Twilight held onto one of her castle chairs for dear life as Starlight’s spell, located above the cutie map tried to suck her up. “YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS!” Twilight yelled at the laughing Starlight who was perched comfortably in Twilight’s chair.
“Oh but dear Twilight I do, I can’t risk you or your little friends meddling in my affairs any longer.” Starlight replied smugly, a large smile plastered on her face. Noticing Twilight's grip begin to slip, Starlight decided to wrap things up.
“I don’t want to kill you Twilight, but I really need you out of the picture.” Starlight explained while proudly looking up at the spell she had created. “This spell is designed to put you in an alternate reality. One, where for some reason or another, you don’t currently exist…Also I will be putting you a couple of years in the future. For alternate me’s sake of course, just in case we have a similar mind-set. Wouldn’t want you foiling her plans like you did with mine now would we?”
Losing her grip, the tips of Twilight's hooves was all that was anchoring her to this reality. “Starlight please!” Twilight cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks. But her pleas fell on deaf ears.
“Enjoy your new life Twilight! I’m sure the princess of friendship would be able to make plenty of new friends.” Starlight spouted, giving the alicorn one final wave before she lost her grip.
Twilight’s screams echoed throughout the room as she was dragged into the portal which closed shortly behind her. Silence filling the cutie map room.
With her plan succeeding and now alone in the cutie map room. Starlight got up off her seat and put her spell away in her saddlebags before quickly walking out of the castle, before anypony realized what had happened.
“AAAAAHHHHH!”
The portal reopened in Ponyville, the same location where the spell originally transpired. Shortly afterwards, a lavender coloured alicorn shot out and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Not giving herself anytime to recover from the rough fall, Twilight immediately spread her wings and darted upwards to re-enter the portal. Before she was able to get off the ground, the portal closed as she flew through the air where it used to be.
Still in mid-flight, she hovered over to where the portal used to be. Recollecting her thoughts, she began to process everything that had just transpired, everything she had before is now gone. All her friends, family, books, Spike. They were all gone.
Lowering herself to the ground, she raised her hoof and wiped away her tears before they had a chance to fall. ’No! I will find a way back, if Starlight was able to create that spell then I can make it too!’ Twilight thought to herself. Taking in a deep breath, she first needed to know where and when she was.
It didn’t take Twilight long to realize where she was. She was in Ponyville, which was a lot bigger and more populated than she remembered it being. Even with the new additions to the town, everything was still where she remembered it being, or at least as far as she could tell.
Walking towards the town, she already felt herself breaking into a sweat. Raising her wing to block the sun from her eyes, she squinted up, noticing it was bigger and brighter than usual. Returning her wing to her side, she headed towards the Carousel Boutique in hopes to find Rarity.
Twilight's wings shuffled uncomfortably from all the stares and whispers she received. Including the occasional awkward bow whenever somepony got too close. What disturbed her the most wasn’t the bow itself, but the nature of it. It seemed they did it more out of fear than respect.
“An alicorn?”
“What is somepony like her doing in a place like this?”
“I thought there were only supposed to be three.”
“Do you think she is after somepony?”
“Playtimes' over, inside little one.”
“But muuum.”
“No buts, quickly now.”
“Think she is working under Dayb-Ouch!”
“Fool, keep your voice down, remember what happened last time.”
Having heard enough of this, Twilight took off in a sprint towards her friend’s boutique, question after question piling up as she raced through the streets of Ponyville. Reaching her destination, she came grinding to a halt, looking around in confusion as she tried to catch her breath.
She was at where the boutique used to be, despite all the additions to the town she knew, without a doubt, this was where it was supposed to be. However in its place was a shop called ‘Glits and Glam’ owned by Sassy Saddles.
Flabbergasted, Twilight looked around to see that everypony originally around her had dispersed, sounds of windows and doors could be heard being slammed shut until she was completely alone in the street. Having no idea where this Equestria’s Rarity would be, she decided to move on to her next friend, Pinkie Pie.
Walking through the now deserted streets of Ponyville. Twilight lowered her head as she tried to think of possible reasons why everypony was hiding from her and where she would go from here on out. ’Alright, basing of what Starlight said, she put me in another reality, a couple of years in the future to be exact. That means I need to find out what year it is here, it can’t be too far in the future since Ponyville is effectively the same, just with more buildings. Maybe Rarity moved away from Ponyville and started her shop up in Canterlot or Manehattan.’
