More About Time

by SilverStar7

Chapter 11: Struggles of Twilight

"...it was written I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice. I was anxious to deal with this shadow by myself alone—and to this day I don’t know why I was so jealous of sharing with any one the peculiar blackness of that experience." - Joseph Conrad

It took about half an hour for Twilight to finish crying and be ready to visit Rarity. As Twilight brushed her mane to look more presentable, the first question she asked Rainbow Dash was the obvious one: "Why is Rarity living in Canterlot?"

Dash responded with a question of her own. "You know how all those vines spread out over Ponyville? Well, they kinda kept spreading while we were looking for the Princesses. And they might have destroyed the Carousel Boutique before we saved the Tree of Harmony."

"Oh," Twilight paused in her brushing. That answer did not make her feel better. "Well, how did Rarity end up in Canterlot then?" She started brushing again.

"That was Princess Luna's idea. She wanted to give Rarity a way to make money while the store was rebuilt, so she rented a storefront in Canterlot for a few months. But Rarity liked living in Canterlot so much that she decided to sell the boutique and move here permanently."

Again, Twilight's brush froze. She didn't know how to feel about this. So far every change in this timeline had been worse, but here was the silver lining in an otherwise ominous black thunderhead. Rarity has always loved Canterlot, Twilight thought. In fact, had Twilight put more thought into how she could help her fashionista friend, that might have been the desired result. Still, the cost of this, even when coupled with Spike's tail being well, was too much. Twilight was sure her friend and dragon would trade away high society living and limbs in exchange for having their Princess back. Twilight would at least. Her magic began to pull the brush through her mane once more. "Well, I'm glad Rarity likes it here in Canterlot. She was still living in Ponyville during my timeline."

Dash nodded. "I guess that makes sense. I'd probably be living there too since you said I wasn't a Wonderbolt. Did anything else change?"

Twilight sighed and her brush stalled. She hadn't told Dash that multiple trips to the past had been involved. That was not something she wanted to talk about at the moment. "I'll explain more when we get to Rarity's place." The brushing resumed as a clock on the wall chimed, telling them it was two in the afternoon.

"That reminds me," said Rainbow. "I better go out in the hall and tell Soarin' that he doesn't need to come on his shift today. Unless you want him to come with us to Rarity's?"

"No thanks," then Twilight registered what Dash had said. So she decided that she had finished with her mane, set the brush down, and began to follow Rainbow toward the door of her room. "Wait, Soarin's part of my guard? But doesn't that mean neither of you guys get to do aerial shows now?" Twilight didn't like the idea of crushing her friends' dreams just to spend more time with them.

Rainbow Dash looked around and shook her head. "You really need to catch up on the times. Luna fully reinstated the E.U.P. Guard after what happened with her and Celestia. When Luna said you needed to have a personal guard to keep you safe, you requested us. But the Wonderbolts haven't been an aerial act for months. So you just brought us over from doing guard shifts in Cloudsdale is all."

Great. I destroyed the Wonderbolts too. Is there anything this trip to the past didn't ruin?

<> <> <>

Rarity's new store, Gemsational Fashions, was not much larger than her shop back in Ponyville. However, Twilight understood what that meant. Her parents had complained about property values and cost of living in Canterlot since she was a filly. A storefront the size of Carousel Boutique was somewhat expensive in Ponyville, but the same location would cost a fortune here. And they were in the upper business district near the castle, so this place would cost even more than a typical Canterlot property. Clearly, Rarity was doing well for herself. The price tags on the extravagant dresses in the front window showed Twilight just how well.

Like with her first two changes, Twilight had unknowingly made somepony's dream come true. Herself an author, Rainbow a Wonderbolt, and now Rarity was the high society fashion designer that she had always aspired to be. She just wished it hadn't involved taking away Celestia...

The sound of the bell above the door was almost identical to the one from Ponyville. Twilight wondered if it had even been salvaged from the previous boutique. The inside was as stunning as would be expected from Rarity, except that the more rural pink and white tones had been lost for regal purples and golds that felt completely Canterlot. The curtained-off project areas were also gone. Instead, mannequins were placed throughout and each wore a complete ensemble. There was not a fitting tent toward the back, but instead a couple of proper fitting rooms. Apparently Rarity's business model had moved more toward retail than custom-made outfits as her clientele changed. Although given how much these clothes cost, Twilight was sure that each customer received tailoring with their purchase.

"Rarity!" shouted Rainbow Dash, looking around.

"One moment, please," called a voice from the back of the store.

