Twilight felt the rainbow of light vanish, but hesitated to open her eyes. She was more or less pinned to the area of the time-carriage in front of her as Rainbow Dash decelerated from sonic speed at an only somewhat uncomfortable rate. Twilight listened carefully, but failed to hear the sound of a thousand angry bees buzzing through the air behind them. She did hear the sound of Rainbow Dash catching her breath from her recent exertion, but they didn't seem to be in danger. She opened her eyes.
Discord, she noted with annoyance, didn't seem to be disturbed by the near catastrophe that had almost happened in the slightest. Instead, he was looking over the side of the carriage with interest.
Twilight did the same, but she didn't understand why Discord seemed to be so interested in their surroundings. It was just trees.
Wait. Where was Ponyville?
There were trees everywhere, for as far as her eyes could see.
"Discord," began Twilight uneasily. "Are we in the past or the future?"
"This is the past," answered Discord without looking back at her. "Ancient history, as a matter of fact."
"Oh, good," said Twilight to herself. This must be a time before Ponyville existed. She didn't want to have to learn that Ponyville would be destroyed at some point in the future and overgrown by the Everfree Forest.
Suddenly she realized that Discord had added a second piece of information. "Ancient history?"
"Yep," answered Discord. "I've always wanted to see what all was going on when I was trapped in that statue."
"Discord," said Twilight weakly, "When are we, precisely?"
"We have been sent back in time about, oh, two thousand and three years."
"Did you just say two thousand years?" asked Rainbow Dash in disbelief.
"Whoa!" cried Twilight as the Carriage jerked. "Be careful, Rainbow!"
"Yeah, sorry, it's just that the shock and all and I kinda forgot to... keep flying for a moment there... But seriously, Discord, why are we two thousand years in the past?"
"Two thousand and three years," corrected Discord. "You said pick any time at all, so I did."
"This isn't what I had in mind," declared Twilight, who was beginning to feel light headed.
"Then you should have said so," answered Discord.
"We were being chased by giant, blue, magical bees, Discord!" cried Twilight. "I didn't have time to think about it!"
"Hey, there is nothing bad about this situation. Any time in the past is as good as another, right? And this way, we can go sightseeing too!"
"We are not here to sightsee!" shouted Twilight. "We have a real problem that needs fixing!"
"And you have all the time in the world to figure out a solution," said Discord. "Well, at least, I do. You two don't, so you might not want to put it off for too long..."
"Discord, stop it," said Twilight. "That's not funny. Although... you do have a point. But I still don't see why we should put it off."
"Twilight, why did you want to build a time machine?"
"You know why!"
"Yes, but I want to hear you say it."
"I built the time machine to facilitate the recovery of any potentially lost scientific or historic knowledge."
"Exactly! We should take a look around before we go!"
"But... we don't belong here, Discord."
"Now I know you're making excuses. If that's the way you think, why make the time machine at all?" said Discord.
"I just... don't feel comfortable with this," said Twilight vaguely.
"Um, Twilight?" said Rainbow Dash. "I've already traveled to the past once before and everything worked out fine. I think it would actually be pretty cool to take a look around. We don't have to stay for too long."
"Also, I didn't quite answer your question yet," continued Discord. "You asked me precisely when we are. It is currently seven days before Celestia and Luna are officially recognized as princesses and the rulers of Equestria."
Twilight was acutely aware of her eyes bugging out. After she managed to calm herself sufficiently, she sighed and said, "Alright. We'll stay. I'll admit, I would really like to see that first hand."
"Cool!" said Rainbow Dash.
"But!" cried Twilight suddenly. "Okay, two things. First of all, even though you and I should be fine as we are... Discord, there is no way. We are letting anyone see you. I mean it. This isn't like your first trip through time. The ponies here are going to have... strong feelings about you."
"Yes, I know," said Discord bemusedly. "I already thought about this. I'll just go in disguise."
Discord snapped his fingers and vanished in a flash of light. In his place was a much smaller creature.
