been sealed shut and could only be open by magic which has become a lost art, thanks to the Christians witch hunts. Entering her daughter's room and friends, going through their journals and things to learn what happen to them, after they left her behind. 

"In the end their followers believed in the belief, not the ones who they followed. Either for power, money or how they thought it should had been," Celestia said having read how the followers of her daughter and her friends have broken up in different groups all saying that they're following the true path.

Now she's sitting in front of the alter with the high priestess with a news crew filming them. Outside the temple grounds is a crowd waiting to see the goddess and those watching on the tv. For the first time since the deaths of the 3 goddesses, another goddess is now walking among them. And she has already proven she is a goddess but spinning the earth around so that it was day and then night before putting it all back to normal. Celestia explained that her daughter and her friends were just young gods and are much weaker then she is, for the older a god becomes the stronger they become. And they were just young gods who weren't even in their teenager years yet when they died by human standards, while she is by their standards is thousands of years old. 

"It is true but I like to think we kept their teachings alive," the high priestess Holly Bell said.

"Yes you followers of my daughter and her friends still kept the idea that it's better to make friends then enemies and learned from the friendship journal that Twilight kept before she left with the others," Celestia said as she read through the newest copy and besides some grammar changes, the pages are the same as she remembers.

"Is it true you gods don't know what happens when you die?" Holly asked.

"No even we gods have no idea what happens. There are ways to keep your soul from passing but once what ever keeps you bound is gone, you go with it and into the unknown. No one has ever return to tell what happens. And ghosts and bond souls are dead but haven't pasted on yet, so if there is an afterlife they haven't been there yet. Not to mention I always found the afterlife to be just a comfort for the living," Celestia said.

"Why is that?" Holly asked.

"It means that for those who believe in that, once you die and go to heaven or whatever. If you wrong someone, you can take comfort that no matter what they are in heaven and you can say sorry to them when you die. I seen so many people on different worlds using that to make themselves feel less guilty for their actions. For even if they killed someone not guilty of a crime they can take the comfort that they one they killed is in heaven and they don't have to feel guilty for their actions. I don't believe in an afterlife, my daughter and her friends are dead and I will never be able to tell her how sorry I am for being a horrible mother to her," Celestia said.

"Gods are flawed as everyone else," Holly said. 

"Yes, we are and always be," Celestia said. "I read that book with that faith the Christians, your faith is a rival of, I can only imagine how much of it is just made up. Leaders changing things so that it would reflect their world view, like how the other branches of your faith books have been changes to reflect the beliefs of the ones who started those branches. I read my daughter's and her friends journals and they had to deal with people creating their own branches based around them. With the leaders using it to get power, wealth or something else."

"Many will just say that it's written by their god and has never been changed," Holly said. 

"That's foolish to believe that their bible has never been changed at all, as unlike the book of friendship that your faith uses. No one can say who actually wrote it and how much it has changed. I read the book of friendship before Twilight and the other left and its how I remembered it. And opening her old room, I found the original copy of said book, which your people can read and compare to the copies you have to see how much has been altered. Sure some grammar has been changed but other then that it's like I'm reading the letters she use to send me," Celestia said. 

"That's the reason why the Triforce and Christian has always been at odds with each other. They can't and won't believe that a god can be flawed," Holly said. 

"If their god is real and that he will comeback to see them. They will see that he's nothing like what they thought him to be, or if their god is even a she," Celestia said. "I always hated how my followers always thought that, I'm prefect and flawless, it just made me have a big ego where, I couldn't see when I was wrong till it was too late to do anything. Which is why I abandon my followers as they just grew too dependent on me and expected me to do everything for them. Which is why if the old gods of your world are all real and not made up, as that does happen. They too just grew tried of their followers hold them to a standard that no one could ever live up to and just left. I'm happy that my daughter and her friends made sure to have their followers be able to be independent of them when they're gone and not to believe that they're prefect and flawless. Or think that just by praying and doing nothing will cause good things to happen, especially when they can do something to help." 

"Your daughter's teaching does says when you can help someone in need, offer a helping hand," Holly said. 

"There is also the fact that the bible being rewritten and changed from the first edition. Does also mean that all the evil that the god of the bible did, could be all made up as well. It happens more times to both gods and mortals than I can count where they're blame for things that they didn't do," Celestia said. 

"Happen to you?" Holly asked. 

"My old followers kept giving me credit for everything. A good harvest, it's because of me. A storm that cause a flood, that's me. People who are sick or need treatment and because the people only pray for me to heal them, doing nothing else and they died because of lack of treatment, that's me as well. I hate my old followers for thinking that anything that happens good or bad is because of me," Celestia explains before giving off a laugh. "If the god of the Bible is real and seeing how the followers think everything is because of their god. I can see why they don't show themselves anymore. What's the point when their followers will always assign whatever happens good or bad on them." 

"Must have been hard on you," Holly said. 

