Chapter 34
Twilight Sparkle groaned and rolled onto her back, holding her stomach lightly in her hooves. "Oh... too many cupcakes."
Pinkie raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Is that even possible?!?" she wondered, sounding astonished by the very idea.
Twilight chuckled, then groaned again. "Take it from me. You can eat too many cupcakes," she glanced out the window, noting with mild dismay that the sun was already starting to come up on the horizon. "We've been eating cupcakes and talking all night long!" she said with a frown. "I hope future you comes soon... I could use a nap."
Pinkie stood up looking around with definite interest.. "Time for naps later! Future me could appear at any moment!"
Twilight yawned. "I did say this morning... but it could be hours yet. Maybe there's time for a little nap?"
Pinkie's eyes went wide. "But Twilight! Any moment could be RIGHT NOW! Or..." she glanced around again. "Right now!" she frowned. "Right now?"
Pinkie sighed. "Future me could learn something about comedic timing..." she muttered, then spun around in a circle, clapping her hooves together dramatically. "And NOW!" she pointed at the corner of the room, and Twilight turned to look, halfway convinced that this time, something would appear.
"Pinkie..." Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "Future you isn't just going to appear when you say now and clap your hooves together," she clapped her hooves together once for emphasis, and at the same time, a wind started to blow even as a bright point of light appeared in the middle of the library floor. Even as magical sparks started to fly from the rapidly growing point of light, Twilight put a hoof to her forehead wearily. "Right. Silly me."
Pinkie was gaping at the light show, almost quivering in anticipation. "It's me! It's me! It's future me!"
A final burst of energy nearly blew both Pinkie and Twilight off their feet, and when the light died away, a second Pinkie Pie was standing there in a burnt spot in the center of the library floor.
"Hi me!" Pinkie said with a smile and a wave.
"Hi me!" future Pinkie answered back, grinning madly. Turning to Twilight, the future Pinkie started to speak quickly. "Twilight, you've got to use me as a... templawhatchamacallit to give past me my Pinkie Sense back!"
Twilight blinked. "A template? Wait... that doesn't make any sense. How did YOU get your Pinkie sense back?"
Future Pinkie blinked. "You gave it to me when future Pinkie came back from the future, of course!"
Twilight blinked again. "What?" she shook her head. "No... no, that's not possible. That just isn't scientifically possible!"
Both Pinkie's shared a knowing look, then shook their heads at Twilight in unison. "Twilight... sometimes you just have to believe in something," they said together.
Twilight stood frozen for several more seconds, and both Pinkie's started to look anxious. "Hurry Twilight!" they shouted in unison. "I don't think there's much time left!"
Twilight blinked, then her face grew calm. "Right. Just believe. No time for questions," with a look of utmost concentration on her face, Twilight's horn began to glow, and a beam of energy shot out toward future Pinkie. A second, more powerful beam shot out toward the current version of Pinkie, and a final beam of energy linked the two Pinkie's together.
There was a flash of light, and Twilight's spell ended, leaving both Pinkie's looking exactly the same as before.
"Did it work?" Pinkie asked, sounding confused. "I don't feel any different."
"It worked." Future Pinkie said confidently. "You just have to believe, sometimes."
Pinkie grinned and rushed forward, hugging her future self impulsively. "I'm sorry you can't stay longer."
"Me too." Future Pinkie agreed, hugging her past self back. "Think of all the pranks!" with another flash of light, and a sound like thunder, she was gone, leaving Pinkie Pie hugging the air, her mane blown back slightly as if by a mild explosion.
"Aww..." Pinkie grumped. "Twilight, you've got to work on getting that spell to last longer. That wasn't nearly enough time for any fun."
Twilight Sparkle blew out a breath, then inhaled deeply before sagging to the floor. "I don't know, Pinkie. We're breaking the fabric of space and time enough already, don't you think? There's probably some sort of safeguard in place in the spell to keep us from damaging the fabric of time too badly. Or at least, that's what I think. It would be irresponsible to just jump around in time without some sort of protection against temporal paradox, right?"
Pinkie blinked at that, then shrugged. "Sure!"
Twilight looked up at the irrepressible pink pony curiously. "So... do you think it worked? Did you get your Pinkie sense back?"
Pinkie Pie looked thoughtful. "Well, I wouldn't lie to myself, would I?" she thought about that for a minute. "No... I don't think I would. So... yes! I must have my Pinkie Sense back!"
Twilight opened her mouth to protest, then rethought her first impulse. "You're probably right. Still... how does that work, anyway? You got your Pinkie sense back because you came back in time with your Pinkie sense back because you came back in time with your...." she shook her head. "It doesn't make sense! Where did it come from in the first place! You got it from future you, who got it from... her own future you... it's like this endless loop of Pinkies, except there isn't any end."
Pinkie's eyes twinkled at that. "An endless loop of Pinkies? That sounds like fun!"
Twilight chuckled. "Well... it's not exactly like that. But still, I think we just created some sort of time loop. A self perpetuating one," she frowned. "Although, at least it's restricted to only the one...." her eyes widened. "Wait! We're actually in two time loops! First I came back and told myself about time spells... which are in the Starswirl the Bearded wing, and then you came back so that I could give you your Pinkie Sense back. But how did I find out that the time spells are in the Starswirl wing? Where did that information come from?"
PInkie blinked. "Because future you told you about it?"