"Discord..." began Twilight. "Don't you think that ponies are going to find a rabbit with horns a tad bit suspicious?"
"No," answered Discord in a slightly higher pitch than usual. "It's called a jackalope!"
"But jackalopes don't actually exist!"
"Neither did lots of things before I changed them."
"Twilight, it's fine," interjected Rainbow Dash. "Even if somepony doesn't believe in bunnies with horns, are they really going to say to themselves, 'Hmm, there is no such thing as a jackalope, it must be Discord in disguise!' "
"I suppose that's true," admitted Twilight. "Okay, I guess this can work. I can pass you off as my pet. You'll be just like Angel."
"Blech!" said Discord. "Do you really have to compare me to Angel?"
Twilight shot Discord a stern look.
"Okay, pet it is then," Discord said unhappily.
"Okay, so what is the second thing?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"What second thing?" asked Twilight.
"The second thing that you wanted to say before you will let us go see the princesses and stuff."
"Oh, of course. The second thing is that I do not want to put off searching for a way to get home. We can take a look around, but our number one goal is to figure out how we can power the time machine again and get those bees to not attack us once we actually do get back."
Rainbow Dash did not seem to like this news. "Can't we just kinda... forget about all that until after next week?"
"Maybe you can," said Twilight, "But I can't. I can't just sit back and do nothing when there is a problem that needs solving. You know that."
"Great!" said Rainbow Dash. "So you can work on that while me and Discord hang out, right?"
"You want me to do all the work?"
Rainbow Dash's expression turned slightly guilty. "Well, kind of, yeah. I mean, let's be honest here, what can we even do to help you? Especially me."
Twilight rolled her eyes playfully, and then said, "Alright, I suppose that's true. Alright then, you can... hang out or whatever, but if I need you for something, you will have to drop everything and help me."
"Deal!"
There was silence for only a moment, and then Twilight began speaking again. "So... I guess I can finally talk about that first time travel incident now that you two have experienced it? Discord..."
"You lied to me."
"Did I?"
"Yes! You told me that it didn't matter if I knew the truth, that the elements would work anyway!"
"Oh," said Discord. "Yeah, I lied. Sorry about that. But the plan would not have worked if I had not lied to you."
Twilight let out a sigh. "You manipulated my friends and myself, and I thought I was in on the plan. Yet all for a genuinely good cause. Only you, Discord. Only you could pull something like that off."
"I am supposed to take that as a complement, right?" asked Discord.
"I think so," replied Twilight. "I... I guess that's all I have to say. I've been wondering for all this time what I would say, but, I've thought it over and I don't see any other way that it could have worked."
Twilight returned her attention to the forest surrounding them. "So, does anypony know where we are, and where we should be going? This surely must be the Everfree Forest, but I don't recognize anything at all."
"You see that clearing straight ahead?" asked Rainbow Dash. "That's Ponyville Lake. Or, I suppose I should say it will be, when Ponyville is actually built. Maybe we can figure out what's where from the lake?"
"Well," said Twilight, "I suppose it's a start."
About a minute later, they were flying overhead the lake.
"There's a pony down there," Rainbow Dash indicated.
Twilight looked, but saw nothing. "Are you sure?" she asked."
"Well, I think it's a pony. Grey coat. You think we should ask for directions?"
"Wait a moment Rainbow," said Twilight.
"Wait? What for?"
"I just remembered. Ponies in this time have a different manner of speech than we are used to. Like the way that Princess Luna speaks sometimes."
"I see..." said Rainbow. "So... you're saying that we shouldn't ask for directions?"
"No, I'm saying that I don't want to appear any more suspicious than we have to," answered Twilight. "I'm going to cast a translation enchantment on us. I never dreamed that I would ever use it to merely communicate in another dialect."
"Wait a second, is this going to make me sound funny?"
"No, it's a two way spell. You will understand everypony who speaks to you as perfectly as possible, and everypony that you speak to should hear you in the middle Equestrian dialect. So, are you ready for the spell?"
