In the previous timeline, Trunks had seen ponies be at war with one another, a sight that had slightly altered his thoughts on a race of kind and friendly beings that harnessed the power of magic. But as he watched Fluttershy and her camouflage ponies leap out of the forest and surrounded the mare he had been following with looks he didn't know they were capable of making, he began to think that these ponies had darker sides than they cared to admit.
"You will all pay for betraying the queen!" the mare snarled as she stared down Fluttershy, whose eyes betrayed no emotion as she glared back with murderous intent. "It is only a matter of time before Chrysalis finds your hidden colony and finishes the rest of you off, just as she did with Zecora,, just as she did with Pinkie and just as she did with Celestia."
"Crush her," was all Fluttershy said in reply. The other ponies in Fluttershy's group let out a roar as they swarmed the mare, who erupted in a pillar of green fire when they got close. Her form was replaced with that of a black insect pony with blue eyes, while a black horn erupted from her head. The mare snarled before she took to the skies, flying over the attacking force.
"You will not catch me! You may have found me out, but I swear the next time we meet again it will be with your forces dead and your head on a-" the being never got to finish what she was going to say to Fluttershy, for in the next moment a flash of metal severed her head from her body and sent both crashing into the forest floor at Fluttershy's hooves. The mare looked from the corpse that lay at her hooves to Trunks, who was flicking green blood off of his sword and onto the leaves. Starlight was less that thrilled with what she had just seen.
"Trunks...why did you just...kill that changeling?" Starlight managed to force out, while she also tried to keep her eyes from staring at the changeling body.
"That changeling had the location of some of Fluttershy's forces. Not to mention that if I didn't do it, then they would have," Trunks said as he tipped his blade towards the rebels.
"Them? Trunks, I know Fluttershy and trust me when I saw that she would never-" Starlight never got to finish her sentence, for with one flick of her mane Fluttershy signaled her troops to surrounded Trunks and Starlight, which they did silently and efficiently. Spears and blowguns were all aimed at Trunks and Starlight, the latter of the pair looking around at the site with wide eyes.
Fluttershy silently walked up to Starlight and glared into her eyes, staring down Starlight with such intensity that Starlight felt the urge to curl up into a ball and cry. After glaring down Starlight, Fluttershy then turned her gaze upon Trunks. Yet after only a moment of staring into his eyes, eyes that were like unmoving steel, she turned back to her ponies and shook her head.
"Neither of these two are changelings. Hide the body, hide your tracks, and then split up to meet back at our base later. None of you get caught." The ponies nodded before they vanished into the trees, vanishing from sight within moments. Starlight looked around with surprise, having lost most of them almost instantly, but with his ability to sense ki Trunks was able to track them a little longer.
"Who are you two?" Fluttershy asked the both of them with a snarl.
"Fluttershy...this isn't like you...why are you so-?" Starlight tried to ask, but Trunks stepped forward to cut her off.
"I'm Trunks. This is Starlight. We're time travelers that come from another timeline. The correct timeline," Trunks stated clearly. Normally a pony would have laughed off the idea of time travel, but as Fluttershy was face to face with a being that she had not only never seen, but one that held a phenomenal amount of power within it, she decided to accept his words at face value.
"Time travelers. Sure. Why not?" Fluttershy asked before she turned and motioned for the both of them to follow her. She then vanished into the trees the moment after she made the motion, vanishing completely from both Trunks and Starlight's gaze. Trunks ability to sense her ki allowed him to lead both himself and Starlight after Fluttershy, catching up with her a moment later when they found her standing next to a tree.
"A little slow, but I'm impressed that you can follow me," Fluttershy muttered with a nod of approval. "We could use you."
"Fluttershy, why is there a changeling in the middle of the Everfree Forest?" Starlight asked. "And what did it mean when it said that Celestia, Zecora and Pinkie had been beaten by Chrysalis?"
"Not beaten. Killed. There is a very clear distinction between the two terms," Fluttershy bluntly replied. "It's simple really. Chrysalis and her forces replaced numerous ponies at Canterlot, including Princess Cadence, and eventually lead a sneak attack that claimed not only the life of Princess Celestia, but nearly all of the ponies in Canterlot. Ponyville was her next target and she carried out the same plan to take us out there. It was only thanks to the aid of Zecora, a zebra that could see through their disguise, that any of us escaped from being slaughtered. But a few weeks ago, Chrysalis found our largest base and killed most of us. Zecora, Pinkie and a numerous amount of my friends. The ponies that you saw emerge from those woods are pretty much all I've got left."
"I've been there before," Trunks muttered, recalling his war with Black for a few moments.
"So in this timeline, Chrysalis has managed to kill Celestia and I assume take the crown of Canterlot for herself? Does that mean that she essentially rules the world?"