Twilight rose to her hooves, pointing at Pinkie ecstatically. "Exactly! The information comes from the loop itself! It's like... the spell can create information from nothing! The location of the time spells... your Pinkie Sense! Both of those are... essentially information... brought into the past from the future... brought into existence by a stable paradox!"
Pinkie blinked. "Is that a good thing?"
Twilight hesitated. "Well... it's a very confusing thing, actually... but at least it seems to obey some rules. Future me, and future you were returned to the future without leaving anything material behind... but information can be transferred back to the past. Even information that shouldn't exist if not for the time loop itself!" Twilight blinked. "Wow... that could be... really useful. Imagine if I had known about that spell when Discord first showed up? I could have gone back and warned myself to get the Elements of Harmony the day before he arrived!"
Pinkie blinked. "Are you sure that would work?"
Twilight shrugged. "Why not?" she frowned again. "Only since I didn't, obviously I can't go back and do so now. I mean... that would create a whole different sort of paradox... I think."
Pinkie looked confused. "So you can't go back and fix things?"
Twilight frowned slightly. "I'm not sure. I'm going to have to actually find the spell and find out how it works before we know anything for certain."
Pinkie looked curious. "So... road trip?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes. I think we'd better go to Canterlot. Both of us," she looked worried. "In fact, I'm sure we have to. If we don't. we could cause another paradox... a bad one."
Pinkie frowned. "You mean I wouldn't get my Pinkie Sense back?"
Twilight grimaced. "If I'm right, it could be much worse than that. I think we HAVE to go to Canterlot and cast those two time spells. Otherwise, time itself might be rewritten."
Pinkie blinked. "And that's bad, right?"
Twilight nodded grimly. "Very."
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After getting off the train to Canterlot, Twilight led Pinkie to the palace, past the guards, and to Princess Celestia's personal garden, where Twilight knew the sun princess usually took her lunch. Like several of the guards before, the guard on duty outside the entrance to the garden simply smiled and waved at the purple unicorn and her companion.
"Hi Twilight!" the unicorn guard said cheerfully. "Go on in. The princess will be happy to see you!"
"Thanks Steve," Twilight said with a smile, walking past the guard and out into the garden.
Pinkie blinked. "Steve? What kind of name is Steve?" she whispered once they were out of earshot. "That's almost as weird as John-a-thin."
Twilight blinked. "Steve? Oh, it's short for Stevedore. He was apparently really big and strong, even as a foal, which is why his parents called him that. Everypony calls him Steve for short."
Pinkie frowned. "He's not short... he's almost as tall as Applejack's brother!"
Twilight blinked. "For short means..." she shook her head. "Never mind..." she continued walking till they came to a beautiful sunlit spot where the Princess sat amidst a very comfortable looking natural grotto where a number of large pillows had been set along with an embroidered blanket, which was laden with a tasty assortment of food.
"Twilight, Pinkie. It's so nice to see you!" Princess Celestia's smile was warm, and though she looked mildly puzzled, she didn't let it ruin her manners for an instant. "Please, join me. The cooks always make too much for just me, and I'd dearly love the company."
"Don't mind if I do!" Pinkie said enthusiastically before assaulting a small cake like a starving wolf attacking a rabbit.
"Princess!" Twilight hurried up to her mentor and they shared a fond nuzzle, entwining necks for a long moment before separating. "I missed you."
"I missed you as well, my student, although it has admittedly only been a short time since we last saw each other."
Twilight smiled. "Pinkie's secret surprise party..." both she and Celestia smiled warmly at the pink earth pony for a moment before they faced each other again. "I know... and it was wonderful to have both you and Luna there! Still, even though I love living in Ponyville, I do miss spending time with you, Princess. We used to have lunch like this several times a week, remember?"
Celestia smiled softly. "As if it was yesterday. It is indeed good to have you here again today. I assume you've come to look at the time spells in the Starswirl the Bearded wing, as you explained in your letter?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes... I wanted to ask you something first though, Princess. Do you know anything about Time magic yourself?"
Celestia nodded slowly. "Indeed I do, although probably not much more than you do. When Starswirl first completed the spell, he showed me what he had accomplished. It was very impressive, if not terribly useful."
Twilight blinked. "Not useful... Princess, think of all you could do with such a spell! You could warn yourself of all sorts of disasters if you could travel in time! I'm not sure exactly how the spell works yet, but... what if you could go back and change history? Not anything dangerous, say, just go back a few days and fix some disaster so that it never occurs!"
Celestia sighed. "Unfortunately, as far as I know, that isn't possible. The spell creates a stable loop. You can't use it to go back in time unless you've already gone back in time... if you understand my meaning. At least, that's the theory. Unfortunately, we couldn't really test it."
Twilight blinked again. "Why not, princess?"
Celestia shrugged. "Because it only works once. You can only send yourself back in time once, and, so far as I've seen, only to yourself. The time line remains stable because you already know about it before you create the time loop. We didn't dare try not to cast the spell afterwords... it seemed too risky."
Twilight blinked. "Only once? Oh," she looked disappointed, then blinked. "Still, it could have tremendous value! I mean, even if you can only send any one pony back once, that means you could send someone back each time there was an emergency to warn everypony! I mean... if some disaster happened today, we could sent Steve back a week to tell himself about it, and then come in to tell us about it now...." she glanced toward the entrance to the palace, as if halfway expecting the guard pony to suddenly be there, then blushed. "Well, obviously there isn't going to be a disaster later today... but you get the idea. So long as there is a pony around that you haven't used the spell on, there's no reason you can't warn yourself, right?"
