//------------------------------//
// 17 Replacement Parts 
// Story: This Time for Good 
// by iisaw 
//------------------------------//

Three doctors gathered around a thaumic scan of Windfall's body and made a variety of non-committal noises.

"Her bones are healing well," one of them said. It was obvious to all of them, and he knew it was obvious, but the observation gave them all a welcome opportunity to make some sort of supportable comments about the glowing image that hung in the air over their puzzling patient.

What none of them had the slightest clue about was the large, growing mass deep within her right shoulder. They were all fairly certain what it wasn't. It wasn't a cancerous mass or a cyst. Too fast-growing for that. It wasn't a hematoma. Too solid for that.

At last the doctor who specialized in magical illnesses spoke up. "The original set of scans showed something in the same location, didn't they? A bone fragment, I believe?" she asked the stallion next to her. He was an osteopath who had been on ER duty the night the ambulance had arrived. 

He nodded. "Looked like a bone chip from her avian scapula. Might have been spalled off by whatever it was that caused the deep puncture. Considering her other injuries it was a minor thing. We decided not to cause more trauma by trying to remove it."

The Thaumopath nodded as she spoke and then ventured a wild speculation. "Perhaps the chip is misguiding her flight magic somehow, and that's causing the growth? There is some aural dispersion here." She poked her hoof at the scan where little filaments of light seemed to emanate from the dark blob.

"Wouldn't that be normal on a pegasus wing?"

"Only if she were awake and thinking about flying."

"Maybe she was dreaming of flying at the time the scan was taken?"

The Thaumopath rolled her eyes at the younger doctor. "Induced coma. She can't dream." He should have known better.

"Ah. Well." He cleared his throat. "So—another surgery, then? Remove the mass and the chip at the same time?"

The Osteopath spoke up again. "That mass is a very large chunk of tissue to remove, and will impact quite a lot of the muscle surrounding it. I would suggest a targeted teleport of the chip, and insertion of a couple stents to drain the area. Without the influence of magic, the growth may shrink on its own, or at least respond to typical treatments."

"I think it's worth a try." The Thaumopath glanced up at the clock on the wall. "We can schedule her for tomorrow afternoon if you're free to assist me?"

He nodded. "I only have one consultation, and I can move that easily enough if need be. Shouldn't be more than an hour or so, right?"

She nodded. "Let's hope this works, because otherwise, I'm stumped."

Windfall had been unshackled and moved into a nice private room, after Twilight had assured the Guard and the hospital staff that the pegasus had been aiding rather than opposing her. She was hooked up to the usual sort of monitors, somewhat advanced and smaller than those used in Twilight's time, and a nurse stopped by her room every couple of hours to do a visual check.

The nurse that came on duty at midnight was working her way down the corridor, peeping in at each doorway when the explosion hit.


= = =


Twilight had a bitter-sweet day, visiting with old friends and acquaintances in the hospital lounge. She felt physically much better and strolled up and down the open air terrace that adjoined the lounge when Fluttershy and Discord showed up.

"No really, Twilight!" Discord said as he related the more interesting (from his point of view) aspects of her disappearance. "Bowling balls, bombs, balloon bazookas! The Twilight you describe doesn't sound like she had much of a sense of humor. Are you sure I wasn't around somewhere in this distinct dystopia?"

Twilight winced a bit. "No. Nopony but her."

"Well, that sounds boring!"

On impulse, she threw her forelegs sound Discord's middle and gave him a fierce hug. "It was. It really, really was!"

Discord and Fluttershy exchanged glances. For once, the draconequis was at a loss for words.

The arrival of the crystal air chariot carrying Cadance, Shining Armor, and their family cut the stroll, and the conversation short.

Twilight spent the rest of the day catching up with her family. Cadence was slightly more mature looking, and Shiny had gone gray, but it was an aristocratic silver-gray that made him look elegant and distinguished rather than old, and he seemed to be quite fit for his age. Flurry Heart was… Well, stunning was the only word Twilight could think of, and Golden Shield was a handsome young stallion who tried very hard to cover his natural exuberance beneath proper courtly manners, and mostly succeeded. The Crystal Empire was in very good hooves, it seemed.

Someone had arranged for a sumptuous gourmet meal to be brought in for them all at dinnertime. Among the silver serving dishes was a pink, grease-stained paper box that had "Twilite" scrawled on it in blue marker. 

