//------------------------------//
// Chapter 32 
// Story: A Different Viewpoint of Equestria 
// by Christopher28 
//------------------------------//

Johnathon found himself hyperfocusing on everything as the trees got taller and taller around them, blocking out the sun.  The crunch of hooves on fallen leaves, of bodies moving quietly past bushes and through grass... even the faint creak from armor moving caught his attention as they moved through the forest.  There were faint murmurs of conversation as well, but for the most part, everypony was relatively quiet.  Even Pinkie Pie had kept mostly silent, being remarkably subdued, at least for Pinkie.  Concerned, Johnathon glanced back at the pink earth pony, who noticed him looking and smiled back, waving happily.  Reassured, Johnathon put two fingers to his forehead and gave her a mini salute, causing Pinkie to giggle, before turning his head back to the trail ahead.

"You've been through these woods before."  Briar Rose commented quietly as they walked side by side.  "Did you run into any trouble?"

"I've passed through these woods twice,"  Johnathon agreed, "and no.  I was probably lucky the first time, and the second, I was carried by Princess Celestia, and I would be surprised if anything would be foolish enough to bother her."

Briar Rose blinked for a moment.  "Princess Celestia carried you?"

"On her back," Johnathon confirmed, "we were in a bit of a rush, as she was trying to get me back to the portal before it was too late to get me back through it.  Unfortunately... or fortunately, depending on your point of view, the portal was well and truly gone by the time we arrived, which is why I'm still here, of course."

Briar Rose blinked several times at the thought of the Princess of Equestria carrying anypony... much less an alien anywhere on her back, before focusing on something else.  "What do you mean, 'or fortunately'?  Didn't you want to go home?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "I did, at the time.  I mean, when I realized that I was truly on an alien world, in a different dimension, I wanted to stay a while... who gets that kind of opportunity, right?"

Briar Rose nodded.  "Well, of course... but you wanted to go home sooner or later, right?"

Johnathon smiled slightly and nodded.  "Of course.  It was a bit disappointing when I realized that, for this world's sake, it was best if the portal that brought me was closed as soon as possible, rather than left open... and that that meant I would have to leave immediately, rather than stay and explore a bit... but when I found out that the portal was closed... that there was only a slim chance I would get back at all, and that only after a long time?  I was more than a little upset."

Briar Rose looked curious.  "What changed?"

Johnathon hesitated before answering.  "Short answer, I fell in love," he held up a hand to stop her from interrupting as he continued.  "Equestria has been a very pleasant place to live, and I've made more than a few friends here, but in the end, it was the fact that fell in love... seriously, truly in love, with a mare here that made up my mind.  I'll miss my home world, but I can't leave her."

Briar Rose blinked.  "There were rumors about you and the school teacher you live with.  So they're true?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "Partially true, at least.  We hadn't really... figured it out till rather recently.  We were good friends... best friends, sure, but love?  I don't know if either of us would have called it that... but recent events opened our eyes."

Briar Rose nodded thoughtfully.  "It's funny, sometimes.  You can work along side a pony for years and years... and one day, out of the blue, you realize that you've been in love the whole time, and didn't know it."

Johnathon chuckled and nodded.  "Something like that.  In any case... yeah, I'm staying here, regardless if Twilight figures out how to get me home or not.  If she can, I'd like to send a message back home... but perhaps it would simply be better to leave things alone.  I expect that most everyone back on my world thinks I'm long dead by now.  Telling them that I'm not, but that I'm never coming back?  Well, I'm not sure if that would be a kindness."

"Did you leave behind anyone special?"

Johnathon sighed.  "My stepson... my brother, and my parents.  Some cousins and aunts and uncles.  I hadn't seen any of them in some time even before I ended up here, I'm afraid."

Briar Rose nodded in understanding.  "You were on a dig.  A remote location, I take it?"

Johnathon nodded.  "Very.  Oh, no place is too far away from any other on my world, if you have the resources to travel quickly... but still, it was about as remote a site as you could get."

"Princess Celestia tells me you were a junior member of your team?"

Johnathon nodded once more, agreeably.  "Oh yes.  I stayed behind in camp while the others went on a run for supplies.  They were only supposed to be gone for about two days, but during the first night, the portal between our worlds opened, and I ended up here."

Briar Rose nodded thoughtfully before asking another question.  "I understand you've had a number of careers in your past?"

Johnathon blinked, glancing at her in surprise.  "I take it you've done your homework on me.  Yes.  I've done all sorts of things.  I've tutored several subjects... even taught a self defense class for children.  I've been a guard, a farmer, a salesman... although not a good one, and a secretary in my time.  I've fixed machines, planted trees, milked goats..."

