Chapter 10: Return to Abnormality
Twilight tapped her hoof on the floor of her castle, feeling both nervous and…
“Huh…that’s strange, I haven’t felt nervous in…five? Six-hundred years? Longer?” she asked the pony next to her floating in the breadbox-sized crystal. “Well what would you know? I only started on your reconstruction one-hundred and fifty years ago. Needed those extra years to make sure you were all there.”
The supreme alicorn made a circuit around the sleeping crystal, just as a last second double-check to make sure everything was perfect inside. Halfway through, she realized the foolishness of doing something with only her eyes, and went back to waiting.
"...am I doing the smart move here?" she asked the crystal's occupant. "What am I going to do if she says no? I can't exactly keep you in there. I don't even want to. But if I let you out, I know you'll side with her." Twilight sighed and hung her head. She had wished Time Turner had stuck around for more than fifty years. It had been fun having a friendly acquaintance to talk to.
His absence had made Twilight toy with bringing some of the other ponies she had known back, but...there was a danger in that. Celestia would just take them away from her. Stopping her physically wouldn't work either. If ponies saw that, they would leave on their own. Celestia had everypony wrapped around her horn so well that even when Twilight showed them the truth of how she really was, they still worshiped her in every possibly way.
So, she couldn't bring anypony else back. And the only one she had was because it needed to be done.
There was a bright flash, and Twilight hid the crystal behind her magic as a streak of light came from the sun to land on her castle. The white alicorn appeared in all her usual radiance that came with her long-range teleportation. Like always, just being near Celestia made it hard to resist some of the more…violent urges that had been creeping into her mind as her plans for reunion entered their final stages.
After all, what did it matter what happened to Celestia now?
For Twilight, nothing had mattered since Time Turner helped her crack the paradox barrier, freeing her from the normal constraints of temporal magic. At the very least, the big one. The moment she went back to fix everything, everything in the horrible world she now stood in would be undone. All the death, all the pain, all the mistakes, all gone.
Unless of course…it didn’t work.
And that was the problem. The one possible kink that she had no way to truly account for. While Twilight had checked the math so many times the griffons had rebuilt and lost their empire again, she hadn’t actually tested her spell to see if she could actually change the past. But using a time travel spell as she was would put her back into the ‘just one trip into the past’ constraint that Twilight had managed to sidestep by becoming an alicorn. Since only the unicorn known as Twilight had cast the spell, the alicorn that had reborn from her old self could still use it once.
And with the power of Harmony fueling her magic, there was no constraint on how far back she could go.
But it was still just a single trip. One tiny chance to make everything right.
Now, she only needed one last piece of research to make everything work. One question answered. A final solution to discover before she could go back with all the answers, and fix everything.
If it worked.
If it didn’t… “No,” she told herself. “No I can’t go down that road.” It would work. It HAD to work! After everything she had done, after all the plans she had laid, it simply had to.
“Still talking to yourself I see.”
Twilight looked over at Celestia, and frowned. “Well, it’s so hard to find good conversation these days, I had to find a way to compensate.”
The smaller white alicorn gave her a look of concern, and stepped forward. “Twilight, you called me here. I’m taking that as a good sign. I told you I would always be here for you. Now, what is it you need?”
Rage boiled its way up from Twilight’s stomach. With Celestia talking as if she actually cared, the larger alicorn couldn’t stop herself. “I had ponies that were here for me. Five of them that are gone because of you! And the one-thousand seven-hundred and fifty-three that monster you let roam free killed on top of that!”
Celestia sighed, and lowered her head. “Do you think I do not carry them upon my conscience as well?” Her remorse was plain for the greater goddess to see.
That…Twilight couldn’t dispute. Despite the other sins she had committed, Twilight knew that Celestia cared for the little ones. Not as much as Twilight had for those particular ponies, but the smaller alicorn was hardly uncaring of her charges.
It didn’t mean she was worth any sympathy though. For those losses at least.
Twilight took in a few breaths to get herself back under control. “Control. I can stay in control. I can do this,” she whispered before she looked back at her amalgam mark. The sin that Celestia had forced her to commit. “Watch me do this girls.”
“Is truly there something you wanted?” Celestia asked as her gentleness was slowly replaced with hesitation. “Or did you simply come to speak of the past?”
A few more breaths put Twilight back where she needed to be. “No, I really came to offer you a…present,” Twilight said before she looked back to where she had hidden the stasis crystal behind a concealment field. Was it a good idea to just show the alicorn, or make offer with words first? For some reason, Twilight found herself wanting to do neither.
Celestia frowned. “You’ve been removed from the Equestrian government for a reason Twilight, I’m not giving you back your crown,” she told the larger alicorn in an even tone.
“No, that’s not…” Twilight growled as she felt another wave of hesitation enter her throat, but not for the reasons that made sense. Offering the gift to Celestia wasn’t the problem, it was the strings that came with it that made Twilight feel sick.
Or perhaps, it was what came after, once she had the alicorn’s complacency.
“I’m not here for that,” she finished assuring the lesser goddess. “I…” Twilight let out another sigh. “Celestia…I…do you remember the clone of Rainbow?” How many years ago had that been? Twilight had left her palace with the incomplete duplicate to parade her in front of the princesses as proof that she wasn’t wrong in her actions to restore her friends to life. How foolish she had been back then. The new plan was much better.
The smaller alicorn’s face became a frown. “What of her?”
Twilight caught the emphasis. Unlike Twilight, Celestia had never seen that…thing for what it truly was, an incomplete pony. A failure, with only part of what was needed to make Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash. Without all of her, the blue pegasus had just been a twisted version of what had crawled out of the mirror pool so many centuries ago in Twilight's opinion.
“I tried for years to perfect the process to remake her,” she went on.
When Celestia moved to speak, Twilight shook her head. “No, I’m not here to talk about the phoenix project. It’s never going to do what I want it to,” she said before looking at her flank for a few seconds. She couldn't remove the parts of them that had joined with her. At least, not without ending the means to restore them to life in the first place.
After pushing back the rising sadness, Twilight put her attention back onto Celestia. “While it will not work for them…there are…others that can be reconstituted,” she said before using her magic to bring out her bribe. The crystal came over to hover next to Twilight.
A second after it did, Celestia’s calm demeanor vanished. Her legs buckled. Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath before speaking. “That…is that?”
“One month old, and already ascended,” Twilight replied before her eyes drifted to the red and gold cutie mark that looked like a blazing sun on the alicorn foal’s body. “She’s already earned it after all. And all of my genetic samples from her old mane brush were from after it happened anyway.”
Celestia fell back onto her haunches, and reached out with her forelegs when Twilight sent the crystal over to her. “Sunset.”
Even though Twilight wasn’t sure if she was being listened to, the alicorn continued her explanation. “I sealed away her memories until she reaches the age of sixteen. After that, they’ll start being unlocked at a steady pace and continue until she’s eighteen.” Twilight cleared her throat and looked away. “I thought she…deserved a chance to grow up…with her Mom.”
It might have been an honor that Twilight would have felt jealous about during her first hundred years of life, but these days, it was just a simple fact. Out of all the students that had been taught by Celestia and Luna, both before and after her banishment, Sunset had been the only one the Alicorn of the Sun had trained to become her official heir. When she came back from the human world, Celestia had taken her back in, and officially adopted the fiery pony as her daughter not long after Sunset's ascension.
Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight watched as Celestia held the container for several minutes. She examined the tiny foal within, and Twilight nervously ran her tongue across her lips. “Although...if you want, I have magic that will allow me to permanently age her until she is eighteen. You can have her back, and all of her memories up to the moment she passed, right now if you want.”
The offer brought the other goddess out of her examination. She looked at Twilight with nothing but confusion showing on her face. Her words, little more than a breath that struggled to escape. “…why?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure if you wanted another chance from the beginning, or-”
“No,” Celestia interrupted, her eyes threatening to rain down tears. “Why are you doing this? You hate me! Even now, I can practically feel it in your magical aura. You want nothing more than to strike me down. Yet instead, you give me back the one pony I have ever thought of as more than just a student. So…why? I’m not stupid Twilight. You would never do something like this unless you wanted a trade. So what do I have to do to get my daughter back?”
The question…stopped Twilight in the middle of her answer. Logically, she knew the answer to the question. It was part of the plan after all. And Celestia was right. Sunset was an offering. A trade. One adopted alicorn, for another.
Celestia would get Sunset, along with a promise from Twilight to continue the rebirthing process until the end of time.
And Twilight would get Cadance. She needed a pony linked to an eternal object to move onto the next phase of her plan, and out of the three Twilight had to choose from, Cadance was the only one that was truly expendable. After all, Celestia and Luna were needed to move the sun and moon, all Cadance did was sleep with a new stallion every forty or so years. The Crystal Empire would be fine without her.