"You have no idea how much I resented my followers as they kept on putting their ideals onto me and expecting me to be what they think I should be. Taking liberties with what happen and making it into something else, saying that I can grant life back to the dead. Which we gods can't do. Once you die you are dead, what I did was restarting the heart like how doctors use those defibrillators when someone's heart stops, or when someone drowned I got the water out of their lungs and got them to start breathing on their own again. If I could bring someone back to life why aren't I bringing back my daughter and her friends for those listening on in. Don't bother asking me to bring anyone back or raise their souls as I would be doing that already. And I am not looking to have followers ever again," Celestia said.

"You don't want to be worshiped?" Holly asked.

"No as I refuse to be worship and place on a pedestal with standards that no one can ever live up to. Before I abandon my followers and their planet, I had to act like a prime and proper lady doing everything in a refine and elegant way. The only time I could be myself was when I return to Equestria," Celestia said opening up to Holly as they continue with their interview. 

"From Twilight's book you lived on another planet but would return to the realm of the gods, Equestria?" Holly asked.

"The worlds of the gods are a higher realm then this one you mortals live. We gods come in different types and races like you mortals, just that we have powers and are immortal as long as we're not killed and take care of ourselves," Celestia said. (3)

"Take care of yourselves?" Holly asked.

"A god with poor health or allow themselves to become out of shape or become sick can die like you mortals. Ancient gods while powerful most have health issue as even we gods aren't wholly immune to the effects of time. And no even the most ancient gods have no idea how they came to be. The best we can figure we gods are evolved like you humans from primates. Just that we had powers," Celestia said.

"So you gods have no idea how the universe began?" Holly asked.

"None that I heard of. And if there is a creator to everything, there be no way it would choose this one planet and create only one race in its image like how many of your human religions believe. Only about 1 out of 10 world's I have been to that has life on it had lifeforms that even walk on two legs," Celestia said.

"What about the meaning of life?" Holly asked.

"The answer to that question is many. Everyone has different values and beliefs. Like one race is a insect base one that slowly eats their food while its still alive, will have a complete different value system then you humans. I for one believe its what you do with your one life is that matters in the end. Which I have wasted," Celestia said.

"Wasted?" Holly asked.

"Instead of caring and treating my child as the most important thing in my life. Instead I pushed her away and lost her, as I cared more about my followers then her. And that's not even getting into what I did with my student Twilight. After they left and I had time to actually reflect on my life, I found how empty it is. My personal life had nothing outside of my work as the goddess of my followers. The lesson that my daughter and friends reached of making friends, is what I been teaching them but I had none myself, just followers. And when I actually look at my followers, I saw them expecting me to do everything for them and live to their ideal of what I should be. When I stop the act and just be myself and told them they need to be independent and handle things themselves. They turn on me claiming that I should be taking care of them, while giving little in return. It's like taking care of someone who never show you respect and want you to always act and behave as they expect you to behave for nothing in return. I tried to explain that I would no longer act like how they think I should act and no longer do everything for them. My followers just rioted and attacked me as they couldn't believe that I their goddess would no longer take care of everything for them and expect them to be independent. I left them and haven't looked back since," Celestia explains.

"You never went back?" Holly asked.

"I heard from other gods I met in my search that my followers have become savages living in ruins of what use to be thriving cities who make blood offerings in my name to get back their goddess who will take care of them. They're nothing but children who once they're on their own couldn't survive. I left them the infrastructure, with running water, power, farms, transportation, knowledge, and other things they needed to be able to survive without me. And they still ended up wasting what I gave them, expecting me to always be there to take care of their needs. And why I abandon them to their fate, they are just a lost cause," Celestia said. (4)

"Really?" Holly asked. 

"Why bother helping people who won't help in anyway when they can? I was doing everything out of my good will alone. Like someone helping others asking for nothing in return, but if you treat that person badly they won't be willing to help anymore. Which is what happen with me. And might have happen with the old gods of this world," Celestia said. 

"Some of the old gods aren't that good," Holly said.

"The Greek ones being rape happy and petty, being the cause of many of the problems that happen in the myths. Sadly that is how some gods are, as you know that not all humans are nice the same goes for gods. And that goes for demons as not all demons are evil as not all gods are good," Celestia said. 

"Demons are real?" Holly asked.

"Both gods and demons come from the same family tree like how dogs are related to wolves. Depending on the gods and demons they're either at war or living together. Also you humans really need to make sure you don't judge by appearances, from your standards a race is horrifying to look at but it's the same for aliens seeing a human. Here let me show you an alien race I have met in my travels. And be prepared by your human standards this will be shocking," Celestia said as she waves her hands and the image of an alien appeared.

The alien stood several shambling inches taller than seven feet, with broad shoulders. Its hair straggled down either side of its face, lank and matted with glittering streaks of orange ooze. One lidless eye, weeping a colorless liquid, was roughly in the middle of its left cheek. There was no nose, just a semicircular hole above the chin, fringed with tendrils of pale skin that trembled in time with the thing's breathing. It didn't have a proper chin. The lower jaw was missing, and a row of jagged stumps protruded from the set-back upper jaw. Where it moved it left a trail of thick, jellylike slime, like that left behind by a gigantic snail. The thing had two seemingly ordinary arms that ended in crooked fingers. Beneath the normal arms it had several sets of paddle like, residual arms, becoming progressively smaller.

