//------------------------------// // Spreading the Word // Story: My Little Pony: Arceus and the Displaced Village // by Cloudhammer //------------------------------// Twilight had battled against insane alicorns, a rogue god, an army of shapeshifters, an entity of darkness, and worse in her life. Her powers were still growing as she continued to come into her newfound status. And yet, despite all that she’d seen in her relatively short life, nothing had given her pause like those five words. “But… wait, what?” Mayor Mare nodded somberly, almost unwilling to meet her gaze. “I’m afraid so, Twilight.” Twilight took a hesitant step back, shaking her head slowly. “No… no, that’s impossible…” She looked around, finally taking in the strange buildings that hadn’t been in town a week ago, the strange creatures standing beside the townsponies. “But I just saw you all last week…” She stopped as she saw a familiar figure in the crowd. “Big Mac!” She half-jumped, half-glided down from the platform to him. “This has to be some kind of hallucination, right? Something from the Everfree, or one of Discord’s pranks—” “Eenope,” Big Mac said firmly, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s been ten years, Princess.” She stared up at him, eyes pleading as they met his. The usual laconic expression was still there, but it was weighed down by sorrow and resignation. She shivered as it started to sink in that the mayor might be right, that it really had been ten years. Her ears fell flat as she tried to rationalize the magnitude of the disaster, and tried to figure out a way to fix it. “Twilight, I know this is a shock for you,” Mayor Mare said as she climbed down from the platform. “Believe me, it was for all of us when it happened.” She laughed wryly. “But we made do.” Twilight shook her head as she looked around again, stopping as she saw Pound and Pumpkin on the porch. “P-Pound? Pumpkin? Is it really you?” She spotted the strange primate huddling behind Pumpkin’s leg and gasped. “That monkey’s on fire!” Her horn lit as she started to summon water, only to stop as Pumpkin stamped her hooves. “Twilight, that’s how he’s supposed to be! Chimchar’s a Fire type, after all,” she said matter-of-factly. “What?” Twilight asked incredulously. She blinked in surprise as she peered closer, realizing the flames coming from the creature weren’t burning Pumpkin’s coat. “Okay... so assuming I believe any of what you’re telling me, now we need to figure out what to do from here.” She glanced at the portal, frowning as she noted the wavering at the edges. “First things first, I need to stabilize the rift, keep it from closing. I can only assume the temporal distortion is held off by the bridging between… wherever here is and Equestria. Once that’s firmed up, I’ll be back.” She hopped back up onto the porch and started to trot toward the portal. “I’m going to fix this, I promise.” “Twilight, wait!” Mayor Mare shouted as Twilight vanished into the swirling energy, a brief flash of light blinding everyone present. Rubbing at her eyes, she peered forlornly into the rift. “Twilight…” Her moment of quiet was broken by a sudden outburst of shouting, the assembled humans, ponies, and Pokemon all breaking free of the silence Twilight’s arrival had locked them into. She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach as she turned to face the agitated crowd. “Oh dear…” Twilight stumbled as she emerged from the portal, the familiar sights of her laboratory in Canterlot surrounding her. She caught the edge of the table as her vision swam, her chest hiking as she tried to comprehend what she’d learned. “Ten years… but that’s impossible… burning monkeys...” “Take it easy there, Twilight.” Discord snapped his fingers and a couch appeared next to her. He helped her settle onto it before he spawned an armchair. “Just breathe.” “It’s all impossible!” she shouted, trying to leap off the couch, only to run smack into a wall of force as Discord leaned forward. “Relax, Twilight. Doctor’s orders.” He reached up and tugged on his horn until it broke off, the bone wriggling as it morphed into a miniature replica of the draconequus. “Go fetch Celestia and the others, please.” The replica saluted before vanishing. Discord turned back to his ‘patient’. “Now, tell me about your relationship with your father.” Twilight blinked. “Wait, what?” She rolled upright as the wall of force dissipated. “What in the world does that have to do with anything?” Discord sat back, scribbling on his