”Now y’all be at yer best behavior when ya get to Canterlot,” said Applejack. ”Don't want them fancy big city ponies thinkin' yer a bunch'a rabble-rousin' backwater yahoos, do ya?”
”Who, us?” Apple Bloom looked up at her sister with a smile of angelic innocence. ”We never rouse any rabbles!”
”Not anymore, anyway,” Sweetie Belle added.
”Who wants a rabble-rousing cutie mark anyway?” Scootaloo muttered. ”Lousy ungrateful rabbles.”
”I'm not worried, Applejack,” Rarity said. ”Then again, my sister is a proper lady in the making, so I'm sure she'll fit right into that elegant metropolitan atmosphere of our fine capital.”
Applejack glanced at the three fillies and smiled politely, recalling several incidents involving copious amounts of mud and tree sap. ”Yeah. Sure she will.”
All the colts and fillies under Cheerilee's tutelage had gathered at the Ponyville train station for a two-day field trip to the capital, and both Applejack and Rarity had joined them to see their respective sister off. As they were talking, Cheerilee approached them with a pleasant smile: ”Don't worry, you two. I'll make sure they stay in line.”
”It's good knowin' ya'll be there to look after 'em, Cheers,” Applejack told her. ”Ah only know two ponies who can handle these three, an' the other one's Fluttershy,” she cocked her head, ”for reasons Ah'm not entirely clear on.”
”All aboard!” they heard the conductor shout. ”The train leaves for Canterlot in five!”
”That's our call,” said Cheerilee. ”Now hurry up and say goodbye so we can be on our way.”
”Have fun, Apple Boom,” Applejack said, giving the smaller pony an affectionate pat on the head. ”Jus', not too much fun. Try not to knock the whole town off the mountain or somethin'.”
”Heh, I'll do my best,” Apple Bloom laughed.
”Haha,” Applejack laughed back. ”...But seriously. Stay outta trouble.”
”Now, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity crouched by her sister with a serious look on her face, ”what do you do if you meet the stallion of your dreams in Canterlot?”
”I run away as fast as I can and don't look back,” Sweetie Belle said.
Rarity put a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder. ”I have taught you well. Now go!”
Once Scootaloo managed to tear herself away from her doting aunts, the three crusaders joined their classmates boarding the train. They waved from the windows as the locomotive started huffing and slowly rolled out of the station. Applejack and Rarity smiled and waved back.
”Goin' to be quiet without 'em around,” Applejack said.
”They'll only be gone for two days,” Rarity reminded her. ”But yes, I agree.”
Rather than going their separate ways, the two friends left the station together, taking the opportunity to chat and enjoy each other's company. It was a pleasant day and neither were in a hurry.
”Ah'm tellin' ya, Rare,” Applejack said as they walked down the street side by side, ”them kids are gonna take over the world one 'a these days.”
”To think they ended up such good friends,” Rarity smiled. ”And right off the bat, too. More than you can say for us, don't you agree?”
Applejack cringed slightly at the memory. ”Yeah, we didn't exactly see eye to eye, did we? Always bickerin' over small stuff like a pair of schoolyard foals, an' makin' poor Twilight put up with it to boot. Not gonna lie, Rare, Ah ain't proud of how Ah acted back then.”
”Nor am I,” Rarity said. ”Nor am I. Fortunately, that's all behind us now.”
”Yeah...” Applejack glanced at her and smirked. ”...Even if yer still a prissy persnickety fussbudget.”
”I beg you pardon?” Rarity feigned a gasp. ”I most certainly am not.”
”Are too.”
”Am not.”
”Are too!”
”Am not!”
”Are too infinity!”
”Am not infinity plus one!”
The two mares stopped for a moment and glared at each other. Then, as one, they broke down in uncontrollable giggles.
”Well, at least them kids got off to a good start,” Applejack said, collecting herself. ”Guess that makes 'em smarter than us, huh?”
”You don't suppose they'll actually get their cutie marks soon?” Rarity asked as they continued on their way. ”Oh, just imagine if they have them by the time they get back? Wouldn't that be a surprise?”
”Ah wouldn't bet on it,” Applejack chuckled. ”Ain't ever seen any colt or filly as oblivious 'bout their talents as those three.”
”But it's so obvious!” Rarity groaned. ”You should hear Sweetie Belle singing in the bathtub. She makes up her own tunes and everything.”
”Tell me 'bout it. Ya know Ah dun broke mah fav'rite apple cart the other day? Ah was gonna fix it m'self but Ah had to see Fluttershy 'bout somethin'. By the time Ah got back, Apple Bloom had put it back together just as new, an Ah mean just as new. Ya couldn't tell it'd been broken.” Applejack gave her head a bewildered shake. ”An' don't get me started on that ol' treehouse Ah gave 'em. By now it's practically a real house!”
”Rainbow Dash tells me Scootaloo can do things with that scooter even Rainbow couldn't manage at her age.” Rarity sighed. ”Oh well. I guess one really can't rush these things. At least they're enjoying themselves.”
A strong wind suddenly picked up, and Applejack had to hold on to her hat to keep it from blowing off.
”Enjoyin' 'emselves a mite too much, Ah'd say,” she said and rolled her eyes. ”Ah'm tellin' ya, Rare, we ain't seeing them cutie marks any time soon.” The wind grew stronger, and a shining white spark hit the ground right next to Applejack's hoof. ”What in tarnation...?”
