Pipers Tale

by Saro0fdemonz

The Past, The Present, The Future Part 1

Piper let what he had just told them sink in, Dinky being the first to understand

"It was you! I knew it!" She said triumphantly.

"Dinks, the rest of our brains don't work that fast, do you mind explaining?" Amethyst said. The unicorn smiled.

"Don't you see? When Piper vanished all those years ago and met back up with us, when that strange pony saved us from the Heartless near Discords Chamber, when we saw that pony impaled and then walk it off like it was nothing, THAT WAS PIPER!" She exclaimed, pointing to Piper.

"Wait...so...Piper was protecting us that whole time?" Honeycrisp asked, looking over at him.

"Not the whole time. I was watching for the most part and trying to find a way to change what happened." Piper said with a sigh.

---

He watched as the group walked out of the TARDIS and couldn't help but smile. There he was, before Cherry Blossom was taken from him, before he had become an empty shell that clung to a heart of another. Before he had fought and killed hundreds of Gryphons and thirteen of their kings. Before he had died. All he had to do was somehow find a way to save himself and everything would go back to normal, wouldn't it?

"No...I'd have to stop myself in the future. I'd have to stop Rainbow from saving me. I'll have to find a way back there." he thought aloud, using the shadows to follow after the group. He froze as guards surrounded his friends and his past self. Another smile spread across his face as he watched his past self stand up against the guards.

He had been so naive back then. Such a tactic in a real battle was asking to be killed. Had the guards decided to fight back he might have died right there. But he wasn't alone, he had Emerald who had rendered the guards weapons useless, and then Celestia broke up the argument and the group began the march to the camp.

He sat down, putting a hoof against his chin in thought. If he was already here, why did Harmony send him back here? What did he need to do? Was she giving him a chance to prevent all that had happened? That didn't make any sense.

"Something troubling you?" a voice spoke up. Piper blinked, drawing his hoofblade and spinning in search of the voice. There in front of him, stood himself, wearing the same cloak and holding the same blade. But his clone was different, there was a streak of grey in his mane.

"Who...are you?" Piper asked.

"Well, you could say I'm you." The pony grinned, his eyes fading to a shimmering silver.

"Only stronger." Piper gasped as the pony leapt at him. He rolled out of the way, raising his blade to defend against a swipe, slashing with his wing and grinning as the pegasus leapt away, standing on his hind hooves and beating his wings quickly to hover.

"You might be me, but you don't have the experience I do." Piper said, taking a slow breath to help him clear his mind.

"Oh you believe that don't you?" the doppelganger said with a grin of his own, vanishing into thin air. Piper blinked and flicked his ears, listening for the pony. He gasped, feeling a blade slide through the back of his throat, poking out in front of him. He gasped and wheezed for air, only achieving a loud gurgling noise as blood poured down from his neck, grunting as the pegasus slammed a hoof on his back and ripped the blade from his throat. Piper fell clutching his throat with his hooves.

"You're weak. You killed a bunch of useless weaklings and look at you now! You couldn't even keep up with my speed. WORTHLESS!" Piper grunted as the pegasus kicked him in the side, sending him into a tree. He wheezed and groaned, blinking as the cloak wrapped around his throat, holding it closed and allowing air to fill his lungs. He stood slowly, his vision blurred and his knees shaking. He backed himself up towards a nearby tree as the pegasus advanced on him.

"Oh, so you can still stand and fight. Good. I was afraid this was a waste of time."

"Who are you?" Piper wheezed. Frost clinging to his mane. The pegasus before him only grinned with a dark light in his eyes.

"My name, is Xipper." the figure vanished again, appearing in front of him, the tip of his blade between Pipers eyes. Piper didn't even have time to blink before the blade was pushed forward, but at the same time a spear of ice shot up, slamming into Xippers' wings.

Piper weakly reached for the blade, pulling it free from between his eyes. The hood of his cloak lifting itself and hiding his face. He could feel magic working its way down the bridge of his nose, knitting the flesh back together and holding it there. Xipper chuckled.

"Well...I wasn't expecting that..." It was Pipers turn to chuckle as he stumbled backwards, leaning against the tree. It wasn't the first time someone had gone for his brain, but each time was more horrible than the last.

"I couldn't keep track of you, but you'd have to attack from the front with the tree in the way...I did see the dust. Unlike me, you're a weak flyer. You've got ground speed." Piper laid his head back, his wheezing slowing as his throat repaired itself. He closed his eyes, focusing on keeping Xipper high in the air on the end of the ice spear.

"I wonder...do you heal like I do?" Piper asked, icicles forming in the air and slamming into Xipper who gasped and coughed, blood dripping down his chin. Despite it all he laughed.

