"Where is everypony?" asked Twilight, viewed her surroundings as Rainbow Dash and Rusty walked through the an enormous encampment of ponies. There were no buildings in sight, but many families appeared to have constructed wooden canopies or other forms of temporary shelter. And, as Twilight had noted, there were relatively few ponies about, and those that were present seemed to all either be busy with one thing or another, or sleeping.
"Everyone has a role to perform," answered Rusty. "Nopony can afford to sit idle during these days of change. Even many our colts and fillies volunteer to help their parents perform their duties however they can."
"Of course!" said Twilight, feeling silly. "That should have been obvious!"
"And have my duty as well," continued Rusty. "I'm afraid I must part ways with you now."
"Before you go," said Twilight, "Can you point us to somepony who might know where we can find Starswirl the Bearded?"
"Hmm..." Rusty mused. "As I said before, the only pony that might know that I am aware of is Celestia or Luna... You could probabily speak to the herald. He makes proclamations that come directly from Celestia, so he could help you talk with her."
"Well, I suppose we could do that," said Twilight hesitantly. "And where is the herald?"
"Keep going toward the center of the encampment, that way," said Rusty, indicating. "You'll come across a small group of structures. They used to be simple housing and storage for ponies during Discord's reign, but they have been repurposed to be a sort of center of the community. You will find the herald there."
"Very well, thank you," said Twilight.
"I must go now," said Rusty. "I hope I see you again!"
"Goodbye, Rusty."
"See you later," said Rainbow Dash.
After Rusty was out of earshot, Rainbow turned to look at Twilight and said, "You know, if everything works out, we won't be seeing him again."
"Yes," answered Twilight. "But I do appreciate the gesture."
"So..." continued Rainbow. "Are you really going to ask Celestia for help? Aren't we supposed to avoid her, since she knows us in the future and everything?"
"If I go alone and don't let on about who I am, she won't associate me with the Twilight in the future."
"Twilight, you're an alicorn," said Rainbow Dash in deadpan. "There is no way the Princesses will forget meeting you."
"I know," said Twilight." "But I didn't used to be an alicorn. Celestia will have no reason to believe that my future self could be the same pony as a pony she spoke to for a few minutes two thousand years ago, especially if I don't even have my wings initially. And when I do get them, she will see it as a remarkable coincidence, but nothing more."
"Twilight, she will probably figure it out sooner or later."
"Well, maybe I don't have a problem with that!" Twilight suddenly snapped.
"Huh?"
"Why shouldn't I let her figure out who I am? She won't figure it out until two thousand years from this time, and we will be long gone by then. Don't you think that I want to share this experience with her when we manage to go home?"
"I didn't mean that," Rainbow answered hastily. "But, are you really going to keep all this a secret from Princess Celestia for two thousand years?"
"I'm won't be keeping a secret," answered Twilight. "After all, I won't be around to tell her. Think of it more as... a surprise."
"A surprise?"
"Yeah! Why not?"
"You mean, like, a prank? Or something?"
"... I guess you could view it that way. The word 'prank' is rather difficult to define, so, by some definitions, you could say that it's a prank..."
"Twilight, are you planning on pulling a prank on Princess Celestia that is two thousand years in the making?"
"Well... yes."
Rainbow Dash gave Twilight an incredulous look.
"I... am so down with this idea!"
"Good!" answered Twilight, relieved. "So, shall we see if we can locate that herald pony?"
"Sure," said Rainbow Dash, grinning.
"It sure is more crowded around here," remarked Rainbow Dash as she trotted toward some crude and unpainted buildings.
"Well, Dusty did say that this is the 'community center'."
"What I don't understand," said Rainbow Dash, "is why ponies around here don't seem to be particularly surprised to see an alicorn riding in a carriage. I mean, they notice us, but you would think you would hold their attention for longer."
"Ponies here aren't used to thinking of alicorns as royalty," explained Twilight. "To them alicorns are just ponies, even if it's not every day that they see one. I like it. It can get uncomfortable when visiting other towns in Equestria than Ponyville."
"I guess."
Twilight and Rainbow both stopped talking as they realized that the crowd around them had suddenly grown quiet. They heard a stallion asking for everypony's attention.
"It is time for this evening's business," the voice declared. "First, the settlement of Cloudsdale is in great need of a pegasus trained in weather management to serve as an instructor. If you..."
"Why would they want an instructor for weather management?" Rainbow asked Twilight. "Every pegasus learns how to make a cloud rain or disappear when they're foals. Some ponies could learn to do it faster, but if that's the problem, they should be looking for a workout instructor instead, shouldn't they?"
"Rainbow, I just realized something," answered Twilight, sounding slightly shocked.
"What?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Nopony knows how to manipulate a cloud."
"What?" asked Rainbow Dash incredulously.
"I'm serious!" said Twilight. "For all of their lives, the ponies of this time have lived under Discord's crazy weather. All of the ponies who had any experience with weather control have long since passed away, and their children haven't controlled the clouds for years and years."
"Seriously? Wait, what about Princess Celestia and Luna? They could teach everypony, right?"
"Rainbow, the Prin- er, I mean, Celestia and luna- they aren't princesses yet- Probably are overloaded with work already as it is! They probably don't have time to personally teach pegasi!"
"But they have to! If there's really nopony in all of Equestria who can teach them this stuff, it will take them forever to learn, and the weather will be haywire in the meantime!"
"They might just have to," agreed Twilight. "I can't imagine how they can keep up with the demands that are placed on them for no reason other than that they are they only ponies who have certain knowledge!"
"Twilight."
"Yes?"
"I could go."
"What?" asked Twilight, shocked. "You want to- ... Actually, yes. You could. But..."
"But what?" demanded Rainbow Dash. "You don't have confidence in my ability to teach?"
"No!" cried Twilight. "I know that you can teach if you put your mind to it. It's just that... Don't you realize what it would mean if you, a mare from the future, were to share knowledge with the ponies of Cloudsdale?"
"Well, why not?" asked Rainbow. "They need that knowledge. I've got it. I'm here. It seems pretty simple to me!"
"We shouldn't be here!" cried Twilight. "We don't belong here! The further back in time we go, the more severe the effects of our actions, and we are way far back!"
"Twilight! I thought we already sorted this out! If we're going to change the future, we're going to change it for the better! Right?"