But…seeing the two of them together again…another reason made itself known in Twilight’s mind that she found counterproductive to the logic of it all. A reason that came from the heart. The two warred within her. But while Twilight’s logic was a powerful thing, it found itself at the mercy of her heart. Be it anger, love, compassion or rage, Twilight had learned long ago that it was her heart that decided what she would do.
A tiredness filled her body, and Twilight found herself modifying her original plans, if only slightly. Sunset…wasn’t a bargaining chip. She was a friend, and a daughter. And she deserved as much happiness as any of the others.
And as for Celestia…
Twilight regarded the other alicorn to answer her question. “You’re right. I do hate you Celestia, more than you will ever know. But even you don’t deserve what you did to me. You don’t deserve to be separated from the ponies you love.” She blinked away some of the tears, and let out another long sigh. “In a few days, I’m going to be doing something that’ll probably have you up in arms to oppose me, but for right now…take your daughter and go.”
The crystal surrounding the sleeping filly disappeared at Twilight’s mental command, and the goddess conjured some swaddling for Sunset to keep her warm as Celestia held the baby close. Sunset opened her eyes, and nuzzled Celestia’s coat.
“Well, isn’t that interesting.”
Twilight looked up from her old friend and to Celestia. “It’s just imprinting.” Nothing special, something Twilight had seen thousands of times before in ponies.
“Not that,” Celestia replied. “You. You are still capable of kindness.”
The larger alicorn let out a snort. “Just take your daughter and go Celestia.”
As the smaller alicorn nodded her head, and did just that, Twilight walked back into her palace with a frown. In a few days, she would show Celestia that the princess hoping for Twilight to come back into her indoctrinated fold were nothing but the delusions of a fool.
“And it's completely ridiculous!”
Rarity nodded as the purple pony finished ranting on the subject of her adopted son and his new crush. She gave a light sound of agreement to show that she was indeed listening and ran the tape measure under Twilight’s tail to determine her friend’s proper dress size. Of course she still had to measure the rest, such as barrel width, neck length, hoof size, and others but…one down, five to go.
“I mean, Spike is…uh…Rarity, how old are you right now?” Twilight asked as she looked back at the dressmaker.
The other unicorn blinked. “I’m twenty-five darling. Why?” The fact that she was the oldest of their group, at least physically, had always been a bit of a sore point for Rarity. After all, her looks would probably end up going first, what with all the worrying that she did.
“Thirteen!” Twilight exclaimed with a stomp of her hoof on the carpet. “That’s three years difference Rarity! Three years! She is much too old for him!”
Rarity let out a tiny moan of disapproval to that statement. “And I wasn’t?”
Twilight flinched so hard she practically went into a cower. “That…um…t-that’s different!” she exclaimed weakly before sighing. “You and Spike never really got together, and he eventually accepted the fact that nopony was going to…well…be around for him.”
“Pardon?” Rarity asked as she tried to wrap her mind around the fact that such a sweet child like Spike would never find anypony…at least as far as Twilight knew. Since finding out about Twilight's foreknowledge the night before last, Rarity had come up with a few questions that needed answering. But, they were on the subject of Spike right now, and she would do her best to allay her friend's fears. “That sounds a little…sad, Twilight. Not to have a special somepony.”
The statement put Twilight into a defensive stance. “H-He had friends!”
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “But not a special somepony.”
“That-” Twilight abruptly stopped and sighed before she raised a hoof to rub her head. “Right, you’re still a hopeless romantic right now, aren’t you?”
Twilight’s words made Rarity’s heart speed up just a tad. “What do you mean still?” And more importantly, what in the hay caused her to stop being one? The desire for romance was one of the things that made life worth living! If something had happened to stop her from being that way, Rarity did not want to know about it.
She needed to find something else to talk about.
Something to calm her fears of that happening.
“Say Twilight…there’s something I’m wondering about this time travel…issue,” she spoke up while getting back to her work. “You said that things have changed, so…is what you know still…useable?”
Twilight looked back at the other unicorn as Rarity finished the last of her legs. “Well the full explanation would take the better part of the week, but…in simplistic terms…yes,” she answered. “At least until it isn’t.”
The utter nonsense that Twilight just spouted made Rarity withdraw her tape measure. “What do you mean darling?”
“Okay, try and imagine this,” Twilight said before picking up two thimblefuls of thread in her magic and holding them up to Rarity's face, a red and a green one. “There are two major forces always pulling at a pony. The first of which is choice, a pony’s ability to decide what she wants to do." The green thread shook. "We all have it, and use it every second of every day in all our decisions. Then there’s fate, the complete lack of choice in what a pony wants to do." The red thread shook. "The thing that says no matter what happens, certain events will occur. It is these two forces constantly pulling at a pony that determines her destiny.”
She paused to a moment after putting the threads back where they had been on the shelf and looked around. Then looked down at Rarity’s flank. “For example, your cutie mark.”
Rarity turned to look at her diamonds for a few seconds, and then back to Twilight. “What about it?” She was rather fond of her triple diamonds. Even if the story involving them was a little...dirty.
“A cutie mark is the ultimate expression of a pony’s fate,” Twilight told her. “It didn’t matter where you lived, or what you did, you were always going to get that particular cutie mark. You were always going to get a special talent for discovering beauty and bringing it out. However, you could have done that as a sculptor, a hairdresser, or a dozen other things. Being a dressmaker, that was a choice within the constraints fate had given to you.”
The white unicorn started to nod and then stopped when she noticed something peculiar. “You haven’t answered my question though.”
Twilight stared at Rarity in obvious surprise. “Huh…didn’t think you’d actually pick up on that.”
The comment made Rarity frown and shoot her older friend with her ire. “Twilight!” she exclaimed in a huff that had the other unicorn wincing. It wasn’t as if she was a dense as Rainbow Dash!
“Okay, okay!” she said before raising her hooves in defense. “I’m sorry. T-That was just for some background info.”
After taking a few seconds to get control of herself, Twilight started again. “Now time travel is in a nutshell, an attempt to cheat fate. After all, I’m going back to before something that has happened, or will happen now, and if I know the steps leading up to an event then I should be able to avoid it. However, fate isn’t some random chance thing that can only happen if a million dominoes are precisely set up in a row, it’s Fate. It is absolute, a defining force of the universe! The same as time, and magic, and space. Time might as well not exist in fate’s opinion. As far as fate is concerned, if something has happened before, then it will happen again.
“Like you making us all gala dresses,” Twilight finished with a smile.
Rarity frowned as she mulled over the information for a few seconds. “But if I wanted to, I could stop making the dresses right now. Nothing’s making me do it.” Even if she had promised the girls, and Pinkie Pie had looked so excited at the thought of going to the Gala with a new dress.
The smile on Twilight’s face continued, as if she were reading Rarity’s thoughts. "Really? You could just stop, right now, and this very instant?"
“Well okay, it’s a little too late for me to stop making Gala dresses, but give me another one of your…fated events, and I’ll have time to say no!” Rarity exclaimed. IT really would have been a shame not to make eveypony's clothes for the Gala. After making her promise, she couldn't just welch out on them for something so inconsequential as to just prove that she could.
Twilight shook her head. “Doesn’t work like that,” she said before sighing. “And…it’s not exactly tit for tat either.”
“Huh?” Rarity asked.
“Well…” Twilight reached up and scratched her head. “Look, I talked to a stallion about this in my original timeline, and it’s only theory, but…the bigger and more important an event is, the harder it is to change.”
With Twilight’s words doing nothing for her, Rarity frowned. “Explain please.”
“Alright. My…friend was also a time traveler, somepony who had found a way to do it more than once, like me,” she explained slowly. “Still, he just…went places to basically sight see. He didn’t try to do what I’m doing. Until one day, by some...fluke, he had the choice to save a pony from drowning, or just…let her die.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Hardly a choice darling.”
“Even if history said she died?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.
The question didn’t slow Rarity down. “Then pardon my language darling, but buck history.”
Twilight smiled. “And that’s what he thought too,” she went on. “He took the mare, and using his magic, my friend…teleported the two of them back to her home. She was soaking wet, but alive.” Her face became serious. “Five minutes later, while running up the wooden stairs in her home for a towel, the mare slipped on her own wet hooves, fell backwards and broke her neck.”
After a few moments of silence, Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Changing things, it’s not as easy as moving one little pebble in a stream. Something drastic has to occur to make fate move, something to change the direction of a raging river. And to change something like the end of a life…an alteration involving something like that would take-”
The door to Rarity’s shop banged open, cutting Twilight off and making both unicorns look over in time to see Rainbow Dash fly in, followed by Applejack a few seconds later.
“Twilight! We need your help with something,” Rainbow said.
Rarity sighed as the purple unicorn rushed away, her eyes in a panic. “What’s wrong? Is a monster attacking Ponyville? Timberwolves invading Applejack’s farm?” she asked before looking over to Rainbow hesitantly. “Um…Fluttershy’s okay, right?”
Rainbow frowned quizzically. “Uh, last I saw, why?”