"Might want to be careful with those...you wouldn't want to lose your heart forever would you?" Xipper asked softly. Piper looked up at him, his eyes wide.

"How do you..."

"Because, you gave it to me!" with that he vanished as a hole of darkness appeared and swallowed him. Piper sat there, staring at the blood covered ice. His heart. That pegasus had his heart.

---

"That bastard came at me out of thin air, told me he had my heart and then ran away. And he's only getting stronger and stronger. That's why I have to defeat him myself. I have to earn my heart back." Piper said softly. Riku smiled.

"I understand." he said with a nod. Nyx blinked, looking at Riku.

"You understand? How can you understand?! You said so yourself, he can't beat that thing and it can't beat him!" She yelled.

"Nyx, its not a matter of if he can beat him. Its a matter of he has to beat him. It was the same when I was being controlled by Ansem. But even then I had Sora's help. I understand you need to beat him Piper, but a helping hoof isn't something to ignore. I won't get in the way, but I won't just stand back either." The two shared a small smile.

"I realized then what Harmony had sent me back there for. Xipper had gone there to stop us from defeating Discord, and Harmony had sent me there to stop him."

---

The pegasus weakly made his way through the ruined trees, their leaves having died long ago due to the lack of sunlight and rain. It was a sad sight and one he tried to ignore as he searched blindly for Celestia's camp. He paused at the edge of the forest.

"If I go to the camp I'll bump into myself. I don't remember seeing myself at the camp..." his eyes widened.

"But I did come across that pegasus...after..." He winced, remembering the incident back then that had separated him from his friends. The cloud clipping his wing and his plummet into the forest. He looked out across the dead fields, that would only be in a few days time from now. He had to be there to save himself. Maybe he could keep it from happening. Maybe...

"No..." he sighed and let his weariness take over, collapsing and falling asleep instantly. He yawned, finding himself in front of Harmony once more.

"Why?" he asked quietly.

"The one called Xipper, he is your Nobody. It was because of he that you and your friends had to journey back to help my sisters. But it is you who will stop him from changing the past. It has already happened, you know it to be true. Now you must ensure the timeline is not altered. I am putting a great deal of trust in you Piper." The pegasus said nothing for a moment, merely looking up at the Alicorn as he let his mind push in the final piece of the puzzle.

"You knew this whole time. This entire BUCKING time, you knew. You knew Grandma Dash would die, you knew I would sacrifice myself for her, you knew I would go after Cherry Blossom and YOU KNEW I WOULD FAIL!" He screamed at her.

"All this time...you knew all of it." He stood and began walking through the empty white void.

"Piper...where are you going?" she asked softly.

"Nowhere obviously"

---

He forced himself to stay calm.

"It wasn't simply that she had known. She is responsible for all that has happened. From the creation of the Elements, to Discord roaming free, to our birth and so much more." He said quietly.

"B...But how? Harmony said it herself, she cannot touch our realm without causing.." Twilight began.

"Chaos?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow. As the word left his mouth his body flickered between his heartless form and his pony form.

"What do you see around you now Princess? A war is about to begin and the only hope to stop it is a child who has no heart and has been forced through wars he never should have seen."

"No..I refuse to believe my mother is behind all of this suffering. Surely she only meant well." Celestia spoke up. Piper chuckled.

"Yea, she meant well when she started. But then she screwed up and kept trying to fix her mistakes, but the more she interfered the more she screwed up, so when she saw the chance, she snagged me."

---

Harmony followed Piper in silence as he marched through the void of white, waiting for his body to recover.

"Why me?" Piper eventually asked.

"It could only be you Piper. No one else had a heart strong enough to withstand what must be done. Amethyst cracked and become an empty shell of himself. Strawberry was far too fragile and couldn't raise her hoof to cause harm to anyone or anything. Emerald..." Harmony paused.

"Tell me." Piper said, holding back his anger.

"She failed miserably and took her own life...The twins were no better and further down the line it was always the same. Each pony meant well but was not up to the task. But then there was you. A pony who was born to sacrifice himself for others."

"I did what had to be done."

"Exactly Piper. Without you urging him on Amethyst would have never completed the spell to save Rainbow Dash. He would have cracked and undone the spell. You know it to be true. And Emerald..."

"Emeralds heart was too fragile for something like that and no matter how strong she becomes she will always be that wonderful soft little Kirin. Its what makes her who she is." Piper finished, chuckling a little.

"I was born to die." He turned his head, glancing at his Cutie mark.

"True Loyalty...what does it even mean?"

"That is not what your Cutie mark means Piper." Harmony spoke up. He raised an eyebrow, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"Luna told me herself..."

