//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 : A New Point of View, Short History, and New Allies. (Edited by Space-Timecontinuum) // Story: The Displaced Brothers // by Erik_The_Shitposter //------------------------------// The sound of branches broken by the princesses’ magic can be heard as they ran with little energy they had. Luna, Princess of the Night, ruler of the moon and star, the youngest of the Royal Sister, following behind her older sister Celestia, Princess of the Day and the ruler of the sun above. “Sister, did you know what caused that powerful magic wave?” the younger sister asked. “Yes I do believe so, I saw a massive rainbow light from the clearing up ahead. I believe whatever causes it, it must be the source of that power.” Celestia answered, “I never witness that much power since…” “…mother” Luna finished, a single tear rolled down her cheek. Celestia’s mind showed a quick memory about their last time to see mother and the damned creature that caused their mother to be trapped in the Astral Plane. Mother had sacrificed herself to protect them and their world from the clutch of the evilest being ever known to ponykind, Grogar. In order to banish the wicked goat from their world, Mother had to use the most forbidden spell that created by herself, but the spell required a huge amount of power in order to cast it, a regular unicorn can't perform this because it will drain the caster magic dry and kill them in an instant. As a last resort, Mother has to use it to seal Grogar in the Shadow Realm alongside with Tambelon, the city that Grogar rules. the spell has drained all of Mother’s magic to the point it completely depleted her magic reserve, despite being an alicorn the spell left her with a tiny amount of magic, just enough for saying goodbye to her daughter before moving on to the next world. Not wanting to lose her mother forever, Celestia and Luna begged their mother to not leave them alone, she is the only family they had beside him. It breaks their mother’s heart to see them crying in front of her, she told them that there is a way to save their mother by sending her to the Astral Plane, a place full of magic. Unfortunately, one does not simply leave the Astral Plane, the Royal Sister was devastated when they learn that there is no way to pull back their mother from there but she had promised to return when she found a way back to Eques. Mother said that there is a way to contact her again but the gate closed before Mother finished the sentence, the only thing they got is a set of words. ‘Go find the Tree of-‘ The Tree of what? Life? Death? Power? There are not many trees that they know. Whatever it is, it must be something that connects directly to her mother or has some sort of power that is strong enough to bypass the world barrier. Maybe the power that she felt was coming from whatever tree that her mother mentioned. Discarding the sad memory from her mind, Celestia keeps running toward where the rainbow light come from, using what left of her magic to cut any branches that blocking their way. At last, she break through the final branch and step into the clearing, she could feel the mysterious power residue all around the clearing with a couple of broken trees that have been uprooted. But no tree. Disappointed that she did not find whatever tree her mother mentioned but keep a determined expression to find whatever caused the magical spikes. There is so much magical residue as if someone cast a powerful spell that equaled to at least 20 unicorns in order to perform it. Celestia confused, there’s nothing that could be the source of the power. She expected to see something other than a simple clearing that looks like someone has been camping. She scans the area for any clue what caused the power. At first, she can only feel the residue the unknown power leaves behind, but under those layers of magical residue there is something different hidden and she knew it is in an instant. It was Chaos Magic. Celestia thought Discord already picked up whatever caused the rainbow light she saw earlier but taking a closer look the Chaos Magic here is far different from what he uses. Yes, it is the same type of magic but this is far different from Discord’s Chaos Magic, this one is far more unstable and powerful. Compared to this, Discord has nothing to it and this just a small portion from whatever caused this Chaos Magic. Celestia feared that there might be another chaos user other than the self proclaims God of Chaos, Discord and more powerful than him but she keep a positive mind and thinking that maybe the Everfree Forest is tampering with his power. She was about to give up to find out whatever caused the magical rainbow light, clearly, Discord already got his paw and claw on whatever that was, but she picked up a trail of the mysterious magic toward a pathway, even though it’s a bit weaker than before. “Sister, I found a trail of the power! Come quickly we must follow it, it might not be far away!” Celestia said. “Are you certain sister? I fear whatever it is, it's heading toward deeper into the forest.” “Yes, I am certain. It may be the only way for us to stand against Discord. We must find out whatever it is and use it to defeat him and retake the throne.” So they followed the cookie crumbs that the demoted God of Hyperdeath left behind. *** The two sisters followed the trail for a few minutes until their ear catches a sound of wood hitting against wood, being an alicorn mean they had all traits from the other pony tribes, thus allowing them to hear as good as a pegasis, only better. Down the road ahead they could see 3 bipedal creatures walking away from them, having pegasis traits not only they could hear things better but also see more clearly even if the object is in a distance. 