The Darkest Timeline
THE DARKEST TIMELINE
A/N: If the title didn’t tip you off, this chapter is going to dip back into the darker than dark alternate ending timeline with all the squick and potentially objectionable content that implies. Jump to the middle of the next chapter (first "------------") if that bothers you.
“Me? A changeling queen? You need to explain. Right now,” I say.
“I know it sounds a bit out there, but your original fate before you changed it with the Elements was to become the new changeling queen and take the throne of Equestria from the old one. Chrysalis, I think her name was?”
“I think that you screwed up. You must have screwed up. A pony can’t become a changeling queen. That future isn’t scientifically possible,” I say.
“I double checked it,” says Star Swirl. How can he look so serious when what he's saying is so completely ridiculous?
"So even if that is true, what are we supposed to do about it? Fight her? Make a deal with her?"
"Avoid her would be my preference. I don't know what you would have had to do to yourself to get that way, or how desperate you'd have to be to do it. The ritual should only take a few hours and when it's over it should sever that timeline from ours and pull us back to this one. I'll fill out the details later if you want to check the math," says Star Swirl.
"So can we just arrive in the middle of nowhere and cast it from there?" I ask. I don't want to meet a version of myself that's fallen that far if I don't have to.
"I thought of that. The spell that takes us to the other timeline should deposit us at the point with the lowest temporal integrity, which will almost certainly be the area you disrupted by casting the time loop spell," he says.
"Right in the middle of Canterlot castle, in other words. Fantastic," I say with a groan. "Do you think we'd be able to slip out of the city without drawing attention?"
"I'm not sure we can count on that. Scrying the library before we leave won't necessarily work either. We should arrive roughly as long after the casting of the time loop spell as it's been here, I can't promise anything more precise than that. We might get there a few hours earlier or later than we expect," he says.
"Then we just shouldn't go at all. We'll find some other alternative. This plan sounds a little bit too suicidal for my taste," I say.
"It might not be that bad. From what I've been able to gather it's still you, just bigger and scarier looking. You know what they say about books and covers. Plus I saw some other ponies around you that looked like your friends, assuming they weren't changelings in disguise," he says. That's interesting. I guess this other me found some way to keep the Elements from exploding if Canterlot's still standing. Maybe she'd hear us out. I know that if I ran into an alternate version of myself from another timeline I'd at least be curious.
I sigh. It's late and the good mood I was in after my date has dissipated. "Well I don't think we're going to figure this out tonight anyway, and you look as tired as I feel," I say.
He smiles. "Yeah, I guess I am. Luna and I still aren't talking, and she's usually the one I'd go to about something like this. It's been a long few days for me," he says. I look over at him again and wonder if this was what I was like before Celestia sent me to Ponyville. Always lonely and too blind to even realize it.
"She's really important to you, isn't she?" I ask.
"More than I could ever put into words. I hate the way we're always arguing and hurting one another, though. When things are good between us, they're great. The other times..."
I don't say anything to that, for fear of tipping my hoof about what Celestia said was in his future. It's actually a bit reassuring to know that there's at least one pony out there who's worse at relationships than I am.
"Celestia mentioned that there's a little inn a couple streets down from here. I'll get out of your mane and we can meet up in the morning to talk more about this. I bet together we'll come up with a better plan than we've got now. Worst case we'll be ready for whatever we find when we go," he says as he gets up from the table.
"Do you want to just sleep here? I have a guest room," I say. Star Swirl looks surprised by the offer.
"Why? I mean, yes that would be great but I figured you wouldn't want me around any more than I had to be," he says.
"It's no problem. What are friends for?" I ask.
"I can't say that I know," he says. "After everything you said back there when you hit me, and by the way you have quite the right hook for a mare who hangs around books all day, I figured that we weren't ever going to be friends."
"It's not too late to try again. Just try being a little less like yourself from now on. I'm sorry I hit you though. Come on, I'll get you some blankets," I say and walk over to my linen closet. Star Swirl studies me as I walk by, like he'll be able to puzzle me out if he stares hard enough. Good luck.
I take down some fresh sheets and towels too. I usually sleep in pretty late so I point out the kitchen and bathroom, and mention that Spike might be coming home from his sleepover before I’m up. Star Swirl nods his understanding and walks into the little guest bedroom. "I hope you aren't too cramped. I know it's a bit of a step down from a suite at the palace."
"It's perfect. Thanks, Twilight," he says.
I'm about to say goodnight when a powerful yawn catches me off guard. I'm running out of steam pretty fast, so I just give Star Swirl a little wave and head up to my own bed. I crawl under the covers and the last thing I remember thinking is that tonight was a good night.
I'm awakened the next morning when the odor of hay bacon strips comes wafting up to my nose. I wake up famished, unsurprising given that I didn’t eat very much of my dinner last night. I’m lured down to the kitchen where I’m surprised to see that it’s Star Swirl and not Spike making breakfast for us.
“Good morning, Twilight. You’re out of orange juice,” he says as he takes a sip from a glass of it sitting next to the cooktop.
I’m just gonna let that pass. ”Sleep OK?” I ask him without taking my eyes off the frying pan. The strips are just starting to get extra crispy. I love mine extra crispy.
“Well enough. Too many ideas running through my head, though. I got some of my notes out on the timeline shifting spell, and the rituals we’ll need once we get there. I’d like you to look them over and tell me what you think if you don't mind. I also saw a few books on illusions and other spells up on your shelves that might help us if we’re going to try to sneak out of the city. I’m thinking we should come up with a few options in case we need to blast our way out of a tight spot and maybe a few more in case of-”
“Star Swirl. One thing at a time. First bacon, then we’ll see about saving the multiverse,” I say as I help myself to half the pan’s contents and wrap it in a paper towel with my magic. I’ll think better on a full stomach anyway. The two of us buckle down to start working together, and it feels different than when we tried the other day. Star Swirl is really making an effort to be nicer to me, I can tell. Even though he lets slip a few mean-spirited or snippy comments he’s quick to apologize for each one once he notices me glaring at him.
Over the next couple of days we’ll start to cobble together a contingent of potentially useful spells we’ll want to have ready for our little excursion. I got really good at combat magic over all those loops and if this other me is hostile I’m not letting her take me down without a fight. Star Swirl seems to be tailoring his more towards sneakiness and support. He promises to give me a couple of pointers on quick and dirty healing magic too, in case it comes to that. He’s got quite a knack for those sorts of spells, which nothing I’ve ever read about him ever suggested.
