The Road Not Taken

by levarien

Ch. 7: Magic and Mayhem

The shadows of buildings slowly took definition in the central Plaza surrounding Ponyville's town hall.. A glow from the eastern horizon heralded the approach of dawn. Several ponies walked along the streets, getting an early start on the new week. Produce vendors began unloading the contents of their wagons into the bins and shelves of their assigned stalls in the Farmer's Market. As the top of the sun peeked over the tallest buildings, it illuminated the cloaked stallion whistling to himself as he trotted across the village common. The spring in his step advertised his good mood as he turned a corner and headed towards Ponyville's institution of Sugary goodness.

"She'll be so surprised," Argent thought to himself. "Pinkie might have Cupcakes down to an art form, but Mr. Cake's Eclairs are unbeatable." It seemed as if his idea was not particularly original as evident by the line of ponies extending out the door of the bakery and into the street. He trotted to the back of the line and noticed a familiar pony in front of him. "Good morning Ms. Taker," he said, "How are you doing?"

"Oh hi...," said the secretary, a look of embarrassed confusion on her face.

"Horizon Walker," said Argent cheerily, "You helped Oracle and I move to town last week."

"Oh that's right," replied the off-white unicorn mare. "How are you liking the cottage? Did the bank give you any trouble with the letters of credit?"

"Everything's been perfect," said Argent, "We're still shocked at the generosity of the mayor. The furnishings, the extra bits to get everything set up; we really couldn't ask for a better start."

"Well we're glad to help," said Note, "To be honest we've felt rather guilty about the whole thing. The Mayor had that statuette appraised and I swear I saw bits in her eyes instead of pupils." She stepped through the door as the line of ponies gradually filed into Sugarcube Corner. "She's got me running ragged talking to ponies about what we should do with all of it."

"Well remind her that there's more where that one came from," said Argent quietly, "As soon as she knows what she wants to do with the rest of the artifacts, I'll gladly lead whoever you send to retrieve them."

Note Taker nodded as she walked up to the front counter. "Just the usual today Pinkie," she said to the perpetually smiling laughter machine. The pink mare nodded, wrote the order on a sheet of paper, and stuck it on a curious yellow spike which soon disappeared from view. Note Taker and Argent looked at each other in confusion. She was about to ask what had happened when the small yellow spike reappeared.

"Up!" came a small voice from behind the counter. Pinkie bent down and emerged with the Cake's year old unicorn toddler Pumpkin on her back. Note Taker smiled, dropped a few bits on the counter and stood to the side to wait for her order.

Argent stepped forward and booped Pumpkin on the nose. "Two Eclairs with extra cream filling and one Ursa Claw," he said while making funny faces at the young filly and counting out bits from a pocket in his cloak.

While Pinkie wrote down the order, Mr. Cake walked in from the kitchen and placed a string wrapped box on the counter in front of Note. "There you are Note," he said as he adjusted his cap, "Extra pink glaze, just how the Mayor likes them."

"Thanks Carrot!" she said while levitating the the box in a dark green aura. "Good to see you again Horizon. We'll let you know when we've made a decision." She winked at him and made her way out of the bakery. "Say hi to Miss Oracle!"

Mr. Cake snatched the piece of paper from his daughter's horn. "Sorry sir," he said, "We're finishing up more eclairs now, it'll only be a few minutes."

"Oh, there's no rush," replied Argent as he watched Pinkie Pie slowly percolate. "Uh oh," he thought to himself. He quickly stepped to the side and walked to the end of the counter and turned his back to the excitable mare. "I guess I am 'new' to town" he thought to himself.

Pinkie's brain flipped through her mental "Friend Dossiers" unconsciously as she slipped the bits into the register. "Next!" she shouted.

"Hi Pinkie Pie," said the young stallion, "Three Spike specials, two eclairs with extra cream, and one Ursa Claw please."

The voice didn't get his attention, but the order did. He cautiously, and nonchalantly, turned to get a look at what turned out to be himself. The shorter mane and slightly skinnier build were all that differentiated himself from the younger stallion. "He didn't notice me last night," thought the older stallion, "I'll be okay as long as I keep quiet."

Pinkie stuck the order to her filly assistant and turned back to her new friend. Noticing that he was the last pony in line, she wiped the sweat from her brow and hopped around the counter. "Argy!" she shouted before crushing the guard in a bear hug. "Didja like your party? Because I think it was my first 'Welcome to Ponyville slash Congratulations on your promotion slash Hooray for Twilight being back' party!"

"It...was...great," wheezed the stallion, gasping for each breath in the pink party pony's vice like grip. He managed to extricate himself from the hug and stretched his back. "I never expected an old west hoedown, but I guess with so many different things to celebrate, it makes as much sense as any theme."

Pinkie Pie sheepishly smiled. "Well, I did need to practice my old timey western party plans for next week."

"What's next week?" asked Argent.

"Well, Braeburn, Applejack's cousin, told her that he needs a buncha apples because they're celebrating something called Western Days in Appleoosa, but their orchard is out of season, and Applejack can't go all the way out there because Big Mac is hurt, but I told her I would totally go, but she said 'No, Pinkie, ya'll nearly started a war last time ya'll were there,' but I was just trying to get everyone to sing and dance and Twilight even wrote to the princess the exact same thing I sang about, I told Applejack I would be careful, so I'm gonna take Braeburn all the apples and throw them the bestest western hoedown ever, with square dancing, ten gallon hat punch, horseshoe pits, mini rodeo games, and Spike's gonna come play old timey piano along with Fiddlesticks, and everypony in Appleloosa will know that you don't ignore a Pinkie Pie Party!" Pinkie gasped as her blue face slowly returned to its normal pink hue.

"Wow," said Argent, "Sounds like quite the ambitious plan."

"Nah," said Pinkie, "Like I always say, 'Have Party Cannon, will travel'."

"Here you go sir," said Carrot Cake as he set a small bag in front of the cloaked pony. "Fresh out of the oven." He turned and trotted back into the kitchen.

"Thank you Mr. Cake," replied Argent, awkwardly trying to disguise his voice slightly. He grabbed the bag in his teeth and began to trot out of the door.

"Wait!" shouted Pinkie Pie as he put his hoof to the door.