Celestia blinked. "I'm sorry, my faithful student, but the spell doesn't work that way. Neither Starswirl or myself could figure out how to cast the spell on another pony. As far as I know, it's impossible. Starswirl tested the spell on himself before realizing that he would not be able to replicate it, and after he taught it to me, I used the spell to warn myself of an impending invasion by the Griffon empire thirty years later. Luna used the spell to warn us of a dangerous unicorn named Sombra. No pony since has had the power to use the spell, I'm afraid, and since you've used it yourself already, it probably will be decades before another is found with the ability to..."
Twilight blinked, then interrupted. "But Princess... I already cast the spell a second time. On Pinkie Pie! I sent her back in time to... well, this morning, in order to give her her... Pinkie Sense back," she scratched her head with a hoof. "Which is kind of hard to explain, actually."
Princess Celestia opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. For a long moment, she just looked at Twilight with a puzzled expression, then her eyes cleared, and she smiled warmly.
"My faithful student. You never cease to surprise me! I would have thought casting that spell on another pony impossible, but you obviously found a way. I should have learned by now not to doubt your abilities."
Twilight blushed slightly. "But... I haven't done it yet. And... what if I can't do it? If you and Starswirl the Bearded couldn't figure it out..."
Princess Celestia shook her head. "Have faith in yourself, Twilight Sparkle. You will succeed. I have every confidence in you."
Twilight hesitated, looking pensive. "I hope you're right, Princess... I don't want to think about what sort of paradox might result if I can't figure out how to send Pinkie back in time."
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Rather than head back to Ponyville, Princess Celestia had invited Twilight to stay in her old tower room near the palace so she could study Starswirl's manuscripts in peace. Relative peace, that is, as with Pinkie as a temporary roommate, peace and quiet was difficult to come by.
After a good night's rest, Twilight had gone to work on Starswirl's spell, and had quickly managed to decipher it. Sending herself back in time would be comparatively simple, if tiring, but Princess Celestia was right. The spell could only be used once, and, supposedly, only by the pony casting the spell.
Days passed, and the deadline for her to use the time spell was rapidly approaching. The spell could only send a pony back a single week in time, and soon she'd be past that particular deadline.
"What am I missing?" Twilight growled angrily as she slammed yet another book on spell design down in frustration. She had gone over and over the time spell's formula finding nothing of use. How could she figure out how to make a spell do something that not even Starswirl the Bearded could do?
"What are you missing?" Pinkie asked curiously. "Are you missing Spike? Because I bet he's lonely, all by himself in the library."
"Spike went over to stay with the Apple family while we're here in Canterlot," Twilight explained. "It's just that I can't figure out how I can... how I did... send you back in time. What makes you so special?"
"I don't know," Pinkie said slowly. "Is this a riddle? Is it because I'm a rock farmer? Or because I love parties? Maybe it's because of my Pinkie Sense! Oh, I know, maybe I'm special because we're friends, Twilight!"
Twilight shook her head. "No, it's not any of...." she blinked. "Pinkie! You're a genius! Why didn't I think of it sooner!"
Pinkie grinned. "Of course I'm a genius!" she scratched her head. "Wait... why am I a genius again?"
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Twilight paced around the Princesses personal casting chamber in circles, muttering softly to herself. "It'll work. It's got to."
Pinkie sat in the center of an intricately draw series of runes, contently snacking on a tray of cupcakes.
Princess Celestia came into the room, her face serene. "You had something to show me, my faithful student?"
Twilight looked up at the Princess, then nodded firmly. "Yes Princess. I think I've solved it."
Celestia's face broke into a smile. "I knew you could do it. What was the solution?"
Twilight nodded to her friend. "Pinkie here gave me the idea. The reason I could cast the spell on her had to because she's special somehow. Special to me, specifically. To be precise, we're connected on a magical level by the power of the elements of harmony. It's the only thing that fits."
Princess Celestia considered that. "It seems plausible. Are you certain?"
Twilight nodded. "As certain as I can be, given the circumstances. The theory is sound. I entered the harmonic variable of our magical frequencies into the equation, and it seems to solve the problem. Unfortunately, there's only one way to know for sure."
The Princess nodded. "Yes... a test. And since the magic of the elements is involved, you can't test it unless it's on one of your friends."
Twilight sighed, and nodded. "I cast the spell on myself last night... and I went to the Everfree forest, last week, and warned myself, just like I remember. Still, there's no way to be one-hundred percent certain everything will be alright."
Pinkie finished off the last cupcake, and stood up on all fours. "OK Twilight, I'm ready to go! Let's get this party started!"
Twilight turned to her friend and nodded. "If you're sure, Pinkie. Are you sure you understand the risks involved?"
Pinkie grinned. "Silly Twilight, it'll work! You've already done it, remember?" she shrugged. "Besides, if we don't do this, there will be some sort of... really bad thing. A paraduck!"
"A paradox," Twilight corrected. "And that's only a theory."
Pinkie Pie took a deep breath, then looked the purple unicorn in the eyes. "I trust you, Twilight," then she smiled widely. "Besides, how else will I get my Pinkie Sense back?"
"But you already got it back..." Twilight blinked. "You did, didn't you?"
