//------------------------------//
// A Long Overdue Reunion 
// Story: Angels and Demons 2: Timelock 
// by lunabrony 
//------------------------------//

Through no small amount of effort and adventure, Silver Key stood with the Six, Celestia, and Angel outside the heavy double doors of Canterlot Castle he'd been thrown away from so long ago. The others formed two straight lines next to either side of the door. Celestia still looked ragged from being rescued from the tunnels, and was in no condition for a confrontation. "This is your mission, Silver." Twilight said. "Your final challenge lies right behind that door. Are you up for it?"

It was horrible seeing what had been Equestria's strongest ponies reduced this, all looking up to him for everything. Even Celestia the former ruler was reduced to a simpering wreck. Twilight, a natural leader, even now that her cutie mark was restored a weak and diminished shadow of herself. They wore the elements of harmony as per his instructions, they each had their proper cutie mark restored. "Will you all just cut it out now? In the timeline I'm from you stopped worse things than what lies inside this castle! You can follow along if you want, but I'm just a unicorn with a broken horn. I can't do anything but bark orders at you. If you're not up for this, then you might as well jump into the lake of despair you've all be wallowing all in this time. Twilight, you're the best magic user up front with you, shield us if you can. You other five stand ready. Celestia, back up Twilight from a distance, Angel assist Twilight at her side. Are you all ready?" He didn't wait for their response. He bucked the gates.

The room was filled with shadowy smoke, and laughter filled the air. The ponies filed in after him, Twilights horn glowing and creating a purple shield around the group. Nightmare Moon rose from her throne, snickering with anticipation. "Oh, isn't this adorable. The group of rebels finally arrives." The Six only looked all the more determined to fight, but it was Silvers first encounter with her. "Back for another beating, girls?" Of course.

Even Nightmare Moon had been reduced to a fool minded version of herself, or had she always been like this? The power had gone to her head. Silver groaned. He had about had it with this timeline's stupidity. The fact that his horn had burnt out, his desire for Angel. "Nightmare! You simpering fool. You moron." He strode boldly towards the transformed alicorn. "Of all the places you could have modified events in the timeline you chose this one. I guess it makes sense from your perspective. Stop the six girls before had a chance from stopping you... but you underestimated me didn't you? Do you have any idea what you could have done if you simply took possession? You've got magic enough inherent in you to turn even a broken unicorn magical. I'm smart, faster than anyone here. Why are you wasting time with Celestia's broken sister?" He appealed to its ego, and sent a silent telepathic message to Twilight. 'If I change then hit me with the elements of harmony'.

Nightmare Moon flared with anger, and a battle began. Harmful words were spouted, challenges were issued, and magic flew in all directions. Nightmare Moon was  knocked unconscious by an intense blast from Twilight Sparkle. A glittering purple vortex opened in the wall. "Don't waste time, Silver Key! We have things on this end, go and restore your timeline!"

It was time to go back to the point in history where it had all gone wrong and prevent Nightmare Moon from going there. It was as simple as going directly to the library of Canterlot and removing a single scroll, and placing it in a more secure location, if not outright destroy it. [Just a suggestion] Nightmare Moon didn't know of the spell otherwise she would have used it before, it must lie hidden in the Canterlot Library.

Through another series of long events, the scroll was found, and standing alongside Angel, she lit the tip of her horn on fire via magic. "Burn it, Silver. Burn it and undo this whole awful mess." She urged. "I will be fine here, you go home to the mare who loves you."

"This timeline will cease to exist." He told her and as it lit into flames. "All of this nonsense will be over with. It'll never have happened at all. I know.. Angel, don't be scared. You're not disappearing, you're just entering the right history… you won't even know this conversation has taken place." He didn't care for anything but making this Angel comfortable through these last moments until reality had reset itself and he appeared.. wherever history dictated he should appear as soon as the timelock was broken. He wondered if he would remember anything. "I know you don't love me in this timeline... but do you mind sitting together, until its over?"