"No, not right!" answered Twilight. "What if we make a mistake, and make the future worse without meaning to?"
"Twilight, that is a question that we all have to live with every single day, even in our own time. And it never has stopped us from taking action before."
"... Rainbow Dash, did you just rebuttal me with philosophy?"
"Did I?" asked Rainbow in surprise. Then she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Remember, we are stuck here until we can figure out how to power the machine. Until then, we can't help but change the world. Especially if you plan on getting help from Starswirl. So, we might as well try to be helpful while we are here, right?"
"..."
"Right?"
"Yes, I guess so."
"Alright then. Can you try to not forget that? I don't want you to have a panic attack because you're worried about changing the future or something."
"Rainbow," said Twilight in slight annoyance. But then she let out a laugh. "Yes, I'll try to remember."
There was a moment of silence, except for the voices of the crowd in front of them.
"I suppose we missed the rest of the announcements, huh?" asked Twilight.
"Yeah," agreed Rainbow Dash. "Hope we didn't miss anything like 'Egghead needed for crazy magic project'!"
"Rainbow," said Twilight, "even if there was such a thing, my top priority is finding a way home."
"Alright then... So I guess I should get going then, huh?"
"What? You mean now?"
"Yeah, now. The sooner the better. And besides, you said so yourself that you wanted... Angel and I out of your mane when you meet with Celestia."
"Shouldn't we let somepony know that you're answering the request?"
"Aw, but there's probably paperwork and stuff involved."
"In this case, I doubt it," answered Twilight. "But alright, whatever. I'll work it out for you. You're right, it would be best if you disappear now.
"Thanks," said Rainbow Dash in a sarcastic tone.
"And don't worry about the carriage, I can at least pull it myself."
"So... I'll see you soon then?"
"I'll make sure to contact you if it turns out that I need your help with something. Or, if not, then as soon as we have a way home."
"Alright. ... Goodbye for now then." said Rainbow Dash as she unhitched herself from the carriage.
"Goodbye, Rainbow. I'll see you soon."
Twilight watched Rainbow take off and fly over the tree line.
"Well, I guess that's that," declared Twilight. She turned around to look at Discord. "And I guess it's time for you to disappear too."
Wordlessly, Discord vanished with a quiet 'pop' noise.
Twilight stared for a moment.
"Um... are you still there? I wasn't done yet."
Nothing happened.
"Well... if you're still there... make sure to keep in touch with both Rainbow and myself. Although I'm sure that I don't have to tell you that, and even if you are really gone, you'll do that all by yourself anyway without me asking you to. ... And come and get the other of us if one of us gets into trouble."
Discord failed to give an answer.
Twilight sighed and turned back to the crowd.
I think I heard the herald's voice coming from this direction... she thought.
Several ponies around her glanced at her and the chariot in interest as she moved through the crowd, but none stopped to talk to her.
Suddenly Twilight saw a sight that made her feel her stomach in her mouth.
"Agh!" she cried, after which she stared at a stallion in shock.
Or, at least, the head of a stallion. It appeared to be jutting out of the outer wall of one of the structures.
"Oh no, please don't scream," the head begged her.
"I'm not screaming!" insisted Twilight, her voice higher pitched than usual. She coughed a couple of times to correct this problem. "You just surprised me is all."
"Right."
"You're not, um, stuck through the wall, are you." declared Twilight.
"No, I'm not. Discord made me like this. Now I serve my fellow ponies in just about the only way I can. I'm the herald."
"I see," said Twilight, sympathetically, now mostly recovered from the shock. "I heard about you from somepony named Rusty, but I didn't actually expect I would run into you."
"Giant of a pony?" asked the herald.
"Yeah."
"Tell him hello for me if you get the chance. I sure don't get the chance very often."
The herald burst out laughing.
Twilight waited for him to calm down before saying, "You sure seem to have a good attitude about your situation."
"Hey," answered the herald, "if I don't laugh, I'd cry, and I don't want that. Don't worry, it's not all bad. At least I still have my magic."
Twilight noted that the stallion did in fact have a horn, and, presumably, it was fully functional. She also noted that there was a bell hanging on the wall next to the herald.
"What is that bell for?" she asked.
"Well," began the stallion, "you see, sometimes I get news from ponies that needs to be conveyed to Celestia. So, she gave me this enchanted bell to ring when I have something for her. She has a bell just like it on the wall of her place, and when I ring this one, that one rings too. Or at least, that's what she said. I guess I can't go see for myself!"
He burst out laughing again.
"Do you know if Celestia is terribly busy at the moment?" Twilight asked. "I really need to speak with her."
The herald eyed critically her for a moment, making Twilight feel uncomfortable, but then cried "Oh! Yes, of course, why didn't you say so?"
His horn lit up with magic as the bell shook and made a jingle sound.
"I hope you don't mind waiting for a bit. She's always in the middle of something or other, but she always wraps up her work for long enough to come when she's needed."
"I hope I'm not inconveniencing her," said Twilight, feeling guilty.
"Don't worry about it. If you were to wait for her to have free time, you would have to wait forever."
Neither pony spoke for a moment.
"So how long will we have to wait?" asked Twilight as politely as she could.
"Oh, I'd say, ten minutes? I could tell you a story or something while we wait, if you like."
"Tell me a story?" asked Twilight in surprise.
"Sure. I like to tell stories. It's one of the few things that I'm still good at."
He chuckled at this.
"I bet you're wondering how I got like this, right?" he continued.
"Um... is this a violent story?" asked Twilight carefully.
"Nah. It's actually pretty short. Sometimes, Discord would tease the same ponies multiple times. Me included. So, the last time I laid eyes on that monster, I started to freak out, because I really didn't want to go through the same thing he put me through last time. But, he didn't. Instead, he said to me 'Don't lose your head!' But I guess I didn't take his advice, because I did!"
The herald burst out laughing once more.
"Why are you laughing?" asked Twilight in shock. "That's terrible!"
"Yes," agreed the herald. "It is terrible. But you have to admit, that line was hilarious, right?"
"Not really..."
"Well, I thought it was funny anyway," said the herald. "After thinking it over for a while."
"How did you manage to... leave?"
"One of my family found me some time later. They were upset, but they took care of me. I'm not so bad off now."
