Part 2C: I, Pony
The Solar Empire Resistance’s underground headquarters was about the size of Ponyville, with around half the population, which made for a rather empty looking base. Most of Cup Cakes tour consisted of empty meeting rooms, dingy corridors, a couple mess halls, the odd lounge here and there and more restrooms.
Cliff Jumper was reminded of a museum tour where the guide is clearly trying and failing to make the place more exciting than it was. It made one pity said guide, seeing as they had a better chance at making a sentient robot that defied the laws of physics. Cup Cake noticed her audience losing interest and hurried her along to the pièce de résistance; the Relic Room.
Upon entering the Relic Room, Cliff’s eyes lit up. Podium after podium held up items and artifacts holding sentimental value to the resistance. The first thing to catch Cliff’s attention was Rarity’s battle equipment, labelled ‘Generous Goddess of War’. The attire was minimalistic, and the blades were permanently stained with blood. It was a pity they didn’t have any pictures.
Cup just smiled as Cliff went between all the podiums with childish excitement. Other things amongst the collection were Fluttershy’s gear from her time as a guerrilla fighter. She had lost all hope for ponykind and dedicated herself to protecting her animals in the Everfree Forest. In return, those animals treated her like their own royalty, coining her the name of ‘Beast Princess’.
In the end, Angel Bunny betrayed her, having been lead to believe that Luna would treat her well. Instead, Fluttershy was almost killed, and the Everfree forest was wiped off the map. Now she lay old and crippled in the base’s living quarters. She was not a happy bunny.
There was nothing else worth mentioning, with the rest being loot or armour from certain battles. The ponies connected to them were unknown to Cliff. After a little longer, she was finished and the tour came to its conclusion in the living quarters. Nothing to see but some ponies sleeping, and Fluttershy looking at the wall as if there was a window there to look out of longingly. With the tour now over, the pair went in search of the others.
Berry Punch had successfully explained that she and Cliff were from a Ponyville when Nightmare Moon had been defeated. Twilight then went on to explain the fates of the Element Bearers. They’d never heard of Pinkie Pie, Rarity was dead, Fluttershy crippled, Applejack and her family went AWOL and Rainbow Dash hadn’t returned from going out to bring them back.
It turns out that, back when this timeline’s Twilight tried to take on Nightmare Moon, she had still realised the connection between the elements and her friends, except nopony was there for laughter. The elements did indeed appear, but the balloon shaped gem had no recipient. And thus, the New Lunar Republic came into power.
Just before the arrival of the time travelers, Twilight had tested the last pony with a balloon in their cutie mark. There had been no reaction. It was at this point that Cliff and Cup showed up.
“So, this robot getting built or what?” Cliff asked, still a bit shaken from seeing Fluttershy.
Berry smiled at her friend’s return. “I was just getting to that.”
“I’m sorry… robot?” Twilight repeated, skeptically.
Berry explained the events of Glitchie Pi’s malfunction.
Carrot hesitantly spoke up, “Erm… I don’t mean to burst your bubble… but…”
“We don’t know the first thing about building or maintaining robots… nopony does,” Cup finished.
“Then how on Equis-”
Berry put a hoof to Cliff’s lips, evidently thinking hard on the conundrum.
“Perhaps… I can teach you… As long as you’re willing to learn…”
“O-Of course!” Agreed the Cakes.
“If only Pinkie were here now,” Cliff commented. “She’d do something like, I dunno… announce ‘IT’S MONTAGE TIME!’”
Over some undefined period of time, Berry Punch taught the Cakes all she knew about robotic engineering. Cliff Jumper just lazed around the base, getting to know the resistance fighters, eventually getting recruited on their missions. Most went by uneventfully. Then, one perma-night, they were ambushed.
Nearly all of the group, out on a reconnaissance mission, were killed. Cliff Jumper managed to escape undetected, having been ordered to run by the captain. Said captain reappeared near the statue entrance, heavily injured.
“Everypony else is dead,” he said. “But they fought to their last breaths. I managed to slay the last of our enemies and make it here.”
