“Whoa! Did you feel that?”
“I’m surprised you have to ask. But if you’re wondering what that was, I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
“Whatever it was seemed to happen to the map. We gotta get a look inside the throne room.”
“Hang on… Uh-oh.”
“Starlight Glimmer? What’s she doing here?”
“Well, it’s not like Princess Twilight managed to actually catch her the last time.”
“But why is she back now? If she’s damaged the map in any way…”
“I don’t think she has. Trust me, even if she could, we’d know if that were the case.”
“Then what did she do?”
“Let’s just wait and… What is that?”
“You’re asking me?”
“Two heads, and all that…”
“Well, just at a glance, I’d say it’s a trans-dimensional bubble. But it’s not like I know where it leads.”
“Those glyphs… I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that since Starswirl the Bearded.”
“Actually, I think the last time we saw anything like that was when the princess used that time travel thing of… his…”
“Wait, do you mean… Then again, I am getting something that could actually be time magic.”
“She’s going up.”
“And she’s gone.”
“…Maybe… Maybe that’s the last we’ve seen of her?”
“Do you honestly believe that?”
“A guy can hope. Wait, it’s happening again.”
“Princess Twilight!”
“…”
“What just happened?”
“I think I saw Spike touching that parchment before that last surge.”
“Parchment… What was on it?”
“Give me a sec… Just let me hit the rewind… Yep, it was Starswirl’s time travel spell. But…”
“But what?”
“Starswirl was never able to use it for more than almost a minute at a time. If Starlight really was using that spell, what can she hope to accomplish? And how did just touching the parchment send the princess and Spike through the portal as well?”
“Here, let me have a look… Let’s see… parchment… magical surge…Starlight… I think I have it.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Starlight modified the spell to work in tandem with the map. When that magic surge hit us, it was the spell using the map as a focal point, to increase its power. I mean, you don’t get much more powerful than an artifact created by the Tree of Harmony itself.”
“Sounds reasonable so far…”
“With that much power, the parchment itself basically became the spell.”
“‘Became’?”
“When Spike touched that parchment, it reacted and activated the spell again. That’s why Twilight and Spike got sucked through time with Starlight.”
“Did… Did Starlight know that would happen?”
“Honestly, I can’t say I know for sure, but I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“But there’s still one question: where are they?”
“And when?”
“…Hey! Maybe the map will tell us!”
“How do you figure?”
“If Starlight’s modifications required the map, maybe the map still has some residual magic left over. It could tell us where Starlight intended to go.”
“Worth a shot. Start looking.”
“…”
“Found it!”
“Where is it?”
“Over Cloudsdale.”
“What could Starlight want there? Hmm…”
“Well, what sort of big events happened at Cloudsdale?”
“Any number of things. But if her goal involves revenge on Twilight… No.”
“Wait, wait, wait. You don’t mean…”
“The first Sonic Rainboom performed by Rainbow Dash.”
“But… what could she…?”
“Isn’t it obvious? All six of those ponies were brought together by destiny through this Rainboom.”
“What’ll happen if she succeeds?”
“There is a chance that nothing too drastic will happen, but that’s far too optimistic, given the circumstances.”
“So you’re saying the ponies may never meet.”
“That’s our best case scenario within reason. But the more likely options…”
“What?”
“Think about it; what have Princess Twilight and her friends done since they met?”
“Everything.”
“Exactly. A lot’s happened throughout the past couple years, and Twilight Sparkle and her friends were usually right in the thick of it. But if they never met…”
“…any one of those threats could have taken over. Wait, does Starlight even realize this?!”
“I doubt it. She’s a mare that’s had a rough life, and about half of that is self-inflicted. She doesn’t see clearly anymore. At the moment, I’d say she’s thinking of the short-term gains rather than the long-term losses. And I don’t think there’s anything we can do.”
“What?!”
“We’re just the Watchers of the Map. And that’s what we do: we watch. We send ponies to solve the problems we notice. And right now, we can only hope that whatever Princess Twilight’s going through, she’ll make it like she always does.”
“…”
“I’m not buying it.”
“Huh?”
“Maybe we can’t deal with Starlight directly, but we can’t just sit here. She used our map to achieve her ends, and I, for one, am not about to let her get away with it.”