Pinkie nodded. "I dodged a flower pot yesterday afternoon, and avoided a door opening suddenly this morning. I'm back to normal."
Twilight grinned. "As normal as you get, anyway."
Pinkie giggled, then smiled wider. "But I won't ever get my Pinkie Sense back if we don't do this, right?"
Twilight hesitated. "We don't know that for sure. Maybe we create a separate time line whenever we travel through time... maybe a different timeline's Pinkie came from the future to give you your Pinkie Sense back... we can't be completely certain."
"You won't hurt me," Pinkie said with a confident nod. "Not Twilight Sparkle, element of magic and best friend ever. I trust you."
Princess Celestia nodded. "I think Pinkie is right, Twilight. I think it's time for you to trust yourself."
Twilight took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright. Let's do this," lowering her head, she started powering up her horn, focusing a beam of energy onto Pinkie that quickly became blinding in its brilliance. With a violent flash of light, it was over, and Pinkie was gone, a small scorch mark in the middle of the floor where the pink earth pony had been sitting.
"I... I did it," Twilight gasped, nearly collapsing from the strain. "I hope."
"Have faith," Celestia told her calmly. "Pinkie should return in just under a minute."
Twilight stared at the spot Pinkie had left as if willing her friend to return. Her body shook slightly from a combination of exhaustion and fear. Despite her calming words, Celestia gazed at the spot as well, both teacher and student silent with anticipation.
After what, to Twilight's perspective, had to be the longest minute in recorded history, Pinkie popped back into the center of the room in a blinding flash of light. Both Twilight and Celestia exhaled in relief, having stopped breathing the entire time.
Pinkie hopped over and hugged Twilight, then somehow pulled Celestia into the embrace as well. "Whee! That was fun, Twilight! Are you sure you can't do that again?"
Twilight and Celestia exchanged glances, and then both of them broke out into spontaneous laughter. Pinkie joined in, not knowing exactly what was so funny, but not caring either. They rolled around on the floor, sharing a joyful belly laugh, tinged with relief at Pinkie's safe return.
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"I suppose you'll be leaving today then?" Celestia commented calmly. The two of them were sitting in Twilight's favorite tea room (the palace had four) sharing a cup of an exotic Saddle Arabian blend.
"On the afternoon train," Twilight answered with a slight sigh. "We should join the others at the dig as soon as we can."
Celestia nodded. "I hear that Professor Rose has been following up on a promising lead at the site. It would be a shame to miss anything."
Twilight nodded fervently. "I'd say," she hesitated. "Princess, if we need the Elements of Harmony to... open the way to the lost library, as Johnathon suspects...?"
Celestia nodded. "Let me know. I will have them ready for you, just in case."
Twilight smiled and leaned over to hug her mentor goodbye. "Thank you Princess. Thank you for everything. I don't know if I'd have had the confidence to send Pinkie back in time if you hadn't encouraged me."
Celestia smiled. "I never had any doubt, Twilight. You have accomplished so much and you are still so young. I am so very proud of you."
They hugged tightly, and for a minute there was nothing but peace and tranquility in the room. Then Pinkie Pie burst into the room.
"Group hug!" was all she shouted before leaping upon them. For some strange reason, neither of them minded a bit.
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When Twilight and Pinkie got off the train in Ponyville, they were greeted by Fluttershy, and, to their surprise, the unicorn Fancy Pants as well.
"Miss Sparkle. Lovely to see you again," the aristocratic stallion said with a charming smile.
"Fancy Pants!" Twilight blinked. "What are you doing here in Ponyville?"
"I am in charge of logistics for the dig at the Castle of the Ancient Pony sisters, actually," Fancy Pants explained. "And my team is just about ready to go. I hear that the advance team has made some very promising discoveries, in fact!"
Twilight blinked. "Really? I wonder what they've found?"
Fancy Pants chuckled and inclined his head. "Only one way to find out."
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Accompanied by an entire team of workponies, diggers, and archeology students, the trip through the Everfree to the Palace of the Royal pony sisters was remarkably quiet, with one exception. Pinkie bounced most of the way, chattering happily to Fluttershy and the ponies making up Fancy Pants' team about everything and anything on her mind.
"So...." Twilight began with a curious expression, "did you have any trouble getting Cerberus back to the gates of Tartarus?" she asked Fluttershy.
"No, no trouble," Fluttershy told her calmly. "Cerberus is a very good puppy. He was just lonely and wanted somepony to play with."
Twilight nodded. "Oh good. I was worried that some of the monsters there might have escaped."
Fluttershy shivered slightly. "Mister Bright Lance seemed worried about the same thing. Luckily the gates were still closed... or at least, that's what mister Bright Lance said. I was too frightened to check for myself."
Twilight smiled. "Well that's good," she blinked. "I mean that the gates were closed, not that you were frightened..."
Fluttershy smiled. "I knew what you meant," her face darkened slightly. "There is something I'm worried about though. Rainbow Dash told me about the Timber Wolves..." she sniffed. "Those poor puppies..." she shook her head. "I know that the others only did what they had too, but I wish they could have found another way...."
