//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: The Angel of Time and Rainbows // Story: Titanium Jack // by HapHazred //------------------------------// Rarity had applied several tissues to her nose, but it didn’t seem to do much for her mood, even if it did staunch the bleeding from having a door slammed in her face. Twilight was pacing the Boutique, a look of concern on her face. “You can’t tell me this world is normal after that,” she said. “There’s no ‘Captain Cobalt’ in my timeline. He’s… I don’t know what he is!” Rarity’s eyes tracked Twilight as she trotted up and down the room. “Applejack made quite a few enemies in Manehattan. I assumed that Cobalt exists in your timeline as well.” “Well, obviously he exists,” Twilight replied. “Just not as a supervillain, or a mad scientist, or whatever he is. He’s probably some ordinary pony doing ordinary pony things.” Twilight scratched her mane. “This isn’t good. Applejack has been warping this timeline. At first I thought it was just coincidence, but her power is doing something the universe around her.” “What do you mean?” “In every timeline I’ve visited… including my own… the world was arranged around powerful, extraordinary ponies. In my timeline, the world reflected us… in Sombra’s timeline, it was a war-torn and hate-filled Equestria. In Nightmare Moon’s timeline, everything was night and dark and filled with despair. In every timeline, the one with the power was the one who contributed to defining the timeline… and here, it’s Applejack.” Rarity frowned. “This sounds awfully speculative.” Twilight nodded. “Yes, but I have a feeling I’m right. Maybe it’s the source of the problem or just another symptom of Starlight messing with the timelines but it’s too big of a coincidence to be, well, coincidence.” Twilight rubbed her eyes. “Are there any other, um, supervillains over in Manehattan?” Rarity nodded. “A few. Applejack has a whole rogue’s gallery, so to speak. There’s Blazer, Trick Pony, Yellow Death… She’s a nasty piece of work, actually.” “How many?” “Oh, I don’t know. I lost count. Cobalt was only the first.” Twilight shook her head. “Applejack’s turning regular ponies into supervillains. The timeline is arranging itself around her because in this timeline, she’s the dominant force.” Twilight trotted to a large table and cleared it of clutter. She levitated paper and pen and began scribbling a series of magical symbols and equations based on what knowledge she had on time-travel magic. “Can it be fixed?” Rarity asked. “If Applejack stops being… Titanium Jack, will the timeline return to a state of normality?” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think so. It loops into itself. Now that Applejack has defined this timeline, the timeline sustains itself and defines her. You’d have to redefine the timeline by…” “By?” Twilight sighed. “By doing what we needed to do all along. Go back in time, stop Starlight, and reset the timeline.” She frowned. “There’s a problem, though.” “What is it?” Twilight bit her lip, and looked sideways at Rarity. “Well, Applejack said she’d stop me, and I don’t think I can beat her.” I’m going insane. I’m thinking about her all the time. When I was flying for practice earlier, I nearly smashed into a cloud because I was running through ways to make her smile in my head. Pretty funny if I didn’t totally mess up our routine. I mean, here I am doing flying stunts and she’s out there cleaning up Manehattan because she doesn’t have anything better to do. She needs something to protect and I love that, but why does she have to be so empty? And why can’t I fill that emptiness up? I think I need time off work for a bit. Spits is already looking at me funny and I don’t like that. Maybe some time with TJ will make things easier. I’ll see about getting her to come to Ponyville. Maybe some time away from stuff will be good for both of us. I’m out. Sugarcube Corner was virtually empty of all ponies except for the Cakes, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. On one side of the table, Rainbow Dash was enjoying a large chocolate cake. She didn’t get to eat cake much, when she did, she liked for it to be the most unhealthy one possible. This one had marshmallows in it somewhere. Applejack just had a milkshake. “Mmphf. This is real good, TJ. You sure you don’t want some?” Applejack shook her head. “Not really in the mood.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you never are.” Applejack sipped her milkshake. “So, what did you and Twilight talk about?” “What makes you think I talked to Twilight?” Rainbow asked, still focussed on her cake. “Because she sure as hay didn’t escape Cobalt on her own,” Applejack replied. “And I know she got taken. Rarity told me.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Okay, but you won’t like it.” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “Was it about changing the timelines?” “Of course I asked her about the alternate timeline stuff. What else would I be talking about?” Rainbow took another large bite out of her cake. “Mrmf neff yer wmf ler ih.” “What?” Rainbow swallowed. “I said that I knew you wouldn’t like me talking about it.” Applejack spluttered. “She wants to erase our entire world!” Rainbow shrugged. “Is it really so hard for you to get that I’d be interested in a world where you’re happy?” she asked. “Erased timeline or not, it’s at least worth listening to.” “It’s a world without you,” Applejack replied. Rainbow paused, her hoof halfway to her cake. She shrugged and continued eating. “So?” she asked. Before Applejack could retort, Rarity and Twilight emerged from the doorway. Applejack gave Rainbow a look that combined confusion and exasperation before she focussed her attention on Twilight. “What do you want?” she asked. Twilight looked around at the shop. “Um. Cake.” Applejack