Briar Rose blinked twice.  "You did what?!?"

Johnathon winced.  "Er... right.  Goats are sentient here..."

Briar Rose nodded slowly.  "They don't talk much, but yeah.  You... milked them on your world?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "Well, yeah.  I owned half a dozen goats... and no, before you ask, goats are not sentient on my world, and yes, I'm sure about that."

Briar Rose raised an eyebrow at that.  "Well... damn.  That's kind of weird," there was a long, uncomfortable pause in their conversation before she had to ask.  "Er... what about ponies?"

Johnathon sighed.  "There is a species similar to ponies on my world, but they're not sentient either.  Pretty smart, like a dog here, but not sentient.  They're usually treated as pets... again, much like dogs here."  Johnathon chuckled slightly. "Actually, dogs are pretty much the same in both worlds, not counting Diamond dogs, anyway."

Briar Rose blinked at that, then shook her head.  "Well, I've seen and heard stranger things... not much stranger, mind you.  Still, kind of creepy to think about," she looked curious.  "I've heard... well, is it true that there aren't any pegasi or unicorns on your world?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "Not anymore... at least, not that anyone knows about.  There are legends, which I would guess are probably linked to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's visit there a few thousand years ago."

Briar Rose nodded thoughtfully.  "Makes sense.  Princess Luna was more of a legend then reality to most ponies here, at least until she actually came back.  I can imagine how they might have become legends on your world as well."

Johnathon nodded thoughtfully.  "What surprises me is how many ancient cultures on my world include such things as winged horses, or unicorns.  The myth is actually pretty wide spread for it just being those two.  That, and frankly, some of the legends seem to date back further than the ruins my team was investigating."

Briar Rose looked thoughtful.  "Perhaps the Princesses weren't the first ponies to travel to your world?  Maybe sometime before Discord's reign, some ponies figured out dimensional travel and visited your world.  After all, there is all sorts of evidence that pre-discordian magic was even more advanced than what we have today.  There are all sorts of artifacts that we have no idea how to replicate... take the Elements of Harmony for example."

Johnathon nodded.  "There was a similar period on my world, called the Dark Ages, where quite a bit of knowledge was lost.  Thankfully, things weren't quite as bad on Earth... at least regarding knowledge being lost.  There were many places where ancient writings survived, if not always completely intact, and while we did lose quite a lot, Discord seems to have done a lot more damage in his time."

Briar Rose sighed.  "It's true.  Almost no written material survived Discord's age of Chaos.  Most of my career, I've been searching for something more than a legendary artifact... but while some of the sturdier artifacts survived Discord, so far, almost no writings have been found," she sighed, then brightened.  "Which is why this dig is so exciting.  The idea that an ancient library might have actually survived all this time?  Well, you can imagine."

Johnathon nodded firmly.  "I can.  It would be like the holy grail... the penultimate find."

Briar Rose blinked.  "The holy what?"

Johnathon blinked.  "Oh... a legendary artifact, with both great religious significance and rumors of powerful magical abilities, on my world.  They made a movie about it, actually."

Briar Rose blinked.  "Oh.  Did anypony ever actually find the thing?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "Not yet.  A couple years ago, I'd have said that it was entirely fictional... at least the magical powers bit... but now?" he shrugged again.  "I don't know.  I never believed in magic before I came to Equestria."

Briar Rose blinked.  "Oh, right.  Your world doesn't have any magic, right?"

"Not that I know of," Johnathon confirmed.  "I mean, there are always legends, and rumors, but nothing anyone could confirm, at least, not to my satisfaction."

"I take it you were a skeptic?" Briar Rose observed.

"Something like that," Johnathon admitted.  "I believe what I see... or sense, for myself.  Until that portal opened up on my world, I'd never experienced anything I would classify as magic.  Of course, now, here, I have no doubts."

"Of course," Briar Rose agreed.  "Be a bit silly to disbelieve your own eyes, after all."

"A bit."

Briar Rose and Johnathon walked for a while in a more comfortable silence before she spoke again.  "Your people... humans.  You're omnivores, like griffons, right?"

Johnathon nodded.  "In general, yes.  While I've been here, I've stayed on an almost entirely vegetarian diet, but humans do tend to be omnivores, yes."

Briar Rose nodded thoughtfully.  "Interesting that you're carrying a griffon made sword... did you use a sword on your own world?"