2 of the creatures are sparing against each other using a wooden blade on each hand, one of them resembles the goat race that inhabiting the mountains on the northern side of Equestria along with the Yaks. Judging by the shape of the snout it is safe to say that he is a male, a pair of horns colored the same as his fur which is white, he wore a dark robe with white sleeve that has a symbol on the front, with a large collar and shoulder pads. The being that the goat-like creature fighting is a masked creature that closes to resemble a minotaur, without the furry part. Celestia has met an ambassador from the minos before and if the body shape said anything, she would have guessed that the not-a-minotaur creature is also a male. He wore a square mask, the eye holes are glowing with blue light. Worn out bandages warped around his body acting like a piece of clothes other than the long loincloth that has a picture of an arrow pointing downward. He also wore a pair of shin armors that has a blue circle that glowed like his mask. The most eye-catching is the large glowing circle on his chest, Celestia wondered what are those circle for. The last creature who walked at the front is almost the same as the masked one only skinnier, he has something on his head, some sort of black blob with insect-like wings, it took Celestia a minute for her to realize that it was a changeling nymph sitting on the creature's head. the creature wore a yellow jacket with brick patterns, black sleeve and gloves covering the entire arm, the same thing goes for the legs, covered with black pants and shoes. The right hand of the creature is holding a golden cane. Celestia could feel that one of them is emitting the unknown power that she had been following, determined to save her subjects, and curiosity, she followed the small party. They seem to be walking toward the deeper part of the forest where all sort of hostile animals such as Timberwolves, Hydras, Manticores and others resided. She must make haste before they could go any deeper. Celestia was about to gallop away to them but stopped when she senses another magic coming from one of them, it was the same Chaos Magic from before. Such powerful, wild and untamed magic that even put Discord's power to shame, no doubt that it would cause anypony to go insane at the matter of second if they get a hold of it, but yet this creature just walking calmly like a normal pony. Luna had suggested trying more cautious approach by using an invisibility spell and hide among the bushes to avoid any sort of violence from the newly discovered chaos user, she and Celestia know that they shouldn't pick on a Chaos Magic user from past experience. Not to mention that this chaos user is far more powerful than the one they already fought. Slithering around the bushes like a slithery snake, they made their way to the 3 mysterious creature, feeling the mysterious power and Chaos Magic getting stronger each time she took a step. The two had already stopped their sparring match and talking to each other. Their sharp hearing allowing them to pick up words that they said. "...on’t be the same like we know. Not only that but the knowledge we have about the future might be useless and the big events like Nightmare Moon, return of Discord, the Crystal Empire might be changed.” the goat one said. What is this, knowledge about the future? Nightmare Moon? And most importantly the return of Discord?  Celestia's mind is trying to wrap around the topics that the strange being are talking about. “Yeah, I know what you mean and I think we just changed the future…” the yellow one said. Change the future? What on Equestria are they talking about? are those creatures is some kind of time traveler that came from the future? There are only a few spells that can affect time itself, and not one could bring the caster back in time, it is plain impossible, casting one of the time warping spells should have required a huge amount of power that not even Celestia herself could have. She had to remind her self that one of them is a chaos user that she's thinking about so there could be a possibility that the beings are from the future. The next thing they are talking about is something involving 'The Wedding Incident', 'The Merchant', some sort of a show and rule number 34, whatever those mean, but Celestia's mind is wandering back to the part where the goat one said that Discord will return. Did she actually defeat him