Shaking her head, Twilight pushed the thoughts of what might have happened to her friend out of her head and focused on the task at hoof. ’Starlight also said she put me in an alternate reality, one where I don’t currently exist.’ The word currently hung on Twilight’s mind. ’Does that mean I was never born to begin with or that I died at some stage in my life?’
The thought sent shivers down her spine. Walking in autopilot, she shortly arrived at Sugar Cube Corner. Unlike the boutique, the bakery still existed and didn’t look any different than she remembered it being. With a spark of hope she walked inside, a small ding from the bell alerted the two young ponies at the counter. The male pegasus with an ivory coloured coat as well as a female unicorn with a yellowy coloured coat looked up in response.
“Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner, what caaaahhhhh!” The unicorn started but jump back and lowered her head to the ground when she noticed both the horn and wings.
The pegasus stared at the unicorn in confusion before glancing back up at Twilight. It took him a second for it to click before his eyes shot wide open and did exactly what his partner did. “Y-your greatness! W-what do we owe the pleasure!?” He asked in a shaky voice, not looking up at the alicorn in front of him.
Twilight opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it, feeling that it would do more harm than good. Thinking for a moment, she let out an exasperated sigh before opening her mouth again. “What are both of your names?” Twilight asked in the softest tone she could pull off as if she were talking to fillies.
The pegasus was the first to speak, his head still lowered. “I’m Pound, this is my sister Pumpkin. Along with our mum and dad, we the cake family run this bakery.” Pound explained.
Twilight noticed that Pinkie’s name had not been mentioned, however she was more surprised at how much the twins have grown since she had last seen them. Realizing they had been waiting for her to speak again, Twilight took notice at the assortment of baked goods that were on display around them. Levitating three blueberry muffins out of a basket on a shelf behind the twins, she placed them on the counter top between them. “I would like to purchase these muffins please!” Twilight requested, deciding this would be a better approach to make them stop bowing.
Looking up at the alicorn mare, Pumpkin was the first to get back up on her hooves. Using her magic, she pulled out a box with their shops name and logo plastered on it and carefully placed the muffins the princess had selected inside of it.
It didn’t take long for her brother to follow suit, also getting up on his hooves. Inwardly smiling Twilight pressed on with her questions. “How old are you two? Seem pretty young to be in a customer service role?”
This time it was Pumpkins turn to speak. “Me and my brother are twins, we are eleven turning twelve in two months…Our parents wanted to make sure we knew how to take care of ourselves in case of an emergency, so we help run the shop in the afternoon on weekends.” Closing the box she slid it over to Twilight's side of the counter.
’Pinkie threw a massive party for these two on their first birthday, that was about four months ago. That means I am roughly ten and a half years in the future.’ Getting the answer to one of her questions, she used her magic to search for her bag of bits. Eyes widening, she immediately facehoofed upon realizing she left it at her castle door when returning from her friendship presentation back in her reality.
Scratching the back of her head, Twilight smiled awkwardly at the twins followed by a small awkward squee. “I’m so sorry, I may have left my bits back at home.” Twilight shamefully admitted.
The twins shot back and bowed again. “We would never expect payment your greatness.” Pound said quickly.
“We hope they will be to your satisfaction.” Pumpkin finished.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Twilight used her magic to levitate the box of muffins onto her back. Seeing that they were back to square one, she decided to finish things up. “Thank you very much, I appreciate your kind offer and will be sure to return when I have my bits on me.” Not hearing a reply back, she let out a small sigh. “I have one last question, do you know where somepony called Pinkie Pie may be? She has a pink coat with a violet-red coloured mane, has three balloons as a cutie mark and is overly hyper?” Twilight asked, her voice a little desperate to find somepony that would recognize her.
The twins raised their heads, staring at each other while maintaining their bow like stance. Waiting for their response, the twins looked back at Twilight, obviously scared to speak up. “I’m sorry princess! I don’t know and never heard of this Pinkie Pie you speak of! I swear on my life!” Pumpkin squeaked, her body shaking in fear.
