Down Winding Paths

by Wolfie 03


IV - The start of mistrust

The two time travelers were roughly shaken awake by prodding hooves and short tones. As Derpy opened a blurry eye, it was to her shock that her hoof had sough and located Time Turner's during the night; this fact helped to banish her drowsiness and she jerked her hoof away while sitting upright, something that in turn helped the stallion across the table jerk to wakefulness as well.

“Get up!” The two ponies turned to the gruff voice only to find a pair of unicorn guards frowning at them.

“Get up and come with us.” Time Turner frowned at the command as they were pushed away from the table and out of the royal archives; as they were forced to follow the guards, Derpy glanced worryingly to the scientist who was still frowning at the guards.

“What is all this about then? We weren't doing anything wrong; we even have permission to search through the archives.” The pale-gray guard in front snorted at the claim as they pushed them onwards.

“Sure, like you weren't looking up various information that could be used during a war that you helped to create.” The blue-gray mare's eyes widened at 'war' and she gave the earth pony a frightened glance, which he waved a reassuring hoof to.

“I'm sure it's not that bad, and we wouldn't do that; we just want to record this important event.” The two pale-gray stallions didn't respond while keeping a close an eye on the two captives as they continued on their way.





As they traveled, Derpy tried to remain calm while Time Turner couldn't help but look at the large hallway that they were traveling, with pillars lining each side; there were pictures that hung between each pillar that were of very similar alicorn Princes and Princesses that spanned throughout time.

The duo were escorted to a small meeting room that still had the pillars around the circumference while keeping it enclosed with dark brown walls that had small windows on the top along one side, where the morning light filtered through.

In the center of the room was a stone desk with the unicorn ambassador standing behind it, wearing a pensive frown. Turner became distracted from the walls with the craftsmanship that made the desk seem slim and very light, much to the pale-blue unicorn's annoyance and Derpy's embarrassment

“Oooh, Ms. Hooves, look at this stonework! This is indeed advanced techniques! I wonder how-”

“Enough! Tell me, what do you know of magic or potions?!” This exclamation drew a startled silence from the two travelers as they tried to understand what was going on; after sharing a confused glance, the blue-gray mare answered on both of their behalf.

“We don't know any magic or potion work...” The unicorn growled as he levitated a scroll over and unfurled it.

“Lies! I have a report right here that says you two just showed up in an alleyway from nowhere and travel together! You were in the royal achieves where the vast array of knowledge on every subject is kept; something that could easily used by spies and saboteurs!” While Derpy became slack-jawed at the accusations, Turner leapt to their defense.

“Now see here! You can ask these guards what kind of books were near us when you came by!” The unicorn glanced at the guards who shrugged while answering.

“They had history texts with them.”

“And where were we in the archives?” Turner frowned as he looked at the two stallions on either side of the travelers, urging them to explain further.

“The history section...”

“Exactly!” The two guards rolled their eyes while the ambassador frowned at the two ponies over top of hooves pressed together.

“... Alright, so maybe you weren't responsible for what happened; I will ask you to come with me however.” As they set off to head further in the castle, Derpy regain some of her confidence to ask for clarification (Time Turner was once again distracted by the architecture surrounding them).

“What's going on? What happened?” The leading unicorn barely spared them a glance as he quickly trotted along, the guards following behind the entire group.

“This morning, before resuming the negotiations, Prince Alaard and Princess Mi Amore Vivo declared their 'undying love' for one another and dismissed the discussion of treaties... This way; perhaps you have seen something like it before in your own lands?” The five ponies walked through two large doors with designs of swirls, sparkles and spheres as a row of unicorns were engraved along the bottom, seemingly causing these designs.

The doors swung open silently and without effort, revealing a large thrown room with tall archways with balconies along either side that had sets of doors that were used in colder seasons. Guards that were both unicorns and pegasi alike stood at attention along the path that led to where two thrones rested. Sitting there, muzzles pressed gently against one another in an almost nuzzle, were Prince Alaard and Princess Mi Amore Vivo, who didn't even notice that there were guests in their presence.

The pale-blue unicorn looked to the duo who stared at the couple in shock.

“Have you ever seen anything like this before?” Derpy shook her head as she kept watching the two royalty who didn't even glance away from one another as they murmured sweet nothings to each other.