Not that I only have time for studying. My friends won’t leave me alone until I’ve given them a full report on how the date went, and the first one to show up at my library is the one who’s lack of patience is only matched by her total disdain for behaving tactfully. I can still taste the bacon from earlier this morning when there’s a knock on my window and I can see Rainbow Dash waiting to be let in. Still hasn’t fully grasped the concept of ‘doors,’ I see, but it’s a step up from her crashing through unannounced. I unlatch the window so she can fly in.
“Hey Twilight! So how’d it go last night?” she asks. Straight to the point, as usual. There’s the clattering of a pan from the kitchen where Star Swirl’s cleaning and Rainbow’s ears perk up. “Wait, is she still here? Did she spend the night? Go Twilight! Up top!” she says as she holds out a hoof for me to bump.
“No, that’s not her. Star Swirl showed up after the date was over and crashed here, but the date itself went well. I really like Azalea,” I say.
“You gotta let me meet her soon, so I can make sure she’s radical enough for my best friend. When are you going out again?” she asks.
“We didn’t decide exactly, but we both said we wanted to go out again so it probably won’t be too long,” I say. I make a mental note to be sure I don’t get so sucked into my research that I forget to go see her again soon.
“Yes! In your face, Rarity!” says Rainbow Dash.
“What does Rarity have to do with it?” I ask.
Rainbow Dash covers her mouth with a hoof. “Oh, nothing,” she says. “I mean, it’s nothing you have to worry about.”
“Dash...”
She sighs. “Ok. Fine. Before Applejack picked out your date I bet Rarity ten bits it would be a pegasus that you hit it off with first, while she bet it would be a unicorn who you could do magic with and stuff,” she says.
“You can’t bet on who I’m going to date! Besides, what makes you so sure I like pegasi more than unicorns or earth ponies?” I ask. I’m equally mad at both of them, but Rainbow Dash is here right now so she’s going to take the brunt of it.
“Um, hello. Because we’re awesome. Like we say back up in Cloudsdale, ‘it don’t mean a thing if she ain’t got that wing,’ right? You know what I’m talking about,” says Rainbow as she winks and nudges me in the side.
“I happen to think that all three types of ponies can be quite beautiful in their own way, thank you very much. Unless you’re saying you’ve never been attracted to a unicorn or earth pony before,” I say, indignant.
Rainbow Dash suddenly blushes, but chokes out a denial. "I never said that! I'm not some kind of racist or something, it was just a friendly wager. Besides I was right, wasn't I?"
Star Swirl enters from the kitchen, curious at what all the noise is about. Dash turns to him as he does. "You're Star Swirl, right? Settle something for us. Which sort of mares are cuter, unicorns or pegasi?"
Star Swirl looks back and forth between me and Dash. From the look on his face I think he'd rather be torn apart by angry manticores than answer that question. "I'm more into alicorns myself, sorry," he says.
"Ha! Then I win! Alicorns and pegasi both have wings and unicorns don't," Dash concludes triumphantly, "checkmate!"
"You don't even know how to play chess, Dash," I say. I could point out that her logic has a couple gaping holes in it too but I doubt that would faze her.
"I know you win when you say checkmate. And we're talking about what sort of mates you check out aren't we? So it fits.”
I just shake my head. I’m sure in Rainbow Dash’s mind that makes perfect sense. “Star Swirl, this is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash, Star Swirl,” I say.
“You’re the one who flies fast, right?” asks Star Swirl, “Twilight mentioned you before.”
“Heck yeah I fly fast. I’m the fastest pony alive. Of course Twilight would mention me,” says Rainbow Dash, puffing up with bravado.
“Well, fastest pegasus anyway,” says Star Swirl. “Anyway, all the dishes are in the drying rack so now I think Twilight and I should-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What exactly do you mean by ‘fastest pegasus?’ I said fastest pony. Bar none. Unless you think you can prove me wrong,” says Rainbow Dash. I bite my lip. This looks like it’s about to start going downhill, and fast.
“Guys, it doesn’t matter. Let’s get back to working on-”
“Listen, Rainbow Dash. I’m a unicorn. I can teleport. You can’t go faster than that. There’s no shame in being second best,” says Star Swirl.
“I’m not second best! Teleporting is cheating,” says Dash as she lands on the library floor and pushes a hoof into his chest. Star Swirl rocks back a bit, but quickly rights himself and pushes the hoof away.
“Spoken like a pony who just can’t compete. Moving through all the intervening space between point A and point B is for chumps.”
“Who’re you calling a chump? I’ll intervene your space, chump!”
Damn it. I thought Star Swirl was trying to be nice, but then again it is Dash. I really should have seen this coming. I have no idea how to make either one of them back down.
“Star Swirl, I’m warning you...” I try.
“Twilight! She’s factually incorrect! What do you expect me to do?” he asks with abject horror.
“Can your fancy teleporting do this?” asks Dash and bolts off the ground to make a quick lap around the library, leaving a rainbow contrail in her wake.
“You like rainbows so much? Here,” he says. He glances down at the book of illusion magic and then back up at the contrail. His horn glows as the semi-transparent rainbow trail starts to waver and move. A hunk of it detaches from the rest and is flung right into Rainbow Dash’s face, where it sticks.
“What did you do? Why did the world get all indigo all of a sudden? Why does the air taste like spicy oranges?” asks Rainbow. She pokes a hoof at the layer of colors covering her face like prismatic cling wrap.
“Star Swirl! Take that off of her right now!” I shout at him.
Dash can’t quite process what just happened. “Did you just slap me with my own rainbow? And make it stick to my face?”
Star Swirl seems to realize that he’s way out of line. “Oh geez, Rainbow Dash I’m really sorry. I kinda lost my temper there, but if you give me one second-”
“That is SO AWESOME!” says Dash. “Can you do that again? Or make them stick to other things? Can you teach me how to do that?”
Star Swirl considers the question. “Maybe, you might have to wear a special charm or certain enchanted horseshoes to push them around but I don’t see any reason why it should be impossible.”
“Forget what I said before. You and me kid, we’re going to go places. An entire new world of pranking possibilities just opened up for the two of us if we work together,” says Dash, laying a hoof over Star Swirl’s shoulder.
“I’m pretty sure I’m older than you, actually,” says Star Swirl.
“Not important. Have you met Pinkie Pie yet? You should,” says Dash.
“No, he shouldn’t!” I shout after them but neither one of them seems to be listening to me. My impending doom sense is flaring up at the prospect of these two working together, and by now it’s pretty finely honed. Why can’t they go back to fighting?