"What happened to your body?"
"It's still out there somewhere," answered the herald. I know it is, because I still have to eat for it. Also, a couple ponies have told me that they've seen it."
"It's still walking around on it's own?" asked Twilight.
"Oh sure. Probably get's into all sorts of trouble too. Can't see what it's doing. I've tried asking Celestia if she could go find it and put me back together, but in the end she just has too much to do to go on a hopeless wild goose chase like that. Plus. she figures that the only one who could put me back together is the one who made me like this in the first place, and we both know that there's no chance of that happening."
Twilight said nothing, but was thinking very hard. But there is a chance of it happening. We couldn't let anyone know that Discord himself put things right, but it could happen. ... How can we leave this time behind when Discord- the Discord that I know- might be the only hope for ponies like this?
"So... yeah," continued the herald, "That's the story. It's not a terribly good one. I could tell you about the first time I saw Discord instead, it's much more interesting."
"You don't have to," said Twilight. "If it makes you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to."
"No, I like this story, because it actually has a good ending."
"Well, okay."
"Alright, so the first time I saw Discord, I was just a colt. I actually heard him before I saw him. Specifically, I heard some strange music and I went to investigate. That was a mistake. Discord was playing a strange tune on a pipe and everyone that listened fell under a strange spell. So, about a dozen other foals plus myself were enthralled by this music and followed him deep into the forest. It was very strange. I swear that it was like I was being forced to watch someone else do something in my body. I was aware of what I was doing, but I couldn't do anything to stop it."
"That does sound like Discord's magic." replied Twilight.
"Now, I don't know what Discord was planning to do with us, but, fortunately, I never found out. Somehow, Luna had sensed that Discord was up to no good and intercepted him. I remember her demanding Discord to release us all from the spell. Discord's response to that was to laugh and say that he would do so on one condition. Luna had to drink a truth telling potion."
"A truth telling potion?" asked Twilight, surprised. "As in, a potion that forces the drinker to answer all questions truthfully for a certain duration?"
"Exactly," replied the herald. "And she agreed."
"She agreed?" said Twilight. "She let Discord have his way?"
"Not quite. Discord was true to his word to release us once Luna had drank that potion. All of us foals sort of snapped out of the enchantment and realized where we were and who we were next to. Most of us started screaming and ran off. But I didn't. I couldn't stay and leave Luna. I knew I couldn't help her, but I just had to stay and find out how this ended."
"So, Discord starts asking Luna the questions. First he asks her what she cares about most. Luna answers 'My sister, Celestia."
"That answer makes sense," said Twilight. "I can't imagine that Discord didn't figure that already though.
"And then it started getting weird," continued the herald. "Discord asked her how she found him. Luna told him she put a tracking spell on him."
"Luna managed to put a tracking spell on Discord without him discovering it?" asked Twilight, not certain she should believe it.
"No. She didn't. It wasn't true."
"What?" How could that be? Was Discord's potion defective?"
"I don't think so. It sure startled Discord though. His face kept scrunching up. I think he was trying to pinpoint the spell. It didn't exist, but he didn't know that. Eventually he gives up and tries again, asks her what she fears most."
"And Luna lied again?" guessed Twilight.
"Sort of. Her answer was 'fifteen'."
"... What? That doesn't even make sense."
"Finally Discord asks where Celestia is. And Luna answers, "Right there!" and points behind Discord."
"Another lie?"
"Yep. But Discord at least believed that it was possible, because he turns around and starts sweeping the area looking for her. With a broom. And while his back is turned, Luna ran for it. And took me with her. Somehow she knew I was still there. And then she eventually returned me to my parents. I don't know what happened to Discord we left, but I like to think that he just sat there, confused for a while."
"I'm confused too," said Twilight. "How did Luna manage to lie like that under the effects of a truth potion? Does the potion not work on alicorns?"
"I was curious about that too, so while Luna was taking me back home, I asked her the very same question. She told me that everything that she had told Discord was in fact true... in the world of her imagination. But Discord didn't know that particular detail."
Twilight tilted her head. "Huh! So luna literally thwarted Discord with her imagination?"
"Yes."
"Wow, that's actually super simple, and yet... really crafty!"
"Indeed," said a new, familiar voice. "My sister can be most cunning."
Twilight quickly turned around to face the soon-to-be princess. Words failed her.
Celestia truly hasn't physically aged a day in at least two thousand years! she thought.
"Ah, Celestia!" said the Herald. "I was so busy telling my story that I didn't see you arrive!"
"Worry not, I enjoy listening to stories of my sister's cleverness. Perhaps you would care to introduce me to your audience?"
The herald seemed baffled. Eventually, he said, "So, you're not related?" He indicated Twilight with a nod.
"Did this mare claim to be related to me in some way?" asked Celestia with a frown.
This spurred Twilight into action. "No, I didn't! I only asked to speak with you!"
Perfect! thought Twilight. The last thing I need is to make a bad first impression in front of Celestia!
"She's telling the truth," said the herald quickly. "I just assumed that, since... what with you both being alicorns and I've never seen anypony else besides you and your sister who-"
"I understand," said Celestia. "However, you have not yet told me your name," she finished, addressing Twilight.
"My name... is Twilight."
This is surreal, thought Twilight. I'm introducing myself to the pony who raised and taught me for the majority of my life!
"Twilight," said Celestia.
"Yes," answered Twilight. "Just Twilight. I'm from rather far away."
"I see," answered Celestia. "I can't help but wonder, what manner of contraption is this that you are carrying in your carriage?"
"It's nothing!" said Twilight quickly. "Um, that is, it is something, it is an advanced piece of magical equipment, but it isn't working right now."
Twilight could tell that Celestia was still curious, but she took the hint and dropped the subject and instead asked "What can I do for you, Twilight?"
"I actually have two things I wish to speak with you about," said Twilight. "The first thing is that a friend of mine heard the request for a weather management teacher in Cloudsdale and decided to take the job."
"Truly?" asked Celestia in surprise. "Where did your friend receive her training?"
Before Twilight could answer, Celestia cut her off. "Oh, I'm such a foolish old nag!" she cried, tapping her head with a front hoof. "You have already told me that you are not from Equestria. Is your friend nearby?"
"I'm afraid that she's not," answered Twilight. "She didn't want to waste any time, so she has already left."