narrowed her eyes to the point where you’d struggle to slide a sheet of paper between her eyelids. “Just cake?” “I’m rather partial to strawberry.” “Ugh, just let her eat the stupid cake, TJ,” Rainbow grunted. “I’m going to journal about this. It’s gonna be good. I’m going to write about how Twilight tried to destroy the universe using cake.” She got to her hooves and leaned over Applejack’s shoulder. “Watch the icing. It really sneaks up on you. You can’t trust bakery products, y’know.” Applejack let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Will do, sucarcube.” Rainbow waved to Twilight and Rarity on her way out. “See you, guys. Oh, hey, Rarity, I wanted to talk about a Wonderbolt uniform upgrade later. I was thinking rockets and low-friction materials? Like, what if we combine the two…?” Rarity stared at Rainbow for a brief moment before Rainbow continued on her way to the door. “You need time to think about it. That’s cool. I’ll come by the Boutique later.” “Good-bye,” Rarity said. “Yeah, see you.” Rarity and Twilight both looked towards Applejack, who had brought her hooves together and appeared lost in thought. “Are you alright, darling?” Applejack breathed in through her nose. “Just a bit, I dunno… pensive, I reckon.” She waved her hoof dismissively. “Must be tired from last night.” “It sounded like you took a bit of a beating,” Rarity commented. “Well, I only got set on fire twice.” She held her hoof up. “And shot through the hoof. And suffocated on toxic gas.” “I didn’t hear about the gas.” “There was gas.” Rarity gave an appreciative whistle. “Goodness. No wonder you’re tired.” Twilight left to go to the counter, presumably to buy strawberry cake. Rarity sat down across from Applejack. “What were you feeling, ah, pensive about?” Applejack frowned. Her features were well used to frowning, and the wrinkles returned around the corners of her lips as if they were coming home. “Do you think I’m… I dunno how to say this… bad for RD?” Rarity raised her eyebrows and leaned in towards the table. “What makes you say that?” “Just somethin’ she said.” Rarity stroked her chin. “I don’t know if you’re good or bad for her,” she said. “Just that nopony else ever caught her eye. Ever.” Rarity shrugged. “From what I know about her, she wants what she doesn’t have, and I suppose on some level she never really owned you, if that makes sense.” “I ain’t sure it does. I don’t belong to nopony.” “I know, but it’s more like…” Rarity scratched her head. “She’s enamoured by how strong you are. Honestly, I am too, a little bit. You make no secret about how you feel, but you’ve never let that stop you rise to every challenge you encountered. Rainbow Dash is used to being the star, the famous pony. She doesn’t have that with you. You don’t afford her special treatment, even a little bit.” “What, she likes me ‘cause I don’t treat her well?” “That’s not what I meant,” Rarity said as Twilight approached the table. “You’re honest with her. You don’t change who you are for her sake.” Applejack eyed Twilight uncomfortably. “I sometimes wish I did,” she muttered. “But it’s too late for that now, I reckon.” She got to her hooves. “Thanks for the talk. I’m… goin’ for a walk.” Twilight looked over at Applejack, then Rarity. “All right,” Rarity said. “Don’t work yourself up too much, darling.” Applejack gave Rarity a shallow nod. “Sure.” She left the Sugarcube corner, staring at the ground. “Sure.” Dear Diary, This is probably going to be my final entry. TJ can basically read my mind, so I guess she’s figured out that when push comes to shove, I’ll be helping Twilight reset the timeline. It feels kind of disgusting trying to trick her, especially when she’s never tried tricking me, so you know, I'm just not going to try that hard. She can figure it out and I'll deal with that later. I don’t think she’ll forgive me after this, so I’m going to write down a few important messages in here. Not because I think I’ll die, but because either I won’t be me, the pony who wrote all this, any more, or because I’ll still be me and I need TJ to understand some stuff which I won’t be able to tell her. Not sure why I wouldn’t be able to tell her, but I know I can’t. I’d probably just do something embarrassing instead. Like lie to her, or cry. I became a Wonderbolt at the age of eighteen. Youngest ever recruit. Took the team by storm, yada yada, every magazine out there has told the story. It was great. I enjoyed it and I don’t regret it. But every time I tried to be with somepony, it just never worked. I think that’s because I wanted to be a Wonderbolt so bad, all I was was the uniform, and uniforms can’t, like, go on dates and stuff. Or, they can but it’d be weird. Like, imagine going to a bar with an empty uniform. Creepy. TJ, or, since we’re about to be doing some alternate timeline shenanigans, Applejack, never cared about my uniform. When she knocked me out during Nightmare Moon’s return, she was just trying to keep a regular pony out of her depth safe. Sure, Applejack is miserable and cold, but she made me realise I could be an ordinary pony too, even if she was super-equine. When she was there, I knew she’d be able to pick up my slack and not expect so much. When I went back to Cloudsdale after the whole deal, I missed that. I was back to having to be the best Wonderbolt in the team because if I wasn’t, who was? And then I met Applejack again and that relaxed feeling, the way she helped me not need to be the absolute best and strongest, well, it came back and never went away. II think that no matter the timeline, that’s something she’ll never lose. She won’t stop doing that to me just because she’s a farmpony. There are some things I can’t imagine changing with alternate timelines. I think that’s why she can’t be happy here. She needs a family, and she lost two over