“No, never...” Time Turner continued to observe the couple before glancing to the ambassador with a shake as well.

“I haven't ever heard about this kind of thing either...” The pale-blue ambassador sighed wearily before turning to the couple to ask them a few questions.

Before they could, the large doors on the end of the hallway burst open, revealing the yellow pegasus prince along with many of his own guards, all wearing heavy silver armor with swords drawn. As the ponies near the royal couple turned to face the new visitor, the guards along either side also drew their weapons in response; something that drew a frown from the brown stallion and a frightened glance from the blue-gray mare.

“I demand that this ridiculous union be nullified and the original arrangements to be honored!” The pegasus prince shouted as he waved a sword towards the two royals who hadn't flinched or even glanced towards the disturbance. The unicorn ambassador stepped forward and glared at the disturbed prince while waving a dismissive hoof.

“It has been decreed that this union is to be accepted by all as well as proper compensation given considering the late and sudden change in arrangements.”

“We pegasi are creatures of honor, and you have shamed me by promising one thing only to snatch it away at the last moment, like a bunch of cowards! Pegasus, if you are truly from our lands, you will side with me!” The last comment was directed to Derpy who flinched at the sharp tones while stepping closer to Time Turner, unsure of what was going on and not liking how things were slowly heading to.

“... You traitorous mare! I knew you were not of my ponies; no self-respecting pegasi would travel with a common earth pony! Prince Alaard, you shall rue this day, when you scorned and dishonored the pegasi! This means war!” With these bold words stated in a half-shout, the prince dove towards the royal couple (who still hadn't looked away from one another) only to be knocked back by two earth pony guards who leapt at the pegasus.

While the thrown room broke out into fights between the pegasi and the rest, the unicorn ambassador turned to look at the two time travelers with deep suspicion.

“I knew something was wrong with you two... Guards! Arrest them! They are impostures or infiltrators! We will question their true origins in the morning after this mess has been sorted.” Turner grabbed a blue-gray hoof to try and escape in the confusion of the fighting; they dodged the tightly bunched fighters only to find that more guards poured inside at the call of backup and were set to the task of catching the two travelers.




Derpy was in shock at the sudden turn of events and couldn't offer any assistance while Turner glanced around him for the possible escape route only to come across the balconies that lined the outside; once the blue-gray pegasus realized where they were heading, she pulled in the opposite direction frantically, the mere thought of going near the edge causing her to get dizzy and hunker down in fear.

“No! Please, I can't fly!” The brown stallion paused as he realized that the pegasus hadn't yet come to terms with what happened, but before he could try and convince her of one thing or another they were surrounded with spears directed toward them.

Seeing that they now had no chance to get away, the two travelers surrendered and gave no resistance when they were lead away along the side of the thrown room where the fight was slowly tipping in favor of the defenders. Just as they were about to completely exit the room, the pegasus prince broke free of his opponent and found that his warriors were losing the battle; with a roar of frustration, he shouted even louder to be heard over the din of battle.

“You may have won this battle, but I shall win the war! Pegasi, with me! We shall return in the morn and we won't be so easily swayed!” As the call for retreat, the majority of the pegasi flew out of the open doors and back to their country; the remainder who couldn't get away were chained and brought to the dungeons to be dealt with later.

Derpy couldn't believe her luck, her first trip of 'adventure' and she was being arrested; it seemed that she was never going to get a break. As they were led at the beginning of the line of new prisoners out of the throne room and down the hall towards the stairwell that would bring the group to the underground dungeons.

“Mr. Turner.... Are we being arrested? For being not from here?”

“Uhm, yes?”

“And we only have a little under two days before the portal closes...”

“Sounds about right.”

“And you have no idea how to get out of this mess do you?”

“Not at all.” The blue-gray pegasus sighed wearily and watched as the guards lead the whole group of combatants further away from the entranced royalty.


They traveled down back hallways that lead inside of the mountain to the most secured dungeons the unicorns had ever made. The walls slowly turned from smooth light-brown materials with columns appearing intermittently to rough gray stone with no extra decorations, aside from bulbs of light that were along the top; once they got to the cells, it was to the time travelers amazement that the bars were made of a high grade metal that neither one knew of. With a frown at more things that he didn't know about, the brown earth pony grinned as an idea on how to sneak more knowledge out of their guards came to mind.

