"What?" was all that Trunks could reply with in response to what Starlight had just told him.
"Well, let me clarify. You didn't do it on purpose and I don't think it was entirely up to you, but after you killed Sombra and fought the Maestro, that timeline that we just came from suddenly vanished," Starlight explained, before showing Trunks the mirror. This time his eyes locked onto the timeline that was missing, the very same timeline that he had just been in.
"Alright, let's say for a moment that my killing of Sombra or my fight with the Maestro somehow caused the timeline to vanish. Why? Why would that happen?" Trunks asked, before looking at the other timelines. "It can't just be because of my presence or anything like that. After all, the main timeline is still intact and that was the very first one I visited. So why did that other timeline vanish?"
"I have a couple of theories," Starlight muttered, before a howl echoed throughout the forest and she glanced around with a worried look. "But I would rather not discuss them in such a dangerous place. How about we head to Ponyville and then we can talk about this?"
"We can talk as we walk," Trunks grunted. Pain lanced through his body as he turned and followed Starlight towards the town. As he walked Trunks tested the ki inside of him, finding that his body, while recovering, was still far from one hundred percent. The pain meant nothing to him though. Pain had been apart of his life since the day he was born. "So, what are these theories of yours?"
"The first is that since the timelines were are currently in are just fractures of the main timeline, they will fade away if they are too badly damaged, unlike the main one."
"That is a possibility, but I thought for sure that time worked on more of a multiverse theory," Trunks muttered to himself.
"That too is a possibility. The second is that your power was great enough to destabilize the already unstable timeline and upon you leaving, it collapsed upon itself," Starlight put forward, but then after a glance at Trunks she shook her head. "No, that doesn't seem right. Your power, while great, isn't enough to bring down a whole timeline. Especially if you aren't going all out."
"How do you I'm not going all out?"
"Trunks, I saw that explosion you created from across the continent. If you can fire something like that off, then you're clearly not using your full power right now," Starlight said with a smirk. "I also have a third theory, but I really hope this one isn't true. Because if it is..."
"Just spit it out."
"The third idea is that, if what the Maestro said is true, Clockwork is the one responsible for the timeline disappearing. After all, he's looking for something and he's willing to tear apart space and time until he finds it. So if I was using my power to shift time around so that I could explore multiple timelines, I wouldn't keep them around once I was done with them. Not to mention Maestro and Clockwork seem like the types to destroy something once they're done with it."
"I hate to admit it, but that idea of yours makes the most sense," Trunks muttered as he thought back to his fight with the Maestro and how...different the metal beings power had been. "Maestro definitely seems like the kind of being that would destroy an entire timeline. But if this theory is indeed correct, that means that Maestro and Clockwork not only have the power to shatter time, but to completely wipe out entire realities as well. And that power...is not something I can handle in this state."
"Speaking of you, how are you feeling? You didn't look good at all when I found you," Starlight asked with concern in her voice. Trunks's response was to snap a fist forward, creating a burst of wind that swayed the nearby forest with his power.
"I'm getting better. Whatever that toxin was he hit me with, it's starting to wear off. It won't be long before I'm back to one hundred percent," Trunks noted, able to feel his body starting to feel like its old self again. Trunks then sensed the presences of another lifeform and he held out a hand to stop Starlight, who slightly moved behind him. A rustling came from the bushes in front of them, prompting Trunks to narrow his eyes as he reached back for his blade. Then a mare came bursting through the bushes.
"Oh thank goodness! I thought you were more of those monsters!" the mare exclaimed with joy as she laid eyes on Starlight, but then she stopped dead when she looked up to see Trunks glaring down at her, hand still on the hilt of his blade. "By the heavens, what kind of being are you?"
"Don't worry, he's a friend and he's incredibly strong," Starlight said as she raced forward to the mare, checking over her for injuries. "You said that a monster did this to you? Is that same monster attacking Ponyville?"
"Ponyville? Are you guys not from around here?" the mare asked, her eyes going wide when both Trunks and Starlight shook their heads. "No, Ponyville isn't...look, it might be easier to just show you. Come with me, but be careful. There are dangerous beings in this forest."
With one last worried look at Trunks, who had yet to remove his hand from his sword, the mare proceeded to lead the both of them towards where she had been running from. "Will you let go of your sword? You're scaring her and from the look on her face she's been having a scary enough day as it is!" Starlight whispered to Trunks.
"Something about her ki doesn't feel right," Trunks whispered back, making sure that the mare leading them couldn't hear. "Everything about her is right, but her ki...it's like it doesn't belong to a pony. At least none of the ponies I've been around. I'm playing along for now, but I would advise you to keep your guard up."