"That is unfortunate," said Celestia. "I would have liked to speak with her before her departure."
"I can vouch for her," said Twilight. "I know that she won't fail the ponies of Cloudsdale."
"I hope so," said Celestia. "If your friend is successful, it will remove a great burden from our shoulders. What is your friend's name?"
"Rainbow," replied Twilight. And then she remembered that Rainbow had already given her full name to at least one pony, and presumably would continue to do so. "Rainbow Dash."
"Then I shall see that Rainbow Dash is appropriately rewarded for her service, if she performs to your expectations. What is the second issue that you wished to speak with me about?"
Twilight's expression turned uncertain.
"It's... complicated," she said. "It concerns this... device." She indicated the time machine inside the carriage.
"I see. Perhaps you would be open to a proposition?" asked Celestia.
"A proposition?" repeated Twilight, confused.
"It is getting late," said Celestia. "Would you like to come with me and we can discuss your problem while having a bite to eat?"
Celestia is inviting me to have dinner with her? Twilight thought. I was hoping to keep my association with her brief... But on the other hoof, it would also be easier to talk to her in private.
"Alright," said Twilight. I'll come with you."
They did not have to walk far. Celestia was apparently residing in one of the buildings nearby. There were two armored ponies outside of the door to the plain looking wooden structure. Their equipment was a far cry from the shiny golden apparel of the royal guard, but certainly just as functional.
"What about my carriage?" asked Twilight. "I can't bring it in there, and I'd rather not leave it out in the open for somepony to harm the machinery by accident."
"You two," said Celestia, addressing the guards. "You are to watch this carriage and ensure that it comes to no harm. Do not let anypony touch it until this mare comes to reclaim it."
"Yes ma'am!" said both guards.
Twilight released her harness and followed Celestia through the door.
"Luna!" cried Celestia. "We have company."
Twilight saw Luna's shift in the poorly lit building.
"Do my eyes deceive me?" asked Luna in surprise.
"This is Twilight," declared Celestia. She turned to Twilight. "She is not from Equestria. And I am glad to be out of the street away from the ears of others. It has been a long time since my sister and I have laid eyes on another who is like us."
"Um..." said Twilight, feeling uncomfortable.
"Where are you from, Twilight?" asked Luna, approaching.
There was no escaping the question now. She had been asked directly.
Twilight hesitated.
"Will you not tell us?" asked Luna.
"Please understand," began Twilight, trying to ignore the heat that was building up in her head. "It was entirely an accident that I am in your land at all. I'm not supposed to be here."
Celestia and Luna both returned a confused stare.
"I can't tell you where I am from," continued Twilight, hanging her head. "But I need your help all the same!"
"How can you expect us to help you when you are keeping secrets?" demanded Luna.
"It's alright, Luna," said Celestia. "Ponies are entitled to their secrets, and they are no less friendly for it."
"But what do you want from us?" asked Luna.
"Very little, actually. All I want to know is where I can find Starswirl the Bearded."
"Starswirl?" asked Celestia. "Whatever for?"
"I have a magical device that is in need of repair," Twilight explained for Luna's benefit. "I can't tell you what it is for, but it is imperative that it is in working order before I return to my home. I am certain that Starswirl the Bearded is the only pony who can assist me in this."
"Do you doubt our understanding of magic?" asked Luna. "You don't need to keep this secret from us. We could help you!"
"Leave her be!" Celestia said. "Twilight is entitled to her privacy so long as she does not harm anypony, and I believe we can trust her. We are busy enough as it is."
"Yes, I suppose we are," said Luna. "It would be best if I return to work, actually."
Twilight watched her return to the corner of the room and withdraw a dream catcher from a nearby box, and then set it on the table in front of her. Luna's horn lit up, but this was all that Twilight could see.
"I will tell you where to find Starswirl the Bearded," said Celestia. "But it will take you about an hour to arrive at his location by flight, and it is late. Will you not stay and eat with us?"
Luna cast her looked toward Celestia.
"Is it time already?" she asked, surprised. "My, how time flies when one is having fun. Twilight, do you like avocado?"
"Avacado?" repeated Twilight in surprise. "Do you actually grow Avocados in the Everfree Forest?"
"The 'Everfree' Forest?" repeated Celestia. "I have never heard the forest referred to as such before."
"Oh, don't you see, sister?" said Luna, suddenly excited. "The name is positively genius! For it was in this very forest that we ourselves ended Discord's tyrannical rule, and from that day on, every pony in Equestria would forevermore be free! Twilight, how did you come by such a clever name?"
Oh no, thought Twilight. Did I just create a loop? Oh no, oh no. If I learned the name of the Everfree from Princess Celestia, and she in turn learned the name from me, then who originally came up with the name for the forest? It doesn't make any logical sense! Don'tthinkaboutit, Don'tthinkaboutit, Don'tthinkaboutit.
"Twilight?" said Luna.
"I, uh... made it up?" said Twilight. Oh no, did I really just take credit for naming the biggest forest in Equestria?
"Remarkable," said Celestia thoughtfully. "However, to answer your question, no. Avocados do not grow in the forest. You are not from Equestria, so you would not know, but during Discord's rule, one could travel from one corner of Equestria to another in the blink of an eye, only you never knew where you would end up."
"I was told all about it," said Twilight. "A pony named Rusty Metal told me all about the hardships ponies faced throughout Discord's rule."
"You have become acquainted with Rusty?" asked Celestia approvingly. "I see that it shouldn't be necessary to explain for ourselves then. Avocados do grow in other parts of Equestria, but they were stored all across Equestria. And, while Discord's curse has been lifted, for the moment, we happen to have a surplus of avocados."
"Enjoy them while the last," Luna told Celestia. "It will be a long time before you see an avocado again after we consume all that we have."
"I wish we could tell that dragon the same thing," said Celestia, suddenly melancholy.
"Huh?" asked Twilight. "Is there a dragon that is giving you trouble?"
"Yes," answered Celestia gloomily. "It is a terrible irony, but Discord actually kept the ponies of Equestria safe from our more troublesome neighbors. This dragon is demanding a tribute of gems. We do not have gems, and we do not have any way of finding them either. Most of the ponies outside do not know of this. I'm at my wits end trying to figure out some kind of solution. I really would prefer to avoid a violent confrontation."