Argent shuddered beneath his hood and turned towards the advancing pink mare and his younger self. "You left too many bits!" said the pink mare as she dropped two bits into his hooves. "Okie dokie Lokie! You're good to go, but we'll have your party soon, Horizon Walker, and we'll invite your marefriend too."

The look of terror on Argent's face was misinterpreted as confusion. "Don't bother arguing," the younger stallion said, "From what I'm told you'd have a better chance convincing Celestia to set the sun early."

---

"Stop twitching Trixie," said Twilight as she manipulated the dials on the control unit, "you'll throw off the readings."

The cyan showmare ground her teeth together and tried to stay still. The framework of metal surrounding her head hummed with magilectric energy, while the electrodes stuck to her horn occasionally gave her a slight shock. The fur of her coat stood on end as Trixie tried to work up some saliva in her bone dry mouth. "Trixie is trying, but are you positive that this is safe?"

Twilight took a bite from the pastry Argent had graciously provided and made a check mark on the checklist that hovered beside her. "Absolutely positive," she replied, "Come on Trixie, Pinkie Pie didn't even flinch once." Satisfied that the readouts were in acceptable ranges, she stepped in front of Trixie and levitated the parchment and quill in front of her. "Now flare your magic as strong as you can and hold it as long as possible."

Trixie snorted indignantly. Being compared to the pink one irked her. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated all her willpower on remaining perfectly stationary. Her horn glowed with a furious intensity. She hadn't drawn upon this much magic since she wore the Alicorn Amulet.

"That's it Trixie," Twilight said encouragingly. "You're doing great. Just hold out a little while longer." The equipment beeped and whirred as paper streamed out and into a collection bin. Twilight adjusted several dials and flipped a switch with her hoof. "Twenty more seconds!"

"Hnggggh," gasped Trixie as her horn slowly started flickering. Sweat began to drip from her nose as she concentrated on keeping her magic from running wild. "I c...c...can't hold it," she cried. The flickering of the aura around her horn increased in its frequency. Tears squeezed their way out from the corners of her tightly closed eyes.

"You can do it!" shouted Twilight over the loud machinery. "You're The Great and Powerful Trixie, you can do anything!" She glanced down at the readouts. "Just ten more seconds!" She held her hoof over the large red shutdown button. "Five...Four...Three...Two...One..."

Trixie screamed at the effort of holding her magic for those last few seconds. She released her magic a fraction of a second after Twilight shut down the test equipment. The cyan mare collapsed to her stomach and took several deep gasping breaths. She didn't react as Twilight rushed over and unstrapped the large metal helmet and removed the electrodes from her horn. "Please tell Trixie we got it this time."

Twilight trotted over to the collection bin and tore the top few sheets of paper off. "It looks good Trixie," she said as she examined the peaks and valleys of a graph that represented magical output. She placed the data back in the bin and brought Trixie a cup of water. "Come on," she said, "lets go upstairs and you can relax." She helped the mare to her hooves and kept her steady as they climbed the stairs up towards the library. "I know it was hard," said Twilight, "but I promise you this will get us the answers we need."

Trixie wearily nodded as she collapsed on one of the reading couches. "Trixie is fine," she said, "Just tell Argent he can come out." She turned and faced the back of the couch. "Trixie needs a nap."

Twilight left her to rest and walked upstairs. She entered her guard's room and found him on top of his bed with a pillow held tightly over his ears. She walked over and gently shook his shoulder, offering a confident and warm smile to the worried stallion. "She's going to be fine," said Twilight when Argent pulled the pillow from his head. "And I should have plenty of data to work with." She blocked his path out of the room as he started to move towards the library downstairs. "Let's let her sleep for now. Why don't you get Spike, and the three of us can grab a few more of the books I'll need for tonight." Argent nodded and made his way to her room to fetch the Dragon.

They all gathered in the library. Twilight held a hoof to her lips and pointed at Trixie's sleeping form on the couch on the rear wall. "Let's keep our voices down," she whispered. She led them around the library, pointing out the various books she needed. Argent levitated a few, while Spike carried the rest. With their arms and magical auras full of tomes, and the bin of paper readouts levitating beside Twilight, they climbed back up the stairs to the study.

She could sense the unease in her young draconic ward. "Yes Spike, you can go."

"But Twilight I promised Rarity that I would help her...," he said before halting with a confused stare. "Wait, did you say I could go?"

"Sure Spike," said Twilight with a laugh, "You deserve a break. Argent and Owlowiscious can help me." She knew that Rarity would probably work him harder than she ever did. "Just remember our little talk: You are not a pincushion."

"Thanks Twilight," he said while skipping to the door, "have fun!"

The long strip of uniformly perforated paper floated out of the bin and landed on the desk. She sat behind the table and started reading the voluminous pile of test results. "Don't just stand there," said Twilight over her shoulder, "I can't do all this myself." She smiled as he took a seat next to her. "Well, actually I could, but you are proving to be quite the capable research assistant."

"Don't let Spike hear you say that," said Argent, "I don't think a guard's salary could cover the amount of sweets I'd have to buy him." He floated the pile of books to his side of the desk and waited for instruction. Twilight began examining the test records in detail. Argent watched as she occasionally shook her head to some unasked question. Minutes passed by as he watched his princess study, her single-minded focus reminding him that she was the expert here.

"There's an elevation in the output from the seventh primary ley line before every surge of magic," said Twilight as she stared at the papers. "Why don't you start with that? Try 'Mystical Conjunction Theory' by The Wise Alaundo." She looked over at the stallion when she received no response. He snapped back to reality as she looked at him. "Argent?" she asked, "Did you get that?"

"Seventh Ley Line. Alaundo. Got it," he replied with a blush. He sorted through the books until he found the volume he was seeking. The older books had no tables of contents or indexes, so he opened to the first page and started skimming through the arcane text. The previous week's subject had been understandable: He'd been trained to fight the dangerous beasts that threatened Equestria, so researching the Kenku had been second nature. This time, however, he felt out of his depth. He understood most of the words, but each paragraph was like deciphering a foreign language. "I'm not sure I really understand most of this Princess," he said with a disheartened sigh. "I mean...associative ley lines versus discordant ley lines....the words make sense, but I don't get the meaning."