"I guess so," answered Rainbow Dash. She felt Twilight's magic wrap around her body for a moment, and then it was gone.
"So, we can talk to that pony down there now, right?"
"Yes," said Twilight. "Remember, not a word about the future or the time machine unless I say so."
"Obviously," said Rainbow.
"Hmm," she continued as she flew the carriage lower. "Pretty sure it's a stallion. He's got a build like AJ's brother.
"What is he doing out here anyway?" Twilight wondered aloud.
"It looks like he's bucketing up water from the lake and putting it into a barrel."
"Hiya there!"
There was a masculine scream followed by a slosh of water.
"YAAAARGH!" shouted Rainbow Dash. There was a crash from behind her as the carriage fell to the ground. "Cold, cold, cold! What'd you do that for?"
"Apologies!" The stallion said. "I meant no offense! You snuck up on me!"
"Rainbow, hold on, I'll get it!" said Twilight.
As Twilight cast her spell, Rainbow Dash suddenly felt much drier and warmer.
"I was just trying to- Whoa."
Rainbow Dash had not been able to tell from in the air, but the stallion was even bigger than she had thought. He was much larger than even Big Mac.
"Um, okay... wow. You're the tallest pony I've ever met..."
"Rainbow!" cried Twilight.
The stallion sighed. "Every day, every day I tell you, I'm explaining this to somepony new. I'm a draft pony. Understand?"
"Um. Yeah! Sure!"
"Well, now that we've clarified that, perhaps you wouldn't mind introducing yourselves?"
"Yeah, sure!" answered Rainbow. "My name is Rainbow Dash, and-"
"And my name is... Twilight," said Twilight. "Just Twilight. And this here," she said, indicating Discord, but then stopped. Discord lifted his rabbit ears higher than usual. "This is... Um... Angel!" she finished hastily. She did her best to ignore the look that Discord was giving her. This became even more difficult when she realized that his expression was perfectly normal for real Angel. "We're not from around here."
"Nice to meet you both," said the Stallion. "My name is Rusty Metal. My family is in the metal working business. And my work is every bit as good as what you would get from the rest of my family, and don't let anypony convince you differently. I really am sorry, Miss Rainbow Dash. It's just that you never know what might jump out at you around here."
"Don't worry about it," muttered Rainbow.
"Pardon me, Miss Twilight, but I have to ask. Are you related to Celestia and Luna?"
"No. I am not actually related to them in any way, as far as I know."
"Alright. Sorry to bother you, I had to ask."
"No offense taken. It's perfectly understandable. Like I said before, My friends and I are from... very far away."
"As you say," answered the stallion. "Would you mind if I continue filling these barrels while we talk?" He indicated a wagon with seven barrels inside and room for an eighth. "I am in a hurry."
"Of course," answered Twilight.
"A short while ago," the stallion continued, "There was a bright flash of light followed by a noise that sounded like an explosion. You must have seen and heard it. Do you have any idea what that might have been?"
Twilight knew perfectly well that he was referring to Rainbow's sonic rainboom that accompanied the time travel process. "No, I have no idea what that was," Twilight lied. "We did hear it, but we didn't see what caused it."
"I suppose it is of little consequence," said Rusty. "Ponies around here have learned to not question the strange things that they see. The strange sights have greatly decreased as of late, but some chaos magic still remains. It is surely to blame on this occasion as well."
Twilight decided to change the subject. "May I ask, why do you have so many barrels? Eight barrels full of water must easily weigh at least a ton and a half!"
"Well, you see, there are a lot of ponies all in one place in this forest. Um, considering that you are foreigners, I have to ask, are you familiar with the dreaded being named Discord?"
Twilight glanced down at the jackolope next to her nervously. Discord looked back up at her and made a gesture at her, indicating for her to 'go ahead'.
"Yes, we are," answered Twilight. "But I was under the impression that Discord is not a problem any longer."