"There will be time to worry about that later," said Luna as two long bread sandwiches levitated over to Celestia and Twilight. "Stress is bad for the digestion."
Celestia sighed. "You know I can't help it." She took a bite out of her sandwich.
"... I can help," said Twilight.
"You can?" asked Luna, astonished. Celestia also appeared to be surprised, but waited to swallow before speaking.
"You have a solution?" Celestia asked.
"Well, yes," said Twilight nervously. "I know a spell. A gem finding spell."
"A gem finding spell?" asked Celestia in disbelief. "I have never heard of such a thing! And I consider myself to be well learned in such matters!"
"Well, you see," explained Twilight, "Crystalline structures have the unique property of being able to 'store' magic. They can absorb ambient magic. Any spell cast near a crystal or gem will resonate in that crystal or gem to an ever-so-slight degree. But, with the right spell, the crystal will absorb far more of the magic than usual, and you can pinpoint their location based on where the magic moves to. Here, I can show you."
Twilight's horn lit up as she began casting Rarity's spell. But then, she cut it off abruptly and cried out "Whoa!" and began rubbing her head.
"Twilight?" asked Celestia, concerned. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting such overwhelming feedback. What in the..."
As she trailed off, she looked over toward the corner where Luna had been working.
"Is something wrong?" asked Luna.
"The elements of harmony..." whispered Twilight. "You're keeping them here with you."
The elements are here, thought Twilight. They were used to power the time machine once before. Could they be used for the same purpose again?
No, she decided. It only worked last time because Discord showed his face, and that is the VERY LAST thing that I want to happen now. I'll have to find another way.
"You know?" whispered Luna.
"About the elements?" asked Twilight. "I thought everyone knew."
"No. Nopony knows," said Celestia. "My sister, myself, and Discord should be the only ones aware of their existence."
"But why not tell everypony?" asked Twilight, confused. "Don't you want them to all know the truth?"
"We do, but..." Celestia trailed off.
"We fear that we might lose their respect if ponies should discover that it was not by our power that Discord was defeated," finished Luna.
"But it was by your power that Discord was defeated!" cried Twilight. "It was your bond with your sister that provided the strength to imprison Discord! That's how the elements work! They channel your bonds of friendship!"
"We know that," said Luna. "But the ponies out there, they do not."
Celestia spoke. "But how do you know this? What do you know of the elements?"
"I..."
Twilight didn't speak for a full thirty seconds.
"I need to go," she said finally.
"Go?" cried Luna.
"Yes. I promise you I will explain everything! Just, not today. I've stayed her for too long already. I need to speak with Starswirl as soon as possible. I can eat this sandwich on the way."
"Alright, Twilight," said Celestia. "If that is what you think, then I will oblige. Starswirl the Bearded lives in his tower, north west of here at a distance of approximately one hour's flight away. It stands tall and is visible for miles away. You will not miss it."
"Thank you," said Twilight unsteadily. "I should leave now. Goodbye."
"Farewell Twilight," said Celestia.
"Farewell," repeated Luna.
About a minute after Twilight had left their building, Luna said to Celestia "Are you sure we have never met her before?"
"I feel certain I would have remembered," said Celestia. "But it did feel like she knew us, did it not?"
"Indeed."
By the time Twilight reached Starswirl's tower, Celestia had set the sun. Twilight hoped that Starswirl wasn't early to go to bed. She stopped in midair to examine the home of her idol. It was approximately five stories high and made entirely out of grey bricks. There were no windows. The structure had no roof. Instead, the top was flat and had a door that led down into the top of the tower. There was a telescope set up on the top, but Starswirl himself was nowhere in sight. It would be rude to fly up to him unannounced anyway.
Twilight landed on the ground and looked at the door uncertainly. Anticipation was building up quickly. She decided to knock.
"Coming!" said a feminine voice behind the door.
Twilight paused. This was unexpected. Did Starswirl have a wife? No, she knew for a fact that he never married. Unless the history books had been wrong. An apprentice? Possibly.
The door opened and Twilight found herself face to face with Berry Punch.
Or at least a pony that, if not for the fact that she was a unicorn, Twilight would have mistaken for Berry Punch. Not to mention the fact that Berry Punch herself could not possibly be present.
"... Is this the home of Starswirl the Bearded?" asked Twilight, not entirely convinced that it was.
"Hmm..." the mare appeared to consider. "Maybe... Why you wants to know?"
Twilight scrunched up her eyes in confusion. The translation spell had been performing perfectly up until now. The only explanation was that the mare was in fact speaking in an incorrect manner.
This isn't how I was expecting this to go, thought Twilight.
"I need to speak with Starswirl the Bearded," said Twilight.
"Yes, this is where he lives here," said the mare. "Wantta come in?"
"Um, yes, if that's alright?" said Twilight. She suddenly became aware of an aroma emanating from the mare.
This mare is drunk! Twilight realized. I must have the wrong place? But how many other ponies live in giant towers and keep telescopes? This MUST be the right place!
The mare stepped back and motioned for Twilight to step inside. Twilight did so, reluctantly.
The room was surprisingly well lit by several candles in various places. There were stairs running along the back wall that upstairs as well as to a basement. There was a table with several seats surrounding it, but this was the only furniture.
"So, what is your name?" asked the mare.
"My name is Twilight."
"Really..."
"Um, yes. And who are you?"
"I'm drunk!" declared the mare, who then produced a bottle of wine.
Twilight didn't speak for a moment. She watched the mare take a swig.
"I meant, what is your name?" asked Twilight.
"Oh! My name is Berry!"
"Berry?!"
"Yeah... I'm Berry Blast!"
"Oh!" said Twilight. "I'm sorry, it's just that, you remind me of somepony from home." Only even Berry Punch isn't usually as drunk as this mare seems to be right now...
"Really?" asked Berry. "Is she... nice?"
"Huh? Yes, sure."
"Fantastic."
"Are you Starswirl's... apprentice?"
"Sorta!" replied Berry. "He doesn't actually teach me very much. Mostly he just watches me. And keeps me from having any fun."
"Oh, I see... Um, could I please speak with Starswirl?"
Berry's face seemed to turn angry.
"Starswirl doesn't talk to just anypony!" she cried.