The response killed Twilight’s panic and made her give both of the mare’s a half-lidded glare. “Because the two of you just came in here like your tails were on fire,” she deadpanned.
Next to the pegasus, Applejack chuckled. “Oh, that, we were just racin’. Anyhoo, me an Rainbow here were just throwing some horseshoes, what with the harvest being near done for the Fall, and we got to arguin’ about which one of us is the better athlete.”
“Oh no,” Twilight mumbled as she slumped.
“So, we were thinking we were going to have a few contests to prove it,” Rainbow added before smirking and jumped up to hover in the air. “Of course, we both know that’s gonna be me that comes home with the gold!”
Applejack let out snort. “Rainbow, if you actually believe that, you can stop flappin’ yer wings and just let all that hot air you got hold ya up.”
There was a little thud and a small groan as Twilight’s plot hit the floor. Which was shortly accompanied by a fearful little groan. “But-but the Running of the Leafs isn’t for…oh, buck. I’ll need to do this on the fly,” she mumbled before falling forward completely, and then turning her head to look at Rarity. “You’re done with my measurements, right?”
“Well…yes,” she replied. Although she hadn’t gotten all of them with the tape measure, Rarity had looked at Twilight close enough to get a good estimation. Adjustments could be made later.
Twilight gave a little nod, and got back up on all four hooves. “Okay you two, let’s get going,” she said before pausing mid-trot, and then looking over towards the earth pony. “By the way Applejack…if you came home one day and found Apple Bloom making out with a colt three years older than her, what would you do?”
For a few seconds, Applejack gave Twilight an even look. Then she spoke in an equally even tone. “Let’s just say there’d be a Stallion in the Moon to take Luna’s place.”
“What about you Rainbow?”
The pegasus cocked her head. “What? If I found Applejack’s little sister making out with some colt? I dunno.” She shrugged. “Tell Applejack?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “No, if you came home and found Scoooo-um, on second thought, let’s get going! Come on girls, Iron Pony awaits!”
As Twilight dashed out the door, Rainbow looked over to the earth pony. “Hey Applejack, did we tell her that’s what we were calling this thing?”
Applejack groaned. “Aw shoot. This is gonna be one of them weird time travel knowledge things she warned us about, ain’t it?”
Unable to stop herself, Rarity decided to give Applejack an answer in the language the farm pony would understand. “Eeyup.”
While she considered herself a patient pony, Applejack had to admit that she was starting to get a mite angry with how long Twilight was taking to set things up. While the unicorn was the natural choice to judge the little contest that they had come up with, she had only done so on the condition that she was allowed to prepare everything.
Applejack had agreed, thinking that Twilight would of just used her fancy magic to arrange all the things for the events. Instead, she walked the circumference of the farm with her horn all glowing, setting up what she called a 'misdirecting' spell. Whatever that was. After everything was done, she had Applejack bring them back to her private rodeo practice arena.
“Ugh!” Rainbow exclaimed when they finally got back. “Okay Twilight, what was up with the whole circuit run?” she asked.
The little unicorn gave the pegasus a blushing smile. “Sorry Rainbow, I just didn’t want anypony else coming to watch us,” she apologized with a little embarrassment before grabbing the stopwatch they had left at the rodeo pens with her magic.
Applejack blinked at the news. She didn’t mind none not having an audience, although Rainbow Dash…
“Are you kidding?” the pegasus demanded before she zoomed up above Twilight. “That would have been awesome!”
After she took a second to smirk at Rainbow’s reaction, Twilight stepped back and nodded. “Rainbow, you’re an athlete. I know you live to compete, to test yourself and win, and when other ponies see that, you love it. You love being cheered for, and…well, who doesn’t?” she asked before looking past the floating pegasus and over to the earth pony. “Right Applejack?”
The question posed by the smiling unicorn made the farmer shrug. While she wasn’t one for over the top bragging like a certain pegasus, Applejack did like it when other ponies tooted her horn for her, or when her little sister looked up at her for winning a blue ribbon. “Well…I’d be lying if Ah said that weren’t true.” If just a mite.
“Yeah, so far, I’m not seeing the point not to have a crowd here Twilight,” Rainbow added as she crossed her forelegs and flew backwards a bit.
Twilight giggled. “Well, you will…when the two of you lose to me,” she said with a smile and a puffed out chest.
The sheer confidence the little unicorn excluded had Rainbow landing right next to Applejack a few seconds later. Probably because she fell down to the ground, and started laughing her plot off as soon as she did. And…being honest with herself, Applejack probably would have been down there with her if not for the fact that she saw what it looked like when Rainbow did it.
“Y-You’re kidding, right?” Rainbow asked from the ground after she finally got her mouth under control. “You think you can even compete against me and Applejack?”
The smile Twilight gave Rainbow was full of innocence as she gave her reply. “Sure! It’s just a friendly competition, right?”
Which made Applejack more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Because, she knew Twilight Sparkle was in fact not some innocent little filly. She was a unicorn that rolled her eyes at Celestia, and stared down dragons.
In short, she was up to something.
But…the farm pony didn’t want to go making Twilight feel like she was left out. Especially considering how the old filly might react if she got some fool notion Applejack was upset with her.
On a personal level anyway. Applejack still didn’t like the fact that the unicorn had hidden the truth from them for all the weeks they had known each other, but that was more of a…philosophical level issue. She could still be friends with a pony she disagreed with on issues like that. Like her cousins in Manehattan that would rather own orange groves instead of apple orchards. No matter how wrong they were, they were still family, and thus friends.
“Alright, but no using yer horn fer levitatin' stuff, or teleportin' around,” Applejack told her with a frown. She was pretty sure that would handle most of anything. Except… “In fact, no magic of any kind during the events at all.” That should take care of any horn-related advantages.
Twilight nodded. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
As soon as Twilight was done, Rainbow got back up into the air and frowned. “Wait, if you’re going to be competing. Who’s gonna be keeping times and scores?”
“Well, there is only three of us Rainbow, I think we can manage to keep our scores straight,” Twilight replied. “And as for the time, I can enchant the stopwatch to give perfect times better than if a pony did it. You said no magic during the contests, but…I can still use my magic for that and getting ready. That sound good?”
A quick look to Dash for a confirming nod had Applejack looking back to Twilight a second later. “Sounds good.”
“Good, now let me just get set up,” Twilight replied as she trotted over to where the two mares were standing.
Applejack blinked, and looked over to where the barrels were waiting for the race. “Uh Twilight, the first course is already-” the farm pony was cut off when she looked back to the unicorn out of the corner of her eye, and watched as Twilight had her eyes closed in intense concentration, or maybe strain. There was a bright flash and when Applejack’s vision cleared, she blinked.
In front of her were four very thick and furry purple poles as thick as any apple tree. A sinking feeling overcame the farm pony as she looked up, and saw Twilight’s smirking face looking down at her from a height that had to be at least twice of Celestia’s, if not an even fifteen feet.
“W-What the hay Twilight?” Rainbow Dash demanded as she flew into the air high enough to look the unicorn in the face. “We said no magic!”
“No,”Twilight’s now deeper voice corrected, which sounded odd as hay coming from her mouth. “You said no levitation or teleportation, or magic during the events. Which this isn’t. All I did was a little body modification beforehand.”
Applejack groaned. Looking back, she really should have seen something like this coming. Twilight had put on that same bucking smile she had when Applejack had stayed at the library with Rarity for a sleepover and suggested they play truth or dare. Knowing what she knew now about the unicorn, the earth pony had a feeling that they were going to get one of those ‘friendship lessons’ she talked about before in Canterlot.
Like a lesson in humility.
Or maybe not letting your mouth write checks your hooves couldn’t cash.
Up in the air, Rainbow spun around and started to fly away. “Well you can-”
“What’s wrong Rainbow? Afraid you can’t take on a big pony?” Twilight asked with a face that didn’t match her confident voice. Thanks to the size increase, Applejack could clearly tell that Twilight was worried from the widened eyes and slightly down turned mouth. If Rainbow pushed the issue, the unicorn would probably cave.
And…all of a sudden, the lack of spectators was making an awful lot of sense to Applejack. Getting whooped by your friends in a competition was one thing. Getting whooped by your friends in front of half the town was…humiliating.
Rainbow stopped, and spun around with a frown. “Oh I see how it is!” she explained. “Okay Twilight, fine. I can beat you no matter what shoe-size you wear!”
A second later, Applejack was looking at Rainbow’s ether trail, and Twilight visibly slumped as she let out a loud sigh. Then, she noticed Applejack down on the ground, and gave her a worried look. “Think I went too far?”
“Nah. I figure Rainbow’s gonna need to get taught a little something,” Applejack replied.
Twilight’s eyes became half-lidded. “Who says I’m just going to be schooling Rainbow?”
“GAAAAH! THIS BUCKS!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she let everypony in hearing range know just how un-awesome she was feeling right now.
Which was a lot. A way lot.
Mostly because…she was losing.
