Episode 138: (Shining Armor): dnaL railimaF A nI regnartS-Stranger In A Familiar Land Part 1
Pony POV Series
"Shining Armor"
Part 18.1
dnaL railimaF A nI regnartS-Stranger In A Familiar Land
It was like waking up. The white light had faded, and I was in a room... One I'd both never seen and knew somehow to be the embassy in... Hakuna Matata, the capital of Kundu...
The alarm was another radio, tuned into our flotilla's station.
"-my hero through it all. I thank you for the moments of your life, and never giving up on me..."
This wasn't was right. I'd been in a northern city port, not the capital on the lake in the middle...
...It had worked? He was gone and so was all he'd done? The world was as it should be?
I touched my chest. The bruising from the sniper round I'd taken wasn't there, I felt good as new. I didn't feel tired or sore like I'd just been through Tartarus on Equestria.
...Where was everypony?
An answer burst in the door a moment later.
"Shining, are you alright?!" Cadence practically yelled.
"I, uh... Y-yes, I'm fine, why?"
"You and the rest of your squad were..."
Oh horseapples, does she...
"Princess, what's wrong?!" Sunset asked as she arrived, Twinkle Shine and an oddly disturbed looking Minuette arriving in tow.
The noise was also attracting attention from Guards. I felt like I was looking at a mirror to a certain event involving an existence erasing Wolf, a chase scene, and an empty airship...
"...Um... I thought... Makarov had..."
Oh buck!
"Who?" Twinkle Shine asked.
Cadence looked around my room in confusion, as I tried not to catch her gaze. Her eyes landed on the map I'd hung on the wall, the gift from Twiley...
"...Shining, that map."
"Yeah, Twilight gave it to me, I know it's not the regulation one but-"
"No, where the hay is the Hooviet Empire?!" She shouted, causing a gasp from Minuette.
I examined it... And the largest nation on the planet wasn't there any more! Well, okay, it sort of was, but now it was clearly marked 'Roedina' and a few other smaller nations.
"...Princess, the Hooviet Empire collapsed twenty years ago," A guard said.
"I... I know, Captive, I... I could have sworn..."
"Everypony-"
Griffen cleared his throat.
"Everycreature, could I perhaps have a minute alone with the Princess? And no smart remarks..."
"Wasn't planning on it," Twinkle Shine lied.
"Or musical numbers."
"Aww..."
Everyone shuffled off, but the door remained open. I quietly put a shield up to stop noises from escaping. Or any songs from getting in.
"Okay, Princess, I think this might be a long story..." I began, only for Minuette to poke her head around the door again. I resisted the urge to face hoof at me forgetting to lock the door on top of the shields.
"Er... Can I stay? I... I think I know what you're both talking about..."
We both stared at her in confusion for a few seconds, and then, it got complicated.
"You remember too, Minny?!" Cadence asked.
"The... Makarov capturing everypony, yes. I remembered we were all... You were so afraid, Princess, and so were we! But now we're in Kundu, we've been here all week, but yesterday I remember we just arrived and..."
"But why? Why only us three?"
"It's a long story, like I said," I spoke up.
I kept it to the basics. Azure Raven had been an alteration to time, some cosmic horror the Hooviets had accidentally unleashed, had been feeding off the existences of others, and we were probably remembering a world from before his damages were repaired. Except, something told me not to mention the wolf... If I placed too much worry on her, too much faith in her, she'd fear for me every moment... and when she feared for me, the Wolf came. So I...adjusted things a bit.
If she was afraid all the time... and if it really was still after me... If it GOT me, she'd still remember me, and she felt she failed to protect me...
"So when his machine broke down, his changes all undid themselves including his own existence? That... That makes a lot of sense, somehow," Minuette shivered.
"Yeah, apparently, the accident at Chernobull that let him in, had to stay open, and he'd opened a new gap to try alter reality, but me closing both...undid him," I lied about what had now never happened.
"...Why aren't you calling him Makarov anymore?" Cadence wondered. I realized she'd never heard me call the late General-Admiral anything else.
"It, uh," I stumbled on that one, recalling Dima and the other rebels.
Would they be in different lives now? Would I ever see any of them again? And what of my own squad, of all those I'd encountered, everything that had happened...
I suddenly had thoughts of... different events. We'd still met The Doctor. I'd still had a chase in Columbia... but not with Hooviets.
"...It was someone I met, they called him that, but I... I suppose I never met him now..."
A bar in Caledonia, a Deer officer of the Guard...
"...Maybe I did, I'm not sure. Um, what else do you know has changed, because I'm getting a little..."
"Whatsh all the noishe up here about?"
The Ambassador entered, a cup of coffee held in his telekinesis.
"Admiral Bond, the Princess was just... Admiral Bond?!"
Getting ready quickly, we wound up having a fairly awkward breakfast where Cadence explained a (slightly falsified) story to... Rear Admiral Sir Saltire Bond (Ret.), the Laird of Skyfall and his wife, Lady Monique Delacroix-Bond. Who looked a lot better than when I'd last saw them...
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Is that really appropriate?)
Ahh! You're still here?!
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Yes. We had to find you again, but we're still here. Don't worry, Nameless' been obliterated and reabsorbed by Pandora, to our knowledge everything SHOULD be fine. We're just going to keep being support while you catch up to the present.)
Oh...ok...Is it weird I can still know you're there?
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): No, because you remember us being there, our glamour doesn't work on you. It's the nature of how we work.)
Really?
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): As close as we can really put it. Do you want to spend ten minutes discussing timey whimey stuff and giving yourself a headache again or just accept it and move on?)
...Just accept it. Do I need to fill you in on what you missed?
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): No, I set it to autorecord before the temporal reset.)
You can do that?
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Yeah, but we don't like to because then we can't be the Good Alicorn on pony's shoulders!)