"Do you want me to try to explain things to Rarity first?" asked Rainbow.

Twilight shook her head. Rainbow hardly knew anything at this point. She didn't know that Twilight had made multiple trips to the past. She didn't know how Twilight stumbled upon the spells in the abandoned castle. Rainbow didn't even know that Twilight had already told her all of this once! Although to be fair, I don't even remember telling Rainbow Dash. The situation was complicated enough without somepony messing up on explaining the details. Twilight wasn't even certain that she could keep it all straight at this point...

Not much later, Rarity entered the room. The alabaster mare was bedecked in a vibrant, short, cattleya frock rimmed in amethyst and sapphires that accented her mane, eyes, and cutie mark. It was stunning even by Rarity's standards, which told Twilight that the unicorn had only improved her craft since arriving in Canterlot.

"Darlings!" she declared as she entered the room, hurrying over to hug each of her friends. "It is so good to see you both! What is the occasion?"

Rainbow Dash looked nervously over at Twilight, who was looking at the tiled floor. These look like they're genuine Saddle Arabia imports. And do some of them have actual diamonds in the center? Twilight was wrong. Rarity was not doing well, she was rich.

"Twilight wanted to talk with you about some stuff," said Rainbow Dash, giving Twilight a light push on the side with her hoof.

Looking up at Rarity, Twilight sighed. It was time. "So, I know this is going to sound crazy," she began. Always a great way to start a story... "But last night, I changed history."

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Changed history? What do you mean?"

"I mean I went back in time and, well, changed stuff. Do you remember when I saved Spike from those timberwolves?"

"Vaguely," Rarity held up a hoof. "One moment, dear." The unicorn moved to the front of the store and began shutting the drapes with her magic, finally hanging a "Closed" sign on the front door. "Good, now nopony should disturb us. I have a feeling this is not going to be a quick story."

"We could come back after hours," Twilight offered. She didn't want to disturb her friend's business. It was the only thing that was good about this timeline so far.

"Absolutely not!" Rarity shook her head. "I will not hear another word of it! You are my friends and I would drop anything for you. So, you were telling me about saving Spike."

Nodding, Twilight continued, "The problem is, Spike wasn't supposed to get away unscathed. He was supposed to... well, something bad was supposed to happen. So I used a time spell to go back and help him."

Rarity smiled, "Oh, that's wonderful, darling! I'm so glad you were able to help little Spikey. I'd just hate it if anything ever happened to him."

Twilight sighed. "I wish that was all that happened. There were some, well, unexpected consequences..."

"Consequences? What kind of consequences?"

Now Rainbow Dash came in, "Ya know how Twilight's here in Canterlot so she can become Equestria's next Princess?" Rarity nodded. "Well, before she saved Spike, Twilight was already a Princess!"

"What?" Rarity gasped.

"That's not all," Twilight cut back in. "You weren't living in Canterlot and Prin--" Twilight shut her mouth and closed her eyes. She still couldn't bring herself to say it.

Thankfully, Rainbow Dash could. "Princess Celestia was still alive too."

"Oh my!" Rarity brought a hoof to her forehead and fell back onto the floor. "How could this happen?" she asked, her hoofs covering her eyes.

"Twilight said how: she went back in time," Rainbow said. "Who knows what might have happened?"

Sitting up slightly, Rarity said, "I'm just amazed that one change to Spike's life could do all that!"

It's not just one change... Shaking her head, Twilight confessed. "Actually, this wasn't my first time going to the past..."

Her friends were taken-aback by this news. And so Twilight told the whole story to both of them.

She had to start all the way back at the beginning this time, as both Rarity and Rainbow were not familiar with how she'd acquired Star Swirl's spell. It was strange telling her friends how they had behaved in a different timeline. Twilight ended off that part of the story with their group hug and then began to explain how she entered the past in her sleep that night.

She recounted stopping Spike from ruining her book. Then the next day's changes. Again, she told Rainbow Dash about their conversation involving Daring Do and writing a book together. Dash was particularly surprised by this.

"You mean I was really that into Daring Do?" Rainbow asked. Twilight nodded. "Are you sure? Or are you just making that up to try to get me to read those more?"

"I'm not making it up," Twilight said flatly. And then she continued with how she changed Rainbow's future, including how not going to the hospital had affected her love of reading. The events of the next day with AJ and going to Cloudsdale. Then the changes to Applejack's life, including how she convinced Rarity to help with that change.

"Now it all makes sense!" Rarity said. "I know I've done my share of negotiations, but you coordinated it all so quickly. It seemed strange that you planned it all so fast."

