//------------------------------//
// Hope 
// Story: Out of Time 
// by Onomonopia 
//------------------------------//

With a roar of fury the satyr fired off a blast of magic powerful enough to launch a mountain to Saturn towards the oncoming foe, but in a flash of movement his foe vanished from his sight. The satyr had just a moment to register that Trunks was gone before a flash of light and the sound of steel carving through flesh reached his ears. The his head fell off of his shoulders while his body collapsed to the side.

Trunks exhaled a long held breath before he rose up to his feet, tossing the sword into the air before slightly leaning to the left, allowing his blade to slide right into it's scabbard without him looking. He then glanced down at his outfit, which, thanks to the satyr, now had numerous more tears and rips in it than it had when he had arrived in the land. His black coat was shredded near the bottom while his ascot was long gone. He reached for the necklace that was hidden underneath of his shirt, sighing in relief when he felt it was still there.

'These guys are getting tougher,' Trunks thought as he turned back towards the headless satyr, this one having pushed him far harder than the previous one had done. He then watched as a cloud of magic emerged from the satyr and floated off towards the distance. He raised his hand and fired a blast of ki at it, but the ki did nothing to the cloud. 'With each one I fight, they seem to gain more and more magical strength. I don't know if it's because they are finding more magic to use...or Tirek just has that much strength to give to them. If that's the case, then this will be far more dangerous than I thought...'

Then Trunks heard the sound of running hooves and turned to see all of the citizens of the town of rocks that he had been battling the satyr to free. 'But this is why it's worth it,' Trunks finished as he looked around at all of the faces of the ponies that had formed a massive circle around him. Nearly all of the adults were looking up at him with awe and amazement, their gray eyes filled with the faintest traces of emotion. All of the foals were smiling up at Trunks with beaming eyes that were hard to stare into. And all of them made Trunks smile.

"That was incredible! That guy's been stealing our magic for years and you cut him down like he was nothing!" one of the foals exclaimed.

"Was that supposed to be hard?" Trunks replied with a smile, causing the foals eyes to go even wider.

"You cannot be thinking of going after Tirek? That being is far too powerful, even for a being like yourself," one of the adults advised Trunks.

"Of course I'm going after Tirek. Someone has to make him pay for what he's done to all of you," Trunks began, before a devious smile crossed his face. "And what makes you think this is all of my power? Because let me tell you, this is a fraction of what I can do."

The crowd gasped in amazement at his words and the foals began to ask him more questions, but Trunks then caught Starlight giving him a look from the edge of town. He waved and gave one last large smile to the crowd, before he quickly flew over to where she was standing. "That's not a good look," he said as he landed.

"It's just kinda weird seeing you play the hero," Starlight muttered. "Especially since this timeline will be erased like all the others when you defeat Tirek. Why even bother?"

"...old habits die the hardest," Trunks replied, his serious expression replacing his smile. "Not to mention that seeing a group of people like this...it brings out my need to act."

"Is this one of those villains you talked about back when we still had Twilight with us?" Starlight asked. The look of black fury that crossed Trunks face was more than enough of an answer for Starlight. "So did this villain do something similar? Did he steal the power of your people and keep them enslaved?"

"No. He stole something worse," Trunks snarled, before regaining control of himself. "As to why I'm bothering to act like a hero to them when we're just going to be erasing this timeline...I guess I still can't stand to see such looks of hopelessness and defeat among those that are being oppressed. Not as long as I can fight it."

"But in the end, it doesn't matter if you be a hero or not. They're all going to cease to be in the end."

"...yeah, I suppose they are."

"Unless you don't erase the timeline."

"Starlight, we've been over this."

"Yeah, but now, with you acting all hero like, seems like a better time for you to listen to my side. I've been doing a bit of experimentation and I think that we might not have to erase these alternate timelines to save the main one," Starlight suggested. She drew forth the mirror that kept an eye on the other timelines and showed it to Trunks. He looked into the mirror to see that the time they were in at the moment was moving, but the original timeline was also slowly moving also.

"And am I looking at here?"

"That despite us being in an alternate timeline, the main timeline is slowly beginning to move on it's own again!" Starlight exclaimed. "That might mean that we don't have to-"

"Or maybe because I'm erasing the timelines that are trying to take over the main timeline it is finally able to move again. Your hypothesis needs more testing before I'm willing to change my methods," Trunks replied, shaking his head when Starlight tried to argue. "We can throw ideas around later, but we both know that Tirek needs to be stopped. Have you managed to get any further with that shield?"

