Chapter 5 - Welcome to Southern Earth
The playful sunbeams of the rising sun reached Twilight’s eyelids, making her groan in annoyance. “Put the sun back down, Princess,” she muttered out as she did her best to cover her eyes with her hooves. It was a useless effort, however, as she felt two ponies furiously tugging her mane.
“Twilight! Twilight! Wake up!” exclaimed Selene, jumping with excitement.
“Look what we did, Twilight! Look what we did!” Celeste said as she tugged even harder.
Twilight looked at them with confusion, trying to find the sisters' source of enthusiasm. The smell of smoked grass hit her nostrils, forcing a pained wince.
“What did you two do?” Looking around furtively, she half-expected to see the whole forest burning down to ashes. What instead caught her attention were three bowls laid on the grassy forest floor, filled with steaming-hot… grass soup. For some insane reason, the girls found water, boiled it and proceeded to cram grass all over. The dish’s weirdly enticing aroma aside, Twilight could not believe that somepony would ever create such a travesty.
“We couldn’t find any mushrooms, so we used grass instead!” explained Celeste, placing a hoof on her chest. “It was my idea.”
“I helped in finding a lake!” Selene quickly added.
Twilight was about to complain about how grass soup didn’t seem like a good idea when she realized that these two just wanted to make her some breakfast in bed. Warmth quickly replaced disgust, and a smile began to creep on her face.
“Thank you, both of you,” she said, stretching her forehooves and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. As much as she wanted to return to the land of dreams, there was work to be done.
With a grunt from Celeste, the three bowls were successfully lifted closer to the group, all wrapped in a faint yellow glow. One of the advantages of sleeping outdoors was that you didn’t need to walk down stairs to eat. Maybe I should go camping more often?
---
It. Was. Horrible.
Despite its lovely aroma, Twilight could not help but plug a hoof in her mouth to resist barfing up. Luckily for her, Celeste and Selene didn’t notice anything, too busy enjoying that vile soup they created. Every sip of the offensive liquid was a punch to Twilight’s guts. Once the aftertaste would kick in, she dearly wished to be spared of this fate and just be given the baked bads Pinkie and a sleep-deprived Applejack made a long time ago. Celeste was supposed to be an excellent cook. Oh Celestia, what did I do to deserve this?
“Isn’t this great?” Selene turned to Twilight. “Who knew grass could taste so good!”
Twilight hastily removed her hoof from her mouth and gave the young filly the biggest smile she could conjure up to hide her displeasure, so big that it hurt her cheeks. “Who knew?”
When Selene turned back to her soup, Twilight dropped the smile and quickly cast a teleportation spell, teleporting her soup as far away as possible. Looking back and forth at the two fillies, she sighed in relief as none of them noticed the flash of light from her horn. Setting the now-empty bowl down, she decided to start a conversation.
“So, Celeste, based on what you said earlier, we should be reaching Southern Earth today, right?”
Slurping the remaining soup on her own bowl, Celeste gave Twilight a thoughtful look. “I thought we’d arrive there tonight. Usually, Selene and I uses a detour to avoid Gem Front. But by the looks of this place, we’ll reach Southern Earth before lunch for sure!”
After a short pause, Celeste hit her forehead with her hoof as an important thought struck her. “How could I forget? Twilight, we need cloaks.”
Twilight considered that request as soon as she picked up on what Celeste was referring to. “Because we’re unicorns and we’re going to an earth pony village.”
“That, and Southern Earth knows me and my sister.”
Twilight’s vivid imagination was already running ahead of Celeste. Unicorns in an Earth pony village bigger than Trote — perhaps double, if not triple — would be trouble, putting it mildly… You’ll be fine. Remember your major advantage.
“Trust me, we won’t need cloaks,” she calmly replied, giving the young filly a confident smile.
Their discussion was cut by a loud burp from Selene. “I bet you sister, Twilight have one of those fancy spells to make us invincible!”
“It’s invisible,” Twilight corrected. “And no, invisibility would far too much magic. Instead, I have something better.”
The fillies nodded in unison, and glanced back at their bowls. Even if they wanted more soup, it took them a long time to find some water.
