"Why do you think he wanted us to stay here, sister?"
The two princesses were examining the chambers they would be using during their stay in the Crystal Empire. It was a fairly standard check: The two princesses doubted that the new ruler had done anything to the guest rooms since he'd arrived, but the didn't mean that King Sombra might not have put any number of nasty surprises in place.
Celestia, using a spell to check for any eavesdropping spells, shrugged, then answered, "There are several very good reasons that come to mind. He might want our assistance in getting the kingdom back up and running. I wouldn't blame him: Sombra made a royal mess of things here, pardon the pun. While the crystal ponies would be able to get most things fixed within a few weeks or moons, a little alicorn assistance might reduce that to just a few short days. Pan may also want to use our presence here to help in solidifying his position as the ruler of this kingdom: The nobility would be hesitant to challenge his rule directly while you and I are here. Just being present implies that we approve of his continued rule, and that we'd consider an attack on him to be a challenge to our authority."
Finishing her own check for any possible traps in the beds and other furnishings, Luna added, "Or he may simply be trying to be nice?"
Celestia laughed aloud, and said, "It's rare for you to be playing the angel's advocate, sister. Yes, I admit, that is a possibility. Unlikely, but possible. He seems to be a decent sort, but his mettle has not yet been proven. Good is one thing, but soft is another. If he doesn't have at least a little steel in him, he may be deposed well before his coronation next year..."
Luna, surprisingly, felt bad about that. Pan definitely seemed to be kind and generous, regardless of whatever his species might be. It would be a pity to lose him before they had gotten to know him better. "Then it might be a good idea to help him prepare for the challenges to come, wouldn't you agree?"
Celestia raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Oh, and will you be asking him out to the Grand Galloping Gala next?"
Luna blushed bright red, and Celestia chuckled. "I jest, Luna. I would not be against aiding him in securing his rule and keeping the nobility on a leash. However, before we do anything of the sort, we have to make absolutely certain that he's exactly what he seems to be. I will not trade one tyrant for another, and I definitely will not place a pony-eating monster as the ruler of the most isolated city in Equestria. I would not want to leave this place in Pan's hooves until I am certain that I will not be coming back here next year to kick him off the throne for devouring our subjects. More importantly, we have to make certain he's fully qualified for his role as emperor: We cannot hold his hoof if he's going to be the ruler here. The fact that this kingdom is unreachable for half the year, in and of itself, means that the one in charge must be able to handle any crisis that may appear all on his own. If he plans to keep the crown, he must recognize that, in the end, its weight is his alone to bear."
Luna examined the softness of one of the beds and said, "I understand, sister." She could not argue with Celestia's logic...
That didn't mean she had to like it.
---------------------------
Pan looked at the latest bottle of wine as he sat upon the throne, then said, "I should probably stop for now. Send that one back to the cellars with my thanks to Malted Barley."
The servant nodded in understanding, then left with the bottle in tow. Pen Stroke breathed a visible sigh of relief. Chuckling, Pan asked, "Thought I didn't know my limits, chancellor?"
Blushing slightly in embarrassment, the pony admitted, "I was beginning to become concerned, yes. You drink a great deal, milord: You've imbibed half your weight in spirits since you woke up this morning, and noon is more than an hour away."
Sighing, Pan admitted, "Yes, I'll admit, I've been overdoing it a bit. I've been in the habit of consuming as much alchohol as I can, whenever I have it on hoof. Since I have enough liquor to fill a lake now, I should try to control myself better. And I should definitely try to keep at least somewhat sober until the celebration is in full swing. On that note..." Pan paused, closed his eyes, then concentrated. For a few seconds, he burned love to increase the effectiveness of his liver, burning the majority of the alchohol out of his system.
There was a startled gasp from the chancellor and the other assembled crystal ponies. Opening his eyes, Pan asked, surprised, "Is something wrong?"
Pen Stroke, startled, said, "For a moment, milord, you turned green."