and freed her subjects? Her train of thought derailed by a soft nudge from her younger sister. "What is it Luna?" she whispers asked. Her sister just pointed toward the creatures who surrounded by the member of an infamous guild, Flaming Talons guild. Months after months she had been sending royal guards to find the guilds base, the rumors said that it is hidden in the deepest part of the Everfree, only to return empty hoofed. She had to calm herself to not revealed her position and sit back to watch what will happen to them. At first the beings are talking to each other on who should deal with them and the yellow one, named Bill, stepped up and offered his help to get rid of the bandits. With a help of some kind of fruit called an 'Ope Ope no Mi Devil Fruit' that can grant whoever eats it a unique abilities, Celestia thought it’s just one of those 'all barks but no bites' stuff but when he showed just a tip of its power, both her and Luna are left speechless, completely blown out of their mind. They're too stunned to even realize that the 3 creatures are staring at them. We stood still for what feels like an hours-long but in reality, it’s only been 5 minutes. Me, Nox and Asriel stared at the not-so-well-hidden alicorns in the bushes. Said alicorns seems doesn't even try to hide, every now and then they would be leaning to each other as if they were talking, making the bushes rustled and alerting their presence to anyone near them. I gave Asriel an unamused glare and whispered: "Gee, thanks Azzy for inviting the royals to our little party." "Hey I say I was sorry didn't I?" he whispered back. If not for the griffoness on my back I would be smacking the shit out of him, instead I just mentally commanded the green staff to bonk him on the back of his head, resulting an 'ouch' from him and a glare. "Dad, what did you see?" asked Chrysalis. "Chrissy, tell me what do you see over there, in those bushes I mean." Nox said instead of answering the changeling's question. "I have a feeling that there is something or rather somepony hiding over there." he said, making sure to emphasise the word 'somepony', making the alicorns flinched. They both sank back so that their horns and wings are covered by the leaves and actually hiding rather than sticking out for everybody else to see. "No, I don't see anything there. Though I would be guessing that it was some critters but if somepony is hiding there I can sense their emotions" I don't know if a changeling's eyes are different from ours or Chrysalis's eyes are having some sort of problem because how the frick can someone don't see those long horns and big wings. Asriel moves his hands behind him and conjures a fireball on each of them "So you think that nobody is there, not even the princesses?" he asked with a smirk. 'pls bro don't do anything stupid' I silently prayed but also holding a chuckle back. Chrysalis gave the monster a confused look "Well yeah, probably there is somepony hiding but I don't think the princesses are enough to fit in there. I never saw them but the spy drones said they are bigger than average ponies" "So it doesn't really matter if I do...THIS!" he threw the fireballs to the bushes, a moment later both princesses jump out with both of their tails and mane caught on fire, running around like a headless chicken while chanting 'water'. Asriel laughing his ass off and rolling on the ground and if not the griffin riding my back I would be following him laughing, instead, I just let out a chuckle. Nox in the other doesn't seem amused a bit, you could say that he was disappointed, and Chrysalis has a shocked expression on her face. "Bill, can you extinguish the fire?" asked Nox. "Sure buddy, it'll be done in a jiffy." I snapped my fingers making a certain large bipedal turtle with two canons on top of its shell appear beside of me. "Blastoise use Hydro Cannon!" I pointed toward the burning ponies. "Blastoise!" it roared, sending a powerful stream of water to the Royal Sister, not only did that attack put out the flame but also slams them to a tree. Asriel laughs even harder than before and I could feel Nox's glare bore on the side of my head. "Erm...too much?" I hesitantly asked. "Yes Bill, I think that you're overdoing it." Nox said clearly unamused "Just stop before any of them gets hurt." "Yes, of course," I said with a nervous chuckle, I told Blastoid to stop and snap my fingers once again to make it disappeared. The two sisters are panting heavily, coughing out water that they accidentally swallowed. Nox just shook his head “Asriel, get a hold to yourself. Looks like there has been a plan changer.” He said to the still laughing angel of death “Come on, you both have to ask an apology to them.” “Alright, alright ju-just give some time to breathe.” Asriel chuckled, holding on to his aching stomach. Nox and I walk toward the moping wet alicorns, Asriel following behind us closely. “Erm... are you two alright?” I asked. “Y-yes, we are fine.” Celestia coughed. “Could somepony tell me what just happen?” “Well, you kinda spying on us and Asriel here…thought that you’re a part of those bandits and set