"No. She rules Equestria. The changelings aren't adapt yet at transforming into other species, especially dragons. But it's only a matter of time. If we don't stop them here, then eventually they will conquer the whole world," Fluttershy replied. She was leading the both of them through the forest, past numerous twists and turns that even managed to confuse Trunks.
"That's where the both of you come in. Or rather, where he comes in. I saw what you did to that changeling. Or rather, I didn't see it. And that kind of speed we haven't had since Rainbow Dash years ago. We could use a swords...man like you on our side. What do you think, Trunks? Feel like taking on an unstoppable army of shapeshifters that can be your enemies one moment and pretending to be your best friend the next?"
"Sounds ease."
"I bet it does, especially for you. I also noticed how easily you managed to pierce through that changeling's disguise. Not since Zecora have I see somepony tell them apart so easily. You said something about sensing ki?"
"Ki is a form of life energy that every living being has and one that I can sense. Her energy was off, so it was easy to tell that something was wrong with her," Trunks said with a shrug.
"Impressive. You'll fit in just fine."
"We're also looking for a couple of our own foes," Starlight added on, getting Fluttershy to turn back to look at her. "Two beings made of metal. One of them wields a cane and the other has a brownish cloak. But both of them have incredible power. Have you seen anything like them?"
"Can't say I've seen anything like that. But then again, I hadn't seen anything like the changelings until they popped up either," Fluttershy admitted bitterly. "So those two the reason a couple of time travelers like yourselves showed up in the this chocolate mess of a time? I hope that's the reason and you didn't just come here for the scenery."
"You're half right. We did come here in an effort to hunt the both of them down, but we are also trying to set the timeline right," Starlight replied. "As Trunks said earlier, this is not the main timeline, but a fractured...what if, almost. Because in the main timeline, the changeling invasion failed and the changelings eventually became our allies. What this is...is not how things are supposed to be."
"So what you're saying is that my friends aren't supposed to be dead and my nation isn't supposed to be in the hooves of a homicidal queen that would set fire to the world just to see it burn?" Fluttershy asked. When Starlight nodded, a smile crossed the mare's face. "Well why didn't you say so earlier? Now I've got to help you set things right. We're nearly there."
"Where are we going, by the way?" Starlight asked. "Because this is a part of the Everfree forest that I don't think i've ever been to before."
"This is a part of the forest only Zecora knew of. It's a place of ancient and dark magic, the kind that makes it impossible to find unless somepony has already found it," Fluttershy said in an ominous tone. Both Starlight and Trunks looked around at the forest, which was as pitch black as a midnight sky. The branches seemed to be constantly shifting, the calls of the creatures within were silent and even Trunks ability to sense ki was not working correctly. Neither he nor Starlight lowered their guards for a moment. "Which, of course, makes it a great place to create a base for us to hide in. Welcome to our last stand."
As she said this, Fluttershy pulled back a curtain of leaves to reveal a village hidden within. Dozens of houses were made out of the black sticks and leaves, blending them in perfectly with the forest around them. In fact, with the lack of landmarks, community or even ponies standing near the houses, Trunks would have guessed that this place was abandoned, if not for the few sets of eyes that he could see peering at the pair of them from out of the darkness.
"Where...where is everypony?" Starlight asked as she started to walk ahead of Fluttershy.
"Hiding, at least until I can prove to them that I am their leader and not a bug disguised as her," Fluttershy revealed, before pointing a hoof towards a larger building near the end of the hidden trees. "That's where you both will be staying for the time being. Inside you will find food, water and whatever weapons we have on hoof at the moment. Go on ahead, Starlight and get comfortable. I need to have a quick talk with Trunks here. Also, try not to set any of the ponies here off."
Starlight looked between Fluttershy and Trunks for a moment, before she nodded and walked off towards the building. It was only after she was out of earshot that Fluttershy sighed and looked up at Trunks. "Alright, she's gone. What did you want to talk to me about?"
"There's a part of her time traveling story that she left out," Trunks revealed to Fluttershy, who lifted an eyebrow in interest. "This is not the first fractured timeline that we've been apart of. There was another one, one that was similar in a way to this one. One where Sombra ruled instead of Chrysalis. That was the first timeline we found."
"Was? Past tense. Telling me it's gone?"
"Correct. Either it was when I killed Sombra or fought one of those metal men, but after that the timeline vanished. Either it collapsed upon itself for simply vanished into the unknown, but it's gone. And I theorize, should we accomplish what we came here to do, that the same fate shall befall your world as well," Trunks informed Fluttershy in his most serious tone. "I just thought that you should know the full extent of what you're getting into with us."
"Trunks, you just told me that this world is a twisted version of the true world and that helping you and Starlight could get this world erased once and for all," Fluttershy repeated before smiling up at Trunks with a twisted grin.
"Now I've got all the more reason to help you."