Realizing something strange was going on, they both looked up and were stunned to see an orb of white light taking shape in the street right in front of them. The air whirled around it like a vortex and it shot white sparks everywhere like fireworks. It grew rapidly in both size and intensity, until it finally seemed to explode and implode at the same time. Applejack and Rarity were momentarily blinded by the flash. When they regained the use of their eyes, they were stunned to see that four figures had appeared in the street in front of them. Four very familiar figures.
Three of them were pony mares, and they each bore an uncanny resemblance to Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo respectively. In fact, the two dumbfounded friends could both swear they were looking at the actual Cutie Mark Crusaders if not for a very vital difference – these three were not little fillies, but young adults. Indeed, they appeared to be about the same age as Applejack and Rarity.
As for the fourth figure, he was... a dragon. He was definitely a dragon, and one very similar to Spike at that. He had the same purple scales and the same emerald eyes. He was much larger than Twilight's trusted assistant, however, and his build was much closer to that of a pony stallion. He even walked on all fours as opposed to Spike's customary two. The spines running down from his head to his long tail, though still the same bright green, were sharp like pointed blades.
The beige earth pony with the bright red mane corrected the worn and suspiciously familiar-looking stetson on her head. The white unicorn had her luscious mane impeccably styled and wore a large blue gem in a pendant around her neck. The pegasus, unadorned, stretched her wings as a few lingering sparks of magical energy arced between them. Adding to the already potent surrealism of the scene, they all had cutie marks adorning their flanks. Even the dragon's scaly thigh bore a symbol resembling a stylized green flame. They seemed to have materialized right in the middle of a conversation:
”...and then this whole mess will be over with one way or another,” they heard the one resembling Sweetie Belle tell the others. ”See, I told you it would work. Nothing to worry about.” She looked around. ”Huh, Canterlot seems a lot smaller back here than I remembered.”
”...I don't think this is Canterlot,” said the very Spike-like dragon.
”Oh horseapples!” maybe-Apple Bloom swore. ”This is Ponyville! We're in the wrong town!”
”I don’t believe this! You had one job, Sweetie Belle!” possibly-Scootaloo groaned. ”One job!”
”Haha, whoops?” Sweetie Belle chuckled with a nervous grin. ”Now let's not panic. It could be worse. We could have ended up in Manehattan or something. This is still doable.”
While they were talking, Spike turned his long neck around and saw Applejack and Rarity staring at the group with gaping mouths. A look of absolute terror appeared on his reptilian face. ”Um, girls...”
”Still doable?” Apple Bloom glared at Sweetie Belle. ”Our whole plan hinged on us gettin' the job done before we disturbed the timeline too much! Now we're set back at least a day!”
”Girls...”
”We just need to be careful and keep a low profile until then. How hard can that be?”
”Girls!”
”What!?” Apple Bloom yelled, and the three mares turned to look where Spike was pointing, finally noticing Applejack and Rarity.
”...Oh galldarnit all to hay,” Apple Bloom swore.
Applejack stared in utter disbelief, her mouth hanging wide open. Next to her, she heard Rarity mumble: ”You were saying, Applejack?”
Fervidor Presents:
TIME CRUSADE
An MLP:FiM Fanfic
Chapter I: Medias Res.
An awkward silence reigned for a few moments. Both parties gawked at each other, too shocked to speak.
Applejack broke the silence first: ”A-Apple Bloom? Is that you?”
”Apple Bloom? Who's Apple Bloom?” The redhead grinned a manic grin, desperately looking around for a way to escape like a wild animal. She and her companions where clearly trying to slowly inch their way backwards. ”Ah have no idea what yer talkin' about, strange pony Ah've never met before!”
Applejack's eyes narrowed and she took a decisive step forward. ”Ya can't fool me, Apple Bloom. Ya think I don't recognize my own sister? Where'd y’all come from? Why're y'all grown up, with cutie marks'n everythin'? And... is that my hat yer wearin'?”
”N-Now listen here, AJ,” Apple Bloom had started sweating now, ”Ah know this must seem really weird but Ah swear, there's a powerful good explanation for all 'a this. Ya see, the thing is that run for it!”
As one, all four of them turned on the spot and ran away, leaving a cloud of dust and two very confused ponies behind.
”Rare,” Applejack said. ”Did...” Did we just see what appeared to be our sisters, Scootaloo and Spike from the future? ”...Did that just happen?”
”I'm not sure,” Rarity said. ”I think so.”
”Come on!” Snapping out of her daze, Applejack suddenly sprinted down the street, chasing after the mysterious group. Rarity was caught by surprise, but quickly gave chase as well.
”So, why exactly are we chasing them?” she managed to ask between labored breaths, struggling to keep up. Her routine jewel collecting expeditions and weekly self-defense classes had kept her in pretty decent shape, but she was no athlete. ”Do you have any idea what's going on?”
”Ain't got the foggiest,” Applejack replied. ”But if they're the real deal, then whatever they're up to has to be real important. 'Sides,” she shot Rarity a quick grin, ”aren't ya curious?”
Ahead of them, Apple Bloom looked back over her shoulder and groaned. ”Darnit, they're commin' after us!”
”I don't think I can outrun Applejack,” Sweetie Belle gasped, already getting winded.
”Spike! Scoots!” Apple Bloom shouted. ”Let's split up! We'll meet up at Point Delta after we shake 'em off!”
”Roger that!” Scootaloo said, gliding in the air above them. She flapped her wings, gaining speed and altitude as she took to the sky.
”Be careful!” Spike said and broke away as well. He launched himself into the air with a mighty leap, landing on the roof of a nearby house and disappearing behind it.