“Hmmmm, it doesn't seem like a very strong location...” The lead earth pony guard glared at the brown stallion with a snort of dismissal.

“This is the most secure location in the country with cells reinforced with Titanium Uranium Alloy; able to withstand the force of ten earth ponies. You won't be able to get out; especially since the hall is monitored by guards at all times.” Gold-yellow eyes rolled at how very unlikely they would be able to escape and it was to Derpy's pleasure and annoyance that she was placed in a cell a few blocks down from the scientist, meaning they wouldn't be able to discuss any kind of plans; not that Turner didn't try the first moment the guards went back to their posts, lessening the ability of the guards to silence them from a distance.

“Ms. Ho-uh, ma'am, you are NOT to reveal our names! We mustn't give in and I'm sure we'll be able to get out of this somehow.” Derpy could barely contain another eye roll as she grabbed a hold of the bars, trying to catch any sight of the brown earth pony who seemed to sense the annoyance.

“What are we supposed to call each other then? It would be confusing to just keep one another 'you over there'; and besides, I'm pretty sure we've already used our real names in front of others.” It seemed that being arrested did not help the pegasus' manners as stress shortened her patience for the odd mannerism of her traveling companion.

“... Well, we wouldn't want it to become worse!”

“... Worse than being arrested?”

“... Well, I, uh, it could be!”

“Sigh, alright, what should we use then?”

“We can use code-names... You can call me the Doctor and I'll just call you … uhm, my assistant.” Turner could imagine the blank look of the mare's and rolled his eyes in impatient dejection.

“I'm a scientist, I don't come up with silly names to use in situations like these!”

“Right... Alright, we'll use the code names; but how do we try to -”

“SILENCE!” Their conversation had finally gotten loud enough to draw the guard's attention; at the shout of annoyance the duo fell silent, trying to think of ways to escape their current trouble.




There were no windows in the dungeon and the silence didn't help any of the prisoners tell how long it was before they went one by one to be interrogated. When it came time for the two time travelers to be questioned, they were taken one at a time; something that made Derpy nervous when it came to be her turn.

As the blue-gray mare was led out of her cell, Turner reached out briefly with his hoof and a reassuring smirk that received a shy smile in return before Derpy frowned once more while being brought up to a mid level room. They were still in the mountain side with no windows as well as the light-gray wall with bright lights along the ceiling; in the center of the room was a stone chain with chains that were placed on all four limbs of the pegasus as she was set down.

Once she was locked in place, a unicorn and an earth pony walked in with frowns of their own; they opened a scroll that was being levitated by the yellow unicorn and glanced at it before looking back at the pegasus in the seat.

“Let's start with the beginning...” The unicorn glared at the mailmare who took a steadying breath before accepting that it was unlikely to get much worse and tried to appear indifferent as they began the interrogation.

“We can start with your name... Who are you, really?” The earth pony wore a small smile, trying to appear at least marginally friendly than his counterpart.

“... Sigh, I'm the 'assistant'.” Derpy responded in monotone, already knowing that she wasn't going to enjoy using the title any time soon; the two ponies that stood facing her glanced at one another with a frown before looking to the scroll once more.

“Where do you come from?”

“...”

“Why are you here?”

“...”

“Alright, let's try an easier question; what is your traveling companion’s name?” Gold-yellow eyes rolled in place before she sighed once more, promising to never use the name to actually refer to him in person (even if it was code names).

“The Doctor...” Derpy could see their growing frustration as they referred to the scroll once more.

“What is your connection to the recent events of their royal majesties or the war?!”

“None, I didn't do anything.” The mare could tell that not only did they not believe her, but grew even more annoyed at the lack of actual answers.

The unicorn focused his magic and laid his horn against her temple, sending a slight zap through her as she felt the air sudden whip around her only to land in the same place as before with the same ponies facing her.

“I see; well, if you won't tell us willingly about what you have to do with recent events, we'll just make you tell us.” The blue-gray pegasus tried to shift in any way possible but found the chains to be even tighter as the ponies loomed over her before they started the torture part of the interrogation.


