//------------------------------// // Twilight Truth part two // Story: Ruining Harmony // by Artaelian //------------------------------// Fireshot silently got lost in own self-pity, somewhat ignoring the fact that Twilight Sparkle was still standing right in front of him. “I’m sorry,” Twilight finally spoke up, trying to make sense of what he said. “I don’t quite get what you mean by…” She hesitated. “By this being your fault.” Fireshot sighed, and remained silent for several seconds. He finally sighed and looked at her eyes. “Under other circumstances, I would loathe to ask a mare to help me walk, but my pride is gone. So please, help me return to Canterlot,” he pleaded. Twilight frowned at having her comment being basically ignored, but reminded herself that these were other times. He seemed to be the kind of pony who normally doesn’t asks for help, like what Applejack used to be. She could tell that things really had gone badly. “Alright, but first, please tell me why you are blaming yourself for whatever happened,” Twilight responded. “And while you're doing so, please tell me what happened. I only want to help.” Once more, another moment of silence passed, before he spoke up. “We fought Discord, but he easily won. He placed a curse on me, and then threw me far from his citadel. Now please, help me return home,” Fireshot replied. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the fact only part of her request had been responded to, but it fast became clear that Fireshot had no intention of responding to the first part. She sighed in defeat, hoping that he would open up to her later on. She walked to his side, and used her magic to lift and hold Fireshot up, so that he could walk with her magic keeping him upright. -- They eventually left the burning forest, that as far as Twilight could tell, was where the battle against Discord had ended at. Dejectedly, Fireshot explained the battle had begun at Discord’s throne of chaos deep in his citadel, but when Discord had grown bored of the three colts using his own chaotic artifacts as shields, he had teleported them all to the forest and finally used his full strength. It made Twilight feel glad that Discord had been too confident on his escape in the future, and that he had given himself no chance of unleashing his true power. “I have a question for you,” Fireshot paused, only then realising he hadn’t asked for her name. “Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight filled in her name for him. “Does it matter anymore if you tell me what will come to pass? What will happen to me is clear, I won’t have time to tell anypony else and change the path of the future.” he questioned. Twilight paused for a moment, thinking of all the possible consequences of telling Fireshot the full truth. She looked him in the eyes, noting that it looked like his life was leaving him, and she sighed. “Fine. The truth is, until Fluttershy returned from this time, nopony in the future had ever heard of you. I don’t know why this is, but the history we learnt was pretty clear, your hope of defeating Discord was not how history went in the future,” she paused to look at Fireshot. He hardly seemed surprised now, looking even more depressed than he had been just a moment before. “It was with Applejack that the events you are living through that made things hard. Applejack hates telling lies, so for her to not tell you who does defeat Discord was a strain on her. In truth, I had hoped that you three had simply wished not to be mentioned in history, and the ones who will defeat Discord would have arrived to help. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.” “And what of Fluttershy? What did she think about our fates?” Fireshot asked. “She hoped the same as well, she’ll probably be upset that you met this fate instead,” Twilight admitted. “Why are you even worried about the fate of a colt that lived a thousand years previously?” Fireshot pondered, smiling very weakly, and collapsing to the floor as Twilight dropped her magic. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to drop you,” she begun to apologize, but Fireshot held up a hoof. “Do not worry, it is Discord’s power, magic has begun to falter, and unless someone finds a way to stop him, Equestria will be gone in the next day.” Fireshot informed her. -- Slowly, Twilight aided Fireshot and led him towards his intended goal. It hadn’t surprised her when he said that he wanted to return to Canterlot, as Fluttershy and Applejack learnt, this was where he had lived. It took a few hours before it came into sight. Both night and day passed multiple times as the two unicorns walked. Fireshot motioned towards a nearby hill, where he sat down, his gaze falling on Canterlot. Twilight saw his eyes focus one moment, only to become distant the next, suggesting he was in much worse shape now. “I failed them,” Fireshot spoke softly, “I promised we would return, Discord slain, and a new era of peace would follow in our wake. Instead, I return the defeated, companions destroyed, and Discord not just still in charge, but now very much angry.” “Fireshot,” Twilight spoke up, but Fireshot did not turn his head to look at her, “you know everything will be fine. If they didn’t go ok in the end, I couldn’t be here right now.” she stated. Fireshot didn’t smile. His eyes glazed over, looking towards Canterlot while Fireshot himself was focused on his thoughts. He let out a sigh, then turned his head slightly. “I know they will be fine, but tonight, friends will learn of their friends deaths, mothers shall learn their little colts have died, nothing will be the same. How can I go back and tell them that Discord intends to march towards Canterlot and lay waste to the city to show what happens to those who rebel against him?” Twilight was at a loss for words. She didn’t know much of the time Discord ruled Equestria, aside from that he had done so, and made life miserable for his own pleasure. “I don’t know how you’ll tell them, but right now, I just have to know what you plan to do.” Twilight replied, walking over to Fireshot. “I still need to think about it. Come, no point in putting this off.” Fireshot said, lifting himself up with painful groans. -- Twilight felt uneasy as she saw the guards at the Canterlot gates. At first, their expressions betrayed no emotions, but as they soon realised who was approaching, they could no longer retain an emotionless view of what stood before them. Almost as one, the guards at the gate ran towards Fireshot. Their weapons were pointed at Twilight, as they separated her from Fireshot. “What happened to you?” one of them asked Fireshot, as three guards backed Twilight to a wall, their spears pointed at her throat. “Discord, we lost. I probably don’t have much longer.” Fireshot replied, barely able to stand. “And who is the purple mare?” the same guard asked. “A kind soul who found me among the burning ruins of the battle sight. She helped me back here willingly.” Fireshot rasped, attempting to catch his breath now he was not used to speaking so much and as fast. At his words, the spears left the close proximity of Twilight’s neck, allowing her to breath a sigh of relief. She watched as the guard who had been speaking to Fireshot now approached her. “Sorry for the misunderstanding, troublesome times. I thank you for aiding Fireshot. Prehaps you can tell me all you know of the situation?” the guard asked. “I found him close to burning trees. He told me Discord had teleported him there before defeating him. All he told me on the way back is that Discord plans to attack Canterlot soon, possibly tomorrow.” Twilight answered. The guards all looked at each other uneasy, taking in the information. The one that had just spoken to Twilight now faced all the others and made a few gestures with his hooves. This, it transpired, was a silent command, as most of the guards left in an orderly fashion. “And what of Fireshot? What ails him?” the guard asked again. “He said Discord cursed him, but he hasn't told me what the curse was, I’m quite good with spells, if I knew, I could try to find a counteracting spell.” Twilight replied. “Fireshot wouldn’t say if he knew there was nothing that could save him,” the guard sighed, “maybe it’d be best you aid him to his house until his hour comes. If what you said is true, I have an impending battle to prepare for.” he bowed, turning away from Twilight and walking away with the rest of the guard. Behind the guard, the townsponies had slowly approached. One at the front caught her attention, a pegasi that had lost both of her hind legs and was clearly in the last stages of pregnancy, she was being assisted in a chair by what looked like a nurse. The eyes of the guards all fell on her as the chair with nailed on wheels was rolled up towards Fireshot. She was stopped nearby, tears forming in her eyes. “What happened Fireshot? Where is my husband?” she asked in a voice so soft, it would make Fluttershy’s own voice sound like shouting. “Madam, if I may,” a guard tried to interject and answer on Fireshot’s behalf, but Rainflower glared at the guard, who backed away. Fireshot took a deep breath, and let out a heavy sigh, before looking Rainflower in the eyes. “As far as I know, he and Forest Breeze were slain, Discord did not leave