Begin Act Six
Begin Chapter One
Years in the future, but not many
“Hey! Check this, Pinkie!”
Rainbow Dash zoomed past in a blinding flash of light, a brilliant burst of chromatic bliss that would make most weep at the beauty. Pinkie just rolled her eyes.
“Well done, Dashie. You’ve managed to travel in time, and all it took for me to get it was because I was reading the script. I’d probably be more impressed if it hadn’t taken you six hundred and twelve tries, but never mind that. You are so good, Dash.”
The aforementioned pony rolled her eyes. “Gee, Pinks. No need for sarcasm.”
Pinkie disagreed, and she said it out. “Yes there is, considering what’s going to happen now.”
“Huh?”
Pinkie sighed again. The years had turned her from a cheerful filly to a cynical mare. C’est la vie, as I love to say.
“Shut it, Scratch. Discord was way better than you.”
Surely you don’t mean you miss him? Even considering what he did?
“Th-that doesn’t matter!”
Doesn’t it?
“Shut up and get on with it.”
As you wish.
Dash waved her hoof over Pinkie’s eyes. “Ey, Pinks. Equis to Pinks.”
Pinkie glared. “Quit it, Dash. Scratch was being a pain.”
“Scratch is okay. You are being a pain.”
“There’s a difference?”
“Pinkie.”
The mare sighed. “I’m sorry, Dash. It’s just… You’ve probably noticed. All this. Everything that’s happened already. Everything that’s going to happen later. I can see it all, Dashie, and it’s nothing to be excited about.”
“Hey, easy Pinkie. We both know there are tough times ahead, but we also both know that the only way we’re gonna make it through the tunnel is if we see the bright light at its end. For Celestia’s sake, keep your chin up, Pinks.”
“You’re- you’re right. As usual. I’ll try.”
“That’s all I ask,” Rainbow grinned. “Sooo, where were you going with your stroke of genius?”
“Ah, right. Remember Future Dash?”
“…Oh.”
“Yes.”
“But, is now the time?”
“Rainbow, the time doesn’t matter. You can go back whenever, but at some point you have to go back- that’s just the laws of time loops.”
“But what if I’m not ready now? What if I don’t remember everything I need to do?”
“You’ll do fine, Rainbow. I mean, at this point there’s not much more you can do. You know what goes wrong to create this doomed timeline and you know what you need to do to fix it. We can both remember how much of a help you were. Or, how much help you will be. Or… you know, never mind. It’s just-”
Shall I direct you back to the exact spot?
“Nah. I can find my own way. Seeya, Scratch.”
Rainbow Dash, Thief of Time, was in the air with a flap of her wings. She flicked her mane off her horn and lit it in an aura of magenta. The Alicorn sped up faster and faster, until her horn was letting off sparks of gold and purple. One final flap, and she disappeared, leaving twin trails of rainbow flames behind. Pinkie gave a small sigh at the departure of her friend. Soon this offshoot timeline would disappear along with an infinity of others, and she’d just be another Pinkie in a sea of others. She hoped that the other her wouldn’t end up so cynical. Even if she was a fool, at least she was a happy one. At least she never had to watch her friends die before her...
Back in the past…
A flash of rainbow heralded the arrival of a new Alicorn over Canterlot. Clad in the pajamas of a Hero of time, she banked low and landed on top of Luna’s Observatory. She hopped onto a balcony and peeked into the empty room.
With a grin, the newest Alicorn hopped onto the bed. There, she composed a message.
Ey, Luna.
Lazing time’s over. Trolls aren’t a threat, you got it all wrong. Our enemy’s that changeling. Noir. Here’s to hoping he ain’t Ascended yet.
I’m waiting in your room. We need to talk.
-Thief of Time
Looking it over, the Alicorn incinerated it in a breath of dragonfire, and watched the nigh-invisible smoke escape from the window.
Satisfied that her missive was sent, she stretched herself out on the bed and waited. More likely than not, there was still time. At least for now.
-----
“Canterlot has always held a moniker of being a, shall we say, proper city. Being occupied primarily by unicorns of considerable wealth and social standing, the capital of Equestria has obtained, and in some ways deserves, a reputation for being rife with upper-class ponies. A running joke among outsiders essentially portrays the greatest cause of injury within Canterlot to be tripping, as no pony ever looks at their hooves. And while this repute of snootiness may be hyperbolized, it is not entirely inaccurate. I might be the first to admit that I see nobles trip over a loose piece of brick or stonework with alarming frequency, and I might even declare the spectacle to be almost humorous if I wasn’t also aware that it costs many a worker-pony their jobs. But here’s something that may surprise anypony of the opinion that Canterlot is nothing but stuck-up social circles- Canterlot has quite an active network of underground clubs and dance halls. Unbelieveable as it may seem, it’s not entirely illogical. Children grow up in Canterlot same as any other place, and teenagers trapped in a city where everything is built on respect and politeness are perhaps the most likely to rebel. And though it may be horrifying to their parents, it’s good business for me. After all, I work there.