”I think we lost the dragon,” Rarity said.
”Let him go,” Applejack replied. ”Where he gonna hide? He doesn't exactly blend in.”
”What about Scootaloo?”
Applejack's eyes scanned the sky, then she smiled when she found what she was looking for. ”Ah think it's time we got some backup.”
Rainbow Dash regarded the cloud with a thoughtful look. It was a nice cloud, sure, but it needed some work. She was a pony of high standards, after all, no matter what Rarity said.
She turned the cloud around ten degrees, but after checking the position of the sun, she changed her mind and turned it a few degrees back. Then the stuck her hooves into it and fluffed it up like a giant pillow of soft cottony perfection. She smiled and let herself collapse on top of it, placing her forelegs behind her head as she sunk into the white surface. ”Oh yeah. Now this is what I call an awesome napping cloud!”
She was just about to drift off into sleep when she caught movement in the corner of her eye. She sat up just in time to see an orange, purple-maned pegasus mare rocket straight towards her. The mare, noticing her at the same time, held her wings up and came to a screeching halt in mid-air.
Rainbow smiled. ”Nice moves! Haven't seen you around before.” Then she cocked her head, frowning slightly. ”Or have I?”
”Gack!” the orange pegasus croaked, made a very strange face at Rainbow, and threw herself into a barrel roll that neatly bypassed the cloud, leaving a streak of purple lightning behind her.
Rainbow whistled. ”Oh, she's good!”
”Rainbow Dash!”
Looked down, Rainbow spotted Applejack galloping through the Ponyville streets with Rarity trailing behind. ”Hey, AJ. What's the rush?”
”No time to explain!” Applejack shouted. ”Catch that pegasus for us, will ya!”
Rainbow gave her a quick salute with her hoof. ”I'm on it!” She shot off after the purple lightning streak, leaving her own rainbow trail behind her. She didn't really get what was going on but she trusted Applejack and besides, she never backed down from a good race. She grinned. This was going to be fun!
Down on the ground, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were still trying to evade their sisters.
”They're still gaining on us!” Sweetie Belle said.
”Stubborn as ever, huh?” Apple Bloom groaned. ”Well, we better think of somethin', then, an' fast!”
”Hang on!” Sweetie Belle concentrated and her horn started to glow green. ”I'm going to try to teleport us.”
Apple Bloom's eyes went wide. ”Oh hay no! Anythin' but that! Sweetie Belle, don't you dare...”
”No time! Here we go!” Sweetie Belle released the spell despite her friend's protests, and the two of them vanished in a flash.
Applejack and Rarity stopped running. ”Oh come on!” Rarity gasped. ”She can teleport? I can't teleport! Now what do we do?”
Applejack's pulse still raced, but she forced herself to stay calm and think. ”...Rarity, did ya get a look at that gem Sweetie Belle was wearin'?”
”Of course,” Rarity replied. It surprised her somewhat Applejack had noticed that detail. ”A sapphire, I think, or possibly a blue diamond. Quite fetching, if I may say so.”
”Think ya can use that special spell o'yers to trace it?”
Rarity hadn't thought of that. A wide grin appeared on her face. ”Oh, it is on!”
”Are you sure you don't want to fly in the balloon instead?” Spike asked for the third time.
”I told you, I'm fine!” Princess Twilight Sparkle insisted. Almost as if to prove herself wrong, the brief distraction made her lose her balance for a moment and she was nearly sent careening into the balloon's basket. Gritting her teeth, she managed to get her unruly wings under control again. ”I have to learn how to do this sooner or later.”
They were heading home to Ponyville after visiting Canterlot on royal business. While the two of them had made such trips in the past, the visits had become much more frequent since Twilight was crowned princess. This time she had opted to make use of her new wings and fly back on her own rather than ride in the balloon with Spike. The return trip wasn't so bad, after all – with gravity mostly working in her favor, she could focus on gliding and simple maneuvers while keeping her eyes on the small town below the mountain. She could even hold a conversation at the same time, which was a considerable improvement compared to when she had first started out flying. She was still a long way from being able to make the trip in the other direction, though, and wondered for the hundredth time how Rainbow Dash made it look so easy.
”You could have at least brought a pegasi escort along,” Spike commented. ”They could have given you some pointers.”
”No thanks,” Twilight muttered. ”It's bad enough I have to embarrass myself in front of my friends. I'd rather not let the guards see me make a fool out of myself as well.”
Spike glanced at her, grinning slightly. ”Especially not Flash Sentry, huh?”
Twilight almost crashed into the basket again. ”Spike!”
”Twilight has a booyfrieeend!” Spike giggled in a sing-song voice. Blushing furiously, Twilight glared daggers at him as she wobbled in the air. Spike settled down. ”Aw, I'm just teasing you, Twilight. But seriously, why didn't you just ask him to come along? I'm sure he wouldn't mind.”
Twilight frowned. ”I guess, but it's not like I need a bodyguard in Ponyville. And I can't just ask him to come with me because I find him a-attractive. That's a bit... transparent, don't you think?” She sighed. ”And anyway, he's not the same Flash Sentry I got to know in the other world. What if he doesn't feel that way about me?”
”You worry too much. You should totally ask him out.” Spike's smile faded. ”Maybe then I'll work up the courage to confess to Rarity,” he added quietly.
”Spike...” Twilight frowned. This was always an uncomfortable subject: She didn't want to see her adoptive little brother heartbroken and, she was sure, neither did Rarity. But for all her lack of social grace, Twilight knew this wouldn't end well.