"That's because I planned it out over the course of hours while I was in Cloudsdale," Twilight said. "And the next morning Applejack's farm was a huge success."

Twilight then talked about going to visit with Celestia. That part took some effort. She tried to detached herself from emotions while explaining the facts, but instead it was only her friend's patience that allowed her to get through it. Twilight explained the discoveries Celestia's magicians had made, noting that the spell required alicorn magic to function. Finally, she discussed returning to Ponyville and discovering Spike's missing tail.

"I went off and used the spell again. I fell asleep in the abandoned castle and woke up the day Spike was attacked. I couldn't stop him from leaving in time, but I did make it into the forest so I could fight off the timberwolves. After that, I took him home and went back to work on reading. When I woke up, I was in Canterlot and Dash was guarding my door."

"So what about today?" asked Rarity. "What have you done since you came back to the present?"

"I feel so stupid," said Twilight, shaking her head and looking down. "All I've done all day is cry. I haven't done anything useful."

"Twilight," Rarity said sternly. "I can tell you from personal experience that a mare cannot spend too much time crying. She cries for exactly as long as she needs. And considering what's happened, I wouldn't be surprised if you cried the rest of the day." Rarity lifted up Twilight's chin. "You must take care of your emotional needs. And we'll be here for you as long as it takes."

While Twilight could certainly appreciate her friend's concern, she just didn't want to keep sobbing. She wanted to get back to solve this. Assuming the problem could even be solved... "If it's all the same to you, Rarity," she said. "I'd like to talk about how to fix this. I think that would help my emotional needs a lot more than crying."

Rainbow Dash was clearly eager to move on to planning, also. "Now that's what I like to hear!"

"Well," Rarity said. "I was going to offer you some ice cream too. But we can certainly help you figure this out. And I can always give you some ice cream later if you need it." Twilight smiled at that and Rarity smiled back.

"So what's the deal?" Dash asked. "You said you did this spell a bunch of times. Why can't you just do it again and fix everything?"

"Because the spell requires alicorn magic," Twilight said. "So I can't cast it again."

"Well, have you tried?" Dash asked. Twilight and Rarity both looked to her like she was crazy. "Hey," she said. "I may not have a horn on my head. And I may not know much about magic. But I now about getting things done. You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take. What's the harm in just trying?"

Twilight sighed and looked to Rarity, who shrugged. "We might as well try," the white unicorn admitted. "Who knows? Maybe there's still some alicorn magic left in you from that other timeline?"

Everything Twilight had read, learned, seen, or done with time travel, magic, and alicornship, told her this idea was ridiculous. Still, it needed to be tried. Twilight thought back on the spell and planted her hoofs on the floor. "Alright," she said, taking a breath and reciting the spell from memory. "Life's mistakes will not define me." Nothing seemed to be happening, but that wasn't uncommon for the first line of this spell. "And I need not press through." She still felt nothing. "For through my dreams I shall shape my life." Her horn remained stubbornly unchanged. "To be a dream come true!" Twilight spoke the last line with gusto. Even so, the result was exactly as expected. Nothing had happened. Not so much as a sputtering spark came from the tip of her horn.

Rainbow Dash looked between Rarity and Twilight for a moment. "So, I'm guessing that means it didn't work?"

"Ya think?" Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Well, have you got any bright ideas?" Rainbow asked.

"How about we do a bit of brainstorming?" Rarity suggested. "That always helps me come up with great ideas for new fashion lines."

Twilight nodded. She actually already did have an idea. It was one that she'd thought of earlier that day, but one that she didn't want to use unless necessary.

Her friend's alternative options, however, were not very promising.

After some thought, Rarity proposed the possibility of using multiple unicorns, but Twilight was able to rule that out. She had learned some things about alicorn-specific magic. Adding more unicorns would be like getting a bigger hammer to force a square peg into a round hole. It just wasn't sensible and you were likely to break something in the process. Rainbow Dash asked if maybe Zecora would know some sort of potion that could give Twilight alicorn magic. Twilight assured her that no such potion existed.

"What if we used that spell from the Best Young Flyer's competition to give you wings?" asked Rarity.

Twilight shook her head. "That wouldn't make me an alicorn. Besides, those aren't even the right kinds of wings. Did you suddenly become a princess when I cast that spell on you?"

"Maybe not," then Rarity grinned. "But I certainly felt like a princess with all the attention I was getting."

