Prologue
A shadow of an earth pony stallion stood over a massive battle filled with blood, fighting, and screams. He watched confidently, there were none who could see or notice him, even if they looked in the direction he was at. The battlefield below him was Ponyville, the citizens had been safely evacuated, but that didn't mean there weren't any casualties. A destroyed and derailed train laid a few kilometers from the town, the first thing destroyed in the attack.
The stallion cloaked in shadows floated high above, watching intently as two figures clashed violently, both staring at each other with hate and determination, only one would survive this battle, neither was going to let the other live.
"Hmm..." the stallion said to himself, his voice was very methodical, and seemed to lack any emotion, "She just might be the mare I need. Her convictions and motivations are well suited to what I need."
The Stallion watched closely until the bloody battle finally came to an end, finally ending the war. He smirked as he watched the victor. He had indeed found what he had been looking for....
Chapter 1: Verse
Twilight opened her eyes to a blinding light, "Ugh!" She muttered, before letting her eyes adjust. The first thing she noticed was that her connection to hive had vanished. There was only silence in her head. She could not feel any of her hive anywhere. Where is my hive? she thought in a panic. Better yet, where was she? This didn't make any sense, there was just whiteness all around her. She stumbled to her hooves. "Hello?" She called, before suddenly hearing the sound of hoofsteps approach. She flicked her ears toward the direction that she heard them. Slowly, from the whiteness emerged a young stallion earth pony who couldn't have been more than 20 years old, about her age.
The stallion had a dark grey coat and a mane crimson as blood itself. However, that was not the peculiar part of this pony, for on his flank was that of a mark of a spyralling galaxy, that spun ever so slowly in place. Last time Twilight checked, cutie marks did not move like that, in fact she had never heard cutie mark that could move. However, what caught her even more off guard was his eyes. They were both pure black, with what looked like stars twinkling within, as if she were looking up at the night sky on a clear summer night.
Before she could ask who he was, the stallion spoke. "Greetings, Twilight Sparkle, Queen of the Changelings, daughter of Queen Chrysalis." He spoke in a serious tone. The changeling queen before him widened her eyes, only now did she realize she was still in her pony form. A green flame engulfed her as she changed back into her true changeling form.
She eyed him suspiciously, "Who are you and how do you know who i am? And where am I?" She asked, taking a defensive stance. The Stallion blinked once before replying, "Worry not, you are in no danger here. As where you are...well, this is my home, Nowhere. As for how I know you, it is simple, I have been watching you." He said in matter of fact voice, with no emotions that she could gleam from him.
A million questions flooded her mind, however she took a deep breath and asked the most important question on her mind, "What do you mean watching me?" She asked accusingly, still not trusting the stranger before her.
The strange stallion smirked, "I can traverse all of time and space. I can peer into any moment and world I wish. My job is to...correct mistakes and flaws that occur by utilizing the correct tools needed to solve whatever particular problem I may be facing."
"Are you saying I'm a flaw?" She asked her horn staring to light up with lavender magic, not trusting the earth pony that stood before her.
"No, Queen Twilight, you are not a flaw. In fact, you hopefully are one of the right tools I need to fix a very troubling problem..." He then paused before adding, "And I wouldn't attack if I were you. I am far more powerful than all of the changeling queens and alicorn princesses combined. It would be a fool's mistake to throw away what I am about to give you..."
"T-Tool..?" She asked, not sure if she liked the sound of that. She observed him intensely, trying to identify any signs of lying or bluffing, but there were none. A growing pit in her stomach told it would indeed be a mistake if she attacked this mysterious stallion, something about his gaze implied she would not survive for long if she did.
She gulped back her fear, letting the magic in her horn fade away before continuing with her questions, "What do you mean? I am not just some tool for you to mani-" She was stopped in mid sentence as the stallion put a single hoof on her lips. "Please don't get the wrong idea. I need you, yes, but I don't mean to imply that I want to use you as a pawn or slave. Please, that is not my intention." Twilight stepped back as the stallion finally showed some emotion, his eyes shown with worry and sorrow, seeming to plead for Twilight to understand. "I need your help, I need someone like you to help fix this grave flaw in multiverse..."
Twilight sighed, still unsure, "If you are so powerful, why don't you just fix it yourself?" She asked, "What can I do that you can't?" The solemn stallion looked down with a sigh.
"It is true, I can traverse all of time and space and can change the course of history if I so choose, and I can create or destroy universes if necessary, but...Time, and the Multiverse, are such delicate things, and if not handled properly, more harm can come than good." He paused with an apologetic look, "Sometimes, to solve a problem, you need the right pony, and I...am not always the right pony needed to correct things. That is why I need somebody like you, tools and extensions to act where I cannot. To fix what I cannot, at least not on my own..."
Twilight was quiet for a moment, taking in all that he said. But before she gave her reply, something occurred to her, and she asked him yet another question, "W-Wait! What of my hive? Are they safe?!"
The Stallion nodded.
Suddenly tears of relief swelled in the changeling queen's eyes, "T-Then...return them to me now! You have no right to take them from me!" She demanded.
The stallion stuttered, "I certainly will not! I haven't taken them. It is you whom I have taken. You--" but he was cut off when Twilight snarled, not caring if the stallion before her could snuff her out in an instant, "No!! You will return me to my hive and friends or else I won't do it!" She demanded.
The stallion was silent for a moment before sighing. "Fine. I will return you home...." He paused just as a look of relief washed over the changeling queen's face, "But if--ONLY if--you help me fix these problems and do as I ask. Only after our work is done will I do it, NOT before. Do you understand?"
Twilight bit her lip, but reluctantly nodded, seeing no other choice.
The stallion then beckoned her to follow, "Come, we have much work to do, but first I must test you, to see if you are indeed what I need..."
As Queen Twilight followed him she paused, "W-Wait!! You never told me your name!" She called from behind him.
The stallion answered without stopping or turning to look, "You may call me......Verse."