"For the most part, that is correct," answered Rusty. "But, you see, when Discord was defeated, Luna sent a message to ponies across all of Equestria in the form of a dream. The message informed everypony of Discord's defeat and invited those in need as well as those who are willing to provide aid to gather in one place. That one place is here in this forest. In fact, supposedly, it is the site of Discord's defeat."
"How does everypony know where to go?" asked Twilight, suddenly finding herself thirsty for information. "This is a forest!"
"Luna gave very simple directions. By day, follow the sun, and by night, follow the moon. At the point where they are directly overhead, you will find the largest gathering of ponies in living memory."
"Wow," remarked Twilight. "That's amazing! All of Equestria is gathered into one place?"
"Most of it," corrected Rusty. "And only at first. Some ponies are better off staying put wherever they are at instead of making such a long journey. And after a few days, Celestia commissioned the construction of a settlement in the clouds in order to get the weather under control. Even though the rain of chocolate and such that Discord produced has ceased, the weather still seems to have a mind of it's own. So, after that, we lost a large number of pegasi."
Twilight looked over to Rainbow Dash, who also appeared to be following the conversation quite closely.
"However, the rest have stayed put," continued Rusty. "And that many ponies can drink up a lot of water. Which is why I am temporarily acting as a water delivery pony. As big as I am, it makes me ideal for the job.
"Which reminds me," Rusty continued. "I don't mean to pry into your affairs, but is it not a lot to ask a single pegasus to pull a carriage of that size?"
"Oh, me?" asked Rainbow Dash in surprise. "Don't worry about it, I've got this. This carriage was actually enchanted by D- er, by Twilight here, so it barely weighs anything! And to be aerodynamic enough to fly at high speeds. Somehow."
"Remarkable. It may be that my lack of knowledge in magic leaves me easily impressed, but I must say that that sounds very impressive."
"Umm... Thank you." said Twilight.
"Wait for just a moment," said Rusty. "This barrel is full. I need to load it onto my cart."
Twilight and Rainbow Dash watched in amazement as the giant stallion heaved the fifty gallon barrel onto the cart and slid it into place.
"I do need to start moving on right away now," said Rusty. "Are we perhaps heading for the same place?"
Twilight considered quickly. "Possibly. We're... looking for someone," answered Twilight. "I think he might be able to help us. And you said that just about everypony is at this... gathering? I don't suppose you know of Starswirl The Bearded?"
"Whoa," whispered Rainbow Dash to herself. It had not even occurred to her that Twilight's second role model lived in this time.
"I should be surprised to learn that anypony has not heard of Starswirl the Bearded," answered the stallion. "He is one of the only unicorns in Equestria who ever had any degree of success in removing chaos magic, and thus is highly respected. But I don't where you might find him. I suspect Celestia herself would be the best pony to ask."
Twilight hesitated. Worry erupted within her about what consequences might arise from allowing her mentor to see her. However, the only worry that she expressed was "Would Celestia even have time to speak with me?"
"It is true that Celestia and Luna are exceptionally busy as of late," admitted Rusty, "but they always seem to find time to listen to anypony with a good reason to be talking with them. Celestia more than Luna."
"Oh?" said Twilight. "Why might that be?"
"I'll tell you all about it if you want to come with me," said Rusty as he attached his harness. "Are you coming?"
"Yes, I suppose we are. Right, Rainbow?"
"You're the boss," answered Rainbow Dash. "I think of anything else we ought to be doing."
"Alright! Let's get going then," said Twilight.
"Very well," said the stallion. "Might I suggest that Rainbow Dash lead the way, if you wish to talk?"
"That makes sense," agreed Twilight. "We just follow the sun, right?"
"That's right."
Rainbow Dash started moving forward and Rusty followed. Twilight turned to face Discord.
"You're going to stay out of trouble, right?"
Discord saluted at her.
"So," said Rusty. "I believe you had a question?"
"Yes, please. You said that P- I mean, Luna is busier than Celestia is? Why would that be?"