The ripple began almost immediately, the edges of objects starting to blur together, the light starting to brighten to the point that it hurt his eyes. "Silver, look." Angel said gently, and directed his attention to his attention in a glass bookcase, where he could see his horn as whole and powerful as ever.

Restored, it the beginning of the unraveling was happening. Nightmare Whatever would never get hold of the scroll, and so could never have undone the elements of harmony. The event where his horn had shattered never taken place had never happened. He stood close to Angel. "Forgive me.. I don't know that you'll be able to remember this once the timeline has reset, but please forgive me Angel. I love you" He kissed her nose tip, royal princess or not. He longed to be home.

Angel smiled gently, and looked him in the eyes. She had caught on. "Did the other me ever tell you her middle name?" She asked, the ground starting to deteriorate, blackness overwhelming things more and more quickly.

"There's a lot she never tells me, a lot I had to learn on my own. I think she hides as much from me as I do from her." His heart started beating, the longing would soon be over, and he wanted to know what this Angel had to say before she reverted to the old one. Before he had to face her as the one who had finally found out what humans were really like when they were bad.

Angel smiled, and blackness claimed her, her voice fading. "It's Gabrielle." She said distantly, and with a jolt like a car screeching to a stop far too quickly, he found himself in his old apartment, face to face with a very angry Angel. She was turning her back on him. "I don't understand how you could have lied to me. Just go, Silver. I'll call you when I'm ready."

And he still remembered that awful journey. Nothing had changed, everything was the same. A purposeless circle had been completed, leaving him a tired version of himself. He needed her, he had been months without her and he couldn't stand it any longer. Yet he still wanted to respect what had happened to her. "Angel… please…" He took a step towards her. "Ga.. Gabrielle." He didn't want to put on a sob story, but she needed to know what had happened no matter how 'convenient' it would look like from her perspective.

No summon came from Celestia, no call for help reached his ears. Her anger faltered for only a minute, and her ears pinned. "Nopony  but  my mother calls me that. How did you..."

His health had returned to the vigor he had had when he left her, but his spirit was transformed. He probably looked the part, exhausted internally, hungry for her. "We had this conversation before.. after you sending me away Celestia and Luna called me. Then some sort of spell happened, knocking me back in time. It was called a timelock spell. Somepony had used it to alter Equestria's history… it was two months of living without you and when I finally found you there.. it was a timeline where I never knew you." He explained quickly, approaching her like a pony that had walked through a desert and found an oasis. "We unraveled what had happened… before things returned I told you to forgive me if it was possible. And your other self decided to give me that name as proof… I know this a lot to take in. Believe me Angel, it wasn't a good experience, and I wish I had arrived later than now so that you'd have had the time you wanted… but... don't send me away. Lets talk about this together."

Angel didn't come toward him, but she had stopped backing away. "How, Silver? You lied to me, kept things from me. How can I trust you? When you come from a world of sinners and... and killers?"

"I never lied!" He almost shouted. "I kept quiet, I avoided the subject, like you avoid all my questions about your past, why you stepped down and what happened between you and your mother." He had never told her anything but the truthes he had decided to reveal. "And ponies kill to, you've had wars and I've read about them. You have graves too, and ponies lie in them, and not always because they got sick, or old, or had an accident. We have had it a lot worse than you. We didn't have the elements of harmony. We didn't have a good hearted ruler who lived for thousands of years to keep us together and be a wise council." No hiding anything from her now. "I don't even know if we have destinies like you do. We had ourselves. But we weren't always bad. All those wars Angel, they put only a small dent in our population. Its harder in that world, its not as easy. Evil gets to run for a lot longer, and the good doesn't always win."

[Cancelled after this - We started on Angels and Demons 3, wanting to get the final installment in production]

If you made it this far, thank you. Thank you for supporting me. I hope to write much better stories than this one in the future.
-Lunabrony