"Here, let me see," said Twilight as she scooted closer to Argent. She leaned over his shoulder and read the passage his hoof was resting below. "Oh yes," she said with a satisfied smile, "this gave me trouble as well. The princess told me that Alaundo liked phrasing things in confusing ways as a test for his students." She grabbed a blank piece of parchment and jotted down a small diagram with a quill. "You see, some ley lines are complementary," she said, "like the second and fourth, which are generally referred to as the lines of air and fire. These are Associative."

Argent nodded and pointed at another line on her drawing. "But the third and fourth are discordant?"

Twilight smiled and patted him on the back. "Exactly!" replied Twilight proudly, "The third line is associated most often with water, which is definitely not complementary to fire." She flipped the page of the tome and pointed at the next chapter. "Let's see what it says about the seventh line."

Argent wanted to point out how useless he was, but the smile on Twilight's face kept him from interrupting her. She obviously loved talking and teaching magic, and he vowed to himself that he would learn enough to carry his side of a conversation with her. As the day dragged on into night, the pair of ponies continued examining the same tome. Twilight would normally be annoyed by making such slow progress, but she found that reading with Argent helped her order her own thoughts.

Trixie woke up from her long nap to a darkened library. Yawning she looked around the bookshelves for any sign of her hosts. The sound of a mare laughing from the second floor caught her attention. She walked up the staircase and peeked into the room she now shared with her brother. Noticing it was empty, she walked towards Sparkle's room down the hall.

"That's perfect Argent," said an excited voice from the door to the right. Trixie froze and looked through the open door into the study. Twilight Sparkle sat dangerously close to her brother, a wing draped over his shoulder. "No Trixie," she thought to herself, "We won't give Sparkle the satisfaction of seeing you upset." She adopted what she imagined was a cool and calm demeanor and sauntered into the small office.

"Where should I put that?" asked Argent in confusion, "I don't think it'll fit."

"So have you learned anything," said Trixie in a too loud voice.

Twilight's wing snapped back to her side in surprise, and Argent jumped up at the sudden interruption. Trixie trotted forwards and squeezed in between the two ponies. "What's all this?" she asked while pointing at the pile of handwritten notes surrounding a thick tome. "Ley line diagrams?" scoffed Trixie, "Trixie thought Twilight Sparkle was beyond such basic theory."

"I'll have you know this is quite advanced," said Twilight defensively, "and your brother is a quick learner and a wonderful student." Argent smiled at the compliment and nodded his thanks. "Now let me show you what we've discovered so far."

---

"And Sparkle said that Argent saw the corresponding elevation in the fifth ley line," said Trixie as she sipped from the tea cup. "Trixie was skeptical about her teaching Argent magic, but Trixie must admit that it paid off this time." The previous night's study session with her brother and his employer had led to a late start to the day for Trixie.

"You never told me you were interested in magic," said the elder Twilight to the stallion sitting at her side.

"I never learned enough to know whether or not I was," he replied. "I assume this fifth ley line is important?"

Twilight nodded and looked across at Trixie. "If what Trixie says is true," she said, "then something is somehow influencing two discordant lines in her horn."

"Moon and Chaos," replied Trixie with a perplexed shake of her head. "Sparkle and Argent are already starting to look for answers to that impossibility."

Twilight nodded and looked back at her confused coltfriend. "The Moon is the celestial symbol of order," she explained, "It's why it made such an effective and ironic prison for Nightmare Moon." Argent still looked confused as Twilight continued her explanation. "The moon keeps the tides constant; we use it to measure the seasons; its surface is unchanging. In short, for it to be associated in any way with chaos is very troubling." Argent nodded in preliminary understanding.

Twilight pondered her many years of experience before laughing. "Trixie?" she asked, "I wish to append something to our little 'secret for a favor' deal."

"Trixie supposes it depends on what Sparkle wants of her," replied Trixie.

"Fair enough," said Twilight, "Suppose I wanted to learn Illusion magic from you."

Trixie laughed in Twilight's face. "Ha!" she shouted, "You want The Great and Powerful Trixie to teach you the secrets of her fantastical apparitions?" She stood and flared her magic. A second Twilight with a wand for a cutie mark sneered at the original on the couch. "Durrrr, I'm the Princess of Magic and I can't even cast a simple disguise spell!" The disguise faded and Trixie fell to the floor laughing. "Why would Trixie give up the one thing she is better than Sparkle at?"

Twilight took the insult in stride; she'd heard worse from the cyan mare over the years. She stood and walked over to the still prone Trixie. "Because I can tell you where to start looking for answers to your little control issue," said Twilight as she reached down and tweaked Trixie's horn.

"You told Trixie you didn't know what caused her problem," said the showmare.

"I don't," replied Twilight, "But I happen to know of something with a Moon Chaos Line conjunction." She looked down on the now silent Trixie. "Just show me the basics," she said, "what you just did should be enough."

Trixie stood and looked to her brother. He looked at Twilight and shrugged. "She's got that look that usually means, 'I know something important'," he said. "Just take the deal."

"Ughh," said Trixie as she turned back to Twilight, "Fine, Trixie agrees." She reluctantly held out her hoof.

Twilight smiled in triumph and bumped the proffered hoof with her own. "Tell the younger me to analyze the Alicorn Amulet," she said, "Particularly the..."

"Do you think Trixie is stupid?" interrupted the annoyed showmare. "Trixie already had Twilight check the Amulet."

"Let me guess," said Twilight, "She read a book that says it only alters moon lines and promptly moved on to other ideas."

Trixie paused and narrowed her eyes. "Go on," she said.

"The amulet alters the user based on their intentions," she said, "If she uses it to, I don't know, get petty revenge on somepony whose only crime was protecting her town, the Chaos line is magnified." Twilight noted the ever so subtle look of shame in Trixie's face and continued. "She'll become a chaotic megalomaniac."

"And if she wants to boost her magical abilities to better protect her people?" asked Argent with a slightly annoyed expression on his face.

Twilight coughed and hung her head in shame. "She'll turn into a rules obsessed tyrant." She shrugged off the shame of her actions long ago and smiled at Trixie. "Just tell Twilight to analyze the Amulet for herself; Zecora should still have it. Past that, I would suggest looking up the Amulet's creator."