An hour later, the unicorn shook his head as he and his partner exited the room where the blue-gray pegasus was slumped over in her chair, unconscious due to the illusion spell he had cast to find more information. They gave their report of no new information to the nearby guard to be passed along before releasing Derpy from the spell, which she groggily woke from as she felt another sudden whooshing wind before trying to focus her extremely walled eyes on her surroundings. The mare was given no chance to wake properly and pushed out and back to her cell. Time Turner grew even more concerned when he saw the state she was in and tried to call for her attention only to receive a groan as well as a reprimand from a guard for his trouble as they went passed.




Having experienced a similar illusion for his interrogation, the scientist knew (hoped) that Derpy would recover; the real question was how they were going to get out of this situation, something that he still had no idea on how to solve. The brown earth pony kept as far away from his cell mates who were also lethargic due to their own interrogation as he tried to think of a way to get out of prison cells made of materials he had never seen or worked with before through a castle he still didn't know the full layout of; Turner always appreciated a challenge.





Hours later (though it seemed like eternity), the brown stallion perked up at the sound of light hoofsteps coming from the opposite end of the hallway of the the presumably only way out, much to Turner's confusion. He tried to stick his head through the bars but could barely fitting his muzzle through and had to turn his head long ways instead to peer down the hallway; he couldn't see entirely who was approaching but could tell that they were much smaller in stature than the guards who were keeping watch at the other end of the hall.

Since Turner was doing his best to be quiet, he was able to make out the whispered call that came from a few cells further down the hall.

“Ma'am? Ms. Pegasus ma'am?” Derpy had fallen asleep due to the extreme stress and mental exhaustion in the center of her cell; since she was the only female that had been arrested she didn't share a prison cell in order to prevent other incidents from occurring aside from ones they wanted to do.

At the soft call, she shifted in place while groaning in pain; while recognizing that it was a foal who was calling for her attention, she didn't recognize where she was which slowed her ability to focus. Flashes of what happened when she was under the spell made her flinch as she sat up in trepidation, eyes pointing in different directions as she took in her surroundings.

“Uhgg, who's, who's there?”

“Ms. Pegasus, you have to wake up.” The blue-gray mare looked to the voice, finding the dark hallway difficult to make out with her eyes so out of focus.

As Derpy sat up a little more, memories of where she was and what happened last rushed back, causing her to sit the rest of the way up sharply with a frightened gasp; as she almost gave herself whiplash, the pegasus checked on her wings, moving and giving them an experimental flap to be sure they were still functional and without pain. Once she was certain that nothing was wrong, the mare tried to search her surroundings only to have her attention drawn to the gate by a soft call.

“Ma'am, are you alright?” When she was able to calm down properly, she was able to see a familiar blue unicorn foal and a dark-gray unicorn foal who were watching the mailmare curiously.

“I-I think so... You're that colt that I gave a bit to for a scroll right? What are you doing here?” While the blue colt responded, his friend kept close watch for any guards that may come their way.

“Bit huh? That's what it's called... Well, I knew you guys weren't from around here and were acting really weirdly so I followed you. When I heard you were arrested for being traitors and spies, I knew it couldn't really your fault and got my friend to help me sneak in. And now we're going to bust you out!” The explanation was kept to a whisper so none of the other prisoners nor the guards could hear.

Time Turner, who was straining to listen to what was going on, barely heard the fact that they were whispering since all sounds were being damped by the surrounding stone; something that threatened to distract the stallion from trying to find out what was going on.

“It's dangerous! You shouldn't have followed us and breaking into a dungeon is even more so!” The two colts didn't pay the warnings any heed and combined their magic on the lock, trying to use levitation to move the locking mechanism into the open position; they didn't bother to respond to the warnings to lower the chance of being caught as well as to focus on using their magic in ways they hadn't though of before.

Realizing that her words fell on deaf ears, Derpy remained silent as she watched the two boys work; it was to her great surprise and delight that the cell door opened with a soft click minutes later.

“Thank you! Even if you shouldn't have put yourselves in danger by helping, I'm really grateful.” The two colts blushed as they tried to look imposing while the pegasus stepped out of her cell. As the mare glanced about, making sure no one noticed her escape, she saw a brown muzzle pressed longways against the bars.