“Hmm… no, I don’t work there. To use the word “there” would imply that I’m employed under only one establishment, which is false. I bring my skills to a variety of establishments, all of whom are quite grateful for my business. You see, I am a specialist when it comes to the delicate art of music. Despite popular opinion, there is much more to spinning a record than meets the eye, a whole plethora of behind the scenes technicals and aesthetics that anypony familiar enough in the business can tell are impressive, considering they’re run only by one pony. That pony of course being me. Also in contrary to popular opinion, despite having such a wild job my personality may not quite seem to match my occupation. But don’t let the perceived difference jar you, readers. Make no mistake, in the end it’s all the same no matter where you turn, and I’m no longer talking only about music.
“Oh yes, but I don’t believe I’ve yet introduced myself. My name is Scratch. Doc Scratch, technically. PhD, musical theory and cognition. Most know me, however, under the pseudonym DJ-Pon3.
“Hmm… ah, but enough about that now. I sense that both me and my narrating friend know that these things may not be relevant for awhile. Why, it could very well be pages and pages…”
Scratch, I don’t have to keep the focus on you. You’re aware I can switch away at any moment.
“Is that so? And why haven’t you?”
I felt some foreshadowing would be appropriate, and you usually fit the bill.
“Haa haa. Hee hee. Hoo hoo. It’s quite a feat, ‘Mr. Narrator,’ when you can cause an omniscient being to laugh. Now, to start on that ridiculous sentence you just let pass your furry lips, we both know your intentions toward my appearance are a bit less than completely noble.”
Do we? Do we know that?
“Oh? Is it that only I know the truth? Ah, the immortal pain of omniscients- everyone else is always dumber than you. No, but moving on from this point, secondly- I ‘fit the bill?’ ‘Narrator.’ Poor, sweet, deluded ‘Narrator.’
“I work for the one responsible for this world’s existence and for this world’s events and who will be responsible for this world’s death. I am his instrument of manipulation, the silken voice through which he speaks to calm the masses who ought to be rioting. I am the epitome of ulteriorly motivated machination. If he is the bomb destined to destroy all of Paradox Space then I am the fuse that leads to him.
“I think I deserve a bit more credit than simply fitting the bill.”
Ugh. I’ve had about enough of your narcissism, you know. How about a change of scenery.
“Is that truly the attitude you wish to take against your inevitable successor? Surely it must be better to work together than against each other?”
I said scene change. Now.
“Hmph. Suit yourself. I’m tired of talking to a blank wall anyways.”
-----
Tired though they may be, five ponies nonetheless made their way to the second tallest tower of Canterlot Palace in the late hours of the night. It may have seemed crazy to them, meeting so late, but their friend had requested their presence, and so there they were.
“What I don’t understand,” Twilight was telling the group as they trudged up the stairs, “is why she asked to meet us in Luna’s room. I mean, we’ve all got our own rooms too, right? So what’s the purpose of this?”
Rarity let out a yawn. “Oh, dreadfully sorry dears,” she apologized. “It’s just- *Yawn*- why did she set the meeting for this confounded hour? I don’t always need my beauty sleep, but I at least need sleep.”
“Aw, you lot are just a bunch of sissies,” Applejack dismissed.
“Oh, like you haven’t suffered from sleep deprivation before, AJ,” Rarity teased. “I still remember a certain applebuck season.”
“Wha- hey! I thought we agreed never t’ah talk about that again!” Applejack growled.
“Oh, I’m just teasing,” Rarity said, grinning good naturedly. Applejack gave a sigh, and then turned away.
“Whadya think this is all about?” Pinkie asked, seemingly energetic as ever. “I mean, maybe there’s this new trick she wants to show us or she’s discovered some secret passage beneath the castle or she’s found a way to make Princess Celestia-”
“Ugh. Princess Celestia. Please don’t mention her. I can’t believe how badly that went,” Twilight moaned.
“I don’t think it went all that badly,” Fluttershy consoled. “We presented our case. Celestia pointed out a number of holes in our theory.”