When Twilight opened it to find three double-decker burgers and a huge mound of hay fries, all thoughts of blue ribbon cuisine went out of her head, and she barely restrained herself from plunging her muzzle right into the box. Nopony present admitted to ordering the Ox Box from Perfect Grill's Burger Palace, but Twilight strongly suspected Pinkie's hoof in the business.

The after-dinner conversation slowly wound down. Twilight, exhausted from a day of extroverting and stuffed with a heavy meal, began to lose the struggle to keep her eyes open. Her family said their goodbyes and promised to return the next day, and a nurse led Twilight back to her room, where Spike was already curled up by her bed. When all was said and done, she got a good two hours sleep before the side of the hospital erupted in a shower of glass and marble.


= = =


"What happened? Where is Windfall?" Twilight demanded as she shoved her way through the crowd in the half ruined corridor. "Is any pony hurt?"

If she had been an ordinary pony, the medics and guards on the scene would have told her to stand back and let them do their work. As it was, Twilight unconsciously used her "princess-who-is-getting-stuff-done" voice and cleared the corridor of rubble and debris in a split-second burst of magic. The ponies present were actually a bit relieved to have somepony unequivocally take charge.

"The nurse got knocked croup over poll, but she's okay, and we moved the patients in the adjoining rooms out," an intern told her. "But the pony in that room?" He cleared his throat nervously. "There isn't even a floor in there, anymore."

Twilight looked through the doorway and saw that the skittish pony wasn't indulging in hyperbole. The floor of the room ended a few spans inside the threshold and the outside wall was completely gone.

"We're lucky there are only storage rooms under this floor or—"

The intern was interrupted by the approach of a flight of pegasus guards, scanning the damage with their searchlights from outside. At the same time, a squad of heavily armored guards came down the staircase and caught sight of Twilight and Spike.

"Princess Twilight!" The guard lieutenant called out to her. "We have orders from Her Highness to make sure that you are secure."

Windfall had once told Twilight a darkly humorous story about the conflicting definitions of "secure" that the different branches of service used. Judging from the lieutenant's tone of voice, she thought it highly likely that these ponies used a definition that she wouldn't much care for.

Then, the lieutenant produced a large, thick suppressor ring and removed all doubt.

The sound of Spike's knuckles popping as he squeezed his hands into fists was like hammer blows on granite.

Twilight took the iron ring in her magic, squeezed it down into a small, perfect sphere, and returned it to the lieutenant's magic field. "You may tell Her Highness that I am quite secure, thank you. Oh, and be careful with that. It's very hot." She stepped to the edge of the ruined floor and spread her wings. "Now, you will have to excuse us, but we need to find my friend."

Spike followed her out into the night and the pegasus patrol got out of their way without protest.

Twilight quickly searched the rubble that lay scattered at the base of the wall. There was no body. There was no blood. Twilight scanned the area for magical traces. The hospital itself was lit up like a Hearthswarming decoration, as was half the city, but there was one strong trail that led away in a wide climbing turn. The mana was ragged and uneven, but despite that, it had a familiar feel.

"No!" Twilight hissed in a furious whisper. "Not her. Not again."

The trail was almost undetectable by the time they followed it up to the cavern opening on the side of the Canterhorn. In the future, it had been expanded and fronted by a large, luxurious building, but in the time of Princess Sunrise Aura, it was only covered by a granite arch and a heavy oak double door.

Or, it had been. The arch was still present when Twilight and Spike arrived, but all that was left of the doors were a few splintered planks dangling from twisted iron hinges. Magical light flickered from within the cavern.

As Twilight paused, trying to assess just what the situation was before plunging in, three flights of armed pegasus guards surrounded her. One of them with a captain's insignia on his armor ordered her to land immediately.

"There is a monster in that cave that could level the entire city without blinking!" Twilight angrily shouted at the captain. She didn't actually know that for certain, but she would have been willing to bet her wings on it. "I'm the only chance you've got against her!"

Spike dipped near enough to her to whisper, "Those tubes are sneeze-pollen throwers. They can take me out if they get a good hit. I won't be able to fly or fight if I can't see or breathe."

Twilight nodded and wrenched the dozen or so weapons off the harnesses of the specialist pegasi. The tubes crumpled and dropped out of sight.

"You dare to attack my guards? I knew I shouldn't have trusted you!" came an imperious, outraged voice from behind and above them.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Oh boy, here we go!"