Star Swirl glances back at me. “That sounds like it could be fun, but Twilight and I really need to work on something. How about later?” he asks.
“Is it about the thingie?” asks Rainbow Dash. Star Swirl looks at her confused but Dash’s question is directed to me and I nod. “Well, that sounded like it was important to you eggheads. I guess later’s cool too,” she says. With that she bids us farewell and leaves through the same window she came in through.
“Another one of the Bearers, I assume?” asks Star Swirl.
“Yeah, she’s Loyalty. Why?”
“Oh, no reason. When I think of the sort of pony I’d want to trust with an artifact possessing world-splitting power that’s totally the kind of pony I think of,” he says.
“You’re not exactly in a position to complain about ponies with bad attitudes and a lot of power, you know. There’s no pony I would trust more to have my back,” I say. “Now show me what you’re looking at in that illusion book.”
-----------------
After a few days of preparation Star Swirl and I are as ready as we’ll ever be for this. We were right the first time about it not being possible to sever the timeline without travelling there, but we’ve worked up spells that should cover just about anything we might run into. I don’t know if it’ll be enough if this changeling queen version of me turns out to be hostile and catches us. I don’t know if anything would be enough. The only reason I’m agreeing to go at all is that Star Swirl pointed out that, this being a stable time loop, he’s assured of making it back. It can’t be a complete debacle if that’s the case.
The plan is to leave at tomorrow’s sunrise, so when it gets to be late afternoon I head over to the market as the vendors are starting to close for the night. I head over to the spot where all the flower stalls congregate, hoping to catch one mare in particular before she leaves. Sure enough, I’m in luck and spot Azalea packing up the flowers she didn’t sell today.
“Hi Azalea,” I say as I stroll up to her. Roseluck is nearby, but she catches sight of me as I walk over and suddenly finds a reason to make herself scarce which I appreciate.
“Twilight! How are you doing? Sorry I’m kind of a mess right now, long day,” she says. I honestly hadn’t noticed before she said that. Even without the ribbons or the evening dress, the sight of her still makes my heart beat a little bit faster.
“I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes. Sorry I haven’t had a chance to come by in the last three days, I’ve been busy,” I say.
“Well I’m glad you finally ran out of napkins to write on then. It’s not like I expected to see you much earlier. Three day rule, and all that,” she says. Note to self; find out what exactly a ‘three day rule’ is.
“I still want to go out again, though,” I say.
“Well, I wish you told me a little sooner. I mean I really need to get these flowers into some water back at home and clean myself up a little bit before I could,” she says.
“What? Oh, no I didn’t mean tonight necessarily. Tonight isn’t good for me either. The truth is I don’t know what my schedule looks like for the next few days. I have to go take care of a time thing and depending on how it goes I may not be back for a little while. Although it’s also possible I might get back later tonight before we leave in the morning. In fact, if you do see me later tonight it might be better if you don’t talk to me. You know how paradoxes can be,” I say. It’s also possible I’m never coming back at all, but I don’t think I’ll mention that.
“Oh yeah, those paradoxes. We get them all the time in the flower-selling business,” she says with a small smile.
Do azaleas have some sort of unstudied time-distortion effect I’m not aware of? “Really?” I ask.
Azalea leans in and gives me a peck on the cheek. “Good thing you’re so dang cute when you’re being oblivious. No, not really. Being with you isn't ever going to be boring is it?”
“I miss boring,” I say, half to myself. “I just feel bad that I had such a good time with you and now I’m about to up and disappear.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. I understand,” she says.
“I might have to beat myself up before all this is over. But probably not in the sense you mean,” I say.
“Well, come here and give me a goodbye hug,” she says sitting back and opening her forehooves. I step forward into it and wrap one of my own forehooves around her in return. She smells like flowers. No surprise there, but it’s comforting. “Now what are you trying so hard not to tell me?” she asks.
It’s a trap! Abandon hug! I lean back a bit but I don’t pull away entirely. I open my mouth to try to deny it, but what’s the point? “I’m scared, Azalea. This time thing has me all twisted up as it is and there’s something scary waiting for me where I’m going,” I say and my voice starts to break a little. Why can’t I be strong for her?
“Shhh, it’s fine to be scared Twilight. From what I’ve learned about you though I bet you won’t let that hold you back from doing what you need to do, will it?” she asks.
“No. I have to do this and I’m going to. No matter what,” I say.
“And that is what makes you one of the bravest ponies that I know,” she says. I sink back into her hug, breathing a little harder but I’m proud to say not sobbing into her shoulder. Maybe I'm stronger than I think. I sit there and let her hold me for what seems like hours while I collect myself, but when I glance up at the clock over town hall I see that it’s only been about ten minutes.
I'm starting to suspect that azaleas really do have some unstudied time-distorting effect. Or maybe one in particular is just irreplaceably special.
“Azalea, I’ve never told this to anypony before but you are the grounding wire in the electromagnetic surge that I call my life,” I say.
“I would be surprised if you had,” she says.
“No, I mean-”
She’s getting really good at cutting me off by kissing me.
“I don’t know what some of those words mean, exactly, but I think I get the gist. I love you too.”
I want to deny that I meant those three particular words when I said it. Or insist that I’m in no position, emotionally, to decide if I feel that at the moment. Or tell her how incredibly presumptuous it is to say that to anypony after a single date. Instead, I just lean in to kiss her back. I’ll clear all of this up on our next date when I get back from where I’m going.
Not if I get back. When I get back.
“Thanks Azalea. I’ll see you later,” I say with a smile.
“Yes, you will. Good luck out there,” she says to me before I walk away.
------------------
I’m much too nervous to sleep tonight. Instead I unpack and repack everything I’m bringing at least thrice, make up a grocery list for Spike and recount the bits I’m leaving him to ensure that he’ll have enough for the next week if I don’t make it back before then. If I’m gone longer than that I’m sure my friends will be able to help him out before I return.
I peek into the guest room around three in the morning and find Star Swirl snoring away. Weird to think that I’m potentially putting my life into the hooves of the pony who I may or may not have briefly considered beating to death with an atlas a week or so ago. He’s been good for the last few days though. Great, other than that brief flare-up with Rainbow Dash. I think I’m starting to see the potential for him to become the pony I’ve read about within him.
I go to toss and turn back in my bed for a few more hours, not really expecting that I’ll fall asleep given what’s coming, until the first rays of Celestia’s dawn begin to peek over the horizon.