I guess that makes about as much sense as anything else.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Wait, if you didn't think we were here why were you still thinking in past tense?)
I...don't know...I think thinking in it so long broke my brain...
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Could you please answer my original question?)
Maybe that joke about Mrs. Bonds appearance was in bad taste, but, they were very welcome physical changes to what had been. The Defiant hadn't crashed here twenty years ago, it had helped Equestria have decent relations with nearly all factions in the civil war that had been kept in stalemate by Columbian peacekeepers - and was ultimately ended six years ago by Defiant leading an Equestrian force in to replace the Columbians after peace talks reached that agreement for ceasefire because Azure Raven and the Hooviets weren't there to disrupt it.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Bond's parents, and all the others on the Defiant, and all those the Defiant saved are alive because of you, Shining. You should be proud of yourself.)
...I wasn't on the Defiant leading the mission...
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): But you saved their lives so they could.)
I guess I did...Just doing my duty for the Princesses and Equestria.
There are still only three, right? Azure Raven didn't eat a fourth Princess representing cliches or being annoying did he?
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Yes, there are still only three. And glad to see you still have your Equestrian Wit.)
Good. Learning about Luna had been a big enough shock.
The Admiral proudly wore his Campaign Medal and his Harmony Horseshoe. Another surprise had been when I was getting ready. I'd found my own campaign medals for peacekeeping - in Kundu and a place called Chernarus. I'd also found a Guard Distinguished Service Medal I'd apparently earned in the latter location. I'd had no medals of my own at all before.
"...I said you seem rather interested in my father's Harmony Horseshoe, Captain. Wanting one?" Commander Bond was... teasing me?!
I turned to face him and is that a Con Mane book in front of him?! And is he grinning?! This is just unsettling.
"N-no, Commander, just... You seem, er, rather cheerful..."
"Well, it's just, to be honest it's a little amusing the Princess had such a rather odd dream."
"W-well, it rather unsettled her so I'm not so sure it..."
"Pfft, you're so humorless, Captain," Manes shrugged and went back to his book.
...Knowing what he'd have been like if Azure Raven was still around, that one really stung.
"I had the impression you didn't like those books..." I spoke up.
"Nonshenshe. Manesh can't get enough of them. Shure, he'sh worked enough with real epshionage typesh in the Shecret Intelligence Shervice and UNIT to know it'sh all make-believe but that'sh what'sh sho fun, right, Shon?" Admiral Bond answered for his shon. Er, son.
"Pretty much."
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): So he's not some sorta scary super-serious spy guy any more?)
Oh, he's still SIS and probably every bit as badflank as he was before, it's just he's not quite so serious any more and the real one uses more amusing gadgets now apparently...And I'm assuming the 'is no longer an orphan' thing helped.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Oh, good, Celestia finally got her prank-based espionage agency...)
What?
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Nothing, continue.)
Kundu was... Well, it was now the last leg of our trip, and it turned out we'd arrived just the night before. Triana, you see, was reunited... so we'd visited the whole place.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): So what else changed?)
Well, Cadence and Minuette wanted to discuss that with me, actually.
"Okay, so, that thing in Columbia first... That was all Nightmare Moon cultists after me?"
"I think so..." I said as Minuette checked her diary.
"Yeah, uh... You managed to announce she'd been defeated to the President without him interfering and it had become major news by lunchtime, except it turned out... Uh, Captain can you try to find a report, actually, this one got messy..."
I recalled it too. Cadence frowned. We fetched a report, which confirmed the three of us hadn't jointly gone nuts.
It seemed the NMM cult had been angry and wanted revenge on Celestia for attacking their mistress. There had been quite a few groups like them across Griffin lands (a fair few Griffins impressed by Nightmare Moon - oddly enough mostly lower-classes given she killed a lot of kings and princes...), but this small group was openly a cult, having barely been tolerated by the government because of freedom of expression laws, and the fact the leaders had the money to afford lawsuits if anyone dared to snoop in on them -especially the press. Despite their own introduction package saying if their queen fell they had to kill the other Alicorns themselves to bring her back.
They'd sent a threat to us the night we arrived. They claimed they were among us without identifying themselves... and yes, poor Sunset was mistaken for a spy still. I suppose it was good to know she and Ranger were still together, but...
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Say, how come this cult never showed up before?)
...Well, given their leader had a golden skull for a cutie mark and had been a famous actor, that maybe give a hint why the Hooviets replaced them before? I guess the Hooviets had to get their compulsion to make it blatantly obvious they were evil from somewhere.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Actually, the Hooviet March was unchanged.)
Okay, then I guess the Hooviets are where Azure Raven got his compulsion to make it blatantly obvious he was evil.
Meanwhile, Cadence's first foray outside Equestria had attracted the attention of another group, Maasailand. The Brotherhood had sent an Inquisitor to covertly try and see if maybe she was the right Goddess for them (at least, so we now knew - it had been added to the report I fetched later).
The NMM cult hired a local gang to perform the hit. Their escape plan had been to draw any chasing troops into an ambush, like before: but there had been no riot as a cover. In truth they were trying to cause a diversion for their own attack.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): So no tripods this time?)
Thank Celestia no tripods this time! But instead, what happened was this. The Diamond Dog woke me up like before but when fleeing? Slammed head-first into the lost Inquisitor. He then screamed at seeing what to him looked like some kind of assassin (or at the very least another assassin considerably more intimidating looking than himself), was convinced he'd been set up as a decoy, and ran.
We chased, and Audience didn't shoot a gunner dead this time. Ellis subdued the whole gang pretty much himself when they tried to ambush us - they didn't have such fancy weapons this time.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): So all the Diamond Dogs lived?)
Yes, filly, they all lived.