Twilight, noticing that look in Celeste and Selene’s eyes, levitated the bowls in the air and quickly placed them inside her makeshift saddlebag, cutting any idea of more soup.
“That’s enough soup for today. For now…”
Giving Celeste and Selene a smile, Twilight scrunched her face in concentration as wisps of lavender magic accumulated around the intrepid trio.
As time and eyes dilated, as the air shifted and visions swam, a blinding flash of light followed in the hoofsteps of a power flare unseen… Celeste and Selene, as inexperienced in the ways of power as they were, still felt its passage quite keenly and cried out in fear. As the spell drew towards its climax, Twilight’s control faltered, almost breaking the work of illusion with an explosion. Trixie made it look so easy...
---
Eventually, Twilight dragged herself to her hooves to recover. Shaking her head to clear the botched spell’s aftereffects, she asked, “Is everypony alright?”
Instead of the fillies she knew, she was greeted by a version of them she visualized on her mind. The older filly wore a bubblegum pink coat with a raspberry pink mane that flowed with the wind. The younger one had a dark green coat and a fluffy mint green mane.
“What happened?” Asked Celeste, oblivious to the change. Realization dawned as she looked at her hooves — pink instead of her natural white.
“I’m... I’m...”
“Pink!” Selene blurted out, laughing while rolling on the ground. It was a funny color — which her sister hated — and now Celeste was pink all over.
They both turned their heads to Twilight, and noticed what was different: her horn, or rather, her lack of a horn. Looking up to their foreheads, the fillies realized that it wasn’t only Twilight who lacked one.
“Your horn! My horn! Ahhhh!”
Twilight sighed at the sight of the two fillies desperately tapping their foreheads for the chance that it might still be there somewhere. “Girls, it’s just an illusion spell. Calm down, please!”
That got Twilight’s desired effect and made them both freeze to their tracks. “Illusion spell?” asked the ever-curious Celeste.
Twilight chuckled, stepping behind an imaginary lectern, “There are many schools of magic, one of which is the art of fooling the senses, illusion. Yes, you can’t feel your horns right now, but don’t worry, they’re still there. We don’t have the time to discuss the details right now, unfortunately. Now, as for your new names...”
Celeste’s eyes grew wide as she jumped with excitement. “Oh! Oh! I’ll be Saddlelia!” She looked at her younger sister, who was still poking her skull. “And you can be Elamane!”
“Pun names?” asked Twilight with resentment clear in her voice. Puns are the lowest form of jokes, and using them in names wasn’t really a good thing. She could excuse Equestria’s towns having pun names although you have a perfect opportunity to fix that, don’t you… but she definitely wasn’t going to allow her surrogate daughters to start off on the wrong hoof with their new disguises. “Actually, I have a better idea...”
---
If Trote was about the size of Ponyville, then Southern Earth would be as big as Manehattan. As the second largest earth pony village, with one of the five largest food-producing farms, the whole town made it a point to enforce security. Immense stone walls as sturdy as mountains surrounded the entire area, ruining any chance the unicorns could have of raiding the town. Some parts of the walls had tall towers with crossbows, making any pegasi think twice before attacking from the skies. Southern Earth has always been considered as a bastion of relief for those earth ponies weary of the tribe wars.
Two bulky ponies wearing leather armors stood in front of the gigantic wooden doors which served as the main entrance to the town. Their eyes never wavered, always alert to any movement. Both of them had many experiences of pegasi and unicorns trying to sneak inside past the walls, so nopony even dared to smuggle anything in or out of the village.
The guards both simultaneously squinted as they spotted three figures approaching from the depths of the forest. By habit, they first checked their backs and foreheads. Seeing them both bare, the guards relaxed.
When the group drew closer, the guards were finally able to see them much more clearly. They were composed of a mare and two fillies, who seemed ragged and tired from traveling. The mare had a vibrant lavender coat and navy blue mane with a strip of violet and pink. She wore a bulging saddlebag made of leaves and vines, its contents unknown to the guards.
“State your name, your home village and your business here,” a guard said in a no-nonsense gruff tone, even if his eyes grew a bit softer from the sight that greeted him.