Twilight put a hoof gently on the yellow Pegasus's shoulder. "I does sound like they didn't have any real choice, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy nodded slowly, looking upset. "I understand that... but... that's not the only thing that's bothering me. From what Rainbow Dash told me, and from what I've seen myself so far, the whole Everfree forest has been disturbed. Things are already starting to settle down, but I'm not sure how the forest creatures will deal with large groups of ponies constantly moving through, going from the ruins to Ponyville and back again. It's bound to be disruptive. I'm sure that the forest will adapt to the change in time, but... I'm worried some pony... or some creature might get hurt in the meantime."
Twilight frowned, then shook her head, smiling reassuringly. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Things are bound to settle down soon, right?"
Fluttershy nodded dubiously. "Of course. I'm just worried what might happen in the meantime."
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When they arrived at the Castle of the Ancient Pony sisters, the place was noticeably different from their last visit.
A pair of royal guards met them at the rope bridge, which had apparently been recently repaired with brand new ropes, and Shining Star flew over to greet them.
"You've missed quite a bit, Miss Sparkle," he told her with a small smile. "But I think you'll be pleased. Professor Rose seems to think that they're on the verge of a major discovery."
As he led them toward the castle ruins, Twilight noticed a forty by forty foot section that was roped off right next to the side of the building where the elements of Harmony had been kept. The grass had been stripped away, and several feet of earth as well, and Johnathon, Briar Rose, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were apparently busy at work inside it.
Spotting them, Briar Rose raised a hoof in greeting. "Ah good... Twilight Sparkle. I think you'll find this interesting!"
Twilight approached the rope barrier and peered around, trying to figure out what everypony was up to. "You seem to have sectioned off this area in a grid... have you found anything?"
Briar Rose nodded, gesturing to the edge of the large shallow area they had excavated. "See there? This area is surrounded by a wall... or was."
Twilight looked down, and blinked. Indeed, there was a clear line of old building stones at the edge of the pit that had been dug, and she followed that line all the way around. "Oh! You've found an old structure... right next to the castle!"
Briar Rose grinned slightly. "Actually... I believe it once was part connected to the castle, but for some reason, it collapsed well before the rest of the building." She pointed at an open entranceway that was mid way along the wall of the castle that faced their excavation. "When we first arrived, that entrance appeared to simply be a side entrance to the castle... but it was so wide... with no evidence of doors or hinges... any kind of defenses, it seemed odd. Johnathon thought it might actually be an interior entrance-way... which is one reason we started work on this area."
Twilight nodded thoughtfully. "It's also adjacent to the room where the Elements were stored..."
Briar Rose nodded. "Yes, that seemed significant. But there's more. You see...." she turned to Johnathon Dwire, who had walked over while they were talking. "But I'll let Johnathon explain. It was his discovery."
Johnathon chuckled. "Well, when you crash headfirst into a wall, you aren't likely to forget it," he pointed at a spot on the wall of the castle, very close to the open doorway. "I came to this world right there... hit that wall. When we figured out that that entrance must be an interior one... I had Rainbow Dash take me up... and we saw a distinct pattern in the grass that indicated the remains of a wall around this area. Combined with the fact that the dimensional portal dumped me right here... well..."
Twilight's eyes widened. "You think there's a connection?"
Johnathon nodded. "It would be an odd coincidence for me to appear right in the middle of an outer room adjacent to where the elements of harmony were kept. I can't help but wonder if there is something to be found in here. Some clue... I'm not sure what it could be... but... something drew me to this spot."
Twilight frowned. "The princesses said that the portal that Discord opened long ago was here. They used it to visit your world. Maybe they build a building around it?"
Johnathon hesitated, then shook his head. "Actually... I don't think so. Whatever was here... it was older than that. Much older. Briar Rose has confirmed that the materials used... the construction techniques... they're pre-discordian. The castle was build next to it, not the other way around. Perhaps the castle was built on top of another structure that had been destroyed in Discord's time?"
Twilight blinked. "So... you think that maybe something from before Discord's time caused the portal from your world to open up in this spot? Something that's still here?"
Johnathon nodded. "That's the theory we're going with," he walked over to the entrance way from the castle and pointed. "If you look here, we've started uncovering steps.... this room was obviously recessed into the floor... in fact, I think it may lead underground... but so far we haven't gotten deep enough to know for sure. We're moving slow... we don't want to miss anything."
Briar Rose looked at Twilight thoughtfully. "Do you think you could assist? I hear your telekinesis is very advanced. Miss Rarity has been of tremendous help with the initial excavation. She has extremely fine control, and could excavate without risking damaging anything valuable much faster than any of us, but she's exhausted herself in the last couple days."
Twilight nodded, and lowered her head to slip carefully under the rope and step down into the pit. "I should be able to help, yes. Where would you like me to work?"
Briar Rose gestured toward the far end of the pit, where Applejack was still carefully digging. "We think that, if this is a stairwell... that end is where we're most likely to find an entrance. Just be careful... we don't want to damage any artifacts we may find."
Twilight carefully made her way next to Applejack, who set her shovel aside and smiled as Twilight approached. "Howdy Twilight. This here is pretty tricky work... we have to dig all this out... but real careful like, so as not to break anything. We've been at it for a few days now. Think you can help pick up the pace a mite?"
Twilight's eyes twinkled slightly. "I think I should be able to manage something. You might want to stand back a bit..."
Applejack chuckled, picked up her shovel, and took several long careful steps backwards.
