//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Answers // Story: Timeline Sparkle: Trails and Tribulations // by Symphonicdysonince //------------------------------// “S-stay back!” I stammered, backing towards the door. “I-I’ll c-call for the g-guards!” I hope She doesn't know that the guards were pulled out a few moons ago! The Cloud had fully entered the room, and slowly floated through the room, circling to my right. “I-I’m warning y-you, N-nightmare M-moon!” The Cloud froze, or as much as a cloud could. “I-I don’t know h-how you escaped T-Tartarus, b-but I-I’ll yell for the guard i-if you come near me, a-and then you’ll be sent back!” I felt braver as I reached the end of my threat. The Cloud started to drift further to my right, but no longer towards me. It reached the chalkboard, and, picking up a piece of chalk, wrote in a surprising neat scrip. “Not Lu-“ It rubbed out and started again. “Not Nightmare Moon. Here to help” “H-how do I know you’re t-telling the truth?” “What color was Nightmare Moon’s mist form?” “H-her mist form? Dark blue with white speckles, I think….” The cloud seemed to glow, and a group of candles were pulled off their shelf and were lite as the floated closer to the Cloud. Said Cloud was lavender with two streaks in it, one magenta, the other pink. The chalk was pulled across the chalkboard. “See, different.” “T-then, who are you?” “Princess Twilight Sparkle” Wait, all of the history books I've read only mentioned Princess Celestia, and then there’s Princess Cadence, so.... My brain stopped working for a moment, I almost didn’t notice myself sitting down. “Wha?! There was a THIRD?” ….. Oh, real smooth, there, Cheerilee…. The Cloud (I’m not calling it a princess yet) paused before starting to write again. “Yes. Why are you so surprised? And why would you say Lu-“ Again, the Cloud rubbed that out, “Nightmare Moon is in Tartarus?” “Because there were only two Princesses before…. Before…..” I couldn't get his name out. In fact, I wanted to forget everything about him. The Cloud just floated there, then hurriedly wrote, “When you’re ready, please, tell me everything.” “Well,” I fell almost naturally into the role of the teacher, “I guess you can say everything started over a thousand years ago, with Nightmare Moon……” *^* Cheerilee had gone through all the ancient history that I already knew, but I listen to it anyways. There might have been any new information hidden in there, after all. I had taken a smaller chalkboard from its shelf so that I could ask questions closer to Cheerilee. At first, she seemed to be scared of me getting nearer, but as the night progressed, her fear appeared to die off. “….Then, a few years ago,” It seemed her ancient history lesson, “Nightmare Moon escaped from her imprisonment on the moon, and banished Princess Celestia to the sun. She then created an eternal night and ruled over us for the next several moons.” Moons! I thought. But didn’t we turn her back into Luna in less than a day? Cheerilee continued, “We couldn't farm our food because our crops needed the light and warmth of the sun to survive, but She had already considered that, and had those who were loyal to Her start to convert the plants to be able to grow in moonlight. But it was happening too slowly, and many ponies were starving. Princess Cadence and the Captain of the Royal Guard started a group of freedom fighters, called the Old Equestria Rebels, and tried to free Princess Celestia. Everypony calls them the OER.” Cheerilee sighed. “Then, one day, a new threat came to Equestria. The Dracquinious, Discord, appeared.” She looked at her hooves. “They battled over the right to rule. Many ponies had to choose between the never ending night, or the chaotic madness. The OER was driven further underground, forced to fight a war on two fronts. It soon became apparent that Nightmare Moon and Discord were equally matched, and they agreed to a truce. They split Equestria in two, creating the Night Lands of Nightmare Moon, and Discord’s Chaos Realm, with Ponyville caught on the Border. Many earth ponies whose corps hadn't been converted yet moved their farms to the Chaos realm, allowing more food to be grown. There was peace, of a sort.” Cheerilee paused. “Then, about five years ago, some strange plants from the Everfree Forest stated to invade Ponyville. But, after a few days, Discord came and made all the plants disappear. It felt…. Strange…. Knowing that someone who we knew from our history as a villain was the one to come to our rescue.” This time, Cheerilee looked as if she had to force herself to continue. “Th-then, He came. A-at first, he stole the magic from the unicorns, th-then the ability to fly from the pegusi, a-and th-then the strength of us earth ponies.” Cheerilee was visibly shaken, obviously remembering things painful to her. Knowing that this had to be done, I wrote “Who did?” Cheerilee looked up at me. “Lord Tirek” I barely heard her whisper. She