"Wait, I've got it!" Rainbow Dash beamed and took to the air. "Princess Luna! She's an alicorn, right? So she's got alicorn magic! You can tell her how to do the spell. Then she can go back and fix everything!"

"A splendid idea, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity looked over to Twilight. "Do you think you can explain the spell well enough for Luna to cast it?"

Twilight nodded. This was the thought that Twilight had been avoiding. She just couldn't imagine going back to the castle and explaining the terrible things she had done to Luna. Luna was so mad when I just mentioned Celestia. How's she going to feel when I tell her I'm the one responsible for her sister's death?

"Awesome!" Rainbow lifted herself up and headed to the door. "Let's go!" Rarity began to follow Dash. Twilight stood still.

When the two were about to leave, they noticed that Twilight was not with them. "What's wrong?" asked Rarity.

"Actually, could I get some sleep first?" Twilight asked. All Twilight wanted to do was lie down and forget all of today. This had been the hardest day of her life--bar none. And the last thing she wanted to do was talk to Luna again.

"What? The sun hadn't even set yet!" complained Rainbow.

"Now, Rainbow," Rarity shook her head. "If Twilight says she needs to rest, she can rest."

"But Twilight said you need to cast the spell before you sleep. Luna's not a nocturnal Princess anymore. If we want her to use it tonight, we gotta go now."

"Luna will sleep again tomorrow," said Rarity. "Just look at Twilight." She held her hoof in the direction of the purple unicorn. Twilight didn't need to see herself in a mirror to know how disheveled her mane was. Not to mention how bloodshot her eyes would be after so much crying. "She's clearly in desperate need of some sleep," continued Rarity. "We can take care of this whole situation later."

"Ugh, fine," Rainbow crossed her arms. Rarity scowled at the pegasus, who corrected herself. "I mean, yeah. We can worry about this later. After all, it's not like the past is going anywhere, right?"

Twilight nodded, although she guessed the question was rhetorical. Her brain was mostly running on auto-pilot at this point.

"Come along, Twilight," Rarity came over and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Let's get you to bed. You'll be sleeping in my room tonight. No buts! A lady does not invite her guest to sleep on a couch."

Twilight wasn't going to complain either way, but she was grateful that Rarity was willing to sacrifice her bed. While Rainbow Dash did seem disappointed at the lack of action, as the trio left the room the pegasus held open the door for Twilight. And although Twilight didn't need the help, Dash and Rarity gently laid her down in the bed. They even tucked Twilight in and put out the lights as they left. They didn't say a "good night," but Twilight didn't mind. It didn't need to be said. My friends really do care about me. It was small comfort, but Twilight was thankful for that small amount of comfort.

Unfortunately that comfort was soon eclipsed by Twilight's thoughts. As the unicorn laid down in the bed, she felt the weight of all her exhaustion and frustration and the feelings of hopelessness that surrounded her day.

<> <> <>

For the first night in many nights, Twilight had a dream. A real dream.

She stood with her friends, all five of them. Well, no. She was standing opposite of them. The five of them were standing together and she was standing alone. "What's going on?" she asked. "Where am I?" The room she was in was unfamiliar. It was generic, colorless, and somehow seemed to lack substance.

Her friends stood quietly. They watched her. They smiled at her. Sometimes one of them would laugh at an unspoken joke.

What's wrong with them? Twilight walked over to Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie?" she said. "Can't you hear me?" Twilight reached out to touch her friend. When her hoof made contact on Pinkie's shoulder the earth pony evaporated. Her pink hair and mane became a thin mist, and lifted out of sight.

Twilight gasped. "Fluttershy!" she shouted, running over to her other friend that still looked at her and smiled. "Did you see that? Something happened to Pinkie, we have to..." As soon as Twilight was near to Fluttershy, the yellow pegasus faded away as well.

She looked to her other friends and, one by one, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash dissolved out of existence. Twilight couldn't feel herself breathing. She couldn't even feel her own heartbeat. All she felt, her whole experience and existence, was fear.

Then Twilight saw her. Princess Celestia approached. Her glorious sun at her back, and it obscured her visage, yet the silhouette of her alicorn body was unmistakeable. "Princess!" Twilight called, running to her former teacher. "A terrible thing happened. My friends are all gone!"

"I know," the Princess said. "I saw you erase each one of them from existence."

"What?" Twilight breathed the word out.

"You went back in time. You made sure that none of them would ever exist. That way, you would not destroy me."

"But my friends hold the Elements," Twilight said. "We need them to save the Tree of Harmony; we need them to save you!"

