Ch.3: The Time Scroll.
Alina and Cherry spent a while in archives. “Starswirl the Bearded’s spells…oh my goodness…” Alina says, reading through pages and scrolls.
“Anything that will actually help us?” Cherry asks, going through some of them herself.
“Kind of, look for entries on dimensions or time things.”
“Got a few things, can you tie them up into something useful?” Cherry looks at Alina who was busy looking through other unrelated things. “Alina. Alina!”
“Hmm? Yeah, I may be able to do something- This stuff is so cool! I wonder if they’re the same in our dimension! I need to take notes of everything!” She takes out a notebook and starts to document the scrolls.
“We’ll never get anything done, just um…maybe take them with us?” Cherry suggests.
“You’re right, okay!” Alina begins to stash a bunch of things in her pack, now resuming her attention to the time scrolls.
“I think someone was here before us trying to do this.” Cherry says, “There are some books and things on a desk right there with things with the time spells.” They both go to the desk that had been dragged up to the scroll storage.
“That’s odd, so is our timeline connected that way too? Or are we just lucky someone here was doing research?” Alina looks at the items. Cherry shrugs and smiles.
“Hey that’s my stuff!” Twilight says, she looked different.
“Twilight…thank goodness you’re here!” Alina says, they both bow.
“Um…okay? What are you doing in here anyways?” Twilight asks them.
“We’re trying to get back to our timeline by creating a scroll and using our magic to power it so we can leave this terrible place.” Cherry says quickly.
“That sounds like something I was working on.” Twilight shifts her glasses up, “I was close to something, if you don’t mind I need to get back to it”
“Wait, oh you must be the Twilight from this dimension that didn’t pass and become a Princess!” Cherry says.
Twilight looks at her confused, “You two said you traveled here, I have a hard time believing that, have any proof?”
“I um…” Alina thinks then smiles, “Actually, yes!” She digs through her bag and presents her with the pictures from the slide show.
Twilight takes them up immediately, looking at them thoroughly, “These…are…real?”
“And you gave me your notes…” Alina passes her Twilight’s notecards. Twi looks through them as well in disbelief.
“Oh my Celestia…you two aren’t lying are you…?” She shakes, re-looking through them over and over until Alina takes them away.
“No we aren’t; we need your help please” Alina says, looking her in the eyes.
Twilight takes a deep breath and agrees, “Very well, I’ll do what I can but I can’t promise it’ll work.”
“You’re the smartest pony we know; you can do this.” Cherry smiles at her.
“Maybe in your world, but in this one; I’m just some nerd.” Twilight gathers her materials, starting to piece things together.
“You have just as much potential in you in this universe.” Alina walks up to her, watching her work, “I have no idea what caused your universe to end up this way, but that doesn’t mean you’re not useful”
“Maybe you’re right” Twilight grins a bit, then puts her attention back into her work.
Cherry tugs Alina aside, they go to a window, “The table was still there outside, the one that has that map”
“I was also starting to wonder about that; if Twilight and her friends didn’t save the empire and she’s not a Princess…then how’s that map here?”
“Yeah yeah…yeah! That’s where I was going, so somehow, it must be connected to our world.” Cherry squees. They look over to the other wingless Twilight.
Twi looks up at them, “Find something?” She asks.
“Maybe, but um, just keep working heh” Alina says back to her. She leans into Cherry whispering, “I’m not certain if we should show it to her”
“I mean…we got sucked into a thing above it; we might need to” Cherry whispers back.
“Okay, we will once she completes the time scroll thingy” Alina goes over to Twilight, finding it odd to see her wingless, she stares at the spot where they’d be. Twilight, though she was working, starts to notice Alina looking at her back.
“So…this other universe, what was I again?” Twilight asks.
“A Princ- let’s not worry about my universe Twilight, I don’t want to distract you from making this.”
“Hold on, how did you two get here?”
“We were in this castle with a table that had a map on it of all Equestria…then some pony with a scroll activated some portal above it and went through it, soon after followed by...um…by-” She stops.
“By whom?”
“You and your assistant…” She says shyly.
“Oh, of course it was me. Wait, does that mean she’s here too??” Twilight says with excitement.
“We don’t know; we haven’t seen her”
“Were you two my friends??” She looks straight at Alina.
“You could say that hehe…I was actually on my way to give you the pictures I showed you. Then this happened.” Alina smiles a bit.
“Oh, that’s most unfortunate and unnatural”
“It was; trust me these things aren’t regular for me; we’re actually quite terrified right Cherry?” Alina asks. They turn to Cherry who was playing with her tail. “Ahem, for the most part that is”
Twilight laughs softly, “I’ll do my best, just don’t bother me too much. Maybe find the other Twilight”
“I have no clue where I’d start.” Alina confesses.