For a moment Starlight looked like she wanted to argue, but then she nodded to Trunks and took on a more wary expression. "So what is this monster like? I'd like to know as much about it as we can before we get there," Starlight continued on, talking to the mare without any chance in her voice.
"Oh...um...it's a very big monster! Four legs, giant horns and has the power to tear apart the ground! Honestly, it's been running rampant for weeks on end!" the mare said with a relieved smile to the two following her. "That's why I'm so glad that I ran into the both of you and i'm even happier that you happen to be strong. Um, I didn't catch your name?"
"Trunks."
"Okay then Trunks. Hopefully you can help us."
"Sounds like she's talking about Tirek," Starlight muttered to Trunks. "Giant, four legs, horns and an incredible amount of power. Twilight and her friends dealt with him a while back and he nearly beat them. If he's causing trouble in this timeline-"
"She's lying," Trunks replied coldly. Starlight stopped talking before she glanced at the mare leading them, who didn't seem to have heard what Trunks had said. "I've scanned for nearly the entire continent, but I can't sense anything remotely close to a giant monster terrorizing the land. And even if I couldn't sense his ki, there are no shockwaves, no senses of destruction or anything like. So this is either the sneakiest giant monster I've ever fought or she's lying. I'm inclined to think the latter."
"So why would she lie to us?"
"That's what we need to find out."
"What are you guys whispering about back there?" the mare asked the pair.
"We were wondering what happened to Ponyville. Your tone of voice implied that something bad happened to it, but you haven't really gone into any detail," Trunks replied without missing a beat, bailing out Starlight who had been struggling to think of a lie.
"It was destroyed. In fact, it was destroyed by the same being that has been terrorizing us," the mare replied with a stifled sob. "So many lives lost that day. And nopony has been able to so much as stand up to the monster. Princess Celestia was completely outclassed by it and was slain."
"And what of Princess Luna?" Starlight asked.
"You mean Nightmare Moon? Still trapped on the moon, last time I checked," the mare said as she looked up at the sky. "Even if she was free, I doubt she would have helped. She hates her sister."
"Wait, but-" Starlight began, but Trunks shook his head.
"So did Fluttershy and her friends fall as well? Or are they hold up somewhere planning to fight back?" Trunks asked. To his surprise the mare made a nasty face and spat to the side.
"Fluttershy is a traitor. She betrayed Celestia. She, along with a number of other ponies, went into this very same forest and have been plotting to bring her down ever since," the mare replied with anger. "And after how hard our queen has worked to make sure that we're all safe. She's up day and night."
"But-" Starlight began with a confused look, but Trunks shook his head once more.
"I see. I can't imagine what it's like to be betrayed like that. Queen Celestia must be working non-stop to find them and bring them in," Trunks said sympathetically.
"Yes she is. In fact, I'm certain that right now she is hard at work trying to think of a way to find them," the mare replied. She took a few more steps before she realized that the other two weren't following her and she turned around to see that both Trunks and Starlight were staring at her with narrowed eyes. "What is the matter? We won't make it if-"
"Drop the act. We know that you're leading us into a trap," Trunks snarled at the mare. Her eyes went wide and she slightly backed away, confusion on her face. "Don't play dumb. First you say that Celestia died in the battle with this monster, then you say she's hard at work finding these traitors. Then you call her Queen when earlier you said Princess. For somepony who's supposed to lead others into a trap, you're really sloppy at it. You new at this?"
"So you figured me out," the mare said with a toothy grin as her eyes flashed green. "Doesn't matter, because you've still fallen for the trap! Get them!"
Starlight crouched down and glanced around for any sign of the attack, but Trunks did nothing aside from continue to glare at the mare. The mare slowly looked around before calling out once more for an attack to be made, but it never came. After a moment of waiting she turned and snarled at Trunks. "What is going on?"
"I knew were walking into a trap. When I tried to sense for the monster you mentioned, I actually sensed the group that you had gathered at this point to ambush us. But then I realized that they weren't the only group in this forest," Trunks explained, his glare being replaced with a smile. "And that's when I mentioned Fluttershy to you and your reaction told me everything that I needed to know. She's been fighting against you, hasn't she?"
"What does that have to do with what's going on?!" the mare roared at him.
"Simple, really. Because she had her group take out your group and has been laying in wait this whole time," Trunks said before looking around at the trees surrounding them. "You can all come out now."
And then dozens of ponies in leaves and paint burst forth from the forest.