By the time Star Swirl emerges from the guest room I’m suited up in everything I expect we’ll need, and I’ve checked all of his things as well. It’s sunrise, and go time. After giving everything a once over for himself and a light snack we’re ready to get started. Given how nauseating and disorienting even same-timeline teleportation can be, a full breakfast seems like a bad idea.
Star Swirl begins casting the ritual that will take us to the other universe, but at the last second I stop him when I’m struck by a last-second impulse. Dashing back up to my bedroom I fish a special something out from under my bed. I emerge from my front door to where Star Swirl is waiting hoisting what I hope not to need as anything more than a good luck charm.
“A baseball bat? Really?” asks Star Swirl.
“Its name is Home Run, thank you very much. As far as I’m concerned it has a more proven track record against changelings than you do,” I say.
“As long as you’re the one carrying it, you can bring your lucky lead brick for all I care. For real now, are you ready?” asks Star Swirl. I nod, and he begins casting the spell again. As I feel the spell take hold and begin to pull us away from this universe, I hope against hope that everything will go according to plan and our visit to this other timeline will be uneventful.
-------------------------
Hanging upside down next to an unconscious Star Swirl being carried Celestia-knows-where by a half dozen changelings, I can’t help but reflect on how not 'according to plan’ this trip has gone so far.
For the record, we would have been fine had there not been a score of changelings patrolling the library just as we arrived. Between the two of us we took down nine or ten of them before we went down. For some reason they decided not to kill us, and captured us instead.
Even upside down and suspended between two poles with some sort of weird gunk covering my horn that's keeping me from casting any spells, I recognize the way we're going. We're headed for the throne room.
We get there in the next few minutes and even after everything Star Swirl told me I'm not ready to face what's waiting for me there. Sitting there on Celestia's throne is a new changeling queen. I'm not that good at telling one changeling from another and I might have mistaken this one for Chrysalis, but she has a slightly more violet set of plating covering her body and a distinctive purple streak running through her ragged mane. The resemblance between us is as uncanny as it is disturbing.
"Well, well, well, isn't this an interesting development?" she says. "You don't feel like a changeling but if I didn't know any better I might think you were me."
"I'm not you," I say, defiant. The changelings drop me in front of the throne and I wipe off enough of the goo to start using my magic again. Not knowing what else to do, I pull the bat off of where it's strapped to my back and brandish it like a sword.
The changeling queen gasps. "No way! Is that Home Run? I remember that! Do you mind if I take a closer look?"
I don't know what I was expecting from a version of me that's also a changeling queen, but foalish glee at the sight of a baseball bat certainly wasn't it. She doesn't wait for my answer before she effortlessly grabs the bat out of my magic with her own. Star Swirl groans and looks like he's starting to come to.
"It is Home Run! You even wrote the name on it. Wow, that takes me back," says other me. "You really are me. This is so neat! When do I learn to jump between different time loops?"
She thinks I'm from a future loop. Should I go with that? "Uh... How many loops has it been for you?" I ask, stalling for time.
"How many had it been when you were sitting where I am? Oh! I get it. The future you asked that question so you have to, too. I lost count a few hundred ago," she says.
I was only in the loop for one or two hundred iterations. If she can dismiss 'a few hundred' like it's nothing...
"I'm not from another time loop," I say. Honesty probably isn't the best policy in this particular case but it's what I'm going with anyway. "I'm from outside the loop."
"So I get out of it eventually? Why? I have everything I could ever want right here. I'm making everypony into my friend, I'm in love, and nothing bad will ever happen again. I'm strong now. Nothing can hurt me."
I'm torn on whether to break the news to her that we're from parallel and not series timelines. "Is Princess Celestia around? Can I talk to her?" I ask.
The queen scoffs at my request. "Celestia is gone. She was holding us back, Twilight. The Elements, being her student, all of it was just lies and manipulation to control our potential for her own ends. You'll see it someday. Trust me, we're better off without her. Who's your friend there?"
Star Swirl is staggering onto his hooves and doesn't look like he can answer for himself. "This is, uh, Shooting Star!" I say, reaching for the first Star-themed alias that comes to mind. "He's not important, don't worry about him. If Celestia's gone, what about Princess Luna? Can I talk to her?"
"You stay away from her! She's mine and you can't have her!" says the queen as she rises from her throne. Several of the changelings around us start to hiss and look like they're about to pounce on us. Her fury dissipates as quickly as it came on, though. "When did you get out of this loop? And how?"
"The Elements. Didn't you ever try using them the right way?" I ask.
"Of course I did. Right after the loop where we first slept with Luna," she answers. Star Swirl's eyes go wide. Horse apples, this is not how I wanted him to find out about that. "But they don't work. They didn't kill me, exactly. I know what that feels like. I always just wake up back in the loop." So that's the point where our fates diverged. The only difference between me and this. "It didn't matter though. I found another way to fix everything. The Elements can't hurt anypony ever again, not any more."
Somepony opens the door to the throne room, and a familiar pink face pops in. "Queen Sparkle? Sorry to disturb you, but I got an itchy nose and a tingly... Oh-my-gosh-there-are-two-of-you! And she's not a changeling is she?" asks Pinkie. "Girls! There are two Twilights in the throne room!"
“Oh, my, two of them? That’s unusual,” Fluttershy’s voice says from somewhere behind her.
“Girls? Is that really you? Or are you changelings that just look like you?” I ask.
“Yes! I mean, no! I mean, both!” says Pinkie as she bounces into the room followed by four other familiar ponies. “We’re pony-changelings. Or changeling-ponies. We’re us, but we’re changelings now too! Queen Sparkle took the old pony-us and made us into new pony-changeling-us so we could be part of her hive, isn’t that great? So now we’re pony-changelings, which is a pony and a changeling and a pony-changeling all in one. I know that definition is circular and a little recursive but it’s super accurate.”
“Pinkie, I told you, that word doesn’t mean...” I trail off as I realize that might actually be a valid example of ‘recursive.’ What does it say about me that I find the fact she was able to use the word correctly to be the most surreal thing about all of this?
“But you all still look like yourselves,” I say as I struggle to understand.
“What can I say, darling? You can’t improve on perfection,” says Rarity. Changeling-Rarity. Whatever.
“I don’t look the same! Queen Sparkle showed me how to make my wings five percent larger for even more flying power,” says Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, yes, and she’s been showing me all sorts of interesting things we can do with our transformations,” says Fluttershy. “Like, I can do this now.” She closes her eye and focuses for a moment and there’s a flash of green magic and when it dissipates there’s a border collie puppy standing where Fluttershy was. “I’ve always loved animals, of course, but now I can be them too!”