Twilight didn't even bother looking back when she called out, "If you can fight, then help us. If you can't, then stay out of the way—" There was only the slightest of pauses before she added, "—Your Highness."

However that black-hearted mare has done it, it has taken her some time, Twilight thought. That may mean that she isn't at full strength yet, and every moment I delay will only let her get stronger.

A huge blast of magical force erupted from behind, and sizzled downward at her and Spike. It twisted and fragmented as she almost reflexively added disruptive resonance to it. The pegasi around her cried out as the discordant wave of mana briefly interfered with their flight magic. Spike made a retching sound.

"We're going in!" Twilight called to her brother. "Watch my back, and land as soon as we get inside. I may have to do that again, and it'll probably be worse."

"Gotcha," Spike said.

They dived for the cavern's entrance. Spike caught the edges of the doorway in his claws and spun himself around to face the charging pegasi. He spit a long streamer of green flame to warn them away and yelled, "You're covered, Twi!"

Twilight skidded to a landing on the smooth stone floor of the cavern, facing the large dark figure that hunched over the glowing mass of blue crystals near the rear wall. She could sense the complex spell building up and the feeding loop being connected to the massive power stored in the crystals.

"Oh, no you don't," she growled between her clenched teeth, and hit the matrix with a strong disruptive blast.

Nothing happened.

A low and raspy chuckle came from the twisted silhouette in front of the crystals. "Do you think you are the only pony in existence who can duplicate a spell after seeing it done once?" The laugh that followed sounded torturous, as if it came from a terribly damaged throat. "Well… Maybe you are."

Twilight tried again. She didn't expect it to work, but she paid careful attention to what happened to her spell. The disruptive, unequal "legs" she added to the matrix immediately balanced out at a light touch of mana from the monster.

"You're a genius, Twilight Sparkle—but so am I," The thing gave a choking laugh once again. "Of course."

From behind her, Twilight heard several heavy impacts and another burst of dragon fire, along with some cries of pain. She had no time to waste. She had to know what she was dealing with. She cast a ball of light high overhead to illuminate the scene and almost screamed.

It was Windfall.

It was The Monster.

It was both, one growing out of the other.

Twilight's first thought was that her evil future self was consuming Windfall somehow, using the body of the pegasus to build one of her own. During the three deep breaths it took to push her incandescent rage and horror to the back of her mind, Twilight saw that this was not the case. It looked as if the two were fused somehow and were slowly being separated.

She had no idea what sort of magic was at work, but she realized that her friend might survive it. Might—under the right conditions. Twilight lit her horn and passed a beam over the two of them.  The Monster didn't interfere with the passive scan, and kept working on her own complex spell.

"You won't find a weakness, you know," the other alicorn rasped. "You don't have enough time, and even as—unfinished as I am, I am still strong enough to fend you off for long enough to escape into your past, particularly when I can now harmonize or de-harmonize magic at will. Clever little spell, that. I wonder why I never thought of it?"

"Back to before I was born, I assume?" Twilight tried to keep her voice calm, but more than a little of a snarl crept in.

"Oh, no!" The thing gave a nearly normal laugh. "Not quite. Just before Luna's return, I think. Little Twilight and her friends go into the Everfree, and out they come with the ascended Alicorn Princess! I imagine the kingdom will stumble over its hooves to replace foolish old Celestia."

Twilight thought furiously for several moments and then she relaxed and stood tall, her face relaxing into a neutral expression.

"Well, if I can't hurt you, I suppose I should help you."

The three simultaneous, astonished cries might have been humorous at any other time. 

Spike lay sprawled out on the cavern floor, stuck to it with some substance that looked like slightly glowing amber. "Sorry, Twi. I couldn't hold the Princess off any longer. You're not really going to help that thing, are you?"

Princess Sunrise Aura stood on the cavern floor, her legs splayed and shaking with exhaustion. Her mane and coat were in terrible disarray and slightly singed. Her crown hung over one ear. "You villain! What evil are you plotting? I will—"

Twilight's horn blazed and the Princess found herself encased in a huge lavender crystal that also blocked the doorway and held the pegasi guards at bay.

Twilight's elder self managed to combine an expression of surprise with a condescending sneer. "Help me? Are you mad? I won't spare you, you know."

"I know." Twilight nodded. "But even if I can't stop you, I can give you the strength to easily separate from my friend. She might survive this, at least."