Not wanting to terrify the young ponies anymore, Twilight nodded. “Thank you very much for your time, I hope you both have a nice day.” Twilight said to them as she left the store with her muffins.
The streets of Ponyville were a lot less lively compared to when Twilight first arrived. With a blueberry muffin levitated in front of her, she took a large, frustrated bite of it. Small bits of crumbs sticking to the edges of her mouth. ’Why is everypony afraid of me? Did I-I mean did alternate me do something to these ponies?’ Twilight mentally asked herself before shoving the rest of the cupcake angrily into her mouth. More crumbs sticking to her mouth before falling to the concrete below.
Once finished, she stretched her wings and took off into the sky. Since Sweet Apple Acres was at the opposite side of town, she decided to drop off at both Rainbow Dash's and Fluttershy’s home along the way.
Flying to the outskirts of Everfree Forest, Twilight couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Landing next to Fluttershy’s Cottage, the entire building was run down with smashed bird houses scattered across the grass next to the surrounding trees. The cottage windows had cracks in it with chunks missing from a few of the corners. The door boarded up to prevent entry.
With how dusty and damaged the place looked, it was evident that nopony had lived here in many years. Walking around the outside of the house, Twilight peeked through the windows, being careful not to stand on and cut herself on any of the shattered glass. Confirming her suspicions when she saw nothing but a dust covered floor and paper nailed to the walls, she returned to the front door.
With evidence supporting that nopony lived here anymore, she took one of the boards in her magic and ripped it off. Panting heavily, she placed the board to the side and did the same with the other one. “Too Hot.” she groaned.
Swinging the door open, she coughed as a wave of dust hit her face. Glad to be out of the scorching sun and into the cool shade, she walked towards one of the notes on the wall. Scuttering could be heard from the rodents who made themselves at home. Taking the first one in her magic, she blew the dust off the note and began to read it.
To my dearest friends.
As I told you all I’ve been ordered to leave Ponyville, but ------ my departure I leave these notes for you.
Even without me here, this place is still a sanctuary ------ big and small to live and grow up. I hope you ------ healthy life.
If you ever get sick or injured, remember Dr. Fauna, Ponyville’s Veterinarian ------ do everything she can to nurse you all back to health.
------ I planted a bunch of yummy food for you all to eat. I know it isn’t ------ won’t last forever but it is the best ------ right now.
Remember NEVER EVER venture into Everfree Forest, there ------ scary creatures that will want to gobble you up.
Under any circumstances NO fighting each other. No matter how ------ we are a family and family always stick together.
Be safe.
Love Fluttershy
P.S: If anypony finds this ------ critters as much as I do and need advice. You can find ------ the waterfall.
Unable to make out a few words here and there, Twilight stared down at the note. Droplets of tears landing on the paper, further smudging some of the words. Putting the note back before she ruined it further, she took a step back and looked at the other notes that were plastered around the building. As much as it broke her heart to read this, she was glad to know that Fluttershy was alive in this world somewhere. If she was alive then there was hope that both Rarity and Pinkie Pie would be somewhere as well.
‘Alright Twilight, let’s get this over and done with.’
Hours had passed, how many was unknown to Twilight as she put the last note back up on the wall. There wasn’t much information compared to the first note. Most of them containing instructions on where certain animals should live, appropriate feeding times and healthy diets for every species. Even how to build an effective nest in trees as well as dens that would be able to withstand the harshest conditions.
Even though she still didn’t understand what was going on around here. she at least knew that her friend was out there living near a waterfall somewhere. Walking back outside, a familiar surge of warmth hit her. Raising her wing to cover her eyes, she looked up at the sky to see the sun in the exact same position as it was when she first arrived.
Baffled by this, she pushed this thought aside for now and took off to Rainbow Dash’s house. During her flight, Twilight couldn’t help but think back to the first note she read from Fluttershy. What or who forced Fluttershy to move out of her home and away from Ponyville?
For the duration of her flight, this question and why the ponies were so scared of her was irking Twilight. She didn’t know the answer to her first question, however for the second she knew it was because she was an alicorn. As to why ponies were scared of alicorns was beyond her, though she had a feeling it wouldn’t take long for that answer to become clear.