“... I realize that you may be tired from opening my door, but could you let the stallion I'm traveling with out as well?” The blue unicorn raised a curious brow as they all looked to where Turner was able to be barely seen.

“The odd earth pony? I guess, if you really want...” With a nod to the other unicorn, they snuck over and began to work on the lock while Derpy made her way over to talk with the brown earth pony.

“Are you alright?” Turner nodded in respond to her question as he gave a mental sigh of relief at the fact that it was a similar spell that was used on the blue-gray pegasus, since she seemed to be just as physically fine as before she went for the interrogation.

“Yes, it was a very good illusion spell but I'll be ok. We mustn't let any of these other fellows out though...” The duo glanced at the other pegasi who were still lethargic before hearing a soft click and quiet proud exclamations from the two colts.

Turner moved carefully towards the ext, trying not to disturb any of the pegasi who were sprawled all over from being stuffed back in with the three others watching with baited breath before relaxing once he was free of the cell. They closed the cell door softly while smiling at one another at their success when the older ponies recalled that there was one one real way out of the dark hallway.

“Thank you boys for getting us out, but how did you manage to sneak past the guards? I don't think we would be able to make it.” The two colts glanced at one another before smiling smugly to the older ponies and heading away from the staircase.

“You just have to have the right connections. For example, my friend has been working in the castle for years; and in those years he's found quite a few secret passage ways.” The two older ponies watched curiously as the dark-gray unicorn pressed a nondescript stone that fell back without a sound, causing a doorway size portion of the wall to drop back slightly and slide to the left silently, revealing a thin hall that had no sources of light.





The two unicorns took the lead, lighting their horns to create soft blue glows to help everyone to see the way through. The time travelers kept silent as they followed their smaller guides, wanting to try and escape with little trouble. As they were a few paces beyond the hidden door, it fell shut just as silently while making a slight draft of wind that caused Derpy to tense suddenly before relaxing as she realized what happened; none of the others noticed this sudden tensing and she sighed mutely at how trying to help a strange pony seemed to be more trouble than it was worth.





Trotting slowly to make as little noise as possible made the ten minute journey feel much longer before they reached a platform that seemed to display an empty wall predominately; with another smug glance to the older ponies, the colts opened the door to show that they arrived at the middle of the castle, just beyond where the majority of the offices were but lower than the throne room. They stepped out into the light brown room that had sparse furniture much like the ambassador's office, but lacking the desk with instead a chair similar to the one used for torture (minus the chains of course).

Not sparing the different columns a glance, Turner made his way to the door where he listened for movement beyond it; he heard a set of guards make their way past and waved to the others that they should leave while they can.

Keeping low to lessen the chance of being spotted, the four ponies tried to exit the darkened castle which turned out to be harder than expected since Time Turner didn't really know the layout as well as the young colts; after almost turning them around completely, the colts took control and led the way, pausing at every intersection to listen for approaching watchguards.






Just as the four escapees thought that they made it out, they turned a corner to come face to face with a pair of guards, one a unicorn and the other an earth pony. Upon seeing the blue-gray pegasus, the guards gave a shout as they charged forward, determined to try and recapture the runaways; while having frozen in surprise at the sight of the two stallions, the traveling duo turned at the shout and grabbed the boys to speed up the escape.

With no time to try and figure out the proper exit, they ran down the hallways with more guards on their tail at each turn, having been drawn to the shouts for backup and annoyance. While the two ran, the colts hung on for dear life as they became more and more desperate to escape, sharply taking turns that resulted in half-skids while trying to find any way out. Even if the pegasus didn't have a colt on her back clinging to her neck in fright, she wouldn't have thought to fly due to her panic; though she seemed to instinctively head towards the windows, having led them to the throne room with the balconies.




While the doors were shut on them, a swift kick from a desperate earth pony was able to open them, showing that it was still dark out with very little clouds to block the stars or moon that was more than halfway across the night sky. The four runners paused only a moment before racing along the balconies with guards opening the other doors and chasing after them. One of the doors ahead of them burst open, startling the attempting escapees and causing the two colts to jump in fright; unfortunately, they were close enough to the edge that they landed badly, tripping into the open air and falling down the five storied height.

The guards hadn't realized what happened to the boys since they were darker in color and merely focused on the main targets, lunging forward causing the two older ponies to tip over the side in an effort to avoid capture and to chase after the falling colts.