here. She won't let me fill that hole. But maybe I can make it so I don't need to. That’s why I’m helping Twilight. Because whether I succeed or fail, I know Applejack is going to be there at the end, whether she has metal fur or not. She might hate me for this and if she does I’m ready, but me, I love her and even if I can’t be with her, I know the things I love will still be there. Peace, Rainbow Dash, Supreme Awesome Mega Wonderbolt and Archadmiral of the Higher Altitudes When Twilight and Rarity returned after having had breakfast, they entered the Boutique only to find Rainbow Dash hastily closing a small leather-bound book. She quickly tied it shut with string she had taped to the cover. “Jeez, took you guys long enough,” she grunted. “So, you said you lost your spell out near that freaky map on the edge of town?” Twilight was taken aback by how quickly Rainbow had gotten to the point. “Yes, that’s right. You know about the map?” “Only that it’s a freaky weird map and is on the edge of town. You used it to travel through time?” “Well, Starlight Glimmer did,” Twilight replied. “Me and Spike just came along for the ride.” Rainbow nodded. “That sounds like stuff I don’t care about.” She breathed out. “Okay, so, there’s this place where ‘lost’ things sometimes turn up. It’s a ways out of town and should take, uh, about twenty minutes to get there by hoof. I’m not a betting pony, but if I was, I’d look there for your missing spell.” Twilight tilted her head. “How do you know about this place? I’ve never heard of it.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I bought TJ a thing once. It was this awesome necklace. For some reason I thought she might be into jewellery. Mistakes were made, we can’t all be perfect all the time, yada-yada. Anyway, it got stolen when I was on the edge of town, but being the pony I am, I followed the thief and that’s where I found the place.” She frowned. “There’s a problem, though. If I know TJ… and I do know TJ… she’ll figure out what I’m doing as soon as she loses sight of Twilight and me. She’ll know to go to the map, and she’ll try to stop us. And she’ll succeed.” Rainbow pointed at Twilight. “You might be an alicorn, but TJ has spent her entire adult life fighting and basically being invincible. I don’t like your odds.” “Can you at least slow her down?” Rarity asked, a pensive look on her face. Rainbow squared her jaw. “Not for long.” The room fell silent. Rarity let out a long, uncomfortable sigh. “I might have a solution to that,” she said. “But since neither of you will like the idea, I think I’d rather keep it to myself.” She put a hoof on her chest. “Quite honestly, I don’t like the idea, but Applejack is forcing my hoof on this by simply being too powerful. I’ll need an hour: enough time to head to Canterlot and back.” “What do you need in Canterlot?” Spike asked. “Something I’d rather keep to myself, thank you very much.” Rainbow shrugged. “Well, if you’re sure it’ll help, we can hold off for a bit and wait for you to do your thing.” Rarity was already trotting to the door. “I’ll leave immediately. The train is fast, but we’d better not waste time.” She turned back to Twilight. “What I’m about to do will paint me as a villain in this. I hope for my sake that you turn back time and make everything better.” Twilight nodded. “I will. Thank you for everything.” Rainbow breathed out. “Okay. I’m going to fly around town, y’know, very visibly so TJ knows where I am. I’ll meet you on the road towards the Everfree in half an hour. Okay?” “All right.” Rainbow nodded. “Okay then. Okay.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “Okay.” Applejack walked through the town, lost in thought. She spotted Rainbow flying above her, further away than Applejack could shout. She rubbed her forehead. Rainbow had been acting strange since Twilight had shown up. Something had snapped inside her, Applejack could tell. She had seen that happen before in other ponies. She had seen it happen to the ponies she later had to fight, and drag to prison kicking and screaming. Manehattan had been turned into a battleground between Applejack, the Titanium Mare, and insane ponies from all walks of life. Captain Cobalt had been the first. Applejack still remembered the instant she saw him snap. His eyes went cold and icy as his mind became overtaken with the overwhelming need to destroy Applejack, to tear down everything she was. But he wasn’t the last. Applejack remembered Yellow Death. Just a regular pegasus mare pushed too far in a world where the extremes of heroism and villainy had been normalised. Even as she tore the slums of the city apart she remained eerily quiet. The rats she had weaponised had crawled over Applejack as if they were water and she was drowning. Yellow Death was in an asylum now, likely plotting her escape as Applejack sat there musing. Trick Pony was, by comparison, rather pleasant. Certainly, she was a criminal, and a dangerous one at that, but murder and destruction weren’t on the table quite as much as simply stealing precious jewels was. She went to jail alongside Cobalt, before he escaped. Applejack had a suspicion she had helped him. There were more, dozens even. Applejack couldn’t stand the thought of her relationship with Rainbow Dash becoming just another villain’s origin story, even if that was how it looked like it would end up. It would fit the pattern of Applejack’s life. The last family she had, taken away by Applejack’s own poor decisions. So why wasn't she as surprised and damaged as she thought she should be? Had she never really expected to keep Dash in the first place? Had she truly become this numb? Applejack looked up at the sky. She frowned. Rainbow was missing. For that matter, where had Rainbow been going? Surely she hadn’t been flying around for no reason. Those weren’t stunts she was practising. Unless of course her flying had been for Applejack’s own benefit. The dark cells of Canterlot were utterly silent, aside from the clip-clopping of Rarity’s halls on the smooth stone slabs. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and settled on a shadowy shape that sat, immobile, in the depths of his cell. “Doctor?” she called. “Doctor Trabecular?” “Please. Everypony just calls me Cobalt these days.” Rarity folded her hooves. “Well, I remember a time when you saved Applejack’s life. A time when you were a pony of healing.” “That was a long time ago.” Rarity eyed the battered metal mask that sat on the table near the cell. “I want to let you out.” “I didn’t expect you to turn on your friend,” Cobalt replied. “Unless of course, you’re not turning on her.” The old stallion stroked his chin. “Perhaps you’re assisting the alicorn reset the timelines? That would explain why you need me.” Rarity breathed in. “I believe you to be an honourable pony. Am I correct?” “As honourable as one can be, considering I’m a criminal and a, ah, ‘supervillain’.” “I want you to promise not to kill Titanium Jack.” Cobalt frowned. “She’s a very powerful mare. I can’t stop her unless I use every weapon at my disposal, and my most potent tool is a lack of mercy.” “I don’t need you to stop her,” Rarity replied. “I just want you to buy some time.” “How long?” “As long as you can without killing her.” Cobalt snorted. “Suitably vague.” He tilted his head. “Assuming I agree, how would you assist in my escape?” “Quite simply, a few ponies owe me a few favours and are willing to look the other way.” “Hmmm.” Rarity bit her lip. She knew she was going to regret this. “Well?” Cobalt got to his hooves. “Very well. Upon my honour as a former doctor, I promise that, just this once, I will stop short of trying to murder Titanium Jack.” Rarity swallowed. She lifted her hoof to the cell door, and inserted a small key. The door swung open. “Will you be alright without your armour?” Rarity asked. Cobalt trotted through the door. “Don’t be silly. I’ll fix it on my way to Ponyville.” The long road from Ponyville towards the Everfree was a familiar one for Twilight, although she didn’t say as much to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus pony kept her eyes on the horizon, and every now and then, glanced behind her. She’d lick her lips and trot ahead a little faster. “So, once you’ve got your spell…” Rainbow began. “I’ll return to the day of the pegasus race,” Twilight explained, “And then I’ll try to defeat Starlight Glimmer once and for all.” “You’ve been struggling so far,” Spike commented. “Well, I’m not exactly used to fighting,” Twilight explained. “Starlight has far more aggressive spells than I do.” “So, how’ll you win?” Rainbow asked. “I’ll figure something out.” Rainbow snorted. “You sound like me,” she said. She pointed towards a small, run-down building in the distance. “There. That’s the place.” Rainbow flew ahead, leaving Twilight to stare at the broken, ruined cottage. She closed her eyes for a moment and pictured the house as she remembered it: golden and always swarming with cute and fluffy animals. “One of my friends lives here,” Twilight said. “In my timeline.” Rainbow looked back towards the alicorn. The sun began to dip over the mountains, bathing Fluttershy’s cottage in orange light. “No kidding,” Rainbow said. “Here it’s just, well… like this. Nopony’s lived there for decades.” She tapped the door, causing it to creak inwards. A small piece of broken glass fell onto a tattered doormat. “I think it was supposed to be a place to look over the Everfree. You know, taking care of forest animals and stuff.” “It is,” Twilight said, approaching the open door. “It’s sad to see it like this.” Rainbow shrugged. “Well, let’s take a look around. Maybe you can see your spell.” She trotted inside the dusty, smelly building. “What does it look like?” “Like a large piece of paper, with magical symbols on it,” Spike told Rainbow as he began rummaging around in the dark. He bumbled into a large oboe, which clattered over a pile of books, several deflated balloons, and lots of picnic cutlery. “What is all this stuff doing here?” Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “Well, my guess is that without anypony to take care of the animals here, one of them decided to start stealing stuff. You know how some animals just seem smarter than the others? Like the Apple family’s dog?” “Winoa?” “Hey, they have her in your timeline too!” Rainbow smiled. “Anyway, when I had that gift for TJ stolen, it was by…” Rainbow frowned as she peered into the dark. “...that thing.” Twilight looked at the small shape that darted around the shadows of the cottage. She widened her eyes. “Angel?” “More like demon,” Rainbow snapped, and in a flash shot towards the small rabbit and quickly snatched it by the ears. She pulled Angel’s pristine white shape into what little light was left. Angel spat back at Rainbow, and tried to pull free. Rainbow snarled. “Don’t you dare!” “Rainbow, careful! It’s just a harmless bunny!” Twilight exclaimed. “He was Fluttershy’s pet,” Spike added. “I don’t care!” Rainbow replied. “He nearly took my eye out last time! Stupid big pony eyes…” She glared at Angel, who was still struggling. “Listen up. My friend here is looking for a thing.” Angel, being a rabbit, did not reply. “Don’t give me that, I know you understand what I’m saying. The mean animals always do, even when they pretend they don’t.” Rainbow leaned over Angel. “I’m looking for a big piece of paper. It has drawings of dumb magic stuff on it. It’s probably really boring-looking. Give it to me and we go.” She loosened her grip on Angel’s ears. “And if I find you’ve been using it as a litter-tray…” Angel scurried into the darkness again. Rainbow looked over at