"He doesn't?" asked Twilight, suddenly worried.
"No! You must prove yourself!"
"How?"
"With magic!" declared Berry. "Really impressive magic."
"You want me to show you my magic?" asked Twilight.
"Yeah! Show me what you've got!"
Twilight didn't know what to think. Under normal circumstances, she usually didn't give in to requests to show off her magic. But if Starswirl really didn't wish to interact with ponies without magical talent, then she couldn't afford to turn the mare down. She hoped that this wasn't true. Perhaps this was the unpredictable whims of a pony who had too much to drink.
"What kind of magic do you want me to do?" asked Twilight, worried.
"The best you've got!"
"My best?" Twilight wasn't actually sure what her most impressive spell was. She knew spells that were very complex to perform, spells that required enormous amounts of raw power, and spells that were not actually terribly difficult at all, but looked more impressive than they actually were. She had no idea what the mare was looking for from her, if anything.
"Well, I suppose I could use this spell," said Twilight.
There was a purple flash and Twilight fell upward toward the ceiling, landing on her hooves.
"Is this a sufficient demonstration?" asked Twilight.
"What?" said Berry, clearly confused. "What're you doin' on the roof?"
"It's a reverse gravity spell," explained Twilight.
Berry's eyes lit up. "Oooooooh! That's actually really neat!"
"Is it good enough?" asked Twilight.
"Yep! Hold on just a second."
Berry turned around and walked toward the staircase she took a few steps up the stairs before stopping suddenly.
"Hey, StarSWIIIIIIRL! There's somepony here who wants to talk to you!"
Twilight had been in the process of reversing the gravity spell and tumbled to the floor in a heap.
"Tell them I'm not home!" cried a voice from upstairs.
"She can hear you, Starswirl!" shouted Berry.
"Oh, very well then," said the voice. "I wasn't in the middle of anything important anyway. Tell her to come up then."
"Okay!" shouted Berry back toward the upstairs.
She turned around to face Twilight, who was pulling herself off the floor.
"Starswirl says you can go up."
"I heard..." muttered Twilight.
Once Twilight had pulled herself together, both physically and mentally, she walked up the staircase.
As soon as her head was above the floor level of the second floor, she stopped and hesitated.
Starswirl was staring back at her.
She would have been embarrassed if she wasn't so busy analyzing her the old pony.
He looks just like the statue in the Starswirl the Bearded wing! Right down to his robes and hat! I thought that it might be an inaccurate representation that omitted wrinkles and such, but, but he looks just like it!
"Are you coming in or not?" asked Starswirl. "Starswirl the Bearded, magician specializing in space, motion, and time, at your service. You do have the right place, despite what that mare downstairs might lead you to believe."
"I'm sorry!" said Twilight, rushing up the stairs. "It's just... I am a huge admirer of your work. I'm just nervous."
Twilight looked around the room. It was clearly a study. There was a desk with paper stacked to a visible thickness all over it's surface in a clutter as well as the obligatory ink and quill. The walls were lined with shelves. Some were book shelves and Twilight immediately began to itch to look them over. Most of them looked ancient even in the current time. However, it appeared that Starswirl wasn't big on organization, judging from the way that some books were placed cover down on top of the books that were actually placed on the shelf appropriately. Other shelves were stuffed full of scrolls stacked in a hexagon pattern.
In contrast to the candles in the entry room, there were several glass lamps floating near the ceiling of this room, each containing an orb of light. Twilight realized that they were likely enchanted with a light spell. Although this would put a slight strain on Starswirl's magic, it was probably safer than candles around his papers and books. They were also much easier to enable and disable.
There was also an entire section of the wall that was covered entirely in equations that she could only barely follow, but not for lack of knowledge. The equations seemed to be mashed together as tightly as possible, and there were several occasions where Starswirl had used a form of shorthand that presumably only he himself understood.
"An admirer of my work? Most ponies haven't had an opportunity to take an interest in my 'work'. Ah, but you must be a sister of Celestia's and Luna's. Did they send you here to deliver a message?"
"Everypony keeps assuming that I am somehow related to them, but I'm not. My name is Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight hesitated. She wanted to get right to the point. She had to tell Starswirl everything, including the time machine, if she was to expect him to be able to help her. But the words refused to come out of her mouth. She had to delay if she didn't want to just awkwardly sit there.
"About Berry..."
"You're curious as to why I, Starswirl the Bearded, am housing a drunken mare?"
"Well... yeah."
"She's unstable," explained Starswirl. "Now, I don't normally take it upon myself to take in other ponies, but Berry has a rather unique case of magical talent combined with an enormous amount of potential and an infuriating affinity for alcohol."
"She is your apprentice?" asked Twilight.
"You could say that. She doesn't learn much though. She doesn't want to learn. She doesn't need to learn. She flies in the face of everything that you should expect from a decent magician's apprentice."
"What do you mean by 'she doesn't need to learn?' " asked Twilight, confused.
"I mean she has no idea how the spells that she casts even work," said Starswirl, clearly frustrated. "She doesn't need to understand either. She can cast them anyway. I swear, she is the most interesting apprentice I have ever had, and the most stressful."
"Do you mean to say that Berry can casts spells that she has never studied before?" asked Twilight incredulously.
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean!" said Starswirl. "It is beyond baffling. All she needs to be able to replicate a spell nearly perfectly is to see somepony else cast it, just once! If it wasn't for her drunken irresponsibility, she would early go on to become one of the most powerful spell casters in history!"
"But she's your apprentice. Why do you let her have alcohol?"
"First of all, I couldn't keep her from it if I tried. I can't keep an eye on her at all hours of the day, after all. She makes it herself. But the main reason is that her magical potential is at it's peak when she's really good and drunk."
"... What?" cried Twilight. "But that's impossible! It's a well known fact that alcohol clouds the mind and severely impairs a unicorn's spell casting ability!"
"You're telling me!" cried Starswirl. "There might be a reasonable explanation for such an anomalous phenomena, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what! And in the near non-existent moments that Berry is sober, she is quite incapable of magic in the slightest. At first I thought she was faking it as an excuse to get drunk, but I have been watching her for a long time now. Her mind and body actually become more attune to magic while she is in a drunken state."