To her relief, Spike seemed to sense the awkward mood as well and quickly changed the subject: ”I wish this thing would fly faster. I'm starving!”
”You should have eaten something before we left,” Twilight said, then she smiled. ”Oh well, I was going to save the surprise until we got home, but if you check my saddlebags there's something inside for you.”
Spike stuck his arm into the bag and his eyes went wide as he pulled out a huge flawless ruby. ”Wow! This is for me? Where'd you get this?”
Twilight tried not to look smug and failed spectacularly. ”What can I say? Being a princess has its perks.”
”I'll say!” Spike laughed. ”Thanks, Twilight, you're the best!” Wasting no time, he took a bite out of the jewel and started munching on it with a blissful smile. Spike was a happy dragon.
Spike was not a happy dragon.
After escaping across the rooftop, he had ducked down in a garden and was now crouching behind a hedge that was only barely high enough to hide his large body. Judging by the flower cutie mark adorning the front door of the house as well as the mailbox, the garden belonged to Cheerilee. Spike hoped she was at the school or otherwise not at home. It occurred to him that he didn't even know the day of the week, much less to which exact date Sweetie Belle's spell had taken them.
Spike closed his eyes and focused. Sensing the magical aura from Sweetie Belle's jewel pendant, he determined that she was still in the general vicinity, and he assumed Apple Bloom was still with her. Apple Bloom had told them to meet up at Point Delta. That was Crusader code for the old train station warehouse – most likely, the new plan was to stay out of sight and try to sneak aboard a train for Canterlot.
He considered his options. Judging by the sun it was still fairly early in the day so there was no use waiting for nightfall. He briefly considered attempting to conjure up a disguise with his magic, but the last time he'd tried to shapeshift into a pony he'd ended up looking like a draconeequs for a whole day. He cringed at the memory, and would rather not relive it. Teleportation wasn't really an option either – he knew the theory but hadn't quite yet figured out how to teleport himself in practice, and this wasn't a good time to start experimenting. He could simply blow a smoke screen and make a run for it in the confusion, but then the ponies might think there was a fire and panic. Being back in Ponyville was making him feel nostalgic and he didn't want to cause trouble if he could help it.
He cautiously stuck his head up over the hedge to survey the area. Luckily, there weren't a lot of ponies out and about. ”Maybe if I just walk down the street and act really casual, nopony will notice I'm a dragon?” He considered this. ”...Yeah, that's a terrible idea. Still, I guess I don't have any other options.”
Taking one last look to make sure there was nopony around, Spike jumped over the hedge and landed on all fours, agile like a cat despite his size. At that same moment, however, the door of a nearby house opened and Golden Harvest stepped outside. She immediately froze when she saw the young dragon, and he reacted the same way. They stared at each other for a moment.
”Um, good morning?” Spike said, waving a claw at her.
Not even taking the time to scream, Golden Harvest spun around and ran back inside her house like her tail had caught fire.
Spike frowned. ”I'd forgotten how hurtful that was.”
Sighing, he continued on his way, trying his best to walk both as casually and stealthily as possible while making his way down the road. Okay, Spike, stay cool. Stay casual. Just minding my own business. Nothing to see here, everything is fine. I'm just a pony who happens to look like a huge, spiky reptile. Wow, this was a stupid idea!
Even so, for a short while it actually seemed to be working. Then he rounded a corner and more or less ran straight into Fluttershy.
”Oh ponyfeathers,” Spike swore.
The moment she laid eyes on him, Fluttershy gasped loudly and stumbled backwards, her wings clenching tight to her sides. ”D-d-d...” she stuttered, inching away from him. ”A d... A d-dr-dra-dra...”
”Oh no!” Spike had seen this reaction before and knew what was about to happen. He put his claws up in what he hoped was a calming gesture and smiled a toothy grin for good measure. ”Fluttershy, please don't panic! You recognize me, right? I'm S...”
”D-D-DRAAAGOOON!” Fluttershy screamed and turned tail, running away from him as fast as she could. ”Everypony run for your lives! There's a draaagon in town!”
”Oh no!” Without thinking, Spike started chasing after her. ”No no no no no no! Don't do that! Let me explain! Please stop screaming! I'm trying to keep a low profile!”
Scootaloo shot through the air like an arrow, her purple contrail drawing an iridescent line against the azure blue. A quick look behind her confirmed her greatest fear – Rainbow Dash pursued her at full throttle, sporting a grin of pathological competitiveness that Scootaloo knew only too well.
”It's okay, Scootaloo,” she told herself, ”just keep calm. I mean, sure, it's Rainbow Dash, the legendary pegasus who taught you everything you know about flying. And she's in her prime now. But you can still outfly her! You're fast! You're awesome! You're...”
Rainbow Dash casually swooped down next the Scootaloo, seemingly without effort. ”You know, you look really familiar.”
”Aaark!”
Scootaloo immediately flared her wings and twisted her body into a cobra turn, changing direction almost on the spot. Rainbow, unprepared, had to make a much slower standard turn and fell behind again. But she didn't stop grinning. ”Oooh, tricky!”
”Okay!” Scootaloo gasped. Her heart beat furiously, and not only because of the adrenalin. ”So I was wrong. I can't outfly Rainbow. But I can still outmaneuver her!”