Having galloped most of the way back, Cliff was too exhausted to wonder how a heavily injured stallion could reach the base at the same time as herself. They were swallowed up by magic. But, instead of the usual room where they’d be checked for corruption, Cliff and the captain found found themselves in Twilight Sparkle’s office. The mare in question sat at her desk, head lying over her papers, blood seeping from her neck. With one last gasp, Twilight died before their eyes. A pony, wrapped in shimmering darkness not unlike Luna’s mane, fled through the door.
“Sweet Po-”
“Cliff, you check on the Cakes and Miss Punch! I’ll gather up the troops to search for the culprit!”
Before Cliff could respond, the captain was also out the door. She took a moment to close Twilight’s eyes, wishing the Unicorn the best in the afterlife, and then left too. Minutes later, the Cakes and Berry Punch were met with a panting Cliff Jumper.
“She’s what!?” Carrot exclaimed, comforting his already distraught wife.
“Dead. A slit throat. The one who did it kinda looked like Luna’s mane in pony form.”
Berry was already checking her weapons. “What’s being done about it?”
“Plot went to rally the others for a search.” Cliff frowned, “Come to think of it, he moved kinda fast for somep-”
Another pony rushed into the meeting room, almost earning herself a bullet in the head.
“We’ve got a problem! A corrupted pony got in! Half the base is either dead or turned!”
“Who was it?” Berry asked.
“Captain Device, Ma’am.”
“Dammit, Plot!” Cliff screamed, punching a wall.
“We need to get you ponies to safety!”
The pony made to turn around, but then suddenly collapsed, a knife sticking out of her head.Behind her stood the pony shaped shimmering darkness. Where the face would be was the mask Fluttershy had worn during her guerilla days. The knife also belonged to Fluttershy.
Cliff Jumper attempted to tackle the assassin with full force, only to get redirected into a wall. Berry Punch fired off a few shots, the enemy managing to dodge all bar one. Where the single bullet hit in the leg, darkness dispersed, revealing a little hint of familiar yellow fur. Upon seeing the looks of realisation on her quarry, Fluttershy dropped the cloak of darkness completely.
“By the Gates of Tartarus,” Carrot muttered.
Cup just huddled up behind her husband, frightened beyond belief. Taking advantage of the pause, Fluttershy freed her knife from her last victim’s skull. More bullets came her way, and with the help of her knife, all were evaded or blocked. The revolvers were emptied. Fluttershy lunged forward, knife aimed for Berry’s eyes.
Unlucky for the corrupted Pegasus, Berry swung the assault rifle from her back and unleashed hell. Fully automatic death pierced Fluttershy, shattering the mask she wore as lead filled every inch of her. The four ponies stared at the dead mares. There was no time to rest, however, as the sound of battle could be heard down the corridors, growing louder as it came closer.
Berry spun on the spot, facing the Cakes with determination. “Carrot. Cup. We’re gonna have to leave earlier than planned. You got those pills?”
The pair nodded and pulled the mentioned pills out, swallowing one each. Cliff watched this while lifting herself from the ground, rubbing her head. Before anything could be said on the subject, Berry Punch had her guns back in their respective places and was pulling Cliff closer. The Cakes gathered up some blueprints and stepped up to the time travellers.
“We all ready?” Berry enquired, hoof hovering over the Harkness.
Hooves were placed on Berry, their owners nodding. With a simple beep, they vanished. The timeline continued on without them. Although the past would be changed, this version of events would never cease to exist. The base was overrun. Night reigned eternal.
It turns out that one grows used to time travel quite fast, as Cliff was only slightly disorientated. The first thing she saw was Berry tending to an unconscious pair of bakers.
“What happened to them? Are they alright?”
Berry stood up, searching her pockets for something.
“They’re fine. Those pills they took are taking effect is all. They’ll wake up in a state of suggestibility and find…” The mare pulled out a rolled up note. “This!” She placed it by the sleeping ponies.