"No, unfortunately," Starlight grumbled. Trunks gently grabbed her by her back and flew the both of them into the sky, where they both had an uninterrupted look at Canterlot and the magical barrier that was surrounding the city. "Whatever Tirek used to create that barrier, it's made of magic way more powerful than any spell I know. Nothing I've done seems to so much as scratch it."

"And it still seems to be absorbing my ki," Trunks muttered as he raised a hand and shot a blast of ki at the barrier, which vanished into the spell when it impacted. "Meaning that a lot of my biggest attacks are useless against it and I doubt that punching it is going to work."

"Then why not use your full power against it? I mean, according to that bragging I heard down there you're still not using a fraction of your power," Starlight pointed out, but her tone told Trunks she was still mad at him.

"If I use my full power, I guarantee that I can break that barrier. Problem is there won't be much of a planet left to save. Or anything left of the planet really," Trunks replied with a shrug. "Besides, I try not to act like my dad when it comes to solving my problems. I've learned a lot from him and respect him, but he tends to get a bit...explosive when angry. I'm trying to be better."

"Did he wipe out entire timelines when he had the chance to save them?"

"Drop it."

"Well, unless you have any magic spells up that long sleeve of yours, we're not getting through that barrier anytime soon," Starlight said. "And with Tirek having taken all of the magic in the world, I'm willing to bet there isn't a wizard or witch left that can help us to take down that barrier."

"You haven't found Twilight or her friends in this timeline?"

"There are remains of what used to be their lives, but it seems that Tirek gave them a more permanent end after he stole their magic. Same goes for the princesses and Discord," Starlight replied. Trunks face darkened at her words. "Seems that this Tirek didn't want to leave any chance of the heroes finding a way to defeat him. He's probably the smartest villain that we've faced yet."

"Doesn't matter how strong or smart he is. Once I face him he'll fall like all the others. Right now my biggest concern is how do I get to him?" Trunks muttered. He placed a hand on his chin and began to think for a long time. Trunks may not have inherited his mothers brains, but he was far from stupid and downright cunning at times. But aside from Bobidi, he had little experience with magic. Fortunately for him, Starlight had an idea. 

"Actually, wait a moment. There is something that Tirek might have missed," Starlight muttered to herself, gaining Trunks attention. "In the Crystal Empire, in the far north, there are rumors of a secret library that was hidden in a place that no dark magic could get to. If we could find that library, there's a chance that there might be a book within that can pierce that shield."

"Sounds like the best lead that we've had all day. You said it was to the north, right?" Trunks asked. "Hold on and close your eyes."

Starlight did as she was asked and a moment later felt the wind tearing at her as Trunks zipped from their location to where the Crystal Empire was. The moment she felt the two of them stop moving was the moment that she felt a cold gust of wind strike her face, prompting her to open her eyes. For a brief moment she was shocked to see just how quickly Trunks had flown to the Crystal Empire, but then she laid eyes on the Empire and that awe was replaced with pain.

What had once been a city of crystal and light was now simply a ruin of snow and shattered glass. Houses lay in disarray, the castle that had made up the center of the empire lay in pieces for miles around and the snow had covered everything within the empire and buried it beneath at least three feet of cold. What had once been a shining beacon of light and hope was now simply cold.

"I'm not sensing any life forms down there," Trunks sadly informed Starlight, knowing what her next question would be.

"Then let's get down there and find that book. The sooner we can fix this world, the better."

"I thought you were against the idea of me erasing any more worlds?"

"I am. But Tirek still needs to be stopped and that is something that only you can do. Now get me down there."

Trunks nodded and descended into the ruins of the empire, using his ki blasts to clear away giant paths of snow that obstructed the pair. Starlight directed Trunks on where to go, using her magic to hone in on the location of the library that she had mentioned.

"How do you know that Tirek hasn't heard of this place?" Trunks asked Starlight.

"Tirek never cared much for ancient text and legend. He was only concerned with the present and the power that he could find there. That's why the rainbow power caught him so completely off guard," Starlight explained before her horn glowed green. "We're just above the library. Make a hole here and wait for me."

Trunks did as she asked, using a blast of ki to punch a hole in the ground before watching as Starlight lowered herself down into the blackness. Once she was gone Trunks reached a hand to his necklace once more, guilt starting to crawl into his heart.

"Why can't I save them all, Mai?" Trunks whispered to himself. "Why is it that no matter how hard I fight, I am always letting down those that believe in me?"

"Because just like your father and mother, yours is a legacy of failure." Trunks spun around to find that a metal being with a brown cloak was standing beside him, staring down into the hole where Starlight had gone. "Hello Trunks. It seems that your survived my toxin. Let us correct that, shall we?"