Chapter 8 - Reasons For Everything
We all have our reasons for doing stuff, right? We can take naps in the middle of the day, ignore everyone around you, write Fan-Fiction...
Yeah... all that good stuff.
So if I come up with something for you to do, I must have a reason, correct? Possibly...
Nothing is done without purpose. I could tell you to go annoy your little brother, and you might wonder why I would want you to do that. I don't know your little brother, do I?
Probably not. But most likely, your little brother is just like mine. Loud and annoying. You might want to annoy your little brother for your own reasons, but what reason do I have for wanting you to do that?
Your answer: None. I have no reason for wanting you to do that. And you would probably be right. I can't really think of a reason for me wanting to have you annoy your little brother.
But I only said that there was a reason for everything. I never said that it had to be my reason to do something. You can annoy your brother for your own reasons. Then you have a reason to do it.
But you can also choose not to annoy your brother. Why do you choose not to annoy your little brother? Your answer to that question is the reason you have for not annoying your brother.
So you can safely say that there is a reason for everything that happens in this world. War, crime, killings, ect.
Everything good and bad in this world has a reason. Everything you have done has had a reason. Even when you say that you had no reason for doing something, that is a lie.
Why did you really take that last chocolate chip cookie from the cookie jar? It was a great cookie, wasn't it?
Why do you do the things you do?
Castle of The Two Sisters February 21st 985
I instantly got up and ran behind the giant pedestal where the elements should have been. I stayed there for several minutes before peeking out from behind it.
"There is no need to be afraid, young one," Celestial said.
"And why not?" I asked in response. "You have yet to convince me otherwise."
She waited a bit before responding. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that to anypony, not even you."
You go that right, I thought.
"Its just that I haven't heard my sister's name in so long, it was strange to just have some new pony name who she is directly in front of me. I was just... so happy to hear that voice, it... confused me. Consumed me, in a way." I could see her eyes watering up. "It consumed me enough, I couldn't bear to not hear it any more. I needed to know why you knew that name."
I began to step out from behind the pedestal. "I'm sorry too," I said.
She looked at me, tears flowing from her eyes. "Why are you sorry? You only defended yourself while I attacked. You have no reason to be sorry."
I looked down. "I do actually." I sighed and began speaking again. "I should have told you how I knew her name. I was just worried for the future."
She sniffed. "The future?"
I nodded. "Celestia, there are some things in the world that you should never mess with. One of those things is the past."
I heard her chuckle slightly. "First the future, now the past. A young colt like you shouldn't know to much about what should happen, and what has happened."
I gave her a blank stare. "That's something else to my tale. Another reason I know the name of your sister."
Her ears perked up when she heard that. I continued my statement.
"Princess Celestia, I'm not from this world."
We stared at each other for some time. "How's that possible?" she asked me.
I was slightly shocked by what she asked me. I had expected her to ask something about that being ridiculous, and then I tell her how I came here.
"W- Well... I'm not entirely sure," I replied. "I do know that I ended up here after falling asleep perfectly fine."
She nodded, and I continued. "Where I came from, there was a show about this place."
"Show?" she asked.
I nodded. "It was something that was really popular. There would be moving pictures on a screen that told a story. Anyway, the show was centered around one character and her five friends. She was told to learn about the magic of friendship by her mentor."
I looked over to Celestial, who was listening carefully. "You," I said.
"Me?" she asked back, looking confused.
"You were her mentor. She was your student who was learning the magic of friendship."
"My student... Sunset Shimmer?"
I shook my head. "No, somepony else. According to the show, Sunset Shimmer became overcome by greed and traveled to another world. Your next student had something stolen by Sunset Shimmer, and followed her back to the other world to retrieve it."
I closed my eyes and sat on the cold ground beneath me. "Well, that doesn't explain how you know my sister's name," Celestia said.
I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Nightmare Moon." She flinched when she heard that name. "Yes, I know about her too. The monster that Luna turned into when she believed that your, quote, 'precious light', end quote, was better than her night, and she wanted more out of it."
I shook my head. "I shouldn't be telling you any of this," I said.
"Why not?" she asked.
"Do you remember earlier when I said I was worried about the future?" She nodded. "Well, there was a reason I didn't tell you your sister's name earlier. The reason was: 'Don't change the past'. The show is shown 15 years in the future of this world, aka, the future. To me, all of this is the past of your world."
"What are you getting at?"
"Celestia, if you change the past, you change all the future that happens because of that. By telling you that Sunset Shimmer becomes overcome by greed and heads into another world, I might have ruined the entire show that I knew."
She tilted her head slightly. "How so?"
"Since I've told you, you might do something to try and prevent it. If she never leaves your teachings, then you will never have your next student, whom the show is centered around along with her five friends. If she isn't your student, then everything that I know in the show would have changed, just by telling you what becomes of Sunset Shimmer."