Twilight. “Hey, don’t go feeling sorry for it. It’s a real piece of work, let me tell you.” Twilight shook her head. The sounds of stolen debris falling over one another caused her to jump. Rainbow grinned. “See? What did I tell you?” Angel scurried back out of the darkness, holding up a large scroll of paper. Twilight felt her heart soar in her chest. Finally, after being stuck in a foreign timeline with no escape… She had found her way home. “To think,” she muttered as she extended her hoof towards the parchment, “That between Nightmare Moon, a changeling invasion, and an Equestria at war with Sombra, the thing that almost truly trapped me was nothing more than a little bunny rabbit.” She pulled the spell from Angel’s grasp. “I can’t believe this is almost over.” Angel stared at Rainbow with a look that said, in no uncertain terms, ‘please vacate the premises’. Rainbow was happy to oblige. “C’mon, Twi’. Let’s go.” She pulled Twilight out of the cottage and began powering towards the town. “We should hurry to the map.” “Is everything okay?” “No,” Rainbow said. “I don’t know if you have as good hearing as I do, but I’m pretty sure that whatever distraction Rarity said she’d provide has just begun.” She looked over at Twilight. "Hey, I don't suppose you could do me a favour?" "Of course." "I need you to hold onto something for me." Applejack marched towards the location of the Map, her heart beating in her chest. To her, it sounded like a steam train scraping across rusty tracks. Even if she was wrong, and Rainbow wasn’t helping Twilight, she still needed to be sure. It was too important to not check. The sun began to dip over the tops of the mountains, bathing the outskirts of Ponyville in an orange light. The sky turned purple as Applejack strode towards the one location she knew Twilight would have to go if she was to turn back time and end everything. Applejack rounded a corner and… Cling! The sound was a familiar one, but certainly not a welcome one. Applejack felt a heavy weight collide with the back of her head. Pain exploded through her metal skull and her ears rang like a bell. Even through the pain, Applejack’s super-equine senses took note of a crossbow bolt embedded in the ground in front of her. She threw herself to the left, and a large explosion overtook her, tossing her like a rag-doll. Dazed, but intact, she looked up at the masked pony she had seen too many times in her life. “Doc’,” she grunted. “Y’know, I didn’t expect to see you today.” Captain Cobalt had already reloaded his crossbow, hovering twenty metres from Applejack. His cloak, which was still tattered and torn from his previous encounter with her, covered his shoulders and doubtless hid dozens of devices he would spring on her at any moment. Even his armour still wore the marks from the recent fight. “Neither did I,” he said. “I know we don’t have a habit of doing this, but I don’t suppose you could hold back a little today?” Applejack, the pain in her head dulling, began to circle around Cobalt. “There a reason you negotiating today?” “As a matter of fact, yes,” Cobalt replied, the point of his crossbow bolt always aiming at Applejack. “I’ve been instructed not to kill you.” Applejack stomped her hoof. “Was this Twilight’s doin’?” “Rarity’s, actually.” Applejack took a small step back. “She did what?” Cobalt lowered his crossbow a little, but by no means looked like he wouldn't spring into action at any time. “I’m not here to kill you today. I’m here as a distraction only.” Cobalt gestured towards where Applejack was moving. “You won’t want to go that way.” Applejack paused, and looked down at the ground. She didn’t see anything. “You’ve booby-trapped this place?” “Something like that.” Applejack grit her teeth and stared down her old enemy. “Funny you should ask that I hold back,” she snapped. “I always did.” She dove to the left, causing Captain Cobalt to flinch backwards. No mines went off and no tripwires were activated. “Horseapples,” Cobalt exclaimed. “I thought that bluff’d last longer.” Applejack rocketed towards him, her powerful limbs digging up the dirt and mud as she shot forwards. Cobalt fired off his crossbow bolt, and Applejack ducked in the nick of time, the metal brushing against her mane. Then lightning erupted across her body, coursing through each strand of fur like a wire. She spasmed and collapsed, every muscle twitching and contorting. Cobalt quickly reloaded. “So you are conductive,” he muttered. “One more useful titbit for later.” He raised his weapon again. “For when I can kill you.” Applejack clawed at the ground. The projectile had missed, but the electricity must have arced onto her due to the close proximity. “Why not just get it over with now,” she grunted, marching on towards Cobalt despite the pain. “One does not simply renege on a promise to a beautiful young mare,” Cobalt replied. “I’m not a monster, after all.” He fired again. It was another electricity bolt. Applejack caught it in her hoof, swatting it away. The jolt this time was less painful, and less of a surprise. She kept moving onward. “Time to switch tactics, perhaps…” Cobalt muttered, and threw a smoke grenade onto the floor. Applejack had already powered close enough to grab a hold of the tattered remains of his cloak. “It’s over, Cobalt,” she snarled. “I need to save the world. I ain’t got time for you.” Cobalt struggled within Applejack’s iron grip. “Yes, but I’m not done with…” Applejack smashed her hoof into his mask, crumpling it like a sheet of paper. She dropped Cobalt’s limp body to the ground. “Yeah, well, I’m done with you,” she muttered. She spared a quick moment to listen for breathing. She sighed. “You always were a survivor,” she said. “Assumin’ the world don’t end, of course.” She broke into a canter as she raced towards the map once again, leaving Cobalt unconscious