The disguised unicorn in question gave them a sly smile, and motioned a hoof to her chest.
“Good afternoon, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and these two are my daughters.”
“Celestia!” the pink filly blurted out.
“And Luna!” the younger one followed.
“We hail from the village of Trote. Our town was raided by unicorns, forcing us to come here. We seek nothing but refuge in Southern Earth.”
“Oh, those snobbish unicorns are raiding again?” one guard asked conversationally. “They’ll hear from the Chancellor in due time.”
After inhaling as much air as he could, the guard’s voice boomed throughout the place. “Open the gate!”
Seconds passed, and the wooden gate gradually rose, rising up above without haste. As Twilight caught a glimpse of what was in store for them inside, her eyes grew big with wonder.
Market stalls were scattered around the place, presenting everything from vegetables to textiles. It was five times as big as Ponyville market, and earth ponies of all ages flocked the stalls in hope of finding what they needed. Offers were hurled, and things were traded in exchange for something better. The whole market was so packed that Twilight wasn’t sure if they could pass the sea of bodies.
This would make Ponyville Market look as crowded as the library on a bright and sunny day.
“Whoa,” was the only word that came from her mouth, eliciting chuckles from the guards and the fillies.
“Not much used to big villages, aren’t you?” the guard said, motioning them to enter. “Just don’t make any trouble, and you’ll be fine.”
Without another word, the three ponies stepped past the huge walls into the markets.
“And one more thing!” the other guard shouted before the three were lost into the sea. Twilight looked back, curious to what the guard may say.
“Welcome to Southern Earth.”
---
“Why should I be pink?” complained Celeste, still disappointed by Twilight’s choice of color for her.
After what seemed like an eternity of fighting through the market ponies, the group finally found an isolated alley nearby to rest and plan. There were towering stacks of barrels everywhere, and a boarded backdoor on the wall, unused for many years. Seeing this as a perfect spot to separate themselves from the chaos around, they took the opportunity to take the place and let lunch wait for a while.
“I think it’s a beautiful color, sis,” Selene said sarcastically, snickering at her sister’s misfortune. Knowing her sister’s relationship with the color pink, this could probably win first place on her list of ‘Things to Bug Sister With.’
“Har har, Luna.” replied Celeste. “My name is still better than yours.”
Selene’s experienced mind took that sentence as an open fire from her sister. “Celestia just sounds as bad as Celeste. Luna sounds better.”
“Well, yours sounds like a crazy moon pony. Mine’s for a princess.”
“It’s MY name that’s for a princess, not yours.”
“Mine.”
“Mine.”
“Mine!”
“MI—“
“Enough!” Twilight shouted, loud enough that she wouldn’t be surprised if the whole village heard her. She didn’t know if these two just fought for the sake of it, but it was getting quite annoying. Aside from the usual market noise around them, silence reigned from the three, with only glances of annoyance between the two siblings. Moments passed until one of them gathered the courage to speak up.
“We’re sorry, Twilight,” said Celeste with a distressed voice.
“Yes, we’re sorry,” followed Selene.
They both looked at Twilight with tears threatening to burst forth from their eyes, silently pleading for forgiveness. Twilight didn’t know if she had gone too far, yet held that thought for the time being.
“I forgive you,” she replied, giving the fillies a small smile, and earning two in return. “Just... not in the middle of town, please.”
The cheerful atmosphere that had once surrounded them promptly returned when what started as a small chuckle from Twilight descended into roars of laughter from them all, laughing for no apparent reason. It took them seconds, or maybe minutes— nopony really cared at all— until the laughter subsided. Seeing this as the perfect chance, Celeste tried to get Twilight’s attention.
“Why give us those names? Our suggestions are better than Celestia and Luna.”
Twilight gave her a flat look. “As far as I know, those names are clearly better than ‘Saddlelia’ and ‘Elamane.’ Seriously, who uses horse pun names?” Her expression suddenly changed into a sly smile. “And besides, ‘Celestia’ and ‘Luna’ are names of princesses.”