Arriving outside of Ponyville, Twilight looked around for Rainbow Dash’s cloud house however it was nowhere to be seen. Flying around the area for a couple of minutes to make sure it definitely wasn’t here, she assumed what happened to Fluttershy also happened to Rainbow Dash and moved on to Sweet Apple Acres.
Landing at the entrance to the farm, Twilight spotted a mare carrying buckets full of apples to a wagon. Getting excited, she sprinted towards the pony, opening her mouth to scream her friends name but stopped when she noticed the coat colour was slightly off, and instead of Applejacks trademark hat there was instead a large bright pink ribbon attached to her mane.
Slowing down, she continued to approach the familiar looking pony who was carrying a bucket on top of her head along with a bucket in her mouth. “Apple Bloom?” Twilight hesitantly asked.
The mare in question made a small ‘hmmm’ sound as she turned around to face whoever was talking to her. Eyes widening at who stood in front of her, she instinctively lowered her head to the ground. The bucket balancing on top of her head tipping over, the apples inside scattering across the ground in front of them.
When one of the apples hit Twilight's hoof, Apple Bloom buried her muzzle further to the ground, her eyes clenched shut. “Please princess! Forgive this impudent mare, I didn’t mean to disrespect you!” Apple Bloom pleaded.
Twilight was beginning to get tired of this. Levitating the bucket the right way up, she picked up the apples with her magic and cleaned the dirt off them before putting them back in the bucket. “Apple Bloom please, don’t treat me like this.”
Biting her lower lip, Twilight thought of what to say, at this point the Apple family was her best shot at finding out what happened to everypony and what’s going on around here. “I don’t know what is going on. My friends are missing, everypony is scared of me. Hay even the sun isn’t moving.” Twilight said, gesturing to the sun with one of her wings for added emphasis before retracting it back to her side. She wanted nothing more than to continue her rant, to get rid of her pent up frustration. But everything she had to say would have made her sound crazy.
Apple Bloom reopened her eyes and looked up at the lavender coloured alicorn in front of her, though she kept her head low. “I just want to talk Apple Bloom, I want to know what is going on around here. If it makes it any easier just imagine I don’t have any wings or horn or whatever it is that makes you all so scared of me.”
Apple Bloom hesitantly stood back up, however she had no idea what to say.
Twilight smiled as she watched Apple Bloom get back on her hooves. ‘this is a start’ Twilight thought. “Thank you, now would you be able to tell me what happened to your sister, Applejack as well as the other bearers of the elements of harmony?”
Apple Bloom cocked her head to the side, deep in thought. “I don’t know about this ‘element of harmony’ you speak off.” Apple Bloom paused, contemplating on continuing or not. “However my sister was banished from Canterlot and any of its neighboring villages which just so happens to include Ponyville.” She continued. With each passing word she felt more confident talking.
Twilight maintained a neutral expression as she listened, not wanting to intimidate or scare the mare in front of her. “That is similar to what I read from Fluttershy’s notes. Do you know why they were banished?”
“I don’t know the full details. Though what I do know is that my sister and a few of her friends went to stop Nightmare Moon when she returned from her banishment to the moon. When they found and fought her at Everfree Castle there was…A casualty…A unicorn who studied under Day- Celestia at the time.” Apple Bloom answered.
Twilight picked up on this correction however she kept quiet, allowing Apple Bloom to continue with her story. “As I said I don’t know the full details since I was still a filly at the time. However from what I was told, the death of this unicorn broke Celestia’s heart. Overcome with grief and guilt, she vowed to avenge her protégée’s death. Blaming my sister and her friends for letting the unicorn fight Nightmare Moon by herself, she banished them, never wanting to see them again…I think the unicorns name was Twin Night, no TwiFry? Trifreight?”
“TWILIGHT!” An all too familiar stallion’s voice yelled out.
“Yeah! That’s the one!”
Hearing her name, Twilight quickly spun around to see a red stallion charging straight at her. Channeling a Teleport spell, she teleported behind him moments before impact. Missing his target, McIntosh slammed down on the edge of the bucket with his hooves, causing the apples inside to fly up into the air.