and broken on the floor. Not soon after she had gotten some distance, a small device attached to her mane detonated. It wasn’t a hot explosion, but an icy cold one, and Applejack’s body frosted over in a split second. She grit her teeth together as her eyes burned from the cold. “Co...balt…” she grunted. The old stallion still lay on the ground, unconscious. Applejack felt her joints begin to freeze and her muscles slow down. Even asleep he was a royal pain in the neck. Precious seconds ticked away as Applejack's muscles failed to function. She tried to roar, but her mouth was frozen shut. There was nothing for it but to wait. Hopefully by the time she was free it wouldn't be too late. Rainbow and Twilight cantered through the empty streets. Night had fallen over Ponyville and the streets were dimly lit by streetlamps and stars. “Jeez, I hoped it wouldn't come to this,” Rainbow muttered, her eyes darting left and right. “The fight’s stopped. I can’t hear anything.” Both she and Twilight could feel a terrible pressure weighing down on them. Both knew what was coming. “Listen, Twi’, take a left here,” Rainbow said. “Then loop around towards the map. You got it?” Twilight nodded. “I’ve got it.” She looked down at Spike. “Come on, let’s hurry.” "And don't lose that thing!" Rainbow warned. "I'm serious!" As Twilight split up from her, Rainbow slowed to a trot. She tilted her head back and groaned. She could practically feel Titanium Jack's iron presence near her. “Boy, I really didn’t want to do this.” She kept moving for a bit until she slowed to a stop. “Then you shouldn’t have sided with her,” came Applejack’s voice. Rainbow looked down the street at Applejack. Her silver-grey mane glinted in the moonlight. Rainbow wondered if her bones would sparkle as much as the mane did. “Hey, TJ.” “Hey, RD.” Applejack rolled her neck. Pieces of white frost flaked off. “You sic’d Cobalt on me.” Rainbow snorted. “Wow, Rarity did say I wouldn’t like the plan. Didn’t know she’d try to kill you.” “Yeah, well, she did.” "Hey, sounds like it was an okay distraction. Can't blame Rare for being efficient." Applejack marched looked around. “You sent Twilight off someplace else, right?” “Yeah.” “Right. We’re gonna have a long talk later, but right now, I’ve gotta go stop her from ruinin’ everything.” Applejack turned to head towards the map, but in a flash Rainbow moved in front of her. “Yeah, uh, can’t let you do that, TJ.” Rainbow squared her jaw. “RD, you’re hurtin’ me more than Cobalt ever could,” Applejack warned. “I don’t want to see you become no supervillain.” Rainbow snorted loudly. “Is that what you’re afraid of? That I’m gonna turn evil?” She shook her head. “TJ, you’re the most important pony in the world to me.” “So shouldn’t you be standin’ someplace else?” Applejack asked, glowering at Rainbow. “This is the only place I can stand,” Rainbow replied. “When you met me, you tried to knock me out to keep me safe. Did you really think I wouldn't do the same to you?” She pointed at Applejack. “When I met you, I just knew you’d drive me crazy. I never knew you’d drive me so crazy that I’d try sending an alicorn back in time.” “Move,” Applejack snarled, anger bubbling its way into her eyes. “Don’t make me move through you.” Rainbow flinched, but then her eyes settled and her expression became calm. “Try it, Applejack.” Titanium Jack narrowed her eyes, hesitating. Rainbow held her glare. “You know you weren’t alone when you beat Nightmare Moon, or Sombra, or that princess who was actually a shape-shifter and also happened to have an army of little bug-things. Boy was that a weird day.” The Titanium Mare took a step forward, fully intending to move through Rainbow as if she wasn’t there. Applejack had ran through walls and rocks and fire. One small pegasus would break like a twig if it didn't get out of the way... “Well, here we go,” Rainbow muttered. ...or do something Applejack didn't expect. In a flash, Titanium Jack was in the air, shooting up at breakneck speed. Rainbow had grabbed a hold of her and was pulling her up, up, above the clouds and into the atmosphere. Titanium Jack didn’t even have enough time to notice until she was hundreds of feet in the sky, even with her incredibly reflexes. She pulled and struggled, but she kept gaining altitude. “Yeah, you’re trying to escape without hurting me,” Rainbow said. “I appreciate that, but I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t expect to get hit.” Titanium Jack saw the ground over a thousand feet below. Rainbow was blindingly fast, even when carrying a heavier-than-average pony. They were already above Cloudsdale level, and she could already feel the air begin to thin. “Let me go,” she snarled. “Hay no! You’d just walk it off.” Titanium Jack began gasping for air. Her elbow shot backwards and hit Rainbow’s ribs with a crunch. The pegasus pony yelped in pain and her grip loosened. Titanium Jack began to tumble down towards Ponyville once again. The wind whipped at her mane and coat. Rainbow was nowhere to be seen. The ground rose up to meet Titanium Jack. She closed her eyes as she braced herself for the impact. It was only going to sting for a moment: she wasn’t on fire, she wasn’t frozen, and she wasn’t being electrified. Her bones and body could take it. She hit the ground with a titanic boom. A mushroom-cloud of dust and dirt exploded over her, obscuring the streets. Silence fell over Ponyville. Titanium Jack’s hoof clawed its way out of the small crater her body had made. She grunted and got to her hooves. “Ow,” she muttered. She heard hoofsteps through the dust-cloud. “You’re telling me,” Rainbow replied, limping into view. “I think you broke a rib. Or five.” “You didn’t let go,” Titanium Jack replied. She marched in the direction of the map. “Now, let me past. You can’t hurt me.” Rainbow