The revelation caused Selene’s interest to spike, who at first didn’t care much about where the names came from. “Really? But won’t they get angry if we use them? I know Princess Gold gets angry whenever somepony tries to name their filly ‘Gold’.”
“It’s alright. They probably wouldn’t mind either. My mom was named Twilight too, and she wasn’t angry.” And besides, it wasn't as if these two would ever meet the princesses... Because they are— No. That’s flatly impossible. Celestia and Luna came somewhere around Equestria’s foundation, so that thought was just plain silly.
The toll of missing breakfast by teleporting it into oblivion finally took Twilight as her stomach grumbled. Trying to ease the pain on her stomach by rubbing it slightly, she turned towards the fillies. “So, lunch?”
Celeste nodded. “Okay. That probably is a good idea.”
---
Going through the crowds once again, Twilight carried the two fillies on her back for fear of separation. Celeste in particular heavily leaned on her ride’s neck, searching for a specific stall she had visited before. The food they offered there, as she remembered, was a nice break from all the grass and forest food they had been eating for the past days.
“What are we looking for again?” Twilight inquired, pushing through the ponies that blocked her path. Celeste wouldn’t tell her what she was looking for and only told her to roam around the plaza.
“Just trust me, you’ll like the place when we get there,” Celeste replied without removing her gaze from stalls.
“IF we get there. Who knows, maybe they already moved to the next town,” inserted Selene.
“Really, sis? I don’t think they would even think of it.”
Minutes of mindless walking later, Celeste suddenly jumped excitedly, disheveling Twilight’s mane, much to her annoyance.
“There it is, at two o’clock!”
Turning to that direction, she saw a small stall similar to the one Applejack would use to sell her apples. But instead of apples, it featured sweets like cookies, cupcakes and even a pie. This surprised Twilight who did not expect that ancient ponies already had the ability to bake.
But what surprised her more were the two fillies who seemed to be arguing in front of the stall. One wore a cream-colored coat and a well-kept yellow mane. She had a similar stance like Rarity, and assumed an air of regality around her. The other filly was her complete antithesis, complete with a messy orange coat and ragged green mane.
“Pay up, you scoundrel!” barked the orange filly, stomping her hoof on the ground.
“Oh come on. For the last time, I did not steal any of that low-class sweets. Stop blaming me for everything,” the other filly retorted.
Giving in to her curiosity, Twilight came closer to the arguing fillies and asked, “Excuse me, what’s going on?”
They both turned to her direction, surprised by the intrusion. The messy filly was first to recover from the shock. “Well, little miss Pudding here says she did not steal some sweets, even if she was the only one here,” she hissed, pointing an accusing hoof to the other filly.
“Excuse her for her smartness, Cookie here thinks she has the right to accuse somepony without evidence,” she said to Twilight, still staring at her sworn enemy.
Shifting her gaze from Pudding to Cookie, Twilight tried to compromise. Taking out a big ruby from her saddlebag, Twilight showed the sparkling gem to the orange filly. “If I give you this, will you forget the problem?”
The fillies’ eyes grew as big as saucers. A gem like that could buy her family's’ business twice over, and here it was being offered to her freely. “Is... is that f- for real?”
“Bu- but what about me?” interjected the beige filly, who was just as dazzled by this turn of events.
“You can have one too,” Twilight replied, pulling out a emerald. Without warning, the filly hastily snatched the gem from her hoof, and secured it in her saddlebag. Looking around furtively, she then turned back to Twilight with a far more relaxed expression.
“Well, well. You win this time, Cookie. But don’t expect me to go soft on you,” the filly said before retreating from the scene, fearing that the impossibly generous-seeming mare would take the gem back.
“Is that for real?” repeated Cookie, still staring at the red gem on Twilight’s hoof.
“Of course,” Twilight answered, giving the red gem to the filly. Cookie squealed in delight as she juggled the ruby with her hooves.
“This is, like, the greatest day ever! Won’t mother and father be pleased with THIS! This’ll show The Sweets for sure.”
“The Sweets?”
“You see Twilight,” said Celeste in a matter-of-factly tone. “The Sweets and the Cakes are the two biggest sweets distributor here in Southern Earth. Ever since their great grandfathers started the sweet-making business, they’ve been fighting for the position of best sweet-maker in all of Southern Earth!”