And then the Cultists tried to attack us and our prisoners before the Police arrived, instead of going for the embassy since it was now on lockdown. They'd managed to source pretty good magical armor and had some high level unicorn mages skilled in dark magic. Audience was forced to cripple a cultist unicorn for life, shoot him right in the base of his horn, shattering it and damaging the magic center of his brain, one that had been carrying an automatic airgun (though one considerably less advanced than the Hooviets' had), when he'd began firing on the police on top of his dark magic spells and I had been recovering from a pretty nasty dark magic spell that had almost gone through my shield. Despite what science fiction and Makarov claim, magic can be just as dangerous as technology.
Thunderchild managed to stop that guy. Audience couldn't stun him, and even when he tried an arrow, it was eaten by his black magic shields. A bolt of lightning disrupted that.
The fallout from that had been considerably messier in another sense than the previous timeline though (even though no riot equaled less property damage and deaths), no cover-up... Just a very angry reaction from the press and Princess Luna, while happy she HAD followers, making it quite clear she wouldn't tolerate criminal acts in her name. Other denominations following the basic principles were happy to shift to simply worshipping Luna instead, except some in Knossos who insisted the real Nightmare Moon was meant to be coming back in TEN thousand years, and that it had always been Luna.
Sure, the ink was still wet on their parchments proclaiming that it had always been that time... but nopony minded as long as they didn't try to set fire to anything. I was informed Luna's reaction to that was 'a head desk so powerful it broke the table in front of her and cracked the floor under it.' Or that's the rumor at least.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Don't worry, Luna sets them straight on the next Nightmare Night.)
Good to know. We'd went to the Roedinian Embassy and looking at it from where we were now... it had been very odd. For starters, all the 'we kicked the dragon's flanks' and 'war is glorious' decorations were replaced with a lot of nature imagery that was a VERY welcome improvement.
Ambassador Reznov had heard of me, but I, er... had only heard of him as Ambassador. At least now I get why he was so amused by that (assuming he still has weird psychic powers)... and now I get why he said Mother Deer thanked me and wished me luck.
His bodyguard, a fanatically loyal Federal Protective Service Lieutenant named Chekov was in hindsight also 'familiar', but unaware that in the other timeline, he'd been a Commissar that shot himself... for no good reason, really. This time, he'd been regarding a Columbian Navy officer, a Lieutenant Commander Dai Mason, and his father, Colonel Alex Mason, with some suspicion, even though the elder Mason was close friends with the Ambassador...
Still, it took a certain kind of loyalty to your charge and your appointed task to be ready to suspect virtually anyone of being a spy or a threat until proven otherwise - even a Princess. Yes, he did seem to give Cadence a look-over as if to confirm she WASN'T a spy. The head of the Embassy's platoon of guard troopers, a certain Captain Nikolai Romanov, assured us the protective officer who he technically outranked was merely dedicated to the job rather than truly paranoid of everyone.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Sounds like someone else I know when he was a colt.)
Yeah, I suppose...wait, how did you-
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): There were two other ponies present and we're interviewers.)
Oh...yeah...right. Yeah, I guess me and Chekov actually did have a bit in common. He was dedicated to protecting his charge, I was dedicated to Twiley...I think Reznov is in good hooves.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): And Nikolai? What about him?)
Guy seemed a lot happier with himself. He was still a great swordsbuck (or at least that's what Reznov said about him), but now I think it was more out of dedication to the art than needing to fight for survival all his life. And yes, it felt bucking good to see one of the Rebels when their lives didn't revolve around saving creation from something Horsecraft probably couldn't cook up.
"And in Zebrawa, no Marauder Shields?"
Minuette flicked though.
"No. But, uh... Those really arrogant Airborne guards... they're part of the Harmony Guard now."
I groaned as I realized that a lot had changed... and I would need to try make sense of two different setups to the Guard over the next few days...
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Think of how Minuette feels, having to work with two conflicting schedules, one of which involved an evil empire that no longer exists.)
At least she ENJOYS schedules.
I tried to think of the next big incident.
"Did Paisneigh Buddies actually beat us still?!" Cadence gasped.
"...They did. Celestia help us but that one still happened," I sighed. Me and Cadence promptly slammed our heads into a nearby wall.
Next, Minuette was nervous as we discussed the Doctor.
"Wait, uh, I just realized..." Cadence nodded towards the perch in her room, where the warbler was presently sitting.
"We met him when we met the Doctor," I sighed.
"Why haven't I named him yet?"
Our meeting with The Doctor had in fact been Equestria providing him and a local UNIT team some assistance... UNIT being an Equestrian-backed international peacekeeping force, the Unified International Taskforce. And it had in fact replaced events in the village in Nambutu.
"Does that mean..." Cadence looked at a box with a book on it, and was about to open it.
"NO! No, Princess, the bug is still in there!"
"WHY?! And why the heck did we keep it?!"
"...I think the scientists on Enterprise were arguing over studying it and you held onto it until they figured out what they were going to do?" I recalled.
But yes, The Doctor and UNIT. We'd had to face another blasted eldritch abomination! Why can I still say that after we got rid of the last one?!
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): What about Order 1954? Doesn't it exist for stuff like this?)
Well yeah, sorta (though most aren't THAT big of a threat, and Nightmare Moon and Makarov are probably the only world threatening ones I'm aware of), just I thought they'd stop gravitating towards me!
It had been possessing villagers and fed on fear. It had made them paranoid, and they had began to be violent towards outsiders. UNIT had went in at the Doctor's request, and we had joined him. Gag's language talents let us figure out how to defeat it - a stone tablet had the idea of the demon written on it, letting us know the weaknesses. He also managed to devise lyrics for Cadence to sing that the possessed villagers (and some Nambutuan troopers from the UNIT contingent) would hear her and the creature would lose power as they were calmed, driving it out and letting The Doctor defeat it with mirrors. Given Gag had to figure out the language of the creature too from the stone tablet we found, it was no mean feat...