Johnathon blinked.  "Well... swords are actually pretty archaic on my world.  I'm pretty well versed in a couple styles of sword fighting, but I didn't actually own one.  I had a few practice weapons, but it was more of a sport thing... I was on my college fencing team... that sort of thing."

Briar Rose blinked.  "They teach sword fighting in school on your world?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "They teach quite a few different ancient disciplines.  There were classes in archery, fencing, all sorts of unarmed combat forms offered in college when I was growing up.  Mostly sport forms... nothing really... practical."

Briar Rose looked confused.  "I'm not sure I understand.  From what I've read about your culture... and there wasn't much to go on, I got the impression that, well... er..." she blushed faintly.  "Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but humans er... have a rather violent culture?"

Johnathon frowned at her, then shrugged.  "In comparison to the ponies here in Equestria today?  Yes, I suppose that's a fair statement.  Of course, it's a big world, and there are billions of humans on it, and thousands of different cultures.  Not all places or cultures are violent.  Some are quite peaceful, although there are plenty of places on my world that are quite a bit more dangerous."

Briar Rose nodded slowly.  "You're from one of the more peaceful cultures?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "One of the more... well, economically stable ones, anyway.  There weren't any wars going on within several thousand miles from where I grew up, at least, and violence was comparatively rare."

Briar Rose nodded again.  "OK.  What confuses me is what you said about the... combat training you talked about.  Archery, sword fighting, hoof fighting... what did you mean when you said there was nothing practical?  Was your region so peaceful that combat skills weren't required?"

Johnathon nodded.  "In fact, that's pretty much the truth.  Most people I knew didn't really have any reason to learn how to fight.  I mean, young male humans in my culture would get into a fight or two growing up, but rarely anything serious.  As I said earlier, I did spend some time teaching self defense, and yes, that was practical, but mostly what was offered in school was simply archaic forms of combat that aren't really used anymore outside of sports and such."

Briar Rose blinked.  "So... you have some sort of archaic gladiatorial combat in your culture?"

Johnathon blinked.  "Er... not exactly.  I'm talking non-lethal sports... archers shooting at targets, fencers... sword fighters that is, sparring with soft blunted tips, while wearing body armor to prevent injury.  Actually, the sports that involve unarmed combat tend to be significantly more dangerous then the ones using ancient weaponry... and even those limit injury as much as possible."

Briar Rose nodded thoughtfully.  "I see," she started to look confused again.  "Wait... sword fighting techniques... archery, those are ancient weapons?"

Johnathon nodded.  "Pretty much, yes."

Briar Rose blinked.  "You implied that there were wars... at least, in distant parts of your world.  If swords and such are ancient weapons, what do they fight with in your world now?"

Johnathon hesitated before answering.  "Humans have been fighting for... all of recorded history, really.  Not all of us at any time, and really, not the majority of us at any time, but we've been at it for a long, long time.  We've developed weapons like nothing anypony on your world has ever seen.  Frankly, you're better off not knowing any more than that."

Briar Rose frowned.  "That sounds ominous.  Do you know how to use such weapons yourself?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "Some of them.  I was never what my world would consider a soldier though.  I have plenty of theoretical knowledge, but very little hand's on experience with the tools of modern warfare."

Briar Rose nodded slowly.  "Just out of... morbid curiosity, do you know how to make such weapons?"

Johnathon shook his head, smiling.  "Not a clue.  With some effort, I could probably construct something that was considered pretty nasty a thousand years or so ago, but modern weapons?  I barely know how to maintain the simplest ones, much less any idea how to build one."

Briar Rose glanced at the sword on his back again.  "So.. I suppose you've never used a real sword?"

Johnathon shook his head.  "Not for real, no.  I was pretty good at the sport forms, and I'm pretty sure I could apply that knowledge to reality if need be, but I've never had to do so."

Briar Rose frowned.  "Well, here's hoping you won't have any reason today either."

Johnathon nodded agreeably.  "Here's hoping."

They both went quiet at that, and the silence stretched on for nearly half an hour before Briar Rose broke it again.  "So... you were working as an archeologist for at least a couple of years before you came here.  Do you know anything about pony archeology?  I'm curious if our techniques are similar."

Johnathon quirked at eyebrow at her in interest.  "Well now... I have done some homework on the subject, actually, and in general archeology is quite similar on my world to what I've read about here.  You don't have some of the technology that we have... but aside from that, our procedures seem pretty similar.  Finding a site is often as simple as listening to local folk lore, or legend, and reading up on local history.  Once you've got a general location, you go to the site and survey the area... I assume, as a pegasi yourself, you're familiar with Aerial surveying?"