Not to Applejack though. Rainbow had managed to score twice the amount of victories than the farm pony did, but since her mental scoreboard read: Applejack 1, Rainbow Dash 2, and Twilight 9, the pegasus wasn’t feeling all that great about her one point lead over last place.
When the whole thing started, Rainbow had been a little worried about Applejack’s barrel racing skills, but Dash had still pulled a victory and took the lead from the get go. Not to mention giggled at Twilight as the giant pony had to forfeit that part of the competition because she was too big to fit between the barrels.
It had looked liked things were really going her way.
Then, came the strength tester. While Applejack had knocked the weight off, Twilight had completely demolished the entire scale. So the point went to her.
Twilight then went on to win the bronco buck, knocking off one of the farm animals because she was too big to get a real good grip on.
Applejack managed to finally score when they lassoed some hay.
The ball bounce ended when Twilight stomped her hoof down hard enough to cause a small earthquake, messing up both Rainbow and Applejack’s concentration, and they never did find the hale bale she tossed. It probably landed in Canterlot somewhere. Same with the hoofball.
Sure, Rainbow managed to pick up another win with the pushup contest by switching to her wings, but the 2 that win gave her wasn’t anywhere near Twilight’s 9.
And even if she didn’t think about how many times the egghead had just totally demolished her, there was also the fact that Twilight had the pegasus currently pinned under her left hoof after a modified hoof wrestling match that Rainbow had been allowed to use her whole body, and was still beaten like she was just a little foal.
“Rainbow! Are you okay?!” Twilight asked a second after Rainbow shouted, the giant purple pony’s face filling her vision. “I didn’t hurt you did I? I’m sorry! I’m not as good with my left hoof, and I-”
“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow shouted to get the panicked purple pony to be quiet. As much losing ate at her, seeing the unicorn with that kind of expression hurt even more. “It’s fine. Only thing you hurt is my pride.” Which was still made her feel like a bunch of horse apples.
That didn’t seem to cheer the big pony up any. If anything, she just winced again. “I-I’m sorry Rainbow! I just…look, can we call this whole thing off? Everypony agrees to a forfeit so I can talk to you girls for a second?”
The suggestion made Rainbow want to yell back at the purple giant that she never quit. And she would have too, if Applejack hadn’t spoken up first. “Sounds good. Ain’t like we’re gonna win now anyhoo.”
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash yelled. The very idea of quitting made her want to pluck her wings bald. “You might be willing to just give up Applejack! But I’m-”
“Rainbow please!” Twilight pleaded, which managed to actually made Rainbow feel bad, despite the way she had tricked her way into a nearly unbeatable advantage. “You think I like doing this to you? I’ve already won nearly half the events, and since we haven’t even done the hay-carry or tug of war, you know you can’t beat me right now in a contest of strength. Can’t we just drop this whole thing and call it a three-way tie?”
For a moment, Rainbow opened her mouth to tell Twilight that she could beat a...pony five times her size.
Then, the remembered how far Twilight had flung things, bucked, stomped, and the fact she didn’t even seem to notice Rainbow struggling from underneath her hoof helped hammer the fact home. “…fine,” she finally gave in. “You’re the Iron Pony.”
“No I’m not!” Twilight insisted. “I won because I cheated!”
The fact that she was trying to make excuses after winning just made Rainbow feel worse. “No, we didn’t say you couldn’t buff yourself up with magic beforehand. That means you won.”
“Oh for the love of-” she grumbled before Rainbow felt a strong tug on her tail, and found herself hanging upside down next to Applejack as the earth pony fought to hold onto her hat. As for Twilight, there was a loud thud as the unicorn sat back on her plot and raised the two of them to her eye level “Okay, I was going to try and lead the two of you into this, but if you want to be so bucking thick about it…PHYSICAL CONTESTS LIKE THIS BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU ARE STUPID!”
Rainbow fought with her wings as the pair of appendages caught enough wind coming out Twilight’s mouth to blow her around a bit. When the ringing in her ears started dying down, Twilight was talking again.
“And another thing,” Twilight said to Rainbow Dash. “If you want to say you lost, okay then. You. Lost.” She took in a deep breath, and let out a sigh before giving Rainbow a concerned look. “But…is it really that bad Rainbow? I mean, other than a little contest, what did you really lose? You’re still here with more bits than you know what to do with, and we’re still friends…right?”
Her face took on a worried look that matched her tone. “W-We are still friends...right?”
The pegasus crossed her forelegs at the silly question. “Well…yeah,” she admitted. Just because Twilight had gotten her win on a technicality didn’t mean they weren’t friends anymore.
And…looking around the field from her upside down vantage point, Rainbow realized something: it was empty. Nopony actually saw her and Applejack get completely owned by Twilight in nearly every contest under the sun. Because Twilight had made sure they wouldn’t. She had spared anypony else from seeing Rainbow Dash rack up some pretty ridiculous losses to an overgrown unicorn.
That realization put a warm feeling in Rainbow’s heart that quickly got rid of that dirty sock taste in her mouth that came whenever she lost at something.
“Of course we’re still friends, stupid egghead,” the pegasus added before Twilight could do something to ruin the moment.
From her place in the air beside Rainbow, AJ let out a little snort. “Course, woulda been a completely different contest if there wasn’t all this cheatin’ goin’ on.”
A second later, Twilight’s face morphed back into a frown. “Applejack, we were all cheating,” she told the earth pony. “I was just doing it better than the two of you.”
As Applejack cocked her head, Rainbow bristled at the accusation. “Hey! Since when did I cheat?”
“Well, you did use yer wings for that pushup contest,” Applejack deadpanned at her. “I’d be callin’ that an unfair advantage.”
The totally wrong view that AJ was spouting had Rainbow frowning at her a second later. “So I’m not supposed to use the best part of me?” Rainbow demanded. She didn’t get upset at Applejack for bucking with her hind legs!
“And then there was how you stacked the deck Applejack,” Twilight added with a little smirk. “Nothing but unfair there.”
Applejack looked over to Twilight with a frown. “Pardon?”
Instead of replying immediately, Twilight put on a thoughtful look for a few seconds, and then looked over to Rainbow. “Dash, how many rodeos have you competed in?”
Rainbow frowned at Twilight in confusion. “Uh…none.” Rodeos were an earth pony thing, pegasi had their own sports to do. Earth ponies had rodeos, and unicorns had...well...egghead contests, or something.
Twilight looked back at Applejack. “Yet more than half the events of this competition are things like lassoing, bronco bucking, hay tossing, and be honest Applejack, how many of these events are just you kicking at something with your rear legs?” she asked.
After thinking the question over for a second, Applejack slowly nodded. “Alright, Ah guess Ah can see yer point there,” she admitted. “But it ain’t exactly like Ah can compete with a pegasus in flying or nothin’. Hay, even if I did just sprout wings right this instant, Dash has got years more experience than me.”
“Yeah, I’d totally whoop your tail,” Rainbow agreed, which got a little frown from both of the other ponies. Which had her sweating for a moment. “But uh…you’re way better with ropes, and bucking and junk.” Not that Rainbow was a slouch or anything. Trees must have just been harder to knock around than clouds. Or maybe it was the fact that Applejack's front legs were still on the ground when she kicked.
“Look girls…I love you more than anything, and…pushing yourselves to be the best you can be…even competing like this, as lopsided as it is, it’s fine. Just…don’t put so much on the line with all this resentment. Please?”
Rainbow looked over to Applejack, who was staring back at her. And…Rainbow had to admit that it did seem a little silly for a pegasus getting mad at being beaten by an earth pony of Applejack’s level at a rodeo. Which…she had to admit that after seeing how Applejack did, there was a good chance it would happen. She would totally put up a fight, but…Rainbow was pretty sure the score would have ended 9 to 11, in Applejack’s favor by the end of the day.
“Yeeeeah, you may have something there,” Rainbow admitted.
“Alright Twilight, Ah get yer point,” AJ agreed.
Twilight let out a loud sigh and set the two ponies down in time for both Rainbow and Applejack to hear the roar of the over-sized unicorn’s stomach. The bucking thing sounded like an angry bear. And a second later, the giant purple pony was gripping her midsection.
“Uh…you okay up there Twi?” Applejack asked the wincing unicorn.
She nodded before her stomach gurgled again. “Yes, it’s just…size increasing spells really burn the calories. And getting enough food when you’re this size isn’t really an option.”
Rainbow flew up to look her friend in the eye. “Wait, so you’re saying…I could have won if we kept going?”
After a few seconds of staring at Rainbow with a face that looked like her muscles had slackened, Twilight broke down into a fit of giggles that sounded more like light thunder to Dash.
“It was a sunny sun day, not to be confused with a Sunday, or even a sundae, despite how they all sound alike. Nope, the sun with just out today in my town of Ponyville. Not a bad place to live if you didn’t mind all the crazies. Which I was one of. In fact, most ponies called me the queen. Or they would have if that title existed in Equestria. For some reason, we don’t have any titles higher than Princess. It think it was because of some sort of marketing thing. Because queenies are meanies.