“I know. And that’s the part I hate,” Twilight sighed. “Have any of you ever- what am I saying, none of you have written a scientific paper. It’s a draining process. There’s such a rigorous air of skepticism and peer-review that unless you’ve got perfectly phrased, indisputable evidence you’re going to be sent away. There’s nothing wrong with that, I mean, but… It’s just frustrating.”
“Well if that’s how it works, then all that means is we’ll need some indisputable evidence towards the troll’s innocence to clear them,” Applejack said.
“It’s just that you’d think that helping to free the Crystal Empire would be about as indisputable as possible, but no! ‘So long as it benefits the trolls we can’t be sure it’s benign.’”
“Well Twilight, Celestia wasn’t there,” Fluttershy said. “She didn’t see what happened first hoof, and she’s just used to the idea that the trolls are evil. Sure ponies change, but with such delicate cases here, she needs be sure. I think she just needs to see this for herself.”
“You’re… you’re probably right, Fluttershy,” Twilight concedes. “It’s just a little frustrating, and- you know, let’s stop talking about this. We’re almost to the top now, so let’s all just go see what Rainbow’s note was about.”
To their surprise, Rainbow was nowhere to be seen; the hallway before Luna’s room was completely barren. “But- she said she would meet us-” Twilight sputtered, glancing around. Her friends made to join her search before a soft knocking on the window drew their attention. Applejack raised an eyebrow at this, but turned to the window anyways and opened it up. To everypony’s surprise, Rainbow Dash crawled into the hallway.
“Rainbow!” Rarity cried.
“Yeah. I’m sorry I’m late- did I miss the meeting? I was out flying all day, and didn’t see the note in my room until just now. What’s this all about anyways…”
“But- Rainbow, our notes said that you called this meeting,” Twilight said. Rainbow gave a bewildered look at this.
“But- I didn’t! Like I said, I didn’t even know we were having a meeting until a couple minutes ago. My note just said this meeting was being called by some ‘Thief of Time,’ or whatever, but this? Has somepony been going around pretending to be me?”
Sensing the entire group’s confusion, Twilight called for order. “Look- obviously something is up and we need to figure out what’s going on. But we were told to meet in Princess Luna’s tower, so maybe if we just… reached out…” Tentatively, the little unicorn reached out her hoof and gently knocked on the door to Luna’s room. To her surprise the door opened. To her greater surprise, it was Princess Luna who opened it.
“P-p-princess Luna,” Twilight stuttered.
“Yer back? When did you get here?” Applejack inquired.
“Those are some- err, nice additions to your look,” Rarity said, noticing that Luna now wore a pair of triangular sunglasses and a gray baseball cap.
“Why thank you, Rarity,” Luna replied. “In fact I acquired these quite recently, and I love the effect. It’s very imposing, especially when paired with this.” With the singing of metal on metal, Luna drew a long, thin sword from a sheath hanging on her side. The Elements all reflexively drew back from the weapon. “Ah yes. I forgot you didn’t just spend the last… how long has it been? Weeks? Months? Ah whatever. I forgot you haven’t been training for awhile. And to answer your question, Applejack, I only got back perhaps fifteen minutes ago. You see, I-”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Excuse me, Princess Luna, but I think there’s been some misunderstanding or something. See, we were all called here by notes written by somepony claiming to be me, and, well, I just got some suspicious false-name on my note. So were you the one who gathered us, or-”
“No, actually,” Luna said. “I am but another pony, gathered by the orchestrater of the meeting, and I think it’ll all make sense if I were to just step back for a moment.” Luna took a step away from the door, revealing the interior of her room to the Elements- and more importantly, the mare sitting on the bed. They took in her rainbow mane. Then her cyan coat. Then the snug red pajamas. And then the horn poking through her mane.
“Well it’s about time you got here,” Alicorn Princess Rainbow Dash addressed her shocked guests, grinning a cocky smile unmarred by age or inconsistencies. “But not everypony is here yet, so you’ll have to excuse me a moment. I should be back in… oh, a minute or two.” And then, with a flash of colors and a strong breeze, Rainbow Dash was out the window and gone.
-----
Hive Lord Noir was stalking through the halls of Hive Chrysalis, the claws of his metallic replacement leg clicking against the obsidian floor. He glared at passing drones, who cowered before him, all too aware of their officer’s attitude. Then his view fell away from the underlings, resting instead on the door of her highness’s chambers. Soon. Soon? No. Now.