you two on fire.” I answered with a lie. “Don’t worry I put it out for you, don’t need to thank me.” That earns me a slap on the back of my head and a snicker from Asriel, “Apology for my brothers’ action but we appreciate it if the both of you stop spyon us.” “How…” a quite reply came from the soaked Princess of the Night. “How what?” I asked. “How did you see us?” “Well for starter your horn and wings are sticking out from the bushes, second the both of you doesn’t seem to have any sort of effort to hide, third you move too much and we can hear it clear as a day.” I simply answered as-matter-of-factly. “Impossible! we cast a high tier invisibility spell on ourselves! Nopony let alone a creature like you would even notice it!” she exclaimed, oh so that’s the reason Chrysalis couldn’t see them. "Oh really? Well, I was thinking otherwise, both of you hardly have any magic, to begin with." Nox said, making the princess of the night flick back, not expecting him to see through her lies. "Probably she was using a low tier spell if a changeling nymph can detect them." Asriel added. "Not very impressive for a princess." I quipped "Not to mention their armor are shits ranked." this seems to strike a nerve on the Princess of the Night. "How dare you insult the-" "Yada-yada-yada, its a shit armor that probably fall apart if you punch it." I cut her with a bored tone. "Why you..." She growled. “What? It's true! Did you pick that up from a dumpster?” I asked with a smirk, earning me a weak magic blast from her that doesn’t even scratch my skin, I chuckled at that “Aw don’t be mad, Moon Booty. I’m just poking you for fun, no need for violence. Here let me help you with your wet mane problem.” With a snap, both princesses are dried up, their mane flowing on a non existed wind and boy doesn’t that look majestic as fuck. Celestia’s mane and looks like a pale rainbow flowing in the sky, gently shimmering under her own sun while Luna’s is as beautiful as her night with twinkling stars shining all across her mane and tail. Though it’s a lot shorter than the one in the show but that doesn’t affect the beauty that they radiated. What? Don’t judge me for admiring them, at least you can shame me if they’re anthro and have those huge, out of portion, fun bags. Not saying that I’m a clopper but have you seen how big those stuff are on the internet? I think my virgin brain isn’t ready for that yet. “Thank you for that, having a wet fur would be quite a problem.” Celestia thanked “Let me introduce myself, I am are Princess Celestia, ruler of the sun and the co-ruler of Equestria.” “And we are Princess Luna, ruler of the moon and co-ruler of Equestria.” she said proudly “And you must address me as such.” I guess Luna is the one who is using the royal 'we' thing. “Greetings princesses, I am Noximilien Coxen the strongest Xelor in the world but please call me Nox. And this bundle of joy and cuteness is my daughter Chrysalis Coxen.” He said pointing at the changeling on top of his head who gave the princesses a tiny wave. “I am Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of Monster of the Underground world.” This set off many alarms in the princesses mind with how wide their eyes are, not wanting to cause a misunderstood Asriel quickly added: “I assure you that I mean no harm.” “You forgot to mention that you’re a God of Hyperdeath, Asriel” I joked “I told you Bill that title is too much for me.” He huffed “Yeah yeah, I’ll remember it, Angel of Death, got it,” I said. Turning my attention toward the two stunned alicorns, I introduced myself “And I’m Bill Cipher, the self-proclaimed Dream Demon and the Master of Chaos!” this made the two of them paled, even Celestia who has white coat lose some of it color. “Oh don’t be like that, I’m not going to take over your kingdom or anything, besides conquering stuff isn’t my style.” I waited for their response but the two are just too scared to even talk, they just stare at me with those wide pinpricks eyes while their jaws are touching the ground, even their manes and tails stopped flowing on the non-existed winds. “I think just broke them.” “No shit Sherlock,” Asriel added which earn him a smack on the back of his head from Nox. “No cursing anywhere nears my daughter.” “So are we going to leave them here?”I asked. “Well I don’t know, with armors like that and no weapons there’s no way that they could get out from this forest without a scratch, but on the other hand their magic is higher than average ponies, so they should be fine. Besides they’re princesses, which means they must know a lot of spell right?” Nox said. “Meh lets ditch them, they aren’t that useful without their magic so let’s go,” said Asriel before walking away. I followed him and same goes for Nox although he seems to be hesitated to leave the princesses behind. C’mon bruh they are alicorns who is powerful enough to raise both sun and moon, a Timberwolf or two won’t be much of a trouble. Soon Nox walked behind us, he gently taps my shoulder causing me to turn around “See, that wasn’t so bad meeting them.” he said “You’re just paranoid, Bill. It’s not like they will