"She misinterpreted it Piper. Your special talent is not being Loyal. It is true that when it comes down to it you choose what is best for your friends rather than what is best for you, but that is not a talent. Anypony can do such a thing."

"Well why can't 'anypony' be your bucking dog and ran your sun-cursed errands?" he muttered under his breath. Harmony remained silent, as if waiting for something. Piper sighed.

"What does it mean?" he asked.

"Sacrifice. When you first earned your Cutie mark, what happened?" She asked him.

"We had just defeated Discord, then all I remember is being in pain and leaving my friends and family."

"You sacrificed what little energy you had left to ensure Discord could not wreak chaos in Equestria."

"Congrats by the way." a voice rang out, the god of chaos himself appearing before them.

"Not now Discord..." Harmony said through gritted teeth.

"Oh come now Harmony. You've been hogging this place for centuries and i'm getting bored." Piper growled, glaring at Discord.

"YOU! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" he yelled, pointing an accusatory hoof at Discord.

"Me?! How is any of this my fault?"

"When you attacked..."

"Your dear old grandmother threw herself in front of it. Sacrificing herself for a pony she dearly loved and in turn you did the same. And for the oh so simple record, I wasn't quite myself then. Those friends of yours in the cloaks are more powerful than they look." he muttered angrily, crossing his arms.

"You...you were being controlled?" Harmony asked in shock.

"FINALLY she listens to reason! Ugh, blech, don't ever make me do that again." Discord said, disgusted with himself.

"Wait...Being controlled? By what?" Piper asked, confused.

"By the very thing you're becoming little puppet." Discord said with a sly grin.

"Discord!" Harmony glared at him.

"I want an explanation." Piper stepped forward as he spoke, blinking as Discord poked his muzzle

"And one you'll have, but you have more pressing matters. Like that Nobody of yours about to wreak havoc across the time-line. I'll leave you with a gift and we'll chat later." Discord snapped his claws, Pipers cloak glowing dimly.

"Its now infused with my magic. Should you will it you can tap into this power so long as you wear this cloak, just try not to overdo it."

"Why would you give me anything? whats the catch?"

"The catch? I'm the God of chaos and the unexpected! what point would there be to that if I explained EVERYTHING!?" with another snap of his claws Piper found himself awake at the edge of the forest. He could feel the magic of the cloak wrapping around him, filling his mind with knowledge of its ancient abilities. He sighed quietly and began marching forward, he wasn't sure where to, but a gut feeling in his stomach told him there was somewhere he needed to be.

---

"So this cloak holds both the powers of Harmony and Discord?" Twilight asked, brushing her hoof against the fabric. She suddenly felt sick, flinching away from the cloak.

"Yes..." Piper said slowly.

"I...Its so unstable...how..." Twilight just stared at the pegasus, wondering how he could stand to be in constant contact with such a horrible thing. Piper stretched his wings a bit, seeming unaware of the uneasiness the cloak was emanating. He yawned and blinked as Strawberry nuzzled his cheek.

"Piper, you should get some rest." She mumbled quietly.

"I'm fine Berry. Besides, this is important." the Zebra sighed and nodded, letting him continue his story.

---

He had spent the past few days simply watching and waiting. Always with the cloak hiding him in the shadows. He couldn't help but smile when he saw all of his friends create a massive forest and when Strawberry began dancing about and singing. Then his horrible mistake. The Sonic Boom echoed for miles and would definitely draw Discords attention. Piper stretched as Discords creatures appeared around him, snarling with drool dripping from the malformed mouths. Years ago he was able to ignore what they were and simply use his magic to be rid of them.

But now, as they rushed towards him, he drew his hoofblade and swung once, his eyes shifting to a bright yellow as an arc of dark energy whipped through them, cutting them into ribbons. He let out a slow breath and rushed onto the battlefield, keeping his hood up to hide his face and his wings tucked against his side. This was where he belonged, this was his home now, among the screaming and the killing. It was here that he could let himself go and just be. He panted a little, realizing the creatures were retreating. A glance upwards revealed that his past self was chasing after Discord.

"No...NO NO NO NO NO!" Piper rushed after his past self and Sunburst. He would have to be quick, but a sonic boom would draw too much attention to himself. He used the forest as cover, flying low against the ground and watching the two ponies from below. The instant the cloud clipped Pipers wing he took action, zipping between the trees and catching the wounded pegasus.