So yes, he was promoted for that of course (Ellis and Audience still got promoted in Columbia). And Garnet still gave him his kiss, which was nice. Yeah, she and Gag are still a couple, Gag still got a concussion slipping in water. Only this time it involved avoiding taking him to a new Roedinian biotechnology called 'Scan-Cats', these cats trained and magically conditioned to pick up certain injuries or illnesses that scan spells have trouble detecting. They still hate Gag. In fact, I think they hate him worse than normal cats. My guess is they react to the same unfortunate condition that causes him to think he's capable of telling jokes.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Wait...then what about the bug? Didn't Cadence need to power up for it to mutate in her mane?)
The Doctor mentioned that his method would only temporarily defeat the creature. Cadence was clopped off seeing what it'd done and didn't want to see it happen again, so she powered up and combined her magic song with the mirrors to turn it into an echo chamber. Between the two, it was defeated for good.
Oh, and there was one other weird thing...
"Splendid job! You're still a wonderful companion, Shiney, though I still don't think the universe would survive us regularly traveling together. Oh! And before I forget, great job dealing with that Imagination Eater!"
"What?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later."
Of course, Past Me hadn't known what the heck he was talking about...Who is that guy?
Also, Buranda, while having still cut down a lot of their rainforest BEFORE the Hooviets imploded, were more environmentally conscious and now, with Equestrian and Roedinian aid, performing reforestation efforts. I was right, the country was a lot more characterful with more house-trees, and looking to be on its way to being a pretty nice place to live.
It was recalling Maasailand that was the shocker really. Not only did the revelation about the Inquisitor back in Columbia take us by surprise, but it turned out... we had found their chosen one after all.
Are you a donkey, are you bald, do you have a goatee beard, and have you met a goddess that may fit the bill, Vectron asked.
My replies were no, no, no, yes, and...
"...You can answer yes to all those questions yourself though."
And of course, the prophecy said their chosen one will see the truth of his duty in the presence of white horses...
"...Hehe, that was actually kind of funny, his face when he realized it, and all his friends started fainting..." Cadence giggled.
"And all the Maasailanders planning to go around preaching about you!" Minuette laughed.
"Don't forget the bit when they said they'd avoid Equestria and one of them said 'hear hear, by Vectron's beard' and he just said 'oh dear, they're swearing on my bodyparts already...'. He just looked so bewildered!...Though admittedly, I can relate. Kinda never get used to 'by Cadence's mane.'"
"And then they gave you the 'Crown of Peace and Happiness.'" Minuette pointed out.
We all looked over to the crown, which was pitch black with blood rubies and scorpions embedded inside it, and lots of spikes. According to Cadence it was actually incredibly comfortable though.
A good laugh later, we had mostly recalled it all properly... and then they asked what happened with me, as I'd only skimmed before.
So I tried to explain in more detail. I omitted the Wolf of course, but instead, I claimed I'd thrown him into the machine.
"You...you erased him yourself?" asked Minuette, looking a bit scared.
"...'Solomon' was never supposed to exist, he was bending the world to his whims, devouring other's lives, literally...you weren't under the Iron Curtain...there were thousands, if not millions of deaths in there...And not a one of them was supposed to have ever happened. Him being undone was the only way to fix the damage he'd caused..." I won't say I wasn't glad Nameless had been destroyed...but that doesn't mean the things he almost drove me to won't haunt me.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): As I said before, it is not a sin to hate that which is evil, but it IS a sin to let that hatred become an unending grudge. That it still haunts you shows you didn't make that mistake.)
Thank you.
"...It was for the best, Shining," Cadence said gently.
I was about to make a request as Minuette them spoke again.
"What puzzles me though is... Why us? Cadence is an Alicorn, so I can understand her, but why me and the Captain?" Minuette fretted.
I had been about to ask to have the false memories of the time that never was erased. Cadence would give me clinical permission, there's no doubt about that...she'd seen it too.
Seeing so much death, seeing Gag get his wing blown off, Thunderchild tortured, the others beaten, memories of wars that never were...and none of it had ever happened, why should I remember it? I wouldn't be dishonoring deaths, they'd never happened at all. Why torture myself with this? Why remember suffering that never happened? A maniac that never existed? Why not have them taken away and live my life the way it was supposed to be? And wouldn't it be the best revenge possible on Azure Raven if that egomaniac was forgotten?
...But without Nameless, without all that, I wouldn't be the pony I am now. This new strength I can use to protect everypony would still be sealed away. I wouldn't remember seeing them stand up for me, like I know they still would...and Cadence and Minuette would have one less pony to confide in, they'd be even more alone.
And even if it never happened to us... it had happened to them, hadn't it? It was for the best maybe that someone remembered them, even if it was just three ponies...
...it was all I wanted myself, wasn't it? To be remembered. How could I ever ask to forget all those Ponsians, Neighponese, Columbians, even the Kunduans and Hooviets who had all died back there? They were probably alive now, but... they died there. Had that timeline continued as if Solomon had perished? Had it been remade into this one? I'd probably never know.
I couldn't forget. There was too much to remember.
"...I don't know, Minny, but I... I'm glad you both remember it too. I thought I was going mad this morning..." Cadence admitted, suddenly drawing us both into a hug.
"...Minuette, you sing about this and I'll let that bug loose," I warned.
The hug was broken up.
"Maybe you could both ask Auntie if she has any clue. She might even remember some of it herself after all."
"A good idea, Princess... We are heading back towards Equestria for a short while after this?"
"Er, should be. Let everypony see their families and stuff..." Minuette said.
As I was leaving a few moments later, Cadence halted us.
"Shining... I just realized, even without Makarov around, you looked over your shoulder a lot... Why was that?"