“She’s right. That filly who just ran off? She’s Pudding, the Sweets’ one and only daughter,” added Cookie. “Their family may be rich and powerful, but that doesn’t have to mean that we can’t stand up with them in business.”
Twilight nodded in understanding. “So, you’re Cookie, if I’m correct?”
Cookie’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh my gosh, I completely forgot to introduce myself.” She quickly grabbed Twilight’s hoof and pumped it vigorously. “You’re right, I’m Cookie, from the Cakes. Nice to meet you!”
“And I’m Twilight Sparkle. And these two at my back are Celestia and Luna,” Twilight replied, disentangling her hoof from Cookie’s.
“Hello there, Cookie, it’s nice to meet you,” said the disguised pink filly, smiling nervously at Cookie. With a weird look and a nod, Cookie returned her attention at Twilight.
“Nice to meet you too. Where are you staying? Haven’t seen you around here these parts before.”
“We’re not from here,” answered Selene. “We’re from Trote!”
“Ah, I have a cousin from there. Where do you stay here?” Before Twilight could even answer, Cookie face was suddenly filled with surprise and excitement. “Wait a minute, if you just came from Trote, it means that you don’t have a home here! Right?”
Twilight awkwardly smiled at the filly, unsure to where she was going. “Of course. But don’t bother, we can—”
“Nonononono, no No! That won’t do at all,” cutted Cookie. “You just gave our family a fighting chance to the Sweets, and it is our duty to give you a home.”
“Are you sure? We don’t want to stir up any trouble, seeing that you’re busy and all,” Twilight said.
“Even if you’re trouble, we wouldn’t turn you down,” the filly replied, now fixing her stand and deftly tossing it’s contents into a cart. ”In fact, I’ll bring you there right now for lunch!”
Twilight sighed. There was nothing right now that could change this filly’s mind, and maybe it was for the better. This solved their major problems for now, sparing Twilight the tiring work of finding somewhere to stay.
“In that case, thank you, Cookie. It would be an honor to stay at your house for the time being.”
“Nah, don’t mention it. It’s just something a Cake does.”
Twilight smiled at the heartfelt statement, even if Cookie’s attention was mostly on fixing up the stall. This would probably be the sta— Wait, what? A Cake? The timeline’s really buggered now... so you should make the most of it!
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How did I know you were gonna name them Celestia and Luna?
3832740
Because foreshadowing
IT LIVES!
Cookie? Pudding? Many other familiar names and places? Twilight thinking of altering the future?
Oh yes, this has definitely taken my interest again.
I present to thee.
That's right, I'm editing your A/N now. Don't ask why, I don't even know.
Wow! You updated! Nice chapter.
3832764
Thanks to thee
If someone had asked me the status on this story I can predict my pony responce
pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw10401-1386087584758.png
3832752
More like inadvertently causing the future.
Aww yea, it's back, and it's still great!
Wait . . . when did I favourite this story? Why am I notified of its update?
*checks the last time it was updated*
Ahh, that makes sense.
3832748
I foresaw that from a mile away.
mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/359582.jpg
It took half of a year, but to see that new chapter... So worth it.
dude... this story is AMAZING, thumbs up and faved, hope to see ya soon
Huh?
A new chapter? How wonderful!
wow
it's aliiiiveeeee
Definately agree with an above comment; Twilight may be trying to prevent changes to history, but it sounds like she was the one to influence it to the way she knows it. Also, glad to see this is back!
So this story is alive.
I hope you have plan how to continue this story now when you got some time to continue writing it.
She's not altering the future. Twilight is putting the future back on track.
Heh... My money is on them breaking the illusion soon.
And Twilight will become Clover the Clever.
Just a hunch.
~Skeeter The Lurker
3833087
Dat feel when you're the author and can do anything you want
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw10421_small.jpg
3833113
Always fun, yeah?
~Skeeter The Lurker
i love how she keeps saying that she's messing with the timeline, when she's completely ignoring the idea that everything that's going on is already part of the original timeline.