He let out a soft sigh of relief, gently setting him down. He could hear Sunburst sobbing above him and had to stop himself from comforting her. He wasn't sure what would happen if anypony discovered he was here, but something in the back of his mind continued to scream at him to stay hidden. He sighed, looking down at himself. Now was his chance to change his fate, to set things right, to save himself. He nudged the pegasus gently

"Come on, get up. You're stronger than this." his ears twitched, the sound of the TARDIS landing not far off. He lifted his head in time to see Dinky stepping out of the TARDIS. He smiled and chuckled to himself. He really did miss her and everyone else. He nodded towards her and she blinked.

Of course she wouldn't recognize him, and if she did she would probably scold him for being here. He flicked his wings open, feeling the power of the cloak flow through him, dust spinning around him and covering him and the sleeping Piper in a cloak of shadow, hiding them from view as the dust settled. He watched as Dinky was pulled back into the TARDIS by Amethyst and they left to go after Sunburst and Discord.

---

"AHA! I knew I wasn't crazy! I did see you didn't I?" Dinky said with a wide smile. Piper rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Dinky, you already knew, what about whe.." Piper blinked as her hoof covered his mouth, everyone staring at the unicorn. She cleared her throat.

"I...haven't mentioned that..." she murmured. Piper raised an eyebrow, giving her a flat look as he pushed her hoof away and stood.

"You didn't tell them anything?" he asked softly. She gave a slow nod.

"Not even that I was alive?"

"I thought it was for the best, Piper. I've seen.."

"Be quiet." he said softly. He didn't say it with anger, or even in a scolding tone. It was a comforting voice but strangely it was enough to silence her. He turned away from her as he continued.

"'I've seen' Is not an excuse Dinky. The Princess' knew what was coming for us and told us nothing and look where we are now. You had a chance to comfort years of suffering and you tucked it away because you saw something you shouldn't have."

"Piper, you don't understand, I'm not suppose to interfere, I'm not suppose to know which means they aren't suppose to know. I wasn't suppose to see you then." Piper spun and glared at her, finding Amethyst in his path. The kirin's face was blank as he stared down the pegasus.

"She did what she thought was right. I don't have a clue in Tartarus what you two are going on about but I can guess it didn't end well." Emerald sighed, lifting the two of them in her magic and holding them upside down. She turned to Piper first with a small smile.

"Piper, you saved me all those years ago when we were training even though you got hurt. You fought so hard and you were so brave and you've done so much more and given up so much between now and then. You've seen things I can only imagine and I'm sure you learned a lot along the way. I'm sure you of all ponies know that when a pony has something they have to do, they do it, no matter the cost. I have been keeping it to myself, but I have been having Night Terrors and I know what Dinky saw. She kept her mouth shut for a good reason. One word, that's all it would take. One word in the wrong place could bring about more destruction than even you've seen Piper." the pegasus remained silent as he was lectured, the younger kirin turning to face her brother.

"Quit with the guardian act and just ask Dinky on a date already. We're all getting sick of you two avoiding each other." both Kirin and Unicorn blushed, clearing their throats and looking away from one another. Emerald sighed and shook her head, dropping them from her magical hold and sitting down once more.

"Alright, so I get that everything would fall apart if somepony said the wrong thing. But how would saying "Piper is Alive and coming back" bring about destruction?" Piper asked.

"Because we weren't meant to know yet. When I took Penny Apple and Hayseed away in the TARDIS we rewrote history and so secrets had to be kept." Dinky spoke up, wincing as the Twins glared at her.

"An we're gettin tired o' lyin t' everypony. If Ma an pa found out they'd tan our hides!" Penny yelled, crossing her hooves. Her sister nodding her agreement.

"Maybe nows the time to get everything out into the open?" Honeycrisp asked. Everypony looked at one another for a moment and nodded.

"Let Piper finish first. I think everything will be understood then." Dinky said, taking her seat next to Amethyst. Riku stood and stretched.

"Actually, I think now is a good time to take a break everypony. Lets not dwell on the past for now. You have your friend back, enjoy what time you have together while you have it." He said, smiling at Nyx.

"Oh, and maybe get to know your mare a little better." He said, winking at Piper then at Amethyst. Both Kirin and Pegasus trying to argue as the Alicorn chuckled, leaving with his wife and children. Emerald nudged Amethyst toward Dinky with a brush of magic and Strawberry practically pounced on Piper, the room being filled with laughter. Kairi took the chance to walk Sora out of the room, heading to a room that had been given to them.

"Should we tell them?" Kairi asked. Sora shook his head weakly.

"No...not yet. They have Ten Years. Let them enjoy it."

Author's Note:

Side-note: Next chapter will most likely be a filler-happiness chapter of them just relaxing with the peace and quiet they have and maybe some stuff being thrown out in the open and then back to the story in the chapter after that.