The throne room doors exploded inwards as Noir burst into Chrysalis’s chamber. The queen looked up for a moment, before turning back to the attendant Changeling giving her a hooficure. “I told you not to disturb me, Noir. What’s so important that you’d defy a direct order?”
A jet of green pierced through the queen’s servant, who seconds later toppled to the floor and expired. Chrysalis looked up in shock, glancing back towards Noir and only now noticing the murderous expression on his face. “Noir,” she whispered. “You had a chance to make up for everything you’ve done. You just lost it.”
“I know,” Noir replied. “Listen up you little bitch. I’m tired of you. I am going to kill you, and then I’m going to take my rightful place on your throne.”
“Well, I welcome you to try,” Chrysalis grinned, stepping down from her throne and assuming a fighting stance.
Noir leapt forwards, charging towards the queen, knife outstretched. With a jolt, however, he impacted against a barrier of green energy, bouncing off the shield like a car crashing off a house. Noir quickly forced himself to his hooves, and slashed and hacked away at the shield with a knife, while Chrysalis stood a meter or so away, looking unimpressed. Chrysalis lit her horn again, snaring Noir in her telekinesis, before with a gesture of her head she flung the dignitary into the throne room wall, where he disappeared in a cloud of dust.
“Now Noir,” Chrysalis taunted, dispelling her shield. “that was pathetic. I’m hoping to enjoy this, so don’t tell me that’s all you’ve got.” In response, a knife flew from the cloud of debris. Chrysalis flinched backwards, catching the knife telekinetically with its tip only centimeters from her face. The green aura gripping the weapon intensified as the blade melted into molten slag. Chrysalis dropped the melted slop to the ground and looked up, catching sight of Noir reemerging from the new dent in her chamber wall. He held a knife between his teeth, and his eyes glowed with flames of fury. “Heh. That’s better,” Chrysalis grinned.
Noir flung another knife queen-ward before spreading his wings and climbing into the air. He reached the peak of his ascent, before spiking downwards in a rush towards Chrysalis, knife drawn. Chrysalis deflected the thrown weapon with a burst of magic, before turning upwards and blasting Noir away in the same manner. The Hive Lord was sent flying up until he crashed into the ceiling, which shook with his impact, letting a bit of dust fall to the floor. Noir pried himself from the room before, with a flare of green, he teleported behind the queen. Noir made another leap with a knife, a leap which Chrysalis, in one fluid motion, dodged and then countered, leaning to the side to evade Noir’s attack before striking back with a roundhouse kick that flung Noir to another wall.
Noir rose, turning and scaling the wall with his insectile physiology, before turning again and raining a barrage of magic blasts towards Chrysalis. The queen avoided the first volley by leaping backwards, the bursts of green scorching the floor where she’d stood. Chrysalis’s horn lit with a brilliant glow, and her form shimmered as if viewed through a veil of heat. With a flash, magical duplicates filled the room, mirror images of herself blinking into existence until Noir found himself faced with a veritable platoon of Chrysalises scowling at him from the ground. As he continued to glance around in confusion, trying to spot the true queen through all the imposters, one of the Chrysalises lit her horn, before releasing a beam of magic striking the wall just above Noir. A portion of the wall crumbled away, taking Noir with it as he crashed to the floor in a rain of debris.
Noir got to his hooves and noticed Chrysalis and her innumerable clones closing in. With a growl, a variety of knives appeared in his right hoof. His growl become a roar as he flung the collection of blades towards a group of queens. Each clone gave a jolt and flashed out of existence as a knife found its way through each of them. Noir turned to another group, and flung another series of blades in their direction. Again, each vanished into nothingness as knives flew through them. With just a little bit of a flourish, Noir twirled a final knife in his hoof, before launching himself towards the only Chrysalis remaining, and dropped the cold-blooded line he’d spent an hour coming up with beforehand.
“Hate to cut and run.” Noir made a broad slashing motion as his pounce entered range, and he expected to see a spurt of blood followed by an heart-warming cry of pain. It was to his considerable shock, then, when the Chrysalis clone simply wavered and vanished, and Noir passed through the space it had occupied unhindered. “Another one!?” he cried. “But then- where is-”
He never got to finish the question as a blast of magic sent him tumbling forwards, his face skidding across the ground. Getting up, he turned and saw the final Chrysalis behind him, sporting a rage-inducing smirk. Noir, induced with rage, sprinted towards the queen, waving his knife wildly. Chrysalis’s horn lit, and Noir’s froze, his wrist caught in the monarch’s telekinetic clutches. There was a snapping sound as Noir’s wrist twisted against his will, and he dropped the knife and made to grab the warped, mangled limb, to soothe the intense pain. As Noir become vulnerable, Chrysalis rushed forwards. Her front hooves lit, engulfed in green flames as she delivered a punch to Noir’s face that sent him stumbling back. She followed with a barrage of fiery strikes, each hit sending the Hive Lord hobbling backwards, drawing grunts of pain from the dignitary, leaving searing marks on his black chitin. With a flaming uppercut to the jaw, Chrysalis sent Noir tumbling over backwards, sprawling across the floor. Noir made to rise, before he found Chrysalis’s hoof at his throat, pinning him to the ground.