Putting his weight into his front legs, he bucked six apples in Twilight's direction when they came back down. Spreading her wings, Twilight flew to the side as the first two whizzed past her head, then up into the air as the other two narrowly missed her. Not having time to dodge the last two, she used her magic and caught the apples before letting them fall back to the ground.
“BIG MAC!" Apple Bloom scolded before turning her attention back towards Twilight. "I’m so sorry princess, please forgive this idiot of a brother of mine.” Apple Bloom apologized on her brothers behalf, who in return stared up at Twilight hovering in the air.
“I can’t believe ye have the nerve to show yer face round here.” McIntosh glared, ignoring his little sister. His usual calm and easy going demeanor gone entirely.
“What do you mean Big Mac?” Apple Bloom asked.
“She’s te reason why Applejack is banished!”
“WHAT! B-but I thought she was banished because Twilight died in a fight against Nightmare Moon?”
“Apparently Twilight lied to all of us about her death and has been quite busy over the years.” McIntosh replied, raising a hoof to point at her wings.
Apple Bloom was in shock. Everything that Big Mac and Twilight had just said made no sense to her. “Then why was she asking me what happened to them? She doesn’t even know why the sun doesn’t set!” Apple Bloom asked her brother who in return just shook his head.
“Don’t believe anythin’ she says. I don’t care if she is a princess now, I won’t let her take you away from me.” McIntosh defended as he stomped his hoof to the ground.
Twilight stayed in the air, not wanting another fight with McIntosh. She knew this was a stretch however she didn’t want to be portrayed as the villain. “If what you say is true Apple Bloom then this reality’s version of me did die against Nightmare Moon.” Twilight stated.
Twilight watched the two to see if they would say anything to object. Not hearing anything, she decided to continue. “I’m Twilight from another reality. A reality where me, your sister and our friends succeeded in our fight against Nightmare Moon by using the elements of harmony to purify her. From there, we were known as the bearers of harmony with your sister bearing the element of honesty. Two years have passed since that day and our friendship grew stronger with each passing week. I earned my ascension and became known as the princess of friendship. The reason I am in this reality is because we stopped a pony called Starlight Glimmer who stole other pony’s cutie marks. Taking revenge, she completed some kind of ancient portal spell that sucked me to this reality…as well as from what I have calculated, it sent me roughly 10 and a half years in the future, though I still don’t know what day or month it is.” Twilight explained.
“29th July.” Apple Bloom quietly replied.
“Thank you.”
“So if this Starlight wanted ya gone so badly, why didn’t she kill ya instead?” McIntosh asked, not believing a single word Twilight had spoken.
“She said she wanted me gone though she didn’t want me dead. That she would send me to a reality where for some reason or another I didn’t currently exist. And I guess that is true, since in this reality I don’t currently exist as I met my demise against Nightmare Moon.” Twilight replied, her wings getting sore from the constant hovering.
Having heard enough, McIntosh put a hoof to her sister’s side and gently pushed her towards the barn. “I don’t know what made ya come back here or what ya plan is, though you stay away from me and my little sister!” McIntosh threatened.
Apple Bloom looked up at her elder brother before looking back at Twilight, resisting her brothers pushes. “It isn’t like Applejack is gone forever, we still see her from time to time. And if what she says is true then she might be able to bring her back to Ponyville.”
McIntosh kept pushing Apple Bloom until she started to walk to the barn by herself. She looked back at Twilight one final time before disappearing inside the barn. Leaving the two of them alone.
McIntosh looked back at Twilight. “Does Daybreaker know ya still alive?” he asked coldly.
Twilight cocked her head to the side, the name not sounding familiar to her. “I don’t know who this Daybreaker is so my guess would be no.” Twilight answered.
McIntosh considered what she said before sighing. “If it means gettin’ my sister back, I’ll go to Canterlot and talk to her myself. Besides, I don’t even want to know what would happen if she found out for herself and that we didn’t tell her. Ya staying in Ponyville?” he asked.
“I’m going to be staying at Fluttershy’s Cottage in the meantime, don’t really have any other place to stay at the moment. I still have a ton of questions that need answered so I will probably continue to look and ask around Ponyville.” Twilight nodded.
McIntosh didn’t say anything in return and instead just left. Disappearing into the same barn Apple Bloom walked into earlier.
