//------------------------------// // Welcome to Trottingham // Story: Equestria Has Fallen // by ward282 //------------------------------// As Twilight and Thunderer walked up to the forcefield Twilight focused on the wall behind it, it was huge; larger than Canterlots' outer wall. The wall was made from reddish-brown bricks, Twilight recalled a book she'd read on Equestrain defences. Trottingham was built before the reign of the two sisters, it was an earth pony settlement chosen for its rich natural resources including: coal, iron and gold. When the three tribes were at war with each other during "The Long Winter" the walls had been enchanted to deflect all unicorn spells and cannons had been built to deflect pegasi assaults. The defences were Trottinghams' claim to fame. The walls were so thick that the barracks could be hidden within the walls themselves and still survive an onslaught of catapults. Due to the walls being so incredibly thick Trottingham had expanded many times over the centuries, this meant that even if the outer walls were breached then troops would have to spend the same time attacking the inner walls. "I've never been to Trottingham before" Twilight said, breaking a long silence. "I grew up here" Thunderer said, "It certainly is one of a kind." "Are there really houses and shops built into the walls?" "Yup, you can spend several hours just walking through the tunnels to get to them." "So how come you can't answer all my questions?" Twilight finally said; she'd been wanting to ask for a while. "It's not that I can't, it's just...... it needs to be left to the right pony" Thunderer said sighing. The two of them approached the forcefield and stepped through it, the feeling was the exact same as when she and her friends entered Canterlot on the train, which to her was a few days ago, she still tried to rack her brain to somehow comprehend that it was now two years ago. They were met by a unicorn and an earth pony guard, both of whom pointed spears at them. Twilight noted they wore royal armour but the crest in the centre was different to the Canterlot guards. "Password?" the unicorn asked. "The password is Starswirl" Thunderer said. "You may pass, but your friend may not" the unicorn said. The two guards pointed their spears to Twilight. "Why?" Twilight asked, taken aback. "Because I left by myself, and we've had changlings try to infiltrate before" Thunderer explained. "But I got through the forcefield, surely that's enough!" Twilight complained. The two guards held their spears at Twilight, the spears were sharp and Twilight didn't understand why they were pointed at her. "They'll only take you to a holding cell, I will find someone who can vouch for you" Thunderer said. The two guards let Thunderer step forward away from Twilight, their spears still pointed at her. "Open the gate, Ranger returning!" The earth pony called. The large metal portcullis behind the two guards slowly lifted. Thunderer trotted off down the tunnel, the armour bounced up and down as he went through the tunnel. The two guards had moved behind Twilight and were gesturing for Twilight to move down through the tunnel. They walked a short distance to a crossroad within the tunnel, they turned left. After a short time they arrived at a desk in what appeared to be a building within the wall, there had been no partition between the building and the tunnel. The only difference in this room to the tunnel was the fact it was bigger and better lit. To the left of the desk was a large wooden door, to the right a smaller door. "One for the holding cell, awaiting interrogation" the unicorn guard said to the desk clerk. Two more guards exited the smaller door, which Twilight guessed had to be their personal quarters. The two new guards guided Twilight through the large wooden door and down the stair case behind it. At the bottom of the stairs was a hallway filled with iron bars, each one a prison cell. The two new guards led Twilight to a small dank cell, inside the cell contained an area of straw and a hole in the ground in the opposite corner, there was no window and no artificial light within. The guard closed the door behind her. "The walls are enchanted against unicorns so you won't be escaping any time soon" a unicorn guard said with a cruel smile. Twilight sighed and realised how tired she'd become during the day, she reflected on the days events. Everything was different now, how could she be two years in the future, she'd used a spell a couple of months ago to go into the past but she could only be there for a short time. It must of been Starswirls spell she heard Luna and Celestia talk about. She flopped onto the straw she no longer cared for comfort, her brain had spent most of the day trying to figure out how she could be in one place at one time, and then other place two years later. For the first time today she felt safe, tomorrow she would try and find her friends, the spell had been cast on all of them so they should all be here; somewhere. She began to close her eyes and instantly fell asleep, hopefully Luna would visit her in her dreams and explain why it was suddenly two years later and everything had changed. Twilight awoke to somepony pushing her. "Mmmm.... five more minutes Spike" she said sleepily. "Miss Sparkle the Princess is demanding your attendance" an unfamiliar voice said. "The Princess!" Twilight awoke with a start and pleasant surprise. Twilight got to her hooves quickly, she looked around expecting to be in her library, but she wasn't there. The pegasus guard that should have been Spike looked at her. Twilight calmed herself down, she started to remember what happened and soon her mood went from panic to calm to depressed. She was in Trottingham a strange pegasus had escorted her here, before that she'd been in Canterlot; the wedding. Twilights' ears drooped and she walked towards her cell door that the guard was holding open for her. She walked back up the stairs and towards the desk where the guards had escorted her to. A pony was waiting for her, someone she recognised from Ponyville. He was an earth pony with a brown coat and dark brown mane and an hourglass cutie mark; Time Turner. "Ah Twilight!" he said. "Time Turner, what are you doing here?" "There's no time for that now, we can't keep the Princess waiting" Time Turner replied. Time Turner produced an apple and gave it to Twilight, she took it and took a large bite from it. Sadly it was no Sweet Apple Acres' apple. Time Turner thanked the guards for not interrogating her and led the way out. It felt like ten minutes before the two of them left the tunnel system. Twilight finally got her good look at Trottingham, the houses were of the same brick as the wall, except the houses looked nice despite being all identical, some had hanging baskets others had tables and chairs outside. There were other ponies around, they seemed to not have a care in the world. "Thunderer told me that you can't remember what's happened in the past two years.." Time Turner said as they walked down a street. "The last thing I remember was Luna and Celestia casting a spell on my friends and I in Canterlot, then I was alone in a forest." "Goddesses" Time Turner said to himself. "Something I said?" "No, nothing like that but I doubted the use of Starswirls forbidden spell, I just can't believe its true, you have no idea how much it will mean to everypony." Twilight went over the events of last night, the only thing she remembered was the bodies, changling and pony and the blood; there had been blood everywhere, so much blood. She remember the abominations that were trying to attack her, how somehow they just kept standing up. She shook the thought from her head and focused on the buildings and scenery. Trottingham had a large river flowing through it, this was now one their left as they trotted along cobbled streets, several bridges crossed the river. On the other side of the river were large chimneys, thick smoke passed through the forcefield. Further along on their walk Twilight spotted a large tower penetrated the forcefield. The top of the tower was missing, it had been struck by something because the top was missing along the line of the forcefield. The tower looked vaguely familiar, then it clicked, it was Trottinghams' clock tower, its most notable landmark aside from the walls. "Changling mortars" Time Turner said looking at the tower, "As soon as the field went up the top of the clocktower fell, we are the last stronghold in Equestria to call a safe-haven" Time Turner said with sadness in his voice. They approached a round building with a domed roof, around the roof was a line of carvings of ponies. The dome was white while the rest of the building was a deep red, there were two banners draped on square outsets of the building. The banner on the left held the sun and moon crest of Celestia and Luna, where the one of the right contained a heart; Cadences' cutie mark. "I will wait outside" Time Turner said as they approached the large double doors, "I'm afraid you won't like most of what you hear, two years have passed since Canterlot fell". Time Turner placed hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Twilight". Time Turner said sincerely. Confused, Twilight entered the building not knowing what to expect or even who to expect.