And so the two pegasi began a strange dance through the air – each time Rainbow closed the distance, Scootaloo would perform some daring aerobatic stunt and evade her. Rainbow soon seemed to be getting used to her movements, however, and kept getting closer each time. Scootaloo decided to raise the stakes and led them back to Ponyville. Flying low, she zigg-zagged between buildings, pinballing against walls, rebounding off street signs and swinging herself around chimneys – anything to throw Rainbow off. All over town, ponies stopped and marveled at the spectacle.
Who the hay is this girl? Rainbow thought. I know I've seen her before somewhere but I can't put my hoof on it! I should have at least heard of her, anypony this good could have made the Wonderbolt Academy easily! She still had no idea why exactly she was chasing this mystery mare in the first place, but at this point it was personal. She growled through her teeth as her prey evaded her by a hair yet again. ”Well, two can play that game!” She spotted a collection of smaller clouds above town, intended to be distributed by the weather team later. She grinned as a clever idea occurred to her. Rainbow Dash did have her clever moments, no matter what Twilight said.
Taking advantage of her superior speed, she began to herd Scootaloo upwards by continuously attacking from below. Scootaloo didn't see the trap and decided to lose Rainbow among the clouds. Instead, it was Rainbow who flew behind a cloud and suddenly disappeared from view. Scootaloo slowed down, frantically looking around. She knew Rainbow Dash hadn't given up and that an ambush could come at any time. She caught a glimpse of something colorful in the corner of her eyes and dodged in the last moment, her lightning reflexes only barely letting her evade the polychromatic projectile.
But Rainbow had counted on that – her real aim had been one of the nearby clouds. As her hoofs struck it she instantly kicked off towards another cloud, and then another, rapidly ricocheting randomly through the air so fast that Scootaloo couldn't track her movements.”Gotcha!” Rainbow cried, finally catching her in a blind spot and tackling her straight into one of the clouds. Scootaloo struggled to get up, but found herself firmly pinned down.
Rainbow laughed triumphantly. ”How you like that? Let's see you dance around now!” Then she blinked in surprise, finally getting a good look at her prey up close. ”Oh, wow? ...Well, now I'm hurt. Scootaloo never told me she's got an actual sister.”
Scootaloo looked up at the colorful mare holding her down. Rainbow was practically glowing from excitement, grinning her usual cocky grin and breathing heavily in a way that made Scootaloo's cheeks burn.
Don't say ”I love you”! Don't say ”I love you”! Scootaloo, do not say ”I love you”!
”...I'm so attracted to you right now!”
Dammit!
”...Wait, what?” Rainbow momentarily pulled away on reflex, surprised by the unexpected confession, and her hold weakened. Scootaloo saw her chance and gave Rainbow a hard shove, freeing herself. She threw herself from the cloud, somersaulting into the air, and then...
No way! Rainbow recognized the move, but seeing it surprised her so much that she could only stare, completely neglecting to close her eyes for what was to come. A moment later a bright flash of light blinded her. She cursed under her breath, rubbing her eyes while colorful spots danced before her vision. ”What in the hay!? That was a Buccaneer Blaze!”
That move was one of her personal techniques, her second best after the Sonic Rainboom. It had taken her two months to master it and so far she had only performed it in public on a few rare occasions. No other pegasus should have be able to do it. Not even the Wonderbolts!
By the time her vision returned, the mysterious pegasus had already made it halfway back to Ponyville. Rainbow immediately gave chase, even more determined than before. None of this made any sense to her, and she wanted answers. ”Seriously, what is going on here!?”
The dim alleyway lay silent, deserted save for a lone tomcat lazily sauntering along one of the walls. After a failed romantic advance on that snooty white queen at the Carousel Boutique, he felt very disinclined to do anything productive with his day, even by cat standards, and was now looking for a good place to nap.
He spotted a bale of hay that had been discarded by a nearby restaurant since the hay had gone stale and was no longer suitable for cooking. The cat however estimated that it would make for an adequate bed and approached it.
The bale then exploded in a bright green flash, scattering sparks and bits of incinerated hay all over the ally like a rain of flaming confetti. The cat ran for his life, scared out of his wits and with every hair on his body standing on end. This event would later cause him to suffer insomnia as well as a severe phobia of hay. However, with the help of supportive friends and plenty of therapy, he soon overcame the trauma and became a respected and productive member of society, at least by cat standards.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle found themselves in the spot where the obliterated bale had just been, disoriented and slightly singed from the slipshod teleportation spell. Apple Bloom coughed and struggled to regain her bearings. ”Ah hate it when ya do that.”
”Hey, it worked, didn't it?” Sweetie Belle replied, wiping the soot off her face. ”Sorta.”
In the sky high above them, Scootaloo suddenly flashed by as if all of Tartarus was after her. She was followed by Rainbow Dash in close pursuit. ”Hey, come back here! I wanna talk to you!”
Somewhere in the distance, a shrill but familiar voice cried out: ”Dragon! It'll burn our homes and devour us all!”
Apple Bloom facehoofed. ”This mission is a disaster.”
”Chin up,” Sweetie Belle said, ”we haven't caused a Fray yet. So what now?”
”Ain't nothin' we can do for Scootaloo and Spike,” Apple Bloom said. ”They'll just have to fend for 'emselves. Both of 'em can travel much faster than us two anyhow. We have to get to the station without bein' spotted by...”
All of a sudden Rarity and Applejack appeared around a corner. ”There they are!”
Sweetie Belle sighed. ”Now we have to run again.”
And so they ran, out of the ally and unto the street, with their relentless pursuers hot on their hooves. ”How in the hay did they find us already?” Apple Bloom growled.