bodies behind,” he paused as Rainflower let out a horrified gasp at the news confirming her worst fears, “I am sorry, I tried to save him.” A silence filled the area as the crowd of townsponies took in the news of the defeat. It only took ten seconds before the silence was shattered by Rainflower, who begun to cry loudly with emotional pain. All ponies gathered simply stood silent, looking at Rainflower as she cried. Twilight walked over to Fireshot, who stood up, and looked at her. “Lead me to the caves at the back of the town, I’ve done enough harm to them all, it is time I went to rest.” he said calmly. -- The caves that Fireshot led himself and Twilight to were the remains of a mining operation carried out by unicorns for the gems in the mountains. As such, as Twilight marveled at the large cave system, she could see barely anything remained. In the middle of the first cave chamber, Fireshot sat, his breathing had become raspy. He watched Twilight, keeping an eye on her to make sure she left as she had agreed on entering the cave with him. “It’s time you left, Twilight Sparkle. I fear I shan’t be around much longer, and it is not something for your eyes to witness.” Fireshot spoke softly. Twilight spun around and looked at Fireshot sadly, but she reluctantly did as he said. Any attempt by her to change his fate would change the future, or possibly create a paradox. Slowly, she trotted out of the cave and sat beside the entrance, and did what she always did. She thought. ‘Something isn’t quite right about all this,’ she glanced up, and saw a white unicorn with a pink mane approaching, ‘Starswirl created a time travel spell, and it allowed for a one off casting. Whoever is trying to corrupt the Elements has been able to cast the spell at least three times into the distant past, at various weekly or daily intervals.’ She paused her thinking, noticing the white unicorn mare had stopped beside her. Twilight looked at her, but neither spoke. After ten seconds, the mare entered the cave, glancing back at Twilight. ‘The question is how powerful this pony is, if they even are a pony in the first place. To break a rule of magic concerning time travel would need immense power, no ordinary unicorn could cast it. And if they’re a normal unicorn, what toll is it taking on them? I need to find the answer and quick, what if they plan to use the Elements to take over Equestria?’ Twilight glanced to her side towards the cave entrance as the mare turned up again. The mare cast a spell, looked again at Twilight, and disappeared back inside the cave. Twilight turned her head to look in the direction the mare had faced, and now watched as a smaller dark blue unicorn ran towards the cave. This mare paid Twilight no attention at all, but was carrying a simple dark wood box in her magic as she ran into the cave and out of sight. Twilight stared at the cave entrance. A split second later she had to cover her eyes from a sudden blinding light. Instinctively, she ran and hid behind a tree, her jaw hanging loose as she recognized what had just taken place. The white and blue unicorn mares, the wooden box that seemed important, and the blinding light. Twilight quickly deduced that the box had contained the Elements of Harmony, the past versions anyway, and they had just been used. Sneaking a look from around the tree, Twilight watched as the white and blue mare stepped out of the cave and used their magic to close the very rock of the mountain. She looked to their flanks and mentally gasped. The white mare’s cutie mark was of a sun, while the blue mare’s was the moon. But it didn’t seem possible, they couldn’t be the past versions of Celestia and Luna, they had wings in the future. A smile was slowly forming on Twilight’s face as she was contemplating that possibility. Before she could think any further, a blue unicorn colt flashed into existence near the pair. That blue unicorn had dropped an invisibility spell, bucked them in the face and grabbed the wood box with his magic. With a quick self-satisfied grin, the unicorn begun to run away. ‘I can’t let him get away with the elements! If those don’t get to Celestia and Luna, they won’t have any way of defeating Discord!’ Twilight thought to herself. She ran to the apparent past versions of the princesses, checking quickly if they were fine, and gave chase. The unicorn had a head start on Twilight, and every time she tried to gain ground, he glanced over his back, glared, and teleported further ahead himself. Twilight’s legs were burning from the overuse, but her face was filled with determination. ‘I just have to get the elements back, or there won’t be a future!’