"Trixie will pass that along," said the showmare. "I suppose you'll want Trixie's spell now?"

"Well, not all right now," said Twilight, "Even I won't be able to master a spell in a single day."

"The perfect Twilight Sparkle will probably learn it in an hour," sighed Trixie as she started giving away her best tricks.

---

It would take her the better part of a week to master the spell. Trixie's wounded ego took it as a small victory. The information Twilight provided in return led to many nights of study by her younger self. The younger Argent, aided by Spike, began an exhaustive search for the details behind the pony who forged the Amulet. Spike was on the top of the rolling ladder, his claws grabbing the spine of an extremely large tome.

"Oh yeah," said Spike, "Shining thought that he could practice his skills by filling me full of soda and dodging my flaming burps." He grabbed the book and handed it down to his assistant. "Mama Velvet grounded him for a week for burning the curtains." The drake hopped down from the ladder and pushed it to the end of row of bookshelves. "And Twilight made him buff my scales every day of his punishment."

Argent barked a laugh and slapped Spike on the back. "Nice," he said, "I think you have me beat, but a deal's a deal." Argent levitated the book in front of him as they made their way across the library's main floor. "So, I'm on my first day of squiring for your illustrious brother, and we're walking towards the guard room in the Princesses' wing of the castle: You know the hallway with all the vases and standing mirrors?" Spike nodded and Argent continued. "Well Princess Cadenza comes out of her Aunt's quarters, smiles at the cap and says 'Hi Shining Armor.' He says something that sort of comes out like a frog trying to imitate a parrot squawking 'Hi Cadance,' and promptly crashed into a vase, which crashed into a mirror, and so on until the entire hallway is covered in shards of glass and pottery." Argent laughed at the memory. "He swore me to secrecy and told everypony a bird flew in through an open window."

"Oh boy," said Spike, "I can't wait until Shiney comes to visit." Spike rubbed his claws together deviously. "I'll tell you Argent, having blackmail material on my brother is about the best gift a dragon could ask for."

Argent chuckled and opened the door to the study. "Agreed," he said, "Remind me to tell you about Trixie's first magic show sometime. The matrons still won't serve noodles in the cafeteria." He set the large tome on the desk in front of Twilight. "Here you are," he said proudly, "The Artificer's Almanac: A Who's Who of Pony Enchanters." He sat next to Twilight and opened the obscure reference guide.

Twilight looked over his shoulder at the table of contents. "There!" she said excitedly, "Shoebert the Desperate."

Argent flipped the pages until they came upon the entry and began to read:

Shoebert the Desperate was the preeminent scholar on the magics that artificially prolong life. Originally known for all manner of emergency medical spells still in use today, the brilliant master of restorative magics became a recluse shortly after his Thirtieth birthday when he was diagnosed with a slowly developing terminal illness. Rumors of self experimentation and worse began circulating around Canterlot after screams were reported emanating from his laboratory. Investigations by the city guard revealed nothing incriminating, but Shoebert went west, past Buffalo territory, to continue his research away from prying eyes.

Nothing is known of his activities, and many assumed his illness had claimed him. These notions were proven false when he returned from his exile and led a one pony war against the forces of Canterlot. His power was amplified by his crowning achievement: The Alicorn Amulet. Claiming that he was the incarnation of the god of death, Shoebert left a trail of battered and broken royal guards on his march towards Canterlot. Constance Care, a medic tending to an injured guard called out the mad wizard and challenged him to prove that he could still heal. Shoebert removed the amulet and began saving each and every pony he had hurt on that day. Constance took possession of the amulet and presented it to the Princess on her arrival to the battlefield.

Upon removing the Amulet, Shoebert's body quickly began failing him. The once imposing unicorn stallion soon became a pale shadow of his former self. By the time the last pony had been healed, he was little more than skin and bones. Unrecognized by the ponies around him, he was last seen headed west towards his Laboratory. Subsequent investigations found a small collapsed ruin to the west of modern day Appleoosa. Nothing of note was found.

"I guess we need to check out those ruins," said Twilight, "He may have left notes or clues as to how he made the amulet, or how to restore Trixie's magic." She saw the anxious look on Spike's face. "No Spike," she said, "I'm not going to make you watch the library and miss your trip." The dragon exhaled in relief. "In fact," continued Twilight, "Why don't you ask Pinkie if she wants to ride in the royal car with all of us?" Spike tore out of the study in a blur of green and purple. Twilight chuckled at his enthusiasm. "He's really been looking forward to this trip," she said with a grin.

Argent nodded and closed the large tome. "I'll ready some supplies and let the station know to have your car readied," said Argent confidently. He was far better prepared for planning excursions than he was at researching obscure magical lore. "Trixie should be back from her walk soon," he said as he started towards the door, "She'll be ready to go. She always packs light."

---

"Trixie was right as usual," said the showmare, "Nopony is looking twice." The two disguised ponies beside her warily looked around the avenue they strolled down. Argent had chosen to keep his coat its normal silver, while the color of his mane was altered to a deep burnt orange with yellow stripes. His cutie mark now appeared as a shield over a sword on a red flag. Twilight changed her coat to an off white and her mane to an alternating green and blue. The six pointed star of her cutie mark sprouted two more points on the side to form a compass rose, complete with embellished cardinal directions. "The disguise is only as good as your performance allows it to be," lectured Trixie for the umpteenth time. She led them to the small open air cafe across from the town hall.

"And there's no way to hide my wings?" asked Twilight, "I'm hating these corsets."

"Trixie doesn't know," replied the annoyed cyan unicorn, "Most unicorns don't have that problem. You could always go ask your fellow princesses."

"Point taken," muttered Twilight. She took a deep breath and walked to the greeter. "Good afternoon," she said, "Table for three please."

"Of course madame," replied the mustachioed earth pony, "If you will follow me?"

After being seated and ordering, Twilight finally started feeling confident enough in her disguise to relax. "We can't thank you enough Trixie," she said, "I don't know if you'll be different when we get back, but I hope we can still be friends. I enjoyed it far more than our other encounters."

"No leaving yet," said Trixie playfully, "You still owe me a favor." She looked to her brother across the table, his face frozen in shock.