"...I'm cautious," I said.
We were going to be leaving Kundu behind, with good memories for most of us. Marelowe, who had spoken of of horrors in the timeline that never was... had met his cousins here. They had lived. The war had never got so horrendous. The Hooviets had collapsed when they were supposed to, so they never forced the Columbian Peacekeepers to withdraw, though as I said before, they'd only stopped the civil war getting brutal and paved the way for the eventual Equestrian intervention that took over to finally end it.
And we had been here to celebrate the re-election of the President of Kundu, and his second inauguration. Equestria had helped ensure democracy had came back to Kundu, and it was fitting we'd been here.
We'd started and ended on inaugurations too, I realized. If only we'd attended a wedding in Buranda...
I surveyed the city. A lot of the new buildings were Equestrian designs, naturally. I also scanned our honor guard that was forming up: Mostly old Equestrian ships that we'd given to the Kunduans to restore their Air Navy.
I was on the top deck of the Invincible, watching the last of our civilians boarding. Cadence and some of the others with wings were having quick flights. Including Gag to my delight, (though of course we couldn't tell him WHY the idea of him flying with two wings pleased me so much).
They weren't going far, so I had little worry about unwelcome interlopers at the moment. Cadence also seemed to want to keep me in eyesight anyway right now, after what Nameless had/hadn't done...
Other than a few Royal Marines milling around I was the only Guard on deck. Yes, the Air Naval Cavalry had become Royal Marines at some point in this timeline - seemingly about fifteen years back, which if I remembered right, had been when they had failed to get their name changed in the timeline that never was. A fair amount of things were going to confuse me in the coming weeks and days, I reminded myself for the hundredth time.
"...Captain, can I ask something?" Minuette said as she neared.
"Sure. What is it?"
She seemed to hesitate. "...Are you upset?"
"Huh? Why?"
"...You saved the world from Makarov, and a lot of ponies, deer, and griffins are alive right now because of you..."
I blushed. "I guess, but why would I be upset?"
"...No one remembers but me and Cadence...you did all that, you saved the world, but...Gag will never know he has two wings because of you...Bond doesn't know he's still got his parents because of you... Roedina and all the deer tribes will never know they're not still under the Hooviets because of you...Doesn't that bother you?"
"We're told that sometimes we might be heroes and no one but us will know. It's what being a Guard is about...Want to know something?"
"...What?"
"When I found out I could make it so Azure Raven never existed...that all those he hurt or killed would be alright...I was willing to ride with him into Oblivion if that's what it took to do it."
"...I guess it's like they say. Character is what you are in the dark."
I gave a slow nod.
"Yeah...I guess you're right...now, what's your other question?"
"Huh?"
"I can tell you've still got something on your mind. Considering me and Cadence are the only two ponies who can understand what you might be going through, go ahead and ask."
"...Remember you said about your uncle's medal?"
I nodded... our last conversation on the deck had been on that subject in both timelines.
"Yeah..."
"It's just... Your uncle was called Cool Sun, wasn't he?"
"How'd you learn his name?" I asked gently.
"It... Captain, I... I can remember meeting him."
"Before he died?"
"No. Captain... I can remember... three timelines now... This one, the one we spoke about... And one where your uncle was around instead of you. He was Major Cool Sun Sparkle, and he was leading the bodyguard..."
"I... I can't explain that one, Minuette," I said even as my spine turned to ice.
"Oh. Do you have a cousin called Athena though?"
"...No," I said, somehow not managing to scream in terror.
How was she able to know about...
"Okay... Umm... I'm sorry if that was worrying but Cadence... Cadence doesn't remember it either but she does remember your uncle. I'm sorry, Captain."
There was silence.
"Minuette, have you ever contemplated having the memories magically removed?"
"The ones about your uncle?" She misinterpreted. In fairness, I had been vague.
"No, all of the ones that never were. I considered it, but... I think Cadence needs me to remember at the very least...and if no one remembers what happened, it never really happened. And I don't think those versions of everypony deserve to be totally forgotten. If we remember...at least someone can honor them..."
"O-oh. Well, actually, I had considered getting them removed..." She looked at her fob watch again...this time she seemed scared of it for some reason. Also, it looked like it had a dent in it.
"But... I think you're right. We need to remember it, and Cadence does need us. More than she'll admit," The hoofmaiden sighed. "And if we forgot, she'd be alone. And forgetting isn't an option for her, the normal memory erasing spells don't affect Alicorns..."
"Okay. We're on the same page then. So you'll keep those other memories of my uncle?"
She nodded.
"If... If it's okay with you."
"...Yeah. Actually... Can you tell me what things were like some time?"
What happened that scared me?...
I was alone in my room after Makarov's war started...I was so afraid. I was afraid for reasons I don't think I can honestly explain properly. It just felt the world was in PAIN. Like something was unraveling it and trying to sow it back together like some kind of patchwork monster. I don't know how else to describe it. Thousands or millions were dying and suffering, everypony was mourning and talking about them, but I seemed to be the only one who felt this...
Twinkleshine and Sunset were with the Princess, they decided I needed rest, but I couldn't GET any rest. I felt like everything was literally falling to pieces around me.
I just curled up in a ball crying, tapping my hoof on the floor...tapping that heart beat I think...then I heard it...a stallion's voice...
"Open it..."
I looked to my watch. I...I saw symbols on it that I'd never seen before. They made sense to me...
"What?"
"Open it, and summon me and receive my majesty!"
"W-Why?" Did I think I'd gone insane? Yes, of COURSE I thought I'd gone insane. The world was screaming in agony, doomsday was happening, and I was talking to a watch. What else would I think was happening?!
"Accept me and I can stop this. We can stop this!"
"Stop this...stop Makarov?"
"Yes, exactly. It'll be quite simple really. Someon-somepony like him is no match for us, if you release me!"