notepad. “Oh, nothing. But it did help snap you back into it.” He tossed the notepad over his shoulder and into thin air as he stood up. “In any case, what did you see?” Twilight shook her head. “It was Ponyville. But… Mayor Mare said they’d been gone for ten years. And there were all manner of strange… creatures there too. And… I think I saw Pound and Pumpkin Cake, just older…” She swayed and fell back onto the couch. “I don’t want to admit it, but I think they really have been gone for ten years.” “Hmmmm, I suppose it’s possible. Temporal manipulation isn’t foal’s play, after all. Especially when crossing the dimensional divide like you did.” Discord tapped a claw on his chin as he paced. “In any case, for right now, I suggest that you do what you ponies do best.” He continued walking onto the wall as the door slammed open. “Get help from your friends.” “Twilight!” A pink rocket was the first thing through the door, knocking Twilight to the floor in a crushing hug. The rest of the Bearers weren’t too far behind Pinkie, concern mixed with relief at finding Twilight unharmed. “Did you find everypony? How are Big Mac and Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked. “Is Sweetie Belle alright? I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to her or my parents.” “What about Scootaloo, and the rest of town?” Rainbow Dash added. “Tell me you saw Angel,” Fluttershy interrupted, tears welling up. “Oh, I should have brought him with me, I told him I’d only be gone for a few days. He must be worried sick.” Twilight tried to answer, but Pinkie’s hug refused to let up, only allowing her a raspy squeak. “Twilight, what happened?” Celestia asked on reflex as she entered the room, before she fixed her attention on Discord. “Unless you’d care to shed some light on this?” Despite himself, Discord couldn’t help the shiver at the look in Celestia’s eyes. “Now now, I had nothing to do with this. Well, I may have enabled it, but the rest was purely her decision. Besides, she’s fine, and so is Ponyville, apparently.” “He’s right, Princess,” Twilight said as she extricated herself from her friends. “But, I’m afraid that there’s been some sort of temporal distortion between the two apertures.” She gestured at the portal. “On their side, they claim that ten years have passed.” Everypony present fell silent, eyes widening as they tried to process what Twilight had just said. Mouths opened and closed, but it was Fluttershy who managed to find her voice first. “What?” “Everyone, please remain calm!” Mayor Mare shouted as the crowd continued to batter her with questions. “I know that you are all curious and concerned, but we need to keep a level head.” “But where did that pony come from? I thought that there wasn’t a way to send you ponies back?” a trainer shouted. “Maybe they lied, and were just trying to see if they could attack us!” another cried, and the mutterings of the crowd began to sour. “Please, stop this!” Mayor Mare stamped her hooves in an effort to maintain control. “You’ve known us for ten years. Your government took us in, helped us build a new life. Regardless of what the future holds, know that we are as much citizens of your world as we are of Equestria.” The crowd’s muttering continued, though she could see that they were starting to calm down. “Now, I think that we all need to take some time to come to an understanding of how to proceed. Once I’ve contacted the Sinnoh Regional Government, I will hold a town meeting to keep everyone informed.” The crowd was now nodding in agreement, their prior rancor fading fast, and before long began to disperse. After she was sure no hecklers remained she sighed in relief, turning to Pound, Pumpkin, and Cream. “Well, I am sorry that your special day didn’t go as planned, but I’m sure you’ve got a lot to prepare for. Normally you’d be leaving to start your journeys, but I’m sure you’d like to spend the day with your families. If I don’t see you before you leave, I wish you all the best of luck.” She hurriedly trotted into Town Hall and closed the door. Pound stared at the pokeball in his hoof, mind racing. “Pumpkin… do you realize what this means?” “We might be able to see Aunt Pinkie again!” she exclaimed, rearing in excitement. Her Chimchar grinned and sprang up onto her back, caught up in her enthusiasm. “We might be able to see everypony again! And maybe we can even go there too…” he whispered, looking up at the swirling vortex of magic. “It’ll be interesting, that’s for sure. But come on, let’s go tell Mom and Dad