I stare. I’ve never heard of changelings being able to turn into animals before. “Isn’t it fascinating?” asks the changeling queen from the throne. “Spike has been helping me research all the ways that changeling magic and unicorn magic can be mixed and the results are absolutely incredible. Want to see some of my notes?”
“We’re just here to cast a quick spell to fix something happening in our timeline, we aren’t staying,” says Star Swirl.
“Oh, well that’s fine then,” says Queen Me. “I have to raise the moon in a little while so I can’t help, but I’ll let the swarm know to leave you alone.”
“Doesn’t Luna usually do that?” I ask.
The queen shifts on her throne, like she’s suddenly uncomfortable. “She’s not available. She’s been teaching me how to do it myself, though. I’m getting good at it.”
“Can we use the library?” I ask.
“Sure. Use anywhere in the castle except for the dungeon,” she says.
Star Swirl and I walk out of the throne room. I pause to look back at the changeling queen, who smiles and gives a friendly wave. Odd how the throne room looks just like it always does. I figured once it turned into a changeling hive it would be redecorated in cocoons and slime.
The doors close behind us. “So that happy little reunion felt off to you too, right?” asks Star Swirl. “And why did she flip out when we asked about Luna?”
“I’ve never met a changeling like that before. Maybe me being turned into their queen made them nice?” I suggest. “What do you make of the fact that she said not to go to the dungeon?”
“Mostly it makes me think that we should go find out what she doesn’t want us to see,” Star Swirl says.
“You know the smart thing to do would be to cast the spell, leave this timeline and never come back right?”
He says nothing.
I sigh as my curiosity gets the best of me. “The dungeon’s this way.”
We wander over to the door that leads down to the unused cells of the dungeon, at least they’re unused in our reality. The door is sealed shut beyond a simple lock and it takes both my magic and Star Swirl’s before we’re able to pull it open. It opens to a long and dark staircase, far longer than I remember it being. Walking down the stairs, the whole place glows with a faint green light that seems to come from nowhere and everywhere. The stairs seem endless as we descend into what must be the dank heart of the mountain Canterlot is built on. Finally the passage levels out and we come to the dungeon proper. There’s only two cells, one on either side of the hall. At the end of the hall is a door that’s ornately decorated with carvings of the moon and stars. It seems out of place against the bare stone it's set into.
I trot over to one of the cells and look in, and I do a double take at what I see. “Girls?” I ask.
My five best friends glance up at me with blank eyes, but I’m not sure whether they register that I’m there. Certainly they don’t seem to care. They just stare at me for a few moments before turning back to look at the walls or the floor. “How are you here? I just saw you back in the throne room.” I say.
“Idiot,” says a new voice from behind me. It’s familiar but alien at the same time, like how listening to a recording of your own voice never sounds like what you said. I turn to face it and in the other cell across from the ones my friends are in is, well, me.
There are now officially too many versions of me in this timeline.
“Don’t tell me you thought those actually were the ponies who used to be your friends,” says the other me with a sneer that I’d recognize anywhere. Any shape she took, that sneer was always the same.
“Chrysalis?”
“Correct. This is an interesting surprise. I don’t get many visitors down here other than well, you. It’s obvious you aren’t a changeling. If the queen found out a drone was wandering around wearing that face she’d probably tear it off of you herself,” she says. “Another time loop?”
“You know about that?” asks Star Swirl.
“Unfortunately. The queen had me chained up to her throne for a month and you wouldn’t talk about anything else. Monster to monster, I can appreciate a well-executed coup even if I don’t like being on the receiving end of it. At first I thought you really had it in you to be a good queen, a great one even. I’d been trying to infiltrate Fillydelphia for years and you razed it in two weeks. You killed a lot more ponies than I would have, personally, but A for effort,” she says.
“Stop saying that that’s me up there. It isn’t. I’d never do those things,” I say.
“Oh, never say never Twilight. You have such a natural talent for leadership after all,” says Chrysalis.
“So why are you wearing my shape then?” I ask.
“You think I’d look like this by choice? Whatever power siphoning trick you used to ascend left me stuck without my old changing abilities. You’re the one who decided I should look like this while you tied me up and tortured me. Pretty revealing, don’t you think? We captured a pony whose special talent was psychotherapy once. He called it ‘projection.’ Right before you ate him. That’s the last time anypony dared to challenge the delusion you’d built up for yourself. Easier for you to have a few drones imitate your pals than face the fact that you are what you are,” she says.
I stare at her in horror as she goes on. “And what a delusion it is! You even convinced yourself that you’ve found true love. You’re quite the romantic, aren’t you? The Queen and the Princess. What a beautiful little story you’ve woven in your head. But it isn’t true, Twilight. Changelings take what they want, it’s our nature. Seems that siphoning trick works as well on alicorns as it did on me. And judging from what I hear coming from the next room that’s not the only thing you're taking from her without her consent.”
Star Swirl looks like he’s about to throw up, and I feel the same way. “No...” is all I manage to say.
“Yes. Oh, it’s easy enough to make her say the right words. Your venom is so very versatile that way, but I’m sure you appreciate how that isn’t the same thing. But don’t worry! You’ve almost used her all the way up. Would you like to hear what your plans are for her once you have?”
Before I can respond, Pinkie speaks up from the other cell. “Queen Sparkle and Luna are going to be mommies! And I’ll throw them a big party for the baby shower and everything will go back to being OK again. Everything will be OK again. Everything will be OK again,” she says into the corner. Her voice trails off as she keeps on saying it as she stares into a corner, rocking back and forth.
“It’s true. Changeling genetics are quite malleable, they have to be for us to be so flexible. I created dozens of new changeling breeds, but you? You’re a better scientist than I’ll ever be. Sounds like you came up with something far more powerful than I ever dreamed was possible. But it’s so powerful that, oopsie! Nothing you’ve tried so far survives long enough to bring it to term. An immortal alicorn though, well, that might work. Only one way to find out for sure.
I turn away from Chrysalis who’s smirking gleefully and face the door, vastly more terrifying now that I know what’s waiting for me behind it. I examine it more closely and see that among all the artisinal carvings there’s one that stands out because of how crude it is. A crescent moon and what I recognize as my own cutie mark along with the word ‘4ever’ inside of a heart. After a moment’s hesitation, I push open the door.