"Trixie," said the pony behind her, "Do I have to lecture you about extortion again?" Her brother bowed to the two ponies across the table. "Terribly sorry to interrupt," he said, "but I've got some news for Trixie that just can't wait."

Trixie saw her chance to prove the effectiveness of her spell. "Argent, have a seat," she said to her brother, "we were just sitting down for a snack." She patted the small pile of soft hay next to her. "This is Horizon Walker and Oracle Dreams," she said as her brother sat down. "They're friends from the road."

"We're cartographers," explained Twilight, "You're sister has been a great source of information for us for many years."

"Helpful you say," said the younger Argent, "I don't believe I've ever heard that adjective associated with my dear sister." He cringed as the cyan hoof cuffed the side of his head. "That's more like it," he said rubbing his ear. "We're taking our little project on the road," he said, "Turns out there are some ruins west of Appleoosa we need to investigate."

"Shoebert's Lab?" asked the elder Argent. He stifled a yelp as Twilight jabbed him in the ribs.

"Yeah," said Argent quizzically, "You've been there Mr. Walker?"

"We've mapped the area," said Twilight quickly. "We visited Appleoosa and mapped the whole area a few years back." She nervously took a sip from her water. "There's really nothing out there but tumbleweeds and dust."

"I wouldn't waste the Princess's time, and it's pretty dangerous out there" said the elder stallion to his younger self. "There are some pretty nasty creatures in the area: Poisonous snakes, wild dogs, even saw a giant tarantula."

"I'm a professional," said the younger Argent proudly, "I think I can handle a few wild animals." He threw a hoof around Trixie's shoulder and hugged her. "Trixie needs our help, and this is our only lead." Six loud chimes rang out across the village from the Ponyville Clock Tower. "Sorry guys, I have to run," he said apologetically, "Trixie, meet us at the train station at seven. Your saddlebags are on your bed with a few essentials." He stood and bowed to his sister's acquaintances. "It was a pleasure meeting you both," he said before trotting out of the cafe and towards the train station.

"Trixie, you have to keep them from going on that trip," said Argent desperately, "You can't go there, not now." Twilight nodded in agreement, fear evident on her face.

"He said it's the only chance Trixie has to fix her magic," replied the confused cyan unicorn, "A few wild beasts don't scare The Great and Powerful Trixie."

"Trixie, there's something horrible out there," said Twilight, "Something even we fear, even though we defeated it once before."

Argent took his marefriend's shaking hooves in his. "Trixie, we had years of experience and the Crown of Harmony on our side," said the stallion, "and we emerged from that day with more than a few scars."

Trixie saw the look of terror on both ponies' faces. "Trixie could call in her favor," she said flatly.

Twilight buried her face in Argent's chest, her rapid breathing audible to the unicorn across the table. The stallion closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Please don't," he said, "just convince them to delay this. You don't want to deal with Shoebert's Lab; not yet."

"Argent," said Trixie desperately, "I can't use my magic!" Trixie noticed the other patrons staring after her loud outburst and lowered her voice. "I can't find them, not like this. You two may be scared of this place, but I'm more terrified of a life without my magic." She stood and flipped a few bits onto the table. "Trixie will be back soon," she said, "If either of you wish to be of any real help, you know where Trixie will be."

---

"Wowee!" said Pinkie Pie as she walked around the posh train car attached to the back of the Friendship Express, "This is going to be the most fancy pants train ride ever!" The porter following her levitated her bags into the overhead bins above the posh sleeping alcove.

"The apples have been loaded in the cargo cart as requested Princess," said the porter with a bow, "Is there any other service you or your guests require?"

"No, thank you," replied Twilight politely, "Everyone has been most helpful on such short notice."

The porter left to tend to his remaining duties, leaving the four ponies and one dragon to settle themselves. "Trixie sees that being a princess certainly has its perks," said the show mare after slowly whistling at the luxurious transport. She had tried to forget about the dire warning her older brother had given her, but the fear in the eyes of the older Sparkle could not be dispelled. "You don't need to rush all this on Trixie's account," she said, "We could always try to learn more about Trixie's condition before any expedition."

"Nonsense," said Twilight, "This is the best information we have. There's no sense in delaying it, especially when I can get us all there so quickly."

"And you all get to go to the best Western Days Party ever!" shouted Pinkie Pie, "You can't miss that!"

"All aboard!" shouted a pony from one of the forward cars. A great cacophony of hissing steam and grinding steel accompanied the initial jerk of motion as the Friendship Express got underway. A few ponies started running along the slowly accelerating locomotive, waving to their friends or family.

"Wait," shouted a loud voice from behind royal car, "Stop the train!"

The car's occupants trotted to the rear balcony in time to see two older cloaked unicorns galloping towards the departing train. Trixie waved her hoof at the pursuing ponies. "Hurry!" she yelled as she felt the train slowly build up speed. The stallion levitated his companion's saddle bags to his back, allowing her to sprint closer to the train. Trixie held out her hoof as the cloaked mare edged closer to the railing. "She's not going to make it," thought Trixie. The showmare hopped over the railing and balanced precariously on the edge of the car, much to her contemporary brother's chagrin. With one foreleg looped around the railing, she reached her hoof towards the galloping mare.

With a grunt of effort the older Twilight leapt forward and grabbed Trixie's hoof with her own. Trixie tried pulling the mare in but soon found herself losing her grip on the railing. The younger Twilight wrapped Trixie in a lavender aura, anchoring her to the train while Argent reached over the side and helped pull the mare onto the balcony.

Twilight gulped air in loud long breaths and looked back towards Argent. He was barely keeping pace with the train, each attempt to gain ground was nullified by the locomotive's slow and steady acceleration. She pulled Trixie over the railing and pushed her back into the car. "Too far away too levitate," thought the cloaked mare. A creaking sound of bending metal accompanied the railing ripping loose from the rear of the car. The curved steel pole groaned as the lavender aura shaped it straight. She extended the beam out the rear of the train and exhorted Argent to grab it.

The stallion grabbed the spar and awkwardly ran on his rearlegs while hanging on for dear life with his forelegs. Twilight slowly pulled him in, floating the end of the steel shaft into the car. Once aboard the railcar, the cloaked stallion collapsed to his knees in exhaustion and hung his head while trying to catch his breath. Twilight let the mangled railing crash to the floor and sat next to Argent on the car's rear porch. She placed her forehead to his and held his hooves in hers.