3833087 i'm just wondering how the hell 'present' Celestia and Luna are reacting to this all...
FUCK YA
Yeah. College sucks. And hey! You came back to it, so I doubt anyone is going to complain! It hasn't been abandoned yet! Just... relegated to secondary or tertiary magnitude of import until now. That's all.
Wow, I didnt tought of this one in a while now, good that ist back.
Alrighty, so Twilight either still does not make the connection or she is in denial (considering that one sentence I think its the latter). Also we meet the later chancelor Pudding Head and her assistant Smart Cookie who is also a member of the Cake family.
Lets see where this goes.
I suspected we were heading right for smart cooking and puddinghead. That is the way time travel works -- you always bump into the ponies you want to avoid... leaders who aren't yet... etc.
3833254
They probably knew this would happen.
~Skeeter The Lurker
And then Twilight Sparkle causes the unification of Equestria, banishes the windigos, somehow makes Celsetia and Luna ascend to be princesses, and gets banished by Discord back to the future when he sends her back to 'wherever she's from' so he doesn't have to deal with her. Twilight meets up with both of her daughters in the future and then lets them know that grass soup is a terrible idea, but she still loves them anyway. The End.
Seriously though, I'm having a great time reading this. The characters are great, the inner turmoil on whether Twilight should go back to the future or not is brilliant, the growth of Celestia and Luna from terrified fillies to confident and loved daughters is wonderful, and I am looking forward to more.
3833213
And she should know this from her previous messing with the past.
3833292 you'd think.
a joyous return! and a fun chapter too!
3833291
"
I'm hoping it kinda ends like this really. Would even be better if Twilight returned at the time she left so no one notices, and then the next day or something when she meets both princess she goes like "You know, I don't think I've ever told you that grass soup is a terrible idea
and then Celestia and Luna realise they don't have to hide the secret anymore and they're one big happy family again and they all live happily ever after :3
1000
for the return of this storie.
“And no, invisibility would use far too much magic.
I think that something like use or so is missing there.
Was that perhaps "Smart" Cookie Cake? And Pudding"head" Sweets, the future chancellor?
Makes me wonder what's up with the rest...
The story, IT LIVES!!! It's good to see this story again; how I have missed it.
I am curious if Celestia is Cookie's cousin from Trote. It would be interesting since the animosity between the tribes would make such connections taboo.
Nice job with give the two fillies Celestia's and Luna's names. This is going to get crazy in the next few chapters. Best of luck writing. Glad your back.
Ooh, another long lost story is back! Lets celebrate wi- Is that an angry Earth Pony Guard behind me? Oh right, I'm disguised as... a... Uni-*CLONG*
This is either cute baby speech, or "have" should be "has."
"Go" should probably be "come."
"See" should probably be "hear."
"Down" is superfluous.
There should be a comma between "mane" and "much."
This is filled with so much wibbly wobbly, timey wimey goodness I do not know where to begin. I am happy to be here for this story's glorious return. I look forward for more. KBO.
3833113 I have a question, Mr. All Powerful Author!
lh3.ggpht.com/-6XCYGNEEWJg/TlijDcaUUdI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/zWYBzf9epIg/s400/mlp_____band_geeks___by_krekka01-d47tmt6.png.jpg
Hey there's me!
Upvoted.
Edit: I LOVE THIS!!! It is quickly making it's way to being my favorite story.
Why do I have the feeling that this is also the origin of Princess Celestia's addiction to cakes and Luna for Moon pies
Predestination paradoxes are neat. I'm kinda getting flashbacks to Terry Pratchett's Night Watch - that whole theme of not wanting to nullify your own future, but... if the cost is letting good people get hurt... Yeah. Always a fun dilemma to throw at decent characters, even those not afflicted by Star Trek's Temporal Prime Directive. (Clue - there's a reason that the Prime Directive is usually only mentioned in the context of 'stuff the Prime Directive, I'm doing what's right)
HAHAHA! my 'like' made it '1111' !
take that suckahs!!
It's alive!
ALIVE!
MUAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!
When I looked at my new updates and saw this story I almost wanted to run around the room and squeal like a little filly! Glad to see this is back.