stared at Titanium Jack for a moment. “Yes, I can.” “No, you can’t,” Titanium Jack replied, stopping inches away from Rainbow. “You’re in-between me and Twilight again.” “Yeah. Funny that.” "I'll hit you real hard, sugarcube." "C'mon, then. My face is itching for a good makeover." Titanium Jack pulled her hoof back to throw a big, meaty punch, but Rainbow was too fast. She ducked under the blow and her hoof shot out like a bullet, colliding with Titanium Jack’s body. It wasn’t a powerful kick. It would barely have slowed down an ordinary pony, and that was exactly why Titanium Jack instantly braced herself for pain. Rainbow was a black belt, and knew that the punch wouldn’t have done damage. She must have aimed for someth… Pain exploded across Titanium Jack’s side, crippling her muscles and her mind all at once. Rainbow stood over Titanium Jack as she crumpled, clutching her side. “I’ve traced your scars with my hoof enough time to know where they are,” Rainbow said. “I figure if you’ve got a weak spot… it’d be there, right?” “What have you done to me?!” Applejack screamed, the pain in her metal bones more than she could bear. Shattered surfaces scraped against soft tissue and the metal fibres, like living bone, sliced through the meat in order to repair themselves. In order to be fixed, they needed to hurt even more, and it was crippling her. “I guess that fall must have rattled the joints a bit or something. I get that. Small cracks in my bones from crashes just hurt way more even when they just get tapped. Except your bones are different to mine, right?” Rainbow ducked a clumsy blow. “They probably hurt way more, on account of being stiffer and stuff? You sometimes walked a bit different, like the implants were still kinda there.” “I won’t lose!” “Yeah, probably not. But I just have to buy a bit more time, right?” Titanium Jack saw red. “I can’t let you do that,” she hissed through clenched teeth. Rainbow’s hoof shot forwards like a cat batting at a snake. It jabbed another scar, this time situated at the base of Applejack’s neck. Applejack could feel the knotted flesh and metal bend and scrape. The sharp ends of the metal fibres and structures cracked and splintered, the debris flooding her bloodstream. She threw a kick of her own with her foreleg. Rainbow slapped it away, and jabbed again, attacking the scar that ran over the edges of Applejack’s ribs. Applejack screamed and stumbled. In a fit of desperation, she kicked the ground with her powerful hind legs as hard as she could. The Apple family, her first family, had taught her a trick with apples and apple trees. If you kicked the trunk in the right way, the apples would fall from the branches. Titanium Jack had taken that skill long ago and honed it into something else. The vibrations from the kick travelled through the ground and into the base of a lamp-post. Titanium Jack attacked Rainbow again, but it wasn’t supposed to hurt. It was just supposed to distract, and it did. Even as Rainbow hit another weak point in retaliation, she failed to notice the lamp-post falling towards her. When it collided with Rainbow’s back, both her and Applejack fell to the ground, crushed by the weight. The only movement in the street was the slow shifting of the dust as it settled. Several shutters were slightly ajar, as the ponies became curious and afraid of the screaming and violence outside their doors. The lamp-post shifted as Titanium Jack pushed it off her. A low groan rose from the pony next to her. “RD? You alive?” Applejack leaned over Rainbow. Rainbow tried a punch, but it went wide. The sound of bones snapping invaded Applejack’s ears. “Ow.” Rainbow snarled. "You mind getting this... thing off me?" Applejack shook her head. "Nope. Firstly, you'd attack me again, secondly, you've got a broken leg, snapped ribs, and probably some serious cuts and bruises. You'll die if I keep fightin' you." Rainbow's hoof shot towards Applejack. The sound of snapping bones echoed in Applejack's ears. "You don't even look sad," she snapped. Her weak blow stopped short of hitting a weak-spot. Applejack grabbed a hold of Rainbow’s hoof. “Because I need to stop Twilight,” she replied, sternly. She began to move towards the map. Rainbow's head hit the ground, her eyes shut. She grunted as she tried to lift the lamp-post off her, but failed. She screamed. “Why wasn’t I good enough?” Rainbow went on. “Why couldn’t you be happy with me?” Applejack turned back. “What?” Rainbow tried to move whilst clutching her broken foreleg. “All I wanted was for you to smile, properly, and I wasn’t good enough. I’ve never been good enough!” Applejack took a sharp intake of breath, and moved back towards Rainbow. “You were good enough. That’s why I need to stop Twilight…” “Ha…” Rainbow began, the laugh escaping her laugh like the air from a balloon. “It’s fine. Twilight told me about your other life.” Her head rolled back as she winced from the pain of broken bones. “It makes sense you’d be happier without me. I get that. But why won’t you even let me do that?” She sniffed. “I just wanted to be good for you, but it just wasn’t worth anything, was it?” Applejack looked up and down at Rainbow, taking in the broken foreleg and tears streaming down her face. She rubbed her forehead. "RD, I don't know how to care no more. You should know that. You don't have to try to give me a second chance." "You would, if you could," Rainbow said. "You might be okay with being miserable because you're numb to it, but I'm not. It hurts me, more than some... stupid... lamp-post..." Rainbow strained at the fallen post that had her pinned down. Applejack heard the sound of another bone cracking. “Horseapples,” Applejack muttered, and rushed to Rainbow's side, holding her down. "Stop that. You'll kill yourself." "Stop me," Rainbow retorted." Applejack sat