Chapter 7: URBC Season Four
Flight to the Finish
“Alright girls. We need a routine for the friendship games that’ll knock the judges’ socks off. Any ideas?” asked Apple Bloom.
“You know, I’m pretty sure Rainbow Dash doesn’t wear socks, and that’s not exactly a common farmer expression, so where did you...” noted Scootaloo.
“Focus, Scootaloo. OK, so, we’re representing Ponyville, right? So, how about we build it around something unique to Ponyville?” suggested Sweetie Belle.
“Let’s see… there’s the frequent monster attacks, the Everfree forest, the fact that we’re ‘Equestria’s biggest weirdness magnet,’ and who can forget Murphy Law?” said Scootaloo.
“Something positive about Ponyville?” deadpanned Apple Bloom.
“Well, maybe we can take a positive spin on one of those? Like, we’re the weirdest place in Equestria because we’re the most accepting town in the nation. No matter who or what you are, you have a place here?” suggested Sweetie Belle.
“Hm… that might just work. Good idea Sweetie Belle,” said Scootaloo.
“This’ll be perfect! We’re gonna win for sure!” declared Apple Bloom.
“Yeah!” The three of them cheered.
…
“Anyone else get the feeling that something should have ruined the moment for us, but didn’t?” asked Scootaloo.
“Now that you mention it, yeah. Weird,” said Sweetie Belle.
Meanwhile, a pink filly mining rocks sneezed.
Bats!
Twilight looked up from her book and let out a sigh.
“Alright, I have good news and bad news,” announced Twilight.
The gathered ponies all looked at Twilight in concern, especially Fluttershy, who had been staring into the mirror at her new fang.
“The good news is, Fluttershy is not suffering some kind of relapse. What we’re dealing with is only a tiny lingering bit of bat essence that stuck to her when I dispelled the rest of it. There is no danger of Fluttershy turning back into a vampire fruit bat. The fang and the slight increase in appetite for fruit is as bad as it’s going to get,” said Twilight.
There were numerous sighs of relief.
“The bad news is, I don’t think I can remove what’s still here. It didn’t leave her when I dispelled it because it’s now so tightly bonded to her that forcibly removing it could cause irreversible damage. I’m sorry Fluttershy. I don’t think that fang’s going away any time soon,” said Twilight.
“Consarn it. This is all mah fault. Ah’m so, so sorry Fluttershy. If only Ah’d listened to ya this wouldn’t…” said Applejack.
“No, it’s fine Applejack. I mean, a bit more fruit in my diet isn’t that bad. And the fang is kind of cute,” said Fluttershy.
“I agree!” announced Discord as he spontaneously appeared in the room.
He quickly zipped to Fluttershy’s side and held up a mirror.
“Look at us, we’re single-fang buddies now! Oh my dear Fluttershy, you didn’t have to do this just for me,” said Discord.
“She didn’t,” deadpanned Twilight.
Fluttershy just blushed.
“Eh, whatever. Guess we’ll just have to get used to having a part-vampire fruit bat in town. Then again, something like this was bound to happen sooner or later,” commented Rainbow Dash.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Rarity.
“I mean, we’ve got zombies, robots, whatever the hay Discord is, and now vampires. Kinda. At this point, we just need some aliens to show up and we can say Ponyville is literally where all the weird stuff is,” said Rainbow.
“I dunno. We also still need a merpony, a werepony, a slime pony…” said Pinkie Pie.
Everyone else just rolled their eyes. Except Discord, that is. He just started taking notes.
“... a plane pony, a snail pony, a golem pony, no wait, Sweetie Belle probably already counts for that one…” continued Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Apple Pie
“So… in the end you have no idea if you’re related to Pinkie Pie or not?” asked Scootaloo.
“Nope,” answered Apple Bloom.
“So the entire long, stressful road trip was a waste of time?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Well, it was definitely long and stressful, but Ah wouldn’t say it was a waste of time. Ah mean, even the worst family trip can be a source of good memories, and Ah bet we’ll look back on this one day and smile,” answered Apple Bloom.
“Memories like the scariest cave in Equestria?” asked Scootaloo with a smirk.