"The infuriating thing is that she is obviously quite incapable of rational thought and good decision making while drunk. I want her to succeed in her talents, but I worry that it might be damaging to her as a mare. It is quite the conundrum, and I don't have a solution."
Starswirl sighed. "I apologize," he said. "I can get rather worked up when thinking about her."
"You mentioned Celestia and Luna before," said Twilight, eager to change the subject, but still not prepared to discuss the matter that brought her here in the first place. "Do they speak to you frequently?"
"Not really, no," answered Starswirl. "You could say that they are also 'admirers of my work', or at least they used to be. They have always taken great interest in my theories. In fact, they were some of the only ponies that could follow a lot of it. But that all stopped when Discord took over. All of the contact that I have had with them recently involved them asking for my opinions on how to best remove chaos magic from ponies and objects alike."
"Starswirl..." began Twilight. "I'm curious about something. You are obviously at least acquainted with Celestia and Luna..."
"Yes, I am."
"But you were also present in Equestria when the pony tribes first arrived, before Discord's rule and back when the sun and moon were moved by the unicorn council."
"And your point?"
"... How old are you?"
Starswirl chuckled a few times. "Come now Twilight, you should know better than to ask an old Stallion his age. I figure you wouldn't appreciate me asking you how old you are."
"Why? I'm only twenty-four."
"Ha!" laughed Starswirl. "I would be a fool to believe that!"
"Why?" asked Twilight, slightly offended. "It's true!"
"Don't tell me that," said Starswirl. "You alicorns are all thousands of years old and never grow a day older."
"That's not true!" exclaimed Twilight. "After all, even alicorns have to be twenty-four years old at some point in their life."
"So you insist that you are twenty-four?"
"Yes!"
"Would you be willing to put that to the test?"
"What? How?"
"Time magic a specialty of mine," said Starswirl. "It is not a simple subject, but one of the simpler spells is an age detecting spell. I actually wanted to try using it on Celestia once out of curiosity, but she wouldn't let me."
"Well, I don't have a problem with it," said Twilight. "I promise to you though, you're just going to find out that I was telling the truth all along."
"Excellent," declared Starswirl. His horn lit up with light blue light. Twilight felt magic briefly encompass her, and then vanish.
"Well," said Starswirl. "That doesn't make much sense..."
"What?" asked Twilight. "Did something go wrong?"
"I don't think the spell actually worked," said Starswirl. "It might be that it is incompatible with alicorn physiology. The results just don't make any sense."
"Because the spell confirmed that I am in fact twenty-four?"
"No. It didn't. It told me that you are approximately two thousand years old. Only, negativetwo thousand years old. Which is impossible."
Realization hit Twilight. This is actually convenient, she thought to herself. I hope this is enough proof to convince him that I am telling the truth.
"Actually, Starswirl, the spell worked perfectly."
"Did it?" asked Starswirl skeptically.
"Yes. I was born two thousand years into the future."
"Ah! That does explain it, actually!" said Starswirl, the confusion in his expression dissolving instantly. "I expect you will be vanishing any moment then."
"Huh?"
"The time travel spell can only be sustained for about a minute or so at maximum before it collapses. Although, now that I think of it, you have been here rather longer than a minute, have you not?"
Twilight didn't answer.
"Oh, of course!" cried Starswirl. "My spell has surely been refined and made more efficient over the years! You must have used a new version of the spell that give's you more time, correct?"
"Sort of," said Twilight. "It's permanent."
"Permanent?" cried Starswirl. "But that's incredible! The amount of raw magical energy required is far beyond feasible for practical application!"
"You are right," said Twilight. "But I was able to obtain such a source of energy. The problem is that magic bees don't take kindly to having their nectar stolen."
"Magic bees?" asked Starswirl in confusion.
"They are very rare in my time, I think" said Twilight. "I didn't even know that they existed until I saw them for myself. But their nectar contains unbelievably large amounts of magic energy."
"And you stole this nectar from them?" asked Starswirl.
"I didn't know that I was stealing!" insisted Twilight. As far as I could tell, I had simply found an unexploited source of vast magical energy! I didn't know that it belonged to the bees!"
"I see."
"And when I was in the middle of some trial runs, the bees found me and started chasing us! The only way we were able to escape them was to activate the time machine, and that is how I ended up here! Only, I don't have any more nectar and I can't get home! That is why I came to you! I thought... maybe you can help me?" Twilight's last sentence was practically begging.
"Well," said Starswirl. "This certainly isn't what I was expecting when I got out of bed this morning. And I've seen a lot of unexpected things in my time. I noticed that you said 'us'. You brought at least one other pony with you, didn't you?"
"Well," Twilight said, "because of complications with the new version of the spell, the machine can only trigger while physically traveling at high speed. I cannot safely accelerate the machine to the required speed on my own, but A friend of mine... can."
"I see..." said Starswirl. He hesitated for a moment. "I will have to examine this 'machine' for myself to be sure, but... I'm sorry Twilight, but I honestly have no idea where you might find enough energy to power a permanent time shift spell. Unless you were to locate these magic bees once again and 'steal' more nectar, but then you would have the same problem all over again."
"I did think of that," said Twilight. "And I really don't want to do that. But I don't know what I will do if I'm really stuck here."
"I wonder..." said Starswirl.
"Yes?" asked Twilight eagerly.
"I wonder if we could get enough energy if we got Berry Blast really wasted. I'm kidding!" he added upon seeing the look on Twilight's face. "Even she has her limits. And that limit is when she passes out from drinking too much."
"That reminds me," said Twilight. "Do you always ask visitors to perform feats of magic?"
"No, I don't," replied Starswirl, his tone already turning angry. "Is Berry up to that old trick again? There's a reason I refuse to demonstrate dangerous magic in front of that mare." Starswirl looked straight at Twilight. "You didn't show her anything dangerous, did you?"
Worry erupted in Twilight's chest. "Um... I did cast a reverse gravity spell-"
Suddenly, there was a burst of light in the room. Twilight heard Starswirl groan and say "Oh no..."
The light dimmed and vanished and Twilight saw in it's place was standing a second Starswirl.
"Sorry to interrupt your little chat," said the new Starswirl, "but I thought that you might like to know that about thirty seconds ago, Berry Blast thought it would be a great idea to try out that reverse gravity outdoors. She is currently plummeting upward through the sky and she doesn't know the counterspell. You should probably go save her."