The room beyond the door is beautifully furnished, and I recognize it as Luna’s bedchamber. Whether it’s a replica or the queen somehow physically moved the room down here I can’t say for sure. It doesn’t look like a prison cell, that’s for certain. At least not until I squint and get a closer look at a circle that’s inscribed around the bed in the center. It’s some sort of binding circle, very powerful and very specific about what it won’t allow to pass over it. There’s a lump under the blankets, not moving, and a few light blue strands of Luna’s mane poking out from it. It’s not the epic starscape that I’m used to, but rather the same hue as I saw on her right after we first blasted her with the Elements. Maybe even fainter.
I move to walk into the room but Star Swirl pushes past me. As bad as this is for me it must be even worse for him. He walks right up to the bed and lifts the covers so he can glance under them. I can’t see what he’s seeing, but the look of despair on his face tells me more than enough.
“We can’t leave her like this, Twilight. Not if Chrysalis is right about what’s going to happen,” says Star Swirl.
“Can we take her back with us?” I ask even as I know it sounds like a long shot.
Star Swirl shakes his head. “I don’t think that would be very healthy for our timeline, not long term. And even if we did, I’m not sure she’ll get better.”
“Well what can we do then?” I ask.
Star Swirl climbs up onto the bed and pulls the bundle towards him in a hug. It whimpers softly, but doesn’t resist. “Can I just have a few minutes alone with her, Twilight? I don’t think seeing you would be a very good thing for her.”
I close the door, gently so that it doesn’t make much noise as the latch clicks shut.
“I won’t let this happen. I’ll stop me. I mean I’ll stop her. My friends and I will use the Elements on her. I just have to remind them how important we are to each other and they’ll snap out of whatever spell the queen put on them that made them this way and find Spike. Together we’re unstoppable,” I say gesturing back to the cell.
“You already destroyed the Elements, Twilight. It was the first thing you did. Something about them exploding,” says Chrysalis.
“Ha! I knew you were lying. The Elements can’t be destroyed,” I say.
“I didn’t think so either. What can I say? You rose to the challenge. I’m not sure how you figured it out, but there’s one pony who has a strong enough connection to each Element to permanently harm them. Their bearers. You made your friends break their Elements yourself, I was there. You didn’t even mind control them into it. After you’d worked on them long enough they did it of their own free will. There’s a cost, though. You can see how they’ve been ever since.”
“Then Spike and I will-”
“Would you like to hear about how you became a changeling in the first place?” asks Chrysalis. I’d rather not, but she keeps speaking anyway. “There’s a potion. The key ingredient is the heart of a dragon. A heart you carved out of his chest yourself."
There are no words. I just collapse to the floor. I want to think she’s lying, but she’s taking far to much glee in the way she’s telling me this for it to be anything but the truth.
“You were very economical with the other parts of him too. I had no idea that so many of a dragon’s organs had alchemical properties. Waste not want not, I suppose,” says Chrysalis as she casually twists the knife. Did I twist the knife I used to... no, don’t think about that. Don’t ever think about that.
Chrysalis smiles as she watches the effect of her words on me. Even for someone like her who must hate me so much, her cruelty seems excessive. Eventually I feel a hoof on my back and look up to see that Star Swirl came back out of Luna’s room without my noticing.
“Twilight, come on. Let’s get away from here. Find somewhere where we can finish the spell before the queen finds out we came down here,” he says. He has a hard expression on his face that I don’t think I’ve ever seen on anypony before.
“Aren’t we going to do something about Luna?” I ask.
“I already did,” he replies.
“What?”
“The only merciful thing there was left to do,” he says as he turns away.
Chrysalis figures out what he means before I do. She throws back her head and starts laughing hysterically. “Oh, this is so much better than I could have ever dreamed. This is perfect!”
I finally figure out what they’re talking about. “You didn’t...”
“She won’t suffer any more. That’s what’s important. It’s what she’d want,” he says.
“It wasn’t your choice to make! You could have at least asked me, given me a chance to talk you out of it.”
He wheels back around to face me. “Well, you could have told me you were sleeping with her during the time loop.”
“Wow. OK, first of all that’s none of your business. Second, what does it have to do with you deciding that you need to kill somepony?” I ask. When I actually say the word he can’t bring himself to meet my eyes.
“Nothing! Everything! I don’t know! If you’d told me then maybe I’d have expected it, known that you’d be with her even as a changeling,” he says.
“Stop saying she’s me. She isn’t me,” I say.
“Why, because the Elements changed your destiny before you were pushed far enough? Because what was in that room was your destiny until they did. The potential was all yours.”
“So you’re going to blame me for something I didn’t do? Did you think about what’s going to happen when the queen finds out what you just did?”
“As much as I would love to watch this for hours, you’re right,” says Chrysalis. “In fact, she’ll probably be down any minute to give her special somepony a good night kiss,” says Chrysalis. Just the idea is enough to make her start laughing again. “I can’t wait to see the look on her face. I wonder if she’ll kill you right away. Probably not.”
Star Swirl and I look at one another and the rest of the argument is postponed. We gallop for the stairs back up to the palace, out of this horrible place. My lungs are burning from the exertion, but we burst out through the doorway that had been sealed tightly earlier.
The reason it’s unsealed now is that Queen Sparkle was opening it, and we just burst out right in front of her. She seems as surprised to see us as we are to see her.
“I’m very disappointed in you two,” she says. She’s still smiling, but the smile doesn’t look all that friendly any more. More like manic. “Don’t you remember that report we wrote on respecting a friend’s privacy? I asked you not to go down there.”
“Uh...” I say. Imminent death leaves me tongue tied.
“I was just going to see if Luna was awake yet.” She leans down to me like she’s going to tell me a secret and it takes every bit of willpower I have not to shy away. “Sometimes she’s frisky right when she wakes up. The two of us could share her if you’re interested.”
“No thanks,” is all I trust myself to say.
“I can’t believe I’d forgotten all about Home Run until now. That was a fun loop wasn’t it?” she asks. She pulls the bat off of my back where I’ve been carrying it and examines it again. She whistles and a changeling drone further down the hall turns it’s head and buzzes its way over. Quicker than I can blink the queen leaps over to it, bringing the bat down hard on it’s back. The changeling nearly breaks in half as it collapses to the floor. Queen Sparkle hums a tuneless, off-key little ditty as she casually smacks it over and over again while Star Swirl and I look on in horror. “What are you doing?” I cry out.
“Sorry, did you want to go first?” she asks. “Don’t worry, I have plenty more drones where that one came from.”