"What's that?" Holly asked staring at the thing. 

"This is Frankie a Taro from the star system of Rocae, on the 5 planet Hae. Her kind are a race who managed to create a advance culture with them settling on most of the planets of their star system. They're a very nice race when you mind your manners with them and not go scream and attack them because how they look like to you. You humans will have to really learn not to just attack and scream because of how someone looks if you humans ever go out and meet other races. I stayed with them for awhile and found them very friendly once they gotten use to how ugly I looked to them," Celestia said.

"You ugly?" Holly asked as Celestia is simply beautiful. Not only that but she has a body that many women would die for, not helping that with how big she is, makes those features really stand out. 

"Different standards of beauty," Celestia said as she made two images appeared. One is basically a beautiful woman with long red hair, cute little wings, and a pair of antennae. While the other is a horrible cross between a termite queen and a human woman. 

"Different races?" Holly asked. 

"Good guess but they're twins and one is born hideously deformed. The first is Princess What's-Her-Name and her sister Queen Pulsating Bloated Festering Sweaty Pus-Filled Malformed Slug-for-a-Butt," Celestia said. 

"What?" Holly asked. 

"I know a long name but that's how their planet does things. They are from a insect world and Princess What's-Her-Name was born deformed. While her sister Queen Pulsating Bloated Festering Sweaty Pus-Filled Malformed Slug-for-a-Butt is a true beauty among her kind. With her being the only one who doesn't recoil at the sight of her sister," Celestia said and looks at the camera filming everything. "Also I heard from you humans at a space port of how when members of a race who have red skin and horns on their heads, you humans have been using their race to represent the devil and demons. Attacking them whenever they had to stop by on Earth to resupply on water or something. Only stopping when a new hyperlane was created to bypass this system." 

"And that's why haven't there been more aliens visiting Earth?" Holly asked.

"Earth is like the only waterhole in a desert for hundreds of miles around or like a small island in the middle of nowhere. There is really no reason to visit and I'm not going to lie your world and you humans are utterly insignificant to the rest of the galaxy and the rest of the universe. The only reason why anyone stops by is when they have no choice," Celestia said. 

"We're really that insignificant?" Holly asked. 

"You humans are doing well for yourselves but if you actually want to be special and known for something, good. You humans have lots to do before you're ready for the the rest of the galaxy, seeing how primitive you humans are still," Celestia said.

"We're really that primitive?" Holly asked.

"I have been listening to Earth's radio and watching this world so that, I would know enough of it before I came here. From what, I learn you humans are still primitive in so many ways," Celestia said.

"It does depend on the country," Holly said. 

"That's not true. The country of the United States, holds itself up as the example for the rest of your species when it cannot even govern itself. Holding the high morel ground while people who aren't the right skin color, don't have the same rights. A government that covets what does not belong to it, and chases shadows of threats with utterly reckless paranoia. The same goes for the Soviet Union, that is the same in how they do things. I do not think your specie are primitive, I know it," Celestia said. 

"So what should we do?" Holly asked. 

"I'm not going down that road again. I'm not going to be a goddess ever again to anyone. It cost me too much and nothing to show for it," Celestia said.

"Then don't be a goddess, be a teacher instead," Holly said. 

"For what?" Celestia asked.

"There is a reason why your daughter and her friends choose this world to make themselves home on. The city of Rome has stood even as the rest of the empire fell around it. They built this city to last, many of the things they built are still standing and still in use today. Why not stay and see what your daughter and her friends saw in us and teach us like they did," Holly suggested. 

"I know what you're doing but I have been searching for a very long time and now that, I have nothing better to do. I might as well stay and see if there is anything worth staying for. You humans aren't special, not the chosen, if you humans never travel beyond the stars you all just die and the only one who will even remember you is me. The only way to change that is by doing something that will make you special. Life is meaningless and pointless, only if you never do anything with it. I will stay and see how you humans do, till you either show me why my daughter and her friends stayed or I just grow tried of you and leave," Celestia said. 

"And then what?" Holly asked. 

"Go back to the realm of the gods or just drift around the universe till I find meaning to my empty life," Celestia said. "That's the problem with being immortal. The utter boredom when there is nothing in your life to give it meaning." (5)

"Then let us humans show you some entertainment and give you meaning to your life. You might even make some friends," Holly said. 

"I would like that," Celestia said. 

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Author's Notes -

1 - Sunset and the girls did city building in real life.

2 - Where Vatican City stands in real life, is where the Triforce Temple is located.

3 - The gods in this universe are like the ones in Marvel and DC, or like in Dragonball. They're powerful and immortal but they're not completely all powerful and can die. 

4 - Sometimes there are people and things that no matter how much effort you put in, its just a lost cause or a waste of time. Like wasting time and resources on someone who no matter what refuses to change till at the very last second where it's too late to do anything. Or on something that is so broken that it's best to just start over. 

5 - That is a big problem with being immortal. Boredom when there is nothing that gives them something to do and that they can't die.

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