Twilight landed on the ground, glad she was finally able to rest her sore wings.
Deciding to return when the tension has died down a little, Twilight walked back to Fluttershy’s Cottage. She thought over everything both Apple Bloom and McIntosh said to her.
A lot of pieces began to fall into place, however with every question that was answered, two more took its place. Opening the door to Fluttershy’s Cottage, Twilight stepped in and closed it behind her. She was glad to know her friends were still alive, and with what Apple Bloom said earlier, they knew where Applejack was.
Not realizing how tired she really was, Twilight let out a big yawn. Walking over to the darkest corner of the room since there was no curtains to block out the light, she laid down and rested her head on her hooves.
There were numerous questions Twilight kept asking herself which prevented her from falling asleep. ’Where are my friends? Why doesn’t the sun set? Why is every pony afraid of me?’ Twilight thought, glancing to the window as the light from the sun illuminated the room. ’But most importantly, what happened to Celestia and who is this Daybreaker?’ After pondering these questions for a few minutes, Twilight eventually fell asleep.
While Twilight was asleep and after a lengthy heated discussion with Apple Bloom, McIntosh kept true to his word and took a train to Canterlot. Unlike Ponyville that remained similar to the one in Twilight’s reality, Canterlot was a different story. The amount of guards stationed around and patrolling have been increased as well as changes to their armour. The armour still kept its golden colour, however it was trimmed with an orange and yellow tint, covering more of their body and legs. Daybreaker’s orange sun cutie mark engraved in the armour that covered where their cutie mark should be as well as replacing the star insignia that was on their chest piece. Some of them even had an extra layer of protection of golden chainmail underneath.
Approaching the castle gates, a pair of stallion earth pony guards crossed their spears together, blocking McIntosh's path. “What business do you have in the castle grounds?” One of the guards demanded.
“I have urgent news that I must inform her highness about.” McIntosh replied.
“Do you have a filled in petition slip with you?” the guard replied.
McIntosh shook his head. “Nope, however this information is about the queen’s former protégée’s. Twilight Sparkle.”
The pair of guards looked at each other for a moment before nodding. “We don’t normally do this, however due to the circumstances of the topic at hoof we will allow you to enter without a permit.” The other guard said as they removed their spears, allowing McIntosh to enter.
As he walked past the guards, he was stopped again by a hoof on his shoulder. “When speaking to her majesty, I would highly recommend you choose your words wisely stallion, else they may be your last.” The guard whispered into his ear before letting go of him, allowing McIntosh to enter the castle grounds.
McIntosh had seen the castle a few times when he did supply runs to some of the stores and bakeries around here. However this was the first time he stepped hoof into the castle grounds after his sister’s banishment.
Looking around, there were two statues of Daybreaker. One where she was rearing. Bright orange armour covering her wings, hooves and chest piece that bore the same orange sun that the guards had embedded in their armor. Her crown that also served as a helmet was positioned slightly beneath her horn with a red encrusted jewel in the centre middle. She appeared to be laughing with both of her fangs visible.
The second statue was similar to the first one as she still had the same armour and helmet equipped, however the pose was different. This time she had one hoof raised slightly off the ground with her wings flared wide open behind her, a large grin on her face.
Walking past the statues, McIntosh turned his attention to the castle. Not much had changed in on itself. The only noticeable difference were the golden banners that were hung up bearing Daybreaker’s cutie mark, with her crown over the top of it as well as numerous sun logos engraved on the doorways and windows.
Stepping into the castle and following the stationed guard’s instructions. McIntosh eventually found his way to the throne room’s foyer. Ponies, both noble and common waited to be accepted to be in their Queen’s presence.
Waiting alongside the ponies, a young white coated mare with a dark brown mane, lighter shade of brown eyes with an ink pen and quill cutie mark entered the foyer from the throne room. “Dane Tee Dove, Éclair Crème, Sealed Scroll, Serenity, Burning Heart and Minuette. Your petitions have been denied and are to leave the premises immediately. Twinkle Shine your petition has been approved and have the honour of standing in front of her majesty.” The mare exclaimed, not taking her eyes off the clipboard.
The ponies who names have been called out all left without a word, however Twinkle Shine followed the young mare into the throne room. Just under half of the ponies that were here were already gone.