Twilight walked towards the two unicorns huddled on the porch. She stepped over the metal pole that ran along the floor of her rail car. She tried lifting it with her magic, and only succeeded in nudging it to the side of the aisle. "You're them aren't you?" she asked the two cloaked strangers in awe. "You saved the Pegasi in the forest didn't you?"

The older Twilight sighed as she rubbed her head against her Argent's. "You can do this," he whispered while brushing his lips against hers. She smiled and stood to face herself. Her blue and green mane billowed in the wind as she dropped to a knee. "Yes Princess," she said with as much deference as she could muster. She reached behind her and helped Argent to his feet.

"Why all the secrecy?" asked the younger stallion as he stepped between Twilight and the two newcomers. He looked over his shoulder at Trixie. "And why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Your sister didn't know," interrupted the older Argent, "And it was nothing to get too excited about,"

"Don't you think that should be Princess Twilight's decision?" asked the younger stallion angrily, "Those things kidnapped four ponies; who's to say they won't come back?" He swiveled his head when he felt the hoof on his shoulder.

"It's alright Argent," said Twilight gently, "Everypony is accounted for and Zecora is keeping an eye out for more Kenku." She moved to his side and urged both bowing ponies to rise. "Please," she said in embarrassment, "None of that." She ushered all the ponies into the cabin. "I think introductions are in order," she said after they had all settled around the large circular table at the center of the royal train car.

"Oooh, Ooooh," said Pinkie Pie waving her hooves wildly in the air, "I can do it! Let me do it!" Twilight smiled and nodded to her friend. Pinkie fell out of her stool and disappeared from view. She popped up behind Twilight and pulled her wings out with her hooves. "Princess Twilight Sparkle!" she exclaimed before vanishing. She appeared across the table behind Trixie at an impossible speed. "Trixie Lulamoon!"

"Argent Defender!"

"Spike!"

She appeared in between the two new ponies and threw her forelegs around both of their necks. "Horizon Walker and Oracle Dreams!" she said pulling each to her cheek before disappearing again. A hat case fell from the overhead storage area and landed in the center of the table.

"Pinkie Pie!" shouted the party pony as she emerged from the round box in a flurry of confetti and streamers. The assorted ponies looked at each other and burst into laughter. Pinkie strolled back to her seat with a proud gait that screamed "Mission Accomplished."

"So Ms. Dreams," said Twilight as she wiped a tear of laughter from her eye, "Why in the wide world of Equestria did you have to risk injury to get on this train?"

"Just Oracle is fine," she said with a smile, "and to answer your question, we overheard Argent telling Trixie about your expedition." She took the proffered cupcake from Pinkie who was making her way around the table distributing the tasty treats. "Horizon and I have actually been to the ruins," she explained while peeling the wrapper from the pastry. "The area is very dangerous, and we decided that no Princess of Equestria would face that danger alone and unaware."

"That's quite generous," said Argent from across the table, "but we're quite capable of defending ourselves."

"I know you think you've seen it all Guardspony Defender," said the elder stallion, "But spend a few years wandering like us and you'll find that there are worse things out there than Changelings." The younger stallion narrowed his eyes and glared at the older.

"Trixie agrees with Horizon and Oracle," said the cyan mare, "Trixie has heard stories about the badlands that would chill your bones."

"Ghost Stories!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, "Great idea Trixie!" The pink mare ran around the car pulling down the curtains at each window. She placed an elaborate candelabra on the center of the table and turned off the lights. "Okay go!" she said while holding her hooves to her chin.

Trixie smiled a wicked grin and floated her cape to her back from its hook on the wall. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has faced many of Equestria's most horrifying denizens," began the confident showmare, "but the creature I will tell you about made even Trixie flee in terror." She walked around the table, periodically grabbing one of the ponies in the audience by the shoulder to add shock value. As the minutes passed by, looks of amusement were replaced by wide eyes and anxious shakes.

The train passed through a thunderstorm, further heightening the tension in the car. Rain pelted the windows as Trixie stood atop the large table mimicking the characters in her story. "As Trixie drank from the cold spring water of the desert oasis, the squeaky scratching sound reached a crescendo," said Trixie, raising her hoofs in the air, "Trixie turned, only to find her guide Sure Hooves limping towards her." She crouched and limped towards the young dragon whose eyes peaked up from under the edge of the table. "Trixie asked what was wrong, and Sure Hooves stopped just feet away," she said in a quiet voice. She held the pose until she saw the flash of lightning outside. Trixie blew out the candles and jumped into the middle of the table. "Sure Hooves opened his mouth, and piles of large angry beetles poured out, until nothing was left of him but an empty skin!" The crack of thunder led to several shrieks of fright. "Trixie blasted the bugs to oblivion with hornfire, but the scratching sound...it wouldn't stop," Trixie's horn flared, providing a dim light that illuminated her actions. She fell to the ground and began crawling. "Trixie has heard that scratching ever since," she said in a very convincing terrified tone. She rolled over onto her side in the middle of the table, her horn starting to flicker very slowly. "Wait," she said in alarm, "It stopped...Why did it stop?!" She opened her mouth and started to scream, but all that came out were a torrent of glowing illusory beetles.

Spike and Pinkie Pie screamed and jumped out of their seats. "The beetles are gonna eat our brains!" shouted Pinkie as she hobbled on the three legs that Spike wasn't attached to. She jumped into the sleeping alcove and hid under the covers.

Trixie burst out in laughter and released her magic before it was close to going wild. "Only two out of six," she said with disappointment, "Maybe Trixie has lost her touch." She turned to see her older brother squeezing "Oracle" like she was a comfort blanket. Her contemporary brother lie unconscious on his back, Twilight fanning him with her wing and glaring back at her.

"Hah," she said with a laugh, "Still got it."

---

After a restless night of sleep, interrupted multiple times by Spike waking in screams, dawn broke on the horizon and heralded the beginning of a new day. Twilight opened her eyes and brushed the green and blue mane off of her face. "Such an amazing spell," she thought as she gently shook the stallion that had wrapped himself around her waist. "Wake up love," she whispered into his ear.