“OK, that part wasn’t a good memory. Ah still have no idea what that creepy thing with the tentacles was, and Ah don’t think Ah ever want to know,” said Apple Bloom with a shiver.
“Actually, I think I read about that. It was probably a rare species of cephalopod known for contorting its body into horrifying images to scare off predators known as a sho…” said Sweetie Belle.
“Ah said Ah don’t want to know!” cried Apple Bloom.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo giggled.
Twilight Time
“Wait, you’re offering to give us some private tutoring?” asked Sweetie Belle in surprise.
“Yes. In any subject you want. Well, within reason, of course,” said Twilight.
“Uh...no offence Twilight, but why? Did our sisters ask ya to keep us out of trouble or somethin’?” asked Apple Bloom.
Twilight gave a small cough, but to her credit she didn’t turn away or blush.
“Well, they did, but I’m not just offering for your benefit or theirs. I’ve been a Princess for a while now, and though I still don’t have any duties yet, I want to get some experience being a ruler before I do. After all, one of the reasons Cadance continued to babysit me after she ascended was to learn more about responsibility. I figured some tutoring lessons would work just as well,” explained Twilight.
“Huh. I guess that makes sense, but haven’t you been a leader since the day you and the others defeated Nightmare Moon?” asked Scootaloo.
“There’s a difference between being a leader, and a ruler. I just want to make sure I’m ready when Princess Celestia says it’s time for me to do more than smile and wave. So… are you three interested?” asked Twilight.
The CMC gathered together for a brief group huddle, then turned back to Twilight.
“”Well, sure. We’re down for it. It’s not like we’re busy hunting for our cutie marks or anything. And honestly, I really could use some help getting my magic to work,” admitted Sweetie Belle.
“Ah always wanted to learn a thing or two about potion makin’, but Ah didn’t think it’d be proper to ask Zecora about it after the heart’s desire incident,” said Apple Bloom.
“I don’t suppose you can teach me how to build a unicycle?” asked Scootaloo.
Everyone else looked at Scootaloo in confusion.
“Don’t ask. I’ll just say that it’s about stopping Twitch, and I don’t want Beetle getting involved,” said Scootaloo.
What?! Why not?! asked Beetle.
Go Kart incident, replied Scootaloo, as well as the rest of the hive.
Gah… I swear, you mess up the wheels one time… grumbled Beetle.
Somepony to Watch Over Me
“No,” said Applejack.
“But, Applejack…” started Apple Bloom.
“Ah said no, and Ah mean no. Ah’m not leavin’ ya home alone,” said Applejack.
Apple Bloom resorted the the biggest puppy dog eyes she could manage, but Applejack wouldn’t budge. Big Mac and Granny Smith looked at each other and nodded. They’d known this wasn’t going to be easy. Time to enact plan S.A.D..
“Now Applejack, don’t ya think your bein’ a might overprotective?” asked Big Mac.
“Ah think Ah’m not bein’ protective enough. The last time we left her unsupervised she got herself cursed. What the hay makes y’all think this time’ll be any better?” said Applejack.
“Hey, that was different! Ah was in the Everfree Forest, it was after dark…” started Apple Bloom.
“Mah point stands. She ain’t staying here alone, and that’s final,” said Applejack.
“Oh, lighten up, girl. Besides, it’s not like she can get any more dead,” said Granny Smith.
Unfortunately, this was the wrong thing to say. Applejack’s expression suddenly became terrified. She rushed over to Apple Bloom and pulled her into a back-breaking hug.
“Applejack,” grumbled Apple Bloom.
Applejack just held her tighter.
“Don’t worry little sis. Ah won’t let the monsters get ya a second time. Ah promise,” said Applejack.
Big Mac and Granny Smith let out simultaneous sighes.
“So much for plan ‘She’s Already Dead,’” said Granny Smith.
“Eeyup,” agreed Big Mac.
There was a loud snap as Apple Bloom’s spine was broken in half, but this did little to stop Applejack from hugging her undead sister tighter.
It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies
While the changelings had made little effort to share their corruptive origins with the rest of ponykind, they also made no effort to hide it. Those who learned the full story often had a number of questions. One of the more common being: “what’s your relationship with the Breezies?”