This process was repeated a few times. The mare whose name he discovered to be Raven Inkwell returned to the foyer, listed a bunch of names that were to be dismissed, before allowing one single pony to enter. However most of the time whenever the accepted pony came back out they were visibly upset.
McIntosh was beginning to feel more and more nervous, he had only met Daybreaker once before during his sister’s banishment and even then she was considered merciful compared to now.
Forty minutes later after everypony had been dismissed, McIntosh was the last pony in the room excluding Raven Inkwell. Since he didn’t submit a petition like every pony else, his visit wasn’t considered formal so he approached the young mare who was writing a few things down on her clipboard.
“Name?” Raven asked before McIntosh had a chance to speak.
“McIntosh.”
“McIntosh, McIntosh, McIntosh” Raven whispered to herself as she scanned her checklist while flicking through numerous pages. “Your name doesn’t seem to be on the list, I don’t know who let you in however the Queen is done with petitions for the time being, I must ask you to leave and return once you have filed the appropriate paperwork.” Raven instructed.
McIntosh nodded. “I know however I have information about her majesty’s protégée. Twilight Sparkle.” he said.
SNAP
Raven stared wide eyed at McIntosh, her quill snapped in half, the end hanging limply from the shaft. “O-one moment please.” Raven instructed before disappearing back into the throne room.
“WHAT!”
A loud voice boomed from the throne room. Shortly after Raven came back into the foyer. “You better not keep her mistress waiting.” Raven instructed, leaving the door open for McIntosh to enter.
Stepping into the throne room itself, McIntosh noticed how different it was compared to his last visit. Instead of a red carpet leading from the door way all the way up to the throne, there was a long yellowy white coloured sunbeam engraved in the ground that began at the door way and ended at a circular patch of light in front of the throne, where the ponies that had the honour of being in the queens presence were supposed to stand.
Smaller and lighter coloured sunbeams also spread evenly from the circular light patch. Which after a closer inspection seemed to represent the sun. Following the sunbeam to the light patch in the middle, McIntosh took notice of the pictures on the wall. All of them being highly detailed paintings of Daybreaker, her fanged smile being the most used expression in the various paintings.
Reaching the light patch in front of the throne, McIntosh looked at the back wall. A circular window had been installed in the top middle using stained glass that bore Daybreaker’s cutie mark. He had to squint in order to see as the sun was angled perfectly for it to be seen completely from where he was standing. It was also what created the very light patch he was currently standing on. At either side of the window, the same golden banners baring Daybreaker's cutie mark along with her jewel encrusted crown were displayed.
The throne itself had been elevated slightly and the seat was a lot flashier than it used to be. However the most that had changed with it was the pony that was sitting on it.
Daybreaker, the white coated deity with a fiery mane and tail stared as the red coated stallion approached her throne. Her amber iris and black vertical shaped pupil unblinking. Tapping her hoof against her golden armrest impatiently, she rested her head on her other hoof.
When McIntosh stopped in the light patch in front of her, she didn’t wait for him to speak like she usually did with other petitioners. “What information do you possibly have about Twilight that I do not currently possess myself.” Daybreaker asked with a bemused expression.
McIntosh bowed which caused Daybreaker to roll her eyes. “I. Won’t. Ask. Again. What do you know about Twilight?” Daybreaker snarled, bearing her fangs at McIntosh.
Getting back up on his hooves, McIntosh looked up at Daybreaker. “T-Twilights alive!” Was all he could mutter out.
Daybreaker remained motionless, those two words strong enough to put her into shock. Not getting any reply back McIntosh inched closer, though not daring to step out of the light patch he was standing on. “My Queen?” he asked.
Daybreaker leapt off her throne and landed in front of the stallion, fire in what used to be her amber eyes. “Twilight is dead. I’m the one who carried her lifeless body back to Canterlot. I’m the one who gave her a proper burial fit for a queen. And you come here, into my castle, tell me none of that actually happened and she has actually been alive for the past 12 years!” Daybreaker roared, using the royal Canterlot voice causing McIntosh to shrink to the ground, covering his ears.
McIntosh immediately regretted what he had said. The guard was right in telling him to be careful with how he chose his words. “She is my queen! I saw her just a few hours ago in Ponyville! Though she appears to be an alicorn now and calls herself the princess of friendship!” He explained a little too loudly.