Argent yawned and rubbed his muzzle against Twilight's. "Sorry about last night," he said sheepishly, "Trixie did that on purpose."

"Of course she did," said Twilight, "but it helped break the ice, so I think we can forgive her this time." She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out her brush. Argent eagerly took it in his hooves and began pulling it through her disheveled mane. "You're getting quite good at this," she said, sighing in delight. Argent smiled and moved the brush to the soft short hair of her stomach.

"Who wants muffins!" said Pinkie Pie as she poked her head through the obviously ineffective privacy curtain.

The pink pony let out a gleeful "Wheee!" as she flew across the car surrounded by a lavender aura.

"Good muffins," said Twilight as the stallion resumed her morning grooming. Once finished, Argent stepped out onto the car's porch and did his morning stretches while Twilight carefully removed her corset and tenderly stretched her wings in the privacy of the well appointed washroom. The exercise routine and herbs Zecora had provided were starting to add more definition to the atrophied appendages. "I might even be able to glide someday," thought Twilight bitterly. She had replaced the corset and had finished lacing it up with the train suddenly began decelerating, causing her to stumble. She donned her cloak and ran back into the car.

Trixie was rubbing the back of her head while the younger Argent and Twilight trotted to the front of the car. Her Argent waved at her from the rear door. "What's going on," she asked as she trotted over to him.

Argent carefully leaned out and pointed along the train's side. A few hundred yards from where the train stopped rose a large dome of roiling black energy from the desert floor. Through the turbulent magic energy could be glimpsed the shapes of simple wooden buildings.

"Is that Appleoosa?" asked Twilight in shock.

"I think so," replied Argent, "I'm pretty sure I saw the clock tower." He glanced back at his worried partner. "They brought the amulet with them didn't they?"

"They must have," said Twilight, "He wouldn't have made a move unless he felt it nearby." She pulled Argent towards the door and lowered her voice. "Get the saddlebags, I'll see about getting through the barrier." Argent nodded and trotted back into the car.

Twilight jumped to the ground and began galloping towards the front of the train. Several of the passengers who had stuck their heads out the window pointed at the galloping unicorn shouting questions as she passed by. Twilight ignored them and eventually approached the scintillating black dome. Waves of dark energy cascaded over the surface of the bubble, kicking up dust as they collided with the ground. Twilight probed the dome with her horn, eliciting a hissing spark. "Same signature," she thought to herself as she flared her magic and started casting a counter-spell. The ray of purple energy pierced the barrier producing a shower of black and lavender sparks. A circular portal began to expand.on the surface of the dome, opening slowly like an iris. She remained focused on the barrier as the rumble of galloping hooves drew closer.

"The barrier is the same," she said, "I'll have a large enough opening in a moment."

"You've actually seen this before Oracle?" asked the mare behind her.

Twilight muttered a curse under her breath, but remained focused on dispelling the barrier. "Yes Princess," she said, "Horizon and I saw a similar barrier closer to the ruins the last time we were here." She sighed and succumbed to practicality. "It's an entropic barrier feeding off of chaos. A concentrated blast of hornfire from the 8th ley line disrupts the barrier locally."

The younger Twilight nodded and fired a ray of energy that converged with the older's. The twin jets of lavender energy increased the rate at which the portal opened. The two stallions appeared soon after with Trixie, Pinkie Pie and Spike in tow. The older Twilight released her magic and nodded at the Princess. "This should hold long enough," she said while turning to face the assembled group. "Horizon and I will lead the way, stay close and stay quiet."

"Princess this has gone far enough," said Argent, "I can't let you put yourself in danger like this. We don't even know what's in there!"

"You don't get to decide that for me!"

"You don't get to decide that for...her!"

Argent withered under the glares of the two Twilights. The younger mare nodded to the older and pulled her bodyguard aside from the group. "I know you take your duty seriously Argent," she said with sympathy, "but I'm not some porcelain doll to be placed on a shelf and admired from afar."

"But Captain Armor said..." plead the stallion.

"You're my guard now," interrupted the princess, "and I need to be out there helping anypony who needs me." She placed a hoof firmly on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "What I need is somepony to watch my back and pull me out of the fire when it gets too hot." She smiled at the stallion who had spent nearly every waking hour with her over the last two weeks. "Can you do that for me Argent?"

"Yes Ma'am" he replied softly, "I just don't want to let anypony down, least of all you."

"Fear not Argent Defender," said Twilight in jest, "For your Princess is most forgiving." She smiled as she saw the stallion's frown turn upside down. "Good, now lets see what this is all about." They rejoined the group and followed the older unicorns through the breach in the foreboding black dome.

Appleloosa, being a relatively new town, was a centralized compact place. Narrow dirt roads lined on each side with rustic wooden buildings led into a central plaza. As the group of ponies approached one of the main boulevards from the east, the sounds of their hooves striking the sun baked ground rang across the deserted street.

"If Trixie sees a tumbleweed, she'll scream," said the cyan mare. She rolled her eyes as a quartet of shushes were aimed at her. A flash of white from her periphery vision caught her attention. "Wait," she whispered, "what was that?" She pointed towards a small alley between houses. She took a few steps towards the narrow passageway. A rattling noise from behind a dumpster caused her to halt. "Come out here," she called, "Trixie is here to help."

A thin bleached white hoof stepped into view, followed by a far too thin foreleg and skeletal rib cage. The skeletal earth pony saw the collection of ponies and emitted a horrible screech from the empty cavity of its skull. The older Argent pulled his round shield from beneath his cloak and hurled it at the beast. As it shattered into a pile of bones, three more galloped from the alley and cried out in a terrible shriek.

Argent telekinetically pulled his shield back and held it against the oncoming stampede of bones. "Run!" he shouted as he deflected the bite of a desiccated unicorn, its horn digging a large gouge in the wood of his shield. "Get to the Town Hall!" A torrent of lavender fire immolated the skeleton approaching him from the side.

"Do as he says," shouted the older Twilight, "We'll hold these off and meet you there." She lowered her horn and blasted two more of the creatures as they appeared from around another building.

Trixie nodded and levitated Spike to her back. "Argent, you lead the way," she said, "Spike will watch behind us." The stallion began galloping, the princess following closely on his hooves. Pinkie Pie stayed just in front of Trixie as they all galloped towards the large square clock tower and attached meeting hall at the center of the town.