"A-And Cadence? Twinkleshine? Sunset? Shining? They'll be safe?"
"Yes yes, they won't have to worry about the idiot anymore. Not at all. No pony will ever have to worry about him ever again."
I took the watch in my telekinesis and ran my hoof over it carefully.
I heard voices. Talk about regenerations and time vortexes and...I don't know what else. I couldn't hear it clearly.
I felt power...so much power...so much intelligence...and I heard a heart beat...I felt like I could outsmart and end Makarov all on my own. Like nothing in the world could stop me.
But I felt a darkness...no, it was something I didn't feel that scared me so much. I didn't feel empathy. I didn't feel compassion. I just felt power lust. Desire. For a moment I felt like I didn't feel me.
I hesitated to press down with my hoof and pop open the watch.
"What are you waiting for? Open it! We can take down that fool together!"
I listened to the voices...or were they memories? I couldn't tell. But I listened closer.
"Sorry. Sorry, I have this effect, people just get obsessed. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know; it's crazy!"
"Shall we decimate them? That sounds good, nice word, decimate. Remove one tenth of the population!"
"And the best part is he isn't dead long, I get to kill him again!"
"The drum beat... the drums are coming closer... and closer."
"THAT IS NOT MY NAME! 'The Professor' was an invention. So perfect a disguise that I forgot who I am. "
"I. Am. The. Master!"
I recoiled back from the watch like a foal away from a hot stove. I looked at it like it was a knife I'd just almost slit my wrists with. I don't know WHY I felt that way, but...I felt like I'd just come within a button press of throwing away who I was for good.
"What are you doing? Open it!"
"N-no..."
"I SAID OPEN IT!"
"I said NO! I'm me! I'm not you!"
"You ARE me! And you'll never escape it! Stop running and accept me! Accept me and destroy that fool!"
"No! I'm. Not!"
"You're an invention! You're my way to escape! You have no existence of your own! You're us lacking memories! This body is mine. You're our house sitter. Now it's time to return it to us! Or would you rather that ugly mismash pretending it's a deer have its way with us and your friends? Because believe me, it will."
"And what? Let YOU do that?"
"Hahaha!"
"What is it?"
"You're so cute thinking I'm the worst thing you could be letting into the world. Believe me, my dear, there are much much worst beasts in this world. There was a thing called a Dalek, ever heard of it? No? Be glad you didn't. Oh! And the Weeping Angels, or are they called Weeping Alicorns here? Whatever they're called here, trust me when I say they'd make me look like a kitten! Besides I love a good sense of order, and these ponies love harmony. It's a match made in Heaven!"
"...What about empathy? Or kindness? How do you feel about those?"
"Different folks, different strokes, and if your friends matter so much to you, wouldn't you do anything for them?" He was right. "And order is something your crave. Ask yourself, no pretenses, no context, isn't it something you desire?" The watch was right.
"And you know what happens if that fool isn't stopped? A number of things, all of which are horrible. Let's see, option A) he takes over the world and twists it to be a horribly written story all about him. Option B) He twists time so much that the Reapers wake up and start eating everything, surprised they haven't already, but believe me, you do NOT want to see those! Option C) A time crash. Time twisted into such a knot that the only way the whole timeline doesn't go kablooy is if someone cuts off a part of it, about 25 years back, and erases everything inside. Now, my dear, you don't want any of that, do you?"
The watch was right, I didn't. The watch was offering me power to stop all that, and I realized, it was power I wanted. Power that...in some ways, I NEEDED right now.
"Yes. Yes. That feeling for power. That need for power. That is the real you! Embrace it!"
"You're right, I will do anything for my friends. I do want order. I don't want any of that to happen...I do want the power..."
"Then open it! Open it and summon me! Accept my majesty!"
"But..."
"But what?"
"But if I open it...if I release you...I'll stop being me, won't I?"
"Why does that matter?"
"My friends would lose me forever. I'd be replaced by a monster who I can't trust to still be their friend. I can feel it. A darkness...You have no heart."
"So? Maybe this situation calls for somepony without a heart."
"You're right, maybe it does. But how could I ever trust my friends with somepony with no heart? You're right, I'll do anything for my friends. And that includes NEVER becoming you."
"You still don't get it. I am you."
"No, you're not me. I'm Twinkleshine and Sunset's friend. I'm Cadence's Hoofmaiden and friend. I'm a healer. I love oral hygene. I love scheduling this trip."
"YOU EQUINE FOOL! You are ME! You are the MASTER!"
"No. I. Am. Minuette. Colgate!" I yelled and threw the watch across the room, letting it hit my pillow hard enough to knock both off the bed. I panted, just staring at it. The markings were gone. The voices had stopped...Had it all be a hallucination? Had the stress of living through the end of the world just drove me insane? Had I just spent the last who knew how long arguing with a pocket watch?
"Minny?" asked a voice.
I turned to see Twinkleshine opening the door. "Twinkleshine?"
"Is something wrong? Other than, well, everything that was ALREADY wrong?"
I looked at the watch, laying where it'd landed. It wasn't talking to me, it wasn't floating, it wasn't turning into some kind of monster trying to possess my body.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): What?)
The world was ending and I'd just spent like fifteen minutes arguing with a pocket watch. I wasn't out-ruling anything.
"N-no. Did you hear anything?"
"You yelling. It was kinda hard to hear through the door though."
"Just my voice?"
"Yeah..."
I looked back to the watch. "Yeah, I'm fine..."
"Minny! Twinkleshine!" yelled Sunset, running in.
"Sunset, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong! Cadence got a letter back from Princess Celestia!"
And well...that was it...I still don't know if it was real or not...Considering I'd just been through a living Tartarus, I could have just gone insane for a moment. Can you blame me if I did?