continued in a slightly stronger voice, “He came from the north, with an army of crystal ponies. Nopony had ever seen their kind before. He conquered the Night Lands first. I don’t know for sure, but I've heard He drained her of her magic and locked her away in Tartarus. Then -and again, I’m not sure if this is the truth- He drained Discord of his magic and sealed him in stone. We were forced to live under his rule. “He said he would send aid to those who obeyed His rule. That’s how He’s been keeping everypony in check. He renamed Equestria the Empire. But it wasn't long before He decided he didn’t have enough, and felt the urge to conquer new lands. We weren't prepared for what happened next.” Cheerilee started to stare off into the distance, looking as if she was going to vomit. (Which I knew to be scientifically impossible). Maybe I've pushed her enough for one night. I’ll just write that down, and- “He forced all to march through the Everfree.” Head hung low, she continued in a quiet murmur. “He didn’t care who was hurt, or k-killed by the creatures of the forest, so long as we reached the other side. The unicorns had it worst, being unused to long marathons like that. “We came across a race of beings nopony had ever come across before when we reached the other side. They called themselves the Changelings. They could make themselves look like anypony they wanted. Their rulers, Queen Chrysalis and someone called Cacophony, just bowed to His wishes.” Tears started to drip off her down turned muzzle, her voice becoming even softer, “We march through the forest, we lost so many ponies, and then he tells us to turn around and go back! And we lost even more unicorns on the way back!” She looked up at me, wiping a hoof across her eyes. “Since then, the Changelings have acted as His spies and His officers in His new army, while the crystal ponies became the ruling class. And all while the rest of us slave away to feed them at our own expense.” “How long ago was this?” I wrote. “He came to power about four years ago.” Silence spread as I tried to understand just what Cheerilee had said. After a moment, Cheerilee glanced over at me with a, suspicious look in her eye. “If you’re a Princess, how do you not know all of this?” I mentally froze. Great, now what do I tell her?! I can’t just tell her about me, because according to her impromptu history lesson, nopony even knows that the Elements even exist! My thoughts chased themselves around my head, trying to come up with a good enough excuse. Just as Cheerilee started to look impatient, I wrote out “That’s because I’m not technically a princess. More like a Spirit of Magic.” It was much easier to lie and hide the pauses in my writing then if I was talking. I’m sorry, Applejack, but this lie needs to be told. Cheerilee looked at me with a thoughtful look. Suddenly, a small spark seemed to come alight in her eyes. “Does- Does that mean, you can defeat Him?” She asked hopefully. “Not on my own.” I respond after carefully choosing my words. “I’ll need to ask you some more questions, but you look tired, and they can wait until morning.” As Cheerilee was reading this latest message, I gathered up the chalk and cleaned off the large chalkboard that I had used earlier. When I finished, I flowed up through the ceiling, turned around, and shifted a small tendril through to watch the floor below. I watched Cheerilee shuffle back to bed, giving the area I phased through a wary glance as she did so. She soon settled in and fell back to sleep. And, while she slept, I wracked by brain to come up with both a plan, and a cover story. *^* I awoke from a strangely restful sleep. I hadn't felt this well in the morning since, well, since before Nightmare Moon came to power. Which is odd, given what I had dreamed about. Nightmare Moon, in my home, needing a history lesson. I thought to myself as I dragged myself from the hay pile I dared to call a bed. I began shuffling about the lower floor gathering up what I would need for my usual, meager breakfast. There’s no way She could’ve escaped from Tartarus without magic, and He would be on the lookout for the non-magical ways out. And, even if She did find another way out, She can’t go misty like that without-¬ Ca-lunk.