"They're far enough away," said Argent as he bucked the skull off of an onrushing corpse.

Twilight nodded and threw up a small barrier around herself and Argent. Dozens of the skeletal equines charged the small lavender dome, beating their hooves and heads against the barrier. Small cracks began to propagate along the shimmering wall of energy. Twilight thrust her horn straight into the air and opened her now glowing white eyes. A pillar of white fire erupted from the ground. The bones of the skeletal ponies disintegrated in the white hot concentrated flame. As it disappeared, the column of fire left a smoking, donut shaped crater, a lavender dome at its center.

Twilight lowered the smoking barrier and hopped over the circular ditch. "Let's go," she said, "He'll be in the ruins. They can handle things here."

Argent nodded and looked back towards the town hall. "I really hope Trixie read that note," he said as they made their way back towards the breach in the black dome.

---

Spike yelled when the tower of flame rose from behind the galloping ponies. "We gotta go back!"

"Oracle can handle herself," Trixie shouted, "Keep an eye out for more of those things!" Her hat fluttered in the wind as they continued their stampede towards the town hall.

"They're coming!" moaned Spike as several of the skeletons charged from the alleys between buildings. "Go go go go!" he repeatedly shouted. The large clock tower came into view as they approached the plaza.

"They're surrounding the Hall," yelled Argent. He pulled up about a hundred yards short of the large building. The creatures slammed themselves futility against the heavy oaken doors. The sound of shrieks heralded the imminent arrival of a pack of the galloping dead from behind them.

"They'll be surrounding us soon," shouted Twilight. "We have to get in that building," she shouted. She judged the distance between herself and the door and nodded. "When I say go, I want you all to charge at those doors," she said turning towards the three ponies and dragon. "I'll get them open," she said to Argent, forestalling her guard's objections. "Trust me."

Argent nodded confidently and levitated his shield in front of him. Trixie stomped her feet on the ground and gave Twilight a wink. Pinkie Pie crouched and gave a fierce growl; as fierce a growl as any terrified pink pony had ever managed in the history of Equestria.

Twilight visualized the town hall from her previous visit a few years earlier. She gathered her magic and began casting her teleportation spell. "Go!" she shouted before disappearing in a flash of light.

Argent roared and threw himself forward at full tilt. Trixie and Pinkie followed in his wake as they quickly closed the distance to the town hall. He plowed into the first skeleton thirty yards from the door, his shield blasting into the beast's side like a battering ram. The shrieks of Skeletons filled the air as he knocked another two out of his path. The creatures at the doors spun around and started galloping at the onrushing ponies. Trixie flared her horn and sent a few of her pyrotechnic blasts at the corpses running towards their flank. The resulting explosions showered the plaza with bone. The large double doors remained closed, several of the beasts still throwing themselves against them. Twenty yards became ten, and Argent continued his breakneck pace.

At the last possible second the doors burst open smashing the nearby skeletons to pieces. Twilight emerged and began rapidly firing bolts of energy at the horde of skeletons bearing down upon her friends and the entryway. Argent reached her side, turned, and raised his shield against the oncoming beasts. Once Pinkie Pie galloped into the building, followed shortly by Trixie with a screaming Spike on her back, Twilight and Argent slowly retreated through the doorway. Once clear, Twilight slammed the doors shut with her magic. She held it in place against the crush of creatures on the other side while Argent slammed the heavy door-bar across the brackets built into the large oaken doors. Twilight sighed in relief and released her magic.

She walked to the gasping stallion leaning against the door in exhaustion, his hooves still grasping the door-bar. "I don't know why you ever thought you would let me down," she whispered while patting him on the back, "that was wonderfully done."

Argent smiled proudly and dropped his hooves to the floor. "You need to teach me that," he said with a smirk, "Galloping is overrated." A cough from further in the room interrupted their reprieve.

"Braeburn!" shouted Pinkie Pie ecstatically.

Twilight and Argent turned to see Pinkie crushing Applejack's cousin in a tight hug. His vest was tattered and his hat had several notches on it. A red stained bandage wound around a rear thigh. Behind him a large mass of battered ponies stared at the newcomers with mixture of confusion, awe, and hope.

"Welcome to Appleoosa," said Braeburn without his normal exuberance, "But I reckon ya'll are stuck with us now."

Author's Note:

Alternative titles: "Ponies, Trains and the Undead.

10,000+ words, so I'm positive I missed more than a few errors, but I'm happy that I got to the stopping point I was aiming at. The next chapter should be fun to write, so expect it sooner rather than later.

Comments

[Seether00]

Zombies!!!

Paradoxes are coming. Let's see how much longer the older Twilight can keep this up.

[khatre]

/shout Choo Choo!! Undead Train INC to Appleoosa!!

[GloomyFace]

I'd really want to say something constructive, but I don't really know what... I simply enjoyed reading the chapter. Undead infestation GOGO!

---

A few small errors that I have noticed:

Once Pinkie Pie ran galloped into the building,

Argent reached her side turned and raised his shield against the oncoming beasts.

put a comma after "side" here.

His vest was tattered and his had had several notches on it.

[Greifus_OnE]

A fantastic chapter you have written! However I can't help but feel a little worried that the older Twilight and Argent are doing too much of the heavy lifting when the younger pair should have their chance to shine, develop and grow. But since the time light has already been altered I guess that means that they will encounter new challenges that the original pair never had.

Looking forward to your next chapter!

[levarien]

2791903 Well, the younger duo are on their own(ish) now. We'll see how they fare.

[kork]

adventure time !
i really love this chapter, but now i want more .

[Raven Flight]

Dude! This chapter was amazing! I'm not a stickler for grammar, and the flow was so clean, that none stood out at all. I got confused at he end as to which pair was doing what for a minute, but it cleared itself up quickly. I can see how the interference from the future pair seems to be bringing the pat pair closer together, maybe some young romance in the offing? And the time stream resets...yay! (Just sayin')

[BlueNinja]

Alright, when both sets are in the same place, you really need to refer to them differently. I thought at first the younger Twi was rapping on the dome, because the older one is Oracle the whole time they're in the train.

Also, is Argent's fighting style based on Captain America?