I could see her tilting to head to the ground. "But there is a way to keep everything the same," I said, her head looking back at me again. "In order to keep something the same as it should have happened, we must allow it to happen."
She was slightly shocked by what I said. "You would want me to allow my student to become full of greed and want power?"
I looked down. "Yes... if you want to keep the future the way it should happen." I could see her look down at the ground once again. "That's why I never wanted to tell you earlier, or shouldn't have told you now. I have knowledge of the future of this world. I know how everything is going to happen, and how it should happen. I have the power to change everything I have found enjoyable, all because I know about what should happen."
I shook my head again. "It's a curse, that's what it is. In my world, it was a blessing. A blessing that many people came to enjoy, including me. Now that I'm here, 15 years before the beginning of the show, it has become a curse to me. Either I change all that I know, or keep it safe. That is my new curse that I found myself living recently."
I looked down at the floor as well. I didn't want this. I wanted to have my life changed for the better, and now I've ended up in a world that isn't my own. I can change it's entire future just by talking about it. How in the world is that changing my life for the better?
"So how do you know my sister's name?" Celestial asked again. I looked back up at her, and she looked down again. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't be asking that."
"No," I said. "You do deserve to know. It's your sister, and you deserve to know how I know her name."
I inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. "Princess, your sister will return." I looked at her, her eyes watering. "In fifteen years, you send your next student to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship during the Summer Sun Celebration. She had learned about Nightmare Moon's return and sent a letter to you in order to prevent it. When Nightmare Moon does return, your student and her five friends will travel to this location in the Everfree Forest and retrieve the Elements of Harmony."
I heard her gasp when I mentioned the elements. "Using the elements," I continued, "they vanquish the evil from your sister, and she is returned to normal."
I looked at her once more. I saw tears flowing from her eyes. I got up and looked at the pedestal behind me. "So far, there is only one problem." I couldn't see Celestia, but I did hear the crying slow down. "The elements are not here." I turned around back to her. "Do you know where they are, Celestia?"
She shook her head. "No..."
No?! I screamed in my head. How can you not know where they are? You used them against Nightmare Moon 1000 years ago! How can you not know where they are?
Before I got the chance to speak up, she spoke again. "I do not know where they are. Once I used them to send my sister to the moon, they vanished from me. The harmony that me and my sister shard was broken that day, and in result, they vanished from me."
I was shocked. I never knew that. The show had pulled Twilight back to the present before anything like that had happened.
"But there was something that was spoken to me." I perked my ears up. "He said that there was one way to have the elements returned to this place."
I stepped forward eagerly. "Well, what was it?"
She shook her head. "I do not clearly remember, but he said something about representing the elements."
"Representing the elements?" I repeated, she nodded. Representing the elements...
Celestia's face suddenly lit up. "Hold on," she said, breaking me from my thoughts. "You said that earlier, you being a colt was a part of your tale."
Thinking back, I did say that. "Well, you remember how I said I was from another world?" She nodded again. "Well, where I came from, I wasn't as young as I am now. I was fifteen years old."
"Fifteen?" I nodded. "Well, that explains why you're as smart as you sound." I smiled at that. "Well, do you want to head back to Canterlot then, if your done here?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I got what I wanted from this place."
She tilted her head. "And what was that?"
I smiled and looked deeper into the place. "Something familiar." After I said that, I turned back around and by Celestial side. I noticed that her attention was not directly on me, but on something behind me.
"When did you get your cutie mark?" she asked.
I looked at it, and then shrugged. "I don't know, about a minute after I accidentally flung you into the bookshelf. Still sorry for that, by the way."
She smiled. "Of course. What does it represent?"
"I don't know," I said. "Probably something to do with magic, since I had recently cast a spell when it had appeared."
"Which spell?" she asked.
"Teleportation," I replied.
She had a confused look on her face. "That's strange... Nopony your age has ever cast a teleportation spell."
"Well, to be fair, I'm not from this world, I'm not that young, and I didn't even know how to cast magic when I did teleport. I just did."
"Even so, to teleport without any training in magic. That is something special."
I shrugged. "I guess..."
I trotted up beside the princess. Without warning, her horn glowed, and a bright flash overtook my vision.
Canterlot Castle February 21st 985
When my vision returned, I saw the sights of the stained glass that resigned in the throne room of Canterlot's castle. I looked to my right and saw Princess Celestial standing next to me. Did she really just teleport us all the way to her throne room from the Everfree Forest?
"Princess!" I heard a voice cry. I turned around to see Sunset Shimmer running toward us. Celestia had turned as well, and looked down at her student. There was a sadness in her eyes.