“…”
“Maybe you think Princess Twilight can pull it off, but I’d rather have a backup plan if… no, let’s face it, when things go south.”
“But what can we do? This map is stationary, bound to one place.”
“Hmm… But… what if that one place was spread across multiple timelines?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Starlight left us with the one thing that can help to beat her: her own spell. She used it with this map. If we can tap into this magic, we might be able to help Princess Twilight.”
“…What’s your idea?”
“Let’s face it, Princess Twilight isn’t going to figure out Starlight’s intentions right away. As soon as Starlight stops the Rainboom, Twilight will be flung into an alternate reality. And she’ll need a way back. You said it yourself; the spell and the map are now working together.”
“And you think we can use the map as her means of escape?”
“It’s worth a shot.”
“Okay, but we’ve got a lot to do first. We’ll need to make sure that Princess Twilight comes back here. That way, she’ll have easy access to the map. We also need to find a way to get this map to her.”
“That’s an easy one. We use the leftover magic, along with our own, to travel through time and space to wherever the princess is. All we have to do is focus on her and we’ll be right there with her.”
“Do you really think this will work?”
“Better to have tried and failed than not try at all.”
“True enough. Ready?”
“Let’s do it.”
“Calling Twilight Sparkle. Your mission begins here!”
“Ooohhh… Well… that went well.”
“We probably broke about a dozen cosmic statutes doing that.”
“Maybe they’ll take my headache as suitable punishment.”
“We’ll cross that broken bridge when we get there. Speaking of going places, did it work?”
“Let’s check the map…!”
“Oh, wow…”
“It’s almost like the Crystal Empire took a tip from the Everfree Forest after that invasion thing.”
“Let’s take a closer look.”
“Try the Crystal Mountains. If anything strange is going on in this timeline, that’d be the best place to start.”
“Hang on…”
“…Is that… a war?”
“Equestria hasn’t known war in centuries, not since the last Griffon War. How did this…?”
“Wait. Try the Empire City.”
“…”
“Well, now we know what caused it.”
“Wha…? But… Sombra never went this far before, even during his first takeover.”
“The Royal Sisters stopped him before he got much farther than enslavement. My guess is he managed to stay one step ahead this time.”
“And without Princess Twilight and the rest, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were helpless.”
“Oh, sweet deities, I don’t even want to think about what happened to them.”
“…”
“Hey, where’s Princess Twilight? We should have come with her… I hope.”
“We’re still in Ponyville, right? She couldn’t have gotten far… There. Sweet Apple Acres.”
“More like Sweet Apple Industries.”
“Every pony in Equestria must have been affected by this. Let’s see, if we broaden the scope of the map a bit…”
“I’m feeling… anxiety… their morale is low. They just work, day in and day out, hoping, praying that their contribution is worth it at the end of the day.”
“There’s nothing we can do for these ponies. We’ve done all we can, now we just have to wait for Princess Twilight to make the connection and use the map to set things right.”
“…”
“Hey, I see her!”
“With Applejack, no less.”
“It is kinda nice to see a friendly face… even if that face is more ‘tolerant’ than ‘friendly.’ And also wearing a hairnet… Am I wrong in saying this timeline bugs me?”
“Not entirely. And with this story she’s telling, you’re even more justified.”
“Come on, Princess, hurry up and figure it out already so we can all get out of here.”
“…”
“Hey, you feel that?”
“I think she’s finally got it.”
“Here’s hoping…”
“Ugh, well, something happened…”
“Are we back?”
“Better check the map… Uuhhhh… I am going to say no.”
“Tell me about it. This doesn’t even look like the timeline we just left.”
“Could it get any worse though?”
“Well, so far we know the Everfree Expansion was allowed to roam free in this timeline.”
“Please tell me that’s the worst of it; I’m already sensing higher levels of fear than even back in the Crystal War timeline.”
“Let’s check out Canterlot. Ponyville may be a lost cause, but even something like this couldn’t affect the capitol…!”
“I think the Everfree is the least of Canterlot’s worries.”
“Changelings everywhere… The entire city looks like a hive.”
“Could we look away now? I’d rather not know the details.”
“Good point; no sense in learning more about this world than we have to.”
“Besides, there’s something else catching my attention.”
“What is it?”
“Maybe Ponyville really is a lost cause, but I’m feeling a strong pony presence not too far from here.”
