The six of us reappeared at the End of Time, and I could tell Scorpan and Gregory were confused at the very least. Having a minor breakdown was probably the right way to describe it. Still, the four of us who had been here before acting like nothing was wrong slowly reassured them that in fact, nothing was.
How wrong we were.
Our party approached Hora, who, for the first time since we saw him, appeared panicked. "Quick, quick, bring them over!" he said to me. The four of us parted so that the unicorn had a clear line of sight to Scorpan and Gregory. The crystal stallion lit his horn up and two sparks jumped from it, impacting the pair and causing them to glow, briefly.
And then the End of Time shook. Like a miniature earthquake was ripping through it. We all lunged for the lamp-post, which seemed to be the only thing to hang on to in this empty dimension. It was a little crowded for a while, but eventually the shaking stopped.
"What...was that?" I asked the unicorn.
"A Timequake," he replied. "There were small ones as you started changing some things here and there, but Tirek was a major event, and you got involved. This was the first time you were here for one, and I don't like thinking about what would have happened if you'd fallen off. I'm going to have to install railings here..."
"So the more events we change, the more Time gets upset?" I questioned Hora.
"Something like that," he replied with a nod. "Fluctuations in Time's flow come about as a result of a time-traveller getting involved with major events."
"Can we use these fluctuations against our ultimate foe?" Gregory asked. I was surprised he was keeping up with this conversation. My head was spinning slightly at the thought.
"Hmm, tricky," the unicorn replied. "You're trying to alter the timeline from what Lavos has it set as. Cause enough fluctuations, though, and you might create an opening. The question then becomes...will you be strong enough to exploit it?"
"So long as we stand together, we are strong enough to exploit any weakness," Scorpan affirmed with a nod. Hey, good to see those friendship lessons took hold!
"So when is the next major event that we should be getting involved with?" Copper asked.
Hora hummed as he looked at nothing in particular for a moment. "Hmm...ah yes!" he eventually said. "Back in the era you came from, there is a empire to the far north. They're getting reacquainted with somepony they thought they'd never see. You ought to get involved in that, help him come to his senses before some ponies get involved before you."
Ah yes. Sombra. The Crystal Empire. I suppose we should get involved then. While it might be true that the sisters celestial defeated him and turned him to shadow...
We had...other options.
"But first," I said to everybody. "There's somebody I think Scorpan and Gregory should meet with." With that, I led my friends to the only door in the End of Time, and to the room beyond.
This time, the Mistress of War was about as big as Luna. She was growing at an alarming rate. Though, I suppose that meant that we were getting stronger as well. "Oh, hello there friends!" she said, waving a hoof at us. "I saw your battle with Tirek and the Fiendlord! Rather ingenious, both of them! Well done on devising a strategy that would see you to victory both times, Crono!"
"Yes, well, I suppose you know why we're here this time," I said, as Scorpan and Gregory walked in at the tail end of our party. The alicorn of war tutted and shook her head.
"There's only so much I can do for Gregory here," she said, walking forward and examining him. "He's got a bit of pony in his family tree, apparently one of his ancestors was a hippogriff that fell in love with a griffon. Still, it's enough for my purposes. His is the spirit of a raging river, one that will wear down all opposition in time. He never stops trying to achieve his goals, just like water never stops trying to flow. As such, I think that Water for his flavor of magic would be most appropriate."
"Are you saying you can give me magic?" the griffon asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not just can, am going to," the red alicorn said with a nod before turning to Scorpan and frowning. "But as to you, I'm sorry to say that I can't do anything. There's no primal magic to awaken in you."
"I understand," the gargoyle said with a sigh.
"Ap!" the alicorn said with a raised hoof. "What I can do, though, is give you an enchantment. Or two, or three. To help your physical abilities keep up with the others. Once you learn how to master it, you should be as much of contributing member to this little group as they are."
"So, you're saying that there's very little you can't do," I said with a grin. The alicorn nodded and walked back to the center of the room, before raising her front hooves over her head. Her horn glowed, and then the magic happened.
A jet of water shot out from between her hooves and impacted Gregory, giving him a light blue aura that blazed around his form. A lance of red magic shot from her horn, hit Scorpan, and caused him to glow red for a moment or three. Eventually their magical auras died down, and they bowed to the Mistress of War in thanks.
"So, you're all fortified with magic," the alicorn said with a mischievous grin. "Feel like testing it out now?"
"Not...quite yet," I told her. "Maybe when we're stronger, we can take that challenge on."
"Aww, okay then. Just be sure to fight some entertaining fights! I am the Mistress of War!"
With a final wave, the six of us left the red alicorn to her perusing of the battles of Equus. I went back to where the platform that we used when we came in, and held the Key up, thinking of the Gate we'd just used to come here.
With a roar of wind, the six of us were whisked away again...
The party of one pony, one zebra, one griffon, one robot, one gargoyle, and one human appeared in the clearing again, to find one old unicorn mage still nearby. He started a bit when we appeared, before chuckling. "Something you forgot?" he asked us.
"Something like that," I said, before pulling out my watch and looking at it. "Assuming it is still three in the afternoon, that gives us a few good hours to travel north today."
Starswirl hummed and lit his horn up, before the same glow of his magic encompassed my watch. I saw a new hand spring into being, with new numbers and letters appearing on my watch to match. The time advanced by about twenty minutes before stopping, and Starswirl nodded.
"Let me know if that works," Starswirl said. "It should react to your time-jumps and tell you when you are, and still keep accurate time. Though, this is just a prototype spell."
"More than I could have hoped for," I told the mage, noting that the 'Age' hand, as I dubbed it, pointed firmly at the 'Discordian' era marking. "Take care of yourself Starswirl."
"And you as well," he told me. I looked to the sun, before turning and heading north, my companions following after me.
We had an Empire to investigate.
The travel through Equestria was long, but thankfully we only had the wild creatures to worry about. And Scorpan and Gregory did most of the fighting. At first they were loathe to use any of their new powers, but slowly they started to get a better feel for them. Gregory used a water spell to attack a Manticore, and Scorpan used his enhanced strength to break a Timberwolf to pieces.
We passed through several pony settlements on our way north, and the temperature slowly began to drop. Eventually we reached a village where we could see the frozen cold we were about to march into, and got directions to a 'magical city made of crystals deep within the snow, that no cold touched.' One of the ponies had apparently visited it once, and come back with a load of trade goods. Apparently the directions were as simple as 'walk north until you see the magical light of their shield, then head for it.'
Thankfully, it didn't even take us a day to reach the point when we saw the light of the shield, and the six of us headed for it with as much enthusiasm as we could muster. There's only so much you can bring to bear when the cold of the tundra saps your energy.
The six of us made it through the barrier without any problems, and most of us sighed thankfully at the warmth that filled the area.
Right before the shield was brought down, bringing the cold back with a vengeance.
It would appear that we got here just in time to deal with Sombra's little usurpation of the throne of the Crystal Empire.
Joy.