Why didn't I just chuck it out the window?...It always comes back...I've tried to get rid of it before and it ALWAYS comes back.
Not long after that, our Flotilla took off, heading for home. We passed by the former Defiant and another Type-42, the former Daring. They had been renamed the KNS Friendship and Harmony.
They gave us a farewell party cannon salute, bringing our trip to Kundu, and Zebrafrica, to a close.
We were, for a week or so, going home. Solomon was gone, his world had never been. I was writing it down myself, and yes, I was trying to use some of it as ideas for my story. I felt it was only right to pay some tribute to those events by sharing them covertly.
...But the Wolf still flashed through my head. My fear that telling Cadence could make her afraid all the time. My fear it could be anywhere.
I would ask Princess Celestia about why I remembered, and maybe, if I could, I would risk asking her about the wolf. Was it gone? Had destroying the Shadow of Chernobull 'fixed' me?
Somehow it felt like it had really only just all begun. And when Bond informed me the MoD had sent confirmation of troop rotations I'd not recalled hearing about before for a few seconds, that feeling was confirmed.
The trip home however, wasn't going to be swift. It would take four days to reach Canterlot. So I could try catch up a little at least. It was odd. The Invincible, her crew, and everyone were still themselves but...I felt like I was missing a lot. Like I'd come back from a long tour of duty and things had changed...I guess in some ways, that's what happened...
"You seem a little distracted, Sir," Thunderchild noted as I looked at the group of Air Navy Deer again while on the Entertainment/Mess Deck.
There were quite a few of them on board now... or, had been a few on board and I was only just remembering it, I guess. And quite a few in the Guard as a whole. Reindeer, Roe Deer, Musk Deer, Red Deer, Green Deer-
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): What?!)
Hehe, just joking. There were Moose though, and they did sometimes call themselves Green Deer owing to their more agrarian leanings. Combined with our Sika scientists we had all the non-hybrid deer species that actually existed represented.
"Just a little... Well, not sure how to put it. The transfers and promotions, just seems a little..."
"It is a little higher than usual all at the one time, Sir, but the nature of the mission means we do need to rotate troopers out. Plus, there are higher roles beckoning..."
"If this is another attempt to be smug you've made Staff Sergeant, it's not going to work."
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Wait, what?)
Yes, Thunderchild is Staff Sergeant. He's been a Sergeant for two years, so he got promoted. He was going to be promoted anyway, but the whole 'kidnapped by Azure Raven' thing happened in the old...wrong...the timeline with the Existence Eater in it! Also, even though apparently the Harmony Guard was an actual two-division force, the whole Guard was undergoing slightly improved career progression thanks to a very large reorganization...
Night Guard, Harmony Guard, amending the Solar Guard, new technology and tactics for Peacekeeping... In general, I was going to have a ton to catch up on. One thing that had really hit me soon, was weapons tech was now decades 'out of date' from what I was used to, while medical was now decades ahead of it's time.
"I mean my fellow Sergeants getting their own promotions too. Pity Reinolds is taking Alleyne, she's one of the better combat mages we have..."
"We're not planning on combat, Sergeant."
"Still, quite a party planned for all these promotions. Fair few new confirmations of promotion orders as well, time in grade and meritorious conduct mostly. Garnet will be glad Gag only outranked her for a few weeks," He continued.
"He still technically has seniority."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Militarily speaking, of course," I corrected.
"Shame we've no idea who'll be getting assigned. Odd they let you select from volunteers for the mission before but the replacements are from high command's choices."
"You want consistency, Thunderchild, join the catering corps."
"Cupcakes with the consistency of a brick, you mean?"
We both shared a laugh at that. And then we were kind of silent for a bit. I thought about what had transpired. What if I'd never rescued Thunderchild and the others from Azure Raven? If he'd gotten what he'd wanted and already killed them? It sent a chill down my spine just thinking about it.
We looked out into the distance and saw a flash of lightning near the horizon. No thunder reached our ears.
"...Hehe, they call that heat lightning."
I blinked. "But it's not that hot right now."
Thunderchild chuckled. I suddenly felt a little like a fish who'd taken bait.
"Nah, you're thinking of dry lightning, lightning when it's not raining. Heat lightning is just lightning you can't hear because it's so far away. Sound doesn't make it to your ears."
"...Wow...did not know that..."
"Not a lot of ponies do, even a lot of pegasi." He gave a smug smirk, evidently proud of himself.
"...And how do you?" I'd known lightning was Thunderchild's thing, never really thought about how much he knew about it.
"Hehe, went to school for it. Cloudsdale, School for Gifted Pegasi."
"Wait...what?" I asked, staring at him. I'd known Thunderchild for a while, he was a close friend, but Ellis was the one who normally told old stories when the group got together.
"Got my Degree in Weather there too."
"Really? I had no idea..."
In retrospect, I was surprised it hadn't hit me before now, since Thunderchild was probably one of the best lightning manipulators I'd ever seen, but it was just...well, he's Thunderchild!
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Didn't seem like the book smart type?)
Exactly. Not saying he's dumb, just I guess I figured I had him pegged...
"You bet. Got my certificate too...just only like to flaunt it if I see a brainy mare with a sweet pair wings..." Thunderchild gave a smirk.
"Or want to brag to your superior officer?"
"Yep. I can brag about Lightning all the time. I can even manipulate the fungus batteries..."
Garnet sighed from a few tables over. Meanwhile, I perked my ears at what he'd said.
"No you can't, Sarge, we've been through this, the magic and electricity don't match up. It's very unlikely a pegasus could manipulate the earth magic powering the fungus fully in the first place, and bioelectricity is barely anything like normal electricity, so you'd barely be able to get a spark even with it."
Something occurred to me.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): That the implosion of the Hooviet Empire resulted in the Deer's biotechnology progressing and branching out?)