I could understand why too. I had just told her that her student would be consumed by greed and leave her studies. Who wouldn't be upset by that?
"Sunset..." she said. "I- I have something... to tell you."
She looked at me. I simply shook my head, while still looking at her.
"What?" Sunset asked, who was standing in front of her mentor, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "What is it?"
"I... You..." She suddenly had a smile on her face. "I wanted to say to you, that no matter what you might think in rough times, my student, always remember that I am proud of you." He hooves shot out and she began embracing Sunset Shimmer.
I sighed. I had honestly thought that she was going to tell her about what she was going to become.
"Princess, please!" Sunset cried. "You're squishing me!"
I heard Celestial sniff. "I'm sorry." She let go of her student.
"It's okay," Sunset said. "You didn't mean to hurt me."
"Well, look who's returned!" I recognized that voice. The voice of the guard. I turned and saw him walking toward me. "You shouldn't have run away Blue."
"Well, what would you have done if you were scared of what you could do?" I challenged him. "I had never done magic before, and when I did, I hurt another."
"Please," Celestial began, making us both look at her, "let us not dwell on the past. We've sorted it out, and that's what matters."
The guard huffed. "Well, if all of you have forgotten about it, I would like to know what was in the room."
"What room?" I asked, looking back at him.
"The room you were in this morning," he stated. "Don't tell me that you've forgotten about it already!"
The room. I had forgotten about it. I was so concerned about where I was going, I didn't think about the room.
"That's right!" Sunset said. "You were in there for a long time Blue. What was in there?"
I looked at all the faces that were looking at me. When many people look at me, expecting to do something, I get nervous. "Umm, well... a... book."
They all looked at me some more. "A... book?" Celestia asked.
I nodded. "A thin, black book with stars on the cover."
I looked at Celestia, and she looked as if she recognized the book. "What was in the book?" she asked.
I was about to answer, but was interrupted by some filly who felt like being a smart-aleck. "Wait, how was he supposed to know? He can't read Equestrian, right?"
"Funny story actually," I said, making them all turn to me. "Ever since I walked into that room, I have been able to read your language."
They stared at me... For some time... "Really?" Sunset asked.
I shrugged. "I guess. I don't know how it happened, but it did. And to answer your question, Princess Celestia, the book spoke about a prophecy."
"A prophecy?"
I nodded. "Two actually."
"Well?" the guard asked. "What were they?"
"Yeah Blue, what were they?" Sunset asked as well.
"Actually, I don't know..." They stared at me again. "Hey, don't blame me! Clover the Clever decided to only give us a part of one of the prophecies, and leave the other in hidden areas!"
"Wait, what do you mean?" the guard asked.
I sighed. "As I said, there were two prophecies stated within the book. The first told about ten days that happen in the future. It also gave specific clues on what those days represent."
"That's interesting!" Sunset commented.
"However," I continued, "Clover the Clever decided to play the second prophecy safe, for it was a gift to somepony who helped her when times were tough. Both prophecies include this pony, but she did not state who they were including. The second prophecy was split into ten different parts and hidden in ten locations. These locations are sealed, and will not open until the days in the first prophecy have come."
"So... it's a time lock," Sunset stated.
"A what?" I asked.
"A time lock. Locks that won't open until a specific time has come."
I thought about that. "I guess it is. Anyway, in the book, Clover the Clever also split up the first prophecy. She took the ten days and hid them with pieces of the second prophecy. She spoke of the first day, but none others."
"Well, what is it?" the guard asked, obviously impatient.
I huffed. "I was getting to that. It was called 'The Day of Six Destinies'."
"'The Day of Six Destinies'? What does that mean?" Sunset asked.
I shrugged. "Heck if I know. I only found the prophecy, and all this was done for a stallion who helped Clover the Clever in the days when Equestria awash founded. For all we know, those days could have already happened."
"I suppose so," Celestia said. "But that doesn't explain why the book was in a room that only you could get into."
"Well, how do you expect me to explain that?" I asked. "How should I know why I was allowed in a hidden room?"
"He has a point Princess," the guard said. "For all we know, some spell could have gone wrong, and the door only lets certain ponies pass. He could just be one of them."
"It's a possibility," she said. She looked down, and I could tell she was in deep thought about something.
Something had occurred to me just then. "Princess?" She looked up at me. "How did you find me?"
"Tracking spell," she said. "I used a tracking spell, and it told me where you were."
"Really?" She nodded. "That's interesting..."
She suddenly lost her balance and nearly fell onto the floor. "Princess!" Sunset Shimmer and the guard said at the same time.
"I... I'm fine," Celestia said. "J- Just... tired..."
"What's wrong?" the guard asked.
"I... just need to... rest..."
And that's when she collapsed onto the floor.