Twilight focused on the ground where Applejack had been digging, and her horn started to glow. Dirt started to rise from the area in slow, lazy spirals, arcing over to land neatly in a pile outside of the pit. More and more dirt started to rise in orderly columns, and Twilight felt rather than heard ponies go silent as they turned to watch. Not letting herself become distracted by the attention, she remained focused.
Twilight continued to tear up the ground and sift through it in an orderly fashion, taking her time to be sure she wasn't missing anything. She 'felt' something more solid under her telekinesis, and started excavating around it, clearing the dirt with apparent ease.
"What is that?" Applejack said curiously as she unearthed a corner. "It's squared off...."
Twilight grinned slightly and increased her efforts, and in moments revealed another corner, and another.
"Ah see! It's a step!" Applejack exclaimed. "Hey Johnathon, Professor Rose, come look! You were right! Twilight found steps!"
Twilight fought the urge to grin slightly as she uncovered one step after another, heading down in a spiral pattern into the ground.
"It's a plumb staircase! Going straight down!" Applejack enthused. "And whoo wee Twilight's sure clearing it fast. Go pony go!"
Twilight blushed slightly but kept focused on the task at hand.
"Never seen the like..." Briar Rose muttered. "And I thought that Rarity had fine control. Has she always been this good?"
"She's Twilight Sparkle," Applejack said firmly, as if that was enough.
"Still..." Briar Rose said softly, pausing to whistle under her breath. "Twilight? Don't overdo it now... that's a lot of mass you're shifting." Rainbow Dash snickered. Briar rose glanced at her, then Johnathon, who shrugged.
Twilight took a few steps forward so she could see down the ever deepening stone spiral staircase. A steady stream of dirt and small rocks flew out out of the stairwell without pause.
"I say!" Fancy Pants spoke up from a few meters back. "That's quite impressive!"
Bright Lance chuckled. "I've seen better," Briar Rose shot the guard captain a surprised look, and he explained. "You should see her when she's got the power of an alicorn. This is nothing."
Twilight walked a slow circle around the deepening stairway, carefully to funnel the dirt, rocks and gravel away from herself or the others as she laid it in a rapidly growing pile, her eyes intent on her work. For several minutes no one said a word, just watching the Element of Magic at work.
Finally she stopped. "I think that's it," Twilight said, sounding a little winded. "Or at least, that's all I can do from here. I can't see any farther down without going down the steps... but I think that there may be a room intact down there... as I reached the bottom, I could feel that it opened up."
Briar Rose nodded and held up a hoof. "That's plenty. Amazing work, really. Let me take it from here. I want to see this for myself."
"Be careful," Twilight warned. "It might be unstable."
"Careful is my middle name," Briar Rose quipped, then started slowly heading down the newly unearthed stairs, one stair at a time. She practically crawled down the stairs, her face low as she peered at every step before carefully testing it. One by one, she walked down the stairs, into the dark.
"A little light would be good!" the archaeologist mare said over her shoulder.
"No problem," Twilight said, slowly following Briar Rose down and lighting up her horn. "Let's see what we can... whoa."
Briar Rose whistled appreciatively. "Well now... isn't this a sight."
"What?" Rainbow Dash hovered over top of the stairs, looking down. "What do you see?"
"Just wait a minute!" Briar Rose called back up. "I want to make sure it's safe first!"
Several minutes passed, Pinkie was bouncing from hoof to hoof. Rainbow Dash fluttered from side to side impatiently, Johnathon crossed his arms and took slow even breaths. Applejack stared at the stairs as if willing something to happen. Behind them, half a dozen guards, and over a dozen workers glanced at each other and whispered.
"Alright!" Briar Rose came up the stairs, then pointed at Johnathon, then Rainbow Dash, then Applejack. "You three... come on down. There's not a lot of room yet... but you'll want to see this."
Following the pegasus archeologist down the narrow spiral stairs, they came into what appeared at first to be a small round chamber Twilight's horn illuminated it with a gentle white light, and they realized that the room was filled with debris, aside from the section directly around the stairs and a narrow section stretching to a wall about 20 feet away in the direction of the castle.
Briar Rose led the way carefully over to the wall. "Take a look at this," she swept some dirt aside with a wingtip, and Twilight increased the light coming from her horn so everyone could see. Part of a symbol that had been obscured by dirt and dust became clearer.
"Hey, isn't that..." Rainbow Dash began.
"The symbol of the elements of harmony," Johnathon concluded for her. "Part of it, anyway."
Briar Rose nodded, looking smug. "We've found something significant for sure. What this room is, exactly, I'm not sure yet, but we'll find out."
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The time loop resolution was done pretty anticlimactically, but I suppose that was the best way to do it.
The "information from nothing" was concisely explained.
Yeah, I wasn't terribly happy with this chapter... which is one reason it's taken me this long to get it out. But I had to push past it to get the story moving again... which it will be, hopefully.
Pinkie Pie stealing Pinkie Sense from Pinkie Pie . . . . . . BRILLIANT!
Oh snap! Archeology progressing the story: someone initiate awesome indiana jones music!
The time loop can be averted if the time travel is also an alien/outsider whose existence is not dependant to the world´s timeline.
Well then, they seem to have found the temple!
Time is always the same timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly ball of mass.
What else will they find in the ruins?
Awaiting further releases.
Whew! So glad to see it!
What more will they find? I must wait to know, sadly.
I'd say that's a significant discovery! And I would listen to Fluttershy about her worries.