They answered: “We are distant, but friendly to each other. Our burdens are different, and we are often separated by great distance. But we are still kin, and our curses stem from a common source. We can do little to directly help each other, but sympathy can be a powerful aid all the same.”
Or at least, that’s what the queens would say. Most changelings would probably use less tactful words.
On the day of the Breezie Migration, several changelings gathered around a forest clearing a few miles away from Ponyville. Among them were Blue Monarch and Scootaloo. They were positioned so that the breeze would blow past them long before it reached Ponyville. And with the breeze, came the Breezies.
Scootaloo could barely contain herself. She had been given the honor of attending the Dusk Passing! But she held herself back. This was a serious, respectful event, not a hoofball game. Also, tradition demanded that only the leaders speak to each other during the Passing. After all, the Breezies were still in the middle of their migration. They couldn’t be delayed for too long.
As the Breezies delicately fluttered over them, the changelings watched in silent respect, though the soldiers among them saluted. Then one Breezie flew down, coming to rest before the changeling princess. Blue Monarch bowed to the tiny pony, while the tiny pony bowed in kind.
<Greetings, darkened kin. May the violet shadow never cloud your blood,> said the Breezie.
Scootaloo had never heard the ancient Tongue of the Forest before in her life, but she understood it plainly. It was the language of life itself, only understood by the Papili and their descendents. That said, Scootaloo quickly found herself wishing the lost language wasn’t so dang flowery.
<Greetings, weakened kin. May the wind never tear your wings. How fare you on your duskly passage?> asked Blue Monarch.
<As well as any other dusk. Our fate remains unchanging as the stone. But what of you, darkened kin? We have heard that you have at last cast aside the shadowed shell. Is this true?> asked the Breezie.
<’Tis true. We are now seen by the pure kin. Fear haunts their hearts, but as does the fire of friendship. The coming twilight is uncertain, but we rest among the gathered harvest,> said Blue Monarch.
<We are gladdened by this great passing of the sun. Perhaps our own tomb may soon shatter as well. Hope is the flame that draws us ever forward,> said the Breezie with a soft chirp of delight.
Geez, it sounds like they’re reciting Shakespeare or something, commented Twitch.
Twitch was soundly ignored. And when Dove started beating the crap out of him for disrespecting tradition, not a single soul raised an objection.
Not that they would have under different circumstances, to be fair.
For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils
“I see… so you changed your mind at the last second?” asked Luna.
“Yeah. Right as I was about to pull the string, it occured to me that the party I was so upset about was right before I was turned into a robot. A quick check in the manual showed that memories that occur near the transfer tend to stand out. I figured that as much as it hurt me back then, I’ve probably been holding onto that moment a little too strongly,” admitted Sweetie Belle.
“Indeed. Grudges are all too often formed over petty matters. And I am glad to hear that you were able to recognize your own frustration as such. But it is clear from this nightmare that though you did not act upon your bitterness, it still clings to you rather tightly,” said Luna.
“Yeah, it does. I don’t hate Rarity, but sometimes it just feels like…” Sweetie Belle paused as she looked for the right words.
“Like you are trapped within your sister’s shadow?” offered Luna.
“Yeah. That. How did you… oh,” said Sweetie Belle as she remembered who she was talking to.
“Yes, that is a feeling I am more than familiar with. Though my sister loves me dearly, she cannot help but cast a long shadow that covers all those around her. Myself, Twilight Sparkle, and perhaps even all of Equestria are smothered by it,” said Luna.
“I see what you mean. But what can we do about it? Messing with Rarity doesn’t seem like the right thing to do, so what’s the solution here?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Luna reached forward and pulled Sweetie Belle into a hug. It was a bit surreal to be so casually hugged by the Princess like that, but Sweetie Belle felt no desire to pull away.
“It’s a lesson I had to learn the hard way, but one I will gladly share with you: stop trying to dwell within your sister’s shadow, and chart your own path forward. We cannot hope to match our elder sisters’ talents, so why waste time trying to imitate them?” said Luna.
“That’s a good point. I mean, I don’t even like clothes that much. But still, it kind of stings how no pony wanted to talk about my play,” said Sweetie Belle with a sigh.
