//------------------------------// // Chapter XVII: Gaping Wounds Are Best Healed With Beer // Story: Four Ponies & A Time Machine // by SkelePone //------------------------------// “A day is a miniature eternity.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Royal Sisters land within the throne room of the Crystal Tower. They are armored and prepared to engage the evil King Sombra in battle. Starswirl the Bearded is below, seeking out the missing Time Travelers. They had sent them a distress call from somewhere within the Crystal Empire. The Royal Sisters and the Wizard knew they had to be imprisoned by the wicked King by now, possibly trapped and in peril. The Sisters approach the empty throne, alert to any traps or possible dangers. They knew that King Sombra had been expecting the Sisters and the Wizard to come together. What he hadn't been expecting was that they would split up. The Sisters hear a hiss that tells them the umbrum king has found them. He lunges at them, nothing but a cloud of shadows and nightmares. They launch a counterattack, casting spell after spell at the shadowy monster. He continually teleports, avoiding each attack. Luna and Celestia are crying out in frustration and rage. Meanwhile, Starswirl is raiding the dungeons, casting protective spells around himself and shoot beams of light at the umbrum minions of Sombra. Then the bearded wizard spots them, the four curled on the floor, asleep but crying out in pain. They are being ravaged by some sort of nightmarish curse. The elderly unicorn blasts open the lock, and uses a levitation spell to carry them from the dungeon. The wizard is tiring. He is casting four levitation spells and is firing off combative magic at attacking umbrums. He won't be able to last much longer. He manages to escape the dungeon, and uses his remaining strength to teleport himself and the other ponies to the time device just outside the Crystal Kingdom. Starswirl's half of the mission was complete. He could only hope that the Princesses could complete their half of the mission as well. He passes out beside the machine and the four Time Travelers, safely out of the reaches of Sombra and the umbrums. Back within the Kingdom's Tower, the Princesses are attacking Sombra from two different sides. Luna casts her special brand of night magic, calling upon the constellations to aid her. Summoned Ursa Majors and a giant mass of stars forming a Scorpio were helping the Princess of the Night in dealing as much powerful damage to the Crystal King as possible. Celestia, meanwhile, is warming the room, weakening Sombra with the unrelenting power of the Sun. Her man has changed color, from a plain vivid pink to shimmering blue, green, and pink. She is striking the evil King with beams of raw sunlight. Sombra has realized his plans were failing. He was losing. There was but one way he knew that he could turn this loss into a victory. He begins to cast a special kind of spell. A dark magic that can be compared to that of a suicide bombing. He was going to dematerialize the entire Crystal Kingdom, himself, and everypony in it. Realizing what he was about to do, the Sisters fly off, desperate to escape and save as many Crystal ponies and possibly save even the baby umbrums, but they had just left the Tower when Sombra let off the spell. The Crystal Kingdom simply vanished from the icy wasteland. Not to reappear for thousands of years. The four woke up in separate rooms. Roseluck was surprised to find herself in Canterlot. For a moment she was thrilled, then she remembered her dreams. The nightmare. Rose stopped before she could celebrate, and instead began to sob uncontrollably into her pillow. Time Turner was stunned, eyes still open staring up at the ceiling. This was the very room where he and Derpy and lost their virginity together. He dared to hope that the terror he had witnessed was only a dream. Carnegie Porter was slugging down the rum. He was crying. Rocking in the middle of his bed, he moaned in relief, pain, and fear as he gulped down the alcohol. It did nothing to soothe his nerves. He just couldn't get the sounds of Rose's screams to leave him be. Derpy Hooves was in shock. It had all been a dream. A horrible, awful, terrible dream. A nightmare, the worst she'd ever had. Derpy took a moment to wonder how she had gotten to Canterlot, but she didn't care. She needed to find the Doctor. To make sure he still loved her. She needed to find her friends. Rose needed to know that Carnegie wasn't the monster she had seen in her dream. She needed to find her friends. Time Turner needed to know that his friends, no, his family, were okay. He needed to find them. Carnegie needed Rose, more than ever. He needed to find her. And the Doc. And Derpy. They all bolted from their rooms, into a hall. They all immediately caught sight of each other. They were in the same hall. They ran towards each other. Carnegie threw his legs around Rose in glee, she hugged him back just as fiercely. Derpy embraced the Doctor, and they kissed many times before they joined Porter and Rose in a group hug. They sat there, four friends once again, hugging. Friendship. The sight of it was magical to behold. They were friends. Together, they pulled apart, but stayed close as they went together to the Main Hall. A surprised Starswirl met them, glad that they had fully recovered. They knew they hadn't fully recovered. They still had wounds to heal. But Carnegie Porter knew just how to heal them. With beer. And lots of it. They drank merrily, having had the TROTIS brought with them when they had been broken free of Sombra's dungeons, with all of Carnegie's alcohol still inside it. The small party went almost unnoticed. There was a celebration going on, and the next day there was to be a ball. The four friends decided to spend the night here, in this time, so they could join in with the Victory Ball. That night, Carnegie and Rose snuggled together in a shared bed. The room across from them, Derpy and Time Turner did the same. "Carnegie?" "Aye, love?" "I love you." "I love ya, too, Rose." "Doc?" "Yes, Derpy?" "Do you love me?" "I've told you, yes. I do love you." "I love you, too, Doc." Morning called for something completely unexpected. The Princesses had sent them letters, explaining that they would be given bits from the Royal Treasury to purchase formal wear and other necessities for the Victory Ball. Overjoyed that they would be allowed to have a day to relax and shop, the four began their trip into the city. Rose, Carnegie, the Doctor, and Derpy stuck close, the two couples wandering the city of the past together. And for once, they took the time to enjoy their time travelling experience. They deserved it.