Was it where the Elements were created, perhaps? Or maybe the Elements are part of a much larger trove of pre-Discord artefacts and their emblem is the symbol of the cult that was protecting them? Much can be lost in more than a thousand years, especially with at least one apocalypse along the way (the rise of Nightmare Moon). However, I imagine that there are going to be one or two surprises and maybe one or two challenges to ponies' assumptions about the world about to be uncovered.
Oooooo, great way to get Pinkie her Pinkie Sense back. I like it.
And go Twilight! If that career as the Element of Magic doesn't work out, sounds like she's got a number of fall back options.
So the Elements of Harmony predate Discord, and so they predate Celestia and Luna. Probably;
Now THIS is something to wake up to!
Ah, yes, another wonderful chapter. This is well worth the wait. You may say that you're not happy, with the chapter, but I certainly am, I'm really aniticipating what might the room be for. As always, fantastic job!
2933406
Yeah, English is certainly a messy beast of a language, with all sorts of rules and exceptions. The nice thing about its/it's, though, is that there are no exceptions: Whenever you see "it's", you *always* read it as "it is", period. There is never an instance where that's not the case, so if you're wondering which version to use, just mentally think "Would replacing this with "it is" make sense in this context? If so, use 'it's'. Otherwise, use 'its'."
2933293 like being a JCB for instance
DRAMATIC TENSION!!
"I" should be capitalized here.
"Princess" is an interjection, so it should have a comma in front of it.
"PInkie" should probably be just "Pinkie".
"It's" should be "its", since replacing it with "it is" doesn't make sense in context.
"Element's" should be "Elements", since the context implies you're trying to use the plural form of the word, rather than the possessive.
It's been so long since an update came that I had to go back and reread a bit before I could move on to this one. Glad to finally have one though!
2934343 And... fixed. Thank you again, coandco, for the editing help.
I predict the time to shit meets fan to be 3-5 chapters away.
I don't know why, but I was thinking about this fiction a few hours before discovering it updated.
I really like your style, even if this fiction is veeeery long. And I will always love to re-read the first chapter.
Missing a period at "chamber".
Too freaky. While my idea of time traveling to get Pinkie back her original powers, which I posted several chapters ago, but also about four hours after this chapter was published (I swear I didn't read ahead), would not have worked anyway in retrospect. Because I thought that Twilight had already done the time traveling thing before now, due to being confused by another story I read recently, that alluded to the events of the time traveling episode.
…
Oddness aside, I would caution against letting “Too Many Pinkies” happen in this story. The more serious and thoughtful nature of this story may not be able to gloss over the morality issues of magical clones being ‘sent back to where they came from’. It would be a good way to break someponys mind, namely Twilight Sparkles, and possibly Johnathons, as he would freak out about such dangerous magic as the mirror pool, existing.
I suppose it wouldn't be impossible to carefully reinterpret the mirror pool's magic to avoid the moral problem though. It would still be dang scary to try to pick out Pinkie Pie Prime though.
Is any other person who's played Phantasy Star Online: Episodes 1 & 2 thinking of the ruins and Dark Falz? Between Fluttershy's worries about the animals and the excavation of ancient ruins...
2933406
Also acceptable when the word ends in "s" is to put an apostrophe after the s, like so: Tess' house is blue.
2938081
That's technically only true of plurals. Something belonging to Tess is Tess's, bizarre as that looks, but something collectively belonging to John and his son, John Jr., is the Johns' property.
Just now got to reading the update, and while I find it unfortunate that you're not overly enthused over the chapter, I'm glad you resolved the story-stopping time issue. I found the chapter pretty enjoyable though, and I can't help but feel a little apprehensive of what is to be discovered in that room. Fluttershy does have a valid point though, and I hope Twilight's brushing it off... You know what, just because Twilight brushed it off means all manner of things are going to go wrong! Who am I trying to kid?
In any case, good luck with the writing of the next chapter, which I am most looking forward to.
Verge of Discovery; check! presense of the actual Daring Do; check! Most appropriate .jpg EVER!
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw8357-mlp_cliffhanger.jpg
Maybe it's just my memory playing tricks on me, because this story has been going on for so long, but I have no idea what Bright Lance is referring to there.
2945749
Chapter 17. Twilight uses Strangehorn's transformation spell to try and become an Alicorn, it works but she ends up stealing Celestia's power in the process. Ring any bells?
Bright Lance is referring to where Twilight was training herself how to use her new powers in the guard training yard, holding hundreds of tons of boulders aloft and spinning them around... he nearly died by being too close, so I'd say he'd probably rember the incident pretty well.
2933017 Bum ba-dum bum!
Hmm... something pre-Discordian that opens a gate between worlds...
images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111213180223/stargate/images/b/bf/Stargate.JPG
2959707 Heh. No comment.
2961297 And then the Ori show up... and Equestria burns...
2933017
Ask, and ye shall receive!
2962687
All who embrace the path to Origin will be saved. And those who turn away from enlightenment and embrace darkness are evil and deserving of no mercy.
3017826 SCREW YOU, YOU PASTY-FACED COMMIES!! *blows up the universe... to save it...* That works, right?
3051960 Actually, the language difficulties do last several more chapters. Eventually Johnathon decides to stop using the translation spell...
Twilight knows a LOT of different types of magic, and it makes sense that she would know a translation spell, and that particular spell's origin is explained further on in the story. It's connected to how Johnathon ends up in Equestria in the first place.