“No! Why did you do that?” I ask.
“The same reason we did it in the time loop. It’s fun,” she says.
“That was different!”
“How?”
“It... it just was,” I say. I never thought to question my little escapades with baseball bats and chainsaws. I was the good pony, they were the bad scary invading army and that was all the justification I needed. Now I’m not so sure I like how much I enjoyed it.
“You’re making it very hard for me to be a good host, Twilight. Next you’re going to tell me you don’t want to stay for dinner either,” she says. I shake my head and notice that she didn’t specify whether we’d be the diners or the dinners. “Fine. We are going to play a game though. I won’t take no for an answer. Nothing complicated, just hide and go seek. I won’t even use any of my changelings so it’ll be more interesting for both of us. You two hide, and if you stay hidden long enough to finish that spell you win and I’ll forgive you for going down to the dungeon when I asked you not to.”
“What if you win?” I ask. Whatever it is I’m sure I’m not going to like it.
“If I win, you’ll do me a favor. The Elements were too dangerous to keep around, but the only ones who can get rid of them for good are the Bearers. For some reason the Element of Magic doesn’t think I count any more. I bet it would work for you, though.”
“I don’t think I want to take that bet,” I say as I remember the five pairs of dead eyes that had stared out at me from my friends' cell.
“You misunderstand. You’re playing. I’m going to give you as long as it takes me to go down and wake up Luna, then I’m going to come find you. If you aren’t hiding, well, it won’t be a very long game,” she says. She smiles and I get a good look at her fangs, already dripping with venom in anticipation. “Want my advice? Start running now.”
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WHOOOAAAAA! That was wonderful.
Yeahhhh.... The phrase "Hell hath no fury like a Twilight scorned" comes to mind. If that spell takes a bit of time to cast...
Either way, this trip probably won't end well.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Well, nothing can possibly go wrong now! Seriously though, I wonder how they will get out of this mess.
.......................................................................................k.
Oooo-kay. Now we know what we're playing for, Monty. Show 'em what's in the box, Jay.
Somehow, this wasn't as dark as I thought it would be. Probably because the alternate ending was so bad to begin with. Or we're just getting started.
It's looking like Twi will be fighting herself, isn't it?
I was going to growl when I read this, knowing full well he's how she became a changeling.
Luckily it was later explained.
By Celestia, Queen Twi's gone mad.
And she's gonna lose it when she discovers what's become of Luna.
Not nearly as dark as you really think it is.
I've got that anticipatey feeling though.
2295110
Unless she's so crazy that she doesn't even notice... *shudder*
Well....they're boned.
Wow.....just wow.....I have no image that would properly show my face during this chapter. Before this, i put this as one of the top 5 stories i was looking forward to update. Now its solidly at number 1.
Perfect -- Bind her to that bargain with a pinkie promise. She is going to give Twi as much time as it takes her to wake up Luna. Good luck with that one.
Either I have developed a resistance to "Dark" or this just doesn't seem very dark to me. Interesting implications though; it seems you are suggesting that the Elements "split" Twilight in two, one where she keeps looping forever and one where she makes it out. Are you going to explain this or use "it's magic, I ain't got to explain shit"?
I don't think running will help when she sees Luna.
I suspect a gambit.
Twilight is going to want to know how to travel between universes.
She probably will also be interested in the problem of time suddenly stopping.
And other things besides.
She will not hold to the parameters of the game, she will learn how their casting it and what to do.
And she will follow them.
Eakin you tush! For a moment you had me hoping Spike was somehow still alive!
2295042
I hope not.
Queen Twilight has Twilight's power, Chrysalis' power, Celestia's.....
Not to mention she's absolutely ruthless, has wings and a horde of drones.
I don't think it would be a long fight
Yeah... that's dark as shit. Like insanely dark. Also... Bacon? Also to anyone who says this wasn't that Dark... Kind of fucked up when you think about it, Mane 6 have lost and lost their minds. Seems dark to me...............
2295042
2295141
2295223
A little surprised you feel it isn't that dark. Maybe not gory, but the fact that Luna spent months and months getting raped into a catatonic state and the fact that the story itself doesn't have the Dark tag means I'd prefer over-warning people than have them run into it unsuspecting. I know I wanted to take a shower after I wrote that.
I thought I had explained the whole "Elements split her between pre-changed and post-changed destinies" thing though.
2295241
Technically, Queen Twi has her own power, Chrysalis' and Luna's (most of it). Chrysalis finished off Celestia herself in the Hard Reset alt ending.
...I'm scared...
Seriously, though, this is so dark it's delightful! Not dark in the splatterhouse, fics-that-must-not-be-named way, but come on, people, did you miss the bit where Star Swirl mercy killed Luna? The pony he's in love with? And that's just scratching the surface!
I applaud your dark and twisted mind, sir
I declare this to be dark fic done well!
I was worried that the sequel would be too light-hearted.
I was wrong! You're not pulling any punches here. I can't wait for the next chapter!
Already I'm looking forward to the emotional recovery Twilight is going to need after this trip (I'm a sucker for that kind of thing). Assuming she even makes it back...
Y'know, I really enjoy dark stories, especially ones involving Changelings... the author's note left me grinning uncontrollably. The first parts of the chapter were a bit disappointing, especially Queen Twilight's "Oh, hey, I remember you!" routine. And then we find out that it's just a delusional façade of normality, sealing away all of the soulless depravity bottled up within...
I liked the use of the palace dungeon as a metaphor for Queen Twilight: she keeps all her deepest, darkest secrets locked underneath the gleaming castle concealing them. And then Twilight and Star Swirl had to go and break the seal on the door...
Something tells me the rules of the "game" are going to change once the Queen finds out about Luna. Her "true love" was murdered, and she's the most powerful creature on the planet. She doesn't want Twilight and Star Swirl dead, she wants them lying broken at her hooves, willing to do or tell her anything in exchange for mercy or death. And she took Home Run, too...
Star Swirl wrote:
Yup. They're screwed harder than Luna ever was.
I can't wait.
So. There's one Element left.
I wonder if they can set it to go off before they leave? 'Cause that's the only thing left for this world.
Nice job, Eakin! A nice dark chapter to end the day is all it took for me to stay up until 11.
In all seriousness, though, it takes a messed up mind to come up with something like this. Congrats.
"immortal alicorn"
five seconds later, Starswirl kills her.
Eyup.
Queen Sparkle, you're a BAD GIRL. lol No More Heroes.