“It’s too bad it had to go this way, Noir,” Chrysalis told the Hive Lord from above, speaking in a soft, silken tone. “We could have been so much more.” She leaned down and kissed the pinned Noir, drawing out a cry of surprise. Then, with a quick application of pressure, she crushed Noir’s neck beneath her hoof.
She turned away, ignoring the slowly fading sounds of gagging, as her subordinate expired. “Drone Director!” she called, signalling for DD. “Send up some janitors. There’s a corpse here I need you to dispose of. Wait-” she glanced towards the attendant changeling lying next to her throne, pierced through the middle. “Two corpses.” And then the room lit with a purple glow. Chrysalis whirled and found Noir’s body lying motionless, engulfed in a violet aura, words scrawled into the air above him. Just.
“What? No! No no no nono no!” Chrysalis screamed as Noir’s body began to rise. She dashed towards the ascending corpse, but a flash of red sent her tumbling away. She rose, and glancing towards Noir, looked on in horror as the glow surrounding his body faded from purple into brilliant, bloody red. The air around him crackled with bursts of scarlet energy, sizzling bolts of red lightning. The glow around him intensified as, with a blaze of light, tendrils of red energy spread from Noir’s body, twisting and arching and spreading outwards like the vermillion roots of some crimson tree. With a start, the tendrils curved, spearing their way back towards Noir, wrapping themselves around him until he was lost within a sphere of swirling red. The Blood symbol appeared from within the sphere, a signal within a raging bloodstorm. Suddenly, the raging red dispersed in a shockwave of energy that sent Chrysalis sprawling to the ground. When she rose to her hooves, she turned just in time to see Noir’s hooves touch the ground, clothed in an outfit of burgundy, the Blood symbol shimmering on his chest like an open wound. His eyes opened- green irises flecked with sparks of red, and slowly his lips curled into a grin.
Chrysalis gave a start as Noir burst towards her, gliding low across the ground and bodyslamming into her. Chrysalis stumbled back, and Noir pressed forth. There was a small flash as a horse-topped cane of iron appeared in his grip. Noir swung the hitcher, catching Chrysalis in the cheek, knocking her aside. A final knife appeared in Noir’s grip, and with a spurt of blood Chrysalis found the blade lodged within her chest. With a sharp gasp, she toppled to the floor, green slowly leaking from her wound. She glanced up at Noir, the emblem of hatred and fury, before she closed her eyes and stirred no more.
Noir grinned at the beautiful sight of his ex-queen’s corpse. He let out a laugh, a cackle soaked in malicious joy. “Hehehe ha hahaha hehe! I’ve done it! The queen is dead- long live the lord! Hahaha ha ha!” His grin stretched wider as his knife rose and then fell, severing Chrysalis’s crown from her head. He picked the object up, the black crown glimmering in the soft light. “It’s finally mine,” Noir crooned, examining the object more closely. “The Crown of Orbs Fourfold.” Slowly, the orbs atop the crown blinked on and off. One blinked blue, the next blinked purple, and the one after that green. One stayed dark.
Slowly, dramatically, Noir placed the crown atop his head, and his form became engulfed in light…
-----
“Alright,” Ampora said, gesturing to a sprawling map laid out over a table. “So, wwe bust in through here, take out the guards-”
“We rus)( to cut the power-” Peixes added.
“WWe use the chaos to our advvantage-”
“We )(ead for the palace proper-”
A knocking sounded through their room. Ampora turned towards the door, but found it already open, and completely empty. Peixes, on the other hand, turned toward the window. Her mouth dropped open, and as she put a hand on Ampora’s shoulder, gesturing him towards the window, his did as well.
“Um- guys?” Ampora called to the rest of the lab. “You probably wwant to see this.” Then he turned back towards the window, staring at the blue alicorn with the rainbow mane knocking at the portal.
End Chapter One.