Briar Rose blinked, nodding.  "Of course.  I'm surprised that you are.  Did you learn about the technique recently?"

Johnathon shook his head.  "Not exactly.  We use aerial surveying techniques on my world as well."

Briar Rose looked confused, then nodded.  "Ah.  Do you have airships on your world?  They're pretty rare here... but I can see how you could use one for aerial surveying."

Johnathon nodded.  "We have airships... although they're another archaic technology on my world.  They're not very common any more."

Briar Rose blinked.  "Oh.  What do you use for aerial surveying now?"

"Satellites, mostly," he answered blithely, looking mildly amused.

"I'm sorry, what?" Briar Rose frowned at him.  "That sounds vaguely familiar, but... isn't a satellite a political term of some sort?  Like a small country that is dependent on a larger one?" she nodded thoughtfully.  "Right... there were some... satellite nations attached to the main Griffon empire a few hundred years ago.  But what does that have to do with aerial surveying?"

Johnathon laughed.  "Sorry... it actually took me by surprise when I discovered that you have that word in your language... and I believe it means the same thing in mine... but it also means, at least in my language, a body that orbits a planet, like this one.  Your sun and moon would be satellites of your world... if what I've learned about your astrophysics since I've been here is accurate.  In any case, the type of satellite I'm talking about would be an artificially created device, a machine, that floats in orbit, hundreds of miles above the surface."

Briar Rose blinked.  "You have machines hundreds of miles up?  Floating above your world?"

Johnathon nodded.  "Quite a few of them, actually."

She looked confused.  "How can they survey anything from so high up?  Wouldn't that be too far away to see anything useful?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "You have telescopes in Equestria, don't you?  We just happen to have slightly better ones."

Briar Rose blinked, then nodded thoughtfully.  "So these... satellites have telescopes on them, and you use them to do aerial surveying?"

"Among other things," Johnathon agreed.  "We use heavier than air flying machines as well... airplanes, helicopters.  Pinkie has... or rather, had, a magical version of a helicopter herself, actually."

Briar Rose nodded at that.  "I've seen a couple... although I think they're called gyrocopters.  Pretty dangerous if you ask me."

Johnathon shrugged.  "For those of us that don't have our own wings, the idea of flight is pretty tempting sometimes."

Briar Rose nodded.  "I can understand that.  Have you ever flown one yourself?"

Johnathon sighed.  "I wish.  Rainbow Dash took me flying once, but aside from commercial airlines..." he paused, then explained.  "We use large heavier than air flying vehicles much like you use trains... for long distance transportation.  The largest ones can carry several hundred people at once, and travel thousands of miles in a single day... but flying in one is nothing like... well, really flying.  It's rather like being in a train.  Still, I'd give quite a bit to be able to fly under my own power... or even to pilot an aerial vehicle of some kind myself sometime."

Briar Rose blinked, then blinked again, trying to picture what the man had described.  "Giant flying... trains.  Your world sounds like a very strange place.  I'd like to see it someday, although I suppose that's not terribly likely."

Johnathon shrugged.  "You never know.  Twilight Sparkle seems quite capable.  There's no telling what she might accomplish, given time, perhaps we'll both get the chance to go to my world for awhile, and return here again.  It could happen."

Briar Rose nodded.  "Anything is possible."

Both archeologists fell silent thoughtfully as they continued walking.  Briar Rose led the way without glancing at a map, and beside her, Johnathon couldn't help but be impressed at her ability to navigate.  He only vaguely recalled his first journey though the Everfree forest, but he could tell that they were going in the right direction.  The older pegasus mare would occasionally fly upwards and glance around her when the tree cover was light, apparently getting her bearings, but in general she seemed confident that her path was true.  As they entered a larger than average clearing, Johnathon could see the sun shining in from overhead, and estimated that it was probably just after midday.

Briar Rose nodded to herself and turned to the others.  "We should be a little more than halfway to the ruins, but this seems like a good place to take a short break.  Everypony take five!"

Rarity sighed in relief.  "Oh good... my poor hooves could use a rest!" she walked into the middle of the grassy clearing and settled down, her horn glowing as she levitated her saddle bags from her back.

Applejack snorted once but moved over to sit nearby, fishing apples out of her bag one at a time and passing them out to anypony who wanted one.

Briar Rose flew up once more, higher than before, and after a moment, Rainbow Dash flashed up into the air after her.  When the two pegasi got a couple hundred feet up, Johnathon could just make out Briar Rose saying something to the blue pegasus and Rainbow Dash pointing off in the direction they had been traveling.  Coming to some sort of agreement or conclusion, they spiraled smoothly back down to the ground.