“I don’t-”
“Understand? I gave them the pills, claiming they were for one’s first time travel experience. Then I had Carrot write a note for our past selves, dictating it ‘word for word’. When they awake, they’ll never know we were here.”
“Oh… wow… damn you’re smart. By that I mean super smart, ‘cause I already knew you were smart but this is like smart on a whole new level. I wish I could be even one tenth of how smart you are. Seriously, the surprise is in the extreme level of smartne-”
Cliff stopped when a hoof was gently held to her lips. The ‘super smart’ mare giggled and smiled.
“Cliff, honey… you’re smarter than you think. Why else would I drag you along?”
“For comedic effect?”
Another giggle, and a hoof was replaced with a second pair of lips. The kiss was brief, but wonderful all the same. Cliff Jumper just stood there, eyes closed, smiling to herself. Berry went to work making sure nopony bothered the two suggestible ponies still snoozing away. When Cliff finally came back her senses, her favourite mare in the whole world was finishing up.
“So, we off to save a dear little changeling…” Cliff had to pause, wondering what one called a young changeling. “-ling?”
“Not straight away. I want to visit a certain rock farm while we’re here.”
“You mean the Pies’? Why?”
Berry was already making her way up a grass slope near where they’d arrived.
“To investigate.”
“Can’t argue with that, I guess,” Cliff said to herself. “Isn’t like we’re limited on time.”
So the two mares made there way up the slope. At the top, the ground fell away onto a rock farm. Partying could be heard from the silo, and with nopony in sight, they jumped down and headed for it.
“You know, I never understood rock farms. It’s like they were invented for the sole reason of having a zero in a one to ten scale of boredom. We already have mining qua-”
All of a sudden, screams pierced their eardrums, once more coming from the silo. Berry and Cliff began to gallop. Upon entering, the first noticeable thing was everypony gathered around a single spot, everypony being an old-ish looking couple and two fillies. Looking over the fillies, a third could be seen convulsing on the floor, pastry and cream littering her face; Pinkie Pie was choking. Immediately jumping into action, Berry commenced performing the heimlich maneuver.
A minute or so went by and Pinkie couldn’t be saved. The father took off his hat, struggling to hold back the tears. The other three Pies cried openly, Cliff comforting the best she could. Berry lowered the filly to the ground. Close by, a mashed pie lay discarded, Pinkie’s facial imprint being the last recorded smile of a great pony to be.
There was something off about the pie. Like a flash, Miss Punch was at the pie, examining its contents. She scooped out a hoofful, and proceeded to lick it. A moment later, a dark blue ball burst out of the pie. The size of the average apple, the sphere was squidgy like foam.
Berry whispered, “Chapple Seeds… but how?” The mare spun around to point a hoof at Mister Pie, shouting, “You there! Describe the moment the pie was thrown!”
For a stallion in a such a situation, he remembered the scene surprisingly clearly.He provided everypony’s locations; all six of them. But, when Berry pointed out the fact there were only five present, Mister Pie didn’t seem to understand. None of the Pies were able to notice the problem. They agreed there was only five of them, yet would then agree there was a sixth without realising how it didn’t add up.
Eventually, the time travellers gave up and gave their condolences, exiting the silo. While they walked away, Berry stared at the ball from earlier.
Cliff had never seen such a thing. “What is that?” She wondered aloud.
“A Chapple Seed,” Berry answered, matter of factly. Noticing her companion’s blank look, she explained, “An ancient breed of apple seed. They’d been banned back in my time for the hazard they posed. Basically, Chapples are a kind of apple that are almost identical to plain apples. The difference was in the seeds and, if you concentrate hard on it, the flavour. The seeds, when exposed to saliva, expand into what you see before you. Many a soul lost their life, choking on these things. They were supposed to be extinct , but rumour had it that Luna preserved some, using them like one used poison during the war.”
“But then… wouldn’t that mean… that sixth pony...?”
“Yes… the pony who murdered Pinkie Pie… is in some way connected to the Old Lunar Republic… maybe even from that time, like myself…”
“Sweet Pony Jesus…”