¬ A small chalkboard had been placed on the table in front of me. On it was writing in a neat script. “Good morning, Miss Cheerilee. I have already seen to the watering of and care for your plants. When you are ready, we will continue our talk.” The Cloud floated there as if expecting me to eat faster. Maybe it wasn't a dream, after all…. The Cloud waited long enough for me to finish eating before writing out its first question: “When you are ready, I would like to know what happened to the residents of Ponyville.” I felt a bit braver now that I had a good night’s sleep and some passable food in me, so I asked, “Why? Why would you need to know this, if you are a princess like you claim? After all, Princesses Celestia and Cadence were next to perfect, and would know all this, and how to fix it.” “As I confessed last night,” It replied, “I’m not technically a princess. I’m more like a Spirit of Magic, and I thought that, if I claimed to be a princess, you’d be more inclined to help me. You can still call me by the name I gave you earlier, though. Now, please, what happened to the residents of Ponyville?” “And why that name?” I pressed. “I've already answered a question of yours, now please answer mine.” “Fine. Some fled with the rise of Nightmare Moon, and more still when Discord rose. When He came to power, ponies mostly died…..” I had to fight those memories from coming to mind. The Cloud had scrawled out her next question by the time I had recomposed myself. “Fled to where?” “Answer mine first.” I smirked I've lived in the Chaos Realm for three years, this kind of word play is second nature for me now. The Cloud paused, as if considering its answer again. “As a being of Magic, I do know of the old Alicorn Princesses. Celestia of the Day. Luna of the Night. I am neither, and I hold loyalty to both. Twilight is the time between day and night, vis a vis myself. Now, where did Everypony flee to?” So you really aren't a princess. Buck, does that mean she can’t defeat Him? I pointed towards the windows. “The Everfree Forrest. What do you mean, “Spirit of Magic”? Are you an Alicorn like the Princesses?” The Cloud took its time writing out its reply. It spent the next few minutes writing only to rub it out and start anew. Finally, it handed the chalkboard back. “Once, maybe. Now, I am all that you see here. If there was a past for me, I've long since forgotten. That answers two of yours, now for two of mine: Why would ponies flee to the Everfree? And what happened to the farms around here?” “Some ponies fled to escape from Nightmare Moon, Discord, or Him. Others…” I really didn’t like talking about this, but it seems like the Cloud needs to know. “We call it going feral. There is a rumor going around that He lets the Ferals be because their raids make things harder for everypony else. I've even heard that the Ferals even have a Queen that serves Him. “As for the farms, all but two of the farming families left for the Chaos Realm, and the Carrots didn’t make it through the Everfree March, as it’s become known.” The sadness of the memories muster reflected on my face, because the Cloud scribbled a quick “I’m sorry” out. I gave a small smile, “Only the Apples remain, bless them. They've adopted many of the orphaned foals.” I sighed, “Why are the farms important to you?” “Equestria will need food when this is over, no matter the outcome.” Came the reply. Wiping the whole board clean, the Cloud started to write. And write. And write. …. Is it making a list?! Sure enough, when it handed it back to me: “Please tell me what happened to these ponies, as well as what you know of them from before Nightmare Moon’s return: Mayor Mayer, Rarity Belle, Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, The Cakes, Ditzy Doo, and what you know of the Apples.” Why in Tartarus would it want…..? I looked over the list, “We~el, the Apples run the sole remaining farm in the area, and rarely let anypony in to ‘just visit’. Like I said earlier, though, they did take in every orphan they could, and they do spread what they can around to everypony in town. It’s still not enough, though. “Mayor Mayer was just that, the mayor of Ponyville. Nightmare Moon made a public example of her just because she was the first pony who stood up to her on the day of her return. Her body was taken down from town square when the Chaos Realm was made. “Rarity used to be a dress maker here in town, but she caught the eye of the Canterlot elite, as well as Nightmare Moon herself, with her new night themed fashion line. She left to start up a store in Canterlot, but returned to work out some sort of business deal with the new mayor, but disappeared shortly after He conquered the Night Lands. “I was surprised to find out that Sweetie Bell was Rarity’s younger sister. Rarity rarely talks about her, and then there’s the age difference. Now, unlike most of her class, Sweetie Bell never gained her cutie mark. The only other two were Scootaloo and Applebloom. All three now live with the Apples. I-I don’t know much else about them, I’m afraid. “Pinkie Pie was, and still is, a very unusual pony. She’s completely random, yet can always bring a smile to your face. She was Ponyville’s best kept secret. When Nightmare Moon returned, she managed to keep everypony happy. But, when Discord came, she just upped and vanished. When He took over, she returned, but she seemed…. Different somehow. She now travels all over the Empire doing her best to bring a little bit of joy to every town she comes across. “We…. We don’t really talk about Rainbow Dash any more. She left Ponyville after He came and stole all of our powers. She was the only pony to try and stand