The ancient alicorn paused, considering. "There's no way you can disrupt this spell." She jerked her head at the other head that hung loosely by her side from a nearly separated neck.

Twilight sighed. "I know. Every approach I could think of had a high chance of harming my friend and a nearly zero chance of doing anything useful. Windfall doesn't deserve to die. Let me lend you my strength."

Her horn began to glow and a tendril of magic floated over and touched the conjoined ponies. The Monster scowled suspiciously, but when her pain lessened and the process of separation sped up, she relaxed. 

It was like watching a double-exposure film speeding up. Within moments, the alicorn stood, free and whole, on her own legs.

The pegasus dropped limply to the floor, unconscious, but breathing steadily.

"I can't believe you helped her, Twi!" Spike shouted as he wrenched at the amber goo, trying to free himself.

"I had to, Spike," Twilight said and she took several smooth steps to the side and carefully positioned herself. "I didn't want to hurt Windfall when I attacked."

The Monster actually smiled. "I knew it! You idiot! You can't hurt me!"

Twilight smiled back and said, "We'll see." Her horn blazed into life, a sizzling sphere, shot through with scintillating rays of heat blossomed at its tip. Flakes of granite spalled off the cavern walls where the rays struck them and a howling vortex of burning air spun the thaumic pressure barrier into a blinding whirlwind.

The Monster sneered. "The more power you put into it, the worse the backlash will be for you, fool!"  Her own sword-like horn lit. Just a light shimmer of aura surrounded it before the de-harmonizing magic lashed out and struck Twilight's spell.

The blast shook the mountain. The twisting and ripping of shattered thaumic pulses crushed Twilight to the floor and shattered both the imprisoning crystal and the sticky amber that held Sunrise and Spike prisoner.

The Monster had just enough time to begin a triumphant smile before her entire body blazed into an inferno of burning tissue. She died before she could even begin to feel any pain, and there was nothing left of her but a smoking pile of ash.

Twilight tried to climb to her hooves, coughed, and fell. Spike caught her before she could hit the floor and cradled her in his arms. 

Princess Sunrise Aura shook her way out of a big pile of crystal shards, and looked around for her crown. She unsteadily settled it onto her head before turning to gesture for the pegasus squad to stand down.

"What… Pardon me, Princess Twilight but… I could feel how strong she was, and yet you… How did you do that?"

Twilight grinned at her. "You think I could overwhelm an ancient evil alicorn? No, that's Elements of Harmony territory! You see… I had help."

"H-help? But who…?"

Twilight insisted that Spike put her down and then she used a light touch of her magic to clear the dense smoke over the pile of ashes.

"C'mon out and take a bow—Twilight."

A tall, elegant alicorn stepped out of the darkness of the cavern. She was smiling softly. "You certainly had a good deal of confidence in me, Little Twi."

Sunrise gaped at her. "You… You're Twilight! I mean…"

The tallest alicorn in the room laughed. "I am! Just a bit older, and hopefully wiser."

"I… I don't understand." The young monarch seemed to be on the verge of tears.

Twilight gestured to the ashes with her horn. "She was me, too. She was going to go back into the past and reshape the world to her liking. Why can't I do the same?"

"I thought of it just as soon as she revealed her plan," the elder Twilight said. "Spike asked me why I just didn't go back to the time I disappeared, and I explained that it would change the world too much for the timestream to persist into this future if I went back and became Princess of Equestria. But the Hocking's Exclusion Principle would work just fine—"

"—if I went back and didn't become monarch," The lesser of the Twilight's finished. "Twenty five years living incognito gave me the time to grow stronger and find a way around the re-harmonizing magic!"

Big and little Twilghts gave each other a hoof bump.

Princess Sunrise swayed a bit on her hooves. "It… it's so strange and complex. She's you, but from the future?"

"Uhmn… No, she's from… Well, now, actually," the shorter of the two Twilights explained. "I'll use the crystals to go back in time and prepare for tonight. Then I'll be her. I sneak in through a secret tunnel—" She paused and looked up at her larger self. "Diamond dogs?"

The big alicorn nodded. "Quite nice, when you get to know them."

"And then, I'll be in the perfect position to ambush—myself."

"I… I'm…" The confused royal princess swayed so much that everypony thought she was going to fall over. A pegasus guard put out a hoof to steady her.

Spike chuckled. "If you're going to hang around Twilight for any length of time, you'll get used to this sort of stuff," he said, kindly.


= = =


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