The first Starswirl gaped for a moment. "And why didn't you come and warn me about this before it happened?!" he bellowed.
"No time for that!" shouted the second Starswirl. "Go!" He disappeared again with a bright flash of light.
"Curse that mare!" shouted Starswirl. "Curse that mare to tartarus!" He disappeared with a flash of teleportation magic.
Despite her bewilderment, Twilight cast a teleportation spell as well. She appeared just outside of Starswirl's tower. Starswirl himself was a short distance away and staring up into the sky.
"Thirty seconds!" he shouted into the sky without moving his head. "Do you have any idea how far that idiot has traveled in thirty seconds? I put a tracing spell on her a long time ago, and she is definitely way out of my spell casting range. I could probably teleport to her location, but that doesn't change the fact that she would still be traveling and ludicrous speeds while I myself would plummet to my death! Twilight!" he shouted at her, finally looking at her. "Any ideas? Anything?"
"Just one!" cried Twilight. She stepped closer to him and lit her horn. The ground below them started to shake.
"What are you doing?" shouted Starswirl.
"We're going up the same way Berry did," said Twilight gravely.
Starswirl stumbled as the ground they were standing on broke free and started accelerating upward.
"Can you catch up with her?" asked Starswirl urgently, trying to ignore the fact that he was now standing on a circular slab of earth that was only two meters across with a rapidly increasing distance between the ground and himself.
"I can if I put some extra power into the spell," shouted Twilight, as the wind was already starting to get loud. "But she has a huge head start! I don't know if..."
Twilight trailed off and Starswirl didn't press the issue. He turned his head skyward. "If we get out of this alive," he shouted, "I'm going to kill that mare!"
Pressure began to build up in Twilight's skull as she pressed her magical ability.
I sure hope that Rainbow Dash is having a better day than I am right now, she thought.
As a matter of fact, Rainbow Dash was soaking wet at the moment. This would have been more embarrassing if not for the fact that every pony around her was also in a similar state.
"What was that?" she demanded of a pegasus mare that looked rather a lot like Derpy. Rainbow attempted to shake water out of her mane.
"I- I don't know!" cried the mare. "I don't get it!"
When Rainbow Dash had initially arrived in Cloudsdale, she had discovered that the ponies were skeptic of her. She also discovered that the same ponies were much more willing to listen to her after a demonstration. Which led directly to her present situation. There were only about three dozen ponies present, but it was early in the night. At the moment she was attempting to teach how to dissipate a cloud.
The first pony to volunteer to try learn hooves on had ended with the cloud exploding in a spectacular shower of water, splashing onto everypony present.
"If clouds are made of water," continued the mare, "then how can you destroy them without getting water everywhere?"
"It's all in the kick!" said Rainbow Dash. "If you wallop it like a foal, the only thing that will happen is the cloud exploding, like what just happened. And you never want that to happen. Unless you want to pull a prank on somepony or something, I guess."
"But," she continued, "A skilled pegasus can control a cloud in many different ways just by changing the technique of the kick! If you kick it like this- Behold, the cloud releases it's water slowly, over time. Rain."
"And if you kick it like this-"
KER-POW
"You will cause a lightning strike. And if you kick it like this- The cloud will dissipate into water vapor. No mess, no water flying everywhere. Now, are you ready to try again?"
The mare nodded silently.
Rainbow didn't tell her, but she had never seen anypony make a cloud explode so spectacularly.
Who would have thought that you could cram that much water into such a small cloud? thought Rainbow.
Twilight noticed Starswirl light his horn with magic. A blue barrier enveloped the air around them.
"The air up here," gasped Starswirl, "was starting to get thin!"
"Good thinking!" said Twilight.
Come to think of it, thought Twilight, I bet Discord is just having the time of his LIFE right now...
Discord was currently inside a pitch dark building. In fact, he was mere feet away from Celestia's own residence. There were four guards in front of the door to the building on the outside of it, but naturally he hadn't used the door. He clapped his front paws together and the room became inexplicably lit, revealing his target, which was actually the only thing occupying the room whatsoever.
"Well well well," he said in the slightly higher pitch of his rodent form. "Look at who we have here. All alone. But alone no more, for the moment."
He hopped up onto a stone hard arm.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked. "I'm you, from the future. I can prove it too. I know what you're thinking. Only I could know that you are thinking of... a plaid ostrich on a unicycle! I remember thinking of that when I was in your position."
He hopped onto the statue's head and pretended to examine his paws. "I'm doing pretty good. And how about you? ... Not so good, huh? That's a bummer. You have my condolences. But you know as well as I do that I am no more capable of setting you free than you are.
"You want to hear about the future? Some of it is pretty exciting. Not most of it though. Most of it is dull, dull, dull. I'm pretty sure you go mad a couple of times. But it's not all bad. You won't even be in this dark room for terribly long. Celestia will actually grow overconfident and put you out in the middle of public gardens and stuff. Nice view. Get's old after a while, but you learn to appreciate what you can get. And these school groups will keep coming to stare at you and inexplicably break out into fights.
"I know you'd love to know, and I know you're not going to like it, but I'll tell you anyway. You're going to be in there for a long time. Two thousand, to be exact. You might as well start a tally. Try taking a nap for a few centuries if you like. Save yourself some sanity.
"Oh, but when you finally do get out, oh is it great. I don't want to spoil it, but you'll love it, trust me. What? You want to know just one little detail? Well, okay! How could I say no to myself? Celestia will have her student and her student's friends get the elements of harmony with the intent to blast you again. And they succeed.
"But the really funny part? It doesn't work! They shoot off a beam of rainbows and hit you right in the chest and nothing happens at all! Heh, I'm starting to crack up just thinking about the expression on their faces! They were sooooo thoroughly corrupted by chaos! You'll love it, just wait.
"Anyway, sorry to have to say this, but I gotta go do what I do best now. I'll have to leave you the way I found you. Wouldn't want anypony to know that something is amiss."
He clapped his paws together again and the room went pitch black.
"See you around!"
The jackalope disappeared with a 'pop'. A moment later he was sitting on a cloud, laughing uncontrollably.
"I'm going to hate myself for that," cried Discord. "So much. But right now, it's just too rich! Serves me right anyway."