up to Him when He came. She spent the next month in the hospital for her ‘bravery’. When she awoke, she flew into a fit because she was now ground bound. She trashed much of the hospital and the surrounding area before being driven out of town. Ditzy, and her daughter Dinky, went with her to look after her. We haven’t seen them since. “Fluttershy was another pony that just seemed to vanish overnight. She disappeared shortly after Nightmare Moon’s return. Then again, not many ponies saw her very much before that anyways. When we started the Everfree March, we came across an abandoned cottage. Strangely, it wasn't boarded up and run down like the buildings in town are, but more like whoever lived there just packed up and left without closing the front door. Now, not many ponies know this, but that was Fluttershy’s cottage. I only knew because I used to get eggs off of her. “As for the Cakes, I think they’re dead. Mr. and Ms. Cake left their foals with the Apples, and left on day without saying a word to anypony as to why. They had the best plants outside Sweet Apple. I tried to save as many as I could,” I shrug, “but you saw how that turned out.” I sighed, and looked at the Cloud. “Now, for my question: can you defeat Him?” *^* Cheerilee look at me with an expression of wary hope. Oooh, boy, that’s a loaded question if I've ever heard one! “Like I said last night, not on my own. But, with the right ponies, I can fix this.” I wrote. “For now, I need to form a plan.” As Cheerilee read that, I started to float towards the ceiling. “…. I want to help.” I paused my ascent. “I want to help.” Cheerilee repeated. “He needs to face judgement for what He’s done. I can help you.” I flowed over to the larger chalkboard. “No, please. I want to avoid bringing as many ponies into this as I can. You've done eno-“ “But I can help!” Cheerilee yelled. She got up and walked towards me. “And, by forcing us to work for Him, everypony’s already involved.” She sat down on her haunches and raised her front hooves in front of her face. “Even if it’s not much more than showing you around the Empire, I want to help.” Is she serious! I quickly wrote “NO!” onto the board before taking off for the ceiling again. “Please!” Cheerilee reached out to grab me, as if to make me stay. She was able to get a hoof into my cloud before- Cheerilee stood in her classroom on Hearts and Hooves Day, staring in wonder at the largest card she had ever received from her students. Cheerilee sat in an empty classroom, the desks pushed against the windows. She had just found a Hearts and Hooves Day card in her monthly food supplement that Big Mac brings to town. “W-what’s this? A-are these my memories? But what’s this odd one?” “What the-?” I thought. “Who was that?!” Cheerilee sat behind her desk, looking over the faces filled with wonder at the story of Ponyville’s origins being told by Granny Smith. She was on Sweet Apple Acres on Big Mac’s invite. She was here to attend Granny Smith’s funeral. “…. I remember these. But why does the fake one feel so real?” “Cheerilee?” I tried. “Ahh! I can feel you in my head! What’s going on?!” Cheerilee was leading her class through the Canterlot Statue Garden as part of the field trip. Three fillies started to argue as they neared the statue representing disharmony. She had just finished packing her possessions, and wrapped her scarf around her neck. She had had enough. She had heard rumors of another land on the other side of the Everfree, where Nightmare Moon’s power couldn't reach. *^* My face was rudely introduced to the floor as the Cloud stopped its ascent again. I could feel….. Something in the back of my head, like a persistent memory that I couldn’t quite recall. “What was that?” I thought, rising to my hooves “What the-?!” I heard echo around my head. “I can still hear your thoughts?!” The Cloud dropped down and floated in front of me. “But, this shouldn’t be possible. This can’t be possible!” “And why not?” I retort. “You said that you’re a Spirit of Magic. What isn’t possible with you?” “I guess this means the Cloud’ll have to take me with it after all….” *^* “The ‘Cloud’ has a name. And I can still hear your thoughts, Cheerilee.” I hung there. “But, does this mean I can come with you?” Cheerilee started to give me the best puppy dog eyes she could. “I….” I sighed, “I rather you didn’t.” Somehow, Cheerilee turned the puppy dog eyes up even more. “But, if –and ONLY if- you can’t find somewhere safe to stay, then you may come with me.” Cheerilee hopped up from where she was sitting and practically ran to her saddlebags. “Finally, I can do something to make Him pay!” “….First, you need to learn how to keep your thoughts to yourself, Cheerilee. Now, I have some planning to do. Ooooh, I might even be able to make a checklist!” I was going to have some comfort, and maybe even a bit of fun, doing this. After all, haven’t I been doing this saving-the-world thing since I first came to Ponyville?