“So rather than Queen, or better yet, Empress Pinkamena Diane Pie, first of her name. Partyingest pony in all of Equestria, most ponies just called me Pinkie Pie! Except my mom, she always stuck with Pinkamena, or used my full name when I was in trouble. But, that’s how mom’s are, ya know?
“Anyhoo, it was about noon when they came into a bakery that I worked at because…despite the fact that our little town had well over three-hundred and sixty-five and a quarter ponies living in town, I somehow had enough time left to be a baker while my chosen profession was party planner. Don’t ask me how I only throw one party a week when just by the size of my clientele, I should have more than one a day.
“Ooops, sorry, got sidetracked there.
“Now, like I was saying before, they came into the bakery. There was three of them, a pegasus, a unicorn, and an earth pony, one for each of the tribes. And all of them were my friends too!
“The earth pony was named Applejack. A super hard worker with a little bit of a stubborn streak that came back to bite her in the plot as of late, but she was a real dependable that would do her best to be there for you, even if it killed her. Which I really, really super duper hope it doesn’t.
“Then there was the pegasus, Dashie. I think she’s my favorite. We have loads and loads of fun together. Don’t tell Fluttershy though, I really don’t want to hurt her feelings.
“And last but not least, there was the unicorn Twilight Sparkle. To be honest…I’m not even sure what to think about her anymore. Yes, she’s my friend, part of a very select group of super friends, and I love her just like the others. But…every time I look at her eyes… It’s as if there’s this ball of anger deep inside her wrapped in a ton of guilt and deep fried in sadness.
“And despite all of that, the only thing she wants to do is try and help me. So of course I want to help her right back. But…the last time I tried…it…didn’t go so well. But I’ll keep trying, because that’s what friends do!
“When they got to the counter, which took forever, because Twilight was actually having to lean on Dashie for some reason and-”
“Pinkie?” Twilight asked the pink party pony as she got up to the counter. “What’re you doing?”
Pinkie blinked at the odd question. She had thought it was pretty obvious. “I’m narrating Twilight! I said with a roll of my eyes. And here I thought she was supposed to be the brains of the group.”
Twilight blinked. “Um, can you stop doing that? Long enough take our orders at least?” she asked.
“Oh, sure,” Pinkie Pie told her before she got ready to add everything up on the cash register. Which was odd, because the main currency of Equestria wasn't paper.
And it really did seem like Twilight wanted an order that included everything. She asked for a total of twenty-seven items just for herself. Dashie just went for three cupcakes, and Applejack ordered some muffins. “And as fast as you possibly can,” Twilight’s belly added in Stomach.
Not that Pinkie spoke Stomach. But since it was what her tummy always said in relation to food when it talked, she was pretty sure Twilight’s was saying the same. If a little bit more articulately.
“Okay girls, I’ll have these out in a minute,” Pinkie Pie assured them. With it being the end of the lunch rush, there was plenty of baking space, and some things that had been pre-made survived the busy ordeal.
“Do you think we should have swung by Fluttershy’s and picked her up?” Twilight asked hesitantly before her tummy rumbled. “I don’t want her to feel left out.”
Although Pinkie couldn’t see Dashie roll her eyes as she headed back to start baking, it sure felt like something the pegasus would do before responding to a question like that. “Come on Twilight. You know how that pony is. Give her a day off. We just got back home.”
The party pony went back into the kitchen to give the Cakes the orders from her friends. Then gathered up the food they still had left that would meet part of Twilight’s order, and headed back out.
“So let me get this straight,” Applejack said when Pinkie reached her table to set down the tray. “We did this whole Iron Pony last time too?”
“Who won?” Dashie immediately asked on top of Applejack.
Twilight let out a tired grunt. “Rainbow, are you kidding? You heard me go on how that whole contest was so lopsided and mismatched in so many ways-”
“Okay okay,” Dashie said as she raised her hooves. “I was just wondering was all.”
The second Pinkie started putting the plates of food out in front of Twilight, the unicorn grabbed the first cupcake, and nearly devoured it whole, as well as the second, and the third. Icing splashed on her lips and cherries that topped some of the miniature confections disappeared down her pie hole whole.
“Ah was wondering more ‘bout the fact we went and did somethin’ like that twice in a row,” Applejack said as Twilight scarfed down a croquette in three bites that left her cheeks puffed out. “And now I’m worried about how much you’re puttin’ away there, sugarcube.”
Dashie leaned over the side of the booth and looked down just a bit. “Yeah Twilight. That stuff is totally going to your flanks.”
Twilight looked up from the desolate plates, her face covered with the remains of her devoured food while her cheeks puffed with the holdouts. “Hey! I just beat the Equestrian weight-loss record by both time and tonnage, so give me a break!” she said while spraying crumbs everywhere.
Then, she looked down at the table that had just become decorated by little bits of food, and swallowed what was left in her mouth. “Sorry everypony,” she apologized with a blush before she sank in her seat. “I-I, didn’t-hunger! I’m not used to be hungry, and with this whole Spike thing, and my-no…” She sunk in her seat. “There’s no excuse for snapping at you when I’ve got no good reason to Rainbow-”
Like she always did when Twilight overreacted to such things, Dashie rolled her eyes and snorted. “Twilight, it’s fine.”
“Huh, thought you were starin’ to get better at this sorta stuff,” Applejack said right on top of her. “Sides, Rainbow needs a little snap now an’ then.”
Dashie turned her head to look over to Applejack with a tiny frown, then moved her eyes towards Twilight before she shrugged. “Ya know, I apologized for the dragon bragging AJ, you can let it go.”
Twilight slowly pushed herself back up until she was putting her plot to the cushion of her booth again, and let out a long sigh. “Better how?”
“You mean how she always seems to break down at every little thing and goes into complete freak-out mode if one of us gets upset?” Pinkie Pie asked. By the end, Twilight had gone back to blushing.
“You ain’t got nothin’ to be worried about sugarcube,” Applejack assured her. “I mean, we done found out yer big dark secret, and even though I am a mite upset with ya fer not tellin’ us sooner, Ah still call ya mah friend.”
Twilight looked down at her food. “Dark secrets…right,” she repeated in a whisper with a face that so obviously wanted to become an unhappy droop, Pinkie had to fight herself from wrapping her into a super-tight-uber-friendship-special-I’m-here-for-you-super-hug-deluxe or break Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s ‘no depriving the customers of oxygen’ rule. And all of that became super hard when the purple unicorn looked up at her. “Um, Pinkie, can I get the rest of my order to go?”
The pink party pony looked over to Twilight in confusion. “But you just got here. And the lunch rush is over, and I wanted to finally get a Twilight and Pinkie bonding moment like everypony else!”
A strange look that a lot of ponies got when Pinkie forgot to watch herself too much appeared on Twilight’s face for the teeniest tiniest moment, which just made the pink pony as happy as could be, at least until she saw the sadness that replaced it. “I’m sorry,” Twilight softly apologized. “I-”
“Nononono!” Pinkie told her as she raised her hooves towards the one pony in town that actually understood her top to bottom. “No need to be sad for me Twilight. I’ve bet you’ve got some super-important future work to do, right?”
Twilight gulped. “Actually…it’s Spike. I wanted to talk to Ditzy about Sparkler and Spike wanting to um…date, and I just realized I might be able to catch her on her lunch break.”
Even though she wasn’t completely sure what was going on, Pinkie nodded. “See, I was right about the super important thing. You go. In fact, you go now. I’ll drop off the rest of your order at the library, and you go take care of what you need to, okay?”
There was some small hesitation, but Twilight nodded. “Okay, that sounds good. Thanks Pinkie.”
Happy that she could help, Pinkie gave her friend a smile. “No problemo Twilight!”
The purple unicorn started to get up, and then stopped when she got to the edge off her seat to give Pinkie a measuring look. “Uh…Pinkie, if you came home to see one of your younger sisters making out with another pony that was three years older than her, what would you do?”
Pinkie blinked at the question. It wasn’t confusing. Twilight was obviously asking her for her opinion about her son and that mare. However, what did give her pause was the fact that somepony was actually asking her a question like that. Most ponies didn’t ask her stuff like that. Serious stuff.
Ever.
So, she thought about it for a second. A good long second. A second so long that it might have actually lasted a minute.
But…Pinkie found that she just didn’t have enough information.
“Well…do you trust Spike?”
Twilight nodded. “Of course I do.”
“And Sparkler?”
“Um…yes,” she answered. “She’s a little rough around the edges right now. But she’s good for Ponyville, and a great librarian. Uh…” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Not that we’re going to need a librarian when that’s my job, um, right?”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Why Ah didn’t see any of this before, Ah do not know.”
Dashie smirked. “Yeah, because a unicorn that throws around magic to take down dragons and actually manages to outdo me with a prank like you did today, totally belongs in a library.”