Four of the guard ponies relaxed while two stood guard, and Twilight and company gathered in a convivial group at the center of the clearing, snacking on apples and chatting cheerfully about nothing in particular as they rested.  Briar Rose landed near Johnathon while Rainbow Dash joined her friends.

"I was wondering about your name..." Johnathon began conversationally after a moment.  "Briar Rose.  I'm not sure how significant it is, but generally I've found the ponies I've met have names that have something to do with either their appearance, or family... or perhaps a talent they show at a very early age?"

Briar Rose nodded, raising an eyebrow.  "That's generally the case, yes.  I take it you don't understand why I'm named after a rose?"

Johnathon shrugged.  "It did seem... well, different.  Your coloring isn't like any rose I know... is it a family name?  Or does it have something to do with your cutie mark?"

Briar Rose chuckled.  "You could say that.  My family has been... well, explorers for several generations.  My great grandmother was called Compass Rose, after both her talent and her cutie mark.  Mares of my family often have Rose in their name for that very reason.  It's a play on words, you see.  I think I got the name Briar because I was a bit... prickly when I was a child.  I never did really well under adult supervision," she chuckled.  "Daring Do is a much more adventurous sounding name, don't you think?"

Johnathon smiled at that.  "I suppose.  A compass rose though, that's interesting.  Your family isn't related to Prince Blueblood, by any chance?"

Briar Rose nodded easily.  "Oh, Blueblood?  We're distantly related on my grandfather's side, I believe.  The direction finding talent is found in both families, although since royal blood only is traced through the female line, my family isn't really considered royalty," she looked thoughtful.  "It's been a while since I've seen old Bluey.  He came along on a dig or two, back in the day.  He was never the bravest sort, but he could always be counted on to find his way out of trouble at least.  I was a bit surprised not to see him volunteering for this expedition.  This close to the capital, he'd have an excuse to be out from under his 'Auntie' Celestia's eye and still have most of the comforts of home... knowing him, he'd jump at the chance,  Funny... I haven't heard anything about him in the papers for awhile, not since that horn rot rumor."

"Oh?"  Johnathon did his best to sound only vaguely interested, but something in his tone caught the canny older mare's attention.

"Yes," Briar Rose explained, now watching the human's expression with a nonchalant look on her own face.  "I have it on good authority that Bluey hasn't been out of his personal estates for well over a month now but he's healthy enough, from all reports," she looked thoughtful.  "I'm beginning to think he must be under some sort of house arrest... although no pony seems to know the details."

"Hmm..." Johnathon murmured noncommittally.  For a moment, he seemed about to say more before simply shaking his head.

"So... where do you know Blueblood from?"  Briar Rose asked pointedly.

"Hmm?" Johnathon hedged.  "I wouldn't say I know him really..."

Briar Rose raised an eyebrow at that.  "You know he has the same cutie mark as I do."

Johnathon blinked, then shrugged.  "Well, Rarity has told me some stories.  She met him during the Grand Galloping Gala last year, and apparently it didn't go well."

Briar Rose chuckled.  "Ah yes.  That particular fiasco made the papers.  Pictures of Bluey covered in cake and looking like he was hiding from a dragon were quite popular at family gatherings after that..." she laughed in remembrance, then gave Johnathon another long, appraising look.  "So that's where you know him from?"

Johnathon hesitated only a moment before responding.  "I may have bumped into him during one of my visits to Canterlot as well... but it was nothing to speak of."

"I see," Briar Rose said with a rather unconvinced look, and it looked like she was about to question him further when something strange caused them both to stop and look.

A wind started to pick up, seemingly from nowhere, and at the same time, magical sparks started to fly from a point in space a few meters away from the center of the clearing, near where Twilight and her friends were resting.  A glowing white light grew from the spot, making it hard to see, and the wind and magical sparks seemed to come from some invisible point in the center of the rapidly growing light.  Twilight and her friends rapidly retreated from the phenomenon, and the guard ponies started to cautiously approach as the light got brighter and brighter.

"Stay back!"  Briar Rose shouted with authority.  "Whatever that is, I doubt you want to get caught up in it!"

The guard ponies halted half a dozen yards away from the magical disturbance, and moved to place themselves between it and the Element bearers.  Twilight peered curiously around them, trying to get a good look when a final burst of energy exploded from the point in space, the glow fading almost immediately afterwords, leaving a purple unicorn huddled where the glow had been, sparks cascading over in arcs and faint trails of smoke rising from her prone body.