blast you with the Elements in sight.” “Erm, Nox what did you say to Chrysalis about the Elements?” I asked, worried that Nox might give away the fact that we have the knowledge about the future. “Well I told her about this prophecy I found one day while I was exploring an ancient temple, it says something about The Elements of Harmony. Legend said that it is a powerful artifact that created by the god, capable of banishing all sort of evil away from the land.” Nox said, giving me a wink “But those artifacts are rumored to be lost in time and nothing more than a myth.” I was about to say something but a shout of ‘Wait!’ behind us beat me to it, we turn around to see both of the princesses are galloping to us before stopping. “Yes, may I help you with something, madam?” I said, refusing to use their title because I can. “Where are you going?” Celestia asked. “We’re on our way to the village near the border of the Everfree,” Asriel said beating me to it. “But why are you heading toward to the center of the forest, everypony know that there are dangerous animals in there. Shouldn’t it be saver to go around it?” “Yeah but that takes 12 days to get there, we like to keep our time short so we’re taking the shortest route thus cutting straight through it is the best option we have. Besides, why do you want to know?” Both ponies fidgeted in their place, glancing at each other for an answer. Celestia let out a long sigh before saying “Well…the truth is we’re…” she trailed off. “You two are lost aren’t you?” I butted in. They both softly nodded their head while staring at the ground ashamed. I look toward my brothers who both gave me an approving nod without asking the question, “Meh sure, you can stick with us for a while I guess, but keep an eye on our back ok?” They both bright up and nodded, slowing trotting behind us while we keep walking forward. For a quick laugh, I snapped my fingers to make a blue box pop up on top of us. Celestia and Luna have joined the party! ***Time Skip Again*** After a few minutes of walking, we enter the deeper part of the forest, the trees here are thicker than the one before and only a small portion of the sunlight pierced the leaves. We have yet to encounter any hostile creature, though we heard a howl in a distance that possibly came from a Timberwolf. Not to mention with the griffin that I'm carrying is starting to hurt my back. On our way toward the village, Celestia steals a glance at me every now and then, I don’t know if she is staring at me or the grifffoness on my back, and whisper to Luna, I can't hear a word of what they are saying but I heard my name being mentioned. The journey is deathly quiet save for the rustling of the wind, Royal Sister whispering and me humming a tune. Having enough of the silent treatment I decided to break the ice by trying to have a conversation with Celestia in order to gain her trust. “So Celly, what it’s like to be a princess?” this caused the younger princess to laugh and the older one to choke on air. “Excuse me, why did you call me Celly?” she asked back. “Yeah, Celestia is just a mouth full name so I shorten it to Celly.” I said, getting an unamused stare from her. “What, you don’t like it or you do prefer Tia instead?” Celestia didn’t answer, she just turns her head with an ‘hump’ while supporting a small blush on her cheek. Luna in the other hand is having a time of her life, rolling on the ground laughing her ass off while holding on to her stomach. Tears of joy can be seen on the corner of her eyes, this goes on for a couple of minutes before she realizes everyone is staring at her and me holding out my phone that set on recording. She quickly stands up and brushed the dust off from her fur before coughing to her hoof, turning her head away to avoid the look that we gave her while also hiding the same blush as Celestia only a bit darker. Celestia and I let out a chuckle before staring at each other eyes, I gave her a little smile which she returned with her own “Quite a lively sister you got there.” I said. “Yes, she is, but I never see she act like this since…a long time” she said with a hint of sadness. Hearing that piece of information set off many alarms in my head, Nightmare Moon appearance shouldn't be this early in the timeline, it would be a major problem if she appears before Discord is sealed and probably affect the Crystal Empire disappearance too. "Well whatever is troubling her, you should solve it as fast as you can." I told her "There is no telling what will happen if she is depressed." Celestia went silent for a few moments before saying "You know, for a self-proclaimed Dream Demon and a chaos user, you're quite a nice stallion." "Not all chaos user is a bad guy, they just need a right guide to the right way if not, well you could see what happen to Discord." I said. "And next time try to address me as a 'man' rather than stallion, same goes for my brothers." She was going to say something but a tap from her sister drew her attention away, "Sister, its time to lower the sun." Luna said. "I know  sister but there is just one small problem..." "You guys don't have