“Okay then, if you think they’re both good uh, creatures, and you trust them, and they make each other happy, then what’s the problem?” Pinkie asked, because she couldn’t really see one.
Twilight tilted her head to the side just a little bit. “Well…Spike’s so much younger than Sparkler, and…um…”
Finally understanding what was wrong, Pinkie nodded. “Oh, I get it now! If you just have a bunch of unfounded fears about your son spending time with an older mare, then all you have to do is spy on him for his first few times alone with her after setting up some basic ground rules. Then you’ll just find out there’s nothing to worry about and feel bad for a little while for not trusting Spike, but that’ll be counterbalanced by the fact that you know you did what you did for his safety, and you’ll also gain the assurance that comes with seeing everything going like it was supposed to, so the next time something comes up, you can be more trusting!” she explained happily, glad she could help.
“Hm, you’re right,” Twilight mumbled before brightening just a little bit. She still didn’t smile though. The upturning of the unicorn’s mouth only amounted to a smirk. “Thanks for the help Pinkie Pie.”
As Twilight trotted off, Pinkie turned her attention back to Dashie and Applejack to see them staring at her with gaping mouths. “What? I do have two younger sisters ya know!”
Applejack blinked, and closed her mouth. “Huh,” she mumbled before looking down to the empty plates and staring at the crumbs Twilight had left behind. “Hey, you mind if I asked you girls something?”
Not even needing Applejack to continue, Pinkie Pie nodded. “Yeah, I’m still super worried about Twilight too,” she said. “I mean, sure she told us about the whole future thing, but she’s still all jumpy at the littlest thing, and you saw how she slept on the train. I had figured out that she was having super scary dreams back in Canterlot and didn’t want to go to sleep, but…I didn’t think it would be that bad.”
“Well…that too,” Applejack said. “But, Ah was just wondering why the two of ya are still working. ‘Specially you Pinkie Pie.”
Dashie looked over to Applejack and sighed. “I thought about it, but…you have no idea how bad the Everfree messes with the weather around Ponyville Applejack. Sure, I could up and quit, but…finding anypony to replace me would take forever. And that’s if he doesn’t get fed up with all the freak rainstorms and rouge winds ruining the stuff that’s supposed to happen. I can’t just leave the town hanging like that.”
“And Mrs Cake’s got her foals on the way,” Pinkie Pie told her. “Sure I want to start super funtabulous party that goes all across Equestria without ever stopping. But it would just be mean for me to take my bits and run. Plus, I like working in Sugar Cube Corner, and I love the Cakes.”
After a few seconds of silence, Applejack let out a chuckle. “And Ah can’t exactly stop bucking apples on my family’s farm,” she said before another laugh came out of her mouth. “Even with us having all these bits, not a single one of us is actually going to be able to do anythin’ different.”
Pinkie shrugged. “Eh, I’m thinking of at least buying my own house,” she said before something occurred to her. “Well, gotta go get Twilight’s order. See you girls later!”
As she started to walk away, Pinkie listened to the last bits of Dashie and AJ’s conversation that she could.
“Hey, where is the rest of you family anyway? I didn’t see them on the farm.”
“Hmm? Oh, Big Mac took Granny to Canterlot so she can get looked at by them fancy doctors there about gettin’ a new hip, and Apple Bloom went with em.”
“And that was all I was able to discern,” Luna finished before picking up a cup of tea from the small table in front of the couch she was laying on and used it to wet a throat that had been parched from the long explanation that lasted from noon until sunset.
Celestia was glad she too had been on her own seat. Even the centuries of experience she possessed didn’t prepare her for what she had just heard from Luna. The elder alicorn’s mind had trouble wrapping around the possibility of it all. And after a minute of silence, she simply stopped trying to discern how such a thing could happen to focus on the important things.
Twilight’s current self was from the future, a future where for some reason, Twilight had gained immortality and blamed Celestia for the deaths of her friends. Which made no sense! If Twilight had become an alicorn as was her destiny and became the third alicorn tied to the Tree of Harmony like Celestia knew she would be, then she would have simply outlived her friends naturally.
So then, why the animosity?
“YOU LIED TO ME!”
Celestia pushed the memory of her pupil shouting at her back to the depths of her mind. Now was not the time to dwell on such things.
Instead, she reviewed all that Luna had told her. Twilight had explained that she had become an alicorn after completing the spell that Starswirl had left, a task that Celestia had been preparing her for. Such a feat would have been enough to prove her worthiness for alicorn-hood by demonstrating her knowledge of the ties that bound ponies together. And the news that Twilight would one day return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony settled the question of what to do about the purple unicorn’s friends.
But then there was the disturbing news…
“What do you mean, I am supposed to free Discord?” Celestia asked.
Luna let out a sigh and shook her head. “This I did not learn from Twilight directly, but rather by looking onto the path she had tread to reach her current place Sister. However, what Twilight tell me was the reason behind it. According to her, you wanted to...befriend Discord.” The next to last word had nearly made Luna gag.
The tone the younger alicorn used told her what she had thought of that idea, and Celestia had to agree. In the brief time that he had ruled over Equestria, Discord had been little more than a monster with a sick sense of humor, using the silliest means to ruin the lives of any pony he came across.
And while Celestia could see the humor in some of the things he did, she also remembered the terror on the faces of the ponies he tormented, the homes and livelihoods that were destroyed by his antics, and the way he laughed at all the fear and pain that was left in his wake. Never would Celestia allow such a creature to walk Equestria again.
“No,” Celestia told her. “Something like Discord, he is incapable of experiencing friendship Luna. What you saw…”
Luna took up the conversation while Celestia fought for a way to defend actions that hadn’t even happened yet. “We were in a dream sister, I would have know if she had told a lie.”
An argument Celestia had no defense against. “But…if she remembers Discord being free, then it must happen, mustn’t it?”
“Do not ask me Celestia, you have always been the more…academic of us,” Luna replied. “From what I remember about Starswirl’s spell, tis merely an exercise in futility that only provides headaches. Yet Twilight has obviously found some loophole in its magic.”
Celestia shook her head. “Starswirl’s spell only sent the caster back for a few moments, this spell that Twilight described to you is far more than that,” she said. “Although, it would explain why I cannot see her path into the future.”
Luna raised an eyebrow at the statement. “You know I detest your being cryptic Sister.”
“Sorry,” she apologized. “But if this Twilight…or at least her mind is from the future. Then, she is living her past, and so I am blind to her.” It wasn’t a complete theory, but…it sounded better than the alternative that Twilight had somehow found a means to block her sight. Very few things could do that, much less a mere unicorn. Celestia didn’t like being blind.
She pushed the thought from her mind, and focused on something more important. “And her friends. Twilight told you that I am responsible for their deaths?” Another thought that troubled her greatly. Unknowns they may have been, but they were still ponies. Not to mention the ones responsible for the salvation of her sister! Celestia would have given them anything they wanted!
Luna nodded. “She told me that it was your fault they passed, but…the vision of Discord had him blaming her for Fluttershy’s death, saying outright that Twilight Sparkle killed her,” the smaller alicorn explained before her expression turned grim. “And the vision I saw of Twilight did not deny it.”
Another obvious riddle. It was clear to Celestia that both she and Twilight both must have born some of the responsibility for whatever happened to the unicorn’s companions. That realization formed another weight in her heart.
“And Twilight herself, how is she?” Celestia asked.
Luna looked out her window, towards Ponyville. “She is…complicated.”
The answer made Celestia give a disgruntled groaned. “I did not ask for an assessment of her personality Luna, but her emotional state. Is she alright?”
“One can find happiness amidst despair Celestia,” Luna told her. “She feels guilty for several of her past actions, anger at herself for feeling guilty for others, glad that she is with her friends, and…afraid of many things. Mostly, she is afraid. I think she turns to the anger to help her deal with it. And you seem to make a fine target.”
What was most telling about Luna’s statement was some of the words that were missing from her assessment. Like the word happy.
There was also another question Celestia needed answered. “Why you?” she asked while doing her best to contain her emotions.
“Pardon?” Luna asked in confusion.
Celestia shook off the bit of jealousy that Twilight had turned to Luna for help, given her explanations and truths instead of Celestia. Of course, logically, Celestia knew that it was because of this future event that even Luna hadn’t been told about beyond some vague mention in a vision involving Discord. But, to have the unicorn that Celestia had groomed for so long turn against her in such a way…just like… “Why you?” she managed in an even tone. “Why did she see fit to trust you?”
Despite the weight of the question, Luna simply shrugged her shoulders. “Twilight mentioned that I helped her through a hard time after her friends passed,” the smaller alicorn replied. “As she knows my dream magic, we must have spent a great deal of time together. And…perhaps she feels a kinship with me. After all, we both had our falling out with you.”
But they weren’t the only ones. Something Celestia hated to acknowledge, but…something that could not simply cast aside. Luna, her current student, and her past one that she had grown far too close to. All had raised grievances against her before sliding into darkness. And while Twilight wasn’t completely gone, she did seem well on her way.