In moments, the sparks were dying, and the purple unicorn looked up and around, smiling in apparent relief as recognition passed over her features.  "I made it!" she exclaimed happily.

"Who are you, huh?"  Rainbow Dash asked aggressively, flying over to hover above what was unmistakably a second Twilight Sparkle.  "Some kind of imposter?!?"

To one side, Briar Rose blinked, looking surprised.  Her own wings were open, as if she herself had intended on flying over to the newcomer as well, only to be beaten to the punch by the cyan speedster.  With a slight frown, she folded her wings to her sides, and settled for watching the proceedings closely.

The still slightly smoking version of Twilight Sparkle looked up at Rainbow Dash with a frown.  "It's me, Rainbow Dash, I'm Twilight.  It's complicated, but I don't have a lot of time to explain..."

"You look like me..." Twilight Sparkle herself started making her way around the guard ponies, "but you can't be me.  There can't be two of me, can there?  It's not theoretically possible!  You're not theoretically possible!"

"Stay back Miss Sparkle..." Bright Lance started to say, moving to block her.  "We don't know what's going on."

"I'm you from the future," the other Twilight told her temporally younger self tersely.  "I've come back to tell you that you need to go back to Ponyville.  You, Fluttershy, and Pinkie need to go back... as soon as you can."

Twilight blinked.  "From the future?  And why do Fluttershy and Pinkie need to go back too?"

Twilight from the future shook her head.  "No time to explain, you have to trust me.  Just remember... the time travel spells are in the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Canterlot Archives, and you, Fluttershy, and Pinkie need to go back to town, right now.  It's important."

Rainbow Dash fluttered over the time traveling unicorn's head, looking from one Twilight to the other in confusion and biting her lip.  "Time travel?  Is that even real?"

Twilight from the future rolled her eyes.  "Of course it is! How else would I be here?" she pointed at her younger self quickly, eyes going wide.  "Don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question," shaking her head, she fixed Twilight with a pleading look. "You really just have to trust me, this spell doesn't last long!" even as she said this, arcs of magical power started to run over her body, and she started to glow brighter and brighter.  "Twilight, I'm going to send Pinkie back in time tomorrow morning... be in the library, be ready!  Trust me, you've got to..." with a final brilliant flash, she was gone, leaving behind a scorched burn mark in the grass where she had been standing.

"What the hell?"  Johnathon muttered.  "Was that really... could it possibly...?" he started walking toward Twilight, and he wasn't the only one, everypony else was gathering around the purple unicorn as well, shooting confused questions at her.

Twilight was shaking her head, fielding questions,  "I don't know how it's possible, but it really did seem to be... well, me," Twilight frowned.  "But why would I go back in time?  What's going to happen in the future?"

Fluttershy shivered.  "And why did you need me?"

Twilight looked thoughtful.  "Well, obviously something going to happen back in Ponyville that I'll need your help for... you and... Pinkie Pie?" she turned to the pink earth pony in confusion.  "But what could it be?  What sort of emergency would I need both of you two to deal with, but not any of the others?"

Rainbow Dash fluttered up to Twilight indignantly.  "There's no way we're letting just the three of you go back, Twilight.  What if you need the rest of us?  Besides, we're already halfway to the ruins!"

Twilight held up a hoof.  "Now wait... I'm sure I had a perfectly good reason to specify that I, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were needed.  It must be something that the three of us can handle.  I wouldn't say something like that otherwise."

Johnathon looked thoughtful.  "Well, apparently whatever spell you used was of limited duration, so you didn't have much time to explain.  But do you think it was really you?  I mean... time travel?" he frowned.  "Well, I suppose if you can punch a hole between dimensions, time travel can't be all that much more difficult."

Twilight nodded slowly.  "It felt like a similar type of spell... although not quite as power intensive.  Very sophisticated though.  I could barely understand the weaves..."

One of the unicorn guards blinked at her in astonishment.  "You... you managed to read the weaves of that spell?  Seriously?"

Twilight blinked, looking surprised.  "Well, not all of them... but yes.  I don't think I'd like to try replicating something that complex without seeing it a few more times, but I did get a pretty good look... especially as she was getting pulled back."

Bright Lance laughed at the incredulous looks on his fellow unicorn guards' faces.  "Miss Sparkle is a VERY quick study... trust me." he told them calmly.  "If she says she could read the weaves, then I don't doubt her."

Twilight shrugged sheepishly.  "Well, not well enough... but, if I do it again..." she blinked.  "I am going to do it again... did you hear?  I said I was going to be sending Pinkie back in time tomorrow morning... to the library!" she blinked in confusion.  "Why would I send Pinkie back tomorrow?  Why don't I just come back myself again?"