Part of this story is about exploring the rules of magic in this universe... and the translation spell is the first one we get to try and figure out... to try and figure out the rules of how magic works in MLP. (at least for the purposes of this story,)
As Twilight need here for prevent more problems like Pinkie is something that in computing is called "backup image",one make a snapshot image that will work as a template in any given time without problem of not have exactly the data that is needed ,is very useful because the recovery time is less that reinstall everything again and you can have as many images as you want(but limited for how many free space you have available ).
,but probably it will gives problems because unless she can save this data in something like a computer(In a documentary that I saw the data to recreate a human being to teleporting is in theory hundreds of terabytes
) a tangible image probably be something cumbersome (like a real life photo made of a thick and heavy material or even a statue of some rare material).
However that idea have it's risk. for example if you take a snapshot during a time there are a sleep virus and after pass the time of problem and recovery you use the infected image you will have to pass again for exactly the same healing process again.
Apply this in "hardware" instead of "software" is what Twilight need
3288440 Hey! How about use somehow the mirror pool for that?
...obviously without the clone thing.
Other use for the transformation magic that Twilight use is help Handicapped ponies(lost a leg/wing/horn on an accident for example,even if the show never show them they must exist somewhere in the world) after all so far some of the transformations had been put/take away body parts(horns, wings,internal magic,etc).
It would be interesting if you insert a new kind of pony like a sleipnir(8 legged equine) or a Qilin (equine/dragon or deer/dragon) ,creatures that fit in the world of equestria
but probably never going to be used by Hasbro.
the only way to put them there without contradict canon would be that Twilight somehow create them in an accident or they live in secluded places with or without reason within their control.(like how Cristal Empire was out of the map).
3350734 Johnathon struggles with learning Equestrian for the next 10 chapters or so. Read on.
2933014 You know what? I DON'T CARE. MAKE MORE. YOU'RE NOT GETTING PAID TO DAWDLE. actually, you aren't getting paid to write these stories period... BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. MAKE MOAR
Very little could cheer me up more than to see another chapter here.
3666905 Oh, I agree on that. It's just that the phrasing you used implies that it's the weapon somehow causes the violence. In reality, it's the weapon that frequently DETERS the violence.. and when violence occurs, ends it decisively.
3667935
This is a really controversial topic. Let's start with something easy. Weapons don't kill people, people do that. That's safe to say, I think.
Johnathon has a rather unusual perspective on the subject, as he's better trained, stronger, and faster than most people. Guns are a great equalizer, so, much like unicorns, they scare him, since they're a weapon for which he has no defense. (he mentions this in chapter 15)
Actually, his fear of unicorns is one reason he is as vicious as he is in his beat down of Blueblood, as unicorn magic really scares him.
In his experience, it's rather easy to subdue someone without harming them in any permanent way with his bare hands, but it's very difficult to do so with a weapon. A weapon can be intimidating, and therefore stop a conflict from starting, but he already knows how to be intimidating. (chapter 12)
So in his hands, a weapon is a tool for doing permanent harm. Something like a sword is meant for killing. He feels that for someone like him, who's skilled at intimidation and unarmed combat already, unless lethal force is required, a weapon is more of a handicap than an aid. (which is more about him as a character than a truism about weapons, really)
Not that lethal force is never appropriate. On the contrary. Sometimes there is no other way to protect those around you. You can't hold back in a life or death situation... unless, like Johnathon in a normal fight, you're skilled enough to do so without risking greater harm.
I think, frankly, that Johnathon's unique flavor of pacifism could be interpreted as a weakness. And maybe it is. But its a weakness he chooses for himself.
3669762 I have to ask this why you make there world so peachful surely it's not that peachful
3706742 Simple. We can either go with the viewpoint that the MLP show itself is very accurate (ie, represents the world of MLP accurately) or we can say that it isn't.
We haven't seen any wars (excepting the Changeling attack on Canterlot, which was over, practically bloodlessly, in hours) or skirmishes (except for the Buffalo/Settlers pie fight in Appleloosa, which, frankly, was a PIE FIGHT.)
We just don't see much violence. Assuming that the MLP world is much more violent than shown would be going against the very Canon of the show! I tend to follow what I've seen rather than make suppositions about their world based on our own.
When in doubt, I try to find explanations for what we've seen in Canon rather than assume that the show is lying to us. (which would be a silly assumption, frankly, because how can you lie about something that you've made up?)
I don't have a problem with people who want to take the characters and the universe in a different direction than the show itself, but that's not what I'm doing with my story. (well, aside from the fact that season 3 and 4 both have come out since I started writing, contradicting many of my assumptions...)
3709080 well if you think about it it's a kid show i mean you don't see any blood on show like SWAT CATS or bat man cartoons but you just have to feeling something bad like our have.
In the 1st mlp show ever made it was down right evil guy turning ponies into drogans or something of a like
I'm having trouble getting my head around the Pinkie Pie resolution, possibly because I misremember how the power-swapping spell from way back when worked. Wouldn't giving Pinkie back her Pinkie sense have taken it away from Future Pinkie, so that the restoration would only last for the duration of the time loop?
After reading this chapter, I'm curious how much divergence you're going to maintain in your AU. Is it just different events in the same universe, or a truly different universe? In light of season 4, will this underground chamber they've discovered end up being an antechamber for the grotto of the Tree of Harmony?