Looking back, Sweetie Belle recognized the familiar blue glow around her sister's horn. ”Ponyfeathers! I think Rarity is tracing my pendant.”
The two of them rounded a corner, Apple Bloom skidding slightly on her hooves from her own velocity. ”So throw it away!” she yelled as they headed towards the market area.
”What?” Sweetie Belle shrieked. ”Are you brain dead? No way!”
Apple Bloom jumped over a barrel, bucking it behind her in the desperate hope it would distract their sisters momentarily. ”Sweetie Belle, this ain't the time to be sentimental!”
”I am not throwing my pendant away, Apple Bloom!”
”Well then run faster!”
”Did you hear something?” Twilight asked, her right ear twitching slightly. Since her transformation into an alicorn, she had found that her senses had become somewhat sharper, including her hearing.
By now they had reached Ponyville and were closing in on the library. Spike, whose senses had always been very acute, leaned over the edge of the basket and frowned. ”I dunno. Maybe? Seems to be some sort of commotion in town today.”
”Isn't there always?” Twilight chuckled. ”Sometimes I wonder if this place can go a week without something crazy...”
She was cut short by an all too familiar scream. This time, she and Spike both heard it clearly. Twilight gasped. ”That sounded like...”
”Fluttershy!” Acting without thinking, Spike immediately jumped out of the basket. Fortunately, the balloon was close enough to the ground for him to land unharmed. He rolled on impact and came up sprinting. ”Hang on, Fluttershy! I'm coming!”
”Spike! Wait!” Twilight yelled. ”Don't run off on your owoooaaaah!” Too distracted to control her flight, she suddenly swerved off course. She desperately flapped her wings but that only made it worse and with a brief undignified scream, Princess Twilight Sparkle crashed straight into the branches of her own tree home. For a brief moment she rested precariously on one of the upper branches, then it suddenly broke with a loud snapping sound. With wings forgotten and hooves wildly flailing, Twilight fell once again, this time landing hard on her balcony below. Her whole body hurt, and her mane was full of leaves and twigs, but luckily she didn't seem to have broken anything. Pegasus toughness was another advantage of her new form.
”Why not fly home on your own today, Twilight?” she muttered as she picked herself up. ”It will be good practice, Twilight! Me and my brilliant ideas...”
”Wooords come eeeaasy!” Pinkie Pie sang, happily pushing the large baby carriage towards Sugarcube Corner.
”Bwuuubwawawewesy!” Pumpkin Cake replied enthusiastically. Next to her, Pound Cake just laughed at their antics.
”That's right!” Pinkie said. ”Wooords cooome eeeaasy! Words do come easy when you sing a happy song! Wapda-wap-babbi-dabbidi-do!”
She had once again been tasked with babysitting the twins for the day as the Cakes had to make a large last minute delivery, but Pinkie certainly didn't object. She loved spending time with the babies, though she wished they would hurry up and learn how to talk. If Pinkie loved one thing more than talking to her friends, it was talking with her friends. In an attempt to foster linguistic development, she had taken to singing a little pedagogic song she'd made up, encouraging them to sing along. It didn't seem to be working too well, but it kept them entertained and that was the important thing.
Suddenly a very Fluttershy scream interrupted the song: ”Draaaagoooon!”
Pinkie gasped. ”That sounded like Fluttershy! She needs my help!” Then she frowned. ”Oh, but if there's a rampaging dragon in town, I need to get the babies safe. My Nana Pinkie always said that babies and rampaging dragons simply don't mix!” She bit her lip, torn between dual responsibilities.
As she was standing there trying to make up her mind, Spike came sprinting by as fast as his short legs would carry him. ”HeyPinkiecan'tstayandchatgottasaveFluttershy!”
Pinkie perked up, feeling relieved. Leaving the dragon crisis to her dragon friend made a lot of sense – Spike was an expert in the field, after all. ”Don't worry, Spike!” she yelled after him. ”The babies are safe with me! Go get 'im, big guy!”
Spike barely heard her. He was too focused on his task, following the sound of the screams. As he approached Sugarcube Corner he finally caught sight of Fluttershy, and then he saw the dragon chasing her: Wingless, with green spines and purple scales, and roguishly handsome in a strangely familiar way. This dragon was still a juvenile by the standards of their species, about the same size as Garble. Of course, that still made him much larger than Spike. It suddenly occurred to the baby drake that he didn't have a plan – he had simply reacted on an instinct he hadn't known he possessed; to help a friend in need. But it was too late to reevaluate his strategy. He would just have to buy time until Twilight caught up.
Fluttershy had been backed against the entrance of the bakery – she had tried to flee inside only to find the doors locked, and now she just cowered in a pathetic quivering heap. ”L-Leave me alone!” she wailed.
The dragon reared and brandished his terrifying claws. ”Please stop, you're making me look like the bad guy here!” he growled menacingly.
”Hold it right there!” Spike said, striking a dramatic pose and pointing defiantly at the reptilian invader. ”You may be a dragon, and you may be much bigger and stronger than me, and I may not actually have thought this through at all, but I won't let you hurt my friend!”
Amazingly, the teenage dragon actually did stop, made wide eyes upon seeing Spike, and started to back away from him. ”Oh no! Not you! You stay away from me!”
Spike blinked. That was not the reaction he'd expected. Frowning, he quickly looked over his shoulder. He knew this cliché and fully expected to find, say, Princess Celestia standing right behind him. To his surprise, however, there was nopony there. He looked back at the other dragon, who still appeared horrified. Spike started to grin. He had no idea why, but this older, larger dragon actually seemed to be afraid of him!