Pinkie jumped up.  "Oh!  I know!  Maybe there's something you're going to need two of me for!  Like... a super fantastic party!  Or... a super secret surprise party?" she looked curious.  "I wonder if future me will get to stay longer than future Twilight did?"

Twilight frowned.  "Probably not... it seemed like a very energy intensive spell.  I would be surprised if I could extend the duration very much... if I could so much as double it I'd be very surprised."

Shining Star blinked incredulously.  "You think you could double the duration of a spell that massive?  Just like that?"

Twilight blinked.  "Well... probably.  I mean, it's a pretty big spell, but I've had a lot of practice with energy intensive spells recently, I should be able to alter it that much without too much trouble.  At least, if I had some time to study the formula."

Shining Star shook his head.  "Right... silly me.  Of course you could."

Briar Rose spoke up.  "So... are you going to listen to... your future self's advice then?  How can you be sure it's not some sort of trick."

Applejack spoke up.  "I believe her.  Future Twilight, I mean.  I don't reckon I know anything about time magic or whatnot, but that was our Twilight... and she wouldn't lie to us like that."

Pinkie nodded happily, beaming.  "I'm going back to Ponyville with Twilight, that's for sure!  I don't want to miss meeting future me!"

Fluttershy nodded hesitantly.  "Well... if Twilight... future Twilight thinks I should go back too... I'll trust her."

Briar Rose wrinkled her nose, then nodded.  "I'll trust your judgement on this, Twilight.  Are you determined to return?"

Twilight nodded firmly.  "I am.  Who am I going to trust, if not myself?  What are you going to do, Professor?"

Briar Rose hesitated.  "I'm not sure.  What do you think we should do?  I've never gotten a visit from a time traveling pony before.  Should we wait here for you, or continue on to the Castle ruins?  Or should we come back to Ponyville with you?"

Twilight hesitated, then her eyes calmed, and she looked at Briar Rose with confidence.  "You should go on.  If you needed to come back with me, future me would have said as much.  The same thing goes for you staying here.  I think if it was important that you change your plans, I would have said something... so you shouldn't.  You should keep going to the ruins.  I'm not sure how soon we can meet you there... but if we can't come right away, we'll send word with the first supply group.  Alright?"

Briar Rose smiled and nodded.  "Understood.  We'll press on then," she glanced at Bright Lance.  "What do you think, Captain?"

Bright Lance considered the matter, then nodded.  "I don't see why we should change our guard assignments either," he turned to his fellow guards.  "Glory, Hammer and I will head back with Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy... Shining Star, you're in charge of the guard rotation till I get back."

"Got it Captain," Shining Star said with a sharp salute.

Spitfire stepped forward, holding up a hoof.  "Soarin and I will continue on with everypony else to the ruins, then, with your permission, Professor, we'll head back to Ponyville as well to rely messages... and to guide the second team in, if needed."

Briar Rose hesitated, then nodded.  "Good plan," she agreed, then sighed.  "I'm getting too old for this sort of craziness.  Is this what this entire expedition is going to be like?  Ridiculously powerful magic getting thrown around and ponies appearing and disappearing?"

Johnathon Dwire raised an eyebrow at that.  "Actually, I wouldn't be half surprised."

After everypony had a chance to say their goodbyes, Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy and their three guards headed back towards Ponyville, and after watching them till they disappeared into the wilderness behind them, Briar Rose nodded firmly and called the gathered ponies together.

"Well then, magical emergency or not, we've still got a long way to go before dark, so let's get moving!" leading by example, she started trotting off, Johnathon Dwire jogging a bit to catch up with her before matching his long stride to her quicker four legged pace.  The others filed in behind them, moving in pairs like before, although staying a bit closer than before as they entered a particularly grim section of forest, where the trees towered over them so high and thick that the sky was almost completely obscured.  Despite the fact that it was still only midday, their path grew darker and darker.  Their eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom, so that they could make their way easily enough, but the darkness was more than a little oppressive.

Johnathon found himself stumbling from time to time as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.  The ponies seemed to adapt to the change in light conditions easier than he did, and Briar Rose noticed his difficulty.

"Having trouble seeing your way?" the tan pegasus asked him mildly.  "Want me to slow down a bit?"

Johnathon stumbled slightly for what had to be the fifth or sixth time in as many minutes, putting a hand on the explorer's back momentarily to steady himself.  "My eyes will adjust in a little while," he told her.  "it takes my vision quite a while to adjust, but I actually have pretty good nightvision... after about half an hour, anyway."