"Ah, yes. When they defeated Discord, that solved a lot of problems immediately, but not nearly all of them. Some of the changes he has made to Equestria still linger."
He hesitated for a moment. "There's something I should show you in my wagon. Let's stop for just a moment."
After Rainbow Dash had stopped, Rusty turned around and, with some difficulty, reached into the front of the wagon and pulled something out. He gave it to Twilight. "Do you know what that is?"
"What what is?" asked Rainbow Dash, who could not see.
"This is a dream catcher," said Twilight in surprise. "They are used to trap nightmares. And I imagine this is where Luna comes in?"
"You can't tell right now," began Rusty, "but during Discord's terrible reign in Equestria, he created terrible nightmares to plague us all. And they are still here. They are everywhere, drifting through the air, invisible."
"There's nightmares in the air?" asked Rainbow Dash, horrified. "Are they getting in our heads? Are they dangerous?"
"Don't worry," said Rusty. "They can only affect you when you are asleep. Which is why many ponies are even now spending many days without sleep. These dream catchers can protect you, but they can quickly become filled to capacity. It only takes a couple of days. And when that happens, they must be emptied."
"And Luna is the only pony who can destroy the nightmares completely!" finished Twilight.
She glanced down at Discord once more and gave him a questioning look. He sagged under her gaze. Twilight decided not to press the issue.
"But if Discord has been defeated," she said to Rusty, "surely the nightmares will end?"
"Luna is certain that Discord is unable to fill Equestria with any more of his unnatural nightmares," answered Rusty. "However, it will take a long time to remove every last one. There will probabily be a few that escape from her for years."
Taking advantage of the momentary break in conversation, Twilight leaned down toward Discord and whispered low enough so that Rusty would not hear, "I'm not going to reopen two thousand year old wounds. As tempting as it is to be angry with you for all of this, it wasn't you, the reformed you I mean. But..."
Discord gave Twilight a bemused look.
"If you were to destroy those nightmares floating around and take a bit of the workload off of Princess Luna, that would be... much appreciated. Okay?"
"You are aware that I can't just make them all vanish with a snap, right?" whispered Discord. "I have to be able to see them."
"I'm not asking for that," replied Twilight. "Just, when you happen to see one, make it go away, alright?"
Discord sighed and saluted at her, and then thumped a long foot on the carriage below him several times.
"...What are you doing?" asked Twilight, confused.
"Just doing what I'm told," answered Discord. "That one there was a dream about ponies disappearing if you try to interact with them, and in that one there everypony except the dreamer is actually me in disguise and the dreamer finds out that their entire life has been a drawn out lie of my own making, and that one there-"
"I'd rather not hear about it," said Twilight, slightly put off. "Just- get rid of them."
Twilight said nothing for a while. She watched Rusty for a while without speaking. Eventually, curiosity got the better of her. "You said that you are in a metal working profession, didn't you, Rusty?"
"I did. We're some of the best smiths in Equestria, despite what my name would lead you to believe. My parents thought they have a sense of humor. Actually, we're some of the only smiths in Equestria. If you see a pony in armor, with a weapon, or with tools of labor, there is a high chance that it was made by somepony in my family. Armor used to be in highest demand. Weapons less so, since any decent pony doesn't kill if they can help it, even when it comes to Discord's creations. Weapons are still sometimes necessary to drive off the pests though.
"Tools have also always been in demand, but ever sense Discord's defeat and Celestia and Luna have pushed for a united community, demand for them has increased greatly while weapons and armor are basically now not being produced whatsoever. The general populous is more than well enough equipped to ward off pests. There are some serious threats that still remain of course, but not in this area of the great forest. I suppose those are problems to be solved in the future."
"How could it be that your family has some of the only metal smiths in Equestria?" Twilight asked. "I would think that more ponies would be interested in defending themselves."
"Discord was as sly and clever as he is terrible. He figured out a way to severely damage almost all communication and organization. A single dirty trick ensured that everypony had a difficult time keeping with friends or family. It made professional work almost impossible. It made sure that most ponies had no idea where they were at any given time. And, of course, like just about everything Discord did, it generally drove everypony crazy."