“So, you think you're hot stuff, huh?” he said and strode forward, full of newfound confidence. “Think you can come to my town and start trouble, huh?”
The other dragon shuffled backwards, almost stumbling on his own tail. “No, I'm serious, keep your distance!”
Spike ignored him. He was on a roll now and had no intention of stopping. “Well, I've got news for you, buster! This town ain't big enough for two dragons!”
With a muffled curse, the teen dragon turned tail and ran. Too caught up in the moment to think rationally, Spike started to chase after him. “That's right, run!” he laughed with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. “Run or face the fury of Spike!”
As he fled, the older dragon cringed. “Why does life have to be so ironic?”
He didn't make it very far, though, because the next moment an orange pegasus mare came speeding around a corner, pursued by Rainbow Dash, and proceeded to crash right into him. They were both knocked to the ground.
“Dammit, Scootaloo!” he growled.
Scootaloo groaned and picked herself up. “Sorry Spike.”
"Whoa! Dragon!" Rainbow blurted, coming to a halt in the air above them. "Wait a minute, Scootaloo?”
Spike stared at the other dragon, his earlier bravado forgotten in the confusion. “...Your name is Spike too?”
“Spike! Scootaloo!”
They all turned their heads to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle come running through the market place, followed by Applejack and Rarity. Sweetie Belle, at the limits of her endurance, was starting to fall behind. They had almost made it to Sugarcube Corner when she tripped on something and stumbled into the dirt road. “Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom cried, half turned to her fallen companion .
“Sweetie Belle!?” Spike and Rainbow both exclaimed as one, just as a purple and green blur ran past them.
The older Spike had reacted with speed uncanny for his size, leaping between Sweetie Belle and her pursuers in one motion. He opened his fanged maw and unleashed a terrifying roar, causing Applejack and Rarity to stop dead in their tracks as their primal instincts suddenly kicked in. He glared at them. ”Look, I really don't want to fight you girls, so please back off.”
Applejack regained her nerve first. ”Outta my way, ya big lizard!”
”Applejack, maybe we should listen to him?” Rarity whispered, looking a lot less enthused. ”He's bigger than us. And sharper. And more indestructible.”
The dragon glanced at his three companions. ”You girls run, I'll hold them off.”
”We can't just leave you!” Sweetie Belle protested.
”No, he's right!” Apple Bloom said and tried to drag her along. ”We can still pull this off but we need to move now!”
”Oh no, you don't!” They now found the other way blocked by Rainbow Dash, standing wide-legged with wings flared, apparently intending to stop all three of them if needed. ”You're not going anywhere!”
Spike, meanwhile, simply stared at the scene with wide eyes. ”Okay, I'm so confused now.”
”ENOUGH! WHAT IN CELESTIA'S NAME DO YOU ALL THINK YOU'RE DOING!?”
Everypony froze in place, seemingly paralyzed by Twilight Sparkle's deafening cry. Princess Luna had been giving her lessons on how to use the Royal Canterlot Voice.
They all turned to see Twilight Sparkle approaching them. She was flanked by Fluttershy, who still looked very apprehensively at the older Spike, and Pinkie Pie with her baby carriage, having determined that neither of the two dragons were rampaging at the moment. Twilight gave the group a hard look and tried to seem as authoritative as possible, despite still having a few twigs sticking out of her mane. ”Well, now that everypony has finally calmed down a bit, mind telling me what's going on here?”
”Well, ya see,” Applejack began, ”me an' Rarity had just dropped off the Cutie Mark Crusaders at the station, an' we were mindin' our own business when these four just plum showed up outta nowhere!”
”Mindin' yer own business, my hoof!” Apple Bloom muttered. ”Y'all started chasin' us!”
”Don't interrupt me, Apple Bloom!” Applejack snapped. ”We only chased y'all because ya ran away instead of answerin' our questions.”
”Wait a minute, that's Apple Bloom?” Twilight's eyes widened as she took a closer look at the three mares. ”You are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”
Pinkie Pie giggled. ”But they're all... big!”
”Yeah, an' they all have cutie marks now!” Applejack said. ”An' Apple Bloom's wearin' my hat!”
”But Applejack, you're wearing your hat too,” Pinkie pointed out.
”Ah know!” Applejack cried. ”That's what's so suspicious!”
At this point, Twilight noticed that a crowd of ponies had started to converge on the group. Most ponies would instinctively run and hide at the first sign of trouble, but now that she'd managed to get the situation under control, their natural curiosity was taking over.
“Please step aside! Let me through! Official Ponyville business!” came a voice from within the crowd as Mayor Mare jostled her way through the mass of ponies. ”Twilight! What in the wide world of Equestria is the meaning of all this?”
Twilight Sparkle glanced at the Crusaders, who all looked rather awkward now. She seemed to weigh her options for a moment, then she sighed slightly.
”Nothing to worry about, Madam Mayor,” she said. ”We have everything under control. Spike and the fillies just had a bit of an accident with a misfired age spell, that's all.”
”...A misfired age spell?” Mayor Mare's eyes narrowed. ”And why are there two Spikes?”
”Duplication spell,” Twilight replied. “My bad.”
”Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Mayor Mare said, her voice firm. ”With all due respect, I know I'm just an earth pony but even I know that's completely...”
Twilight put her hoof up, silencing her. ”I'm sorry, but that's our story and we're sticking to it. At least for now. Please let me handle this.”