"It takes you half an hour to be able to see at night?"  Briar Rose asked, rather incredulously.

"If the change is gradual enough, I don't have any trouble..." Johnathon said, sounding slightly annoyed at the handicap.  "But going from bright light to near darkness like this... it takes me a bit longer than most.  Well, longer than most humans, anyway.  I can't speak for ponies."

Briar Rose blinked, then shrugged.  "Well, most pegasi's vision can adjust pretty quickly.  It's a bit of a survival trait for a flier, since it's rather easy to go from light into relative darkness if you're trying to land in the evening, for example.  Just keep one of your hands on my shoulder till your eyesight adjusts, alright?  No sense in you falling down and hurting yourself."

Johnathon chuckled, placing a hand lightly on her back between her shoulder blades.  "Well, I doubt I'd hurt myself... I hardly ever get hurt in a fall anymore.  Not since I was a kid."

"Oh?"

"Falling training," Johnathon explained softly.  "I was always a bit clumsy as a kid... but I spent a year or so learning how to fall properly while studying a martial art called Jujuitsu when I was ten or eleven or so.  Best training I ever received, I would say.  I haven't seriously injured myself in a fall or collision since then, and I won't lie, I've had my share of falls.  In fact, it probably saved my life when I first came here to Equestria.  I came through the portal... or whatever it was that brought me here at a pretty fast clip.  I hit one of the walls of the castle pretty hard, but I managed to partially absorb the impact with my shoulder.  I was still pretty badly stunned afterwards, but without that training, I may very well have died on impact.  Could have easily broken my neck."

Briar Rose whistled.  "Sounds like dimensional travel is pretty rough then."

"Mine was," Johnathon admitted.  "I hope that Twilight is careful if... or rather when she tries it.  If my experience was anything to go by, it's obviously dangerous, to say the least."

"I believe it," Briar Rose said agreeably, then froze, her ears going back on her head.  "Damn...."

Johnathon stopped moving as well, staring almost blindly into the woods around them, the hair on the back of his neck starting to rise.  "What...?" he began, going quiet before he could finish his own question, his right hand reaching back over his shoulder for the hilt of his sword.  With a soft rasp, he drew the weapon free.

"Everypony get in a circle," Briar Rose instructed in a low hiss.  "All of you form a circle on me."

As the others crowded up, the guard ponies took up positions around Briar Rose and Johnathon, each looking a different way into the darkness.  Spitfire, Soarin, and Rainbow Dash hovered over the rest of the group, while Rarity, Briar Rose, Applejack, and Johnathon found themselves circled by the three remaining guard ponies.

"Timberwolves..." Applejack muttered to herself, moving up to stand shoulder to shoulder with Shining Star.  "Whole pack of em, by the looks of it."

Johnathon held his sword out in front of him as he moved out to stand between the pegasus guard, Morning Star, and the grey furred, gold armored, unicorn guard called Aegis.  The tall human's eyes still weren't fully adjusted to the lack of light, but he started picking out pairs of green glowing eyes in the darkness.

"Big..." he muttered softly.  "If those are wolves, they're huge."

"Timberwolves," Applejack muttered again.  "I wouldn't figure they'd go after a group as big as ours though..."

"I've seen stranger things," Briar Rose said calmly.  "Everypony stay together... if we run, we'll get split up in the darkness and they'll pick us off one by one.  Everypony stay in the circle."

"Perhaps I should shed some light on the subject?" Rarity said cautiously.  "Surely they won't approach once they get a good look at how many of us there are?"

"Wait till they get closer..." advised Briar Rose.  "A sudden burst of light may startle them into retreating... and it certainly won't hurt to surprise them."

"If you say so..." Rarity said uncertainly, then straightened her shoulders, facing the darkness squarely.  "Very well, I can certainly manage a bit of a light show, if required."

"What are they waiting for?"  Rainbow Dash asked, sounding impatient.  "Are they scared or something?"

"They're sizing us up," Applejack explained.  "Timberwolves are big... but they don't like biting off more than they can chew, and I reckon we look like a pretty big meal."

"They'll choke on me," Shining Star said confidently.  "Is everypony ready?"

"Yes sir."  Aegis and Morning Star answered immediately, followed moments later by a burble of murmured acknowledgements by the others.

There was a quiet snarl from the darkness, and suddenly the woods around them came alive with rushing movement and the fire of rapidly approaching green glowing eyes.

"Here they come!"  Briar Rose yelled, and in an instant, the world went white.