"To save me? The Elements are what destroyed me!" Suddenly the moon arose and eclipsed the brilliant sun. Then Twilight saw clearly. The Princess before her was not her beloved Celestia. It was Nightmare Moon.

"No," Twilight backed away. "No. This isn't real. This can't be happening!"

Nightmare Moon laughed manically. "Foal! You know how real this is. It was you who went back! You made this world. You knew this would happen."

"I didn't!" Twilight insisted. "I swear, I never knew that I would hurt my friends. I wanted to help them!"

"The road to Tartarus is paved with good intentions, my dear." The wicked mare of darkness cackled fiercely as she began to drift away from Twilight.

The scene changed.

Twilight was now sitting in the castle hall. Ponies were all around her. They were angry at her. They were a mob at her back. In front of her was a high throne and Princess Cadence was sitting upon it. "Order!" she cried. "We will have order here!" The room became eerily silent. "Are you ready to proceed, Sweetie?"

"Of course, Dear," Shining Armor stood. He was across from Twilight, facing Cadence on the throne. "This shouldn't take too long. The evidence is pretty clear. We can still make it to dinner later."

Cadence gave a good laugh at the remark, as did the ponies observing the scene. "Twilight Sparkle," Cadence began. "You stand accused of the murder of Princess Celestia. What plea do you wish to use? Culpable? Liable? Responsible? Or just plain, old guilty?"

There was, of course, only one option. Twilight closed her eyes. "Guilty, your Highness." The crowd cheered.

"You weren't wrong, Honey," Princess Cadence smiled. "That was fast. Does the prosecution have anything to add?"

"We all know what she did," said Shining. "Let's just make sure she's locked up long enough that she can't do it again."

"Agreed," Cadence stepped down from her throne and moved toward Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, you are guilty as charged. There is only one punishment worthy of this crime. You shall be imprisoned within the gates of Tartarus where you belong. For one thousand years you will see not sun nor moon nor stars. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Twilight shook her head and faced the floor. She deserved this. There was nothing to say. When Twilight looked up she was in a cage sitting atop a great stone spire. Far below her, she could see the mighty three-headed Cerberus standing watch. Her cage was mostly barren, but there was a plaque on the ground in front of it. She looked at the engraving. It read: "Twilight Sparkle - Princess Slayer" for all who saw her to read. Anyone who looked at her could now know just how terrible she truly was.

How did it come to this? One day Twilight was Celestia's faithful student, the next she was responsible for the Princess' death.

"STOP!" a roaring voice boomed forth from far away. Twilight looked out over the mountains. A dark blue form rising in the distance. It flew at impossible speeds toward her cell. Before long, Twilight recognized her Princess of the Night. "Twilight Sparkle," she said. "Do not be afraid. It is I, Princess Luna. And I am not a product of this horrific fantasy your mind has constructed."

It took a moment for Twilight to understand what had happened. She had never been visited by Luna in one of her dreams, though she had read about the experience. "Luna?" Twilight asked. "Why are you here? I thought you weren't a nocturnal Princess anymore."

"Nowadays, I am usually not," admitted Luna. "But I sensed something more was amiss about you. So I looked into your dreams, and saw that I was correct. I can see that you did not tell me everything."

"What do you mean? I talked to you." Twilight tried to get out of the situation by feigning ignorance, but she had a feeling that would work no better on Luna than it used to work on Celestia.

"Clearly a deep pain is troubling you," Luna said. "I am not mad that you would not share this with me. I understand that you and I are not as close as my sister was to you. But you should be able to confide in me your struggles. Come see me in the morning. For now, I will quiet your dreams so you may find the rest you need."

The world around Twilight was now a large field. Her friends were there and having a picnic. Applejack waved her over, offering some apple pie. Twilight felt relief wash over her and turned to thank Luna. But the Princess was gone.

Author's Note:

Is there a double meaning in that chapter title? Never!

Fun fact: Coming up with the name for Rarity's new store took half an hour. I considered far too many options, browsed a thesaurus, and debated quite a bit. "Gemsational Fashions" barely beat out "Vêtements avec Bijou" (French for "Clothing with Jewels"). I also considered "Simply Rarity" and "Rare Looks." Those felt too self-absorbed for the unicorn.

Comments

[masterblotart]

so what twilight gonna do after tell luna her story?

[silvadel]

BUSTED... It is hard to put anything over on the Lunar Princess... Unless you are really practiced, your dreams will always betray you.

[Shadow Star]

Simply Rarity?
ouch right in the feels.