“Well… *cough* perhaps you are simply unappreciated in your time? It can be rather difficult to voice an opinion about such an… unforgettable performance,” Luna offered.
Luna did not want to be the one to inform the filly that several ponies had been having nightmares about said play all night. The twist about the zombies from the future had truly been “Unforgettable.”
Twilight’s Kingdom
~1000 years in the future…
In a small cave in the middle of nowhere, a glowing blue cube suddenly lit up, before spitting out three familiar fillies.
“Ugh… I think that was even worse than last time. I kept thinking I was a firefly or something the whole time,” moaned Scootaloo as she put a hoof to her head.
“Is this really the best way they can send us to the future? Ah swear Ah saw mahself turning into a phoenix while Ah was gettin’ sucking into that thing,” said Apple Bloom.
“Seriously. And I keep getting images of being a boat for some reason. I mean, seriously? A boat?” added Sweetie Belle.
“Yes, that is an unfortunate side effect of the cube, I’m afraid,” said a familiar voice.
The fillies turned to see Dr. Brown already waiting for them.
“Side effect?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Oh yes. Having one’s body broken down into a fluid-like state tends to cause the subconscious to start visualising other bizarre transformations. Repeated use only makes this effect more profound,” explained Dr. Brown.
“That’s kind of weird,” noted Sweetie Belle.
“Whatever. So what’s so important that you needed us to come back to the future? Does Sweetie Belle need an upgrade or something?” asked Scootaloo.
“Oh, nothing of the sort. We just needed to keep you three out of the picture in your own time for… roughly seventy-two hours to be safe. Something was about to go down, and it was crucial that you three not get involved for your own safety,” said Dr. Brown.
Three eyebrows were raised and directed at the T.I.M.E. employee.
“Have you three ever heard of the vile monster Tirek?” asked Dr. Brown.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo’s eyes went wide, though Apple Bloom just looked confused.
“Yes, well, he was scheduled to start conquering Equestria a few hours after you three entered the M.O.R.P.H.,” said Dr. Brown.
“What?!” demanded Scootaloo.
“Seriously, what? Who the hay is this Tirek guy?” asked Apple Bloom.
“He’s a centaur with the ability to suck out the arcanic tissue of other beings. He’s been in Tartarus for over a thousand years,” answered Sweetie Belle.
“Yes, and his magic draining ability is the reason you three are here,” said Dr. Brown.
Dr. Brown trotted forward and pointed a hoof towards Sweetie Belle.
“While the M.P.S. is a powerful device, it is dependent on magic to function. If Tirek were to drain your magic, there’s a very high chance it would kill you, or at the very least require you to make a trip to see us for a jumpstart. We figured we’d save you the trouble and just bring you to the future before things get dangerous,” explained Dr. Brown.
“Yikes. Uh, thanks for the save, then. And I guess because you’re sending us back, Tirek’s gonna lose, right?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Yes. It might be a spoiler, but as we’re returning you after the fact, there’s no reason to hide that from you,” answered Dr. Brown.
“OK, that’s why you brough Sweetie Belle here, but what about me and Scootaloo?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Well, given the nature of your curse, while Tirek draining your magic wouldn’t kill you, it would reduce you to a zombie until your magic was restored. Far more problematic, however, is that it would also likely break the seal on your curse. And with a mindless source of infection walking among ponies with no magic, well, I’m sure you can see why we felt the need to pull you out,” said Dr. Brown.
Apple Bloom winced, but nodded.
“And as for Scootaloo, well, she’d probably shrug it off, but we figured you two would be mighty unhappy if we just left her behind to suffer through being a loveless husk for several hours. And she’s already been to the future, so no real reason to leave her behind,” said Dr. Brown.
“Oh. Uh… thanks, I guess,” said Scootaloo.
“So… now what? We wait around your office until we can go back?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Of course not. We’re time travelers. Waiting is something we simply don’t need to bother with,” said Dr. Brown.
He pointed behind the fillies. The three of them turned to see another bathtub with a black box attached to it.
“Oh no. Not this thing again…” groaned Sweetie Belle.