2295110
Both that and Pinkie using 'recursive' correctly were supposed to trigger the 'wait a second...' parts of my reader's brains.
2295351
Yeah, I hoped that metaphor wouldn't be too smack-you-in-the-face heavy handed. Glad it worked. And Star Swirl/Twilight need to start running. FAST.
2295374
Luna got killed by a couple hundred changeling in Hard Reset too, remember. That was when she was armored, with guards, and ready for battle. Here she's been drained of her power by Twilight for months and a shadow of her former self. They're immortal, not invincible.
2295367
There's at least one thing that Celestia mentioned back at the thank you party about Star Swirl that hasn't come up yet...
2295374
Biological immortality ≠ Physical immortality.
Celestia and Luna do not age and are therefore biologically immortal. But biologically immortal creatures can still die due to disease or trauma.
If I recall correctly Twilight killed Celestia in the alternate timeline, no reason as to why Luna wouldn't be capable of dying.
B-b-b-but bacon, they had bacon for breakfast!
Goddamnit you two.
*facepalms hard enough to split an atom, then explodes*
2295472
2295253
Hay bacon strips!
2295437
Nah, I get it. Just kind of laughing at how quickly it happened(I seem to recall that Tolkein had a term for that kind of conditional immortality, but I can't seem to remember what it was). Actually, it's wierd when you encounter something that ISN'T that way, at this point. (reminds of that line from immortal game- "the first rule of being immortal is that even you must die", or whatever is was)
2295374
Immortal and invincible are not the same thing.
One piece of criticism I can give is that at one point (specifically, the scene where Twilight eats breakfast), you kinda went out of logical order. By that, I mean Twilight talks about eating, then having spent the next few days learning combat spells and so on, and then suddenly back to the first day where Rainbow has decided to drop in. Should probably reorder that.
I won't*
And... I don't think Queen Twilight will be down there for too long. This is gonna escalate very quickly.
2295275
I think it could be a lack of emotional involvement with the characters the real bad stuff is happening to. In stories I found actually dark there was a sense of despair as you watched the main character slowly destroy themselves and those they loved. This seems more like adventure with some dark events which happen but can be moved past easily. I think the reader my feel sorry for Queen Twilight since she was the one who was broken by dying over and over and not being able to change what happened to those she cared about. To finally escape it, she had to kill the ones she originally tried to save.
2295538
someone didn't stop to check the comment chain before posting.
And while I am aware of the existance of that idea(how could I not be?) the word itself means incapable of death. "not mortal". Just because even when dealing with gods we tend to make it possible for them to die doesn't change the definition of the word. So I found it humorous when they said that, and seconds later she died. I was greatly amused.
2295571
When I got to the bottom of the chapter, there were a total of four comments and yours had no replies. My apologies.
2295543
I think Queen Twilight is quite sympathetic, evil though she might be. It's certainly the angle I'm planning to play up in the next chapter. Both of them were supposed to part of a single one but the length was getting unreasonable so I went back and picked a cutoff point. I can even give you a tiny little preview:
Paraphrased and subject to change, of course.
Well now, all it took was just one chapter for everything to go to Hell?
Expedient, sir! 
Get the popcorn
threadbombing.com/data/media/2/THISGONBGUD.gif
2295423
well I tell you it worked :P
2295472
Hay bacon. It's not like they were eating pork or anything.
In any case, however, this is... well, Starswirl just mercy killed Luna, Queen Sparkle's headed down to the dungeon to check up on Luna (and then she'll find a corpse, rather than a barely-living alicorn), and they have only the time it takes for Queen Sparkle to descend to the dungeon and have her "fun" with Luna before she returns for the two of them.
I think, in another moment, Twilight will realize she should've said "if [she's] coming back" to Azalea.
2295606
I see her as just broken; wanting to do what is right but subjected to far too many hardships so she eventually just gave up and stopped really feeling.
2295581
Wasn't angry, try reading it again with a sing-song voice and you'll get my intention there. I was joking. I am a very silly person. (in case the fact that I started laughing in response to that silly, teeny, tiny incongruity didn't tell you that already)
And yeah, I figured that was the case, but I thought it'd be funny to say that as a joke. Should have added an emoticon, like
or 
Since Queen Twilight is still in a loop, doesn't that mean when she finds Luna dead, she can just end herself if she wants to have her again? What if this isn't the first time Luna has died after she's become the changeling queen. Shouldn't Star Swirl realize the implication that unless they break Queen Twi's loop that he hasn't changed anything?
So many possibilities.
Dash always manages to find a way to complete for best pony, even when it isn't even her story.
Oh good god guys, just cast the spell and leave the timeline. Nothing ever good comes from investigating the palace dungeons.
Yeah, no surprise what they find in the cells, though I can't say I was expecting what's going on with Luna. Or what happened to the Elements.
Star Swirl mercy killing Luna is easily believable. Start running, guys.
I have to say I'm a little bit confused by the Twilight's destiny explanation. So time loop Twilight's original destiny was to become queen bitch of the planet until she broke out using the Elements? Was her destiny already changed once by entering the loop, or was this her destiny even pre-loop?
2295110 more story.
and Eakin just keep it coming.
2295799
Only thing that rewrites destiny is the Elements. Without them she'd have ended up going all Queen of Blades, yes. She was fated to become royalty after all.
I don't think there are alternate timelines where they didn't work on Discord or Nightmare Moon, though, if only because that gets messy fast. My hand wave is that it was the interaction between time loop spell and the EoH that produced two viable futures.
ABANDON HUG!!
When you dropped that warning at the start I was a little worried, but oddly enough I didn't find this chappy as disturbing as was foretold either. I think it was because (and this is just for my part) the majority of the dark happenings were alluded to or we were shown the 'aftereffects'... and for some reason that doesn't hit me in the feels quite the same way it does when we see it happen or it's about to happen. I think the cover image for Hard Reset creeped me out more than anything you've written so far in either story,
I'm not complaining however; for me this story is cruising at just the right mix of creepy/awesome.
Brony on, my friend! \m/ (>.<)
2295024 Remember...
We know for a fact that Starswirl will be safe and free. Twilight however? I bet she stays behind, to keep her otherself busy while starswirl completes the spell and lives.
2295905
I dunno about that.
Far too much in the main timeline would be left unfinished. This won't be the end of it.
But I do agree... Twilight will not come out of this one un-harmed.
~Skeeter The Lurker
2295934 Who knows. For all we know, it might mean she takes Luna's place.