“Give me a moment… There!”
“Looks like some underground resistance.”
“And from the look of things, it’s not going well.”
“You see Princess Twilight anywhere?”
“No. If she was there, she may have already made her escape.”
“Check the path back to the map; I’d rather be sure.”
“There she is!”
“With a horde of changelings or her tail.”
“Almost there…”
“Hmmm! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”
“We did leave in a big hurry.”
“Ugh, changelings. Never liked them.”
“Maybe we’ll get through to them someday. For now though, let’s see if this one worked…”
“Doesn’t look like it. In fact we may even be back in the changeling timeline.”
“No, something’s different. Hang on… Look at this.”
“Huh, I don’t remember the Castle of the Two Sisters looking that good in a long time.”
“Focus on that castle. What do you sense?”
“It’s… It’s hard to say… It’s like the ponies just… don’t care anymore. Broaden the scope… It’s the same all over Equestria. No happiness, no fear, no sadness… there’s just… nothing.”
“This castle… I can’t see who’s ruling it. Wait. There seems to be a large amount of bat-winged pegasi in there.”
“Hold on… Bat-winged pegasi… it is kinda dark out…”
“Hey, the princess is coming this…!”
“Nightmare Moon.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised we didn’t run into her sooner.”
“She’s got Spike wrapped in chains.”
“She must have needed a bargaining chip for whatever deal Princess Twilight made with her.”
“What deal?”
“…”
“Ouch. I wouldn’t want to be that timberwolf.”
“I sense that the princess is just recovering from exhaustion. Something must have gone down in her last encounter with Starlight.”
“So she runs for the nearest shelter she can find to hide from the wolves, runs into Nightmare Moon, and convinces her to help take care of them while she recovers her magic.”
“But why would she want to help Princess Twilight in the first place?”
“She must have let slip that she’s not from this timeline. Nightmare Moon must have really wanted to use this power for herself.”
“I sure hope she has a plan after this. I do not want that alicorn getting her hooves on this map.”
“…”
“There! She’s springing to action!”
“Please let this be the one…”
“Does Tirek have a thing against trees or something?”
“Having all that power was never exactly the catalyst for maintaining his subtlety.”
“Yikes! Discord, what are you doing?”
“Is that a question you really want to ask?”
“…Fair point.”
“What the—?!”
“I guess without the others’ help, Flim and Flam would have taken over the Apples’ farm, no sweat.”
“But to go this far?! Is there nothing they won’t do?!”
“What… What is this place?”
“Can we even call it that? There’s nothing. Even the map is completely bare.”
“I can’t even see a reason for this.”
“Is it something we have yet to face? Maybe a combination of everything we’ve seen?”
“Let’s not think about it.”
“…”
“Hey I just realized; Starlight’s here.”
“Wait, what?”
“Looks like Princess Twilight managed to take her with them.”
“You think this will be it?”
“Wait, Starlight’s using the spell.”
“Please, please, please…”
“Ahhh… Well?”
“They did it.”
“Really?”
“Check for yourself. Everything is as it should be.”
“Hah, thank goodness… Hey, Starlight’s here too.”
“Something seems different about her.”
“I’m getting… sorrow… regret… and… happiness.”
“I think it’s safe to say that the Starlight Glimmer mission was a complete success. Good job.”
“Why thank me?”
“This was all your idea. Without your determination, we wouldn’t have even tried it.”
“Wouldn’t have been so determined if you hadn’t all but given up. Besides, I may have started it, but you kept me sane throughout; I’d call that a much bigger achievement.”
“If you say so. But we still have one more thing to take care of.”
“What’s that?”
“The spell. We can’t let it fall into anyone’s hooves again.”
“Looks like the parchment nearly got torn in half.”
“Let’s tear the rest of it.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m activating the spell one last time, but I’m homing in on the parchment…”
“…And it’s gone.”
“The vortex in that tunnel will complete the tear. They’ll land in two separate areas, maybe even timelines, and be completely useless.”
“…So what happens now?”
“Well, I imagine Princess Twilight will gather her friends and decide what to do with Starlight. What Starlight herself does next is her own choice. But as for us… Well, I don’t know about you, but I plan to rest and forget this whole thing ever happened.”
“Forget what ever happened?”
“Exactly.”