Daybreaker took a step back, pondering what the stallion had said. “Explain.” She retorted, no longer using the royal Canterlot voice though anger was still evident, her eyes narrowing on the stallion.
Getting back on his hooves, he looked up at the much taller deity. “She came to ma family’s farm. Sweet Apple Acres. She talked to ma youngest sister a bit before I turned up.” He explained, leaving out the part about him attacking her. “Apparently she knows nothin’ that transpired after the Nightmare Moon fight as she claims to be a Twilight from another reality. That some ponies name I forgot wanted her out of the way, so she sent her to a reality where she doesn’t currently exist. Which just so happened to be this one since this realities Twilight met her demise against Nightmare Moon.”
Daybreaker winced at the last part, however McIntosh didn’t stop his explanation in fear that she would hurt him if he did. “When I asked her if ya knew she was still alive, she said she didn’t know who a pony called ‘Daybreaker’ was so no. She doesn’t even know why the sun doesn’t set either and wanted to know what happened to her friends, the ones that accompanied her on her journey to stop Nightmare Moon.”
“Why would she care about those incompetent fools that failed to protect her, the ones that left her to fight my sister alone?”
McIntosh gritted his teeth at how she talked about his sister, however he didn’t let his frustration show. “As I explained she is from another reality. A reality where they succeeded in their fight against Nightmare Moon and purified her by using something called ‘the elements of harmony.” He explained.
All doubt that Daybreaker had about his story vanished when he mention the elements of harmony. A secret that was only known to herself and Twilight. “So my little Twily is really back?” Daybreaker asked in a soft tone. Tears welling up in her eyes however they were quickly evaporated from the heat her body produced.
“You said you saw her hours ago, where is she now?” Daybreaker demanded, her softer side gone almost instantly.
“She said she was going to stay in Ponyville in the meantime. She is currently living in Fluttershy’s abandoned cottage outside Everfree Forest since she doesn’t have any other place to live at the moment. She also said that she had a bunch of stuff she still needed to do, which I’m assuming is mostly to find out where her friends ran off to and what’s happening around here. So if ya wish to find her then waiting there would be your best bet.”
“Is there anything else she explained that you have not yet mentioned?” Daybreaker asked, raising an eyebrow.
McIntosh thought to himself out loud. “Ascension, another dimension, purified, Fluttershy’s Cottage, friend’s banishment…Oh yes! As well as being transported to another dimension, she’d also been sent into the future by roughly over ten years. So for her it has been somewhere between two to three years since the fight with Nightmare Moon while it has been twelve for us.” he explained.
“Interesting, is there anything else?” Daybreaker pressed further.
With a nod the stallion bowed again. “Ya banished Applejack and her friends due to their incompetence in protecting Twilight. However since she is alive now, would ye be able to lift this banishment so that she may return to us?” he asked.
Daybreaker smirked, knowing the stallion wouldn’t have come all the way out here just to inform her without getting anything in return. “I will consider it when I see Twilight for myself, in the meantime. GUARDS!” Daybreaker called out. The doors to the throne room opened and two armoured pegasi entered the room and bowed. “Escort this stallion to the dungeons, oh and make sure he is fed. I wouldn’t want him to have already starved to death if I find out he’s been lying to me.”
The guards bowed once more as they escorted McIntosh out of the throne room. “Raven!” Daybreaker called out.
The young white mare rushed into the room. “Yes my queen?” Raven asked panting lightly.
“Cancel or delay any plans that have been made over the next 24 hours, I’m heading out of Canterlot for a while.”
“Of course Mistress, shall I arrange an armed escort as well as a method of travel to your destination?” Raven asked with a new quill in hoof.
Daybreaker walked past the mare, Raven following closely behind. “No, I must do this myself.” Daybreaker replied, exiting the castle and stepping out into the gardens.
“Where will you be going and when shall I be expecting you back?” Raven asked again.
Daybreaker spread her legs and wings, preparing for take off. “Ponyville and whenever I feel like it.” Daybreaker responded before flapping her wings down, launching herself into the air before flying in the direction of Ponyville.
“I’m coming, my faithful student!”