With such evidence, Celestia was afraid to consider the possibility, but…was it…her fault in some way? Luna, Sunset, and now Twilight. Although she had kept her distance from the unicorn during her tutelage, Celestia had every intention of bringing her into the fold once the purple pony had become an alicorn. And that had apparently brought about the same end as the others.
“Very well then,” Celestia mumbled as she looked out the window to the night outside, towards Ponyville. “Since it is apparent that I should keep my distance from Twilight, that is what I shall do. But I will not allow her to slip into darkness without a fight.”
Luna nodded. “If you wish for me to speak with her again Sister, and act as thy representative I shall. Still, I will need to discover her method of hiding her dreams from me first.”
Although Celestia thought about telling Luna she could simply visit Ponyville in pony, thus killing two birds with one stone, she shook her head. “That’s alright Luna, but I would like to try something else, if you don’t mind.”
While she trusted her sister was capable for many things, Twilight needed a pony she trusted and loved to help her. A pony that Celestia could easily call back to Canterlot to help the purple unicorn remember the love she once felt for her mentor.
Such things were that mare’s specialty after all.
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Celestia, I get it. I really do. You are worried about Twilight. Worried that you will lose her like you lost your sister. That it will somehow be even worse. And I do approve of Cadence coming to help Twilight find love. It is something she needs.
But she does not need to love you. I know that creatures tend to be binary in Equestria. They tend to either love you, or want to destroy all you hold dear. But Twilight is different. And even if you need her, she does not need you.
Celestia, you need to make some friends.
Celestia, that is a very very very very very VERY bad idea!!! Twilight was mad at you before but now be prepared for revenge of extreme proportions.
... Twilight, it worked out but trying to defuse tension and competitive resentment between two people trying to prove who's better by proving neither of them are better than you is a stupid plan. Closely matched competition doesn't breed resentment like being completely outmatched does.
Oh man, here we go. I've been looking forward to this.
*head-desk* Not 'supposed' to, did. And it backfired, so never, ever do it again. I think Twilight was discussing the mechanics of Fate and Choice with the wrong pony.
Well, at least she isn't totally oblivious.
*facepalm* And it... what, just doesn't occur to you that the you from the other timeline might have already tried something similar? Isn't it at least a bit worrisome that she hasn't mentioned Cadence once since returning to the past?
I mean seriously, there's juggling the idiot ball and then there's dropping it, accidentally swallowing it, and slowly working it through your gastrointestinal tract.
Ruh roh.
Terrible idea bringing Cadence into this. But then, Celestia doesn't know or she's not even thinking on how Twilight will react when coming face-to-face with an alicorn courting her brother after what she learned from Luna.
Ah
___________
told
_______________
Oh no ... of all the stupidest choices she could do to help Twilight she's going to get Cadance. The only pony Twilight hates more than Celestia ... probably even hates more than Discord. I get that there was some miscommunication and failings to reach understandings that Tia seems so good at doing with those she loves.
But I still feel that Celestia just makes a good target rather than being 100% to blame. But Cadance, unlike Tia, royally screwed up. Way beyond what Tia ever did.
Uh-oh, Celestia is making a mistake if she is thinking of sending Cadence. From what we have seen, it seems Twilight has no respect for Cadence anymore. At all.
6237111
Oh... oh god I didn't even notice until reading these comments later that she meant Cadance.
That's going to be the worst thing ever, Twilight trying to figure out how much she should hate Cadance because Cadance has the potential to throw away her brother (and then the... moral ambiguousness of having "many husbands" even though the kind of soulmate-romance that Cadance is usually portrayed to be about isn't really congruous with "I keep hopping from person to person, claiming each new one is my one true love, even though they're not "one" anything, and probably not very "true" either).
Maybe it's best to have Twilight just resolve to never teach Cadance to become immortal, so she'll never have to make the choice to abandon her brother.
MMM... It make me think... Twilight hate Cadence... She knows she is going to leave her brother... What if she do something and the wedding don't happen? What is going to happen to Chrysalis?
ohhhhh!!!!
Someone actually did it XD
I'm going to have so much fun reading this
(edit: checked the date..... How?!
)
I am curious, will Twilight still become an Alicorn? I hope so.
This version of Twilight needs to change her name to Twilight Jerkle.
....because, you know... she's a jerk.
6237124
Cadance is already immortal though. At least in this series. I don't know why Cadance feels the need to look like a little filly, and "age" as it were. But she an all alicorns are immortal. So yeah, she's one step away from royally screwing over Shining Armor. Although Twilight probably feels bad about saving her from Chrysalis about now.
But yeah, it's a connundrum. Probaby did to Shining Armor what she did to many other stallions. Unless alicorns just stop aging at X age (like Twilight, Luna and Celestia), and she never matured enough to handle not being able to not do something utterly stupid. At least until Twilight tears her a new one, fills it with molten hot hate, then bucks her 7 ways to Sunday until she learns her lesson. Really the only Alicorn that should make herself a more a part of her life is Luna. Luna'll be able to help Twilight get better. Hopefully.
Cadence: (hesitantly) "so, anything interesting to say about my future? "
(with a shark-like smile ) "Well , there is that little habit of yours of marrying young, virile stalions just to abandon them after a few decades when they cannot longer furfill their duties on bed "
(mentally deciding not to talk about her engagement with Shining Armor for the moment): Um... err.. Well, anything else like...? "
(slasher smile intensifies ) : "Oooohh I know ! There is the time I almost bargained Celestia for your life so I could use you as a living generator for my time travel machine "
"WAITRESS, THE BILL PLEASE! " (aka screw this, I'm out of here!) 
Twilight:
Cadence :
Twilight :
Cadence:
Twilight : (writting letter) "Dear Princess Celestia . You were right . I totally enjoyed this reunion. "
6237247
The author did leave a blog post about how, at least in this fic, Alicornification isn't immortality.
Given how Celestia, in the future a couple chapters ago, was cut off saying "It was you who--" "Don't you pin this on me!" when talking about Cadance abandoning Shining, I assume that Twilight taught Cadance the secret to immortality.
I am usually... uncomfortable with the idea that alicorns are automatically immortal and Cadance will continue to take husbands before and after Shining. It seems like the presence of many husbands devalues each one.
It's weird because... all the different ways that combine to make me think that it's a situation where Cadance is horrible and insulting, but in all these other somewhat similar situations I can't blame her.
I don't think that having friends as an immortal will necessarily devalues your new friends (you will need to have many friends indeed to truly get sick of every person type, but I'm sure it's possible to become sick of people in general and stop valuing them), but I do think that, given the way we generally expect romance to be exclusive, that having more of them, that even allowing them to die of old age (thereby saving them from the heartbreak of living their last years alone) makes each relationship mean less to Cadance.
But, to compare, the concept of the widower who finds love with someone else... I don't find that as devaluing either. Probably because in the widow's case it wasn't known from the beginning that they would abandon their love someday.
6237323
Onto the many husbands things. I wholly disagree with you. If a mortal woman were to become a widower (lets say disease or natural causes claimed him), after she grieved would you say that she's no longer allowed to have happiness again?
There's a huge difference between what Cadance did (aka. abandon her husband when he got near death), and after a period of mourning, someday / generation finding love again. I honestly think it would be cruel to say that any immortal isn't allowed to have love since they'd out live their mortal lovers.
But I think it's more of a natural thing (immortality) that happens when an Alicorn is fully one with their element. Nonetheless, I think the many lovers Cadance was done well in LunaVerse (aka. After dating awhile, gives the "Alicorn Talk", if the pony is alright with it. Then they can move on, marry, and she gives that pony every bit of her heart until old age claims them. And loves every one of her mates / families over the generations. This Cadance ... I'm very much ashamed at her decisions. That and with how close Tia is to Cadance. I see it as her who'd teach her. Rather than Twilight [seeing as how Celestia is so much older. And Cadance was the alicorn with her first after her sister was banished. Would make her more emotionally attached. Albeit not as much as with Sunset.]
6237347 Yeah but.... changeling?
Very nice chapter. I like where your are going after the big revelations in the last few chapters.
Oh, big HUGE mistake Celestia.
6237125
Twiliggt hasn't mentioned what happened to the changelings, has she? For all we know, they couod have united with Equestria and Chrysalis could uave become one of Twilight's friends. Or she could have genocided them. Either way, I'd be willing to bet that if Twilight doesn't stop the wedding herself, she'll probably intercept Chrysalis. Unless she just decides to let Cadance suffer.
6237415 Maybe it could be good. Chrysalis as the sister of Twilight thanks to marry her brother. Maybe they can find true love.
6237323
In the Lunaverse both Luna and Cadence have that kind of relationships with friends and lovers through the ages. While they always mourn their departed beloved ones they have the strenght of heart to move on without forgotten them and meeting new ones without cheaping the act. That is in fact one of their most admirable traits.