“Change of plans, take me to this castle you speak of” Twilight packs the scrolls up.
“Or what’s left of it” Cherry pops in between them.
“Some ruins?” Twilight asks.
“You could say that; you see in this universe that castle is none existent but there is one part of it left: The map table” Alina says.
“The map table? What’s its purpose?”
“I believe it’s for missions of some kind, it has ties to the elements of harmony” Alina leads the way to the ruins.
As they approach the train station, Twilight speaks up, “Where is it?”
“Ponyville, we’ll show you don’t worry” They board and head over.
“Must be peaceful in your world right…?”
“Most of the time, and when it’s not usually some wielders of the elements of harmony protect us.”
“That’s nice, wish this world had that…” Twilight looks out the window.
“Maybe it will one day! Or the elements can be found and wielded here by others” Cherry says with hope in her voice.
Twilight shrugs a little, “It’d be nice…”
Cherry looks to Alina, “She seems hopeless here”
“I would be too if we were in a war this long.” Alina comments back.
“Actually you’d be a Commander and I’d be a general but yeah hehe!”
Alina rolls her eyes and smiles. They ride the train to Ponyville and hurry off, going to the spot. The table seemed to be fluctuating. Instantly, Twilight goes to it and begins to observe it.
“Should we go and let her do her thing?” Cherry asks Alina.
“Let’s watch and see what she does, this is exciting!” Alina begins to take her own notes.
Cherry watches them both work but is quickly bored after seven minutes of watching, “How much longer…?”
“Shhh!” They both say. Cherry groans.
“Can I at least have a meal or something?” Cherry asks but gets no response. “Hmf, fine I’ll go myself” She goes without the notice of the other two.
She begins her own exploration, going to the shops where there were posters that had several messages of propaganda. One specifically grabbed her attention; one of her alternate self. The poster was simplistic, bearing an outline of her with outlines of troops behind her. The words below that said: Join Today, Victory Tomorrow. “Am I supposed to be some big hero then?” She asks herself.
A little girl sees the poster, standing by her then looks at Cherry, “Are you Cherry Adams??” She sounded excited.
“I’m her little filly!” Cherry faces her with a bright smile.
She squees, “Are you going to drive back those bad ponies? I want to join you but mommy says I can’t till I’m older…”
“We will- Hey say, what are the bad guys like?”
“They’re mine-controlled Sombra minions du, you fight them all the time!”
“Heck yeah I do!” Cherry winks, “So you want to be like me?”
“Yes yes! Can I have your autograph??” The filly jumps up and down.
“Oh for sure!” Cherry grins, the filly takes a pen and paper out of her small saddle bag. Cherry signs it proudly; the filly smiles and runs off. “That felt great” She tells herself. Strolling down the roads of Ponyville, she begins to notice a group of school children trailing her, led by the first small filly.
“Wait up!” She shouts to Cherry, causing her to stop.
“Yes young fillies?” Cherry asks.
They present pens and papers, “Please, autographs??”
“Oh um, yes!” She stands there as the kids come up one by one to get her signature. As she approached the end of the line of fillies, a crowd of town’s folk had started gathering around her.
Upon finishing, some start saying, “Wasn’t she declared MIA? Or was it KIA? What is she doing here…?” Hearing this, Cherry starts to slowly move away from them.
“Hey you! General Cherry Adams!” One calls for her, but she keeps running.
“She’s running away!” Another says in confusion.
“Oh no no…I have to get out before they start up something!” He thoughts say as she heads quickly to the map table.
“Cherry! We were just about to look for you!” Alina looks up at her, seeing Cherry huffing, “We got the spell to open the portal.”
“You…you did??” Cherry was both happy and nervous, “Good because we have to leave, like now!”
“Actually, Twilight did most of the work and, why are you rushing?”
“The town, they think I’m Cherry from here and are looking for me! I lost them for a while but-”
“Piss! Yeah, let’s go before they start a riot with Celestia or the military! Twilight!” Alina shouts.
“Heard it and got it! Dang, I just realized you two, I thought you looked familiar...” She tosses the finished scroll, “I’ll help you power it up with my magic, use yours too!”
“O-okay, let’s do it!” Alina stands next to Cherry and cast the spell on the table, Cherry witnesses as the portal above forms and Twilight giving it a boost. Soon Alina and Cherry start to levitate into the air, slowly but surely being sucked into the portal; disappearing before Twilight’s eyes.
End of Chapter 3.