"All of that from just one trick?"
"So, what was it?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Discord connected all of the doors in Equestria."
"...What?" asked Rainbow. "What does that even mean?"
"Remember," continued Rusty, "most everything that Discord did was unpredictable and strange. And, sometimes, even seemingly impossible. You said that you are familiar with Discord, so you must know this to be true. Suppose a pony is standing outside a building and they open the door. The room that is behind that door could be inside any building in all of Equestria."
"What."
"And if the pony is inside a building and opens the door to the outside, they will find that beyond the door is a random exterior location, also anywhere in all of Equestria. A closed door could be reopened again, but they would always lead to a new random location. And the doors had rules to them too! Once you opened a door, it was impossible to close it again until you step through it. You could try to force them closed all you want, they wouldn't budge an inch. And then, after a pony steps through the door, it slams closed. Fortunately, Ponies touching one another could go through all go through a door without it closing until the last one steps through, so it was possible to stay in groups. Sometimes though, it became necessary to become separated."
"Why would anypony put doors on a building?" asked Twilight in shock. "It would be better to leave the entrance open to the outside world!"
"Except," said Rusty, "there are dangerous things out there. To some degree, there still are. It's easy enough to avoid just about all of them if you watch your surroundings, but ponies need to sleep some time, and the only safe place to do that is indoors. To make matters worse, there are creatures in the forest that devour any food left out in the open, including in buildings that are not completely sealed. Orchards and fields of crops were not owned by any one particular pony, since it was nearly impossible to stay near them for long. Ponies would gather what was edible from wherever they happened to be and bring it inside a building. Wherever they happen to end up, that's where they would store it. It was not an efficient system.
"But my family had a rather unique advantage. There aren't many things out there that are willing to tangle with a pony the size of a bear. Our workshop has no door. I almost feel ashamed that we had somewhat less to worry about than average ponies, but we made up for it by providing ponies with the best defenses they could ask for."
"Of course, Discord didn't appreciate that very much. He once tried to intervene personally. I don't know what he did to us, but I should probably be thankful that we couldn't remember it afterward. All I know is that Luna had somehow followed Discord and drove him away before any serious damage could be done."
Rusty Shuddered. "Having Discord show up in the flesh was almost certainly the worst thing that could happen to a pony. There was no telling what he might decide to do. If a pony was lucky, he would be satisfied with simply scaring them half to death. If they were not lucky, they might never be the same again. Sometimes Discord would alter their personality, and the changes were never pleasant. Sometimes he would alter them physically. In fact, I know of a pony that is missing their entire body, except for his head, thanks to Discord. He spends all day stuck to a wall!"
"And last of all, sometimes he simply decided to mocks his victims. One common example is to show a pony an entire world that is lush and beautiful and free from terrible things, only to remind them that they do not exist in such a world."
"This all sounds terrible!" said Twilight. "You are all very strong ponies to have endured for so long."
"I'm still stuck on the door thing!" said Rainbow Dash. "How does that even work?"
"Discord made the impossible possible," answered Rusty. "A pony would also experience something similar if they traveled to the borders of Equestria. If a pony tried to leave Equestria, they would inexplicably find themselves walking toward the way they came from, no matter how many times they attempted it. Nopony has been able to leave the borders of Equestria in years. And nopony has ever come from outside in as long, so presumably they would experience something sooner. I believe that you three are some of the first foreigners in over a century."
"Whoa," said Rainbow. "This is getting crazier every time you open your mouth."
"There were other inexplicable things. For instance, during Discord's reign, you couldn't cross the same river twice. It didn't make any sense. There was no magic to be seen at work, and yet if a pony tried to cross a river that he or she had once crossed before, they just couldn't do it, no matter how they try. One way or another, they would always fail. And frequently hurt themselves in the process."
"Yeah, okay," said Rainbow Dash. "I'm just going to stop trying to process what you're telling me."