No...well, yes, but something else.
It occurred to me I didn't really know my squad... my friends... quite as well as I thought. We were close, I KNEW that, but I didn't know a lot about them...
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Well, ya got like four days!)
First I wanted to check up that fungus thing though...
Okay, maybe I did know some of them pretty well since I thought Ellis and Audience could explain it and I was right. Plus, they didn't have much else to add about themselves after all...
"Deer scientists refined an existing fungus that held magical energy down into three elemental versions with selective breeding..."
"Cultivatin'."
"...Breeding is still valid, Corporal,"
"Yeah, except legally, 'cos the Farm and Agriculture Guild decided ta say that instead. Too smutty, they said," Ellis clarified, making Audience nod as if he'd remembered something.
"When was that?" I wondered.
"Four hundred years ago," They both replied.
"Oh. But this fungus is fairly new?"
"Yeah, about three years. It's not exactly cheap stuff right now, guess the flotilla lucked out in gettin' so much of it. Audience's ma had some back at the dig which is why he knows a bit about it... Kinda surprised ya didn't know this already though, Sir."
"Uh...yeah, probably should've. But Twilight is the one who's into science and stuff and I guess she forgot to mention it..."
Of course my new memories of Twilight giving me one of her lectures on this exact subject chooses to emerge AFTER I needed it! And I may or may not have zoned out in my own flashback, which I didn't know was even possible!
"And it - BBBFF, are you listening? This is a really fascinating discovery and it could have great implications for all sorts of things! The fungus offers a number of advantages over the existing mana batteries! They don't need a unicorn to recharge them and the ice and heat versions will be great for cooling and heating... uh, obviously... but still!"
"Uh...Sir?"
I blinked, finding Ellis staring at me. "...Yes?"
"Yah kinda zoned out there, yah ok?"
"Yeah! No problem. Just had a flashback."
"Borin' one?"
"Yeah, kinda. Or a flashback to being bored, not sure which...Uh...so, you were saying?"
"Yeah, right. Well, the heat ones generate heat tah keep themselves warm, but they bred it so it generates enough to warm everythin' around it too. The ice ones-"
"Generate ice?"
"Nah, they absorb heat, which kinda causes ice tah generate itself. They're pretty useful for a lotta things, like keepin' scientists cool in the desert."
So yeah, apparently the deer had added their biotechnology to the mix now, which was making things at least a bit more ecofriendly. The Dragons didn't mind, more Dragon Wine for them.
Learning about the biotechnology from the Roedinians was actually pretty interesting, and made me wonder about some other stuff.
"Garnet?"
"Yes sir?" our medic asked as I found her in the sickbay, signing some papers for a restock of medical supplies. Which now seemed a little more...well, not exactly 'high tech', considering it involved Deer magic, but there was now a small fungus garden that seemed to be being tended to by a Musk Deer doe.
"I was talking to Ellis about the Roedinian biotechnology..."
"Thought you seemed interested when Thunderchild mentioned it."
I gave a nod.
"I was wondering if there's any medical advances they created?"
"Oh, well there's this one right here," she replied, pointing to the fungus garden.
"What is it?"
"Olga would know a bit better than me. Olga, mind telling the captain about the fungus?"
The doe, who I remembered now was an Air Navy Nurse, turned to me.
"The fungus does a few things. It helps control the humidity of the room if controlled properly through magic, which is important for a medical ward. It also is useful for making certain medicines, which we can make right here in the ward, helping cut down on the amount of medicine we have to carry."
"The Roedinian's biotech has also made hip replacements and the like more affordable and practical, among other advancements... Though by affordable, it's still not something you can get on National Health Insurance unless it's an emergency," Garnet explained as she finished the papers.
I gave a nod...then thought.
"Well, I'm supposed to meet Gag for lunch, he would've come here, but well..." she explained, giving a look to one of the scan cats that was walking around. Admittedly they were kind of adorable.
"Yeah, I got it..." Seriously, why do cats hate Gag so much?
"Hey...mind if I join you two? I mean unless it's a date..."
"Captain, if we were going on a date, there's a lot more romantic places than the mess hall, even on a ship. And sure."
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Sweet!
'And so Nibiru has come to be defeated and everything has become undone...'
Try and guess the reference. Otherwise, this was really good and surprising also.
3765297 I mostly know 'Nibiru' from various Ancient Astronaut theories, but they cribbed it from Sumerian myth. I'm guessing its use here stems from some anime or manga.
3765297 I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated, since that had a villain called the Nibiru Entity and the last episode was called Come Undone
3791984
Probably. Good to know that in this timeline while weapons aren't as advanced, medical tech has massively improved.
.........this is gonna take some getting use to for Shining, Cadence and Minuette.
And who the hell was that SOB that tried to possess Minnuette? I don't like him.
7153845 basically he's The Doctor's evil counterpart. Remember that guy the Valeyard killed repeatedly in the Dark World timelime?
CURSE YOU MAKAROV! CURSE YOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!
I'm so glad everything's alright forever and we have a happy ending. *Looks at how many chapters are left* yep, totally done and safe forever and ever.
Well technically it did even if you don't remember. Even if time's an ocean in a storm you're still sailing a path through it. You wouldn't get to here without the earlier portions of the path.
I mean the Weeping Angels arn't really that bad. They just send indivudals back or foreward in time. Even if they got control of a tardis and fed off of it the plan wouldnt be to turn off the sun, it would be an accident. So defintaly angels are better then the master. But I would pick the Master's evil overlordness above the Daleks genocide of all other life any day. But Master vs Nameless, thats a tough call
11060300
Besides, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence would be able infinitely immobilize them via their "everything the Sun/Moon/Birds is shining/looking at I see" thing
11564120
I realized too late that I had given them way too much of a game breaker ability.