For a brief moment Mayor Mare looked like she wanted to object again, but then she sighed. ”...As you say, your Highness. I'll leave this to you.”
Twilight offered her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Mayor.”
“Just please don't make me regret it,” Mayor Mare added. She turned around and addressed the crowd. “Alright, everypony, there's nothing to see here! Please disperse in an orderly manner!”
The townsponies did as told and though many curious glances still lingered, the situation soon returned to a semblance of normalcy. Looking quite annoyed, Twilight turned to the Crusaders. ”Now look what you've done. I had to use my authority as princess. I hate having to use my authority around Ponyville!”
”Sorry Twilight,” Apple Bloom said. ”Ah guess the game's up now, so we might as well explain what's goin' on. But jus' so ya know, it's all gonna sound mighty weird.”
”You're from the future,” Twilight said, as if casually commenting on the weather.
Apple Bloom sighed. ”That obvious, huh?`”
”Well, you're clearly the Cutie Mark Crusaders, except older,” Twilight said. ”It's really not that hard to figure out. I have traveled through time once myself, after all.” She cocked her head. ”Though, I'm guessing you're not from next Tuesday morning, huh?”
”Not quite,” Sweetie Belle grinned.
”Actually,” Scootaloo said. ”we're from about ten years into the future.” She glared at Sweetie Belle. ”Assuming our mighty sorceress here didn't get the time spell completely wrong.”
”You're never going to let that go, are you?” Sweetie Belle muttered. ”It's a complicated spell! I've never gone this far back before and I got the destination a little bit wrong. So sue me.”
”Oh Sweet Celestia!” younger Spike said with a look of horror on his face. ”The Cutie Mark Crusaders are time travelers!”
Sweetie Belle chuckled. ”It's not as bad as it sounds.”
”It is exactly as bad as it sounds,” older Spike deadpanned. ”We haven't even been here for half an hour and look at the mess we've gotten ourselves into.”
”Well, I can tell this is going to take a while,” Twilight said, turning to Pinkie Pie. ”Pinkie, do you think the Cakes would mind if we commandeer Sugarcube Corner for a while?”
“Nah,” Pinkie said. “They won't be back for a while but since it's you, I don't think it'll be a problem if I let you guys in. Besides, I have to get the babies their munchy-lunchies, and this all sounds way too fun to miss out on.”
Meanwhile, Spike was eyeing his older self with a mixture of fascination and concern. “So, you're me from the future, huh?”
The older Spike looked very uncomfortable. “Yeah.”
“So, um...” Spike hesitated. “If I touch you, are we both going to turn into orange goop and disappear?"
“What?” Future Spike stared at his younger self in sudden confusion. “Why in the hay would that happen?”
“I guess you don't remember, but I read this book once,” Spike explained, “where the villain died because he touched himself from the future, and they couldn't be in the same place at once or something like that, so they both turned into orange goop. And back there, you were going all: 'Stay away from me!' so I thought...”
“Oh! No, no,” Future Spike shook his head. ”That doesn't happen. We can touch each other just fine. It's just that when you cross your own timeline, things tend to get kinda...”
“Complicated?” Spike guessed.
“I was going to say stupid.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. Part of her found the discussion fascinating, but they had more important things to discuss. “Spike...”
“Yes?” both Spikes replied as one.
“Okay, that is going to get really annoying,” Twilight said. She pointed at the teen and baby dragon respectively: “From now on you are Big Spike and you are Little Spike.”
“I don't want to be Little Spike!” Spike argued. “That sounds ridiculous. Can't we just call me Spike and him Future Spike?”
Future Spike grinned. “And why can't you be Past Spike?”
“Because unlike you, I actually belong in this time,” Spike said. “If anything, I should be Present Spike. And besides...”
“Just get inside the bakery!” Twilight groaned.
And so they all found themselves sitting around the largest table in Sugarcube Corner, except for Pinkie who served them all refreshments and then saw about getting the twins fed. All eyes were turned on the four time travelers. “Now then,” Twilight said, “why don't you tell us why you're here? We're all very anxious to hear about it.”
“It's kind of a long story,” Apple Bloom said. “Ya see, there's this epic pony war in the future an'...”
“Ha!” Twilight exclaimed. Then she noticed the looks she was getting and blushed from embarrassment. “Sorry, that sounds terrible and I shouldn't laugh. It's just that last time...” She waved her hoof. “You know what, it doesn't matter. So I'm guessing you four came back here to prevent this war?”
“Well, somethin' like that, yeah,” Apple Bloom replied.
Twilight frowned. “In that case I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. When I tried to change the past, not only did I fail but I actually created the circumstances of the thing I tried to prevent. That would imply that time is a fixed series of predetermined events, and that changing the past is impossible. That's why I never bothered trying to travel in time a second time. It's pretty pointless.”
“We know all that,” Spike said. “But that's not all there is to it. Turns out time travel is a lot more complicated than we first thought. I'm sure you've guessed it by now, but the time spell we're using is different from the one Star Swirl created.”
“As a matter of fact, that's why we're here,” Sweetie Belle said. “We need to get the original time travel spell from the Star Swirl wing in Canterlot.”
“Hold on,” Rainbow Dash raised a hoof. “I'm confused. What does Star Swirl's time spells have to do with an epic pony war in the future?”
”Actually,” Apple Bloom said, pointing with her hoof, ”it's kinda all her fault.”
The room went silent. Pinkie Pie, who had been busy making airplane noises with a spoon full of baby food, looked up from the twins and found that everypony were staring at her. ”...What?”