Derpy felt the wind rushing by her and couldn't help but focus on the fast approaching ground, waves of dizziness flashing through her making her wobble in mid air; Turner noticed and called out to her in an attempt to live through the situation, even if they were severely injured as a result.

“Ms. Hooves! You have to focus! The boys are just a little ahead of us, you could possibly slow our fall enough that we can make it through this; but you have to focus!” At the mention of the two colts who were shouting as they dropped towards the ground the mailmare frowned in determination, grabbing the earth pony and shouting instructions while trying to get her stiff wings to move out of its' frightened position.

“... Alright! You get a good hold of them and I'll try and do something about us falling!” As the earth pony nodded, the pegasus took a deep breath before focusing on her wings, moving them slowly until the wind caught them and caused them to snap open on reflex; she was still a little wobbly, but they were already slowing drastically even with the extra weight.

Once Derpy was sure of herself and her ability, she dove down close enough to the falling colts that Turner could reach out and grab them; while the pegasus felt the pull strengthen at the extra weight being adding, she strained against gravity with a small growl of focus, stretching her head and neck back with effort and flapping her wings rapidly to try and push against the unavoidable.

Once the two boys were in the older stallion's grip, they stopped screaming and tried to help anyway they could, mainly with magic. They used levitation (though much weaker than normal) to try and make the load lighter and easier on the mare who continued to strain against gravity.





With everyone putting their best effort into it, they were able to slow their descent enough that it didn't kill or badly injure them; they still crashed and would feel the bruises and pain for days later, but this was one fall they would be able to walk away from.




Or most would at least; as they tried to stand after a moment of joy at finding themselves still among the living, they found that the brown stallion had injured his back left leg, making it hard for him to run or put weight on it. At shouts from the castle of guards that made their way down, they set off with Time Turner limping slightly as they exited the castle and tried to hide in the back roads of the nearby city.






With the help of two colts who knew the area and its secrets, they were able to leave the guards behind even with Turner limping most of the time. They slowed down once they realized they had lost their pursuers and the two colts searched their location before ducking into an alley way, heading ever south of the castle. They traveled at a leisurely pace until they came to a single level rust colored building with little decoration or pillars unlike it's neighbors, heading in through a back entrance. As they entered, they passed piles of scrolls that were stacked all around awaiting colts to pick them up to deliver them in the morning.

“Where are we?” Derpy asked in between pants, having tried to hold so much weight and no time to rest afterwards taking a toll on her strength.

The blue colt glanced toward the pegasus before nodding his thanks to his friend who turned around and exited to make sure they weren't found and to head home; as the three remaining ponies watched, the colt answered the question though he kept his voice down just in case.

“We're in the news printing place, no one should be around for another few hours. We can hopefully stay here until then and then you can go back to where you came from.” With this last statement, the unicorn looked indifferently to the duo who looked at one another.

“When does it open again? Would we be able to hide until then?” Derpy asked in a low tone, trying not to increase the colt's perception that they were oddities. The brown stallion held up his black bracelet and tried to understand the readings that he hadn't realize they would need.

“Uhmmm, I think, if I'm reading this right, it should be opening in a few hours. It seemed to like 7am, so it should open for an hour or two for us to get back.” At the constant reference of 'opening' the colt looked between the two in confusion; the pegasus tried to remain stoic at the 'assurances' and glanced towards the boy with more curiosity.

“What time is it now, do you know? Also, I suppose we should look at your hoof and make sure it's nothing too severe.” Turner gave a start at the mention of his hoof, realizing that it had gone numb from the adrenaline which was slowly draining away as he had a chance to sit, bringing the buzz of pain back as the numbness retreated.

The blue colt glanced around the building before heading forward more to reach where a first aid kit was kept for emergencies. Once he found it in a draw, he returned with it on his back to find the two grownups were still standing where he had left them but seeming more tense around one another. As he hoofed over the kit, he tried to guesstimate what the current time was based on when he had left to break them out of prison.

“Uh, I think it's probably around two in the morning by now; it took us about an hour to find you, and then we ran around for a while... The owners and other newscolts should be showing up around 3 or 4 am, so you'll need to leave before then.” Derpy glanced towards the colt from her spot next to Turner, where she had his back leg in hoof to feel for what happened; both old ponies were slightly embarrassed at having the pegasus feel the back left hoof, but it was needed to be sure of the injury.

