//------------------------------// // Father, Don't You Love Me? // Story: The Thousand Year Change // by Darthvalgaav //------------------------------// Shining Armor stood outside Princess Luna’s private study as he performed a personal ready check. His mane was clean, as was his jacket. He then blew into his hoof in order to check his breath. So far, everything seemed all right. Normally, he did do this sort of thing. He had known the Princess since he was a colt and knew that she didn’t care how clean he appeared when it was just the two of them. ‘But, that’s just it,’ thought Shining. ‘We won’t be alone. She’ll be in there, too.’ Ever since Shining had heard that Cadence was coming to the moon, the stallion had been on Asteroid Nine. To add to his joy, he was going to be escorting both her and Midnight to Twilight’s place. That would mean he would have some time alone with the two of them. Taking a deep breath, Shining Armor opened the door…and his jaw hit the ground at what he saw. “I’m not going to lose this time,” said Midnight as she held a remote in her hooves. Sitting next to her was Princess Luna with a similar remote in her hooves. In front of them was a large screen that had two ponies fighting each other. “We’ll see about that,” said Princess Luna with a playful laugh. A moment later, her character did a back flip to get behind Midnight’s before bucking her. The health bar over Midnight’s character shrank and began to glow red. “Nononononono!” said Midnight quickly as she began to press random buttons. Shining Armor did his best to regain his composure. He knew that the Princess loved her video games. Why, when he was younger, she forced him to play a few of them with her. But, how was anypony supposed to beat an immortal princess, who had been playing these games since they first came out? Shaking his head, Shining looked around and found Princess Cadence curled up in a corner. “Cadence,” Shining Armor called out, walking over to her, concerned and confused. “What’s wrong?” As soon as Midnight heard Shining’s voice, she dropped her remote and raced towards him. “No idea,” said Luna, who didn’t even turn her head away from the screen. “Her character gets decapitated one time and she goes into the fetal position.” “S-She just a-asked me to play a-a little g-game,” stammered Cadence. “S-So much b-b-b-blood.” “Ok,” comforted Shining as he used his magic to gently pick up the pink princess. Once she was up, Cadence quickly latched onto the white stallion, causing him to blush. “Um, I think we should get you out of here. Let’s go see Twilight and Scootaloo. Is that alright with you?” Cadence nodded, right before she buried her nozzle in Shining’s side, causing his blush to increase. A few minutes later, the three left Luna alone, who broke her poker face to let out her own mischievous giggle. -x- About an hour later, Twilight heard a knocking at the door. For a moment, she wondered who it could be at this hour. She thought it might be one of her friends, but it wasn’t possible. Vinyl, since she was on the air, was doing a special radio show. Pumpkin Spice was at the castle, along with Derpy and Lightning. Quickly, Twilight made her way to the door and opened it. On the other side was a light brown earth pony with a dark brown mane and an hourglass for a cutie mark. Around his neck was a bright green tie that Derpy had given him as a gift. Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion. “It’s a little late for a visit, Turner,” she said. “Please, just call me the Doctor,” said Time Turner. Twilight let out an annoyed sigh. “For the last time: no. I know you don’t like your name all that much, but we are not going to call you the Doctor.” “But, I like it,” whined Derpy’s husband like a foal. “I think it suits me very nicely.” Upon seeing Twilight face-hoof, Turner began to act his age before continuing. “Anyways, I know it’s late and all, but we have almost finished the time machine.” Twilight ears perked at this. Time Turner was one of the scientists who worked under her at the Department of Research and Development. His section had been working on space-time manipulation of years. Of course there was a spell that would allow a pony to travel back in time for a few moments, but to actually go back in time for long periods of time was something that the ponies of the Republic had wanted to do for centuries. “Y-You’ve almost finished?” asked an excited Twilight. “That’s amazing. How long till you’re finished?” “We don’t know,” said Turner with a sigh. “You see, we hit a bit of a snag with the design.” As Twilight raised an eyebrow, Turner continued. “See, I want to make it simple. Let’s say something in the area of a big blue box. “But, Brown wants something with style. Says he has this old car we can use. It just sounds so stupid. Who ever heard of traveling through time in a Delorean?” Twilight felt her jaw drop. That was what was keeping them from completely probably the greatest scientific inventions in pony history? She couldn’t believe it! Realizing she needed to calm down, Twilight took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. “Look,” said Twilight, “When you get back to the lab in the morning, I want both you and Brown to write up a report. I want details; I want to know how many ponies each of your designs can hold; I need to know how they travel; and, I also need to know how much they will cost to make. Once I have all the information, I will make my decision.” “So, this is about bits,” assumed a slightly annoyed Turner. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well, it wouldn’t be a problem if you two weren’t over budget. Besides, this is just for the prototype. If it works out, we can then make several types.” With that, Turner nodded and left after wishing her a goodnight. Relieved to have that problem solved, the purple mare made her way up to her bedroom to get some sleep. As she made her way up, she stopped by Scootaloo’s room to see the filly was just now falling asleep. Smiling to herself, Twilight slowly shut the door, and then headed for her original destination. Once inside her own room, she found Shadow lying on her bed. “Hey there,” said Shadow as he began to pat the space next to him. “I saved you a spot.” “Isn’t it a bit early to be doing something like this?” asked Twilight with a slight blush. “Well, I just thought that since we are getting married, we could try sleeping together,” said Shadow innocently. “If something more happens, then it happens.” “I don’t know,” said Twilight at first. Shadow did have a point; they were going to be doing this sooner or later, so why not sooner. They had napped together before and she trusted him not to do anything without her permission. But, then there was Shining and how he would react if he found out. ‘Wait a moment,’ thought Twilight unhappily, ‘why should I be worrying about what Shiny thinks? This is my life and Shadow is my fiancée! If Shiny has a problem with it, then he can go buck himself.’ “You know what,” said Twilight after a moment, “make some room for me.” With that, Shadow moved over a bit allowing Twilight to get into bed. Using her magic, Twilight brought the covers over them as the two snuggled close together. Kissing each other goodnight, the two slowly began to fall asleep. Nothing could ruin this moment. “ALERT! ALERT!” came a mechanical cry, which seems to be a provoked call to the universe, that decided to bucking ruined the moment to prove her wrong. Both Shadow and Twilight woke up with a start as the voice continued yelling “ALERT!” at full volume. Looking around, both ponies noticed that the walls were flashing red. Before they could get out of bed, Scootaloo ran into the room looking panicked. “What’s going on?” she cried out in fear. “Did somepony blow up the Dome? Are we all going to die?!” Before Twilight could reassure the filly that they weren’t going to die, there was a bright white flash of light. Once it faded, Twilight saw that it was Shining Armor who had teleported into her room, along with two others. One was a bat pony filly, while the other was a bright pink alicorn. The two of them looked a little startled, as if they had been suddenly whisked here. Shining Armor, on the other hoof, calmly pulled out a small remote device. There was a clicking noise and then both the noise and flashing stopped. “Shining,” said the pink alicorn, feeling confused. “Why did you teleport us here all of a sudden?” “Well, the ‘Virgin Alarm’ I set up in Twily’s place went off,” said Shining as he placed the remote back into his jacket. “It’s set to go off before anything can happen. Since we were close, I thought I’d just tele-” Shining Armor’s voice died in his thought as his sister jumped into the air. Her coat turned white and her mane became flames. Her now red eyes glared at her brother with the intent to kill. A moment later, the entire Dome One could hear Shining screaming like a little filly. -x- Back at the castle, Luna crawled into bed. Today had been a tiring one for her. Twilight was getting engaged, Sunset going into forced labor, and finally a visit from Cadence. Not to mention all the other little things she had to do to run her country properly. Now was the time to rest, so that she could do it all again in the morning. Once her eyes were closed, Luna found herself in the realm of dreams. However, she was startled by what she saw. Normally, when she fell asleep, she would find herself floating above a patchwork planet. Each piece was a different dream that only she could walk between. Some dreams were pleasant, like a pony winning the Lunar Games or being with that special somepony. Other dreams were darker, like being chased by demons that their own minds had created. Instead, however, Luna found herself in an old hallway made of stone that was lit by burning torches. As Luna walked along the corridor, she began to get a strange feeling. She felt like she had been here before, mixed with fear as well as anxiety. As she walked, she used her magic to give the walls a light push. They remained solid which confirmed one of her fears. Whatever had brought here, something, or somepony, wanted her to stay here. And, whoever it was had enough magical power and knowledge to hold her here. Taking a breath, Luna began to gather her magic into her horn. In a few minutes, she would have enough power to blast her way out of here. Until then, she might as well look around. After walking for a while, Luna turned a corner to find a small filly. The small one wasn’t looking at her; rather, she was looking into a room a short distance away. Slowly, Luna approached her, allowing more of her features to come into few. It wasn’t until she was a few feet away that she realized that this filly was a younger version of her, just after she had gotten her cutie mark in fact. Luna also noticed that the filly was peeking through a half closed door. Light panic touched the moon princess’s heart as all this was becoming more and more familiar. Then, she heard the voices in