Eyes wide in surprise, Pan asked, "Really? I didn't realize that could happen..." Of course, Pan had never tried to burn love while he was glowing like this. After all, that would be wasteful, since burning love is normally reserved for emergencies. Pan would normally never burn love just to reduce his level of inebriation, but since he was getting love non-stop...
Wait... he'd never tried changing his appearance while he was glowing, either. Of course, love absorption is normally a very brief process, just touching the horn-like extension on a changeling's head to the horn or forehead of the drainee, or the more gentle version where the drainee just sort of sends the energy your way. But now that Pan had a constant supply coming in, maybe it would be possible to experiment and see if he could change his appearance while he was glowing. Glowing is just emitting light, and what is an illusion but the bending of light?
"It's nothing to be concerned about," Pan said, with a dismissive wave. "When I use some of my abilities, it seems my radiance changes temporarily."
Pen Stroke nodded in understanding, then said, "I will keep that in mind, milord." After a moment, Gold Coin ran in, carrying something on his back. Carefully picking up the item, a small chest, the elder pony said, "The item you requested is complete, milord." Opening it up, Pen Stroke revealed its contents.
It was a very simple item, little more than a thin circle of silver, large enough to fit upon a changeling's head. At one point on the ring was a blue sapphire, obviously intended to be set upon the forehead. While it would be quite valuable to the common pony, it was relatively inexpensive to reproduce if this one was ever lost. Essentially, this would be Pan's 'walking around' crown. Well, more of a coronet, really...
Chuckling, Pan said, "Your jeweler works fast." He'd requested the item only an hour ago.
Bowing deeply, Pen Stroke said, "It was a simple design, and in truth, the king who reigned before Sombra had similar tastes, although his preferences ran more towards gold and diamonds. The most difficult part was convincing the jeweler that you didn't want anything more ostentatious. I had to tell him three times that it definitely had to be silver, not platinum, and that you wanted a sapphire, not a blue diamond."
"Of course," Pan said, nodding with a wry smile, "Most kings wear the most expensive things imaginable. Well, there may come a day when I'll feel comfortable wearing enough bits to buy a small city, but I'd prefer to keep modest, at least until the city prospers again. Besides, I doubt that the majority of my subjects would be able to tell the difference between silver and platinum, let alone a sapphire and a blue diamond." Clearing his throat, the changeling asked, "And how go the preparations for the celebration tonight?"
"They're going quite well," the chancellor said, brightening significantly. "We were most fortunate to have a skilled celebration planner arrive just this morning. Miss Nannette Cream Pie has proven to be more than up to making the preparations needed."
"Please, call me Nana. Everypony else does."
An earth pony strode into the throne room, smiling brightly. While her coat was banana yellow, and her mane and tail pure white, those bright blue eyes and that poofie mane style were very familiar. His jaw dropping, Pan asked, "Pinkie Pie?"
Giggling, Nana Cream Pie asked, "How did you know my gram-gram's name?"
-----------------------
It took a few minutes to get the throne room cleared out, and a bit longer to convince Pen Stroke to leave as well. When the room was finally cleared, Pan decided that it was time to get some answers.
The answers he got were weird...
"So," Pan said, having difficulty following what he'd just been told, "you're from one thousand years in the future, but not my one thousand years in the future."
Nana giggled and said, "Yup. I was told that you came from around the same time I am, but because you went back in time, you changed what the world is like a thousand years from now. At least, that's what Morning Glory told me."
Making sure he remembered correctly, he asked, "And Morning Glory is your time's Element of Magic?"
Nodding vigorously, the earth pony said, "Yup, and I'm the Element of Laughter."
That much he understood pretty well. Of course the equivalent of Pinkie Pie in the future would have the same element. "And you were sent back why, exactly?"
"I was sent back," Nana said, still smiling, "because in the future, I was in the past. It's a time-wimey loopie-woopie. I was sent here because I was here, so I am here."
Pan decided not to examine that too closely. If he wanted his head to explode, he'd just do some crystal meth instead. "...Right. But wasn't there something you were told to do? Was it because you were supposed to plan the big celebration today, or because somepony in the future wanted me to have a headache?"