“This new castle is amazing, but why is this bathroom missing a bathtub?” asked Twilight.
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Niice!
I guess we'll see what DT's been doing over this time or something.
----
Sweetie getting better with magic achieves something?
----
Typo:
isn't something > is something
I think it is a nice summary of season four.
But would you consider them accompany Twilight to Starlight's village? Sine none of them have cutie mark, it should be amusing.
I know it's not what you're referencing, but I can't help but be reminded of Gyro Gearloose's Time Tub from Ducktales.
Erm so in gonna say it why did you not include dialogue with dimond going * why do I get the feeling I should be randomly mean to a changling
9797562
Hehe I think sweetiebot would break her mind scootabug would just tell the hive and suddenly theres a army ready to kick plot and appleghoule just looking at her then twilight asking * can I bite her
9797562
I'm imagining Starlight's face now. "You're...you...what."
+1 for the M.O.R.P.H. cube.
9797875
*coughs" a-hem, it's The Escafil Device, not "blue cube", silly humans...
YOU WILL DIE!!
AB: But... I am already dead.
...
AB: So when I die, what will I be? More dead? Deader? Eyes go wide Alive?
Perfect.
That's a huge relief.
She didn't.
Basically.
... Now I want to hear about that.
I mean...
I kinda agree with Twitch on this.
Yeah. Luna knows the feeling very well.
Wait what?
Because his magic draining could very well kill them.
That, is a fair point.
9797626
It's simple, undeath is the answer to all of your philosophical problems! Why, just ask this nice man from Thay!
I can't be the only one who's imagined trolling Kenshiro by setting up a situation where his catchphrase is completely accurate in a way that ends up negating the awesomeness. You know, someone's head failing to explode because undeath protects you from the pressure-point shenanigans he uses to cause that. Of course, if you don't use a vampire or similarly overpowered undead he's just going to ATATATATA its entire body into a fine mist the old-fashioned way...
Rofl* you are a genius you know that?
It's cool man. Sometimes you just gotta time skip to get to the good stuff.
It was neat seeing all of these clips of episodes and I wouldn't mind seeing more, in between the more prominent sections of the story.
It always amusing how things can happen when you change something at the beginning.
Well, it's not bad... Let's see how the season 5 change...
Oh lord
I feel like the trip to the future is something of a scenic route - is the M.O.R.P.H. cube hardwired for centuries worth of stasis? Wouldn't it have been easier to simply set it to skip over just those seventy-two hours?
What do we want?
Time machines!
When do we want it?
That's irrelevant!
Also, something that I just noticed: Undead Robot Bug Crusaders can be sung to the same cadence as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Try it!
Un-dead Ro-bot Bug Cru-sa-ders,
Creatures that aren't po-nies,
Filly power!
YEY!!!!!
9798022
Yes, and then each particle is capable of both infection and complete regeneration.
At least it is with me.
9797948
It probably isn't supposed to be explained, but I'm going to assume that he tried to pull some Mario Kart bull**** in a "normal" go-kart race. Bonus points if it was a blue shell.
9797562
Or just to her the tale of that *lovely* town and see what she thinks of her plans then.
For want of a nail... and, you know, there's the whole "functional wings" thing.
You know it's bad when it sends shudders down the ghoul's spine.
So... did they ever convince Applejack to leave Apple Bloom home alone? And did the chimera even want a filly past her expiration date?
Fascinating exchange between equinoid fae, or something like them.
Yup, definitely ahead of her time. The right audience would love that kind of thing. They just don't exist yet.
A Swip, if you will.
Wonderful looks at how differently things go for the Crusaders in this timeline. And it's still a season before the big turning point. I can only imagine how you're handling that...
9797562,
9797622,
9797626
That would be amusing, yes, but there'd be no logical reason for them to bring the fillies along. Besides, I have other plans for that episode.
9797575
Funny thing is, it WAS a reference to that back in the last story. I posted a blog with all the references I put in that trip to the future, if you're curious.
9798354
It's like Sweetie Belle's gadgets: Why wouldn't you use time travel technology to travel thousands of years to the future at every possible opportunity? Also, I think this makes you the the fifteenth reader to point out the TMNT theme song. I swear, I am going to have to make that parody song next April 1st...