It's a shame I can only give this story one thumbs up...I'd easily give it ten.
6237449
Yeah I... just have a hard time accepting that they are able to treat their hundreds of lovers as if they are all just as important as the last one. That even rarely happens in real life with people taking many lovers: the more lovers you take the harder it is to bond with any one of them, and they need to be increasingly "more special" than the last to keep that kind of bond steady.
Knowing that, it is very hard to assume that an immortal, who might have had hundreds of "true love"s would be free of the same problems. Maybe if it were just limited to "only" ten or twenty "lifelong" loves, but by the time they're thousands of years old they have probably taken quite a few more.
6237359
Yeah it's... that's why I said it made me uncomfortable, rather than a flat condemnation...
It feels, basically, that the mortals are not very important in those scenarios. They are less/inferior to the immortals.
But maybe they're not? Maybe as long as they're happy it's okay! Maybe it doesn't matter as long as the mortal is happy for as long as they possibly can be, even if the immortal sort of files them away with the hundreds of other lovers just like them afterward.
But yes, I agree that Cadance was, even under the idea that it's totally just and understandable that she will eventually get over Shining Armor, acted completely reprehensibly not just leaving him as he aged, but replacing him with a younger model before he was even gone.
6237514
I can agree. I find it utterly irrepressible that she dumped him utterly ignoring, "Till death do you part" just because he was getting old. I had higher expectations for her than that. And I don't think that it's immortals viewing mortals as lesser / inferior or having thousands like them when they die.
I view it. If done responsibly as, a mortal once in a great while touches a part of their heart (and make no mistake. Immortality is lonely, and filled with tons of depressing things) and they while unaging (after a point in their lives) are still flesh and blood entities. And need that companionship that a "for as long as that mortal lives" life partner offers. I'd like to think that Luna and Celestia cherish each and every life that enters theirs in a "closer than friends" manner.
Then you know as long as they're happy, and they love one another. It's all good. But the whole, "Oh you're old, and mortality scares me so I'll dump you and bang the next stallion and / or mare that looks young and virile." Thing Cadance does gives Immortals everywhere a bad name.
Honestly I really, really hope that Twilight tears into her. But on the other hoof I get the feeling that what Twilight did was one of the few things that could kill an entity with practical immortality. So that might be a really ... emotionally scaring meeting.
6237581
Well... I'm more looking forward to Twilight finally confronting Cadance in the future-that-never-was, rather than current-Cadance, who hasn't gone through any of this and would probably swear back and forth that she'd never do that to her beloved husband.
... Given how Twilight always has an extreme version of what the others did, I wonder if future Cadance has a good excuse for her actions.
Twilight hasn't strictly been wrong, though, and Celestia only has a weak defense of Cadance, so it might be another case of Twilight just holding onto a grudge for longer than she has to and being more outraged, but having a basically good reason for feeling that way.
Also, I also really love how Twilight is protective of Shining, and outraged even centuries after he's gone. It seems like a lot of stories go by and Shining is portrayed as an overprotective doting brother and Twilight is distant in comparison, so it's really refreshing to watch her take personal offense on his behalf, even if she's holding onto that grudge for dear life.
Argh, why does every time-travel fic I read have to pull the "fate card"?
Let me make my stance clear: No particular event is more significant than any others. Prove me wrong. Why is death more important than, say, deciding to have a sandwich for breakfast? Time-travelers drastically change the course of reality just by their mere presence and yet the universe says that "this pony must die" or "this event must occur" and so the time-traveler they can do nothing about it? How is this "fate" decided, random chance? Are certain ponies just born more important than others, or do they earn this apparent "immunity to fate"? Is there a certain amount of "choice points" we are allowed per day? It's so arbitrary.
Why did you add this to your fic?! Why couldn't the time-travelers just be allowed to do whatever they want?! It isn't like knowing a future suddenly makes Twilight an omniscient Mary Sue. It's just...
so pointless.
Other than that, great chapter, keep it up.
6237050
Thing is they are too different to be comparable in any meaningful way and the only thing their competition can prove is showing which is better at twisting the rules (=cheating) to sway the competition's form into their advantage. Which Twilight proved well. It wasn't about winning. It was just about winning at cheating, by cheating so rudely and blatantly that this process became apparent.
6237183
She can do it at any moment. She *choose* not to.
6237323
The wedding vows? "Until death does part us."
You can find another after your beloved's death. Moreover, if you truly love, you should assure your beloved that it is okay with you for them to find one after you die - so that they won't feel torn, won't feel like they are cheating you, and aren't sentenced to live the rest of their lives in solitude.
But Cadance dumped Shining while he was still quite alive and still in love with her. It's a sad mockery of the wedding vows - "For better and for worse", and when the "worse" inevitably comes, and not by Shining's fault, Cadance just quits and seeks another one. A mockery of love. And stallions who choose her knowing that are either very foolish or completely callous and happy-go-lucky, "let's have fun with the princess now; being old and alone is the future me's problem, and what I've fucked by then won't unfuck itself." Love? Just *knowing* your chosen will dump you in a couple decades? There's no love there.
6237670
The little thing known as "canon". The author made a huge concession of making the future mutable at all, comparing to what the canon time travel implies.
Oh... wow!
Thank you for the amazing chapter!!!! :D So awesome!!!
Jealous Celestia is pretty kewl. :3
Also, so happy with this chapter. Executed flawlessly. We wub yer stuff so much!! SQUEEE!!!
"Yo Chrysalis!" yelled Twilight. "Need some help?!"
6237641
Well that is a way of looking at it. Twilight does tend to take a view of things in an extreme manner, and only obsessively holds onto one side of things rather than look at the whole picture. Also I agree it's a nice change of pace that Twilight's over protective of him rather than being shown as distant (I mean even in canon she loves her brother dearly).
Hopefully we'll see what happens next fic, and things can get resolved in that end. Although a part of me really hopes that she can fix things between Celestia and herself. It's kind of sad that a many millenia long grudge never got resolved and Twilight isn't even trying to fix it (although she did help Luna, albeit in a round about manner).
Next chapter, Twilight is going to be extremely angry.
Oh gob, Tia's plan is going to backfire spectacularly. Bringing in the one pony this Twi probably resents as much as herself.
I'll make the popcorn!
Take-Two Cadance: Zeus 2.0
Did we ever find out why Discord was released? He was supposed to be important for something.
...uh-oh. *ducks and covers*
Well , this is going to backfire badly. At least it is an honest mistake on Celestia's part... even if she is a bit too focused on having Twilight love her.
I wonder how much Luna told Celestia about Twilight. It doesn't seems like she told her about how much of a sociopathic monster she was.
Well , at least from what we saw , she is trying to atone somewhat (and even let her friends die)
...
What is troubling is that I can understand her , and maybe would have done the same...
?Spoiler?
Haha
aahaha!
HAHAHAHAHA!!
Let me manipulate you into trusting me again by sending this girl you hate (Maybe even more than Celestia :o)
"Twilight tapped her hoof on the floor of her castle both, feeling nervous and…"
What is that "both" doing? Is something missing here?
"Twhile"
"Twilight"?
Hm. Alicorn Sunset could and can still die of old age?
"Th Crystal"
"The"
"at last physically"
"at least"?
"best to ally her"
"allay"?
"Running of the Leafs"
"Leaves"?
6238388
To be fair, Luna and Celestia both are unaware of Twilight's... past... with Cadence. Thus, using the foalsitter as a intermediary is a perfectly valid response.
6238980 That just makes it better if/when they find out lol
Maybe she'll tolerate her and just threaten her after the wedding.
If she breaks Shinings' heart again then ooooooo Damn it's ON!@
6239211
Between defeating Chrysalis and the actual wedding:
"Cadence, I know Celestia and Luna have most likely informed you of what I am and where I come from. And I'm telling you, I have seen you toss Shining aside like yesterday's trash for a newer boytoy. So I'm just going to tell you, decide right now, to stick with him until the light in his eyes fade and his hooves go limp, or walk away. Otherwise stick to it, lest we have some serious issues later. I'm talking wrecked cities issues. Capiche?"
This does bring up the question.
Will Twilight try to stop Shiny and Cadence's marriage? Twilight arguing with her BBBFF. That nearly broke her when she was young, confident and fool hardy. What will it do now that her soul is old and her mind and spirit and unstable and scared?
Tune in next time to find out on Dragonball Z...uh I mean Take Two.
6237710 this killed me
That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
6237183 This whole trip was to avoid that!
Why would you even insinuate it?!
6238388 Cadance scares me at times. Though nobody treats it as such, she's using mind-manipulation magic. That is literally her talent; changing how people feel about each other. You can say she just brings out what was already there, but love can be overshadowed by other emotions due to actions or opinions. Love-butt over-rides these other emotions, forcing love to the fore.
6237079 Celestia is still going by Starswirl's time travel here, saying that what Twilight has seen must come to pass. This has already proven to be false, but Tia's working on old information.
6237019 So much this.