enough magic?" I asked Celestia shook her head "Nay, we hardly use magic to move the sun and moon, both object is tied to our mark thus letting us move it without magic but we have to see it in order to move it. As you can see we barely can see them with all of the leaves blocking our sight." I gave her a smirk and says "Say no more, m'lady." with a tip of my hat "Hey guys, these two said they're going to lower the sun we should camp here for the night!" I shouted "What about the creature that lives in here Uncle Bill? won't they be attacking us at night?" Chrysalis said fearfully. "Don't worry Chrisy, I already have a plan for that." I snap my fingers to conjure a stack of wood surrounded by a circle of rocks "Everyone huddle up." Everyone did so and sit near the unlit bonfire except me who still standing. "Seriously, is this your plan?" Asriel asked, "You know it takes much more than a small fire to keep a manticore away right?" "Yes, I am aware of that dear brother." I said, twirling my cane "I was going to make it safer by doing THIS." I gave the ground a tap with my cane and it starts shaking, everyone asking what the heck am I doing but I ignore it. Suddenly the ground shoots up toward the sky like a pillar that grows from the earth, breaking through the tree branches and leaves, and stopped when we're at the surface of the sea of leaves. "There, now nothing can reach us right?" I asked to no one in particular. Asriel swiftly grab me by my shirt collar and shake me like a doll "ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK?" After I apologized to everyone for scaring them down to their bones, I sat down near the bonfire watching the two sisters doing their work. Celestia standing on the west side while her sister is on the other side, both of their horn gently glowing. The sun moves as Princess of the Day slowly lower her head, Luna following the same but her head slowly rises alongside with her moon. Truly a magnificent few. Not long after the moon set in the center of the sky, the stars gently shining one by one, decorating the sky like a sea full of precious rocks. Luna swishes her head back and forth making even more star to shine in the dark night, using the sky as a canvas for her painting. Luna gave a satisfied nod at her work, she turns around to sit down with us but giggled instead, must be because she sees our awestruck faces. Snapping back to reality, I decided to give her a compliment  "That was truly an astonishing performance, my dear. This world sky is definitely more beautiful than the one back home." She blushed but something in her mind cached up to what I just said "Hold your tongue, are you claiming that you're from another world?" she asked in disbelief. "Why of course, my brother and I hailed from the world called The World of 12, it’s pretty much like this world only a couple of different." "So why are you here? take over our world?" "Oh, heavens no. We are here to start a new life, and possibly find a way to planet Earth." "And what is this 'Earth' you are talking about?" Luna asked, showing some interest. "I'm afraid that is a story for another time, I don’t want to disturb anyone from their sleep." I said, pointing toward the sleeping changeling in Nox's lap "Asriel can you start up the fire?" He did what I just said, with a fireball he set the pile of wood on fire, illuminating the grassy ground we are sitting on. Bonfire Lit "Well, goodnight everyone." I said "The same thing goes for you too, Lulu." She was about to say something but I shushed her with a finger on her lips "Shush, your sister already got a pet name, it’s only fair to have one of your own." I heard a giggle from my right, Celestia is covering her mouth with a hoof, trying to not to laugh "Looks like I'm not the only one who agrees." Luna huffed, walking toward her sister and lie beside her, grumbling all the way. I shook my head at her behavior, slowing drop the griffoness of my back and lie her down beside me, her head is resting on my thigh. I was about to pull out the journal from my jacket but the griffon start turning in her sleep, probably a nightmare or the armor that making her uncomfortable, I snap my fingers to strip the armor from her and neatly place it beside her but she still moving in her sleep, her face was something that pictured pain and fear. I did the only thing that I could think of and start scratching her neck like a cat, she immediately relaxed and let out a satisfied sigh, her face was like someone that experiencing a pure bliss, a small smile adorned on her beak. I never knew beaks are that flexible. I pull out the journal from my jacket and continued my research, I feel like searching up a couple of spells, might be some of them might be useful in our journey toward the village. With the soft cold wind blowing from the north, I relaxed my mind and began reading. That is until a loud snore from the Princess of the Night. I snap my fingers to conjured a night-themed pacifier and stick it in her mouth and she greedily sucks on it like a baby would, I gave out a snicker before taking a picture with my phone and name it 'Woona'