"Well, the party planning was just because it's kind of my thing," Nana admitted, "and the headache is just kind of a bonus. The real reason I was sent here was because I needed to give you a really important message."
Curious, Pan asked, "And that message would be?"
Her expression deadly serious, Nana Cream Pie said, "Princess Luna wanted me to tell you that, when you wake up tomorrow morning, try not to scream too loudly."
"I don't suppose," the changeling asked, "you could explain what I shouldn't scream about?"
"Well, I could try," Nana answered, "but if I did, I'd probably be sent back right away. The time travel spell Morning Glory used doesn't allow for paradoxes-es-es-es. Es."
Nodding, Pan said, "I understand. When you get back, thank Princess Luna for the warning. I don't know if it will help, but I do appreciate it."
Saluting, Nana said, "Kay-Oh-Dokie-Doke!"
"Ummm, not that I'm in any hurry for you to leave," Pan began, "but how long until you go back?"
Grinning, Nana said, "I'll be gone before I finish this..." And she vanished in a flash of bright light.
"...Sentence," Pan finished helpfully. Well, that was surreal, and worrying. But at the same time, it was kind of nice to know that Equestria would still be there in a thousand years, even if it would be different from the way it was...
Since the last chapter was long, this one is short. Next chapter, the celebration!
I look forward to said next chapter.
Much interest.
Keep it strong, my good fellow.
I just got to ask, the Element of Magic is "Morning Glory." Man that must have been embarrassing when they were in high school.
4397836
There was a Morning Glory in G1, G2, and G3 of MLP, from what my research told me, so I figured, why not?
4397861 But it wouldn't really work here since G1 Morning Glory was a Flutter Pony and G2 and G3 Morning Glory were Earth Ponies. Though, I'm going to go ahead and assume that you made this Morning Glory a Unicorn.
I didn't read that BNC-verse, what's that rules?
Pan (weakly): Luna...get off...you're crushing me.
Luna: Mmm, five more minutes Celly (rolls over)
Pan (being crushed): ...Can't...breathe...help.
An alternative to why Pan can't scream the next morning.
well doesnt take a time traveler to see what that warning stems from. gamemoir.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/doctor-wait-what.gif
Celestia and Luna are in his bed after get overly smashed at the party and he wakes up to Luna (still drunk) licking him and saying she would gobble him up!
... but if he doesn't scream too loudly then Luna can't know to give him the warning unless she finds out that she has already given him the warning. So either it happens because Luna is trying to change history with a spell that can't change history or it happens because Luna knows that she gave the warning to not scream. The implication of paradox means that if she did explain then she wouldn't have gone back in the first place (or she just knows that she already said that). The reason Nana is there is because she knows that she went back in time (but she might just know that she went back in time because she is curently back in time). So either time is trolling, Nana or Luna is trolling, or there was a miscomunication in the future and there will actualy be something supprizing when he wakes up. So there is either something that will be surprising or there won't be...
that was unhelpfull...
Let's get this party started!!!
...next week! Or at least 3 to 4 days...
I really enjoy the story so far. It's interesting to see Pan get himself into these situations. So Pinkie's grand daughter Nana goes back in time to fix a party and give him a headache.... but to mainly tell him not to scream in the morning. A message from Luna, from the current timeline and not his timeline. So then he's obviously gonna be well received by the princess in the future in some form or another.
I'm actually curious about the constant love he's getting. If his body continuously gets energy, it would eventually reach a point where it would create the magical equivalent to a Fusion Reaction, similar to how a sun is born when enough gas is gathered together. The results would mean that he would either explode, mutate, or ascend to a higher form. All that build up is bound to do something.
4397893
There are a few, but the big, important one is that only noble changelings (“aristos”) can use magic, while common changelings can “burn love” to enhance their physical abilities. Both are shapechangers.
But much more importantly! Did you all see that, right there? Paradoxes. Es-es-es.
Es.
I am vindicated.
4397943
I predict a fixed point in time in the near future. Not sure why, just a hunch. It'll test everyone's mettle, and possibly metal.