the news!” The twins galloped off, Chimchar clinging for dear life as they sped past Big Mac. He stared silently at the rift, muscles tight as he fought to move. Finally, he got to his hooves and turned away, toward the road out of town. “Sorry sis, gotta do this first.” He lunged into a gallop, the dirt flying up as ponies, people, and Pokemon wisely got out of his way. The picket fence was a blur as he charged through the gate, skidding to a stop at the steps of the house. Breathing hard, he shook his hooves off and trotted inside, not bothering to mind his step. “Granny? You up?” From the end of the hall, he heard her coughing. “Well, I am now, what with you trompin’ all across the floor and shoutin’ fit to wake the dead, boy! Now, come on in and tell me what’s got you all fired up. Cheerilee finally convince you to give me another great-grandfoal?” Mac rolled his eyes as he entered her room, the machinery surrounding her bed droning on. “Not yet, Granny. We’ve still got our hooves full with Sprout, after all.” He glanced out the window at the small tree growing beside the house. “Tiny’s doing pretty good this year.” “Don’t try to change the subject.” Granny shifted a bit, and Mac hurried over to help her sit upright. “You’re an Apple. If I could handle three of ya on my own, ain’t no reason you can’t handle more than one foal ‘twixt the two of you.” “Are you sure you remember the right Sprout, Granny?” Mac teased. “Your memory ain’t what it used to be, I’d not be surprised you forgot your own great-granddaughter.” “You hush now,” she snapped, thumping him on the shoulder with a hoof. “My memory’s just fine. I don't forget anypony, remember?” Her eyes fell for a moment. “Aye, and that’s why I came home so fast,” Mac said, grinning despite himself. “Saw Princess Twilight today.” Granny Smith’s ear flicked, and she shot Mac a glare. “Now that ain’t funny, Macintosh Apple. I raised you better than that.” He shook his head. “I’m serious, Granny. Was out with the town watching the new round of Trainers get their first pokemon, then all of a sudden there’s a burst of magic, and Twilight comes walking out like she’d just forgotten the mail. Of course, she didn’t take too well to what she saw. From what she said, it's only been a week on their end of things. She started getting all technical, then went back through the rift, though it ain’t closed yet.” “So wait just a moment, you’re telling me that our Princess Twilight created a portal to us, and it’s still open?” “Uh-huh,” Mac replied with a nod. “And if she can come on through, then other ponies could too?” she asked, a smile spreading on her face. “I reckon so,” Mac said, his grin widening as he realized what she was getting at. “Well don’t just stand there, get my bonnet and chair.” She turned her head toward the window. “Hey, Tiny! Gonna need you to get movin, I’m goin’ to town!” Outside, the apple tree swayed as its bearer shook itself awake. “Tor…” the Torterra grumbled good-naturedly as he started to trundle around the house to the porch. He didn’t know what his trainer was so excited about, but supposed it didn’t matter. He would find out in good time. “Oh, and Mac?” Granny Smith called out as he stopped in the doorway. “You best call your sister. Celestia knows she’ll be happy to hear the news.” “Eeeyup,” Mac said, turning toward the phone on the wall. “She just might.” Left alone on the stage, the rift swirled and hummed with the energy that had forced it open. On its own, it would have fizzled out and shut, potentially isolating the two dimensions forever. But Twilight, in her eagerness to find her lost home, had unwittingly begun to stabilize it. Gradually, the crackle of magic subsided until only a slight distortion emanated from the edges, and the hum fell silent. The stabilizing rippled along the rift, spreading outward through causality and the connected dimensions of both worlds. In a jagged space composed of frozen shards of time, a god stirred, red eyes glowing softly as the past and future twisted into new shapes. In a flowing space forged from spheres of potential space, a god stirred, hissing as the harmonic resonance of the dimensions began to shatter. In a chaotic space created from outlandish reflections of the other realms, a god stirred, twisting to avoid the billowing clouds of smoke that began to form. And in a vast space formed from uncountable galaxies, a god stirred, the eighteen stars orbiting it pulsing brighter as it took notice of this new phenomenon in its creation.