“How did you know of this place? Do you work for them?” The colt nodded before settling down, watching the grownups as they tried to avoid each other's eyes.

“... Where would it be safe for us to hide for another few hours?” Time Turner shrugged as he tried not to flinch at the prodding hoof.

“Can it move? Numbness?”

“It hurts to move it, but not extremely. I'd guess that it's a sprain, certainly not broken.” The pegasus nodded agreement as she tied a cooling cloth to the leg, causing a sigh of relief to escape the stallion's muzzle before he focused on the literature around them.

“I'd say so as well, you were pretty lucky... So much for a small easy trip... What are you doing?” Derpy frowned as the earth pony stood and limped his way to an archive of scrolls before settling once more.

“Since we'll be here for a few hours at least, I might as well find out more of the history.” The mare rolled her eyes at his obsessive nature even in the face of pain before laying down to think about what had just happened. The colt sat across from her and tried to keep both of the odd ponies in sight at all times.

(Well, I can fly again... It could have gone so much worse and this was suppose to be just a simple trip... And Time Turner seems to not care that he is hurt and we could have died, all that it matters is this stupid 'True History'.)




The colt unicorn watched the pegasus shake her head in annoyance, tilting his own before quietly asking what the problem was.

“Ma'am, are you ok?” Derpy gave a start at the question and glanced discretely to the stallion before focusing on the colt.

“Oh, I'm ok, I've never had such an... adventurous, day before.” The unicorn's eyes widened briefly before nodding in understanding and gave her hoof a pat to encourage her.

“Oh, you're doing a good job, maybe you're suppose to do this kind of thing.” The blue-gray mare looked at him wide eyed at her supposed 'adventurous abilities'.

“Uh, right... Maybe? Glad you think so... I think I'll try and take a nap while I can, if that's ok.” The colt nodded to this supposed plan and turned to stand guard the entrance way. Time Turner didn't take any notice of either of the others as he continued to search through previous news scrolls in his quest for knowledge.






All this adventuring took it's toll on the pegagsus, making it so she slept heavily until being prodding awake by the young colt; he had waited as long as possible, even getting the brown earth pony to help move the mare to a more secured spot in the news building when more ponies came to get the day's work started.




It was to Derpy's shock that she woke to a quiet bustle of the news business starting their day and turned to the two males in question.

“I thought we couldn't be here when others came to work?” The blue unicorn scuffed his hoof along the ground while Turner checked the bracelet for when the portal will reopen.

“You were really tired, and we figured you could use some extra sleep...” Derpy raised a disbelieving brow, rather sure that the earth pony didn't care that much except that he got more time to read; understanding the disbelief of the stallion noticing or caring about extra sleep, the colt shrugged before turning to the door and leading the two older ponies out, waving a hoof to the other workers while promising to be back later for his usual load of work.

As the trio stepped outside, they found that the sun was well on it's way to starting the morning while the townsfolk began to start their day. The guards hadn't stopped their search from the night before, but went in pairs through the city as they tried to find the two escapees, meaning that they had to sneak around even more while being casual, trying to act as though nothing was wrong least they arose suspicion.

The youth had to play guide one last time, bringing them back to the alley they came from; luckily it was near where they first met the boy and easy enough to figure out, especially since a sudden wind picked up and blew through the alley as a unstable flat circle appeared in midair. The blue colt stared wide eyed as the duo rushed forward and disappeared through the silver portal, causing it to close just as sudden as it appeared.





The two ponies crashed onto the ground as the time machine closed behind them once their last hoof was through. Time Turner lay where he crashed as his back hoof reminded him of why he shouldn't be running anytime soon, while Derpy stood nearby looking at the newly closed portal.

“Well, I'm sure that was extremely helpful but I don't think I can take much more of that.”

“It was thanks! If it weren't for your help, we may never have known that there were other Alicorn Princesses! I can't wait to see what we find out next time!” The blue-gray pegasus couldn't contain her disbelieving gaze before frowning in annoyance at the almost coltish behavior and excitement.

“No, no way am I doing that again! You are crazy!”