That is always nice to know. As long as no one has come back from the future to stop you you could impossibly have fucked up THAT badly
I predict moon x bug.
4398075
Wow the emperor is going to get with the moon? I feel sorry for Luna. She is going to be so jealous and angry that the moon is cheating on her.
4398075 I like this ship. We shall call it Moonbuggy! And it shall be glorious!
4397937
Or more likely this:
(Tock tock) "Emperor Pan. Are you wake up? Do you know where is Luna? I cannot find her since last night party"
I suspect Celestia´s goodwill regarding the new ruler of the CE doesn´t include letting him bed her little sister..
4397886
Well, either that, or she's a bit like Zecora.
One thing I should probably clarify: In this alt universe, Pinkie Pie and her nana switched birth orders, so the 'Nana' that Pinkie Pie always talks about was born in the modern day, while Pinkie Pie was born two generations ago. There are a couple of other weird things for the future alt. six, but I thought that for Pinkie Pie, that was the best course of action.
I'm still giggling at the pun Nana Cream Pie.
4398075 , But... I don't see a Volkswagen anywhere in this story.
4398147 I was going off the idea that Pan is doing everything in his power to keep Luna feeling appreciated and that there will be enough alcohol at the party that they will completely forget what happened for the events that led up to them sharing the same bed. (And Luna using Pan as a teddy bear)
Can you tell me this will sombra help pan in the future or not it fells like he will help him from a threat on his life as thanks for everything pan did for sombra just my option I hope so
Pan is so waking up with Luna next to him.
4397886 Or she uses Earth Pony magic?
Ooooooooooooooh..... my brain.....
4398137
>moonbuggy
you win everything.
luna is going to be in his bed thats the vide i'm getting
Gotta love predestination paradoxes. Also, I wonder why at least Luna isn't speaking in Ye-Olde speak?
Great chapter.
This story is absolute gold. Keep up the great work!
Very rarely do I find a story that makes me angry, simply for the fact that there aren't enough chapters out yet. I can't exactly pinpoint why, but I am adoring this fic and it's premise, and I can't wait to see where it ends up.
..There are three ways this can end up.
He wakes up....And he is being used as a teddy bear by one or more of the princesses..(or One princess and multiple ponies.)...
He wakes up and a weapon/monster is RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE.
He wakes up at an extremely dangerous height/area.
I bet someone is gonna wake up in bed occupied with another
4398317
Don't scream too loudly, huh?
Seems a rather frivolous thing to send somepony back in time for. So there has to be more to it than that. Possibilities:
#1. He screams so loud that Luna has a headache for a thousand years.
#2. He screams so loud that all the crystals in the Empire shatter.
#3. He screams so loud that he ruins his vocal chords and can't talk for the rest of the Princesses' visit, or even longer.
"Don't scream to loudly"?
Oh boy, that can't be good....
4397886
Friendship IS Magic. Unicorns aren't the only ponies that can have friends.
4398219 I bet she's part changeling!
That was fun. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
4397944 Sheer and utter Brilliance I would love for that scene to happen; Actually no I hope and pray that's exactly what happens
4398137 That's genius and so we shall spread word of this great feat you have accomplished as well as links to the story throughout the internet and you shall be hailed as a hero and legend throughout the internet for 1000 years.
Hail to the conquering Hero.
4398137 Have a medal, have fifty medals, that is brilliant.
4397803 I really enjoy how his powers work... He will most likely be the only changling in this timeline because of happenings? IDK... But still I love how his glowing magic works... When he uses it he glows a diffrent color and such...
This is quite the fun chapter... And I liked the Princesses chat with one another...
Kinda reminds me of this.
thepunchlineismachismo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/2014-04-21.jpg
Kinda.
It could very well be something else other than him bedding Luna, that's just one possibility.
This is a really awesome story, and I LOVE this new way of dealing with a Changeling Protagonist! I am sad that I don't have more wonderful chapters to consume, so I'll just have to try to be patient until new ones come out T_T
Wonder what is going to happen tomorrow morning. Guess we'll find out when it happens in the story.