down, cradling Rainbow’s head. “You were good enough. As good as you could’ve been.” “Then why…” “Because I couldn’t,” Applejack said. “I couldn’t handle being happy again. I couldn’t handle losing a third family.” Rainbow snorted. "You can't just get rid of me." Applejack chuckled. "Yeah, I realise that now," she said. She stroked Rainbow’s mane. “I reckon I ain’t been very good for you. I thought keepin' you at a distance would be better for both of us. I didn't realise it was just hurtin' you more.” Applejack closed her eyes. "I guess I've made some mistakes. I was just afraid is all." Rainbow coughed. “Y’know, now that I think of it… maybe trying to go back in time was taking it too far anyway…” Applejack laughed. “We ain’t very good at communicatin’, are we?” “Yeah, no. No we aren’t.” Rainbow managed a weak smile. “We’re like the worst possible ponies for each other.” “Yeah.” Applejack breathed in. “I reckon Twilight’s gotten to the map now.” “Yeah.” Rainbow held Applejack’s hoof. “I’m sorry you weren’t really happy with me.” “I’m sorry too.” Applejack gestured towards the broken bone. “But you were askin’ for that.” “I was totally kicking your flank, though.” Rainbow coughed again. “Speaking of being bad at communication, I left a little something… like a plan… Y'know, for our second chance in the other timeline...” “I don’t think we need to hear it now, RD. I trust you.” Applejack rested her head against Rainbow’s. “You were the best thing in this timel *** Twilight leaned into her chair, in her castle, and closed her eyes under the lights that hung from the roots of her old home in Golden Oaks. She let herself smile. So many timelines had passed her by since  Starlight had erupted into her home, and so many lives she had seen take different turns. Spike entered the room with two mugs of steaming hot tea. He put one of them on the table in front of Twilight. “Thank you, Spike.” “You’re welcome.” The double doors swung open and Rainbow flew into the chamber. Twilight couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her familiar friend. Her friend, not a doppelganger with the same name, who shared only some aspects of her life. “Hey, Twi’,” Rainbow said, and flew over to her seat. “Man, so, Starlight Glimmer, huh?” “How was she?” “We did some flying for a bit. It was okay, but man is that flying spell slow. I almost fell asleep waiting for her.” “Yes, I think Elderwood’s improved formula provided some added mobility, however it was a less stable version…” “Yeah, I don’t actually care about the magic stuff? But can you tell her to get the faster spell? It’ll be way worth it.” Twilight nodded. “I’ll pass the message along.” She tilted her head. “What will you be doing now?” “Uh, well, let’s see, I already hung out with Scoots today, I did practice, I did flying with a pony who at one point tried to brainwash me… but hey, water under the bridge, right? So I guess I’ll just find a tree or cloud somewhere and nap for a bit. Why work myself up?” “No time for some reading?” Rainbow tilted her head. “Why? Is the new Daring Do book out?” “Um, something like that,” Twilight replied, and rummaged around her saddlebags. She pulled out a small, purple leather-bound book. “I actually took something back from one of the alternate timelines. I think you’ll find it interesting.” Applejack leaned back against the last tree in the orchard. The sun had already dipped over the horizon, but the slightest glimmers of orange and gold still slid over the hilltops and seeped into the clouds and sky. She rested her head against the bark. “Do you ever think that an awesome adventure happened and we never even really noticed?” came a familiar voice. Applejack looked up. Rainbow was perched on the branches above her. “Nope. Can’t have been that awesome if we weren’t involved.” Rainbow tilted her head. “Well, you’ve got me there,” she admitted. “So, Twi’ visited some alternate timelines…” Applejack nodded. “Then Starlight Glimmer stopped bein’ so angry an’ all and let the world go back to normal. I know, she explained it to me ‘fore askin’ me to introduce Starlight to farmin’.” “Well, I got this cool souvenir,” Rainbow said. “Some timeline or other that went a bit weird. Anyway, I read it, and I there was this message at the end.” She opened the little journal. “Basically, the pony that wrote this was me, but a different me who did different things. Apparently I became a Wonderbolt way sooner? Can’t imagine how, but I suppose it’s not impossible.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Is this important? I kinda missed dinner to do my chores…” Rainbow frowned. “Why would you miss dinner?” “Well, y’know, it’d mean leavin’ my work undone…” Rainbow snorted. “Yeah, you never were the sort to give up. No matter what timeline you’re from, right?” “I don’t get it, but sure.” “Anyway, it’s true. Kinda needed me to tell me, but what’s written in the diary… I guess I just wanted you to know that I think it's all true. That the other me made the right call.” Applejack held her hoof out. “Hand me that thing.” Rainbow threw the diary over. "...and if you want to go somewhere from here, I'm open to suggestions," Rainbow said. Applejack read through the first few pages, then skipped to the last, which bore indications of having been read and re-read many times. She breathed in. "What I don't get..." she began, "Is that after readin' all this... you think I'll be good for you?" She held the book up. "If I'm what this thing says..." "'Cause you ain't made of metal, for starters. Somethin' tells me you won't go the same way as her." Applejack flicked back to the first page she had read. Dear Diary, Today I met the most beautiful pony I’ve ever seen. She smiled. "Then I guess... there's no need for there to be only one timeline where we try somethin' out..." *** The End