the room. “I have made my decision, that it’s final,” said a rough voice, which caused all warmth in Luna’s body to leave her. She knew that voice very well. It was the voice of King Molten Fury, her father. Slowly, Luna moved over to the filly to peak into the room, along with her younger self. Now she could see her father in all of his frightening glory. His coat was pitch black, and on his flank was a cutie mark of a volcano erupting. Both his mane and tail were ethereal like her own, but instead of looking like the night sky, his looked like lava flowing down his back. His beard looked like it was on flames, giving him the appearance of a demon. “You made that decision years ago, dear,” said a calmer, warmer voice. “Things have changed since Celestia was born.” Luna turned her head a bit to see her mother Queen Oceana. She was a sea blue alicorn with a bright green ethereal mane. Her ears were slightly longer and curved back. Her tail was like no other pony, for it was shaped like a dolphin’s. Her cutie mark was three sea horses. “I said I have made up my mind,” growled Molten as he stood up, his eyes glowing bright red. “Celestia will take full control of Equestria once we leave.” “And what of Luna?” asked Oceana. “What about her?” demanded Molten as he stomped his hoof on the ground. “She has been a problem ever since the day she was born. She always questions everything thing I do; always wants to know why. She is also impatient! She makes snap decisions without thinking of the long term consequences. “Celestia, on the other hoof, is obedient and patience. She has studied dutifully under me for years all in preparation to take the throne. Besides, why should Luna get to share in Celestia’s birthright?” “Because they balance each other out,” said Oceana pleasantly. “You are right about both of them. Luna is impatient and quick tempered, while Celestia is more patience and logical. But, while under the crown, if Celestia takes her time to overanalyze every little problem that comes her way, then nothing will get done. “Luna can urge her to make a decision a bit quicker. At the same time, Celestia can calm Luna down while getting her to think of other options. Look at their cutie marks! Celestia controls the sun, while Luna controls the moon. Isn’t it interesting that they were both born with celestial cutie marks? I believe it is a sign that they were meant to rule together.” “I wouldn’t trust Luna to rule over an ant farm,” growled Molten. Luna slowly shook her head as tears began to fall down her face. ‘No,’ she silently begged. ‘Not this day. Any day, but this one.’ Luna turned to leave, but a wall had appeared behind her, trapping her near the door. Turning her attention back to her younger self, she could see that filly Luna also had tears running down her face. Luna wished she could tell her younger self to leave, or to plug her ears, but it would do little good. So far, her younger counterpart hadn’t noticed her, even when they stood side by side. “That’s not fair,” said Oceana in a slightly irritated tone. “You have always been hard on Luna. I have watched the pain on her face as you shower your love on Celestia, while Luna knows only neglect. You gave Celestia a phoenix for her birthday, while Luna got a Get Well card. You talk to Celestia, while you growl orders at Luna. Can’t you see how much you’re hurting her?” “It’s not like I ever wanted her here,” muttered Molten. “She’s nothing but an accident, a mistake.” Upon hearing this, the younger Luna fell on her plot, while the older Luna began to cry even harder. “H-How can you even say such a horrible thing?” demanded Oceana. “Because it’s true,” said Molten in a cold tone. “You know I only wanted one foal. What else should we call her? A miracle? Bah!” If Molten had wanted to say anymore, the words most likely died in his throat as the room became icy cold. From in the distance, everypony could hear thunder booming loudly as Oceana’s anger was unleashed. “I will hear no more of such talk,” she roared. “Until you change your attitude, you can sleep with the animals. And I pray to the oceans that Luna never-” Oceana was cut off by the sound of the door creaking. Using her magic, she opened it all the way, revealing her teary eyed daughter. “Luna, we-” Before she could finish, filly Luna ran with all her might, leaving her adult version behind. “Are you happy, Celestia,” said Luna between her sobs. For the moment, nothing happened. The only sound in this entire dream was Luna as she fought the tears that never seemed to stop. Then, a new sound had finally decided to answer her, from the one she was expecting. “I am sorry, sister,” apologized the voice of Celestia, right before she stepped through the wall. “You left me no choice. I wanted you to remember who fought so hard to see that both of us ruled Equestria.” “Just leave me,” cried Luna, not even looking at her sister. There was no anger in her voice, only a deep sadness. However, Celestia did not leave. Slowly, she placed a hoof on her sister’s shoulder, only for it to be knocked away. “I SAID GO AWAY!” With that, the magic in Luna’s horn finally exploded. Celestia was shocked by the amount of magic her sister could wield, knocking her out of the dream. When the sun princess opened her eyes, she found herself back in her room in the middle of the magic circle. “I’m sorry it had to come to this, sister,” said Celestia to herself as a tear ran down her cheek. “Murder,” came a yell down the hall. “Captain Hard Shell was murdered!”