9799618
It was going to be another noodle incident, but I've been considering writing a bunch of hive shenanigans, so this might come up later...
9799835
They did not convince her, Apple Bloom still snuck out, and the chimera was mostly after the pies in the first place anyway.
9797548
Fixed. Thanks.
9800609
They may not go along, but that doesn't stop them from meeting someday!
9800609
No logical reason? The CMCs heard the brand-new magical castle send their sisters to what seemingly a quest is not a valid logical reason to follow along? Since when the CMCs are so obedient to elders' instruction? Spike and their pets already did it once all the way to the Crystal Empire and back without the the Mane-6 found out.
9800609
Why is it I can imaging at going * are you really sure you wanna fight a class g ghoul over some pies and the chimera going nope nope nope
9799835
Speaking of which, obligatory reminder that most chickens can actually fly at least well enough for that rooster to get to the roof of the barn at the crack of dawn. I've seen it pointed out that she's really closer to a penguin, and I've started using Pratchett to explain why.
".... she's already seen "Soy Wors: Plan 9 From Outer Sith""
(But seriously... my god, that's going to be sheer agony to sit through.)
Interesting to see that you did alternate versions of season 4, which is my favorite season of MLP: FiM.
Let's see... I've seen a few fics that have humans as the aliens. Wait til season 8 for the merpony, depending on how you define it (Silverstream). There's a fic where Applejack turns into a werepony. Discord technically knows the Smooze, though I don't know how that'd work in this fic (maybe rather than being corrupted, there's a pony that somehow absorbed part of the essence of the Smooze and became a slime pony that way). Can I assume the plane pony is a reference to a tumblr account? Because I know there's an ask blog. I wouldn't even know what a snail pony would be.
You know, when you think about it, wasn't Apple Bloom under Twilight's supervision when she got cursed?
9799835
Considering that Applejack is killing her sister (more or less) with a bear hug, which is more dangerous? And I didn't even think about the fact that the chimera wouldn't even be interested in eating a ghoul.
Apple Phoenix and Scootabug: "I'm on a boat!"
Sweetie Boat: "I am the boat!"
You know, if Sweetie Belle is a boat, what would it mean if someone one Sweetie Boat went into the cabin?
9800609
So... during the Season 5 arc, will there be a Twilight clone popping up here and there once in awhile?
When you mentioned Sweetie's gadgets, I suddenly wanted to see an Inspector Gadget parody chapter that has Sweetie Belle as Inspector Gadget. Can I request that? Can you make a chapter that has the Inspector Gadget vibe? All it has to be is the CMC playing with Sweetie Belle's gadgets, and perhaps the overuse mixes up some of the commands, making it so she has trouble getting the right gadgets to work. This could lead to another trip back to the future to do some fixing up on her.
9800691
Just use the same logic for why they didn't go that the show did.
I need moar. Please keep up the good work!
The Trio's Tale-verse? The Mechanical Magical Maladies-verse? The CMC can't think of a new name even though they can't get cutiemarks-verse?
to keep
[Damn I missed this -__-]
9847214
I vote the CMC-Can't-Think-Of-A-New-Name-Verse.
9851928
Fixed
P L A N E
P O N Y
XD
Shoggoth! :D
Pppffff
9972075
Yep, there in the object pony kinda thing...
I want to say this is a terrible thing, but I feel like it might be more constructive than whatever he would get up to if he wasn't given ideas. I also think that turning Granny Smith into a Snail-pony would stop her hip from hurting, and wouldn't make her any slower than she already is...
Failing that, what about a temporary transformation for Shining the next time he visits?
derpicdn.net/img/view/2017/8/15/1511343__safe_artist-colon-dm29_princess+flurry+heart_shining+armor_whammy_alicorn_pony_snail_unicorn_animal+costume_bipedal_clothes_costume_cute_daughter_dilat.png
LMAO.
And let me guess: Enter the CMCs in a bathtub like before?
I lost it
Rereading:
I hope their is mail service to the Breezies. Probably handled while the pollen-gatherers are making their journey. It would be a senseless shame to limit communication to only a few hundred words every few decades.